Complete Non-Residential / Business Property Rates Data (Q4 2017)

The request was successful.

Dear Torfaen 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 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 Reference Code (linking the property to the VOA database reference)
- 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)

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.

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 last requested this data three months ago, and this is a request for an updated and current dataset.

I'm sure you get many requests for business rates and responding and managing these FOIs must be costly for you. Could I request that - as more than 53% of local authorities already do - you update and release this dataset via a dedicated page on your local authority website or on an open data service. I can recommend approaches for you to consider, and you should find that this reduces the time and cost of this request process.

Yours faithfully,

Gavin Chait

Call Torfaen, Torfaen County Borough Council

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The
Council welcomes correspondence in Welsh and English. Correspondence
received in Welsh will be answered in Welsh and will not lead to any
delay.
**********************************************************************
Mae’r Cyngor yn croesawu gohebiaeth yn Gymraeg a Saesneg. Cewch ateb
Cymraeg i bob gohebiaeth yn Gymraeg ac ni fydd yn arwain i unrhyw oedi.'

References

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1. http://www.torfaen.gov.uk/

Seabourne Rosie, Torfaen County Borough Council

2 Attachments

Dear Gavin Chait

 

17/747: FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST

 

Thank you for your email dated 09/10/2017 requesting information under the
Freedom of Information Act 2000. I have logged your email and will deal
with your request in order that we can respond to you within the statutory
deadline of 20 working days.

 

I will contact you further as soon as the relevant information is
available.

 

Yours sincerely

 

 

Rosie Seabourne BSc (Hons) Soc. Sciences

SENIOR BUSINESS SUPPORT OFFICER COMPLAINTS/FOI/ UWCH SWYDDOG CYMORTH
BUSNES CWYNION / RHYDDID GWYBODAETH

CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S SERVICE / GWASANAETH Y PRIF WEITHREDWR

TORFAEN COUNTY BOROUGH COUNCIL / CYNGOR BWRDEISTREF SIROL TORFAEN

Email / Ebost: [1][email address]

Phone/Ffon: 01633 647625

Fax/Facs: 01495 766331

[2]www.torfaen.gov.uk / [3]cid:image001.gif@01D25ADB.C2748700[4]Follow us
on Twitter / [5]cid:image002.gif@01D25ADB.C2748700[6]Find us on Facebook

This email is available in large print or Welsh upon request

 

'

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The
Council welcomes correspondence in Welsh and English. Correspondence
received in Welsh will be answered in Welsh and will not lead to any
delay.
**********************************************************************
Mae’r Cyngor yn croesawu gohebiaeth yn Gymraeg a Saesneg. Cewch ateb
Cymraeg i bob gohebiaeth yn Gymraeg ac ni fydd yn arwain i unrhyw oedi.'

References

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2. http://www.torfaen.gov.uk/
3. http://www.twitter.com/torfaencouncil/
4. Follow Torfaen Council on Twitter
http://www.twitter.com/torfaencouncil/
6. Torfaen Council Facebook Page
http://www.facebook.com/torfaen

FOI, Torfaen County Borough Council

1 Attachment

Link: [1]File-List

Dear Mr Chait

 

Thank you for your email dated 9th October 2017 requesting information
under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. I am now in a position to
respond to your questions.

 

You requested the following:-

 

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 Reference Code (linking the property to the VOA
database reference)

- 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)

 

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.

 

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.

 

Please find the information requested in the attached spreadsheet. I can
confirm that we do hold the business name however some of these are names
of individuals and are being withheld on the basis of the exemptions in
Sec. 40(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 in that disclosure of
the information would be likely to contravene the principles of the Data
Protection Act as it would be likely to reveal the identity of the
individuals.

 

The relevant principle is the first principle which states that:

 

“Personal data shall be processed fairly and lawfully and in particular
shall not be processed unless:

(a) at least one of the conditions in Schedule 2 is met, and

(b) In the case of sensitive personal data, at least one of the conditions
in Schedule 3 is met.”

The relevant condition in Schedule 2 is condition 6 which states that:

“the processing is necessary for the purposes of legitimate interests
pursued by the Data Controller or by the third party or parties to whom
the data are disclosed, except where the processing is unwarranted in any
particular case by reason of prejudice to the rights or freedoms or
legitimate interest of the data subject.”

Following the tribunal decision in Corporate Officer of the House of
Commons V Information Commissioner and Leapman Brooke and Thomas the
Information Commissioner has recommended that public authorities approach
Condition 6 as a three part test which has been applied as follows:

1. There must be legitimate interest in the public obtaining the
information. There is an interest in public awareness and confidence that
the Council is acting properly.

2 The second test is knowing whether the disclosure is necessary for the
legitimate public interest.

If the information was to be disclosed it is likely that the identity of
the individuals would be known and there isn’t a legitimate interest in
the public obtaining personal information about certain individuals.

3 The third test is whether the disclosure is nevertheless unwarranted
because of an excessive or disproportionate adverse effect on the
legitimate interests of the individuals concerned.

The individuals concerned would not expect the information to be released
to the public and disclosure would not be justified by a wider public
interest.

 

Information supplied in response to any Freedom of Information Act request
may be subject to copyright. A single copy of information supplied under
the Freedom of Information Act may only be used for personal,
non-commercial research or study, unless stated otherwise. It must not be
passed to others, copied or re-published in whole or in part without
permission from the copyright holder. Any copyright statement that forms
part of or in any way refers to the information provided must not be
altered or removed.

 

If you have any queries about this letter or are unhappy about the service
you have received in relation to your request and wish to make a complaint
or request a review, please do not hesitate to contact me in writing.

 

If you are not content with the outcome of your complaint, you may apply
directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision. Generally, the
Information Commissioner’s Office (Wales) cannot make a decision unless
you have exhausted the complaints procedure provided by this Council. The
Information Commissioner can be contacted at: The Information
Commissioner’s Office (Wales), 2nd Floor, Churchill House, Churchill Way,
Cardiff, CF10 2HH. Telephone 029 2067 8400 or Fax 029 2067 8399 or e-mail
[email address].

 

This email is available in large print, Braille or Welsh. Please contact
us for further details or if we can help in any way.

 

Yours sincerely

 

 

Lisa Coles

Senior Business Support Officer (Complaints/FOI) / Uwch Swyddog Cymorth
Busnes (Cwynion/Rhyddid Gwybodaeth)

Chief Executive’s Service / Gwasanaeth Y Prif Weithredwr

Torfaen County Borough Council / Cyngor Bwrdeistref Sirol Torfaen

Phone/Ffôn: 01495 761615/ Fax/Ffacs: 01495 766331

Email/E-Bost: [email address]

This email is available in large print, Braille or Welsh upon request

www.torfaen.gov.uk / Follow us on Twitter / Find us on Facebook

 

Torfaen Mayor’s Charities / Elusennau Maer Torfaen 2017/18

 

 

 

 

 

 

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