Our Ref: 9282  

Dear Enquirer,

INFORMATION REQUEST

Thank you for your request for information which will be dealt with under
the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

In some circumstances a fee may be payable and if that is the case, we
will let you know the likely charges before proceeding.

If you have any queries about this matter please contact us. Please
remember to quote the reference number above in any future communications.

Please note, that due to the recent outbreak of Covid-19, there may be a
delay in responding to your request. We appreciate your patience at this
busy period.

Kind regards

Information Governance Office
Northumberland County Council
County Hall
Morpeth
Northumberland
NE61 2EF

Tel: 0345 600 6400
Email: [Northumberland County Council request email]
Web: http://www.northumberland.gov.uk

Our Ref: 9282

Date: 19 May 2021

Dear Enquirer,

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT REQUEST

I refer to your Freedom of Information request in relation to the
information that the council was required to submit under The Non-Domestic
Rating (Compilation and Alteration of Lists) (England) Regulations 2020.

Right of Access

Section 1(1) of the Act provides any person making a request for
information to a public authority is entitled.

(a) to be informed in writing by the public authority whether it holds
information of the description specified in the request (which Section
1(6) of the Act designates as the "duty to confirm or deny"), and

(b) if that is the case, to have that information communicated to him.

The right is to obtain access to the information itself and not to the
document or record which contains it.

The Act creates a general right of access to information held by public
authorities subject to various exemptions.

Duty to confirm or deny

Northumberland County Council neither confirms nor denies whether we hold
information relating to your request. Any information that we may hold
would be accessible under the right of access under the Data Protection
Act. Our Subject Access Information Pack can be download from our website
(via the Data Protection webpage) which provides details on how to make
such an application.

Exemptions

The Freedom of Information Act sets out various exemptions to the right of
access. In the present case the County Council takes the view that some
information is exempt under section 40, on the basis that it is personal
information. In this case the Authority relies on sections 40(1).

Section 40 - Personal information .

(1) Any information to which a request for information relates is exempt
information if it constitutes personal data of which the applicant is the
data subject.

(2) Any information to which a request for information relates is also
exempt information if- (a) it constitutes personal data which do not fall
within subsection (1), and (b) either the first or the second condition
below is satisfied.

(3) The first condition is- (a) in a case where the information falls
within any of paragraphs (a) to (d) of the definition of "data" in section
1(1) of the Data Protection Act 2018, that the disclosure of the
information to a member of the public otherwise than under this Act would
contravene- (i) any of the data protection principles, or (ii) section 10
of that Act (right to prevent processing likely to cause damage or
distress), and (b) in any other case, that the disclosure of the
information to a member of the public otherwise than under this Act would
contravene any of the data protection principles if the exemptions in
section 33A(1) of the Data Protection Act 2018 (which relate to manual
data held by public authorities) were disregarded.

(4) The second condition is that by virtue of any provision of Part IV of
the Data Protection Act 2018 the information is exempt from section
7(1)(c) of that Act (data subject's right of access to personal data).

(5) The duty to confirm or deny- (a) does not arise in relation to
information which is (or if it were held by the public authority would be)
exempt information by virtue of subsection (1), and (b) does not arise in
relation to other information if or to the extent that either- (i) the
giving to a member of the public of the confirmation or denial that would
have to be given to comply with section 1(1)(a) would (apart from this
Act) contravene any of the data protection principles or section 10 of the
Data Protection Act 2018 or would do so if the exemptions in section
33A(1) of that Act were disregarded, or (ii) by virtue of any provision of
Part IV of the Data Protection Act 2018 the information is exempt from
section 7(1)(a) of that Act (data subject's right to be informed whether
personal data being processed).

(6) In determining for the purposes of this section whether anything done
before 24th October 2007 would contravene any of the data protection
principles, the exemptions in Part III of Schedule 8 to the Data
Protection Act 2018 shall be disregarded.

(7) In this section-

"the data protection principles" means the principles set out in Part I of
Schedule 1 to the Data Protection Act 2018, as read subject to Part II of
that Schedule and section 27(1) of that Act;

"data subject" has the same meaning as in section 1(1) of that Act;

"personal data" has the same meaning as in section 1(1) of that Act.

Advice and Assistance

The County Council recognises its statutory duty to provide advice and
assistance under Section 16 of the Act. Subject to the provisions of the
Freedom of Information Act, the Council is seeking to be transparent and
open in its response.

Notice of Refusal

With the exception of the information disclosed, please treat this letter
as a Notice of Refusal as regards the information covered by the Section
40 Exemption.

Complaints

If you are unhappy with the way your request for information has been
handled, you can request an internal review by writing within 2 months
from the date of this response to the Information Governance Office:

Information Governance Office
Northumberland County Council
County Hall
Morpeth
NE61 2EF

Email: [Northumberland County Council request email]

Information Commissioner

If you remain dissatisfied with the handling of your request, you have a
right by Section 50 of the Act to apply to the Information Commissioner
for a decision as to whether your request has been dealt with in
accordance with the requirements of the Act at:

The Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

Tel: 0303 123 1113
Email: [email address]

There is no charge for making an appeal.

Yours faithfully

FOI Coordinator - Revenues & Benefits
Information Governance Office
Northumberland County Council
County Hall
Morpeth
Northumberland
NE61 2EF

Tel: 0345 600 6400
Email: [Northumberland County Council request email]
Web: http://www.northumberland.gov.uk