Skip to additional navigation Skip to content

Response 3932089

Response to request for information

Reference

3932089

Response date

18 March 2026

Request

I am writing to submit a new Freedom of Information request in relation to the same information. I recognise that the window for an internal review of your original response has passed, and I am therefore approaching this as a fresh FOI request rather than a review.

My original request asked for:
1d: The number of enforcement letters issued by enforcement agents on behalf of the Council
1e: The number of enforcement visits made by enforcement agents on behalf of the Council. This information was withheld on the basis that it is "unknown." I would ask you to reconsider this position for the following reasons.

  1. Information held on behalf of the authority Under section 3(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, information is held by a public authority if it is held by another person on behalf of the authority. Enforcement agents are appointed by the council to carry out council tax enforcement as part of the authority's statutory functions. Any data relating to enforcement activity undertaken on the council's behalf is therefore held for the purposes of the Act, regardless of whether it is stored on the council's own systems or those of its contractors.
  2. Control and access. The information requested relates to operational activity carried out in the council's name and under its authority. It is reasonable to expect that the council has contractual access to such data, or can obtain it from its enforcement agents for governance, audit, and oversight purposes. The fact that the information may not be routinely collated does not mean it is not held for FOI purposes.
  3. Former contractors. Where enforcement activity was undertaken by providers during the period covered by the request, the council remains the data controller in respect of the statutory function being exercised. The ending of a contract does not, in itself, mean the information is not held or not retrievable.
  4. Reasonable steps. If the council does not already hold the information in report form, I would expect reasonable steps to be taken to obtain it from the relevant enforcement agents, in line with the ICO's guidance on information held by contractors.
  5. Partial disclosure. If some elements of the information cannot be obtained, I would ask that the council clearly identifies which parts are genuinely not held, and provides the remainder rather than refusing the request in full.

Response

We write in response to your follow up FOIA requested dated 1 March 2024.  

You requested the following information:

1d: The number of enforcement letters issued by enforcement agents on behalf of the council
1e: The number of enforcement visits made by enforcement agents on behalf of the council 

You requested that the answer to these questions (in the response to FOI request 3853494) be reconsidered on the basis that there may be records held by enforcement agents on behalf of the authority within the meaning of section 3(2)(b) FOIA.  

Response

The Council relies on ICO guidance which suggests the following factors may be relevant in determining whether data physically held by a third party can be considered to be held on behalf of the authority:

  • the extent to which you have access to the information,
  • the degree of control you have over the information, including controlling who has access to it and how it is used,
  • the extent to which you use it for your own purposes, regardless of whether it was created by a third party,
  • the extent to which you had an input in its creation or alteration,
  • the extent to which you retain ultimate responsibility over the management of the information, including its retention and deletion

The Council does instruct enforcement agents to enforce a proportion of council tax liability orders. The number of letters written or visits made in the course of undertaking these instructions relates to the agents’ operations and is not mandated by the Council. The terms and conditions relating to the engagement of the agents does not include any obligation to provide this level of operational data to the Council.  The Council’s contract with enforcement agents gives it no control over creation of records on its operations or on the retention, deletion or sharing of such records.  

We have considered your representations on this.

  1. Any data relating to enforcement activity undertaken on the council's behalf is held for the purposes of the Act, regardless of whether it is stored on the council's own systems or those of its contractors.
    • The Council does not agree with this assessment. The operational details of contracted enforcement agents is not data over which the billing authority has, or needs to have, any control.
  2. It is reasonable to expect that the council has contractual access to such data or can obtain it from its enforcement agents for governance, audit, and oversight purposes. The fact that the information may not be routinely collated does not mean it is not held for FOI purposes.
    • There is no requirement under the FOIA for the local authority to create data to respond to a request.  The obligations relate to records held by the authority, or on behalf of the authority, at the time of the request.
  3. Former contractors - the council remains the data controller in respect of the statutory function being exercised.
    • The concept of a data controller is used in UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 in relation to personal data.  It’s relevance to this FOI request is not clear.  However,  for the avoidance of doubt,  the operational statistics of enforcement agents is not the Council’s data and is not information routinely held or controlled by the Council.
  4. Reasonable steps - I would expect reasonable steps to be taken to obtain [data] from the relevant enforcement agents, in line with the ICO's guidance on information held by contractors.
    • For the reasons set out above, holding the records requested for the Council is not a contractual obligation of enforcement agents.  The Council relies on the ICO guidance for public authorities which states: If you don’t hold a particular piece of information that someone has asked for, you don’t have to create it. Nor are you required to ask a third party for the information unless they hold it on your behalf.
  5. Partial disclosure - I would ask that the council clearly identifies which parts are genuinely not held, and provides the remainder rather than refusing the request in full.
    • You have already been provided with a response to your previous FOI.  The current FOI only contains a re-statement of the parts of your previous request where the information is not held by the local authority.  

In summary we confirm, in accordance with section 1(1)(a) FOIA,  that the information requested is not held by the Local Authority.

Internal Review of FOI Response 3932089 dated 18 March 2026
Request for Internal Review received on 20 March 2026

This internal review has been undertaken by the Council’s Data Protection Officer.

It is an internal review of the response to FOI 3932089 which was a follow-up request to FOI 3853494. Your request for an internal review does not dispute the rationale behind the response to your previous request but does state that other Councils, using the same enforcement agencies, have obtained and disclosed the figures requested.  You state:

'The response you have provided is not in line with that provided by other councils and before taking this to the ICO, please can you confirm that you have requested this information from your enforcement agents, who you list as Penham Excel Ltd, Bristow & Sutor and Newlyn PLC. Please note that for all of these agents, we have already received figures from other councils and know them to be available.'

As you have not disputed our interpretation of the FOIA in relation to your request we are upholding this decision. It is the case that the Council’s external enforcement agencies have no contractual obligation to compile and supply complete records on the total number of letters and visits in relation to its enforcement activities undertaken on behalf of the Council. 

In line with our duty to provide requesters with reasonable advice and assistance under section 16 FOIA, we are mindful of your need to have the completest possible data set for your research.  With this in view, we contacted the external enforcement agencies to ascertain to what extent they are able and willing to provide the data requested.  For the date range specified in your requests, they confirm the following figures on behalf of Rushcliffe Brough Council:

Total 2,749 letters and 1,951 visits.

 

FOI Responses Council Tax 2026