Complete Non-Residential / Business Property Rates Data (Q2 2020)
Gavin Chait made this Freedom of Information request to Warwick District Council as part of a batch sent to 184 authorities
Dear Warwick District Council,
In terms of the Freedom of Information Act of 2000, and subject to section 40(2) on personal data, could you please provide me with your local authority’s complete and most-recently updated list of all business (non-residential) property rates data, including the following fields:
- Billing Authority Property Reference Code (linking the property to the public VOA database reference)
- Firm's Trading Name (i.e. property occupant or ratepayer)
- Full Property Address (Number, Street, Postal Code, Town)
- Occupation / Vacancy status
- Date of Occupation / Vacancy
- Actual annual rates charged (in Pounds) and/or categories of reliefs/exemptions granted
If you are unable to provide an absolute “Occupation / Vacancy” status, please provide the Exemptions and / or Reliefs that a particular property may be receiving.
NOTE: While FOIs are meant to be requestor blind, these data are actively used by national government and UK universities to inform the economic response to COVID-19. Commercial ratepayer data are always of public interest but, in the midst of a global pandemic and its consequent devastating economic fallout, these data are vital to track business behaviour and guide government and enterprise adaptation to the social impact of COVID-19. Please publish quickly so that organisations trying to support your local authority can do so, and, if you have any difficulties, please contact me so that I may help.
Please provide these data as machine-readable as either a CSV or Microsoft Excel file, capable of re-use, and under terms of the Open Government Licence (reuse for any and all purposes, including commercial).
I last requested these data three months ago, and this is a request for your latest updated dataset.
Yours faithfully,
Gavin Chait
Dear Gavin Chait
Thank you for your request for information which I acknowledge was received by the District Council on 9 July 2020.
Your request is currently being considered. If the District Council is able to provide you with the information you have requested, then under the Freedom of Information Act you are entitled to receive it within 20 working days. However, at present, Warwick District Council’s priority is responding to coronavirus and supporting local communities across Warwick district, providing the help and services needed during this difficult time, therefore the response to your request may take longer, but it will be sent to you in due course.
For your information, the FOI Act defines a number of exemptions which may prevent release of some or all of the information you have requested. The District Council will assess your information request in light of the exemptions. If exemptions do apply, then the District Council may decide not to release all, or part, of the information you have requested. You will be informed if this is the case.
If the information you request contains reference to a third party then they may be consulted prior to a decision being taken by the District Council as to whether to release the information to you. You will be kept informed if this is the case.
The District Council will not charge a fee to provide you with the information you have requested, provided the cost of dealing with your request is less than £450. If it appears likely that your request will cost more than £450 to deal with then I will write to you again asking if you are willing to pay the fees incurred, and setting out clearly what those fees will be, in accordance with the FOI Act.
If you have any queries or should you wish to make a complaint about the manner in which your request is being dealt with then please do not hesitate to contact me at the above address in the first instance. Any complaints will be dealt with under the Council’s corporate complaints procedure.
Further information about your rights under the Freedom of Information Act, is available from the Information Commissioner’s Office (0303 123 1113) or on their website www.ico.org.uk, and on the District Council’s website.
Yours sincerely
Julia Wyncoll
Corporate Support Assistant
Chief Executive’s Office
Corporate Support Team
Warwick District Council
Riverside House
Milverton Hill
Royal Leamington Spa
CV32 5HZ
Good Afternoon
In respect of your FOI request detailed below, I have been advised by my Information Governance Manager to confirm that we are unable to provide all of this information based on the recent case law Westminster v Chait in October 2019. This information that hasn’t been disclosed under section 31a exemption of the FOI act.
I have however attached a spreadsheet with all the data we are able to disclose and this is upto date as of 10th July 2020.
Warwick District Council now considers that it has complied with your request. However, you have a right to appeal if you are dissatisfied with our response. Requests for an internal review must be made in writing, and within 40 calendar days of this response being issued to you. When requesting an internal review, please include your reference number, the date of your original request and your contact details. Please also include an explanation of why you are dissatisfied with our response. Requests for an internal review should be sent to:
Information Governance
Warwick District Council
Riverside House
Milverton Hill
Leamington Spa
CV32 5RU
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:
The Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF.
Phone: 0303 123 1113 Website: https://Ico.org.uk
Kind Regards
Caroline Walton
Revenues & Recovery Manager
Revenues | Finance
We work to defend the right to FOI for everyone
Help us protect your right to hold public authorities to account. Donate and support our work.
Donate Now