Vacant house

The request was refused by Stoke on Trent City Council.

Dear Stoke on Trent City Council,

Hello!

I am looking for data of vacant properties in town.

We buy houses quickly so we want to offer the vendor a solution to this and offer our service. By updating condition of those properties we would create more living space and help council with their shortage.

I would be grateful if you could supply this to me.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Many thanks,
Margaret

Yours faithfully,

Margaret

FOI, Stoke on Trent City Council

Dear Ms

 

Your request for information ref. SOT69077 about empty properties in
Stoke-on-Trent

 

Section 8(1) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 sets out the
requirements of a valid request and says that a request must, amongst
other things, 'state the name of the applicant and address for
correspondence'.

 

As you have not provided a name, your request is not valid under the terms
of the Act.

 

ICO guidance states "a title and/or first name with surname satisfies the
requirement for provision of a real name".

 

Notwithstanding this however, we can advise that although we do hold the
information that you have asked for, unfortunately it is exempt under
section Section 31 (Law Enforcement) and Section 38 (Health and Safety) of
the Act and will not be provided.

 

Section 31(1)(a) (Law Enforcement) allows a public authority to withhold
information if its release would, or would be likely to, prejudice the
prevention or detection of crime. This exemption has been applied to the
properties which are empty. This is because once the information has been
released we have no control over who the information will be passed to and
the information could be used to target empty properties for crime, such
as theft, vandalism, arson or squatting.

 

It is considered that the public interest in withholding information about
these empty properties is stronger than the public interest in disclosing
it. This is because it is not in the public interest to make available
information that could be used to commit a crime. Additionally the Council
considers that the impact of these properties being targeted could have a
damaging effect to the local neighbourhood which is not in the public
interest.

 

Section 38(1)(b) (endanger of the safety of any individual) allows a
public authority to withhold information if its release would, or would be
likely to, endanger the safety of any individual.

 

This exemption has also been applied to the properties which are empty.
This is because the council considers that disclosure may lead to the risk
of individual safety, with respect to individuals entering buildings in
order to conduct crime.

 

The public interest considerations are similar to those above for section
31, but in addition it is not considered in the public interest to release
information which could ultimately jeopardise the safety of any
individuals

 

In considering the two exemptions above, the City of Stoke-on-Trent has
had first-hand experience of an incident, where an empty property, in this
case an empty commercial property (warehouse) was set fire to purposely.
Two homeless people had been sleeping rough in the building, and sadly
they both died as a result of the fire. Please find the article which
documents this case attached below:

 

[1]http://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/Arson-tri...

 

[2]http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/staff...

 

If you are unhappy with the service you have received in relation to your
request and wish to make a complaint or request a review of our decision,
you should write to: The Information Rights Manager, Information Rights
Team, Stoke-on-Trent City Council, Floor 2, Civic Centre, Glebe Street,
ST4 1HH, or email [3][Stoke on Trent City Council request email].

 

If, after contacting us, you are not content with the outcome, you may ask
the Information Commissioner for a decision.  Before doing this, please
see the following link for guidance from the Information Commissioner
relating to how to use your information rights responsibly and
effectively, to enable you to gain the best outcome from the process -
[4]http://ico.org.uk/for_the_public.

 

Generally, the Information Commissioner cannot make a decision unless you
have already used our internal review procedure. The Information
Commissioner can be contacted at: The Information Commissioner’s Office,
Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF, tel: 0303 123
1113 or you can visit their website at [5]www.ico.gov.uk/complaints.aspx.

 

Yours sincerely

 

Information Rights Team

 

Information Rights

City of Stoke-on-Trent

Floor 2  Civic Centre  Glebe Street  Stoke-on-Trent  ST4 1HH

T: 01782 232853, 01782 233020, 01782 233732, 01782 235965

E: [6][Stoke on Trent City Council request email]

 

+------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|  |
| |
|Dear Stoke on Trent City Council, |
| |
|Hello! |
| |
|I am looking for data of vacant properties in town. |
| |
|We buy houses quickly so we want to offer the vendor a solution to this |
|and offer our service. By updating condition of those properties we |
|would create more living space and help council with their shortage. |
| |
|I would be grateful if you could supply this to me. |
| |
|I look forward to hearing from you. |
| |
|Many thanks, |
|Margaret |
| |
|  |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------+

 

 

 

Keep up-to-date with events in the city, job vacancies, news from the city
council and details about services which can help you by signing up to our
email updates at [7]www.stoke.gov.uk/stayconnected

Save time, go online; pay your council tax, manage your benefits, book a
housing repair and report a pothole at a time and place that’s convenient
for you at www.stoke.gov.uk 

show quoted sections

 

References

Visible links
1. http://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/Arson-tri...
2. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/staff...
3. mailto:[Stoke on Trent City Council request email]
4. http://ico.org.uk/for_the_public
5. http://www.ico.gov.uk/complaints.aspx
6. mailto:[Stoke on Trent City Council request email]
7. http://www.stoke.gov.uk/stayconnected