Response 2565089

Response to request for information

Reference

2565089

Response date

7 February 2024

Request

The following information is to be provided on the sheet labelled Exempt accommodation full data.

• Anonymised details for each individual paid housing benefit claim in respect of exempt accommodation by Rushcliffe Council from January 1, 2017 (or a more recent date if information this far back is unobtainable under FOI cost and time limit rules) to December 31, 2023.
• This information can be provided on a weekly (e.g. Dec 18 – 24 2023) or monthly (e.g. December 2023) basis, whatever is simplest to compile.
• Data should include the following details of the claim:
• Unique (anonymised) claimant ID.
• Local authority.
• Exempt accommodation provider.
• Payment period the data entry refers to (weekly or monthly, etc whichever is simplest. E.g. Dec 18 – 24 2023 or December 2023).
• Total amount paid in Housing Benefit for supported exempt accommodation in the above period (direct to landlord or provider).
• Total amount paid in Housing Benefit for supported exempt accommodation in period (to claimant).
• Number of bedrooms in the claim.
• Type of supported exempt accommodation (if known) (e.g. Mother and baby unit; emergency homeless accommodation).
• Data should include the following details of the property attached to the claim:
• Unique (anonymised) property ID.
• Approximate anonymised location (e.g. ward).
• Property type (e.g. apartment, terrace house, etc.).
• Number of bedrooms in the property in period (NB: If this could lead to potentially identifiable data, for example if there are only a small number supported exempt accommodations with exactly 10 rooms, then please exclude this information and mark with *).
• If it is not possible to provide information to the above level of detail, please instead provide the following summary information, on the sheet Summary data by provider:
• Data for each exempt accommodation provider on how many claims are paid and how much money over a payment period by Rushcliffe Council from January 1, 2017 (or a more recent date if information this far back is unobtainable under FOI cost and time limit rules) to December 31, 2023.
• This information can be provided on a weekly (e.g. Dec 18 – 24 2023) or monthly (e.g. December 2023) basis, whatever is simplest to compile.
• Data should include the following details:
• Local Authority.
• Exempt accommodation provider.
• Payment period (week and year or month and year, whichever is simplest).
• Number of Housing Benefit claims for supported exempt accommodation.
• Total amount paid in Housing Benefit for supported exempt accommodation in period (direct to landlord or provider).
• Total amount paid in Housing Benefit for supported exempt accommodation in period (to claimant).

Response

Thank you for your freedom of information request. The Council considers the information requested above to fall under the exemption in  section 43(2) of the FOIA.   The information requested is held by the Council.  However, the Council is of the view the information is commercially sensitive and having considered whether it would be in the public interest to provide you with the information has concluded that disclosing the information requested would prejudice the Council’s commercial interests and  distort genuine competition resulting in the inflation of rent. I am satisfied that in all the circumstances of this case the public interest in withholding the information outweighs the public interest in disclosing it in accordance with section 43(2) of the FOIA.