Housing scrutiny/ safety assessments

The request was refused by Greenwich Borough Council.

Darryl Chamberlain

Dear Greenwich Borough Council,

Following the housing scrutiny meeting of 30 November, could you please send me:

1) The audio recording used for minute-taking and transcriptions from the Housing & Anti-Poverty Scrutiny Panel on 30 November.

2) Regarding item of 5 of the above meeting, could you please send me the fire risk assessments for all council-owned high-rise buildings of six storeys and above.

Yours faithfully,

Darryl Chamberlain

foi, Greenwich Borough Council

Dear Mr Chamberlain

Freedom of Information/Environmental Information Regulations request: FOI-10057

Thank you for your request dated 07 December 2017

Your request will be answered by 09 January 2018

If you have any queries about this request, please contact me, quoting the reference number above.

Yours sincerely,

Jackie Jago
Head of Corporate Services
Corporate Services
Directorate of Central Services
Royal Borough of Greenwich

020 8921 5044
 Room 20 Basement The Town Hall, Wellington Street, London SE18 6PW
www.royalgreenwich.gov.uk

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foi, Greenwich Borough Council

Dear Mr Chamberlain

Freedom of Information/Environmental Information Regulations request: FOI-10057 GM

Thank you for your request dated 07 December 2017

Our response is as follows:

Following the housing scrutiny meeting of 30 November, could you please send me:

1) The audio recording used for minute-taking and transcriptions from the Housing & Anti-Poverty Scrutiny Panel on 30 November.

This meeting was not audio recorded by the Council.

2) Regarding item of 5 of the above meeting, could you please send me the fire risk assessments for all council-owned high-rise buildings of six storeys and above.

The Council confirms that the information is held however the fire risk assessments are being withheld under section 40 (2) personal information, section 31 (1) (a) - prevention of crime and section 38 – health and safety

The name of the fire risk assessor is withheld under Section 40 personal information.

Section 40 – personal information

Section 40(2) of the FOIA provides that information is exempt from disclosure if it constitutes personal data and either the first or the second condition in section 40(3) is satisfied. The first condition in section 40(3) states that the disclosure of personal data would (i) contravene any of the data protection principles, or (ii) section 10 of the DPA. The council considers disclosing the withheld information would breach the Data Protection Act 1998. Disclosure would be unfair and would breach the first data protection principle.

Personal data is defined in section 1(1) of the DPA 1998 as: -

“data which relate to a living individual who can be identified from those data, and other information which is in the possession of, or is 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 other person in respect of the individual.”

The withheld information is the personal data of a data subject. The Council believes that disclosure of the information would not be in the reasonable expectations of the data subject. Consequently, the Council is satisfied that it is appropriate to withhold the details of the assessor on the basis of section 40(2) of the FOIA.

Section 31(1) (a) – Prevention of Crime

The fire risk assessment is withheld under section 31(1) (a) – prevention of crime.

Section 31(1) (a) of FOIA states that:

“Information which is not exempt information by virtue of section 30 is exempt information if its disclosure under this Act would, or would be likely to, prejudice-
(a) the prevention or detection of crime,”

Section 31(1) (a) of the FOIA states that information is exempt from disclosure if its disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the prevention or detection of crime.

Disclosure of the information withheld under section 31(1) (a) would be likely to prejudice the prevention of crime. The Council considers that the publication of the requested information would be an invitation to the dishonest. The council asserts that disclosure of the properties and the layout would place the properties at a higher risk of burglary, vandalism and other criminal activity. As a result it considers section 31(1) (a) of the FOIA applies.

The exemption is a qualified exemption which means that where the exemption is engaged a public interest test must be carried out to determine whether the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

Public interest in favour of disclosing the information

• The Council accepts that it is accountable for properties in the borough and it understands that information regarding fire safety assessments would be of interest to the public.
• The Council acknowledges there is a public interest in overall accountability and transparency and in the disclosure of information which enables members of the public to scrutinise more clearly the fire safety assessments.

Public interest in favour of maintaining the exemption

• The disclosure of the property details and the layout would provide those intent on committing crime an easy way to identify them. Disclosure under the FOI Act is considered to be to the whole world. If the information were to be disclosed details of the properties and the layout could be used by individuals with criminal intent.
• The Council believes that there is a strong public interest in avoiding the likely prejudice to the prevention of crime. It is in the public interest to protect property and to avoid the considerable public expense that would be incurred dealing with crime associated with the properties.
• There is a public interest in preventing the distress that is caused to the victims of crime. The Council expects that residents who live in the properties would have a reasonable expectation of feeling secure in their own homes.

It is the Council’s view that the public interest is best served by maintaining the exemption. The council therefore concludes that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosure.

Section 38 – Health and Safety

Section 38 provides an exemption in relation to information which, if disclosed would or would be likely to endanger the health or safety of an individual.

38 (1) Information is exempt information if its disclosure under this Act would, or would be
likely to—

(a) endanger the physical or mental health of any individual, or
(b) endanger the safety of any individual.

The Council has cited this exemption because it considers that individuals could be at risk if the properties details and the layout were to be released. Whilst there can be no absolute certainty that the release of the relevant information would put the individuals who live at the properties at risk, there is sufficient evidence to lead the council to conclude that there is a real possibility of it. The Council is satisfied that the section 38 exemption is engaged in relation to the residents who live in the properties, as the release of this information could endanger the health and safety of those involved.

As section 38 is a qualified exemption, the council is obliged to consider the public interest test:

Public Interest in favour of disclosure

There are general arguments in favour of disclosure, in relation to promoting transparency and accountability of public authorities, which we have noted in relation to this information.

Public Interest in favour of maintaining the exception

The public interest arguments are as detailed above in respect of the section 31 exemption.

The release of the information, in the council’s opinion, certainly would put at risk the personal safety of residents who live in the properties and expose them to being targets of harassment or worse. In all the circumstances of the case, the council considers that, given the real risk to the health and safety of residents the public interest is, on balance, better served by maintaining the exemption so as to withhold the information in question.

If you have any queries about this correspondence, please contact me, quoting the reference number above.

If you are not satisfied with our response to your request, you can 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 request. If you wish to do this, please contact us, setting out why you are dissatisfied.

If you are not satisfied with the outcome of the Internal Review, you may apply directly to the Information Commissioner (ICO) for a decision. Generally, the ICO cannot make a decision unless you have exhausted the Internal Review procedure provided by the Council. You can contact the ICO by emailing [email address], or by post at Customer Contact, Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, SK9 5AF.

Yours sincerely,

Jackie Jago
Head of Corporate Services
Corporate Services
Directorate of Central Services
Royal Borough of Greenwich

020 8921 5044
 Room 20 Basement The Town Hall, Wellington Street, London SE18 6PW
www.royalgreenwich.gov.uk

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Darryl Chamberlain

Dear Greenwich Borough Council,

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

I am writing to request an internal review of Greenwich Borough Council's handling of my FOI request 'Housing scrutiny/ safety assessments'.

Firstly, regarding your answer to point one - I am surprised there is no audio recording available if elected members wish to double-check statements made at a scrutiny panel, particularly on such a topic of public concern.

As for point two:

a) I am not asking for the name of the fire risk assessor. This is not a relevant point.
b) Other authorities are proactively publishing this information, such as Hackney, where the information published covers each point you have raised: https://www.hackney.gov.uk/fra
c) I would point out that the Information Commissioner has encouraged local authorities to publish these assessments. https://iconewsblog.org.uk/2017/08/02/in...

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

Yours faithfully,

Darryl Chamberlain

foi, Greenwich Borough Council

Dear Mr Chamberlain

Freedom of Information request Internal Review: FOI-IR-101057

Thank you for your request for an Internal Review regarding our response to your Freedom of Information request.

Your request is being dealt with under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and will be answered within twenty working days.

If you have any queries, please contact me, quoting the reference number.

If you are not content with the outcome of the Internal Review, you can apply directly to the Information Commissioner (ICO) for a decision. Generally, the ICO cannot make a decision unless you have exhausted the Internal Review procedure provided by the Council. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at: The Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF.

Yours sincerely,

Jackie Jago
Head of Corporate Services
Corporate Services
Directorate of Central Services
Royal Borough of Greenwich

020 8921 5044
 Room 20 Basement The Town Hall, Wellington Street, London SE18 6PW
www.royalgreenwich.gov.uk

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foi, Greenwich Borough Council

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Chamberlain

Internal Review on Freedom of Information request FOI - IR- 101057

Thank you for your Internal Review request on the handling of your Freedom of Information request.

Please see attached for our response to your request.

If you are not content with the outcome of the Internal Review, you may apply directly to the Information Commissioner (ICO) for a decision. Generally, the ICO cannot make a decision unless you have exhausted the Internal Review procedure provided by the Council. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at: The Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF.

Yours sincerely,

Jackie Jago
Head of Corporate Services
Central Services
Royal Borough of Greenwich

020 8921 5044
 Room 20, Basement, Town Hall, Wellington Street, Woolwich, London SE18 6PW
www.royalgreenwich.gov.uk

 Please consider the environment before printing this email

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