Telephone payments issues

You may experience issues when you try to make a payment to us on our automated payment phone line. Apologies for the inconvenience while our payment provider resolves the issue.

Making a Freedom of Information request

Before making a Freedom of Information request please visit our Data Intelligence Hub. The information you are looking for may already be there.

Visit the Data Intelligence Hub

If the information is not there you can make your freedom of information request the following ways. You can also make Environmental Information Requests (EIRs) through these ways.

Please make sure your request is specific and includes an email or postal address for us to respond to.​

We will respond within 20 working days following the date of receipt. We will:

  • confirm whether we have the information
  • provide the information if we are able to
  • advise of any exemptions stopping us providing the information
  • advise your rights of appeal
  • provide advice and assistance

NNDR Freedom of information requests

Our business liability data is updated every three months and is available online.

Costs

There is no standard cost to receive information and in many cases the information will be provided to you free of charge.

We can refuse a request if we estimate that it will cost us more than £450. This is called the cost limit.

Where the limit is exceeded we will contact you to let you know. We will request payment if you still want the information but we also give you an option of refining your request.

Payment is made by cheque or postal order.

Personal information

Requests for personal information eg the name of a ratepayer, will not be responded to and will be redacted as they are exempted under section 40 of the Data Protection Act.

Empty properties

Freedom of Information Act, Section 31(1)(a) - Prevention and Detection of Crime

Public authorities are not obliged to release information that could prejudice the functions of law enforcement, namely the 'Prevention and Detection of Crime'.

The release of such information would increase the likelihood of empty properties being:

  • lived in by squatters and squatting in a residential property is a criminal offence
  • targeted by vandals or graffiti artists and stripped of materials such as roofing, cables or piping, or otherwise vandalised or damaged
  • targeted by criminals or terrorists for example allowing them to hide or store the proceeds of crime, or criminal or terrorist materials

Credits

Request for information about credits on accounts will not be responded to as they are exempted under Section 31 on the Freedom of Information Act.

Properties that hold a credit on their account are open to fraudulent claims for this refund.

Therefore to reduce the possibility of fraud, details are not passed out of credits.

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