Senior name and rank of NCTPHQ
Freedom of information request reference no: 01.FOI.24.038949
I note you seek access to the following information:
On 24 December 12:39 an e-mail was sent titled "Gatwick - Comms" from an NCTPHQ e-mail addressed to Sussex Police.
- Could you detail the rank (and if possible the name of the officer if the rank is senior) of the NCTPHQ sender.
- Could you detail the rank (and if possible the name of the officers if the rank is senior) of the 2 Sussex Police recipients, I imagine it'll likely include the Chief Constable **** **** but would like that to be confirmed.
Decision
I have today decided to disclose some of the requested information. Some data has been withheld as it is exempt from disclosure and therefore this response serves as a Refusal Notice under Section 17 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act) by virtue of the following exemptions:
Section 40(2) and (3) – Personal Information
Reason for decision
Could you detail the rank (and if possible the name of the officer if the rank is senior) of the NCTPHQ sender.
In regards to the first part of your request, please note that the individual based within what was then called NCTPHQ was a member of police staff and to disclose their name would allow for the identification of a person who was below the grade of a senior Broad Band. The MPS does not release the names of its police staff who are not performing a role at a Director’s level.
Could you detail the rank (and if possible the name of the officers if the rank is senior) of the 2 Sussex Police recipients, I imagine it'll likely include the Chief Constable **** **** but would like that to be confirmed.
In addition, in relation to the second part of your request, to release one of the individual’s name who was a Sussex Police recipient of this email would be a disclosure of personal information.
Both individuals are no longer based in these roles, as well as within CTPHQ or Sussex Police and as such, could now be classified as private citizens.
Therefore, by publicly revealing both names could allow them to be identified, which would breach the right to privacy afforded to persons under the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA) and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). As such, the MPS has engaged Section 40(2)(3) of the Act.
Section 40(2) and (3) - Personal Information - of the Act, Public Authorities are able to withhold information where its release would identify any living individual and breach the principles of the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA). I have applied this exemption in that names of these individual’s contained within the email correspondence you have referenced would constitute personal data which, if released, be in breach of the rights provided by the DPA.
The six principles of the DPA govern the way in which data controllers must manage personal data. Under principle one of the DPA, personal data must be processed fairly and lawfully. I consider that the release of the details of any member of staff within CTPHQ which is below grade Band A and in addition with the Sussex Police staff member, no longer performing any policing role constitutes personal data. The release of this information would be unfair as the person(s) concerned would have no reasonable expectation that the MPS would make this information publicly available.
In reaching my decision, I have, in each case, given due regard to the condition at Article 6(1) (a) and 6(1) (e) of the GDPR. Condition one of the GDPR requires that consideration is given to whether consent for disclosure has been given whilst Condition six requires that consideration is given to performance of a public task in the public interest.
Having considered both conditions, I have established that no consent is present or would likely be received to release this information.
This exemption is both absolute and class based. When this exemption is applied, it is accepted that harm would result from disclosure. There is accordingly no requirement to consider whether release of information is in the public interest or demonstrate what harm would result from disclosure.
Disclosure
Could you detail the rank (and if possible the name of the officer if the rank is senior) of the NCTPHQ sender.
With regards to the first part of your request, whilst the MPS is exempting the name of the individual, we can disclose their pay band. Please note that as this was a member of Police Staff they would not have a rank.
Therefore, I can confirm that the member of staff was a Band B.
Could you detail the rank (and if possible the name of the officers if the rank is senior) of the 2 Sussex Police recipients, I imagine it'll likely include the Chief Constable **** **** but would like that to be confirmed.
In relation to your second query, I can confirm that the following details:
- recipient – Deputy Chief Constable Jo Shiner (the role being performed in 2018)
- recipient – Job title was Head of Media