About us

We're now part of the York & North Yorkshire Combined Authority

Home - 15 May 2015 – 1096.2014-15 – Freedom of information request – request a social services referral report issued to childrens services York

15 May 2015 – 1096.2014-15 – Freedom of information request – request a social services referral report issued to childrens services York

Request

I am writing to request a social services referral report issued to childrens services York.

Response

Decision

Your request for information has now been considered and I am not obliged to supply the information requested.

Section 40 – Personal Information

The type of information you have requested is personal information which can only be disclosed to the individuals concerned. Releasing personal details to a person other than the data subject would breach the data subject’s Data Protection rights and breach the obligations placed on an authority under the European Convention on Human Rights.

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.

Disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act) is to the world and the type of information you have requested is exempt from disclosure under the Act pursuant to the provisions of Sections 40(1) and 40(2). Sections 40(1) and 40(2) are both absolute class based exemptions.
These exemptions apply because the right given under the Act to request official information held by public authorities does not apply to personal data – any such requests become subject access requests under the Data Protection Act 1998. Therefore your request has been transferred and logged as such a request.

However, under Data Protection you are only entitled to your own information and information to which you are not entitled (e.g. if it relates to another person) may be removed (i.e. redacted).
To satisfy the requirements under the Data Protection Act 1998 we require proof of your identity and receipt of the statutory fee. To establish your identity two official documents are required, which between them clearly show your name, date of birth and current address. Documents can be copies or originals. The fee is £10 (cheques or postal orders to be made payable to North Yorkshire PCC).
The ID documents and fee can either be forwarded to the Civil Disclosure Unit, North Yorkshire Police Headquarters, Newby Wiske, Northallerton, North Yorkshire, DL7 9HA, or alternatively taken to any North Yorkshire Police station where you documents would be verified, copied and returned straight back to you, and a receipt issued for the fee.

Further information can also be found on the North Yorkshire Police website at the following link http://www.northyorkshire.police.uk/index.aspx?articleid=567. A Subject Access form is also available from the website, the completion of which may help us locate the information you require. Alternatively a form can be collected from your local North Yorkshire Police station. Once we have received the identity documents, fee and (if applicable) completed application form the process to provide you with information can take up to 40 days.

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.

Additionally, North Yorkshire Police can neither confirm nor deny that it holds any of the information you have requested.

To either confirm or deny that information is held under the Act would in itself disclose that personal information is held about a named individual, and therefore the force is not obliged to fulfil its duty under Section 1(a) of the Act pursuant to Section 40(5)(a) of the Act.

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.