Our Ref: 7975  

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.

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: 7975

Date: 27 August 2020

Dear Enquirer,

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST

I refer to your for Freedom of Information requesting details of Katie
Kerr and if they have ever received any discretionary grant payments from
Northumberland County Council. Please accept our apologies for the delay
in responding.

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 confirms it holds the information you have
requested.

Exemptions

The Freedom of Information Act sets out various exemptions to the right of
access.

Section 40(2) - Personal Information

Section 40(2) of the Act makes provision for public authorities to refuse
requests for information where the information constitutes personal data
and disclosing it would breach the principles of fair and lawful
processing set out in the General Data Protection Regulations and Data
Protection Act 2018.

The wording of the exemption set out in the Act states:

“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 does not fall within subsection
(1), and
(b) the first, second or third condition below is satisfied.

(3A) The first condition is that the disclosure of the information to a
member of the public otherwise than under this Act—
(a) would contravene any of the data protection principles, or
(b) would do so if the exemptions in section 24(1) of the DPA 2018 (manual
unstructured data held by public authorities) were disregarded.

(3B) The second condition is that the disclosure of the information to a
member of the public otherwise than under this Act would contravene
Article 21 of the GDPR (general processing: right to object to
processing)”

Section 43(2) - Commercial Interests

Section 43(2): Information is exempt information if its disclosure under
this Act would, or would be likely to; prejudice the commercial interests
of any person (including the public authority holding it).

The wording of the exemption set out in the Act states:

"43 - Commercial interests
(1) Information is exempt information if it constitutes a trade secret.

(2) Information is exempt information if its disclosure under this Act
would, or would be likely to, prejudice the commercial interests of any
person (including the public authority holding it).

(3) The duty to confirm or deny does not arise if, or to the extent that,
compliance with section 1(1)(a) would, or would be likely to, prejudice
the interests mentioned in subsection (2)."

Public Interest Test Considerations

Section 43 is a qualified exemption which means that the information
falling within the exemption still has to be released unless the public
interest in disclosure is outweighed by the public interest in maintaining
the exemption.

The reasons why the public interest favours withholding the information
are:
Prejudicing the commercial interests of one or more players in the market
would distort competition in that market, which in itself would not be in
the public interest.
There is a public interest in protecting the commercial interests of
individual companies and ensuring they are able to compete fairly.
Disclosure of information may cause unwarranted reputational damage to the
individual companies, which may in turn damage its commercial interests
through loss of trade.

Notice of Refusal

Please treat this letter as a Notice of Refusal as regards the information
covered by the Section 40(2) and Section 43(2) Exemptions.

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.

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 or complaint,
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

Our Ref: 7975   

Dear Enquirer,

INTERNAL REVIEW OF FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST 

Thank you for your request for an internal review received 28.08.2020 into
the response to your Freedom of Information request received on
03.08.2020.

A Senior Officer independent of the original response will review all
correspondence and write to you with our final response by 28.09.2020.

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

Dear Mr Madderson
Please see attached letter.
Yours sincerely
​Susan Callaghan
Personal Assistant to:

David Laux - Head of Technical Services
Greg Gavin - Head of Neighbourhood Services
Local Services
Northumberland County Council
County Hall
MORPETH
NE61 2EF 
Telephone:  01670 623763
Email: susan.callaghan@northumberland.[1]gov.uk
Website: [2]www.northumberland.gov.uk
 
Save Time Do It Online!
We have made a few key improvements to our site to make our services easy
to access. Now you can do everything from paying your council tax, to
reporting a faulty street light online. Go to: www.northumberland.gov.uk
and click 'pay, apply or report' to access the relevant forms.
This email is intended solely for the individual or individuals to whom it
is addressed, and may contain confidential and/or privileged material. If
you are not the intended recipient you are notified that disclosing,
copying, distributing or taking any action in reliance on the contents of
this email is prohibited. If you receive this email in error, please
contact the sender and delete the email from any computer. All email
communication may be subject to recording and/or monitoring in accordance
with internal policy and relevant legislation.

[3]Northumberland County Council Stay Home

References

Visible links
1. http://gov.uk/
2. http://www.northumberland.gov.uk/