NFRS 2023 43 - High Risk Buildings
You asked for:
I am writing to you under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 to request the following information from Nottingham University Hospitals.
Please may you provide me with:
The names and addresses of the 23 buildings which are marked as 'high risk' by Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service after the Grenfell Tower fire.
If it is not possible to provide the information requested due to the information exceeding the cost of compliance limits identified in Section 12, please provide advice and assistance, under the Section 16 obligations of the Act, as to how I can refine my request.
If you can identify any ways that my request could be refined, I would be grateful for any further advice and assistance.
Our Response:
Answer: - The information requested has been deemed exempt by virtue of section 38(1)(b) Health and safety, under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
38.Health and safety.
- Information is exempt information if its disclosure under this Act would, or would be likelyto—
- endanger the physical or mental health of any individual, or
- endanger the safety of any individual.
- The duty to confirm or deny does not arise if, or to the extent that, compliance with section1(1)(a) would, or would be likely to, have either of the effects mentioned in subsection (1).
Section 38 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 is categorised as a Qualified and Prejudice Based type exemption and therefore requires a public interest test to be carried and that Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service to articulate the harm in disclosure.
Evidence of Harm
Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service is only required to consider the consequence of the disclosure of the information that has been requested to the ‘world at large’ and whether this, in itself, that the requested information ‘could be used’ and that ‘there is a likelihood’ buildings would be targeted causing ‘potential harm’.
Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service believes that the release of the information to the public would likely endanger the safety of people, residents in the buildings concerned; there are concerns that the names and addresses of tall buildings in residential use could be used by those with malicious intent (such as terrorists or arsonists) to attack or otherwise compromise the safety of these buildings and their residents.
If any information is released publicly without first informing affected residents, this way of disclosure may itself result in alarm and anxiety, thereby having an effect on those residents it states that it is trying best to protect.
Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service believes that there is a likelihood of buildings being targeted by persons with malicious intent (such as terrorists or arsonists), should the requested information be disclosed. It goes on to say that there are concerns that the name and addresses of tall buildings in residential use could be used to attack, or otherwise compromise, the safety of these buildings and the residents. It argues that the potential harm that could be caused to residents, should this information be used in this way, is very significant and would endanger safety.
There are precedents set that give credence to Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service’s concerns, in 2016 it was reported in Germany (Saxony). Crowds gathered and cheered at a hotel being converted into a refugee shelter in Saxony which was destroyed in a fire.
“A fire that destroyed a hotel being converted into a shelter for refugees in Saxony was cheered and celebrated by onlookers, German police have said.”
Crowd cheer fire at hotel being converted into refugee shelter in Saxony | Germany | The Guardian
The German Police treated the incident as suspected arson, and it lends weight to the argument that releasing a detailed list of buildings vulnerable or of high risk to potential attack.
Further weight is added as in February 2023 a demonstration outside the Suites hotel in Knowsley descended into violence with a police van torched and stones thrown.
“They turned up armed with hammers and fireworks to cause as much trouble as they could and their actions could have resulted in members of the public and police officers being seriously injured, or worse.”
Police arrest 15 people after violence outside hotel housing asylum seekers | UK news | The Guardian Whilst the hotel was not damaged the potential for such an incident to occur in particular where contentious issues are at the forefront cannot be ignored, especially if such information is placed in the public domain.
The UK threat level for international terrorism is currently set at ‘Substantial’ changed from ‘Severe’ on the 9th of February 2022. In addition, MI5 refers to varying tactics adopted by terrorist groups, including the targeting of public places with low security which contain a large group of people, and where there will be maximum casualties.
We can consider several major instances that further reinforces the security concerns by disclosing the information to the wider public.
Brighton hotel bombing - On 12 October 1984, the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) attempted to assassinate members of the British government at the Grand Hotel in Brighton, England. A long-delay time bomb was planted in the hotel. Five people were killed and a further 31 were injured.
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11 where hijackers crashed the first two planes into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Centre in New York City, two of the five tallest buildings in the world at the time, the attacks killed 2,977 people, injured thousands more.
2015 Sousse attacks, On 26 June 2015, a mass shooting occurred at the tourist resort at Port El Kantaoui, about 10 kilometres north of the city of Sousse, Tunisia. Thirty-eight people, 30 of whom were British, were killed when a gunman attacked a hotel.
It is the view of Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service that a full list of properties identified by name and location, that are known to be vulnerable to the effects of a fire, would be useful intelligence and therefore likely to be of assistance to a terrorist group, or similar, should they be contemplating an attack on a residential building.
Public Interest Test
Factor in Favour of Disclosure:
Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service accepts that there is always a degree of benefit in making information held by public authorities available as it can be expected to increase public participation in decision making and aid the transparency and accountability of government.
It recognises that there is a considerable public interest in individuals being able to ascertain which buildings are considered, by virtue of their height, to be at greater risk of vulnerability to a fire than other residential buildings.
It further recognises the public interest in ensuring that Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service and the responsible person(s) for buildings which fall under the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022, are appropriately undertaking and enforcing the requirements in law to provide information to Fire and Rescue Services. The information is intended to help them plan and, if needed, provide an effective operational response.
Factors in Favour of Withholding:
Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service is only required to consider the consequence of the disclosure of the information that has been requested to the ‘world at large’ and whether this, in itself, that the requested information ‘could be used’ and that ‘there is a likelihood’ buildings would be targeted causing ‘potential harm’.
Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service believes that the release of the information to the public would likely endanger the safety of people, residents in the buildings concerned; there are concerns that the names and addresses of tall buildings in residential use could be used by those with malicious intent (such as terrorists or arsonists) to attack or otherwise compromise the safety of these buildings and their residents.
If any information is released publicly without first informing affected residents, this way of disclosure may itself result in alarm and anxiety, thereby having an effect on those residents it states that it is trying best to protect.
Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service believes that there is a likelihood of buildings being targeted by persons with malicious intent (such as terrorists or arsonists), should the requested information be disclosed. It goes on to say that there are concerns that the name and addresses of tall buildings in residential use could be used to attack, or otherwise compromise, the safety of these buildings and the residents. It argues that the potential harm that could be caused to residents, should this information be used in this way, is very significant and would endanger safety.
Balance Test
Having reviewed both factors in favour of disclosing and withholding the information requested, believes that, on balance, the serious risk to public safety and endangerment of lives far outweighs any public interest in releasing information which identifies all the buildings in question. It has therefore concluded that it is not in the public interest to disclose the information at this time.