FOI003327 FOI Business Rates

I am writing to request information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 concerning credit balances held on non-domestic rating accounts.

Please provide your most recent available report of business-rates accounts that currently have a credit balance.

For each account, please provide the following information where held:

1. Billing Authority property reference number;
2. VOA assessment reference number;
3. Property address;
4. Property postcode;
5. Ratepayer name, limited to incorporated companies, limited liability partnerships, public authorities, registered charities and other legal persons;
6. The amount of the credit balance;
7. The financial year or years to which the credit relates;
8. The date the credit first arose;
9. The reason for the credit, using any category or description already held within your system;
10. Whether the account remains active or has been closed;
11. Whether a refund has been requested;
12. Whether a refund has been authorised;
13. Whether the authority has attempted to contact the ratepayer;
14. Whether the balance has been written on, written off, transferred or otherwise adjusted;
15. The date of the most recent refund or credit-balance review.

I do not request:

- bank account details;
- payment-card details;
- authentication information;
- security questions or answers;
- personal telephone numbers;
- personal email addresses;
- copies of refund forms;
- signatures; or
- any other information that could be used to impersonate a ratepayer.

Where you consider disclosure of the exact credit amount to engage section 31, please provide the remaining fields and replace the exact amount with one of the following bands:

- £0.01 to £99.99;
- £100 to £499.99;
- £500 to £999.99;
- £1,000 to £4,999.99;
- £5,000 to £9,999.99;
- £10,000 to £49,999.99;
- £50,000 and above.

If you consider that property-level disclosure would still engage section 31, please provide aggregated information showing:

1. the total number of accounts in credit;
2. the total value of all credits;
3. the number and value within each of the above bands;
4. the number and value relating to active accounts;
5. the number and value relating to closed accounts;
6. the number and value outstanding for:
  - less than three months;
  - three to twelve months;
  - one to three years;
  - three to six years;
  - more than six years;
7. the number and value of credits refunded during each of the previous three financial years;
8. the number and value of credits written on, written off or transferred during each of the previous three financial years.