Commonly Requested Information

Worcester City Council receives regular requests of a similar nature for specific information. Some of this information we are already obliged to make available under relevant legislation, however there is other data that we choose to publish in order to aid requestors by providing instant access to the information

The following information and datasets are those which we receive the most frequent requests for:

• Business Rates Datasets for properties within Worcester City, including:
  • All business properties in Worcester City
  • Empty Properties
  • Properties receiving Charitable or Rural Rate Relief
  • Properties receiving Small Business Rate Relief
  • Properties receiving Retail Relief
  • New accounts in the previous 3 months
  • Accounts with credit balances
• Licencing Public Registers including:
  • Driver Licences
  • Vehicle Licences
  • Riding Establishment Licences
  • Sex Establishment Licences
• Planning Application List – access to all current and historic planning applications received by Worcester City Council since 1947.
• Contracts – a register of all contracts awarded by Worcester City Council that exceed a contract value of £5,000.
• Expenditure – publication of all individual payments over £250 made by Worcester City Council to suppliers.
• pdf HMO Register (113 KB) – the Register of Houses in Multiple Occupation licensed under Worcester City Council's Licensing Scheme.

We also receive regular requests for information that is not held by Worcester City Council. Please find below the details of those organisations that may be better placed to provide the information you are seeking:

• Council/Social Housing in Worcester – Worcester City Council does not own any housing stock. All housing stock was transferred to Worcester Community Housing in 2004. Worcester Community Housing are now called Fortis Living and their contact details are as follows:
  
  4 Festival House
  Grovewood Road
  Enigma Business Park
  Malvern
  WR14 1GD
  
  Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
• Tower Blocks in Worcester – Worcester City Council does not own or have responsibility for any tower blocks. Please contact Fortis Living for information regarding the tower blocks in Worcester.
• Trading Standards
• West Mercia Police – We receive regular requests for information that is more likely to be held by West Mercia Police, whose contact details are:
  
  West Mercia Police Headquarters
  Information Compliance Unit
  PO Box 55
  Worcester
  WR3 8SP
  
  Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Requests for Information under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act, or the Environmental Information Regulations (EIR)

You can submit a request for information to us which we will consider under the FOI Act (2000) or the EIR (2004), depending on the nature of the information you are requesting. In most cases we will provide the information to you within 20 working days.

The EIR covers information that details effects on the environment or measures to affect or mitigate. This includes information relating to air, water, soil, landscapes, energy, noise, waste and emissions. The FOI act covers all recorded information not covered by the EIR, except for personal information. Recorded information could be printed documents, computer files, letters, emails, photographs, or audio and video recordings.

There are instances where we will not be able to disclose all or some of the information you have requested, for example where:

• We do not hold the information
• We already publish the information, or plan to do so in the future
• The cost of providing the information would exceed £450
• The information requested contains the personal data of one or more individuals (other than yourself)
• The request is vexatious or a repeat of a previous request
• Another exemption from the relevant legislation applies. Please see the ICO website for guidance on making requests and for information on the different exemptions to the FOI and EIR acts.

If you can not find the information you are seeking on our website, and you believe that the information is held by Worcester City Council, please submit an information request.

Alternatively, you can write to us with your request at the following address:

Corporate Policy and Strategy Team
Worcester City Council
The Guildhall
High Street
Worcester
WR1 2EY

We will deal with your request as soon as we can, and in accordance with the legislation will normally respond to you within 20 working days. If responding to your request will take longer than this, we will contact you to keep you updated.

If you are dissatisfied with the handling of your request, you have the right to ask for an internal review. Internal review requests should be submitted no later than two months from the date of our response to your original request. To request an internal review, please write to us at the above address.

If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at:

Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF