The Original Freedom Of Information Request

Dear Sir/Madam, Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, I am writing to request recorded information held by Brighton Hove City Council. This request relates to the letter sent to residents of Auckland Drive BN2 4JG dated 21st October 2025, with the reference Ref ESADBins, regarding Changes to Bin Collections on Auckland Drive. The letter states: “After listening to your feedback and looking at how bins are currently collected on Auckland Drive, and in full consultation with our colleagues in Estates, we are suggesting a different way of doing things…” I would like to request copies of the following recorded information: 1. All recorded feedback from residents or on their behalf concerning bin collections on Auckland Drive, as mentioned in the sentence above, which was used to inform the proposed changes. 2. All recorded information, minutes, memos, and correspondence relating to the full consultation with our colleagues in Estates mentioned in the same sentence, which was also used to inform the proposed changes. I understand that if this information contains personal data of third parties such as residents names, house numbers, or email addresses, this information must be redacted under Section 40 of the Act. I am requesting the content of the feedback and consultations, not the personal details of those who provided it. I would prefer to receive this information in a digital format, sent to this email address. Please provide confirmation of receipt of this request. Yours faithfully, Bevendean Resident

Dear Bevendean Resident, Freedom of Information Act 2000 Thank you for your request for information to Brighton Hove City Council the council that was received on 23 October 2025. Your Information Request has been logged as. We are considering your request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Our external website has information relating to this that you may find useful… The link is below. Freedom of Information We aim to send a response to all requests for information within 20 working days of receipt. We plan to respond to your request by 20 November 2025. If we need more time, we’ll let you know the extended due date. We’ll also contact you should we require any additional information in relation to your request. Please include your case reference 21209941 on all correspondence in relation to this request. IMPORTANT Please do not edit the existing subject line text when replying to this email. If you change this it will take us longer to identify the request that you are corresponding about and will delay us in responding to you. Yours sincerely Information Rights Team

Dear Bevendean Resident, Freedom of Information request ref 21209941 We are considering your request of 23 October 2025 under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. We’re sorry, we need more time to consider and respond to your request due to awaiting responses from the service areas that may hold information relevant to your request. We now plan to respond to you by 18 December 2025. This new date exceeds the 20-working day statutory time limit, and should be considered as a non-statutory extension. We thank you for your patience and apologise for any inconvenience this extension causes you. Please include your case reference 21209941 on all correspondence in relation to this request. IMPORTANT Please do not edit the existing subject line text when replying to this email. If you change this, it will take us longer to identify the request that you are corresponding about and will delay us in responding to you. Yours sincerely Information Rights Team

Dear Bevendean Resident, Freedom of Information Act 2000 Thank you for your request for information to Brighton Hove City Council the council that was received on 23 October 2025. We apologise for the length of time it has taken us to respond to you. We have now processed your request and our response is below. Your request Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, I am writing to request recorded information held by Brighton Hove City Council. This request relates to the letter sent to residents of Auckland Drive BN2 4JG dated 21st October 2025, with the reference Ref ESADBins, regarding Changes to Bin Collections on Auckland Drive. The letter states: “After listening to your feedback and looking at how bins are currently collected on Auckland Drive, and in full consultation with our colleagues in Estates, we are suggesting a different way of doing things…” I would like to request copies of the following recorded information: 1. All recorded feedback from residents or on their behalf concerning bin collections on Auckland Drive, as mentioned in the sentence above, which was used to inform the proposed changes. 2. All recorded information, minutes, memos, and correspondence relating to the full consultation with our colleagues in Estates mentioned in the same sentence, which was also used to inform the proposed changes. I understand that if this information contains personal data of third parties such as residents names, house numbers, or email addresses, this… Our response In processing your request we liaised with colleagues within Environmental Services as they would hold the information in relation to your request were this information to be held by the council. We can confirm that the information you have requested is held by the council but is exempt from disclosure for the reasons detailed below. Under s. 22 Information intended for future publication of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 the Act, we are not required to provide information in response to a request if it is held with a view to its publication at some future date whether determined or not. As this is a qualified exemption, and as required, we have considered the following factors for and against disclosure: – Factors for disclosure: Increase in public awareness and government transparency on this matter. – Factors against disclosure: The information is in the process of being reviewed; disclosure would not give a true picture of the current processes; proper internal consideration of the information is required prior to its public release. These figures were already intended for future publication prior to receipt of your request. It would not be fair to all those involved in the publication if this information was disclosed early to a particular party. Having considered the factors above, we consider that the public interest lies in not disclosing this information to you at this time. The information you’ve requested will be published in due course via a letter to residents. Please quote the reference number 21209941 in any future communications. 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 within 40 working days of the date of receipt of this response and should be addressed to freedomofinformationbrighton-hove.gov.uk or by post to the address at the top of this letter. If you are still dissatisfied with the Council’s response after the Internal Review you have a right of appeal to the Information Commissioner at https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/foi-and-eir-complaints/foi-and-eir-complaints. We will now close your request as of this date. Yours sincerely Information Rights Team

Dear Information Rights Team, I am writing to request an Internal Review of your decision dated 24 November 2025 regarding my request (Ref: 21209941). You have refused to provide the information citing Section 22 (Information intended for future publication), stating that the information will be published “via a letter to residents.” I wish to challenge this decision on three grounds: 1. Discrepancy in Scope Section 22 only applies if there is a settled intention to publish the exact information requested. I requested “all recorded information, minutes, memos, and correspondence.” A “letter to residents” is a communication summary; it is not a publication of raw consultation minutes or full feedback logs. Unless the Council intends to attach full unedited minutes and feedback logs to the resident letter, Section 22 does not apply to the specific recorded information I requested. 2. Public Interest Test The feedback and consultation in question were used to justify significant changes to waste collection on Auckland Drive. There is a strong public interest in transparency regarding how these decisions were reached before the process is concluded. Receiving a summary letter “in due course” denies residents the ability to scrutinize the decision-making process while it is still relevant. 3. Error in Application Your refusal notice states: “These figures were already intended for future publication.” My request did not pertain to “figures”; it pertained to qualitative feedback and correspondence. This error suggests the Public Interest Test was conducted using a generic template rather than a specific consideration of the requested material. Please reconsider your decision and release the requested minutes, memos, and feedback logs. Yours sincerely, Bevendean Resident

Dear Bevendean Resident, Thank you for your request for an Internal Review received on 24 November 2025. We are sorry that you are dissatisfied with our attempts to handle your request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. We can confirm that we are considering your concerns and we will aim to provide you with a response by 23 December 2025. IMPORTANT: Please do not edit the subject line when replying to this email. If you change this it will take us longer to identify the request that you are corresponding about and will delay us in responding to you. Yours faithfully Information Rights Case Officer Information Rights

Dear Bevendean Resident, Freedom of Information Act 2000 – Internal review Thank you for your internal review request of the 24th November 2025 in relation to your Freedom of Information Act request regarding Changes to the Bin Collections on Auckland Drive which we received on the 23rd October 2025. We have now processed your request and I can confirm that we uphold your complaint. Your request This request relates to the letter sent to residents of Auckland Drive BN2 4JG dated 21st October 2025, with the reference Ref ESADBins, regarding Changes to Bin Collections on Auckland Drive. The letter states: “After listening to your feedback and looking at how bins are currently collected on Auckland Drive, and in full consultation with our colleagues in Estates, we are suggesting a different way of doing things…” I would like to request copies of the following recorded information: 1. All recorded feedback from residents or on their behalf concerning bin collections on Auckland Drive, as mentioned in the sentence above, which was used to inform the proposed changes. 2. All recorded information, minutes, memos, and correspondence relating to the full consultation with our colleagues in Estates mentioned in the same sentence, which was also used to inform the proposed changes. I would like to request copies of the following recorded information. Our response The initial response to your request was sent to you within the 20-day statutory limit and therefore compliant under Section 10 of the Freedom of Information Act. In conducting your internal review, I have considered the relevant sections of the Act and the Information Commissioner’s guidance to determine whether the exemption cited had been appropriately applied. I have also liaised with colleagues within Environmental Services as they were involved in the initial request. The exemptions in our initial response were as follows: Section 22 Information intended for future publication To engage the section 22 exemption the public authority must ensure that the following conditions are met at the time of the request. The public authority must, at the time of the request, hold the information and intend that it or any other person will publish it in future. This means that it must have a settled expectation that the information will be published at some future date. The intention to publish must pre-date the request. A general intention to publish some information will not suffice. The information that the public authority intends to be published must be the specific information the applicant has requested. If, in the course of preparing information for publication, some information is discarded or rejected, the exemption under section 22 will not cover that rejected material. Although the public authority must hold the information at the time of the request with a view to its publication, the exemption does not require a set publication date to be in place. Having discussed with the team the intention has always been to be open and transparent, and the letters sent out were done so to provide clarity around the feedback that informed the decision regarding the Changes to the Bin Collections on Auckland Drive. Despite this, there was some confusion around the use of the exemption, and my review has determined that the criteria above had not been met as the specific information requested was not intended to be published in its entirety and it is for this reason that your complaint is upheld. The team have shared a summary of information in writing as part of their initial response and in light of this decision are now working to provide the raw data you requested, including recorded feedback and consultation materials. However, this is a considerable amount of information, and they must ensure that appropriate redactions are applied to protect the personal data of residents and comply with legal requirements. This process will take some time, but please be assured that the team are doing their best to complete it as quickly as possible. Due to staff absences and capacity issues in the team, the intention is to provide the resident email feedback by January 23rd 2026 and the internal correspondence by February 23rd 2026. We are sorry for this delay and will keep you updated on our progress and provide the information as soon as it is ready. The above concludes our internal review and we will now close this request as of the date of this response. If you are not content with the outcome of this Internal Review you have the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner’s Office for a further decision. Yours faithfully, Information Rights Team