NNDR Credits

Response to this request is long overdue. By law, under all circumstances, Horsham District Council should have responded by now (details). You can complain by requesting an internal review.

Dear Horsham District Council,

we seek to receive certain detailed reports under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (c.36). Could you please reply to me with the following report attached:
- Unclaimed business rate credit balances.
We are cognizant of the fact that Billing Authorities hold on account sums of money that are due to be returned to ratepayers and for a variety of reasons have not been repaid.
I therefore request a breakdown of credit balances accrued since your earliest records, for the amounts owing to all incorporated companies within your authority's billing area, including the following information:
A. The legal name of each business in respect of which non-domestic rate credit balances remain payable
B. The value of overpayment in each case which remains unclaimed
C. The years(s) in which overpayment was made
D. The hereditament address
E. The legal name of each business in respect of which non-domestic rate credit balances have been written back on to the NDR account
F. The value of write back in each case which remains unclaimed
G. The years(s) in which the write back was made (if available)
H. The hereditament address that the write back relates to
We look forward to working with you in sourcing the information we require
If you have any questions or comments pertaining to our request, please don't hesitate to contact me directly.

Yours faithfully,

lacey marshall

Freedom of Information Act (FOI) 2000 / Environmental Information
Regulations (EIR) 2004 / Data Protection Act (DPA) 1998

Thank you for your information request which is being dealt with under the
terms of the relevant legislation.

FOI and EIR requests will be answered within twenty working days. EIR
requests may require an extension of time to 40 working days if the
request is complex or voluminous.

Data Protection Act - Subject Access Requests will be answered within 40
calendar days, other requests under the DPA will be answered within 10
working days.

If you have any queries about this request please contact us via
[Horsham District Council request email] quoting the reference number in the subject line of
this email.

Yours sincerely

Information Governance Team

Freedom of Information Act (FOI) 2000 / Environmental Information
Regulations (EIR) 2004 / Data Protection Act (DPA) 1998

Thank you for your information request which is being dealt with under the
terms of the relevant legislation.

FOI and EIR requests will be answered within twenty working days. EIR
requests may require an extension of time to 40 working days if the
request is complex or voluminous.

Data Protection Act - Subject Access Requests will be answered within 40
calendar days, other requests under the DPA will be answered within 10
working days.

If you have any queries about this request please contact us via
[Horsham District Council request email] quoting the reference number in the subject line of
this email.

Yours sincerely

Information Governance Team

FOI, Horsham District Council

FOI 2484

 

Dear Ms Marshall

 

Freedom of Information Act 2000 Refusal Notice 

                

We can now respond to your request for information about non-domestic
rate credit balances.

 

This request has been handled under the Freedom of Information Act 2000
(FOIA). I can confirm that Horsham District Council holds the information
you requested. However, we are withholding that information since we
consider that the exemption detailed below applies to the requested
information.

 

In your email dated 25 April 2018 you asked for the following:

 

We seek to receive certain detailed reports under the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 (c.36). Could you please reply to me with the
following report attached: 
- Unclaimed business rate credit balances. 
We are cognizant of the fact that Billing Authorities hold on account sums
of money that are due to be returned to ratepayers and for a variety of
reasons have not been repaid. 
I therefore request a breakdown of credit balances accrued since your
earliest records, for the amounts owing to all incorporated companies
within your authority's billing area, including the following
information: 
A. The legal name of each business in respect of which non-domestic rate
credit balances remain payable

B. The value of overpayment in each case which remains unclaimed

C. The years(s) in which overpayment was made

D. The hereditament address

E. The legal name of each business in respect of which non-domestic rate
credit balances have been written back on to the NDR account

F. The value of write back in each case which remains unclaimed

G. The years(s) in which the write back was made (if available)

H. The hereditament address that the write back relates to

 

This information is exempt from disclosure under Section 31(1)(a) - Law
enforcement. Disclosure of this information would be likely to prejudice
the prevention or detection of crime.

 

Section 31(1)(a) is a qualified exemption, and therefore is subject to the
Public Interest Test. The Information Commissioner’s guidance on Section
31(1)(a) states that the exemption can be used to protect information on a
public authority’s systems which would make it more vulnerable to crime.
[1]https://ico.org.uk/media/for-organisatio...

 

The prejudice that would be caused in releasing this information is that
it will allow potential fraudsters to use the information to identify
business entities which were entitled to claim credits on their accounts.
Once such a business had been identified, there would be a number of
avenues open to the fraudsters to seek to obtain funds.

 

To use this exemption, the Council is required to undertake a Public
Interest Test. The factors considered in applying the Public Interest Test
are as follows:

 

Factors in favour of disclosure

•           Withholding the information could be perceived as the Council
attempting to retain monies that belong to businesses.

•           It is in the public interest to be open and transparent about
our use of public funds.

•           It is also in the public interest to provide some transparency
regarding the records we hold in respect of the administration of business
rates. This could be of interest to the minority of people who are due a
refund, but have somehow failed to receive the notifications that money is
due to them.

 

Factors in favour of withholding

•           There is a public interest in ensuring that monies from the
public purse, such as rebates on business accounts, are not fraudulently
claimed and also a public interest in not making it easier for fraud to be
committed.

•           Our current verification procedure for refund claims is cost
effective. Disclosure of the requested information would result in
additional verification processes needing to be implemented, at additional
cost to the public which appeared disproportionate to the benefits that
would accrue from disclosure.

•           Any additional verification procedures would also be likely to
slow the rate at which credit balance claims could be considered and
refunded, causing delay in all refunds and the likelihood of complaints,
which would further burden our limited resources, resulting in detriment
to the genuine ratepayer which would be contrary to the public interest.

•           The cost consequences of a successful fraudulent claim would:

- costs to the Council for paying out to the fraudster;

- the Council remains liable to the legitimate rate payer for an
equivalent amount, raising the prospect of paying out twice

- additional costs to the Council when seeking to recover the funds
wrongly paid to the fraudster.

•           It would not be in the public interest to expose the Council
to such potential costs and expenses, given that they would be funded from
the public purse.

•           Information released in an FOI response is considered to be
released to the whole world, not just to the requestor.

 

It is considered that the greater public interest lies in not providing
the information at this time. In coming to that conclusion, the public
interest in providing the information has been carefully weighed against
any prejudice to the public interest that might arise from withholding the
information; in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in
maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the
information. This response, therefore, acts as a refusal notice under
Section 17 of the FOIA.

 

In deciding to refuse this request the Council has considered the recent
Decision Notice by the Information Commissioners Office on 25 January 2018
[2]https://ico.org.uk/media/action-weve-tak...

 

If you are dissatisfied with this response and wish to request a review of
our decision or make a complaint about how your request has been handled
you should write to The Reviewing Officer, Legal & Democratic Services,
Parkside, Chart Way, Horsham, West Sussex RH12 1RL or by email to
[3][Horsham District Council request email]

 

Your request for internal review should be submitted to us within 40
working days of receipt by you of this response.  Any such request
received after this time will be considered at the discretion of the Legal
Services team. If having exhausted the review process you are not content
that your request or review has been dealt with correctly, you have the
right to appeal to the Information Commissioner at Wycliffe House, Water
Lane, Wilmslow, SK9 5AF.  Further details of this process are available on
the ICO website at [4]www.ICO.org.uk

 

 

There is no charge for making an appeal.

 

 

Yours sincerely

 

 

Information Governance Team [8]Horsham
District
Email: [5][Horsham District Council request email] Year of
Culture [9]HDC
[6]http://satellite.horsham.gov.uk/images/e... Logo Logo
 

 
Horsham District Council, Parkside, Chart Way, Horsham, West Sussex RH12
1RL
Telephone: 01403 215100 (calls may be recorded)   [10]www.horsham.gov.uk  
Chief Executive: Glen Chipp

IMPORTANT NOTICE

 

This e-mail might contain privileged and/or confidential information. If
you have received this e-mail in error, please notify the sender and
delete the e-mail immediately; you may not use or pass it to anyone else.
Whilst every care has been taken to check this outgoing e-mail for
viruses, it is your responsibility to carry out checks upon receipt.
Horsham District Council does not accept liability for any damage caused.
E-mail transmission cannot guarantee to be secure or error free.

This e-mail does not create any legal relations, contractual or otherwise.
Any views or opinions expressed are personal to the author and do not
necessarily represent those of Horsham District Council. This Council does
not accept liability for any unauthorised/unlawful statement made by an
employee.

Information in this e mail may be subject to public disclosure in
accordance with the law. Horsham District Council cannot guarantee that it
will not provide this e mail to a third party. The Council reserves the
right to monitor e-mails in accordance with the law.

If this e-mail message or any attachments are incomplete or unreadable,
please telephone 01403 215100 or e-mail [email address]. Any
reference to "e-mail" in this disclaimer includes any attachments.

 

References

Visible links
1. https://ico.org.uk/media/for-organisatio...
2. https://ico.org.uk/media/action-weve-tak...
3. mailto:[Horsham District Council request email]
4. http://www.ico.org.uk/
5. mailto:[Horsham District Council request email]
6. https://www.facebook.com/HorshamDC
7. https://www.twitter.com/HorshamDC
8. https://www.hdculture2019.co.uk/
9. https://www.horsham.gov.uk/
10. https://www.horsham.gov.uk/

FOI, Horsham District Council

FOI 2488

 

Dear Ms Marshall

 

Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA)

 

Thank you for your request for information 26/04/2018 about non-domestic
rate credit balances.

 

This request has been handled under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
This email acts as a refusal Notice under Section 17 of the FOIA.

 

Horsham District Council considers that the exemption under Section 14(2)
of the FOIA  Repeated requests applies.

 

Section 14 (2) states

 

Where a public authority has previously complied with a request for
information which was made by any person, it is not obliged to comply with
a subsequent identical or substantially similar request from that person
unless a reasonable interval has elapsed between compliance with the
previous request and the making of the current request.

 

The Council has already responded to an identical request, number 2484,
dated 25/04/2018. In accordance with the Council’s duty under Section 16
of the FOIA I can advise you that the response to request 2484 is
published here:
[1]https://horsham.axlr8.uk/disclosureLogMo...
(You need to scroll down to the relevant request number to view the
response)

 

If you are dissatisfied with this response and wish to request a review of
our decision or make a complaint about how your request has been handled
you should write the Reviewing Officer,  Legal & Democratic Services,
Horsham District Council, Parkside, Chart Way, Horsham, West Sussex RH12
1RL or by email to [2][Horsham District Council request email]

 

Your request for internal review should be submitted to us within 40
working days of receipt by you of this response.  Any such request
received after this time will be considered at the discretion of the Legal
Services team.

 

If having exhausted the review process you are not content that your
request or review has been dealt with correctly, you have the right to
appeal to the Information Commissioner at Wycliffe House, Water Lane,
Wilmslow, SK9 5AF.  Further details of this process are available on the
ICO website at [3]www.ICO.org.uk

 

 

There is no charge for making an appeal.

 

 

Yours sincerely

 

Information Governance Team [7]Horsham
District
Email: [4][Horsham District Council request email] Year of
Culture [8]HDC
[5]http://satellite.horsham.gov.uk/images/e... Logo Logo
 

 
Horsham District Council, Parkside, Chart Way, Horsham, West Sussex RH12
1RL
Telephone: 01403 215100 (calls may be recorded)   [9]www.horsham.gov.uk  
Chief Executive: Glen Chipp

IMPORTANT NOTICE

 

This e-mail might contain privileged and/or confidential information. If
you have received this e-mail in error, please notify the sender and
delete the e-mail immediately; you may not use or pass it to anyone else.
Whilst every care has been taken to check this outgoing e-mail for
viruses, it is your responsibility to carry out checks upon receipt.
Horsham District Council does not accept liability for any damage caused.
E-mail transmission cannot guarantee to be secure or error free.

This e-mail does not create any legal relations, contractual or otherwise.
Any views or opinions expressed are personal to the author and do not
necessarily represent those of Horsham District Council. This Council does
not accept liability for any unauthorised/unlawful statement made by an
employee.

Information in this e mail may be subject to public disclosure in
accordance with the law. Horsham District Council cannot guarantee that it
will not provide this e mail to a third party. The Council reserves the
right to monitor e-mails in accordance with the law.

If this e-mail message or any attachments are incomplete or unreadable,
please telephone 01403 215100 or e-mail [email address]. Any
reference to "e-mail" in this disclaimer includes any attachments.

 

References

Visible links
1. https://horsham.axlr8.uk/disclosureLogMo...
2. mailto:[Horsham District Council request email]
3. http://www.ico.org.uk/
4. mailto:[Horsham District Council request email]
5. https://www.facebook.com/HorshamDC
6. https://www.twitter.com/HorshamDC
7. https://www.hdculture2019.co.uk/
8. https://www.horsham.gov.uk/
9. https://www.horsham.gov.uk/