Dear Mr Ryan, Request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 Thank you for your request for information, which we received on 11 September 2023.
We have searched through the Coal Authority’s records to locate the information you require. I can confirm that we do hold the information you have requested, and I have responded to your question below; In one of the emails which you previously sent me refers to ‘the work being same as we are already doing for NPTCBC’ From information by NPTCBC I believe you were requested to undertake tip inspections on their behalf from 2017. Could you send me any communications regarding that engagement. If necessary you can regard this as a freedom of information request. I have attached the communications concerning Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council engaging the Coal Authority to carry out inspections of tips. Also included are the attachments from the emails as well as the proposal document sent to Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council by the Coal Authority. Where applicable, you will see that information has been redacted by the use of black panels. This has been done under Section 40(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 – that the information constitutes personal data of which the requestor is not the data subject. This is an absolute exemption and does not require a public interest test. Additionally, information on the breakdown of our fees and daily rates has been redacted by the use of black panels. This has been done under Section 43(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 – that the information would, or would be likely to prejudice the commercial interests of any person if released. This is a qualified exemption and subject to a public interest test. This has been included at the end of this response for you, in Appendix A. As we have redacted personal information as well as commercially sensitive information we have partially refused your request. Therefore this constitutes a refusal notice under Section 17(1) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, with Section 40(2) and Section 43(2) applied. Once again thank you for your interest in the Coal Authority. If you are not satisfied with how we have dealt with your request, details of your complaints rights appear at the end of this letter. For further information about the Coal Authority, please visit our website: www.gov.uk/coalauthority If you have any further queries, please contact our Records Management team on 01623 637225 or email: recordsmanagement@coal.gov.uk
Yours sincerely Matthew Cheetham Records Officer
