Fire and Rescue Sizewell Major Incident Plans

The request was partially successful.

Dear Suffolk County Council,

I am writing to request the major incident plan(s) held by Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service with relation to the Sizewell power station (A and B).

I am also requesting any other information held by Suffolk Fire and Rescue with regard to the Sizewell plants and possible related accidents either nuclear or non-nuclear.

These plans are referred to in the Sizewell Offsite Plan.

Yours faithfully,

James Dovecott

Information Management Services, Suffolk County Council

 
Dear Mr. Dovecott
 
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000 – ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
 
Thank you for your request received on27 February 2013 requesting
information about Fire and Rescue Sizewell Major Incident Plans
 
Your request is being dealt with under the terms of the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 and will be answered within 20 working days. 
 
While no charges are made for the submission of requests, the council is
entitled to apply reasonable costs for disbursements (i.e. photocopying,
postage etc).  Where such costs are under £5.00 the council is pleased to
make no charge, however, if costs exceed that limit then these additional
costs are payable to the council.  Where charges will apply proper notice
will be given to you prior to the information being released.  For more
information on charges please use the following link to our website:
[1]http://www.suffolk.gov.uk/about/contact-...
 
 
If you have any queries about this request do not hesitate to contact us. 
Please remember to quote the reference number above in any future
communications.
 
Yours sincerely,
 
Information Management Services
Corporate Information and Records Management
Information and Data Management
Suffolk County Council
Endeavour House
Russell Road
Ipswich
IP1 2BX
 
Tel:    01473 264620
Fax:    01473 216843
Email:  [2][email address]
Web:    [3]www.suffolk.gov.uk
 
 

Emails sent to and from this organisation will be monitored in accordance
with the law to ensure compliance with policies and to minimise any
security risks.
The information contained in this email or any of its attachments may
be privileged or confidential and is intended for the exclusive use of
the addressee. Any unauthorised use may be unlawful. If you receive
this email by mistake, please advise the sender immediately by using
the reply facility in your email software.

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Information Management Services, Suffolk County Council

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Dear Mr. Dovecott
 
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000 – PARTIAL RELEASE
 
Thank you for your request received on 27 February 2013 requesting
information about Fire and Rescue Sizewell Major Incident Plans.  We have
now completed searching for the information you requested.
 
Please find enclosed a copy of the information which can be disclosed.
 
The remainder of the information that you requested is exempt under
section 39(1)(a) of the Freedom of Information Act and is therefore
withheld. 
 
Full details of this exemption are contained within the attached response
document.
 
Of necessity this response has to include reference to legislation. If
anything is unclear please do not hesitate to contact us.
 
Most information supplied by Suffolk County Council will have been
produced within the Council and will continue to be protected by
copyright.  You are free to use it for your own purposes, including for
private study and non-commercial research, and for any other purpose
authorised by an exception in current copyright law.  Documents (except
photographs) can be also used in the UK without requiring permission for
the purposes of news reporting.  Any other reuse, for example commercial
publication, would require the permission of the copyright holder.
 
If the information you have been sent includes a copyright statement, you
must not alter or remove this statement.  For information about re-using
copyright see the Office of Public Sector Information website at
[1]www.opsi.gov.uk.  The copyright in some documents may rest with a third
party.  For information about obtaining permission from a third party see
the Intellectual Property Office’s website at [2]www.ipo.gov.uk.
 
If you are dissatisfied with the handling of your request, you have the
right to ask for an internal review.  Internal review requests should be
submitted within two months of the date of receipt of the response to your
original letter and should be addressed to: Head of Corporate Information
and Records Management, Endeavour House, 8 Russell Road, Ipswich, Suffolk,
IP1 2BX or, alternatively, by email for the attention of the Head of
Corporate Information and Records Management at [3][email address].
 
Please remember to quote the reference number above in any future
Communications.
 
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.
 
Yours faithfully,
 
Information Management Services
Corporate Information and Records Management
Information and Data Management
Suffolk County Council
Endeavour House
Russell Road
Ipswich
IP1 2BX
Tel: 01473 264620
Fax: 01473 216843
Email: [4][email address]
Web: [5]www.suffolk.gov.uk
 
 

Emails sent to and from this organisation will be monitored in accordance
with the law to ensure compliance with policies and to minimise any
security risks.
The information contained in this email or any of its attachments may
be privileged or confidential and is intended for the exclusive use of
the addressee. Any unauthorised use may be unlawful. If you receive
this email by mistake, please advise the sender immediately by using
the reply facility in your email software.

References

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4. mailto:[email%20address]
5. http://www.suffolk.gov.uk/

Dear Suffolk County Council,

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

I am writing to request an internal review of Suffolk County Council's handling of my FOI request 'Fire and Rescue Sizewell Major Incident Plans'.

Although I am pleased that some of the information has been released I am requesting a review on the following points:

1. The over-zealous redactions. For example in one document even the titles of sections which are listed plainly in the contents have themselves even been redacted.

In the A report most of the "action card" information is available however in the B report all the action cards are redacted in their entirety. I cannot see that some (if not most) of the information in these actions cannot be released as with A.

As I cannot see what has been redacted I can only ask you to review all the redactions with mind to only the specific exemptions you have chosen. Another example would be I'm sure that some of the redacted points are in reference to specific locations or places however entire paragraphs, not just a location or other detail, have been redacted. The emphasis is on you to redact as little as required so a paragraph covering the role of a post or position should only have what you view (and I may disagree with) as sensitive e.g. a specific location redacted from it.

2. I asked in my original request, in addition to the two off-site plans you have provided, for all other information you hold regarding incidents both nuclear and non-nuclear in nature at Sizewell A and B. I regret that you have only considered and released the off-site plans. I am sure that Suffolk Fire and Rescue hold many other pieces of information which reference or are related to Sizewell. This would no doubt include any non-nuclear action plans, correspondence between yourselves and the Sizewell operators (and other stakeholders), copies of the officially-required Sizewell on-site plans and many other documents.

So; please review your over-zealous redaction of both the off-site plans and comply with the other aspects of my original request.

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

Yours faithfully,

James Dovecott

Postmaster,

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Information Management Services, Suffolk County Council

Dear Mr. Dovecott
 
We are sorry that you are unhappy with the response to your access to
information request 5452.
 
Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOI) and Environmental
Information Regulations 2004 (EIR) we will conduct an internal review of
our response.
 
Internal reviews are conducted by the Information and Data Controller and
we aim to complete them within 20 working days. 
 
Kind regards
 
Information Management Services
Corporate Information and Records Management
Information and Data Management
Suffolk County Council
Endeavour House
Russell Road
Ipswich
IP1 2BX
Tel: 01473 264618
Fax: 01473 216824
Email: [1][email address]
Web: [2]www.suffolk.gov.uk

Emails sent to and from this organisation will be monitored in accordance
with the law to ensure compliance with policies and to minimise any
security risks.
The information contained in this email or any of its attachments may
be privileged or confidential and is intended for the exclusive use of
the addressee. Any unauthorised use may be unlawful. If you receive
this email by mistake, please advise the sender immediately by using
the reply facility in your email software.

References

Visible links
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2. http://www.suffolk.gov.uk/

Information Management Services, Suffolk County Council

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Dear Mr. Dovecott

 

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000 – INTERNAL REVIEW DECISION

 

Thank you for your email received on 2 April 2013 where you requested an
internal review following your request for information 5452.

 

Request

“I am writing to request the major incident plan(s) held by Suffolk Fire
and Rescue Service with relation to the Sizewell power station (A and B).
I am also requesting any other information held by Suffolk Fire and Rescue
with regard to the Sizewell plants and possible related accidents either
nuclear or non-nuclear. These plans are referred to in the Sizewell
Offsite Plan.”

 

In requesting an internal review you also expressed the following
comments:

“Although I am pleased that some of the information has been released I am
requesting a review on the following points:

 

1. The over-zealous redactions. For example in one document even the
titles of sections which are listed plainly in the contents have
themselves even been redacted.

 

In the A report most of the "action card" information is available however
in the B report all the action cards are redacted in their entirety. I
cannot see that some (if not most) of the information in these actions
cannot be released as with A.

 

As I cannot see what has been redacted I can only ask you to review all
the redactions with mind to only the specific exemptions you have chosen.
Another example would be I'm sure that some of the redacted points are in
reference to specific locations or places however entire paragraphs, not
just a location or other detail,have been redacted. The emphasis is on you
to redact as little as required so a paragraph covering the role of a post
or position should only have what you view (and I may disagree with) as
sensitive e.g. a specific location redacted from it.

 

2. I asked in my original request, in addition to the two off-site plans
you have provided, for all other information you hold regarding incidents
both nuclear and non-nuclear in nature at Sizewell A and B. I regret that
you have only considered and released the off-site plans. I am sure that
Suffolk Fire and Rescue hold many other pieces of information which
reference or are related to Sizewell. This would no doubt include any
non-nuclear action plans, correspondence between yourselves and the
Sizewell operators (and other stakeholders), copies of the
officially-required Sizewell on-site plans and many other documents.”

 

 

Internal Review Decision

Taking into consideration your comments I have conducted an internal
review and decided to uphold the decision for the following reasons:

 

With reference to comment 1

The information that you requested is exempt under section 38(1)(a) of the
Freedom of Information Act and is therefore withheld.

 

Section 38(1)(a) – Health and Safety

All information removed from the reports is exempt under Section 38(1)(a).
Section 38(1)(a) provides an exemption from disclosing information if such
disclosure would endanger any individual (including the applicant, the
supplier of the information or anyone else).  In particular the section
provides that information is exempt if its disclosure under the Act would,
or would be likely to:

•      endanger the physical or mental health of any individual, or

•      endanger the safety of any individual.

 

Section 38(1)(a) – Public Interest Test (PIT) factors considered:

For:

•         Furthering the understanding and participation in the public
debate of issues of the day.

•         Allowing individuals, companies and other bodies to understand
decisions made by public authorities affecting their lives.

•         Bringing to light information affecting public health and
safety.

 

Against:

•         Publicising these locations will increase the risk of disruption
rendering predetermined response arrangements unusable and therefore
compromise the health and safety of responders in the course of carrying
out their duties.

•         The contact details for responders - details are fundamental to
the effectiveness of the SFRS response and unobstructed access is required
in the early stage of a response.

•         Publicising these details will increase the risk of disruption
which may render predetermined response arrangements unusable and
therefore compromise the health and safety of responders in the course of
carrying out their duties.

•         Growing anti-nuclear movement within Suffolk.

•         History of public protest at the Sizewell site.

•         Interference with these routes could result of less effective
containment of an emergency situation.

•         The welfare of responding staff.

 

The Council has determined that releasing this information increases the
risk of disruption rendering predetermined response arrangements unusable
and therefore compromise the health and safety of responders in the course
of carrying out their duties.

 

 

With reference to comment 2

The original request asked “I am also requesting any other information
held by Suffolk Fire and Rescue with regard to the Sizewell plants and
possible related accidents either nuclear or non-nuclear. These plans are
referred to in the Sizewell Offsite Plan.”

 

I can confirm that we do not hold any further information, in addition to
what was originally supplied, in reference to this question. This is in
line with the Freedom of Information Act 2000, which covers recorded
information held by a public authority.

 

 

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.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Duncan

Information Management Services

Suffolk County Council

Endeavour House

Russell Road

Ipswich

IP1 2BX

 

Tel:      01473 264620

Fax:     01473 216824

Email: [3][email address]

Web:   [4]www.suffolk.gov.uk

Emails sent to and from this organisation will be monitored in accordance
with the law to ensure compliance with policies and to minimise any
security risks.
The information contained in this email or any of its attachments may
be privileged or confidential and is intended for the exclusive use of
the addressee. Any unauthorised use may be unlawful. If you receive
this email by mistake, please advise the sender immediately by using
the reply facility in your email software.

References

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