Coronavirus Breaches (870A/20)
Request
- Could you tell me how many reports of a breach of the covid social distancing rules were reported on my road against the number of properties visited since the new powers came in to force. The road in question is Foden Road in the Great Barr area of Birmingham partial post code B42.
- And finally if you can kindly confirm whether an officer is required to provide their name when identifying themselves and also whether certain PPE such as a face mask and gloves are required when entering residential properties at present.
Response
Our data are not organised in such a way as to allow us to provide this information within the appropriate (cost) limit within the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act (see ‘Reason for Decision’ below).
Although excess cost removes the force’s obligations under the Freedom of Information Act, as a gesture of goodwill I have supplied information, relative to your request, retrieved before it was realised that the fees limit would be exceeded (see attached). I trust this is helpful, but it does not affect our legal right to rely on the fees regulations for the remainder of the request.
REASON FOR DECISION
Please note that researching each individual case would exceed the appropriate limit (FOIA, s.12). We can say how many incidents we have created for Foden Road that are related to Covid, however there may be other visits where a log wasn’t created and this information isn’t centrally recorded, therefore in order to locate and retrieve this information would exceed the FOI time limit.
The cost of compliance with the whole of your request is above the amount to which we are legally required to respond, i.e. the cost of locating and retrieving the information would exceed the appropriate costs limit under section 12(1) of the FOI Act 2000. For West Midlands Police, the appropriate limit is set at £450, as prescribed by the Freedom of Information and Data Protection (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004, S.I. 3244.