Disclosure Log - August 2024 | North Devon Council

Request reference: FOI 9922

Issue date: 01.08.24

Request received:

Please provide the data for three (3) time periods: end of March 2024, end of June 2023, end of March 2023

1a. Number of households with children aged under 5 in temporary accommodation

1b. Number of households with children (under 5) in temporary accommodation for more than 6 weeks

1c. Number of households with children (under 5) in temporary accommodation for more than 6 months

2a. Number of households with children aged under 5 in Bed and Breakfast temporary accommodation

2b. Number of households with children (under 5) in Bed and Breakfast temporary accommodation for more than 6 weeks

2c. Number of households with children (under 5) in Bed and Breakfast temporary accommodation for more than 6 months

Response provided:

End of March 2023

1a – 27

1b – 8

1c – 20

2a – 2

2b – 1

2c - 2

End of June 23

1a – 36

1b – 8

1c – 24

2a – 2

2b – 1

2c – 2

End of March 24

1a – 13

1b – 7

1c – 12

2a – 0

2b – 0

2c – 0

Request reference: FOI 9990

Issue date: 02.08.24

Request received:

1. The total number of complaints received by the council about public toilets for each of the past five years (from 2020 to 2024)

2. A breakdown of these complaints by category, indicating the nature of the complaint (e g, cleanliness, maintenance issues, safety concerns, accessibility, etc)

3. Identification of the public toilet facilities (e g name and location) that have received the highest number of complaints within this period

4. Any actions or measures taken by the council in response to these complaints

5. How often each public toilet is cleaned

Response provided:

2020 = Two

2021 = Five

2022 = Four

2023 = Five

2024 = One

Total = 17

2. Cleanliness: 2020 = One

2021 = Three

2022 = Four

2023 = Five

2024 = 0

Total = 13

Accessibility: 2020 = One

2021 = Two

2022 = 0

2023 = 0

2024 = One

Total = Four

Safety: No complaints received in any of the requested years

3. Kiln Car Park Public Convenience, Combe Martin

Ilfracombe – specific Public Convenience not identified in complaint

Woolacombe – specific Public Convenience not identified in complaint

Croyde – specific Public Convenience not identified in complaint

Barnstaple – specific Public Convenience not identified in complaint

Location addresses of all Council operated Public Conveniences can be found on the Council website: Public Toilets, however the Council does not hold enough information to be able to sort the complaints by highest to lowest

4. Cleanliness - Toilets are cleaned more frequently during the summer months where there is an increase in complaints

Accessibility – The Council does not hold any specific information about the actions or measures taken regarding these complaints

5. All toilets are cleaned twice a day, 7 days a week which is increased during the summer months when there is greater demand

Request reference: EIR 10008

Issue date: 08.08.24

Request received:

The following information relating to the field to the west of Down End Car Park currently being used as Down End Point Campsite, Croyde Road, Croyde:

1. A copy of the written notification(s) provided to the council and its officers regarding the campsite use and the accompanying site plan and any other related information

2. Copies of emails and any other communications between the landowner/his agents and the council on the campsite use for the field, its proposed establishment and operation

3. Copies of any internal communications within the Council on this matter

4. Copies of communications with any other agencies, bodies, individuals or government bodies/departments on this matter

Response provided:

In accordance with Regulation 3(2), the Council confirmed that it does hold information that falls within the remit of the and provided the information held that falls under 1, 3 and 4 can with all personal data redacted throughout in accordance with Regulation 13 (personal data). Applicant advised that all information held that falls under 2 is considered to be the personal data of the landowner and therefore is fully exempt from disclosure in accordance with Regulation 13 (personal data)

Request reference: FOI 10012

Issue date: 08.08.24

Request received:

I require the organisations to provide me with the following contract information relating to the following corporate software/enterprise applications:

A. Enterprise Resource Planning Software Solution (ERP) -this is the organisation’s main

ERP system and may include service support, maintenance and upgrades

B. Primary Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Solution-this is the organisation’s main

CRM system and may include service support, maintenance and upgrades. Example of CRM systems the organisation may use could include Microsoft Dynamics, Front Office, Lagan CRM, Firm step

C. Primary Human Resources (HR) and Payroll Software Solution-this is the organisation’s main

HR/payroll system and may include service support, maintenance and upgrades. In some cases, the HR contract maybe separate to the payroll contract please provide both types of contracts. Example of HR/Payroll systems the organisation may use could include iTrent, Resource link

D. The organisation’s primary corporate Finance Software Solution-this is the organisation’s main

Finance system and may include service support, maintenance and upgrades. Example of finance systems the organisation may use could include E-Business suite, Agresso (Unit4), eFinancials, Integra, SAP

In some cases you may come across contracts that provides service support maintenance and upgrades separate to the main software contract, please also provide this information in the response following the requested data below

For each of the categories above can you please provide me with the relevant contract information listed below:

1. Software Category: ERP, CRM, HR, Payroll, Finance

2. Name of Supplier: Can you please provide me with the software provider for each contract?

3. The date in which these applications were implemented

4. The brand of the software: Can you please provide me with the actual name of the software. Please do not provide me with the supplier’s name again please provide me with the actual software name

5. Description of the contract: Please do not just state two to three words can you please provide me with detailed information about this contract and please state if upgrade, maintenance and support is included

Please also include any modules included within the contract as this will support the categories you have selected in question 1

6. Number of Users/Licenses: What is the total number of user/licenses for this contract?

7. Annual Spend: What is the annual average spend for each contract?

8. Contract Duration: What is the duration of the contract please include any available extensions within the contract

9. Contract Start Date: What is the start date of this contract? Please include month and year of the contract. DD-MM-YY or MM-YY

10. Contract Expiry: What is the expiry date of this contract? Please include month and year of the contract. DD-MM-YY or MM-YY

11. Contract Review Date: What is the review date of this contract? Please include month and year of the contract. If this cannot be provided, please provide me estimates of when the contract is likely to be reviewed. DD-MM-YY or MM-YY

12. Contact Details: I require the full contact details of the person within the organisation responsible for this particular software contract (name, job title, email, contact number)

Response provided:

ERP - The Council does not have an ERP system in place, therefore no contract is held
Primary Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Solution:
CRM – Granicus-Firmstep Ltd - Contract Details via published register
Granicus
Firmstep – 2018
Government software
End to end citizen request management. Creates online forms and workflows. Reports and analytics to measure and improve service outcomes, support and software assurance included.
20 users
This is published via the contract register, via the link provided above.
As 7 above
As 7 above
As 7 above
As 7 above
As 7 above
Primary Human Resources (HR) and Payroll Software Solution:
HR and Payroll – Softcat plc – contract details via published public register
Softcat plc
Itrent 2019
Itrent
Cloud based HR and payroll software. Support and software assurance included. Modules included:

Employee Self Service	500
eSlips and eP60s	500
GDPR	500
General Ledger Interface	500
Human Resources Management	500
Insight Builder	500
Manager Dashboards	500
Mobile	500
Organisation Charts	500
Payroll	500
Timesheets and Expenses	500
iTrent Shield\|Multi-Factor Authentication	500
Learning	500
LGPS Returns	500
Onboarding	500
Recruitment	500
SOAP Web Services	500
Web Recruitment	500
Workflow Data Publisher	500

HR - Maximum of 500 employees, Payroll - Maximum of 500 employees
This is published via the contract register, via the link provided above.
As 7 above
As 7 Above
As 7 above
As 7 above
As 7 above
The organisation’s primary corporate Finance Software Solution:
Finance - Civica UK Limited – Contract details via published register
Civica UK Ltd
An accurate date is not held by the Council, however it is estimated to be from approximately 2002
Civica Financials
Civica Financials is a multi-channel solution, based on a browser-based user access which enables simple connection both locally and remotely. The system provides ‘thin client’ access to minimise network traffic, promoting self-service and delivers specialist public sector functionality through its General Ledger (GL), Purchase-to-Pay (P2P), Automated Invoice Processing, Contracts, Debt Management, Asset, Budgeting/ Forecasting and Reporting modules. Support included
Unlimited
£32,000
This is published via the contract register, via the link provided above
As 8 above
As 8 above
As 8 above
As 8 above

Request reference: FOI 10014

Issue date: 09.08.24

Request received:

The organisational structure charts (including names, job title, email address & contact numbers for the following teams:

• Revenues and Benefits

• Financial Assessments

• Income Maximisation

• Homelessness

• Adult Social Services

• Mental Health and Wellbeing

This may also include commissioning teams covering the following job titles:

Director, Assistant Director, Head of Service, Service Manager / Senior Managers.

The applicant requested the following information for these teams:

1. How often do these teams carry out training within their departments to ensure they are up-to-date with their areas (legislative, procedural and soft skills)?

2. Does the training take place in-house or is this delivered by external companies?

3. Is there a system in place where they can access up-to-date information/documents?

4. How much is spent annually on training and any system to store policies/documents for these departments?

Response provided:

Applicant directed to contact Devon County Council for the information covering Adult Social Services and Mental Health and Wellbeing

Applicant provided with the organisational structure charts and the following responses:

Revenues and Benefits

1. Regularly, as and when it is required

2. Both depending on the training need

3. Yes

4. This information is not recorded

Financial Assessments and Income Maximisation

The Council does not have either such teams. however the Council responds with a copy of its Finance Structure chart and the following response:

1. The accountants have regular training as required in line with their professional qualification requirements

2. This can be internal and external

3. Yes, various subscriptions

4. Finance has an annual training budget of £2,600

Homelessness

1. All housing officers obtain Shelter A&B, then on-going training available to cover any new housing/homelessness developments and new Acts in relation to housing/ Refugee/Modern Slavery Training

2. Both

3. Housing Websites/Legal case law websites

4. Annual budget of £2,100

Request reference: FOI 10015

Issue date: 07.08.24

Request received:

1. Between the dates of 1st April 2023 to the present day, how much money was spent on domestic abuse related training for council staff, if any?

2. Between the dates of 1st April 2023 to the present day, which external organisations were used to deliver domestic abuse related training to council staff, if any?

3. Between the dates of 1st April 2023 to the present day, how much money was spent on Domestic Abuse related training for social workers?

4. Between the dates of 1st April 2023 to the present day, please list the names of any domestic abuse related training that was provided to council staff

Response provided:

1. £0

2. Olive Project Exeter/North Devon Against Domestic Abuse (NADA)

3. The Council does not have any Social Workers. These was fall under the remit of Devon County Council. Applicant directed to their Information Governance team

4. Not held, this was not provided by North Devon Council

Request reference: FOI 10016

Issue date: 08.08.24

Request received:

1. A list of the Listed Building Enforcement actions taken by the council since 1st Jan 2000; to include the date, address, a brief description, and the outcome of the enforcement action

2. The number of Listed Building officers employed by the council along with the number of hours they work in an average week

Response provided:

1. The applicant was provided with an Excel spreadsheet listing all listed building enforcements within the requested period which totals 424 cases and is available upon request. However, they were advised that the planning reporting system does not have a reporting function that can provide and extract the enforcement action taken and so this would require an officer to go into each record manually to identify, locate, retrieve and collate this information in the spreadsheet

Section 12 of the Act makes provision for public authorities to refuse requests for information where the cost of dealing with them would exceed the appropriate limit, which for Local Authorities is set at £450 by the Freedom of Information and Data Protection (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004. This represents the estimated cost of one person spending 18 hours at £25 per hour in determining whether the Council holds the information, locating, retrieving and collating the information

It has been estimated by the Planning department that it would take approximately 35 hours (five minutes per case) to provide the requested information. The procedure would cause serious disruption to the day to day working of the Planning department and therefore the Council unable to process this part of the request any further. As set out in the previous paragraph, the Council has the right to refuse to provide the information in accordance with Section 12 of the Act

2. One officer, 30 hours per week, 0.81 FTE

Request reference: FOI 10017

Issue date: 05.08.24

Request received:

The applicant requested information regarding Temporary Accommodation in the North Devon local authority area, defining families as households with dependent children

1. How many individuals in family households (households with dependent children) have died in temporary accommodation? Please provide data for the following financial years and, where possible, distinguish between children and adults:

1. 2024/2025 (So Far)

2. 2023/2024

3. 2022/2023

4. 2021/2022

2. a.) How many families have been housed temporarily (temporary accommodation) outside of the local authority area?

Please provide data for the following financial years:

5. 2024/2025 (So Far)

6. 2023/2024

7. 2022/2023

8. 2021/2022

b.) What is the furthest away from the local authority area, someone has been housed temporarily?

3. How many families have or are currently living temporarily (temporary accommodation) in a studio flat? Please provide data for the following financial years:

9. 2024/2025 (So Far)

10. 2023/2024

11. 2022/2023

12. 2021/2022

Response provided:

1. 1. 2024/2025 (So Far) - Nil

2. 2023/2024 - Nil

3. 2022/2023 - Nil

4. 2021/2022 - Nil

2. a) 5. 2024/2025 (So Far) - 1

6. 2023/2024 - 1

7. 2022/2023 - 1

8. 2021/2022 - 1

2. b) Plymouth

3. 9. 2024/2025 (So Far) - Nil

10. 2023/2024 - Nil

11. 2022/2023 – Nil

12. 2021/2022 - Nil

Request reference: FOI 10019

Issue date: 05.08.24

Request received:

The number of landlords who have been investigated and who have faced formal/disciplinary action (such as a warning, fine, license removal, etc) for failing to comply with legal requirements

Please provide the data for the past five years. If this is not possible due to the time constraints in the Act, please provide the data for the past two years

Please provide the data in a table, if possible including the reason and nature of the disciplinary action, if this data is held

Response provided:

Applicant provided with the data within a spreadsheet, which is available upon request

Request reference: FOI 10024

Issue date: 01.08.24

Request received:

A list of unclaimed business rate credit balances, including accounts where a 'write on' has been used to cancel an overpayment which has not since been reversed

Please provided to me in an Excel Spreadsheet, including the following details:

• Ratepayer name

• Property Address

• Billing Authority Reference

• Amount of credit/write on

• The period or financial year of the credit/write on

I appreciate that properties where the ratepayer is an individual would be excluded from my request. In such cases, please provide the remaining information with the Ratepayer either blank or listed as 'individual'

Response provided:

The Council has made the decision to no longer publish or provide the details of individual business rates credits. Following careful consideration of the ICO decision for Wandsworth Council (FS50619844) and discussions with the Council’s Revenues team which holds this data, the Council considers that the continued publication and provision of this data would be likely to prejudice the prevention and detection of crime and therefore the Council considers that this data is now exempt from disclosure under Section 31(1)(a)

When applying this exemption, the Council is required to carry out a Public Interest Test which considers the factors that favour disclosure and the withholding of the data:

Factors in favour of disclosure

• Withholding the information could be perceived as the council attempting to retain monies that belong to the public.

• It is in the public interest to be open and transparent about its use of public funds

• It is also in the public interest to be transparent regarding the records held in respect of the administration of business rates. This could be of interest to the minority of people who are due a refund, but have somehow failed to receive the notifications that money is owed to them

Factors in favour of withholding

• There is a public interest in ensuring that monies from the public purse, such as rebates on business accounts, are not fraudulently claimed and also a public interest in not making it easier for fraud to be committed

• The Council’ current verification procedure for refund claims is simple and cost effective however the Council cannot be certain as to whether some claimants are who they really say they are for every refund processed. If the Council were to continue to publish this data then this would ultimately result in additional verification processes needing to be implemented by the Revenues team at additional cost to the public, which would be disproportionate to the benefits that would accrue from disclosure. The additional verification procedures would also be likely to slow the verification process, resulting in detriment to the genuine ratepayer in that it would take longer for their credit to be refunded to them

• In relation to any new verification processes that might be needed, these would be likely to require the production of additional documents by those claiming a rebate which would place a new administrative burden on the majority of those legitimate claimants that did not currently exist. This would be compounded by the fact that the level of scrutiny of those documents would be higher than at present, given the increased suspicion that some of the claims (and associated documents) might well be fraudulent. The result would be that a new verification process would be likely to slow the rate at which credit balance claims could be considered and refunded, causing delay in all refunds and the likelihood of complaints, which would further burden the Council’s limited resources

• Disclosure of the requested information would result in the need to implement disproportionate steps and additional expense to the Council to counter an increased fraud risk

The cost consequences of a successful fraudulent claim would:

• have incurred the cost of paying out to the fraudster

• remain liable to the legitimate rate payer for an equivalent amount, raising the prospect of paying out twice; and

• be faced with the cost (legal and incurrence of internal management time) of seeking to recover the funds wrongly paid to the fraudster

It would not be in the public interest to expose it to such potential costs and expenses, given that they would be funded from the public purse

It is considered that the greater public interest, therefore, lies in no longer publishing the data. In coming to that conclusion, the public interest in providing the information has been carefully weighed against any prejudice to the public interest that might arise from withholding the information; in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information

The Council publishes datasets that provides:

• the total amount of Business Rates credit refunded

• the number of refunds

• the total amount of outstanding credit

• the number of outstanding refunds

With regard to accounts where a 'write on' has been used to cancel an overpayment which has not since been reversed, the Council regrets to confirm that it is unable to provide this information as it would require the manual checking of all accounts that had a 'write on' to ensure it had not been reversed

The Revenues department would need to do this to validate the accuracy of the accounts identified in the 'write on' report. To identify the cases they would need to run a transaction report for each individual year (going back to 1 April 1993, which is as far back as the information is held) and the accounts on each report would have to be checked manually

The transaction report only gives details of the account number and the amount of the write on/off so once the relevant accounts had been identified the company name, address and amount of credit would have to be entered manually into a spreadsheet which again would require looking at each account individually

Section 12 of the Act makes provision for public authorities to refuse requests for information where the cost of dealing with them would exceed the appropriate limit, which for Local Authorities is set at £450 by the Freedom of Information and Data protection (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004. This represents the estimated cost of one person spending 18 hours at £25 per hour in determining whether the Council holds the information, locating, retrieving and extracting the information

It has been estimated by the Revenues department that it would take approximately 1,500 hours to go through each transaction report going back to 1993 and identify, locate, retrieve and collate the information. The procedure would seriously disrupt the day to day working and operation of the Revenues department and therefore it has been decided that your request should not be processed further, as set out in the previous paragraph, the Council has the right to refuse to take the matter further by virtue of Section 12 of the Act

Request reference: FOI 10030

Issue date: 13.08.24

Request received:

Existing pollution from private sewage treatment facilities in The Village, Saunton, North Devon

Response provided:

The Council confirmed to the applicant that it does not hold any pollution data on the requested properties. Records for 9 The Village, 10 The Village, 10b The Village, Saunton EX33 1LW and also the general records for The Village, Saunton have been searched. There are no records of pollution or nuisance being caused by private sewage treatment systems held

Request reference: FOI 10032

Issue date: 20.08.24

Request received:

The following information regarding the dry ski slope at the Tarka Leisure Centre:

1. What was the overall cost of purchasing and installing the dry ski slope?

2. How many people use the dry ski slope on a day to day basis on average?

3. How much revenue has the dry ski slope generated per year since its installation?

Response provided:

1 and 3. The Council considers that the release of this information falls under Section 43(2) which states that information is exempt if its disclosure under this Act would, or would be likely to, prejudice the commercial interests of any person (including the public authority holding it). In this instance, the Council considers that it would compromise Parkwood Leisure’s commercial interests and in turn, the Council itself

2. The ski slope averages 131 users per month since opening

Request reference: FOI 10035

Issue date: 01.08.24

Request received:

A list of unclaimed council tax credit balances, not business rates credits provided within an Excel Spreadsheet, including the following fields:

• Ratepayer name

• Property Address

• Billing Authority Reference

• Amount of credit

• The period or financial year of the credit

Response provided:

The Council confirms that it does hold this information. In discharge of its obligation under section 1(1) (b) the Council confirms that it is unable to provide you with this information as it falls under the following exemptions:

Section 31(1) (a) – prevention and detection of crime

The Council considers that the disclosure of this data would be likely to prejudice the prevention and detection of crime and therefore the Council considers that this data is exempt from disclosure under Section 31(1) (a). When applying this exemption, the Council is required to carry out a Public Interest Test which considers the factors that favour disclosure and the withholding of the data:

Factors in favour of disclosure

• Withholding the information could be perceived as the council attempting to retain monies that belong to the public

• It is in the public interest to be open and transparent about its use of public funds

• It is also in the public interest to be transparent regarding the records held in respect of the administration of Council Tax. This could be of interest to the minority of people who are due a refund, but have somehow failed to receive the notifications that money is owed to them

Factors in favour of withholding

• There is a public interest in ensuring that monies from the public purse, such as rebates on Council Tax accounts, are not fraudulently claimed and also a public interest in not making it easier for fraud to be committed

• The Council’ current verification procedure for refund claims is simple and cost effective however the Council cannot be certain as to whether some claimants are who they really say they are for every refund processed. If the Council were to make this data publically available then this would ultimately result in additional verification processes needing to be implemented by the Revenues team at additional cost to the public, which would be disproportionate to the benefits that would accrue from disclosure. The additional verification procedures would also be likely to slow the verification process, resulting in detriment to the genuine ratepayer in that it would take longer for their credit to be refunded to them

• Disclosure of the requested information would result in the need to implement disproportionate steps and additional expense to the Council to counter an increased fraud risk

The cost consequences of a successful fraudulent claim would:

• have incurred the cost of paying out to the fraudster

• remain liable to the legitimate rate payer for an equivalent amount, raising the prospect of paying out twice; and

• be faced with the cost (legal and incurrence of internal management time) of seeking to recover the funds wrongly paid to the fraudster

It would not be in the public interest to expose it to such potential costs and expenses, given that they would be funded from the public purse

It is considered that the greater public interest, therefore, lies in withholding this information. In coming to that conclusion, the public interest in providing the information has been carefully weighed against any prejudice to the public interest that might arise from withholding the information; in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information

Section 40 – (personal data)

The Council considers that the requested information in it’s entirely to be personal data not just the ratepayer name where they are identified as an individual. Even with all direct personal information redacted, such list would still provide indirect personal information (the property address of the ratepayer to which the credit applies, its billing authority reference, the credit amount and the period/year of the credit), all of which is not already publically available. The individual(s) to which the information is held would have no reasonable expectation for the Council to make their personal information publicly available, particularly as a disclosure under the FOI is not just to you as the request, but also to the world and large and therefore it technically places the information into the public domain

Section 40(2) provides that personal data is exempt information if one of the conditions set out in section 40(3A), (3B) or (4A) is satisfied. In this case Section 40(3A) (A) is met because disclosure of this information would breach the fair processing principle contained in the General Data Protection Regulation. This is an absolute exemption and there is therefore no requirement to consider the public interest in this instance

Request reference: FOI 10037

Issue date: 20.08.24

Request received:

1. What software you are currently using to facilitate BACS payments & what is the date of the renewal for this contract?

2. How much you are paying annually for this contract, and where do you advertise for this tender?

Response provided:

The Council confirmed to the applicant that it currently uses NatWest Autopay BACS software. This is linked to the Council’s banking contract which is due for review from September 2025 and which the cost is £888 annually

Request reference: FOI 10038

Issue date: 20.08.24

Request received:

Information relating to the authority's policy on Street Votes. This is where a vote is held to allow the residents of a street to give themselves the right to extend or redevelop their properties. This could include building a mansard roof, an extension or build housing on land currently occupied by derelict alleys or disused garages

The Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 included provision for Street Vote Development Orders, though the new Government has not yet announced if it will proceed with implementing this or not

1. Has the local authority stated an opinion on street votes? Specifically, did the authority respond to the official consultation on Street Vote Development? If so please send me a copy of the authority’s response

2. Has the authority held any such street votes? Does it have any plans to allow street votes in future?

Response provided:

1. Yes, North Devon Council (NDC) submitted a joint response with Torridge District Council (TDC), a copy of which was provided to the applicant (which is available upon further request). Please note, on the request of the planning policy officer at TDC who made the joint submission, the Council redacted their name and part of their email address from the submission, in accordance with Section 40 of the Act (personal information)

2. North Devon Council has not held any street votes to date and there are no current plans to do so in the future

Request reference: FOI 10039

Issue date: 01.08.24

Request received:

The applicant requested the following regarding all council-owned properties, both commercial and residential, over the last ten years:

1. How many properties have been diagnosed with rising damp?

2. How many properties has the council instructed a contractor to install an injected chemical damp proof course?

3. Of these properties, how many have had a re-occurrence of damp, whereby the council has made an application under the installers guarantee?

4. How many claims under the guarantee were successful and how many were unsuccessful?

Response provided:

1. One

2. One

3. Zero

4. N/A

Request reference: FOI 10040

Issue date: 01.08.24

Request received:

A copy of the Council’s Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) of Legal Case Management System (Iken) – September 2018 as listed on the Council’s website

Response provided:

Applicant provided with a copy of the request document

Request reference: EIR 10041

Issue date: 13.08.24

Request received:

CON29 information relating to a property at EX31 1RA

Response provided:

Applicant advised that no information held

Request reference: FOI 10042

Issue date: 07.08.24

Request received:

A list of motor vehicles registered for public hire i e Taxi/Private Hire/Hackney Carriage that were either issued a new or renewal licence in the period 1st May 2024 to the 31st July 2024, providing the following for each:

Vehicle registration number

Manufacturer (Make)

Model

Licence issue date

Licence expiry date

Response provided:

Applicant provided with the requested information in Excel format, which is available on request

Request reference: FOI 10043

Issue date: 21.08.24

Request received:

Information held by the Council regarding the extension of the Household Support Fund (1 April 2024 - 30 September 2024):

1. The number of applications to the Household Support Fund from 1 April 2024 - 31 July 2024

2. The monetary amount of support provided to applicants to the Household Support Fund from 1 April 2024 - 31 July 2024

3. The number of successful applicants to the Household Support Fund from 1 April 2024 - 31 July 2024

4. What is the outstanding monetary amount from the Household Support Fund that is available before the scheme ends on the 30 September 2024

Response provided:

The Council provided the following response for the period 1 April 2024 – 30 September 2024:

1. 443

2. £87,150

3. 403

4. From the original allocation there is £21,528. Devon County Council have awarded the authority an additional £20,000 and its members have agreed to allocate £30,000 of the authority’s own funds to allow it to stay open until the end of September 2024

Request reference: EIR 10044

Issue date: 13.08.24

Request received:

CON29 information relating to a property at EX31 2JG

Response provided:

Applicant provided with the information, where held and also directed to the Council’s website for some of the information

Request reference: FOI 10045

Issue date: 28.08.24

Request received:

1. How many incidents of fly tipping have been reported each year for 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 (to date). Please breakdown the number of incidents by month where possible to highlight which months are most common for fly tipping/have the highest number of fly tipping incidents?

2. In total, how much has been paid to remove/clean up following fly tipping each year in 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 (to date)

3. How many fly tipping fines have been given out in the years of: 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 (to date)

4. How much money has been paid in fly tipping fines in the years of: 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 (to date)

5. Have you recently increased fly tipping fines? If yes, please can you tell us how much you fine for fly tipping now (current date) versus previously?

Response provided:

1. Please refer to the following table which provides this information broken down by quarter as it does not hold this by month:

Quarter	Number of fly tipping incidents reported
January - March 2021	186
April - June 2021	231
July - September 2021	158
October - December 2021	150
January - March 2022	109
April - June 2022	185
July - September 2022	163
October - December 2022	160
January - March 2023	132
April - June 2023	103
July - September 2023	176
October - December 2023	126
January - March 2024	148
April - June 2024	138

2. For the years 2021, 2022 and 2023, please refer to the Council’s published Fly-tipping dataset which can accessed via the following link (second dataset listed on the page): https://northdevon-self.achieveservice.com/service/results?ID=6D869870-EF56-455D-8985-3B36CA7B9D34&DS=4005

2024 (1 January – 30 June) = £4,290

Please note that these figures are not actual figures, they are based on an average figure of £15 per item

3. For the years 2021, 2022 and 2023, please refer to the Council's published Environmental Fixed Penalty Notice datasets which provide this information for the requested years:

https://northdevon-self.achieveservice.com/service/results?ID=B51726BB-93ED-47AD-80F1-3E4AB3A25D63&DS=4005

2024 to date (1 January – 30 June) = One

4. For the years 2021, 2022 and 2023, please refer to the Council's published Environmental Fixed Penalty Notice datasets which provide this information for the requested years:

https://northdevon-self.achieveservice.com/service/results?ID=B51726BB-93ED-47AD-80F1-3E4AB3A25D63&DS=4005

2024 to date (1 January – 30 June) = £320

5. No

Request reference: EIR 10046

Issue date: 13.08.24

Request received:

CON29 information relating to a property at EX34 0EY

Response provided:

Applicant provided with the information, where held and also directed to the Council’s website for some of the information

Request reference: EIR 10047

Issue date: 13.08.24

Request received:

CON29 information relating to a property at EX31 1NR

Response provided:

Applicant provided with the information, where held and also directed to the Council’s website for some of the information

Request reference: FOI 10048

Issue date: 05.08.24

Request received:

1. The number of library closures in the local authority in the last 12 months

2. The number of community centre closures in the local authority in the last 12 months

3. The number of football club closures in the local authority in the last 12 months

4. The number of Assets of Community Value (ACVs) that were

a) nominated in the local authority area, and;

b) acquired in the local authority area, both in the last 12 months

Response provided:

In response to 1, 2 and 3, the applicant was referred to Devon County Council for this information

4. The applicant was referred to the Council website for this information: Community Right to Bid

Request reference: FOI 10049

Issue date: 28.08.24

Request received:

Information regarding Biodiversity Net Gain:

1. Are you bringing forward your own habitat bank for the purposes of offering offsite biodiversity units?

2. If so, at what stage of development is it?

3. Have you decided methodology for pricing units yet?

4. If the answer to Q3 is yes, what is it and is it expected to cover the long-term cost of habitat delivery?

5. Please supply a full, redacted or template version of any s106 agreement for such an LPA habitat bank, if it is exists.

6. Please supply copies of all completed section 106 agreements for other habitat banks in your LPA area.

7. What is the total value of biodiversity offsetting contributions paid to the authority over the previous two years?

8. Of the total value given in Q7, how much has been deployed into habitat creation, enhancement and management and how much remains unspent?

Response provided:

1. The Council is currently considering options

2. Preliminary assessment of pilot sites for potential opportunities

3. No

4. N/A

5. N/A

6. N/A

7. £10,000 made 21.04.23 regarding PA72675

8. The £10,000 remains unspent

Request reference: EIR 10050

Issue date: 19.08.24

Request received:

CON29 information relating to a property at EX31 3FP

Response provided:

Applicant provided with the information, where held and also directed to the Council’s website for some of the information

Request reference: FOI 10051

Issue date: 27.08.24

Request received:

1. How many "affordable homes" that have been built in your area, under Section 106 agreements with property developers, are currently empty because a registered provider has not agreed to buy them?

2. How many homes that were due to be built in your area, under Section 106 agreements with property developers, have seen planned construction cancelled as a registered provider has not agreed to buy them? Please provide figures for both "affordable housing" and "market housing."

Response provided:

The Council confirmed to the applicant that it does not hold any of this information. In discharge of its obligation under section 1(1)(b) the Council confirmed that it does not monitor/record this type of information regarding the building and subsequent busing of affordable homes, therefore the Council is unable to answer the specific questions as set out above

Request reference: FOI 10052

Issue date: 28.08.24

Request received:

Since the 1st of august 2022:

1. The number of new and renewed taxi (Hackney Carriage) driver licenses you have granted

2. The number of new and renewed Private Hire Vehicle (PHV) driver licenses you have granted

3. The number of taxi licences granted to drivers with criminal convictions

4. The number of PHV licenses granted to drivers with criminal convictions

5. In the cases of those with convictions in relation to Question 3 and Question 4:

i. The nature and date of conviction

ii. Whether said driver’s conviction was known at the time of the licence being approved

iii. In each case, the current licence status of the driver

6. The criteria/policy that is applied when deciding on an application from a driver with a current/spent conviction

7. How many times have you checked the national database on driver revocations/refusals?

8. How many have had licenses removed due to that?

Response provided:

Applicant provided with the following response from 1 August 2022:

1. North Devon Council do not issue licences solely for hackney carriage drivers. Licences are issued for combined hackney carriage and private hire drivers, the number of these was:

New = 58

Renewal = 186

2. New = Five

Renewal = Six

3. There was One new/grant application for a combined hackney carriage/private hire driver’s licence where the driver had a conviction and for which the licence was granted following consideration by the Council’s Licensing and Community Safety Sub-Committee

4. There were Zero new/grant applications for private hire vehicle drivers subsequently granted whereby the drivers had convictions

5. i) 1.Battery, 29.01.2021

ii) Yes, this was considered by the Council’s Licensing and Community Safety Sub Committee

iii) This driver is no longer licensed

6. The Council’s Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy is utilised.

7. Since 27.04.23, when the system was first utilised, 156 checks of the NR3S system have been made (checks completed every time a driver licence is renewed or a new driver application is received)

8. Zero

Request reference: FOI 10053

Issue date: 07.08.24

Request received:

Article 4 Areas in GeoJSON format

Response provided:

Information provided to the applicant in the requested format which is available upon request

Request reference: FOI 10054

Issue date: 07.08.24

Request received:

All Council Tax accounts with a credit balance. I am aware that all Billing Authorities hold on accounts sums of money that are due to be returned to ratepayers and for a variety of reasons have not been repaid

I therefore request a breakdown of credit balances accrued since your earliest records, for the amounts owing to all incorporated companies within the authorities billing area, including the following information:

A. The name of each business in respect of which Council Tax credit balances remain payable. I understand you will not provide individuals names. Please note I am not asking for Business Rates but that of council tax accounts held by housing associations, property developers etc

B. The value of overpayment in each case which remains unclaimed

C. The years(s) in which overpayment is for

D. The property address the credit relates to

E. A write to address and write to company name if available

F. Please state whether the account is a live/open account or a closed account; if closed the date it closed

G. Please provide the most up to date and accurate information that you can, please confirm the date that the data was pulled from your system

Please note I am requesting information of companies that hold residential property for example housing associations and develops etc

Response provided:

The Council confirms that it does hold this information. In discharge of its obligation under section 1(1)(b) the Council confirms that it is unable to provide you with this information as it falls under the following exemptions:

Section 31(1)(a) – prevention and detection of crime

The Council considers that the disclosure of this data would be likely to prejudice the prevention and detection of crime and therefore the Council considers that this data is exempt from disclosure under Section 31(1)(a). When applying this exemption, the Council is required to carry out a Public Interest Test which considers the factors that favour disclosure and the withholding of the data:

Factors in favour of disclosure

• Withholding the information could be perceived as the council attempting to retain monies that belong to the public

• It is in the public interest to be open and transparent about its use of public funds

Factors in favour of withholding

• The Council’ current verification procedure for refund claims is simple and cost effective however the Council cannot be certain as to whether some claimants are who they really say they are for every refund processed. If the Council were to make this data publically available then this would ultimately result in additional verification processes needing to be implemented by the Revenues team at additional cost to the public, which would be disproportionate to the benefits that would accrue from disclosure. The additional verification procedures would also be likely to slow the verification process, resulting in detriment to the genuine ratepayer in that it would take longer for their credit to be refunded to them

• Disclosure of the requested information would result in the need to implement disproportionate steps and additional expense to the Council to counter an increased fraud risk

The cost consequences of a successful fraudulent claim would:

• have incurred the cost of paying out to the fraudster

• remain liable to the legitimate rate payer for an equivalent amount, raising the prospect of paying out twice; and

• be faced with the cost (legal and incurrence of internal management time) of seeking to recover the funds wrongly paid to the fraudster

It would not be in the public interest to expose it to such potential costs and expenses, given that they would be funded from the public purse

Section 40 – (personal data)

Section 40(2) provides that personal data is exempt information if one of the conditions set out in section 40(3A), (3B) or (4A) is satisfied. In this case Section 40(3A)(A) is met because disclosure of this information would breach the fair processing principle contained in the General Data Protection Regulation. This is an absolute exemption and there is therefore no requirement to consider the public interest in this instance

Request reference: FOI 10055

Issue date: 15.08.24

Request received:

Information regarding the council-managed allotments within the Council’s jurisdiction; specifically the following details:

1. What is the price of an allotment plot per square meter, and is access to water included in this price?

2. Is the use of chemical pesticides prohibited on your allotments?

3. Do you provide ready-to-plant, weed-free allotment beds, seeds, plug plants, and free manure fertiliser to your allotment members?

4. Do you provide all the necessary tools, including a free personal trowel to new members, and a shed or shared point for tool storage?

5. Do you offer free training and classes from gardening experts, access to online courses and lessons, and host free community events and workshops in person for allotment members?

6. Do you offer paid services such as weeding, watering, and edging, as well as paid products like composters, natural fertilisers, bean poles, and naming tags?

7. Do you provide a support email and phone number for your allotment members, and is there a staff member present on site to help with queries and to tend communal areas?

8. Are there benches for the community within the allotment site, and are toilet facilities provided?

9. Are there any restrictions on members having partners, family, and friends help and attend their allotment patch and is free parking provided on site for allotment members? Are bike locks available on the allotment site for members?

10. Do you provide an online community group for members to share their knowledge and experiences?

Response provided:

1. 28.04p/ m2, no access to water

2. No

3. No

4. No

5. No

6. No

7. Contact details provided to allotment holders. No staff on site

8. No

9. No restriction on family/friends help but no sub-letting. No parking or bike racks provided

10. No

Request reference: FOI 10056

Issue date: 28.08.24

Request received:

1. The average length of time households spent in temporary accommodation (including Bed and Breakfasts and Hotels) after making a homelessness application to the council:

a). between April 1st 2023 and March 31st 2024

b). between April 1st 2024 and July 31st 2024

2. The average length of time households with children spent in temporary accommodation (including Bed and Breakfasts and Hotels) after making a homelessness application to the council:

a) between April 1st 2023 and March 31st 2024

b) between April 1st 2024 and July 31st 2024

3. Whether the figures you provide take into account households being moved from one temporary accommodation – to another. Or whether it is reflective of the amount of time the same households are spending in temporary accommodation (even if it is 4 hotels etc, over time)

Response provided:

1) a) 01/04/23 – 31/03/24 – 10.5 weeks

b) 01/04/24 – 31/07/24 – 6.6 weeks

2) a) 01/04/23 – 31/03/24 – 14.72 weeks

b) 01/04/24 – 31/07/24 – 7.82 weeks

3) This is the total average stay which will include moving from one placement to another. Any movements are kept to a minimum

Request reference: EIR 10057

Issue date: 19.08.24

Request received:

CON29 information relating to a property at EX36 4BR

Response provided:

Applicant provided with the information, where held and also directed to the Council’s website for some of the information

Request reference: FOI 10058

Issue date: 23.08.24

Request received:

The pay range in £, job title and number of FTE’s in each post for your Finance & HR (people’s services) Departments

Response provided:

<
Applicant provided with this information, which is available upon request
>

Request reference: FOI 10059

Issue date: 09.08.24

Request received:

1. How many homes are you (the Council) selling?

2. How many, in the last five years have you (the Council) sold?

3. What do you (the Council) do with the money made from these council house sales?

4. How much money has the council paid to temporary accommodation in the past 5 years?

5. With the money you make from selling these council houses, are you building more council homes?

6. How many council houses have you built in the last 20 years?

Response provided:

Response to Q1, 2, 3 5 and 6

The Council no longer holds its own Council owned social housing stock. This housing was transferred to North Devon Homes Ltd from 21.02.2000, therefore the Council no longer holds any information regarding these parts of the request

5. The Council publishes a dataset on its website which sets out the Council’s spend providing Temporary Accommodation within North Devon: Cost of providing temporary accommodation to the Council which is updated annually. The next update with the 2023/24 figures will be published during September 2024. At present the data provides the spend from 2009/10 – 2022/23

In accordance with Section 21(1) of the Act, the Council is not obliged to provide information that is already available in the public domain. However, it does have a duty under Section 16(1) to provide all applicants advice and assistance in order to assist with locating the information, which it has done so in providing the applicant with the direct link to the dataset as referred to above

Request reference: FOI 10060

Issue date: 12.08.24

Request received:

1. The total amount saved as a result the implementation of the sticker-less system for garden waste collection

2. A breakdown of annual savings compared to before the sticker-less system was implemented

3. Any additional benefits or cost savings that have been realized as a result of this change

Response provided:

North Devon Council already has a system that incorporates stickers

Request reference: FOI 10061

Issue date: 13.08.24

Request received:

1. Please name the organisation which provides your parking enforcement services? (e g NSL Ltd/APCOA) Has this organisation changed in the last ten years? If so, when and what was(/were) the previous organisation(s)?

2. What was the total number of parking violation PCNs issued in your region during each of the years specified above? [2021, 2022, 2023]

3. What was the total number of challenges/ representations* submitted against these PCNs during each of these years?

4. How many of these challenges/representations were successful each year?

5. What was the total number of appeals submitted against these PCNs during each of these years?

6. How many of these appeals were successful each year?

7. What was the total amount of fines (in £) paid to the council for PCNs during each of these years? Please count the total amount paid and received by the council, not just the value of fines issued?

Response provided:

1. North Devon Council (NDC) carry out their own enforcement and are members of British Parking Association (BPA)

2 – 7. This information was provided to the applicant in spreadsheet format, which is available upon request

Request reference: FOI 10062

Issue date: 16.08.24

Request received:

In Excel format, the number of parking charge notices (PCNs) issued by your authority over the last two years. Specifically, I am requesting the following information:

1 - The total number of penalty charge notices (PCNs) issued

2 - The total revenue generated from these PCNs

3 - A breakdown of the locations where each fine was issued

For clarity, I would appreciate it if the breakdown could include:

The street name or specific location

The number of PCNs issued at each location

The revenue generated from each location

Please provide this data separately for each year so that a year-on-year comparison can be made

Response provided:

The Council provided the following response to the applicant:

1 - The total number of penalty charge notices (PCNs) issued:

2022/23 – 5,836

2023/24 – 5,827

2 - The total revenue generated from these PCNs:

Please note that the income received each year does not necessarily relate to PCN's issued in the same financial year. Applicant provide with a spreadsheet for breakdown of revenue per location

2022/23 - £148,428.32

2023/24 - £136,371.43

3 - A breakdown of the locations where each fine was issued:

Applicant provided with spreadsheets which a filter was added to allow the applicant to be able breakdown details for each car park

Terms within the spreadsheet:

CP = Car Park, L/S = Long Stay, S/S = Short Stay

Request reference: EIR 10063

Issue date: 27.08.24

Request received:

CON29 information relating to a property at EX32 0RP

Response provided:

Applicant provided with the information, where held and also directed to the Council’s website for some of the information

Request reference: FOI 10065

Issue date: 15.08.24

Request received:

Since 1 January 2019, how much money in total has your council spent on facing homelessness judicial reviews in the High Court?

Response provided:

Since 1 January 2019 North Devon Council has faced no homelessness judicial reviews in the High Court

Request reference: FOI 10067

Issue date: 23.08.24

Request received:

Information about the Council’s HR case management (HRCM) software:

Total number of employees
Number of HR Staff
What is your current HR case management (HRCM) Solution?
Is the solution cloud-based or on-premise?
If on-premise, do you have a cloud migration strategy?
If yes, please share more details, including budget allocation.
Number of licenses
Length of contract
Contract expiry date
Contract review date
Annual cost of contract
Total cost of contract
Person responsible for the HRCM software and their contact details
Person responsible for any future projects on reviewing or replacing the HRCM software and their contact details

Response provided:

461
Six
This information is published via the Council’s Contract Register: HR and Payroll Services
Cloud based HR and Payroll software.
N/A
N/A
Maximum of 500 employees.
This information is published via the Council’s Contract Register, as linked above.
As 8. above
As 8. above
As 8. above
As 8. above
As 8. above
As 8. above
1. How much revenue is generated locally in North Devon?

In accordance with Section 21(1) of the Act, the Council is not obliged to provide information that is already in the public domain. However, it does have a duty under Section 16(1) to provide all applicants advice and assistance in order to assist with locating the information, which I have done so in providing you with the link to the contract register above

Request reference: FOI 10069

Issue date: 16.08.24

Request received:

Information relating to your organisation’s use of automated decision making and automated decision support tools and systems (ADM tools)

For the purposes of this request, an automated decision is one in which an automated system performs at least part of the decision-making process, including:

- Decision support: where an automated system provides additional information to aid a human decision-maker in their decisions (e g a system assesses whether someone poses a risk of housing benefit fraud, and presents that risk score to a decision maker to inform their decision))

- Streaming or triage: where an automated system determines the type and quality of human judgment involved in a particular case (e g a system deems an individual’s application to present a high risk of housing benefit fraud, which means the application is directed to a particular team to review)

- Fully automated: where an automated system takes a decision and action in relation to a person or group without human input (e g a system automatically assesses and approves an application)

Automation refers to any form of automation including but not limited to, data matching, profiling, machine learning or any other tools that use software algorithms to generate outputs

Examples of ADM usage could include, for example, risk assessments in adult social care or social housing decisions

Please provide the following:

1. Copies of any inventory that the authority has of tools, artificial intelligence or software algorithms used to assist in decision-making

2. If not included in the above, the names of any such tools

3. Where a process contains ADM or is partially supported by automated tools, any Equality Impact Assessments that have been carried out

4. Where a process contains ADM or is partially supported by automated tools, any Data Protection Impact Assessments that have been carried out

Response provided:

Applicant informed that North Devon Council has no ADM (Automated Decision Making) tools

Request reference: FOI 10071

Issue date: 20.06.24

Request received:

The applicant requested the information related to AI within the authority:

1. Do you have an AI Policy currently in place?

a) If yes, please could you supply a copy?

b) If not, are you planning on implementing one in the future?

c) If there is no plan to implement an AI policy in the future what is the reasoning behind this decision?

Response provided:

1. No

a) N/A

b) Yes, this is currently in development

c) N/A

Request reference: FOI 10074

Issue date: 19.08.24

Request received:

The total number of CCTV cameras you currently have in your area (the most recent data available)

Response provided:

The Council currently operates 88 public open space CCTV cameras. It does not hold any figures in relation to non-council operated cameras in its area

Request reference: FOI 10075

Issue date: 19.08.24

Request received:

Information regarding previous tenders and prices for interpretation services awarded by the Council, specifically the following:

1. When was the last tender issued by the council related to interpretation services?

2. The names of the companies or service providers who were awarded these tenders

3. The contract values or spend details associated with each awarded tender (this includes booking volumes and price per booking type)

4. When the contract ends and if there is any option to extend (and when the council is planning for the next tender)

5. Any available documentation or reports that outline the evaluation criteria and decision-making process for these tenders

Response provided:

1. This service has never been tendered by North Devon Council. The Council uses Language Line which is a non-contractual service

2. N/A

3. N/A

4. N/A

5. N/A

Request reference: FOI 10076

Issue date: 28.08.24

Request received:

1. How many members of staff are in your planning department if at full capacity?

2. On average, during the year from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024, what was the staff headcount of your planning department team? If not able to express as an average, perhaps you could confirm the headcount at a specific date or at year-end.

3. How many employees were directly employed by the authority during this period?

4. How many employees were employed through agencies during this period?

5. On average, during 2023/24, how many days were agency workers employed for to work in the planning department

6. How much was spent on employing agency workers in the planning department between 1 April 2023 and 31 March 2024?

8. How many members of the planning department left their role between 1 April 2023 and 31 March 2024?

Response provided:

1. 27.4 FTE (25 FT and Four 0.6 PT staff)

2. 14.5 (excluding Policy and Admin Staff)

3. 419.5 (directly employed)

4. Nine (in Planning)

5. Approximately 680 days

6. £395,484

7. Average headcount for the Planning department (not including Policy or Admin staff):

2017/18 = Data no longer held due to change in systems

2018/19 = 10.5

2021/23 = This is not a financial year that the Council works to, therefore it provides

the figure for the following years:

2020/21 = 11

2021/22 = 12.5

8. One

Request reference: FOI 10080

Issue date: 21.08.24

Request received:

Information about the council’s homes and MEES enforcements in relation to climate action for the Council Climate Action Scorecards. This information may be held by a housing department or similar:

1. What is the energy efficiency rating of the council's homes (managed or owned by the council)?

Please provide either a distribution table with the number of council homes for each EPC rating or the percentage of the council’s homes that have received an EPC rating of C or above

2. What is the number of investigations, enforcement notices and enforcement actions that the council conducted, related to MEES (Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards) in the 2023/24 financial year? Please provide a breakdown of the number of investigations and enforcements separately. If only some information is available, please provide this information

Response provided:

1. EPC info for North Devon assets (including those that we have full maintenance and repair lease):

EPC Rating Number of Properties

A Six

B 14

C Four

D Seven

EPC for those leased privately or through Housing Association (short term leases):

EPC Rating Number of Properties

A Zero

B Zero

C Three

D Six

E One

Request reference: FOI 10081

Issue date: 27.08.24

Request received:

a. Does the council have any policies, procedures or agreements in place that enable employee representative bodies to influence the development and delivery of the council’s Climate Action Plan? If so, please share details of these policies, procedures or agreements

b. Have employee representative bodies contributed to any recent consultations related to the delivery of the council’s Climate Action Plan?

Response provided:

a. Yes, applicant referred to the Council’s website where its Environment Policy is published
b. No, most recent consultation carried out Q1 2024.

Request reference: FOI 10082

Issue date: 27.08.24

Request received:

a. Have all senior management received climate awareness training, including Carbon Literacy or equivalent, before 15th August 2024? Please state the type of training

b. Have all current councillors in the cabinet or committee chairs received climate awareness training, including Carbon Literacy or equivalent, since being elected from May 2023 or before? Please state the type of training

Response provided:

a. No

b. No

Request reference: FOI 10083

Issue date: 21.08.24

Request received:

1. The total number of social housing tenants in your area from 2016 to 2023 (broken down by year), categorised by:

a) Foreign-born household heads; and

b) British-born household heads

2. The total number of social housing evictions in your area from 2016 to 2023 (broken down by year), categorised by:

a) Foreign-born household heads; and

b) British-born household heads

Response provided:

1. North Devon Council does not hold this data. It is are not a social housing landlord. Registered social landlords are required to provide annual reports the Social Housing Regulator and there are published datasets which you may wish to consider: - Social housing lettings - GOV.UK Ethnicity facts and figures (ethnicity-facts-figures.service.gov.uk)

2. North Devon Council does not hold this data. It is are not a social housing landlord. Registered social landlords are required to provide annual reports the Social Housing Regulator and there may be published datasets via the link provided above

Request reference: FOI 10084

Issue date: 21.08.24

Request received:

1. Do you currently have a Public Service Protection Orders in place around any of the abortion clinics in your area, if so, how many PSPOs do you currently have in place?

2. In the last five years, how many PSPOs outside abortion clinics have you had in place? Please provide the yearly breakdown

3. In the last five years, (including 2024), how much money has the council spent on PSPOs outside abortion clinics? Please provide the yearly breakdown

4. If you do not have any PSPOs in place outside any of the abortion clinics in your area, please can you tell me whether that is because:

a) We do not have any abortion clinics in our area

b) We do not have the budget to implement PSPOs

c) We thought that the new law announced in May 2023 creating buffer zones, would have been implemented already

d) Other (please provide other reasoning)

Response provided:

The Council confirmed that whilst it does have some PSPOs in place, the details of which are published on its website, none of these relate to Abortion Clinics

Abortion services covering North Devon fall under the wider responsibility of Devon Sexual Health, Devon County Council and therefore the applicant was directed to contact their Information Governance team for a response

Request reference: FOI 10085

Issue date: 28.08.24

Request received:

With regards to the collection of Council Tax:

How much goes to central government?
How much is returned to North Devon?

Response provided:

1. Applicant provided with four spreadsheets (for years 2020/21, 2021/22, 2022/23 and 2023/24) which provides the Council Tax income collected within North Devon and also breakdown how that Council Tax and other income are spent by the authority in each of those years

2. No Council Tax collected by North Devon goes to Central Government. It is divided between Devon County Council, the Police Crime Commissioner for Devon and Cornwall, Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Authority and Town and Parish Councils, as set out on the Council’s website: How Council Tax Charges are spent

3. Not Applicable, as no Council Tax collected by North Devon Council is provided to Central Government, therefore there is no revenue to be returned

Request reference: FOI 10087

Issue date: 22.08.24

Request received:

Applicant request a copy of the Council’s completed DPIA of Communications software (Granicus) – November 2018

Response provided:

Applicant provided with a copy which is available upon request

Request reference: FOI 10088

Issue date: 29.08.24

Request received:

Applicant request a copy of the Council’s a copy of the most recent hygiene score and visit results for Latitude 48, 96 High Street, Barnstaple, EX31 1HR

Response provided:

Applicant provided with a copy (with all third party personal data redacted throughout) which is available upon request

Request reference: FOI 10091

Issue date: 27.08.24

Request received:

1. The annual spend on Christmas lights per year, for the following years:

2020

2021

2022

2023

2024

2. The annual spend on Christmas decorations (e.g. trees), for the following years:

2020

2021

2022

2023

2024

3. The estimated energy consumption (in kWh) of the Christmas lights, for the following years:

2020

2021

2022

2023

2024

Response provided:

1. Since before 2018, North Devon Council makes an annual £5,000 contribution to Barnstaple Town Centre Management (BTCM) towards Christmas lights and this also includes this year, however the Council has no further involvement after making this contribution as it managed by BTCM and any associated energy consumption is covered by the businesses, therefore Council does not hold any data regarding data consumption

2. The Council does not hold this information, any decorations, trees etc would be arranged by BTCM

3. The Council does not hold this information, please refer to 1 above regarding energy consumption

Request reference: FOI 10094

Issue date: 29.08.24

Request received:

1. How many public EV charging devices are available in your authority? And how many of these are rapid or ultra-rapid? (If unable to provide a break down please share total):

a) The total number of devices

b) The total number of rapid charging devices (providing power at between 50kW and 100kW)

c) The total number of ultra-rapid chargers (providing power at 100kW and above)

2. How many public EV chargers have you installed for each of the last five years? How many of these have been rapid or ultra-rapid? (if you are unable to include information for 5 years please include as far back as you can. If you are unable to provide rapid/ultra-rapid breakdown, please provide total)

2020

2021

2022

2023

2024 (up to current date)

3. In the last five years, how much in GPB has your local authority invested in electrical vehicle charging infrastructure? (if you are unable to include information for 5 years please include as far back as you can)

2020

2021

2022

2023

2024 (up to current date)

4. What percentage of your public EV charging devices were fully operational (without faults being reported) for the last:

a) 6 months

b) 12 months

5. How many parking spaces with public charging facilities did you provide across your local authority during the following years? (If unable to provide a break down please share total):

2020

2021

2022

2023

2024 (up to current date)

6. If applicable, how many of your public EV chargers sit within ULEZ or low emission zones?

Response provided:

1. The Council does not maintain a definitive list of all charging points covering North Devon, however this information can be found via the following website: Open Charge Map

In addition, the Council publishes details about the charging points it is responsible for within its Car Parks via its website on the following page: Electric Vehicle Charging

The Council has one EV charger at one of its sites for the use by its Parks team: Zappi 2H07UB-F 7kw untethered car charger

2. 2020 = Zero

2021 = Zero

2022 = 10 (3 rapid, 7 ultra-rapid)

2023 = Three ultra-rapid

= Zero

3. Zero Cost. All EV Chargers for which the Council is responsible have come in on collaboration agreements and profit shares as such no costs was directly incurred to the council

4. The Council has not received any reports of any kind of faults within the request 6 and 12 month periods

5. 2022 = 13 bays

= Three bays

6. Zero

Request reference: FOI 10096

Issue date: 30.08.24

Request received:

The contract details pertaining to the provision of electoral services printing. Please provide details of supplier and length of contract if applicable

Response provided:

Postal votes and election printing = in-house

Poll cards =Sci Print

Annual canvass forms = Civica

There are no contracts in place for this printing

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