Data on statutory overcrowding

The request was partially successful.

To whom it may regard,

I am writing to make an open government request for all the information to which I am entitled under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 - related to council houses that are in breach of statutory overcrowding rules.

This request refers to statutory overcrowding by both the ‘space standard’ (determining how many people may occupy a dwelling with regard to the number of sleeping accommodation rooms in the dwelling and floor area of the rooms) and the ‘room standard’ (determining how many non-cohabiting people aged 10 and over of the opposite sex may share sleeping accommodation) as defined by the Housing Act 1985.

For the calendar years 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020 (separately), please tell me:

1) How many statutory overcrowding breaches did the council record for households housed by the council in each year? Please provide a breakdown of breaches by a) space standard and b) room standard, and specify whether households may be captured as both a room and a space standard breach.
2) The number of breaches of the space standard where more than two people have lived in a home with one room
3) The number of breaches of the space standard where more than three people have lived in a home with two rooms
4) The number of breaches of the space standard where more than five people have lived in a home with three rooms
5) The number of breaches of the space standard where more than 7.5 people have lived in a home with four rooms
6) The number of breaches of the space standard where more than 10 people have lived in a home with five rooms
7) For breaches of the room standard, the maximum number of people sleeping in one room as recorded by the council
8) How many households who have applied for council housing are living in temporary accommodation
9) Please list all the types of temporary accommodation the council has placed households in (including but not limited to: shipping containers, caravans, B&Bs, converted office buildings, and any other kind of accomodation).

Please provide the requested data in a spreadsheet format.

If this request is too wide or unclear, I would be grateful if you could contact me as I understand that under the Act, you are required to advise and assist requesters.

I understand that you are required to respond to my request within the 20 working days after you receive this letter. I would be grateful if you could confirm in writing that you have received this request.

For clarity - I am using a Whatdotheyknow account created by my colleagues Claire Wilde and Harriet Clugston - but my name is Carly Roberts.

Thanks,
Carly Roberts.

freedom, Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council

Classification: Unrestricted

Dear Claire Wilde

 

Thank you for your request for information received on Thursday 8^th July
2021. This has been logged under FO-7848

 

The Council’s policy is to release information unless an exemption can be
reasonably applied. The Council will respond within 20 working days by
either releasing the information or letting you know why it cannot release
the information. If for any reason it is not possible to respond within
the 20 days, we will let you know as soon as possible with the date by
which we anticipate we are able to respond.

 

For your information, the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the
Environmental Information Regulations 2004 define a number of exemptions,
which may prevent release of the information you have requested. There
will be an assessment of your request and if any of the exemption
categories apply then the information may not be released. You will be
informed if this is the case, including your rights of appeal against the
refusal to disclose the information.

 

If the information you request concerns a third party then they may be
consulted prior to a decision being taken on whether or not to release the
information to you. You will be informed if this is the case.

 

If you have any queries or concerns then please contact the Freedom of
Information Team at [1][Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council request email].

 

Further information is also available from the Information Commissioner
at:

 

Information Commissioner’s Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

 

Telephone: 0303 123 1113

 

Website: [2]https://ico.org.uk/

 

Kind Regards,

William Douglas

Information Governance Team

Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council

Email: [3][Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council request email]

 

 

 

 

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References

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1. mailto:[Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council request email]
2. https://ico.org.uk/
3. mailto:[Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council request email]

freedom, Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council

1 Attachment

Classification: Unrestricted

Dear Claire Wilde

 

Freedom of Information Request (ref: 7848)

 

I am now writing in response to your request for information on social
housing overcrowding to Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council (WHBC) dated:

 

Please see our answers below in red.

 

 1. How many statutory overcrowding breaches did the council record for
households housed by the council in each year? Please provide a
breakdown of breaches by a) space standard and b) room standard, and
specify whether households may be captured as both a room and a space
standard breach.

The information requested is not available for the whole period requested
as it has not always been recorded. However, since the information has
been recorded, the earliest case of a council tenant recorded as statutory
overcrowded is June 2020.

 

There have been 4 cases of statutory overcrowding recorded. Due to the low
sample size we have not provided a spreadsheet.

 

 

 2. The number of breaches of the space standard where more than two
people have lived in a home with one room.

There have been no cases of statutory overcrowding recorded with this
definition.

 

 

 3. The number of breaches of the space standard where more than three
people have lived in a home with two rooms.

There has been 1 case of statutory overcrowding record with this
definition.

 

 

 4. The number of breaches of the space standard where more than five
people have lived in a home with three rooms.

There have been 2 cases of statutory overcrowding with this
definition.

 

 

 5. The number of breaches of the space standard where more than 7.5
people have lived in a home with four rooms.

There has been 1 case of statutory overcrowding with this definition.

 

 

 6. The number of breaches of the space standard where more than 10 people
have lived in a home with five rooms.

There have been no cases of statutory overcrowding recorded with this
definition.

 7. For breaches of the room standard, the maximum number of people
sleeping in one room as recorded by the council.

There have been no cases of statutory overcrowding recorded with this
definition.

 

 

 8. How many households who have applied for council housing are living in
temporary accommodation.

 

The request comes under two separate legislation and therefore the
applications for council housing would not be measurable with those
accommodated under homelessness legislation.

 

There may be a manual process which we could use to retrieve this data but
we have calculated that this would exceed the appropriate limits set out
in Section 12 of the Freedom and Information Act and in guidance.

 

 

 9. Please list all the types of temporary accommodation the council has
placed households in (including but not limited to: shipping
containers, caravans, B&Bs, converted office buildings, and any other
kind of accommodation).

The accommodation the council has proved includes Hotels, B&Bs, Guest
Houses, bedsits, flats, houses, HMOs, hostels, Converted office
buildings.

 

 

I hope this response is helpful, and satisfies your request, but if you
have any queries or concerns then please contact us at
[1][Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council request email]

 

I have attached a copy of the Freedom of Information complaint procedure.

 

Further information is also available from the Information Commissioner
at:

 

Information Commissioner's Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire SK9 5AF

Telephone: 0303 123 1113

[2]www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk

 

Kind Regards,

 

Kyle Houston
Information Governance
Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council
Email: [3][Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council request email]

Please consider the environment before printing this email.
You can report missed bins, abandoned vehicles, fly-tipping, litter,
graffiti and flyposting as well as tell us about problems with litter and
dog bins Online. The information in this email is intended for the named
recipients only. It may be subject to public disclosure under the Freedom
of Information Act 2000. Unless the information is legally exempt from
disclosure, the confidentiality of this email and your reply cannot be
guaranteed. This email and any attachments may contain confidential
information and intellectual property (including copyright material). It
is only for the use of the addressee(s) in accordance with any
instructions contained within it. Please treat any personal and
sensitivity data that may be contained within this email in accordance
with the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and
the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA). Such data should only be processed and
retained where there is a legitimate need to do so. Should you have a
legitimate need to share this information please make the recipient aware
of their responsibilities for handling this data in accordance with the
GDPR and DPA. If you are not the addressee, you are prohibited from
copying, forwarding, disclosing, saving or otherwise using it in any way.
If you receive this email in error, please immediately advise the sender
and delete it. Our IT supplier Sopra Steria may monitor the content of
emails within Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council's network to ensure
compliance with the Council's policies and procedures. Emails are
susceptible to alteration and their integrity (including origin) cannot be
assured. Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council and Sopra Steria shall not be
liable for any modification to a message, or for messages falsely sent.

The full Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council email disclaimer can be viewed at
http://www.welhat.gov.uk/emaildisclaimer.

Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council is committed to protecting your privacy
when you use our services. The Privacy Notice below explains how we use
information about you and how we protect your privacy.
http://www.welhat.gov.uk/privacy-notice

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council request email]
2. http://www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk/
3. mailto:[Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council request email]