Bill Cullen MBA (ISM), BA(Hons) MRTPI
Chief Executive
Please Ask For: Faye Biddles
Direct Dial/Ext: 01455 255745
Email:
xxxx.xxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Our Ref:
FOI 4530
Date:
11 December 2017
Dear A R Shaw,
Thank you for your information request received 7 December 2017. This request has
been processed under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA).
Unfortunately, on this occasion I find the request to be exempt by virtue of Section 12 of
the FOIA; the cost of compliance exceeds the appropriate limit.
I can confirm that the information is held by the council, but is not held on a database with
the possibility of extracting the data. Our Finance Team hold a definitive list of codes and
the information requested does not fall under a specific dataset. To retrieve the
information, our officers would have to manually search through twelve months of separate
invoices to locate information in relation to the items mentioned in your request.
Section 12 exempts information from the right of access under the FOIA if the cost of
providing the information would exceed the ‘appropriate limit’ as defined by the Freedom
of Information and Data Protection (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004.
In cases which this regulation has an effect, Section 12 does not oblige a public authority
to comply with the request. The council takes account of the costs it reasonably expects to
incur in relation to an information request. For public authorities, the appropriate limit is set
at £450.00, or the equivalent of 2.5 days of work.
In estimating the cost of complying with a request for information, the council can take into
account any reasonable costs incurred in:
“(a) determining whether it holds the information,
(b) locating the information, or a document which may contain the information,
(c) retrieving the information, or a document which may contain the information,
and
(d) extracting the information from a document containing it”.
Section 12 is an absolute exemption, which means that no consideration of the public
interest test is required when withholding the information. However, Section 16 (1) of the
FOIA should always be considered; as such, if you were to narrow the scope of your
request, we would be happy to reconsider our response.
If you are dissatisfied with the handling of your request, you may write to: Julie Kenny,
Director of Corporate Services, Hinckley & Bosworth Borough Council, Hinckley Hub,
Rugby Road, Leicestershire, LE10 0FR. Please quote your reference number on all
Hinckley Hub • Rugby Road • Hinckley • Leicestershire • LE10 0FR
Telephone 01455 238141 • MDX No 716429 • Fax 01455 251172 • www.hinckley-bosworth.gov.uk
correspondence and ask that your request be reviewed under the council’s internal
appeals procedure.
Should you remain dissatisfied following an appeal, you may write to the Information
Commissioner for a further review at: Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House,
Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF.
www.ico.org.uk Yours sincerely
Faye Biddles
Information Governance Officer
Hinckley Hub • Rugby Road • Hinckley • Leicestershire • LE10 0FR
Telephone 01455 238141 • MDX No 716429 • Fax 01455 251172 • www.hinckley-bosworth.gov.uk
