List of empty residential Council properties.

The request was refused by Hammersmith and Fulham Borough Council.

Dear Hammersmith and Fulham Borough Council,

I would please appreciate if i could be sent a list of empty
residential Council properties. Properties which have been vacant for more
than six months.

As I am looking for a list of long term 3 bedroom empty Council properties
lists within the councils area. Would you be able to supply me with
these under the Freedom of Information Act?

I require no personal information simply the property address.

Yours faithfully,

Mr Dibs Smyth

Yours faithfully,

dibs Smyth

Alison Ross-dow, Hammersmith and Fulham Borough Council

Hammersmith & Fulham - Information request - Information Management Team

Our reference: 307664

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Dear Mr. Smyth

Freedom of Information Act 2000

Thank you for your request for information, received 30 November
2010. This is currently being considered.

The Freedom of Information Act 2000 provide[s] that a response must be
issued promptly and, in any event, within 20 working days of receipt of
the request. We, therefore, calculate the deadline for providing a
response to your request to be 30 December 2010.

Please note that there are a number of exemptions from the duty to
disclose information under the Act. If we decide to withhold information,
you will be provided with a detailed explanation of the exemption applied
and the public interest factors that we have considered. We will also
provide you with details of how to appeal against such a decision.

If we need further information from you in order to be able to process
your request, we will contact you and your request will be placed on hold
until the information is provided by you. The 20 working day period will
restart on the date that the additional information is received by us.

If you have any queries or concerns then please contact the Information
Management Team, details above.

Further information is also available from the Information Commissioner's
Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF, Telephone
08456 306060, [1]www.ico.gov.uk

Yours sincerely

Ciara Shimidzu (on behalf of Alison Ross-Dow)
Senior Information Management Officer
London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham
Information Management Team
Finance and Corporate Services
SmartSpace, 3rd Floor, Hammersmith Town Hall
King Street
London W6 9JU
Tel: 020 8753 2455/5865
Email: [2]h&[email address]

[3]www.lbhf.gov.uk

Director of Finance & Corporate Services: Jane West

References

Visible links
1. http://www.ico.gov.uk/
2. mailto:h&[email address]
3. http://www.lbhf.gov.uk/

donotrespond, Hammersmith and Fulham Borough Council

Dear resident,

You can now open your own council online account at www.lbhf.gov.uk/myaccount

A ground-breaking 'My account' section on our website enables you to:
* view your council tax, benefit claim and parking permit details
* renew your parking permits (if you have received a letter from us about this)
* set up or amend a direct debit for your council tax
* apply for certain council tax discounts and exemptions if you are eligible
* report graffiti, noise, an abandoned vehicle or some other problem (you can still report these without logging in, but if you open an account you can see a history of the incidents that you report*
* get licensing and planning email alerts.
* get our weekly neighbourhood news alerts by subscribing at www.lbhf.gov.uk/newsalerts<http://www.lbhf.gov.uk/newsalerts> for everything from parking consultations, road closures and major planning applications to changes to your bin collections, school term dates and local event

You have received this email because you have previously used an 'e-form' on the H&F website using this email address, and we thought you'd like to know about this important change.

If you registered, your old username and password will no longer be active. So please go to http://www.lbhf.gov.uk/myaccount and create an account now to take advantage of these great new features.

Every time you use the website instead of calling, emailing or coming to see us in person, you help us to reduce costs, keep council tax bills down and protect spending on vital front line services.

When you use 'My Account' for Benefits, Council Tax or Permits please make sure you have papers with the relevant numbers as you will need these to access your records.

Please note that replies to this email will not be monitored. If you have any question about this service, please visit the website for help and further details.

Alison Ross-dow, Hammersmith and Fulham Borough Council

Dear Mr Smyth

Freedom of Information Request 307664

Your request for information, received 30 November 2010, has now been
considered and your questions are emboldened below.

I would please appreciate if i could be sent a list of empty residential
Council properties. Properties which have been vacant for more than six
months.

As I am looking for a list of long term 3 bedroom empty Council properties
lists within the councils area. Would you be able to supply me with these
under the Freedom of Information Act?

This information is subject to a Refusal Notice under the Freedom of
Information Act 2000.

The relevant exemptions are: section 31(1)(a) law enforcement, section 41
information provided in confidence. Further explanation is provided below.

Section 31(1)(a) - law enforcement

This exemption applies where the disclosure of the information would or
would be likely to prejudice the prevention or detection of crime. The
Information Commissioner's guidance on applying this exemption states that
the exemption can apply not only to procedures followed by the police, but
also crime prevention measures in general, for example the physical
security of buildings.

The council's view is that disclosure of this information would prejudice
the prevention or detection of crime, in particular the security of the
properties in question. This view is supported by our contacts in the
Metropolitan Police, who believe that the release of data on empty
domestic properties, regardless of whether they are owned by organisations
or individuals, would not be in the best interests of law enforcement in
the borough. In particular properties could be targeted by squatters,
subjected to vandalism and criminal damage, and used for drug dealing. In
addition data about those paying taxes in the borough are held in a very
secure environment in the council and this security would not be
maintained if the information were released into the public domain.

It could be argued that releasing the details of empty domestic properties
into the public domain, with the contact details of the organisations, is
in the public interest in that it will help interested parties to bring
these vacant buildings back into use. However when this is weighed against
the likelihood of these properties being used for anti social and criminal
activities we believe the public interest in withholding this information
outweighs the public interest in disclosure.

Section 41 - information provided in confidence

This exemption applies where information has been provided by another
person and disclosure of this would cause an actionable breach of
confidence.

Having considered the Information Commissioner's guidance on this
exemption the council's view is that disclosure of this information would
give rise to such a breach. Taxpayers' provide information to the council
for the purpose of council tax administration and the expectation is that
the council will use to fulfill its statutory duties only.

The development of common law requires that we weigh the public interest
in disclosure of this information with the public interest in preserving
the principle of confidentiality. The Information Commissioner's guidance
advises that courts have taken the view that the grounds for disclosing
the information must be valid and very strong. We do not believe this to
be the case and therefore consider that the public interest in maintaining
this exemption and the duty of confidence outweighs the public interest in
disclosure.

If you are dissatisfied in any way you may write to the Information
Manager, Information Management Team, 3rd Floor, The Smart Space,
Hammersmith Town Hall, London W6 9JU

Once you have exhausted the internal review procedure you may appeal to
the Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane,
Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF, Telephone: 01625 545 700,
[1]http://www.ico.gov.uk

Yours sincerely

Alison Ross-Dow

Senior Information Management Officer

London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham

Information Management Team/Finance & Corporate Services

3rd Floor, The Smart Space, Hammersmith Town Hall

King Street

London W6 9JU

DL: 020 8753 2455

[2]www.lbhf.gov.uk

Director of Finance & Corporate Services: Jane West

References

Visible links
1. http://www.ico.gov.uk/
2. http://webapps3:8080/off/htmlarea/editor...