Requests for information about business rates

Business rates Freedom of Information (FOI) requests

These reports comply with the Freedom of Information Act and provide data about business rates.

You can find out how to make a Freedom of Information request about a different service here. 

Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, members of the public can ask us for certain information about business rates.

As most of the requests we receive are for the same information, we publish a standard set of data reports, which are updated annually and which give information about all properties that:

• are registered for business rates in Barnsley
• receive small business rate relief
• receive mandatory relief
• receive charitable relief
• are empty

Asking for information

If you ask us for information that’s contained in any of the above reports, we’ll refer you to our published reports. We update the reports regularly, so if the information you want isn’t showing the first time you look, please check it again at a later date.

If the information you want isn’t covered in any of our reports, you can fill in a form to request it, but there may be a charge for this. We’ll write to you if this is the case.

Complying with the Freedom of Information Act

Any information we supply will not contain personal details about any customer, unless that customer is a Limited Company (as information about a Limited Company is public record).

(©) Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council and database right – 1 September 2013.

This dataset is a relevant copyright work for the purposes of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. It is owned solely by Barnsley Council but is available for re-use without charge, including for commercial purposes, in accordance with the terms of the Open Government Licence for datasets found at The National Archives

Re-using information on this page

Re-use means using public sector information, for a purpose other than the initial public task it was produced for. The Re-use of Public Sector Information Regulations 2015 are about permitting this re-use of information and how the information is made available.

In general, any information that is accessible, either because it has been published or because it has been released under Freedom of Information legislation or other access legislation will be made available for re-use. 

We retain copyright to all information we disclose.

Statement of public task

Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council's public task is the core responsibilities and functions as defined in legislation or established through custom and practice. Our role is to meet our statutory obligations and to exercise our functions (powers and duties) in areas which are devolved to us under various Acts of Parliament, such as the Local Government Acts. For example, we must run local services such as social care and waste collection, and carry out regulatory and enforcement activity in areas of planning and trading standards. 

Do I need to make a request for re-use?

You do not need to ask permission to re-use any published information for which Barnsley Council holds the copyright, but you must acknowledge the copyright and source of information, agree and comply with the terms of the Open Government Licence (OGL). 

Where information is not released under the OGL, you will need to request permission for re-use under the RPSI regulations.

How to make a request for re-use

To make a request for re-use to Barnsley Council please:

• Submit the request: by emailing informationrequests@barnsley.gov.uk or in writing to: Barnsley Council, Information Governance Team, PO Box 634, Barnsley, S70 9GG
• Include your name and address for correspondence
• Specify the information that you want to re-use and the purpose you intend to use it for

When we receive a request to re-use information, we must respond within 20 working days. This time limit can be extended if the information is extensive or the request raises complex issues, but we must inform you of this within the 20 day period.  In most cases information will be available to re-use free of charge.  If the information is available electronically and you are happy to receive it by email there will be no charge.  There may be a charge if you require paper copies of documents.

What if I am not happy with the council’s decision?

If you are dissatisfied with the handling of a request for re-use by the council, or need the council to review its decision on charging, licensing, refusal or any other aspect of the council's response, you should contact us:

• by emailing informationrequests@barnsley.gov.uk
• in writing to: Barnsley Council, Information Governance Team, PO Box 634, Barnsley, S70 9GG

 If you are still not satisfied, you can contact the Information Commissioner's Office at:

• Customer Services Team, Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF

FOI extracts