Environmental information

The request was partially successful.

Dear Dudley Council,

Please could you confirm if the council holds information relating to an environmental register (or equivalent) which shows formal (or informal) actions undertaken and provide the same.

For example in the case of noise nuisance:

Noise Nuisance Type Nuisance found Resolved informally

Domestic Music Yes Informal - mediation

Please provide details on what information is recorded for the same.

Yours faithfully,

Mr Akhtar

Administrator,

Dear <> Akhtar,

Freedom Of Information Act 2000 - Information Request DMBCIR:9001
Description : Environmental register

I acknowledge your request for information received on 2014-01-30
11:56:00.

Your request is being considered and you will receive the information
requested within the statutory timescale of 20 working days (Freedom of
Information Act 2000/Environmental Information Regulations) or 40 calendar
days (Data Protection access requests).

For your information, the Acts and Regulations define a number of
exemptions which may prevent release of the information you have
requested. There will be an assessment and if any of the exemption
categories apply then the information may not be released. In some
circumstances the decision to release information, or not, will be based
on a public interest test. You will be advised of any considerations,
subsequent decisions and your rights of appeal.

If the information you request contains reference to 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,
including your rights of appeal.

Unless otherwise requested the information may be provided in paper copy,
normal font size. If you require alternative formats, e.g. language,
audio, large print, etc. then please let me know.

There may be a fee payable for this information. This will be considered
and you will be informed if a fee is payable. In this event the fee must
be paid before the information is processed and released. The 20 working
day time limit for responses is suspended until receipt of the payment.

If you have any queries or concerns then please contact the Information
Governance Officer at Dudley MBC, The Council House, Dudley, West
Midlands, DY1 1HF, telephone 01384 818181, e-mail
[Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council request email] .

Please remember to quote the reference number above in any future
communications.

Most of the information that we provide in response to Freedom of
Information/Environmental Information requests will be subject to
copyright protection. In most cases the copyright will be owned by Dudley
MBC. The copyright in other information may be owned by another person or
organisation, as indicated in the information itself. You are free to use
any information supplied for your own use, including for non-commercial
research purposes. The information may also be used for the purposes of
news reporting. However, any other type of re-use, for example, by
publishing the information or issuing copies to the public will require
the permission of the copyright owner.

For information where the copyright is owned by the Council details of the
conditions on re-use can be found on our website at www.dudley.gov.uk.

For information where the copyright is owned by another person or
organisation, you must apply to the copyright owner to obtain their
permission.

Yours sincerely,

The Information Governance Team
Council House
Priory Road
Dudley
West Midlands
DY1 1HF
[Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council request email]

Ajaib Paul, Dudley Council

Dear Mr Akhtar,

 

Environmental Information Regulations 2004 - Information Request 9001

 

I acknowledge your request for information received on 30/01/2014 11:56.

 

Unfortunately I cannot identify the information you have requested from
the details you have provided.  To help me meet your request could you
please advise what you mean by environmental register and be more specific
on what types of data your require.

 

Your request will be processed upon receipt of this information and you
will receive the information requested within the statutory timescale of
20 working days as defined by the Environmental Information Regulations
2004.

 

For your information, these Regulations define a number of exceptions
which may prevent release of the information you have requested.  There
will be an assessment and if any of the exception categories apply then it
cannot be released.  Similarly if the information you request contains
reference to 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 appropriate, the information may be provided in paper copy, normal font
size. If you require alternative formats, e.g. language, audio, large
print, etc. then please let me know.

 

There may a fee payable for this information.  This will be considered and
you will be informed of the fee payable if this is the case.  In this
event the fee must be paid before the information is processed and
released.  The 20 day time limit for responses is put on hold until
receipt of the payment.

 

If you are unhappy with the service you have received in relation to your
request and wish to make a comment or complaint, or request a review of
the decision, you should write to the Environmental Information
Regulations Officer at Dudley MBC, The Council House, Dudley, West
Midlands, DY1 1HF, telephone 01384 818181, e-mail
[Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council request email].  This can also be done online at: 
http://www.dudley.gov.uk/customer-feedback

 

Please remember to quote the reference number above in any future
communications.

 

If you are not content with the outcome of your complaint, you may apply
directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision.  Generally, the
ICO cannot make a decision unless you have exhausted the complaints
procedure provided by Dudley MBC.

 

The Information Commissioner may be contacted at:

 

Information Commissioner's Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow 

Cheshire 

SK9 5AF

Telephone:   01625 545 700

www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk 

 

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Ajaib S. Paul (AJ)

Directorate Support Officer

 

Directorate of the Urban Environment (DUE)

Directorate Services Team

4 Ednam Road, Dudley, DY1 1HL

Tel: 01384 81 4410

                                     

Please consider the environment - do you need to print this e-mail?

 

This Email and any attachments contains confidential information and is
intended solely for the individual to whom it is addressed. If this Email
has been misdirected, please notify the author as soon as possible. If you
are not the intended recipient you must not disclose, distribute, copy,
print or rely on any of the information contained, and all copies must be
deleted immediately. Whilst we take reasonable steps to try to identify
any software viruses, any attachments to this e-mail may nevertheless
contain viruses which our anti- virus software has failed to identify. You
should therefore carry out your own anti-virus checks before opening any
documents. Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council will not accept any
liability for damage caused by computer viruses emanating from any
attachment or other document supplied with this e-mail.

Please consider the environment - do you need to print this e-mail?

Administrator,

Dear <> Akhtar,

Freedom Of Information Act 2000 - Information Request DMBCIR:9001
Description : Environmental register

I acknowledge your request for information received on 2014-01-30
11:56:00.

Your request is being considered and you will receive the information
requested within the statutory timescale of 20 working days (Freedom of
Information Act 2000/Environmental Information Regulations) or 40 calendar
days (Data Protection access requests).

For your information, the Acts and Regulations define a number of
exemptions which may prevent release of the information you have
requested. There will be an assessment and if any of the exemption
categories apply then the information may not be released. In some
circumstances the decision to release information, or not, will be based
on a public interest test. You will be advised of any considerations,
subsequent decisions and your rights of appeal.

If the information you request contains reference to 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,
including your rights of appeal.

Unless otherwise requested the information may be provided in paper copy,
normal font size. If you require alternative formats, e.g. language,
audio, large print, etc. then please let me know.

There may be a fee payable for this information. This will be considered
and you will be informed if a fee is payable. In this event the fee must
be paid before the information is processed and released. The 20 working
day time limit for responses is suspended until receipt of the payment.

If you have any queries or concerns then please contact the Information
Governance Officer at Dudley MBC, The Council House, Dudley, West
Midlands, DY1 1HF, telephone 01384 818181, e-mail
[Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council request email] .

Please remember to quote the reference number above in any future
communications.

Most of the information that we provide in response to Freedom of
Information/Environmental Information requests will be subject to
copyright protection. In most cases the copyright will be owned by Dudley
MBC. The copyright in other information may be owned by another person or
organisation, as indicated in the information itself. You are free to use
any information supplied for your own use, including for non-commercial
research purposes. The information may also be used for the purposes of
news reporting. However, any other type of re-use, for example, by
publishing the information or issuing copies to the public will require
the permission of the copyright owner.

For information where the copyright is owned by the Council details of the
conditions on re-use can be found on our website at www.dudley.gov.uk.

For information where the copyright is owned by another person or
organisation, you must apply to the copyright owner to obtain their
permission.

Yours sincerely,

The Information Governance Team
Council House
Priory Road
Dudley
West Midlands
DY1 1HF
[Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council request email]

Dear Ajaib Paul,

Following on from your recent request for clarification, please provide information on:

1) How the Council formally record instances where they are satisfied that a Statutory Nuisance exists?

2) How the cases where a Statutory Nuisance is found to exist, but the Council resolves the issue informally without the servicing of an Abatement Notice, are formally recorded?

3) If the Council prosecute an individual for breach of an Abatement Notice, and secure a criminal conviction, what other Agencies is this data shared with?

Yours sincerely,

Mr Akhtar

Dear Dudley Council,

I made a freedom of information request and the council subsequently sought clarification on. The clarification detailed below was provided on 4th February 2014.

Since then I have received no communication. The details for the request can be seen at:

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/e...

I would be grateful if you could confirm whether my request is being processed and when the answer may be provided.

Yours faithfully,

Mr Akhtar

From: Mr Akhtar

4 February 2014

Dear Ajaib Paul,

Following on from your recent request for clarification, please provide information on:

1) How the Council formally record instances where they are satisfied that a Statutory Nuisance exists?

2) How the cases where a Statutory Nuisance is found to exist, but the Council resolves the issue informally without the servicing of an Abatement Notice, are formally recorded?

3) If the Council prosecute an individual for breach of an Abatement Notice, and secure a criminal conviction, what other Agencies is this data shared with?

Yours sincerely,

Mr Akhtar

Information Governance, Dudley Council

Dear Mr Akhtar,

I can confirm your request is still being processed and the expiry date
for your request is 4th March.

I can also confirm that a response will need to be issued to you on or
before this date.

Regards

L J Bourne

(Environmental Information Regulations Officer - Dudley MBC)

show quoted sections

Information Governance, Dudley Council

Mr Akhtar
WhatDotheyknow.com

04/03/2014

Dear Mr Akhtar,

Environmental Information Regulations 2004 - Information Request 9001

Your request for information received on 30/01/2014 has now been
considered and the information requested is enclosed.

You requested.

1) How the Council formally record instances where they are satisfied that
a Statutory Nuisance exists?

Directorate of the Urban Environment.
Legal notices including 'statutory nuisance' are recorded on the Councils
M3 Environmental Health computer system.
We serve abatement notices in accordance with the legal duty under the
provisions of the EPA 1990. That is also recorded on our M3 system.

Housing Services.
Legal notices including 'statutory nuisance' are included on the  Councils
'Caseworks Management System'.
We will serve notices in accordance with the legal duty under the
provisions of the EPA 1990.  This is also recorded on 'Caseworks'.

2) How the cases where a Statutory Nuisance is found to exist, but the
Council resolves the issue informally without the servicing of an
Abatement Notice, are formally recorded?

Directorate of the Urban Environment.
The legislation is specific in that Section 80 of the Environmental
Protection Act states "Where a local authority is satisfied that a
statutory nuisance exists, or is likely to occur or recur, the local
authority SHALL serve a notice," (therefore we have no alternative but to
serve notice). However if complaints are received and are investigated
informal action may be taken through discussions before a notice is
served. These will again be recorded as informal action on the M3
Environmental Health computer system.

We legally have 7 days to find an acceptable negotiated resolution with
the person(s) responsible for causing the nuisance, if that resolution is
not forthcoming in that time period an abatement notice will be served;
refer to answer in point 1 above.

Housing Services
In addition, where there are complaints of noise nuisance and it hasn’t
yet been determined whether or not a statutory nuisance exists, we will
work with both the complainant and subject to resolve the issue
informally.  An example is; if the nuisance is the TV or stereo volume is
too loud, we will carry out a 'noise levelling' exercise, which will
involve two officers attending the homes, one in each property, and turn
the equipment on and agree an acceptable level, this will then prevent any
potential statutory nuisance.

3) If the Council prosecute an individual for breach of an Abatement
Notice, and secure a criminal conviction, what other Agencies is this data
shared with?

Where we have prosecuted for breach of an abatement notice, the
prosecution is published in the prosecution register on the Council’s
website as per link below.

[1]http://www.dudley.gov.uk/business/enviro...

We would not inform other agencies unless requested or they were already
involved in the case; for example the police, Children Services, etc.

If you have any queries or concerns then please contact me.

If you are unhappy with the service you have received in relation to your
request and wish to make a comment or complaint, or request a review of
the decision, you should write to the Environmental Information
Regulations Officer at Dudley MBC, The Council House, Dudley, West
Midlands, DY1 1HF, telephone 0300 555 2345, e-mail
[2][Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council request email].  This can also be done online
at:  [3]http://www.dudley.gov.uk/customer-feedback

Please remember to quote the reference number above in any future
communications.

If you are not content with the outcome of your complaint, you may apply
directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision.  Generally, the
ICO cannot make a decision unless you have exhausted the complaints
procedure provided by Dudley MBC.

The Information Commissioner may be contacted at:

Information Commissioner's Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow 

Cheshire 

SK9 5AF

Telephone:   01625 545 700

[4]www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk

Most of the information that we provide in response to Environmental
Information Regulations  2004 requests will be subject to copyright
protection.  In most cases the copyright will be owned by Dudley MBC.  The
copyright in other information may be owned by another person or
organisation, as indicated in the information itself.  You are free to use
any information supplied for your own use, including for non-commercial
research purposes.  The information may also be used for the purposes of
news reporting.  However, any other type of re-use, for example, by
publishing the information or issuing copies to the public will require
the permission of the copyright owner.

For information where the copyright is owned by the Council details of the
conditions on re-use can be found on our website at [5]www.dudley.gov.uk.

For information where the copyright is owned by another person or
organisation, you must apply to the copyright owner to obtain their
permission.

Yours sincerely,

L J Bourne

(Environmental Information Regulations Officer - Dudley MBC)

This Email and any attachments contains confidential information and is
intended solely for the individual to whom it is addressed. If this Email
has been misdirected, please notify the author as soon as possible. If you
are not the intended recipient you must not disclose, distribute, copy,
print or rely on any of the information contained, and all copies must be
deleted immediately. Whilst we take reasonable steps to try to identify
any software viruses, any attachments to this e-mail may nevertheless
contain viruses which our anti- virus software has failed to identify. You
should therefore carry out your own anti-virus checks before opening any
documents. Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council will not accept any
liability for damage caused by computer viruses emanating from any
attachment or other document supplied with this e-mail.

Please consider the environment - do you need to print this e-mail?

References

Visible links
1. http://www.dudley.gov.uk/business/enviro...
2. mailto:[Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council request email]
3. http://www.dudley.gov.uk/customer-feedback
4. http://www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk/
5. http://www.dudley.gov.uk/