29 April 2013: Gifts and Hospitality

I write in connection with your request for information which was received by the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for North Yorkshire (Commissioner) on the  30 April 2013.  I note you seek access to the following information:

1) Details of all gifts and hospitalities accepted and declined by the Police & Crime Commissioner since 15^th November 2012 to date.  Please include a) Type of Gift/Hospitality b) Donors name (individual and/or company) c) value or estimation and d)date gift/hospitality accepted or declined.

 Extent and Result of Searches to Locate Information

To locate information relevant to your request, searches were conducted within the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner.

I can confirm that the information you have requested is held by the Commissioner.

Decision

The following link will give you access to the page where the Commissioner’s Register of Gifts and Hospitality is published:
gifts-and-hospitality

All of the offers of gifts and hospitalities  made to the Commissioner since the 15^th November 2012 are published at that link.  Information about the type of gift/hospitality, donor’s name, estimate of value and date is all available at the above link.

 It has been decided that the Commissioner is exempt from providing you with a separate copy of this information for the reasons detailed below.

S17 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act) requires the Commissioner when refusing to provide information because the information is exempt, to provide the applicant with a notice which: (a) states the fact, (b) specifies the exemption in question and (c) states (if it would not otherwise be apparent) why the exemption applies.

Section 21 – Information reasonably accessible by other means

 It has been decided that the Commissioner is exempt from providing you with a separate copy of the Register of Gifts and Hospitality pursuant to S21 of the Act.

Section 21 is a class based absolute exemption which does not require consideration of the harm or public interest when applying this exemption.

This exemption applies as the information you have requested is all available at the above link and includes information to June 2013, which means it is up to date as at the date of your request.

Pursuant to Section 17(1) Freedom of Information Act 2000, this letter acts as a refusal notice in relation to these parts of your request.