FOI 714/26
Request
Please provide the following information for the period 1 January 2020 to the present date in relation to the communities of Glyncoch, Coed-y-Cwm and Ynysybwl, Rhondda Cynon Taf.
- The number of emergency incidents attended within these communities.
- The number of incidents where response times were recorded as being delayed due to:
o Traffic congestion;
o Road closures;
o Road traffic collisions;
o Obstructions caused by heavy goods vehicles (HGVs);
o Any issue affecting access via Berw Road (B4273) or the principal access route between Pontypridd and Ynysybwl.
- Copies of any operational reports, incident debriefs, risk assessments, or internal reviews that refer to:
o Delays in reaching incidents in Glyncoch, Coed-y-Cwm or Ynysybwl;
o Difficulties accessing these communities;
o Traffic conditions on Berw Road;
o The impact of quarry traffic or HGV traffic on emergency response.
- Details of any occasions where emergency vehicles were required to take an alternative route because Berw Road was blocked, congested or otherwise unavailable.
- Copies of any correspondence, reports or assessments exchanged with:
o Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council;
o Planning and Environment Decisions Wales (PEDW);
o The local highway authority;
o Quarry operators within the Craig-yr-Hesg area;
concerning emergency access to Glyncoch, Coed-y-Cwm or Ynysybwl.
- Any documents held that assess the resilience of emergency service access to these communities in the event of a closure or obstruction of Berw Road.
Response
Your request for information has now been considered, and I am not obliged to supply the information you have requested.
Section 17(5) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 requires South Wales Police, when refusing to provide such information (because the information is exempt) to provide you the applicant with a notice which:
(a) states that fact,
(b) specifies the exemption in question and
(c) states (if that would not otherwise be apparent) why the exemption applies.
In relation to your request, the following exemption applies:
Section 12(1) – Cost of compliance exceeds appropriate limit.
We have consulted with our Performance analysts who have provided the following information. 2430 incidents have been marked as ‘arrived’ for the Ynysybwl or Glyncoch beat areas between the dates specified. These two beat areas cover all three areas in the request.
We estimate that it would take approximately 5-6 minutes to determine if the response times were delayed and why this was.
We therefore estimate that it would take over 18 hours to retrieve the information.
It is estimated that the cost of providing you with the information is above the amount to which we are legally required to respond i.e. the cost of locating and retrieving the information exceeds the "appropriate level" as stated in the Freedom of Information (Fees and Appropriate Limit) Regulations 2004.
In the case of the police service, the appropriate limit is £450 which has been calculated to equate to a total of 18 hours of work.
If any part of the request exceeds the fees limit then Section 12 applies to the whole request.
In accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000, this letter acts as a refusal notice.
Excess cost removes the forces obligation under the Freedom of Information Act, however under Section 16 – Duty to provide advice and assistance, an authority is required to offer an applicant the opportunity to redefine their request within the cost limit. If you were to remove questions 1 and 2, we may be able to assist with your request.