Information Team Croydon
Digital Services
Assistant Chief Executive Directorate
Bernard Wetherill House
7th Floor, Zone B
Croydon
CR0 1EA

Contact: Information Team
[Croydon Borough Council request email]

NOTE: Please do not edit the subject line when replying to this email. If
you have a processing request, please ensure you quote that reference in
your emails to us.

DEAR Stephen Whiteside

Freedom of information request - FOI/6744

Subject: New bus shelters and digital advertisements - pre-application
advice

We are just emailing you to update you on your open Information Request.
We are currently in the process of updating our systems and part of this
update will mean that your open Information Request has been assigned a
new reference: FOI/6744

Thank you in advanced for your patients patience and whilst we will
continue top process your request. We will issue a response or update to
you as soon as we are able.

Unfortunately, the Council is currently experiencing a delay in our
response times due to demand and resource. As an organisation we are aware
of our legal duties under the legislation and are making every effort to
improve our position and respond to requests within our statutory
timeframes as quickly as possible. All requests are being monitored and
continually reviewed to provide you with an expected date for disclosure.
London Borough of Croydon takes its role as a Data Controller seriously
and would like to thank you for your continued patience and understanding
whilst we improve our service to you.

 
Kind Regard

Information Management Team

Croydon Digital Services

Assistant Chief Executive Directorate

7th Floor, Zone B

Bernard Weatherill House

8 Mint Walk

Croydon CR0 1EA

Information Team Croydon
Digital Services
Assistant Chief Executive Directorate
Bernard Wetherill House
7th Floor, Zone B
Croydon
CR0 1EA

Contact: Information Team
[Croydon Borough Council request email]

Dear Stephen Whiteside

Request FOI/6744

Freedom of Information Request

Your request has been considered under the provisions of the Freedom of
Information Act. Please accept our apologies for the delay in responding
to you. Specifically, you have requested the following information:

Planning application 20/05696/PRE by Valo Smart City, was for
pre-application advice with regard to the provision of new bus shelters,
associated digital advertising screens and larger column adverts at 158
sites across the Borough.

Several (if not all) of the subsequent applications for the required
advertisement consent have now been submitted and in some (if not all of
those) cases approved.

+++ Please provide COPIES of any information relating to ANY advice
provided, including but not restricted to copies of the following:

-- any completed Request for Pre-Application Advice forms,

-- evidence of any fee payment,

-- the documentation submitted for discussion/comment

-- any letters/emails of consultation with internal/external consultees
and any comments/observations in response,

-- the officer advice.

Please find the requested information attached. We have removed the names
of individuals and some junior staff from these documents as this would be
disclosing personal data to you,  withholding of personal data as defined
by the General Data Protection Regulations 2018, falls within the
exemption in Section 40 (2) (a) (i) (Personal Information) of the Freedom
of Information Act 2000.  This aspect of your request is therefore exempt
from disclosure by virtue of Section 40 (2) (a) (i) of the Freedom of
Information Act 2000.

It is important to remember that when information is released under the
Freedom of Information Act 2000, it is considered released to the wider
public. Any such disclosure of personal information would not be compliant
with the provisions of the General Data Protection Regulations 2018.

The Council publishes Access to Information requests and responses on its
online Disclosure Log. (Any request included within this log will be
anonymised appropriately)

To view the Council’s Disclosure Log, please visit our website available
here:

[1]The Freedom of Information (FOI) Act | Croydon Council
(disclosure-log.co.uk)

If you are dissatisfied with the way the Council has handled your request
under the Freedom of Information Act you may ask for an internal review. 
This should be submitted to us within 40 working days of this response. 
You can do this by outlining the details of your complaint by:

Email:        [Croydon Borough Council request email]

Writing:     Information Team

London Borough of Croydon

Bernard Weatherill House

7^th Floor - Zone B

8 Mint Walk

Croydon CR0 1EA

Any requests received after the 40 working day time limit will be
considered only at the discretion of the council.

If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have
the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a
decision. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at:

Information Commissioner’s Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire   SK9 5AF

Yours sincerely 

Croydon Council

References

Visible links
1. https://croydon.disclosure-log.co.uk/

Dear Mr Whiteside,

Further to your email dated 5 April 2023, in which you requested an
Internal Review of the Council’s response to your request for information,
I have now concluded this review and I am able to reply as follows.

In your request for Internal Review, you asked the Council to reconsider
your request as you believed that you had not been provided with the
information requested.

In your request for information dated 4 January 2023, you requested the
following information:

“Planning application 20/05696/PRE by Valo Smart City, was for
pre-application advice with regard to the provision of new bus shelters,
associated digital advertising screens and larger column adverts at 158
sites across the Borough.

Several (if not all) of the subsequent applications for the required
advertisement consent have now been submitted and in some (if not all of
those) cases approved.

+++ Please provide COPIES of any information relating to ANY advice
provided, including but not restricted to copies of the following:

-- any completed Request for Pre-Application Advice forms,

-- evidence of any fee payment,

-- the documentation submitted for discussion/comment

-- any letters/emails of consultation with internal/external consultees
and any comments/observations in response,

-- the officer advice.

(NB - Since the officer(s) involved clearly has/have a public-facing role,
their name(s) and official contact details should NOT be redacted).”

The Council responded to you on the 4 April 2023 and provided the
following response:

“Please find the requested information attached. We have removed the names
of individuals and some junior staff from these documents as this would be
disclosing personal data to you, withholding of personal data as defined
by the General Data Protection Regulations 2018, falls within the
exemption in Section 40 (2) (a) (i) (Personal Information) of the Freedom
of Information Act 2000.  This aspect of your request is therefore exempt
from disclosure by virtue of Section 40 (2) (a) (i) of the Freedom of
Information Act 2000.”

In your request for an Internal Review dated 5 April 2023 you stated the
following:

“Your say that my "... request has been considered under the provisions of
the Freedom of Information Act. ...".

The information requested concerns 'development' and planning information.
This is information that relates to a measure affecting the elements of
the environment and is thus environmental information as defined by
Regulation 2(1) of the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 ("EIR").

I believe that the request SHOULD have been considered under the
provisions of the EIR.  Previous requests made to the Council for such
information (regarding pre-application planning advice) HAVE been
considered under the EIR.  (eg LBC Ref: EIR 4113457 - 44 Sanderstead Hill)

By regulation 12(2), the authority must apply a presumption in favour of
disclosure, in both engaging exceptions and carrying out the public
interest test.

REDACTION OF 'PERSONAL DATA'

You say that you have "... removed the names of individuals and some
junior staff from these documents as this would be disclosing personal
data to you. .... This aspect of your request is ... exempt from
disclosure by virtue of Section 40 (2) (a) (i) of the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 ...".

As above, I believe that it should be the provisions of the EIR that are
applied in this case, and any exemption from disclosure that MAY be
provided by Regulation 12(3), read with the provisions of Regulation 13. 
As I understand it, Regulation 12(3) and 13 CAN have the effect of
prohibiting the Council from disclosing third party personal data, but
ONLY if this would breach the UK General Data Protection Regulations or
the Data Protection Act 2018.

Regulation 12(2) establishes a presumption in favour of disclosure. If the
Council has established that an exception is engaged, it is THEN necessary
to weigh the competing public interests, per regulation 12(1)(b). That is,
the public interest in disclosing the information as weighed against the
public interest in maintaining the exception.

I believe that the Council has neither shown WHY an exception is engaged
in THIS case, nor carried out the Public Interest [PI] test as required by
the relevant legislation.

Furthermore, I note that paragraph 22 of the Local Government Transparency
Code 2015 [DCLG] states that “… Where information would otherwise fall
within one of the exemptions from disclosure, for instance, under … the
Environmental Information Regulations 2004 … Local authorities should
start from the PRESUMPTION OF OPENNESS AND DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION [my
emphasis], and not rely on exemptions to withhold information unless
absolutely necessary.”

This request SHOULD be being considered under the EIR and the ‘presumption
in favour of disclosure’ should be applied. I believe the onus is on the
Council to clearly demonstrate WHY, in THIS case, it would be unfair to
disclose the redacted information. If, for any piece of that information,
they cannot so demonstrate, then the information should now be disclosed.

+++ Please redisclose the information requested, with redaction limited
ONLY to that required/allowed by legislation.”

On receiving your request for an Internal Review, I contacted the Planning
Service and the Council’s Information Management Team regarding the
redactions that had been made in in respect of the documents provided to
you.

Further the request for an Internal Review has been considered under the
Environmental Information Regulations as the request was seeking
information regarding of Pre-Application advice in respect of planning
application.

After careful consideration, I have considered the necessity for these
redactions.  Following which the Council accepts that the redaction of the
names from the reply issued, on this occasion was inappropriate. The
please find attached a revised copy of the information that you
requested.  Some limited redactions have been made.  These relate to staff
who are not be considered to be ‘decision makers’ and information that
does not relate to the advice provided.  It is considered that this
information is exempt from disclosure by virtue of Regulation 12(3) of the
Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (“EIR”) read with the
provisions of Regulation 13.

If you are not content with the outcome of the Internal Review, you have
the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a
decision. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at:

Information Commissioner’s Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire SK9 5AF

Yours sincerely,

Howard Passman

020 8726 6000 ext. 27103

Resources Directorate

Legal Services Division

7th Floor Zone C
Bernard Weatherill House

8 Mint Walk

Croydon CR0 1EA

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