FOI Fire Safety (0570-2024/25)
Request
Q1. Name of the Police Forces Responsible Person for Fire Safety and contact email*
Q2. Name of the contracts manager for Facilities Management (Planned and Reactive Maintenance) and contact email*
Q3. Number of buildings (including residential) under management having smoke vent and fire damper systems on them
Q4. Guidance on how to do business with the University for agreements not published under European Tender guidelines
* should this person have been denied for whatever reason, could you role up the request to the next Director overseeing their role as a ‘Responsible Person’ for Fire Safety who you are authorised to disclose, and their contact email please?
Extent and Result of Searches to Locate Information
To locate the information relevant to your request searches were conducted within North Yorkshire Police. I can confirm that the information you have requested is held by North Yorkshire Police.
Decision
I have today decided to disclose the following information to you.
Q1. Fire Safety is the responsibility of the Health & Safety Team. Online enquiries can be made using the following link: Contact us | North Yorkshire Police. I am exempting disclosure of the names and email addresses of individuals pursuant to Section 40 (2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act). Please see exemption explanation below.
Q2. As with Health & Safety, any queries for the Estates team can be submitted online using the following link: Contact us | North Yorkshire Police. I am exempting disclosure of the names and email addresses of individuals pursuant to Section 40 (2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act). Please see exemption explanation below.
Q3. 5.
Q4. Please note that we are not a University. However, all requirements are tendered according to current procurement regulations. Typically this is via existing framework agreements or advertised on the Bluelight e-tendering portal.
Exemption Explanation
Section 40(2) – Personal information
Where an individual can be identified by such data, releasing it would clearly breach the first data protection principle of being ‘fair’ to the data subject.
Section 17 of the Act requires North Yorkshire Police, when refusing to provide such information (because the information is exempt) to provide you the applicant with a notice which: (a) states that fact, (b) specifies the exemption in question and (c) states (if that would not otherwise be apparent) why the exemption applies.
Section 40(2) is an absolute class based exemption, which does not require a public interest test, but requires the balancing of the legitimate interests of the public against the interests of the individual under the first Data Protection Principle; in that processing of personal data must be lawful and fair (DPA 2018 35(1), EUGDPR Article 5(1)).
This exemption applies because the right given under the FOI Act to request official information held by public authorities does not apply to the personal data of third parties where disclosure of that information would not be fair to the individual, and where there is no legitimate public interest in disclosure.
In all the circumstances of the case it has been determined that the duty to the individual under the Data Protection Act 2018 & EU General Data Protection Regulations, and the public interest in maintaining the exemption from disclosure of personal information held by the force in such instances, outweighs the public interest in disclosure. In this instance, personal information can only be disclosed to the individual concerned.
Releasing personal details to a person other than the data subject would not only breach the data subject’s Data Protection rights it may also breach the obligations placed on an authority under the European Convention on Human Rights
Pursuant to Section 17(1) of the Act this letter acts as a refusal notice under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 in relation to your request.
Please note that systems used for recording information are not generic, nor are the procedures used locally in capturing the data. It should be noted therefore that this force’s response to your questions should not be used for comparison purposes with any other responses you may receive.