Complete Non-Residential / Business Property Rates Data

The request was refused by Wandsworth Borough Council.

Dear Wandsworth Borough Council,

In terms of the Freedom of Information Act of 2000, could you please provide me with a complete and up-to-date list of all business (non-residential) property rates data for your local authority, and including the following fields:

- Billing Authority Code
- Firm's Trading Name (i.e. property occupant)
- Full Property Address (Number, Street, Postal Code, Town)
- Occupied / Vacant
- Date of Occupation / Vacancy
- Actual annual rates charged (in Pounds)

While such data series are often published by local authorities, I have undertaken a thorough search of your website and have not found these. If they are available, as requested, then please - in terms of Section 21 of the act - could you provide a link to the page where the data are published, as well as guidance on the update frequency.

I appreciate that properties owned / rented by individuals are personal information and such personal data (i.e. the Firm's Trading Name) would be excluded from my request in terms of Section 40(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. In such cases, please provide the remaining information with the Firm's Trading Name either blank or listed as 'individual'.

Please provide this as machine-readable as either a CSV or Microsoft Excel file, capable of re-use, and under terms of the Open Government Licence.

I am compiling a comprehensive time-series database of business activity across the UK and will require the dataset updated on a quarterly basis. Some 20% of local authorities already provide this dataset (and a total of 30% of local authorities provide a subset of these data) on a monthly to quarterly basis on a dedicated page on their websites or on an open data service. I would appreciate it if you could do the same.

Yours faithfully,

Gavin Chait

Freedom Of Information, Wandsworth Borough Council

Request for Information - 2016/12706 - Business Rates

 

Thank you for your request for information received on 14/03/2016.

 

This will be processed in accordance with the appropriate access to
information regime.

 

Regards

 

Corporate Support and Information Team

[1][Wandsworth Council request email]

 

[2]WRWA Golden Ticket Recycling Prize Draw

IMPORTANT:
Confidentiality: This email and its attachments are intended for the above
named only and may be confidential. If they have come to you in error you
must take no action based on them, nor must you copy or show them to
anyone. Please reply to this email and highlight the error.

Please visit the Council's website at: [3]www.wandsworth.gov.uk

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[Wandsworth Council request email]
2. http://www.wrwa.gov.uk/goldenticket
3. http://www.wandsworth.gov.uk/

Freedom Of Information, Wandsworth Borough Council

1 Attachment

Request for Information - 2016/12706 - Business Rates

 

I refer to your request for information received on 14/03/2016.  Please
see the information below in response to your request: -

 

In terms of the Freedom of Information Act of 2000, could you please
provide me with a complete and up-to-date list of all business
(non-residential) property rates data for your local authority, and
including the following fields:

- Billing Authority Code

- Firm's Trading Name (i.e. property occupant)

- Full Property Address (Number, Street, Postal Code, Town)

- Occupied / Vacant

- Date of Occupation / Vacancy

- Actual annual rates charged (in Pounds)

I appreciate that properties owned / rented by individuals are personal
information and such personal data (i.e. the Firm's trading Name) would be
excluded from my request in terms of Section 40(2) of the Freedom of
Information Act 2000. In such cases, please provide the remaining
information with the Firm's Trading Name either blank or listed as
'individual'.  Please provide the information in an excel spreadsheet or
CSV document.

Please refer to the attached Excel document relating to account
information held by the Council for Limited companies.  Sole trader
information is exempt under sections 40 and 41 of the Freedom of
Information Act 2000.

 

                Section 40 – Personal Information

The Council feels that the disclosure of a sole traders business rates
details, including their name and address - which could also be their home
address -  is considered to be personal information.  Please note that
this personal information is exempt from disclosure under Section 40 (2)
of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 as disclosure would result in a
breach of the first data protection principle.

 

Please also be advised that for any businesses which qualify for empty
property relief, we can confirm that Wandsworth Council holds the
requested information but considers that the information relating to empty
properties is exempt from disclosure under the Act on the following
basis:-

Section 31(1)(a) – Law Enforcement – Prevention and detection of crime

Information is exempt from disclosure where this would be likely to
prejudice the prevention and detection of crime. It is the Council's
opinion that disclosure of this information would be likely to prejudice
the prevention and detection of crime by revealing the locations of empty
properties.  In coming to this conclusion, the Council is reminded that
disclosure of information under the Freedom of Information Act is akin to
publication and the Council has a duty to consider the effects of
releasing the information into the public domain when there is no control
over how it is distributed or used. 

The Council has additionally sought the opinion of the Borough Commander,
who was of the opinion that the disclosure of this information would be
likely to prejudice the prevention and detection of crime.  The Council
finds it difficult to ignore the opinion of an experienced Officer;  as a
consequence, this information is considered to be exempt.

This exemption requires the Council to consider the public interest test
when considering whether to disclose the requested information.  Whilst
the Council recognises there is a public interest in enabling properties
to be brought back into use and a general interest in transparency, we are
also bound to consider the strong public interest in reducing the
potential for criminal activity.  

 

I hope this information meets your needs. If you do not understand the
information provided or wish to discuss anything further, please feel free
to contact me and I, or another member of the team, will be able to assist
you.

 

Please note that all material provided by Wandsworth Council in response
to your request for information is for your personal, non-commercial use.
Wandsworth Council reserves all rights in the copyright of the information
provided. Any unauthorised copying or adaptation of the information
without express written confirmation from Wandsworth Council may
constitute an infringement of copyright. Any intention to re-use this
information commercially may require consent. Please forward any requests
for re-use of information to the FOI officer.

 

If you are dissatisfied with the information provided in relation to your
request you may make representations to the Chief Executive. 
Correspondence should be addressed to: 

 

Corporate Support and Information Team, Room 149, Wandsworth Town Hall,
Wandsworth High Street, London, SW18 2PU.

 

If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have
the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a
decision.  The Information Commissioner can be contacted at: 

 

Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow,
Cheshire, SK9 5AF.

 

 

Regards

Sue Murray

Corporate Support and Information Team

[1][Wandsworth Council request email]

 

 

show quoted sections

Dear Wandsworth Borough Council,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Wandsworth Borough Council's handling of my FOI request 'Complete Non-Residential / Business Property Rates Data'.

On 14 March 2016, I sent an FOI request for a complete and up-to-date list of all business (non-residential) property rates data, and including the following fields:

- Billing Authority Code
- Firm's Trading Name (i.e. property occupant)
- Full Property Address (Number, Street, Postal Code, Town)
- Occupied / Vacant
- Date of Occupation / Vacancy
- Actual annual rates charged (in Pounds)

My request has been refused in terms of Section 31(a). According to the Information Commissioners Office, "Section 31 is a prejudice based exemption and is subject to the public interest test. This means that not only does the information have to prejudice one of the purposes listed, but, before the information can be withheld, the public interest in preventing that prejudice must outweigh the public interest in disclosure."

Section 31(a) deals specifically with "the prevention or detection of crime".

The purpose of our use of the data requested is in informing entrepreneurs and business seekers about opportunities in empty premises when they are advertised for new tenants. We combine local authority premises occupation data with other data (from the Valuations Office and ONS) to develop forward guidance on business potential in each empty business property. Further details on our activities are available at http://pikhaya.com, but our activity is supported by the Open Data Institute and we have received funding from the EU Open Data Incubator to develop this service.

Our combined data are made available via online commercial property leasing intermediaries as a free service to business seekers. These leasing intermediaries combine our data with properties being offered for rent.

In other words, these are properties being clearly advertised as empty whether the local authority data are publicly available or not.

I should also note that, of the 350 local authorities in England and Wales, over 150 of these either already make these data available, or have done so in response to FOI requests from ourselves.

We are mindful, though, that not all authorities wish to release direct information on empty premises. In that case, could we suggest that you provide only a list of occupied properties which we would then reconcile against the master list of properties from the Valuations Office Agency (VOA). VOA data are available via their website, and the complete database by subscription. Empty premises will be known to residents of the community in which they are based.That means that anyone not resident in your community and wanting to find the list of empty properties would have to undertake the costs and technicalities of a similar data reconciliation.

I would ask that you consider that the public interest in economic development and improving opportunities for independent businesses and entrepreneurs far outweighs any concern that the release of data which can identify empty business properties may cause crime.

Unemployment and economic deprivation are often key to reducing the potential for crime. Our intention is to support local economic development initiatives through the use of these data.

I ask that you reconsider your decision and make this data available to us under terms which permit our use thereof.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/c...

Yours faithfully,

Gavin Chait

Freedom Of Information, Wandsworth Borough Council

Dear Mr Chait

We confirm receipt of your email and that this will be treated as an
internal review.

 

Yours sincerely

Sue Murray

Corporate Support & Information Officer

[1][Wandsworth Council request email]

 

 

show quoted sections

Freedom Of Information, Wandsworth Borough Council

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Chait,

Please find attached a letter from the Chief Executive in response to your
request for an internal review.

 

Yours sincerely

 

Sue Murray

Corporate Support & Information Officer

8 [1][Wandsworth Council request email]

(    020 8871 8119

 

 

[2]Wandsworth Foster Carers

IMPORTANT:
Confidentiality: This email and its attachments are intended for the above
named only and may be confidential. If they have come to you in error you
must take no action based on them, nor must you copy or show them to
anyone. Please reply to this email and highlight the error.

Please visit the Council's website at: [3]www.wandsworth.gov.uk

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[Wandsworth Council request email]
2. http://www.wandsworth.gov.uk/fostering
3. http://www.wandsworth.gov.uk/