FOI/EIR Information request
Our reference: 32417690

══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

Dear Jo Staines
 
Freedom of Information Act 2000
 
Thank you for your request for information that was received on 18 June
2024.
 
We are dealing with your request under the Freedom of Information Act
2000 and we aim to send a response by 16 July 2024.
 
The Freedom of Information Act 2000 may restrict the release of some or
all of the information you have requested. We will carry out an assessment
and if any exemptions apply to some or all of the information you have
requested we will advise you accordingly in our response.  We will also
provide you with details of how you may appeal (if appropriate).
 
Should you require anything further please do not hesitate to contact us.

Yours sincerely

Information Rights Team
[1][Newham Council request email]
 
 
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FOI/EIR Information request
Our reference: 32417690

══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

Dear Jo Staines
 
Freedom of Information Act 2000
 
We are writing to update you on your request in relation to the allocation
of social housing.
 
You have requested information relating to the breakdown of data by
individual let over a 12 month period. The service have confirmed their
systems are not able to report on this level detail and therefore to
retrieve this information would require a manual review of information
across over 700 files. This would exceed the appropriate limit for FOI
responses under Section 12.

The service have confirmed they could attempt to recover averages, total
number of each landlord and number of bedrooms, whether sheltered or not,
Total number of CBL and direct offer but cannot then also break down by
each property and award date, within the appropriate limit.

Please confirm as to whether you would still require this generalised
information in response to your request?
 
We will not be able to take this matter further without this confirmation
from you. Please let me know by 5 July 2024.
 
If we do not hear from you within the time frame provided, we shall take
it that you do not wish to pursue this request and will consider the
request closed. 
 
Yours sincerely
Information Rights Team
[1][Newham Council request email]
 
 
NOTE: Please do not edit the subject line when replying to this email.
 
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FOI/EIR Information request
Our reference: 32417690

══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

Dear Jo Staines
 
Freedom of Information Act 2000
 
We are writing to update you on your request in relation to the allocation
of social housing.
 
You have requested information relating to the breakdown of data by
individual let over a 12 month period. The service have confirmed their
systems are not able to report on this level detail and therefore to
retrieve this information would require a manual review of information
across over 700 files. This would exceed the appropriate limit for FOI
responses under Section 12.

The service have confirmed they could attempt to recover averages, total
number of each landlord and number of bedrooms, whether sheltered or not,
Total number of CBL and direct offer but cannot then also break down by
each property and award date, within the appropriate limit.

Please confirm as to whether you would still require this generalised
information in response to your request?
 
We will not be able to take this matter further without this confirmation
from you. Please let me know by 5 July 2024.
 
If we do not hear from you within the time frame provided, we shall take
it that you do not wish to pursue this request and will consider the
request closed. 
 
Yours sincerely
Information Rights Team
[1][Newham Council request email]
 
 
NOTE: Please do not edit the subject line when replying to this email.
 
Disclaimer
This email contains proprietary confidential information some or all of
which may be legally privileged and/or subject to the provisions of
privacy legislation. It is intended solely for the addressee.
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has misdirected this e-mail; you must not use, disclose, copy, print or
disseminate the information contained within this e-mail. Please notify
the author immediately by replying to this email.
Any views expressed in this email are those of the individual sender,
except where the sender specifically states these to be the views of the
London Borough of Newham
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have been taken to ensure that no viruses are present. The London Borough
of Newham cannot accept responsibility for any loss or damage arising from
the use of this email or attachments.

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Good Morning

Thank you for your further email.

In order that we may proceed with your request or internal review it is
required that we clarify the outline and timeline of your request and how
you wish us to proceed.

18.06.24 - Original request submitted (ref: 32417690)

Your request asked for specific data by each council let over the last
twelve months.

This request was referred to the service and it was noted that systems
could not compile this data broken for each individual let in a reportable
format, within the time frame for response but the systems may be able to
pull off some more generalised average data. To compile by each individual
let would require manual retrieval of data from individual records.

21.06.24 - we reverted back to you in line with Section 16 of the Act to
offer advice and assistance and confirmed it would be likely the original
format of your request would exceed the appropriate time limit to retrieve
by individual records but requested if you would still like to receive the
generalised information from the reports we may be able to pull from our
systems across all records. We requested your response by 5^th July as to
whether you wished us to proceed on this basis. The request is on stop
clock until that time.

05.07.24 - no response had been received and therefore the enquiry was
closed.

14.07.24 - you responded back and confirmed you would require the
average/generalised information we suggested we may be able to provide
from our systems.

As the original request had lapsed this was re-logged and allocated back
to the system for them to action the revised request now for the
generalised data (ref: 32991825)

19.07.24 - you responded back to us again to advise you wished to seek an
internal review of your original request - stating we had not provided the
generalised data suggested which was required urgently and that if we
could provide average/generalised data from files, we should be able to
compile this information by individual files.

Please note we did not formally refuse your original request as we
extended the option for alternative data, albeit not in the detail you
originally required, which was accepted.

Please also note as advised in the original email offering assistance in
relation to your request sent to you on 21.06.24, your request would be on
hold until we heard back from you on whether the suggested revised format
would be of use to you. We did not hear back from you in this respect
until 14.07.24. At this point the request for generalised information was
reverted back to the service for them to attempt to retrieve as much
information as possible from their systems to fulfil your request within
the appropriate time limit. The work to fulfil this request is still
underway but the date of receipt was 14.07.24 and we are afforded 20
working days from that point of receipt and therefore the revised response
is not due until 13^th August.

If you wish to proceed with an Internal Review please confirm the basis.

If it is in relation to the assertion that if we can attempt to compile
general reports across our lettings system for the information you
accepted, we should also be able to present that by individual let
property, please confirm.

As previously advised the date of receipt of your request for the revised
data was 14.07.24 but you have stated you believe it should have been
provided already. If you wish to proceed with an Internal Review on the
basis of the information being late, please also confirm.

We will postpone proceeding with the internal review in relation to the
original request until we receive further instruction on the basis and
suggested above.

Please be assured the revised request is with our Housing service and they
are still in the process of attempting to compile the general data
possible from our systems.

We will await your further response.

Kind regards

Information Rights Team

London Borough of Newham

Newham Dockside, 1000 Dockside Road,  London E16 2QU

[1][Newham Council request email]

══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

From: [FOI #1140305 email]
Sent: 19/07/2024 16:10
To: [Newham Council request email]
Subject: Internal review of Freedom of Information request - Social
housing lets
(Attachments:) Email from [FOI #1140305 email] -
Internal review of Freedom of Information request - Social housing
lets.pdf, Email (original message) from
[FOI #1140305 email] received on 19/07/2024.eml
Dear Newham Borough Council,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information
reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Newham Borough Council's
handling of my FOI request 'Social housing lets'.

The council has stated that they will not be able to answer my request as
it apparently exceeded the costs limit as the data was not easily
accessible. However the council offered to provide average data. This was
accepted, but the council still has not responded with the average data.

We ask that the average data is urgently provided. However, in any event,
it is submitted that the originally request can be fully answered within
the costs limit.

The average data the council has offered will come from the individual
data. Therefore, the information I have requested must be easily
accessible to be able to calculate averages. It is easier to provide the
original data than to calculate averages, as it requires no processing.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on
the Internet at this address:
[2]https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/s...

Yours faithfully,

Jo Staines

-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #1140305 email]

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on
the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
[3]https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/offi...

For more detailed guidance on safely disclosing information, read the
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[4]https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/ico-...
[5]https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/ico-...

Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will
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manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.

show quoted sections

Good Afternoon

Thank you for confirming.

We will log the internal review and formally acknowledge shortly.

Kind regards

Information Rights Team

London Borough of Newham

Newham Dockside, 1000 Dockside Road,  London E16 2QU

[1][Newham Council request email]

From: Jo Staines <[FOI #1140305 email]>
Sent: 25 July 2024 16:01
To: London Borough of Newham <[Newham Council request email]>
Subject: Re: Internal review of Freedom of Information request - Social
housing lets (ref: 32991825)

Dear London Borough of Newham,

Thank you for your message.

Thank you for confirming the averages will be processed as a separate
request. I look forward to receiving the averages in the appropriate
timescale.

Regarding the internal review, I would like it to proceed in relation to
the statement by the council that individual let data cannot be provided
within the costs limit.

I can confirm that I am not pursuing an internal review regarding delay.

Yours sincerely,

Jo Staines

show quoted sections

Good Afternoon

Thank you for confirmation you wish to proceed with an Internal Review of
the advice previously given that your original request would likely exceed
the appropriate limit

This has now been logged as an internal review and we will the review the
previous response given to you and aim to reply to you with the outcome of
this by 22^nd August 2024.

Kind regards

Information Rights Team

London Borough of Newham

Newham Dockside, 1000 Dockside Road,  London E16 2QU

[1][Newham Council request email]

From: Jo Staines <[2][FOI #1140305 email]>
Sent: 25 July 2024 16:01
To: London Borough of Newham <[3][Newham Council request email]>
Subject: Re: Internal review of Freedom of Information request - Social
housing lets

Dear London Borough of Newham,

Thank you for your message.

Thank you for confirming the averages will be processed as a separate
request. I look forward to receiving the averages in the appropriate
timescale.

Regarding the internal review, I would like it to proceed in relation to
the statement by the council that individual let data cannot be provided
within the costs limit.

I can confirm that I am not pursuing an internal review regarding delay.

Yours sincerely,

Jo Staines

show quoted sections

 
 
FOI/EIR Information request
Our reference: 32991825

══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

Dear Jo Staines
 
Thank you for your request for information received on 16 July 2024 in
relation to general housing let data.
 
Please find attached our response to your request.
 
Yours sincerely
Information Rights Team
[1][Newham Council request email]
 
 
NOTE: Please do not edit the subject line when replying to this email.
 
Disclaimer
This email contains proprietary confidential information some or all of
which may be legally privileged and/or subject to the provisions of
privacy legislation. It is intended solely for the addressee.
If you are not the intended recipient, an addressing or transmission error
has misdirected this e-mail; you must not use, disclose, copy, print or
disseminate the information contained within this e-mail. Please notify
the author immediately by replying to this email.
Any views expressed in this email are those of the individual sender,
except where the sender specifically states these to be the views of the
London Borough of Newham
This email has been scanned for all viruses and all reasonable precautions
have been taken to ensure that no viruses are present. The London Borough
of Newham cannot accept responsibility for any loss or damage arising from
the use of this email or attachments.

References

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Dear Jo Staines

Freedom of Information Act 2000 – Internal Review

Subject:  Social Housing Lets

I write following your request for an Internal Review of the Council’s
response to your enquiry for information held by the Council under the
provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Initial Request made under current Case Reference: 32417690

1) Can I know please know for each social and council let you have made in
the last 12 months :

A) The number of bedrooms of the property? (with studios/bedsits labelled
as 0, and 1 bed flats as 1 etc.)

B) The priority category of the successful household (eg. HP, SOVP) on the
housing register?

C) The number of years the household since the household's priority date?

D) If it is a choice-based letting or a direct offer?

E) Who the landlord of the property is (eg. Southwark, Housing
Association)?

F) Is it sheltered or general needs housing?

G) The date, or month, that the let was made? The information would
ideally be provided in an excel table with a column for each of the
questions above and a row for each letting made.

2) Please can I be told the exact dates that the data provided covers (eg.
01.07.2023 to 01.07.2024)?

Our Response:

We are writing to update you on your request in relation to the allocation
of social housing.

You have requested information relating to the breakdown of data by
individual let over a 12 month period. The service have confirmed their
systems are not able to report on this level detail and therefore to
retrieve this information would require a manual review of information
across over 700 files. This would exceed the appropriate limit for FOI
responses under Section 12.

The service have confirmed they could attempt to recover averages, total
number of each landlord and number of bedrooms, whether sheltered or not,
Total number of CBL and direct offer but cannot then also break down by
each property and award date, within the appropriate limit.

Please confirm as to whether you would still require this generalised
information in response to your request?

We will not be able to take this matter further without this confirmation
from you. Please let me know by 5 July 2024.

If we do not hear from you within the time frame provided, we shall take
it that you do not wish to pursue this request and will consider the
request closed. 

Your reason for requesting an Internal Review

The council has stated that they will not be able to answer my request as
it apparently exceeded the costs limit as the data was not easily
accessible. However the council offered to provide average data. This was
accepted, but the council still has not responded with the average data.

We ask that the average data is urgently provided. However, in any event,
it is submitted that the originally request can be fully answered within
the costs limit.

The average data the council has offered will come from the individual
data. Therefore, the information I have requested must be easily
accessible to be able to calculate averages. It is easier to provide the
original data than to calculate averages, as it requires no processing.

Findings

I have reviewed the response sent to you previously and the reasons given
by you as to why you are dissatisfied with the response where s12
Exemption has been applied to exempt the data within your request.

I have identified that this information is held electronically but the
information you have requested is not held centrally.  There are 769
individual records that would need to be interrogated, the task would
involve trawling and switching between a number of screens in order to
collate the information you have requested. It would take approx. 10
minutes per case to pull the relevant information off taking a total of
approx. 128 hours that would exceed the FOI time limit of 18 hours.  I
understand that as part of our response we identified what information
could be provided within the time limit, this being a more generalised
response of which I understand you received on 13^th August 2024.

Following my review I am satisfied that s12 exemption time taken has been
correctly applied and that we complied with our obligation under this
exemption in that we advised you with what information that could be
provided within the time limit.

The Freedom of Information Act 2000 states:

Where a public authority claims that section 12 is engaged, it should,
where reasonable, provide advice and assistance to help the requestor to
refine the request so that it can be dealt with under the appropriate
limit.

In conclusion your appeal has been not upheld.

Should you remain dissatisfied with this response you are afforded the
option of contacting the Information Commissioner’s Office at:
[1]https://ico.org.uk/for-the-public/

Please quote the reference number 32417690 in any future communications.

If you require any further information please do not hesitate to contact
us [2][email address]

Kind regards

Angie

Angela Harding | Senior Information Governance Officer

Information Assurance

one source - working on behalf of Havering and Newham councils

══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

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