Complaints received from North Yorkshire Police against the OPFCC or staff of the OPFCC
Our Ref: NY8959
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST REFERENCE NO: NY8959
I write in connection with your request for information which was received by Office of the North
Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner (OPFCC) on 9 February 2024.
I note you seek access to the following information:
Please could I request the following information.
1. During the period of Zoe Metcalfe as PFCC, how many complaints were received from
North Yorkshire Police, against the office?
2. During the period of Zoe Metcalfe as PFCC, how many complaints were received from
North Yorkshire Police, against named individuals?
Decision
To locate the information relevant to your request searches were conducted within the OPFCC.
I can confirm that the information you have requested is held by the OPFCC.
I have today decided to disclose the following information to you:
1. During the period of Zoe Metcalfe as PFCC, how many complaints were received from
North Yorkshire Police, against the office?
None
2. During the period of Zoe Metcalfe as PFCC, how many complaints were received from
North Yorkshire Police, against named individuals?
I am exempting the number of complaints received from North Yorkshire police against named
individuals pursuant to Section 40(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act). This is to
refrain from any particular incidents becoming identifiable and consequently the personal details of any persons involved being disclosed.
Section 40 – Personal Information
Where an individual or individuals can be identified by such data, releasing it would clearly breach the first data protection principle of being ‘fair’ to the data subject/s.
Section 17 of the Act requires OPFCC, 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 & UK General Data Protection Regulations, and the public interest in maintaining the exemption from disclosure of personal information held by the OPFCC 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 response to your questions should not be used for comparison purposes with any other responses you may receive.
Complaint Rights
Your attention is drawn to the attached sheet which details your right of complaint.
If you have any queries concerning this request, please contact me quoting the reference number
above.