Our Ref: 2550  

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 / Environmental
Information Regulations 2004.

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.

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: 2550   

Dear Enquirer,

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT REQUEST

I refer to your Freedom of Information request in relation to the
operating agreement between the Council and the Hexham Business
Improvement District Ltd.
 
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.

Northumberland County Council confirms that it holds the information you
have requested, please see the following information in response.

Information Held

All of the information requested is available to view online, links to the
relevant webpages have been provided below for your ease of access:

● The Operating Agreement between Hexham BID Company Ltd and
Northumberland
County Council is available at [1]http://hexhambid.co.uk/key-documents/
● Minutes of County Council meetings with regard to Hexham Business
Improvement
District are available at:
[2]http://www.northumberland.gov.uk/Council...
○ Policy Board Minutes 10th June 2014
[3]http://committeedocs.northumberland.gov....
○ Economic Prosperity & Strategic Services Overview And Scrutiny
Committee
Minutes 24th June 2014
[4]http://committeedocs.northumberland.gov....
○ Area Committee West Minutes 14th July 2015
[5]http://committeedocs.northumberland.gov....
● Business rates information is available online. The NDR Full Listing can
be found at
[6]https://data.gov.uk/dataset/national-non...
.
The table overleaf provides a list giving a breakdown of NCC properties
and levy
costs (for the financial year 2017/18).
○ The County Council had a total of 24 heriditaments eligible to
vote in the
Hexham BID Ballot at the time of the vote in January 2016
○ 22 heriditaments are subject to the Hexham BID levy as of the
date of 05.06.2017

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:

FOI / EIR Complaints
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: 01625 545 745
Email: [email address]

There is no charge for making an appeal.

Yours sincerely

FOI Coordinator -
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

References

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Dear Mr Robbie,
Your query has been forwarded to the area which dealt with 2550, they will
contact you directly.
Regards,

Information Governance Office

(t) 0345 600 6400

(e) [1][email address]

show quoted sections

Dear Mr Robbie,
We have forwarded your request to the area which dealt with 2550, they
will contact you directly.
Regards,

Information Governance Office

(t) 0345 600 6400

(e) [1][email address]

show quoted sections

Our Ref: 2550   

Dear Enquirer,

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT REQUEST
I refer to your Freedom of Information request in relation to the
 operating agreement between the Council and the Hexham BID Company (our
ref 2550). 

1. In response to your additional query your original FOI dated 16th May
2017 requested ‘how many pay the levy’. 
a. Our response provides a list of the properties owned or leased for
which NCC pays the levy and how much we pay. 
b. The new Bus Station became part of the rating list after the ballot
took place and was not eligible for a vote in the BID ballot. The new bus
station is therefore included on the list as it has now become subject to
the BID levy as with any other NCC owned or leased property within the
Hexham BID area as defined by the Hexham BID Business Plan. 

2. Please find enclosed a copy of the Hexham BID operating agreement
subject to the redaction of personal signatures which the Council has
concluded are exempt from disclosure under section 40 of the FOIA.

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(2) and
(3a).
 
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 1998, 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 1998 (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 1998 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 1998 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 1998
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 1998 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 1998, 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.

The term “personal data” is defined in the Data Protection Act as amended
by the Freedom of Information Act 2000, which states:
“’Personal data’ means data which relates to a living individual who can
be identified –
(a) From those data, or
(b) Form those data and any other information which is in the
possession of, or likely to come into the possession of the data
controller; and includes any expression of opinion about the individual
and any indication of the intentions of the data controller or any person
in respect of the individual;”
To determine whether or not it may disclose personal data under the FOIA,
Northumberland County Council must look to the provisions of the Data
Protection Act 1998, which include the first to fifth data protection
principles.
If the personal data is about someone other than the applicant, there is
an exemption if disclosure would breach any of the data protection
principles set out in Schedule 1 of the Data Protection Act 1998.
Where disclosure by a public authority of the personal data sought would
contravene the first data Protection Principle, it is absolutely exempt
from disclosure.
The first data protection principle states:
“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 also met
The first data protection principle is designed to ensure that any
disclosure of personal information is fair and lawful. Disclosure under
the FOIA is considered as disclosure to the public at large. It is
therefore necessary to balance the public interest in disclosure against
the interests of the individual whose data it is.
As to the concept of fairness, the Council is required to consider the
reasonable expectations of the individual when they provided personal data
to the Council. The personal data which is held includes the personal
signatures of Council Officers and signatories on behalf of Hexham Bid
Limited. The County Council has considered this matter fully and has
considered it would be unfair to disclose the signatures into the public
domain; and moreover, the County Council is firmly of the view there is no
legitimate public interest in the disclosure of this information.

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:

 FOI / EIR Complaints
 Information Governance Office
 Northumberland County Council
 County Hall
 Morpeth
 NE61 2EF

[1][email address]
 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: 01625 545 745
 
 There is no charge for making an appeal.

 Yours sincerely

FOI Coordinator - Planning and Economy
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

References

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Dear Mr Robbie,
We acknowledge receipt of your email below which we have forwarded to the
area which dealt with foi 2550.  They will contact you directly.
Regards,

Information Governance Office

(t) 0345 600 6400

(e) [1][email address]

show quoted sections

Our Ref: 2550   

Dear Enquirer,

INTERNAL REVIEW OF FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST 

Thank you for your request for an internal review received 02 August 2017
into the response to your Freedom of Information request received on 17
May 2017.

A Senior Officer independent of the original response will review all
correspondence and will write to you with our final response by 31 August
2017.

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: 2550
INTERNAL REVIEW OF FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST
Dear Mr Robbie,
I have been asked by the Authority to conduct the above review in my
capacity as a Consultant in Public Health, which is a senior management
position within the Public Health department, who has not previously been
involved in the matter at hand.
Under the Section 45 Code of Practice I am informing you of the outcome of
your complaint, in accordance with the Council’s obligations under
paragraphs 43-46 of the code.
Having examined the documentation provided to me by the Northumberland
County Council (NCC) Officer responsible for Freedom of Information (FoI)
issues, I can confirm that I have considered your request for a review.
I have addressed your concerns and will summarise the results as follows.
In undertaking this internal review, I have reviewed email correspondence
which includes:

* Your initial FoI request dated 16th May 2017.
* The response from NCC dated 13th June 2017.
* Your further queries in emails dated 13th June 2017 and 14th June
2017.
* The second response from NCC to your additional queries dated 20 June
2017.
* Your further query in an email dated 20th June 2017.
* A drafted response from NCC to the email you sent on 20th June (not
sent because of your subsequent request for an internal review).
* Your request for an internal review in an email dated 1st August 2017.

In your request for an internal review, your specific complaint was that a
signed and dated copy of the operating agreement between Northumberland
County Council and Hexham Business Improvement District Limited was not
disclosed, but that only a copy with the personal signatures of
signatories to the agreement redacted was disclosed. The reason given by
NCC for the redaction (in an email dated 20 June 2017) was that the
disclosure of the personal signatures in the operating agreement was
exempt under section 40 of the Freedom of Information Act.
For this internal review, I have focused on the specific issue of the
non-disclosure of personal signatures in the operating agreement given
that this was the subject of your complaint. In relation to the date of
the agreement, I note that the date is stated within the printed text on
page 3 of the document (1st day of October 2016), and I have been informed
that there is no additional information on the date when the agreement was
signed that has been redacted from the agreement.
In undertaking this internal review, I have considered Section 40 of the
Freedom of Information Act, specifically:

* Does the information requested constitute the personal data of third
parties?
* Would disclosure of the information requested be fair, lawful and meet
one of the conditions in Schedule 2 of the Data Protection Act 1998
(DPA) and, in the case of sensitive personal data, a condition in
Schedule 3?

Does the information requested constitute the personal data of third
parties?
In determining whether a personal signature is considered personal data of
third under the DPA, I have considered the following as recommended in
Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) guidance:

* Can a living individual be identified from the data, or, from the data
and other information in the possession of, or likely to come into the
possession of, the data controller?
* Does the data ‘relate to’ the identifiable living individual, whether
in personal or family life, business or profession? 

It is highly likely that a living individual can be identified from the
disclosure of a personal signature, in particular in this case where they
are associated with a legal document for which information would be known
about likely signatories.
The personal signatures clearly relate to identifiable living individuals.
I would therefore agree with the conclusion that the personal signatures
should in this case be considered personal data.
Would disclosure of the information requested be fair, lawful and meet one
of the conditions in Schedule 2 of the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA) and,
in the case of sensitive personal data, a condition in Schedule 3?
In order to assess whether disclosure of the personal signatories is fair,
I have considered the following as recommended in ICO guidance:

* Whether the information is sensitive personal data;
* The possible consequences of disclosure on the individual(s)
concerned;
* The reasonable expectations of the individual, taking into account:
their expectations both at the time the information was collected and
at the time of the request; the nature of the information itself; the
circumstances in which the information was obtained; whether the
information has been or remains in the public domain; the FOIA
principles of transparency and accountability; and
* Any legitimate interests in the public having access to the
information and the balance between these and the rights and freedoms
of the data subjects.

In relation to question 1, the information would not be considered
sensitive personal data. In relation to question 2, there is a potential
that the personal signatures could be used for the purposes of fraud if
they were to be made public. Once a response to a FoI request is released,
it becomes a publicly accessible document, no matter where the response is
sent. In relation to question 3, there is reasonable expectation either at
the time that the agreement was signed, or at the time of your request,
that the personal signatures would not be disclosed; in relation to
whether the personal signatures of the agreement signatories were or are
already in the public domain, please see below. In relation to question 4,
there does not appear to be a public interest in disclosing the personal
signatures that is greater than the rights and freedoms of the data
subjects (that is, the signatories).
I would judge that disclosure on this basis would not be fair.
Guidance by the ICO states:
“If the disclosure would not be fair, the information must not be
disclosed. If it would be fair, then if it is sensitive personal data the
public authority must decide whether it would satisfy a
condition in Schedule 3 of the DPA. The only relevant conditions are:
o explicit consent; or
o the data subject has already made the information public.”
In completing this internal review, the Information Commissioner’s Office
was contacted regarding the non-disclosure of signatures on a legal
agreement. Their view is that the signature along with the business
details constitutes personal data which could identify the individual (a
third party) and therefore we should not disclose without consent.
Prior to your request for an internal review and after your further query
in an email dated 20th June 2017, NCC had contacted the signatories to
seek their consent to disclose their personal signatures in response to
your further queries. A further response had been prepared that was
delayed to allow completion of this internal review.
The prepared response indicated that the operating agreement was signed on
behalf of NCC by the Legal Services Manager and the Director of Corporate
Resources of NCC. The Chair of Hexham BID and the Secretary of Hexham BID
signed the agreement on behalf of Hexham BID.
The Northumberland County Council signatories have agreed to the
disclosure of their information on the basis that, due to their roles
within NCC, this information has already been disclosed.
However, the signatories from Hexham BID have both advised that, as their
signatures are not already in the public domain, they would have concerns
about releasing their signatures through this FoI request, and have as
such not given their consent.
In response to your further query in the email dated 20th June 2017, NCC
is therefore able to provide a revised copy of the operating agreement
subject to the redaction of the signatures of the Chair and Secretary of
Hexham BID. The revised copy is attached to this email.
I would conclude that, on the basis of the information available to me,
the NCC officers have acted appropriately under the FoI Act in redacting
personal signatures in the operating agreement in the absence of the
explicit consent of the signatories, given that the information was not
already in the public domain.
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.
In summary, the review of your FoI request shows that officers have
complied with policy and guidelines. The information contained in this
letter is aimed at providing additional understanding of the response to
your request. 
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: 01625 545 745 / Fax: 01625 524 510
Email: [1][email address] 
There is no charge for making an appeal.
Yours sincerely,

Dr Jim Brown

Consultant in Public Health

Wellbeing and Community Health

Northumberland County Council

Morpeth

Northumberland

NE61 2EF

Usual working days in Public Health:  Monday to Thursday

Direct Dial: 01670 623680

[mobile number]

Email: [2][email address]

Website:  [3]www.northumberland.gov.uk

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References

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