Freedom of information response
Memorandums of Understanding
Please provide a copy of all Memorandums of Understanding between the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire shared services unit and Thurrock Council governing the usage and access rights of council staff to the Police National Computer in relation to counter fraud work from 1st January 2020 to the date of this request.
Please state the date each MOU was signed.
Thurrock Council staff access the Police National Computer (PNC) system through Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Herefordshire (BCH) PNC gateway which was agreed by the Police Information Access Panel (PIAP). Please find attached a copy of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between BCH and Thurrock Council in response to your FOI request.
In issuing our response the Council has applied S40(2) and S31(1)(a) FOIA exemptions to the parts of the released MoU.
S40(2) Personal Information of the Freedom of Information Act.
Unfortunately we are unable to provide in full the information you have requested. We do hold the information but an absolute exemption applies.
Personal data of any other person (third party data) is exempt under section 40(2) if disclosure would breach of the data protection principles. This aspect of Section 40 is an Absolute Exemption and is therefore not subject to the Public Interest Test
The names of officers working for the Council is personal data specific to them. It is therefore subject to the provisions of the Data Protection Act. Information can be withheld if its disclosure would be likely to breach one or more of the Principles of the Data Protection Act. There is no prior expectation on the part of team Managers (or other officers working below the level of Director) that their names and job titles / positions would be published into the wider public domain under FOI. A disclosure made under FOI constitutes a publication to the world at large. We believe that to disclose this would be likely to breach the first Principle of the Data Protection Act by unfairly contravening their right to privacy and confidentiality in the work place.
S31(1)(a) Law Enforcement Exemption of the Freedom of Information Act.
Information is exempt information if its disclosure under this Act would, or would be likely to prejudice various law enforcement purposes including preventing crime, administering justice, and collecting tax. We are unable to provide the level of detail requested at the current time as we believe that releasing details of the level of PNC access provided to Thurrock Council employees could potentially invite fraudulent or criminal activity.
The reasons for the application of this exemption have been captured below under the public interest test section.
Public Interest Test:
- Public interest in disclosure:
- There is a public interest in Thurrock Council to operate in a transparent manner. Releasing requested information could be seen as reassurance to the public that Thurrock Council employees have appropriate PNC access to investigate fraudulent activities.
- Public interest to maintain the exemption:
- Disclosing requested information would damage Council’s interest as it would impact on Thurrock Council’s operational and tactical capabilities to effectively and efficiently carry out investigation of criminal activities.
- Disclosure of information would assist criminals with avoiding detection of criminal activities
- Disclosure of requested information could compromise law enforcement tactics, which may hinder Thurrock Council’s ability to prevent and detect crime and enforce the law and could be detrimental to the effective operation of investigating activities.