Request:
In June & July 2024 I received information from North Tyneside Council through a Freedom of Information request relating to a contribution of 50% towards the cost of the installation of the fencing to the west of the Backworth Park Primary School site, east of Hotspur North and Willow Grove.
FOI-3538 & FOI-3634.
The value of this contribution from North Tyneside Council was £4,411.
This relates to the original fencing installation, arranged by Story homes prior to the commencement of the school development.
Under the Freedom of Information act could I request copies of all documents, emails, specifications and drawings relating to this fence that was paid for by North Tyneside Council.
_________________________________________________________________________
Following a decision issued following the first-tier tribunal, please can we reconsider the original request and issue a new response.
“In June & July 2024 I received information from North Tyneside Council through a Freedom of Information request relating to a contribution of 50% towards the cost of the installation of the fencing to the west of the Backworth Park Primary School site, east of Hotspur North and Willow Grove.
FOI-3538 & FOI-3634.
The value of this contribution from North Tyneside Council was £4,411.
This relates to the original fencing installation, arranged by Story homes prior to the commencement of the school development.
Under the Freedom of Information act could I request copies of all documents, emails, specifications and drawings relating to this fence that was paid for by North Tyneside Council”.
The North Tyneside Council must take the following steps within 28 days of promulgation of this Decision:
a.
Issue a fresh response to the request made by the Appellant dated 19 December 2024, confirming whether it holds the information sought;
2
b.
If the information is held, either:
(i) Supply the information sought; or
(ii) Serve a refusal notice including the ground/s relied on under Regulation 12 of the Environmental Information Regulations 2004, excluding reliance on Regulation 12(4)(b).
Response:
Your request for copies of all documents, emails, specifications and drawings relating to the fence to the west of the Backworth Park Primary School site, east of Hotspur North and Willow Grove is refused under Regulation 12(4)(b) of the Environmental Information Regulations 2004, manifestly unreasonable.
The reason for this is the Authority considers all information relating to this matter has already been disclosed to you under Environmental Information Regulations, the Freedom of Information Act and through the Authority’s normal course of action, in addition to what is available to view online via the planning public access pages.
Although the Authority has provided you with the information you require, you continue to contact staff members directly requesting the same information.
The Authority considers your request does not appear to have a value or serious purpose in terms of there being an objective public interest in the information sought; instead, this information only serves your private interests.
Under Environmental Information Regulations we need to apply the public interest test. We need to demonstrate how we meet our obligations, but at the same time we need to balance transparency with risk.
The Authority considers these requests demonstrate an unreasonable persistence and inappropriate use of the public authority’s resources.
The Authority acknowledges there is a public interest in disclosing the requested information as it would demonstrate the Authority is working in an open and transparent manner. However, the information requested has already been disclosed in response to previous requests for information.
The Authority does not consider it to be in the public interest to expose staff to a disproportionate burden, unjustified level of distress or disruption. Allowing such things to take place has a negative impact on the work undertaken by staff, which would not be in the public interest.
On balance of the public interest test, we believe that public interest lies in upholding the exemption and not releasing the information.