Dear British Broadcasting Corporation,

Please state the number of occasions since the 4th of August 2020 until the 4th of February 2020 when one or more persons working as inspectors for TV Licensing (whether as employees or contractors) have visited residential premises in order to conduct an inspection and either:
- (i) entered those premises, or
- (ii) attempted or requested to enter those premises (but did not enter them)

I am not requesting any data you hold on the number of inspections which took place entirely outside a property and where internal access to the premises was not requested. For example, if inspection takes place entirely through a window and no internal access was requested.

If possible, please can you provide separate totals for (i) and (ii), but otherwise please provide a combined total. If you do not have this exact information but you have substantially similar information, then please state the nature of the information that you do have. An example would be if you have monthly totals only.

I see a similar request was submitted and denied information in September 2020 on grounds of sections 31(1)(a),(b),(d) and (g) and (2)(a) of the Act relating to law enforcement; specifically, on the grounds that disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the prevention or detection of crime. While I appreciated that concern at the time, I am requesting information retrospectively, and with the prospect of more restrictions beginning to be lifted for good in the very near future. This, I hope, results in much less likelihood that information disclosed of inspectors' previous behaviours during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic being misused to aid crime, as this fixed period from whence inspections resumed in the pandemic should surely not reflect the practices of inspectors when there is no pandemic.

I also see that information was previously denied on the grounds that this did not meet the criteria for public interest. I would like to put forward that in order to meet factor #1 in favour of disclosure, "ensuring that the licensing authority is exercising its functions appropriately and proportionately", disabled and vulnerable people of Britain have a right to know how the BBC is conducting itself during the pandemic. This is of utmost importance for transparency around the safety and wellbeing of the public, and is not covered by the information you currently publish.

Yours faithfully,

Chris Olive.