Request reference: 8840
Issue date:
Request received:
The number of households within your council who, at or around 1st January 2023: Are receiving Council Tax SMI Discount Are receiving Council Tax SMI Exemption On receipt of the appropriate application and having met the criteria of both receipt of a Qualifying Benefit and Certification by a Medical Practitioner stating when the person first had SMI, Do you: (A) Backdate to the date of receipt of both qualifying criteria? Or (B) Backdate to the date Certified by the Medical Practitioner?
Response provided:
1. As at 19.12.22 the number of households that are receiving the Council Tax SMI disregard are 233 2. As at 19.12.22 the number of households that are receiving the Council Tax SMI exemption are 148 On receipt of the appropriate application and having met the criteria of both receipt of qualifying benefit and certification by a medical practitioner stating when the person first had SMI: This authority would backdate to the date both qualifying criteria were met
Exemptions/Exceptions:
None
Request reference:
Issue date:
Request received:
An up-to-date list, including addresses, of all 'warm banks' which are run by North Devon District Council An up-to-date list, including addresses, of all 'warm banks' that North Devon District Council holds information on By 'warm bank' I am referring to a public venue that anyone can visit if they are struggling to heat their home
Response provided:
Applicant advised that North Devon Council does not run any Warm Banks; it has at the time of the response an application process for groups to apply for funding to run them All information on Warm Banks which North Devon Council have knowledge of is contained on its website -this is for both North Devon Council funded and others
Exemptions/Exceptions:
Sections 16 and 21 of Act
Request reference: 8793
Issue date: 30.01.23
Request received:
1. How much (in GBP) did the local authority spend on temporary/ emergency accommodation during the financial year 2021/22? 2. How much (in GBP) is the local authority predicted to spend on temporary/emergency accommodation during the financial year 2022/23? 3. How many households does the local authority currently have in temporary/emergency accommodation? 4. What is the average number of people per household, currently housed in temporary/emergency accommodation? 5. What percentage of the local authority's use of temporary/ emergency accommodation is secured from Bed and Breakfast accommodation? 6. What percentage of the local authority's use of temporary/ emergency accommodation is secured from other private landlords (not Bed and Breakfast)? 7. Of the total number of households housed in temporary/ emergency accommodation, how many are currently housed in Bed and Breakfast accommodation? 8. Does the local authority undertake work on private rented properties for the purposes of making them habitable for use as longer-term accommodation? 9. Of the spend on temporary/ emergency accommodation, what percentage is attributed to Bed and Breakfast accommodation, and what percentage is attributed to accommodation provided by private landlords? 10. Aside from other private landlord accommodation and Bed and Breakfast accommodation, what other sources of temporary/ emergency accommodation does the local authority source? 11. In total, how many nights of households being housed in temporary/emergency accommodation have been funded by the local authority during this current financial year?
Response provided:
1. Applicant referred to the Council's Cost of providing temporary accommodation to the Council dataset which is updated annually 2. £427K (net cost) 3. 58 4. Three 5. Spot purchase when required 6. 18 PSL, 11 owned, 20 x units of self-contained lets 7. 21 8. Yes 9. 2021/22, Bed and Breakfast = 63% and Private Landlords = 25%. In 2020/21, Bed and Breakfast = 53% and Private Landlords = 27% 10. As above 11. Bed and Breakfast = 5,929 bed spaces up until the end of quarter three, Spot purchased self-contained = 3,697 up until the end of quarter three
Exemptions/Exceptions:
None
Request reference: 8835
Issue date: 13.01.23
Request received:
In Excel format: 1. The number of households who were initially assessed for eligibility for homelessness support each month in 2022 (regardless of the outcome of that assessment) 2. The number of households who were assessed as being owed the prevention duty each month in 2022 3. The monthly figures for question 2 where the reason for the threat of loss of home was the end of an Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST) (where the AST ended for any reason, including those specified in questions 4 and 5) 4. The monthly figures for question 2 where the reason for the threat of loss of home was the end of an AST due to rent arrears 5. The monthly figures for question 2 where the reason for the threat of loss of home was the end of an AST due to the landlord wishing to sell or re-let the property 6. The number of households who were assessed as being owed the relief duty as the outcome of their initial assessment (i e not at the end of their prevention duty) each month in 2022 7. The monthly figures for question 6 where the reason for the loss of home was the end of an Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST) (where the AST ended for any reason, including those specified in questions 8 and 9) 8. The monthly figures for question 6 where the reason for the loss of home was the end of an AST due to rent arrears 9. The monthly figures for question 6 where the reason for the loss of home was the end of an AST due to the landlord wishing to sell or re-let the property 10. The number of households who were assessed as being owed the main housing duty each month in 2022 11. The number of households who were owed the relief duty at the end of their prevention duty period, each month in 2022
Response provided:
Information provided to applicant in Excel format, as requested which is available upon request
Exemptions/Exceptions:
None
Request reference: 8836
Issue date: 06.01.23
Request received:
the general number of nuisance complaints received from local residents relating to Level Crossing yodal alarm volume the number of local council requests made to Network Rail for adjustments to be made to Audible Warning Control units on Level Crossings
Response provided:
North Devon Council has received no complaints regarding noise from level crossings
Exemptions/Exceptions:
None
Request reference: 8837
Issue date: 13.01.23
Request received:
Waste material handled by the Authority
Response provided:
Information where held provided in table format, which is available upon request
Exemptions/Exceptions:
None
Request reference: 8838
Issue date: 18.01.23 and 27.01.23
Request received:
This is an information request relating to home workers at the council. Please include the following information: 1. The number of staff that currently work employed by the council that are contractual home workers Please also include the following information 2. The number of contractual home workers employed by the department in each of the last three financial years: 2019-20, 2020-21, 2021-22 By 'contractual home workers' I mean employees who have it written into their contracts that their normal working arrangements are to work from home
Response provided:
18 January 2023 1. North Devon Council has no contractual homeworkers at present 2. Not Applicable 27 January 2023 3. HR have confirmed that they are unable to provide this information, the reasons why are explained below The Council does not operate a hot desk booking system. Council staff are required to use their ID cards to gain entry and exit the Council offices. Staff were migrated over to a new door system the week beginning 31 October 2022, therefore data is no longer held for September and October 2022 The only way HR would be able to work out the daily occupancy rate for Council offices during November 2022 would require an HR officer to manually interrogate two reports one for each office, one of which 171 pages long and the other is 71 pages long. HR has estimated that they would need to spend a minimum of approximately 5 minutes checking each page of the two reports and then gathering and collating the necessary information into a format that would then allow them to work out the daily occupancy rate 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 The total amount of time that it would take HR to provide a response to this part of your request would take approximately 21.84 hours to provide the requested information, the procedure of which would cause serious disruption to the day to day working of the Council's HR team and therefore the Council regrets to confirm that it is unable to process this part of your 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 In accordance with Section 16 of the Act (advice and assistance), HR has advised that there would be no other way in which they would be able to calculate the daily occupancy rate for November 2022
Exemptions/Exceptions:
Section 12 of Act
Request reference: 8839
Issue date: 18.01.23
Request received:
1. emails regarding 'Bratton Fleming Sports Club' or 'Bratton Fleming Sports Centre' (EX31 4RT) to and from the waste and recycling department and also to and from Paul Burton, Service Manager, Waste and Recycling and the previous position holder 2. All leases, agreements, contracts, informal arrangements relating to the site that the council has entered into from 1998 to 2022
Response provided:
1. Applicant provided with some of this information where held by the current Service Manager, with some personal data redacted throughout. Applicant advise that the search has not identified any emails or other information to and from the previous position holder 2. Applicant provided with copies of two funding agreements applicable. The search has not identified any other contracts or agreements or any such documents recording any information arrangements All signatures are redacted throughout the information and also the name and email address of a third party contained within a chain of emails in accordance with Section 40 of the Act
Exemptions/Exceptions:
Section 40 of Act
Request reference: 8841
Issue date: 12.01.23
Request received:
We are currently conducting an environmental assessment of Manleigh Holiday Park, Manleigh Holiday Park, Road From Rectory Road To Kiln Lane Combe Martin, ILFRACOMBE, Devon, EX34 0NS (site plan below). I would be grateful if you could answer the following questions as part of the environmental enquiry: 1. Is the site registered, or likely to be registered in the future, as contaminated land by the Council under Part IIA of the Environmental Protection Act 1990? 2. Is the site on the Council's prioritisation list as part of your contaminated land strategy? If so, where does it sit on this list? 3. Do you know of any pollution or contamination incidents or issues that have occurred or are occurring at or near the site? 4. Are you aware of any environmental conditions that were attached to the initial application of the site? If so, have these been discharged to the satisfaction of the Council? 5. Are there any records of landfills/made ground (type, date, who by, concerns) present at or near the site? If so, are there any concerns relating to gas at the site (ground gas protection measures necessary?)? 6. Are there any records of complaints about the site e g odour, noise, nuisance? 7. Are there any Part B processes on the site or nearby?
Response provided:
Q1 through 5: Applicant provided with a map and spreadsheet (QGIS contaminated land report) concerning the land Environmental Protection does not hold any other records regarding potentially contaminated land in this area. It is recommended to the applicant they also contact the Environment Agency and Devon County Council regarding any information they may hold in relation to the site or the land in the vicinity North Devon Council has not yet fully inspected its area to identify sites of contaminated land as required by Part 2A of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. As such, it is not possible to say whether or not this site will be classified under this legislation. At this time, it is considered unlikely that this site would be the subject of inspection under this legislation to the future Q6: None Q7: None
Exemptions/Exceptions:
None
Request reference: 8842
Issue date: 06.01.23
Request received:
CON29 information relating to a property at EX31 1JR
Response provided:
Applicant provided with the information, where held and also directed to the Council's website for some of the information
Exemptions/Exceptions:
None
Request reference: 8843
Issue date: 17.01.23
Request received:
1. a) The total number of properties that have been transferred to private ownership under the Right to Buy Scheme 1. b) The time scale of your search (e g 1982-2022) (I am aware that some councils will have older records than others.) 2. Please compare this list with your HMO licence register. You can pivot the information on the address field, or potentially title number. Please provide the number of properties that appear on both lists
Response provided:
1.a) 353 b) 1981 -2000 (Housing stock was then sold to North Devon Homes Ltd, 21.02.2000) therefore the Council does not hold any information from then to date 2. Zero
Exemptions/Exceptions:
None
Request reference: 8847
Issue date: 20.01.23
Request received:
1. How many staff (as measured by full-time equivalents) do you employ to work on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI)? 2. What was your spending on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) for the financial year 2021/22 and what is the budget for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) in the current financial year? 3. What was your spending on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) training for the financial year 2021/22 and what is the budget for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) training in the current financial year? 4. How many staff working days do you estimate were lost from regular work due to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) training for the financial year 2021/22 and what is your estimate of staff working days that will be lost from regular work due to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) training during the current financial year?
Response provided:
1. The Council does not employ anyone specifically, but four members of staff work on this 2. The Council does not have a specific budget for this as it is incorporated into the Corporate Training allowance. Work related to EDI will also be absorbed within working and staff costs 3. Budget is not allocated to specific training, the Council has an overall skills and training budget which is used for EDI training. No specific EDI training took place in 2021/22 it is due to take place in 2022/2023. Other wellbeing training which encompass areas of E and D took place e g mental health training 4. Specific EDI training for 2023 - for Managers this will be approximately 1/2 a day - (approximately 60 members of staff) and for the other 360 staff approximately 1.5 hours
Exemptions/Exceptions:
None
Request reference: 8848
Issue date: 05.01.23
Request received:
1. How many public buildings in your council had working smart energy meters installed on the premises? - Please provide the data split by property type - If available, please provide the date/year the smart energy meters were installed - If available, please provide any available data on when smart energy meters are planned to be installed on the premises which don't already have them
Response provided:
The Council does not hold/record the requested information
Exemptions/Exceptions:
None
Request reference: 8849
Issue date: 06.01.23
Request received:
CON29 information relating to a property at EX34 9SA
Response provided:
Applicant provided with the information, where held and also directed to the Council's website for some of the information
Exemptions/Exceptions:
None
Request reference: 8850
Issue date: 23.01.23
Request received:
1. How many bonuses were given out to staff during the 2022 calendar year? Please include the monetary value of the bonus and also the format of the bonus (i e was it a gift card, voucher, cash bonus) 2. Any redundancy payments made to employees leaving in 2022. If any were made, please provide information on the total amount of each payment
Response provided:
1. Nil 2. Nil
Exemptions/Exceptions:
None
Request reference: 8851
Issue date: 09.01.23
Request received:
a) The total number of complaints received by tenants about private landlords or letting agents i) So far this year ii) 2021/22 iii) 2020/21 iv) 2019/20 v) 2018/19 b) The total number of a) which were focused on problems with i) Damp in properties ii) Rodents, bed bugs or other pests iii) Rent rises deemed by the tenant to be excessive iv) Eviction notices deemed by the tenant to be unfair c) The total number of complaints received by tenants about housing association properties and/or council housing i) So far this year ii) 2021/22 iii) 2020/21 iv) 2019/20 v) 2018/19 d) The total number of c) which were focused on problems with i) Damp in properties ii) Rodents, bed bugs or other pests iii) Rent rises deemed by the tenant to be excessive iv) Eviction notices deemed by the tenant to be unfair e) The total number of Housing Enforcement Officers, or equivalent, employed by the Council i) Currently ii) 2021/22 iii) 2020/21 iv) 2019/20 v) 2018/19 f) The total number of Housing Enforcement Officer posts, or equivalent, which the Council has (including vacant jobs) i) Currently ii) 2021/22 iii) 2020/21 iv) 2019/20 v) 2018/19 g) The total number of landlords which have been prosecuted by the Council for failing to meet their legal obligations to tenants i) So far this year ii) 2021/22 iii) 2020/21 iv) 2019/20 v) 2018/19 h) The total number of landlords which have been banned from renting out properties within the Council area i) So far this year ii) 2021/22 iii) 2020/21 iv) 2019/20 v) 2018/19
Response provided:
The Council's Private Sector Housing EHO has provided the following information, however they indicate that for housing complaints they do not specifically record what each complaint relates to and so it is only possible to identify this information by viewing each complaint individually This exercise has been carried out for 'so far this year' and is set out as follows: a) i) 140 ii) 192 iii) 172 iv) 168 v) 204 b) i) 82 ii) Nine iii) Three iv) Nine c) i) 24 d) i) 18 ii) Two iii) Zero iv) Zero e) i) One ii) One iii) Two iv) Two v) Three f) i) Three ii) Three iii) Three iv) Three v) Three g) i) Zero ii) Zero iii) Two iv) Zero v) Two h) i) Zero ii) Zero iii) Zero iv) Zero v) Zero 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 Council's Private Sector Housing EHO that they would be required manually go through all 736 complaints under ii), iii), iv) and v) which would take approximately 36.8 hours (each complaint taking approximately three minutes) to provide the requested information In accordance with Section 16 of the Act, unfortunately there is no other way in which the information can be provided and therefore the Council confirmed to the applicant that it is 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
Exemptions/Exceptions:
Sections 12 and 16 of Act
Request reference: 8852
Issue date: 04.01.23
Request received:
1. Has your organisation hired an interim chief-executive officer(s) in the past five years (from now up until January 2018)? If this is the case, please provide their names and the dates they held the position for (if more than one interim CEOs have been in place over the past five years, please give the dates both held the position? If an interim CEO is currently in place, please make this clear 2. For each interim-CEO who was in place, please provide their pay (before tax). Ideally, this will be given as a daily rate -however, if this is not achievable, please provide a monthly salary or an annual one. Please include any bonuses awarded to the individual(s) during their employment. If an interim-CEO is currently in place, please provide the number of months they are expected to serve and how many of these have been served so far. If their pay changed over their term, please clarify when and how it was altered 3. Please provide the salary of the current chief executive (full-time not interim). If an interim-CEO is currently in place, please provide the annual salary of the most recent permanent CEO and the dates they were in the position for. As above, please provide any bonuses awarded to the CEO in this period. If the individual's salary changed over the five year term, please make this clear
Response provided:
1. No 2. N/A 3. The salary of the Council's current Full-time Chief Executive for the years they have been in post for are as follows: 01.04.22 - £97,664 01.04.21 - £95,739 01.04.20 - £94,324 01.07.19 - £91,800 No bonuses
Exemptions/Exceptions:
None
Request reference: 8853
Issue date: 03.01.23
Request received:
The number of deaths from 1st January 2022 -31st December 2022 (inclusive) in each of the following housing situations in the local authority area: 1. accommodation for homeless people commissioned by your council, including hostels and supported accommodation for people identified as rough sleeping or with a history of rough sleeping 2. exempt accommodation 3. temporary accommodation commissioned by the local authority 4. supported accommodation for homeless young people commissioned by the council 5. rough sleeping or with no fixed abode Where the Council has access to any of the following information, please include the cause of death or suspected cause of death, date of death, the person's gender, the person's age when they died, their ethnicity, and their immigration status. If the Council cannot provide any of this additional information, then please just provide the number of deaths
Response provided:
Applicant advised that the Council's Housing team confirms that they do not directly commission supported accommodation for rough sleepers 1. N/A -see above 2, Zero 3. Zero 4. Zero 5. Zero
Exemptions/Exceptions:
None
Request reference: 8854
Issue date: 13.01.23
Request received:
CON29 information relating to a property at EX31 2FG
Response provided:
Applicant provided with the information, where held and also directed to the Council's website for some of the information
Exemptions/Exceptions:
None
Request reference: 8855
Issue date: 30.01.23
Request received:
1. How many roles are there at North Devon District Council's planning department? 2. How many current vacancies at North Devon District Council's planning department? 3. What staffing capacity is North Devon District Council's planning department currently working at? 4. What has the staff turnover rate been in the past 12 months in at North Devon District Council's planning department?
Response provided:
As at 30 January 2023: 1. 25 in total 2. Four vacancies (Lead Officer post and three Senior Planning Officers) 3. The Council is currently a Leader Officer and three Senior Planning Officer posts short 4. There has been two full-time staff members that have resigned in the last 12 months
Exemptions/Exceptions:
None
Request reference: 8856
Issue date: 13.01.23
Request received:
CON29 information relating to a property at EX34 9FF
Response provided:
Applicant provided with the information, where held and also directed to the Council's website for some of the information
Exemptions/Exceptions:
Request reference: 8857
Issue date: 13.01.23
Request received:
CON29 information relating to a property at EX31 2FG
Response provided:
Applicant provided with the information, where held and also directed to the Council's website for some of the information
Exemptions/Exceptions:
Request reference: 8858
Issue date: 09.01.23
Request received:
Please can I request the data for any holiday let's in Devon that have paid their business rates I will need: House Name/Number Address Line 1 Address Line 2 County City Postcode
Response provided:
The applicant was advised that the Council does not hold the requested information, but instead it is able to provide data to identify ratepayers who have a rates liability to pay This information can be found from the Council's 'Occupied properties' dataset as linked below by filtering the 'Property Description' to identify properties that are 'self-catering units' and are liable to pay business rates Properties with a rateable value less than £12K where the 'SBR Relief' indicator is 'Yes' received 100% rate relief Business Rates datasets Please note that the datasets as at 1 January 2023 are currently being prepared for publication
Exemptions/Exceptions:
Sections 16 and 21 of Act
Request reference: 8859
Issue date: 26.01.23
Request received:
Details of all animals requiring licensing under the Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976 in their jurisdiction, the following: 1. The current number of DWA licences within your jurisdiction 2. For each DWA licence, list all the species and the number of individuals covered. (In each case, please provide the taxonomic and common name, if possible, to enable the species to be identified) 3. The number of DWA applications which were made and subsequently refused, and the reasons for refusal, if possible
Response provided:
None None None
Exemptions/Exceptions:
None
Request reference: 8860
Issue date: 11.01.23
Request received:
1. Which company is the supplier of the Electoral Management System (EMS) for North Devon District Council? 2. What modules are included in the contract for the supply of North Devon's EMS? Examples could include tablet canvassing, automated boundary changes, online staffing app etc 3. What is the annual value of the current EMS contract, including any modules mentioned in response to question 2? 4. In what year was the current contract awarded? 5. For how many years was the current contract awarded? 6. Is the authority's EMS contract now on a fixed term basis or a rolling annual basis? a. If fixed, when does the current contract expire? b. If rolling, what is the anniversary renewal date? 7. When is the next EMS procurement process scheduled to begin? If this information isn't known, please provide a best estimate and make clear that it's an estimate 8. When did the last EMS procurement take place? 9. Which suppliers were invited to bid during the last EMS procurement? 10. What is the name and the job title of the person at North Devon that manages electoral services? 11. If known, what is the name, work phone number and job title of the procurement officer at North Devon who will manage the next EMS procurement process?
Response provided:
1. Civica Xpress 2. Register, Management, Count Module 3. £20,776.94 4. 2009 5. Annually 6. Rolling Annual, a) N/A b) April 2024 7. Unknown 8. Information not held* 9. Information not held* 10. Adam Tape, Head of Governance 11. Procurement Team, 01271 388285 *Prior to 2009 the Council used the Pickwick elections system
Exemptions/Exceptions:
None
Request reference: 8861
Issue date: 20.01.23
Request received:
CON29 information relating to a property at EX31 2FE
Response provided:
Applicant provided with the information, where held and also directed to the Council's website for some of the information
Exemptions/Exceptions:
None
Request reference: 8862
Issue date: 11.01.23
Request received:
Can you confirm if business rates are in payment for Next Steps Development? Registered Charity Can you please provide the name of the liable person for business rates at these premises? Can you please provide the start date of the liability and if appropriate the end date? Can you also provide the above information for the following businesses: Community Farms Devon Blackmore Farm, Charles Bottom, EX32 7PY 2nd Chance Barnstaple Ltd 97 High Street Barnstaple EX31 1HR Next Steps Development, St Georges House, St Georges Road, Barnstaple, EX32 7AS
Response provided:
Community Farms Devon Blackmore Farm, Charles Bottom, EX32 7PY Premises are not registered in the Non-Domestic Rates list, and as such we cannot provide any information 2nd Chance Barnstaple Ltd 97 High Street Barnstaple EX31 1HR Next Steps Development are occupying, and therefore liable for Non-Domestic Rates at 97 High Street, Barnstaple. Their liability period commenced on 28 June 2021, and is ongoing. They are in receipt of 80% mandatory Charitable Rate Relief, as well as being in receipt of Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Relief, which is a further discount of 50% on the remaining charge Next Steps Development, St Georges House, St Georges Road, Barnstaple, EX32 7AS Next Steps Development are occupying, and therefore liable for Non-Domestic Rates at St Georges House, St Georges Road, Barnstaple. Their liability period commenced on 3 May 2018, and is ongoing. They are in receipt of 80% mandatory Charitable Rate Relief, as well as being in receipt of a further discretionary Charitable Rate Relief award of 20%, so there is no charge required to be paid The council maintains a series of Business Rates datasets which are accessible through its website. Our Properties Occupied dataset contains details of properties occupied on a specific date and is updated quarterly. Applicant advised that the datasets as at 1 January 2023 are currently being prepared for publication
Exemptions/Exceptions:
None
Request reference: 8863
Issue date: 17.01.23
Request received:
Please provide a copy of the Local Authority's policy on when a Guest House (or similar) becomes, in the LA's opinion an HMO and therefore subject to HA 2004 This question is raised in particular with regard to the considerable number of Guest Houses which house 'homeless' persons on a temporary or short term basis whilst permanent accommodation is found for them The policy (or additional notes) should explain how the LA judges whether each such individual is a guest on licence or a tenant on implied AST Please note this request is being made to multiple Local Authorities. This information will be used to give advice to landlords and so its accuracy is vital Any additional information that would help this firm in explaining to landlords your LA's distinctions (and therefore their liabilities within your LA area) would be welcomed. If any amplification upon this request is required please contact the below If the policy is already published on the LA's website giving all of the information requested then a hyperlink will suffice. If not then a digital copy of the policy document would be required please
Response provided:
Private Sector Housing (PSH) confirms that does not hold a specific policy on when a Guest House (or similar) becomes, in the Council's opinion an HMO. PSH advises that as far as they are aware, Guest Houses are normally considered to be commercial enterprises and therefore any issues regarding fire safety fall under the jurisdiction of the fire service Further to this, from a Licensing perspective the team would ordinarily decide if a property falls under the scope of mandatory licensing by determining if the HMO meets the prescribed description set out in The Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation (Prescribed Description) (England) Order 2018. Moreover, Section 254 of the Housing Act 2004 further sets out the meaning of a House in Multiple Occupation The Council does have a number of properties that it regularly uses as temporary accommodation which have been included into the HMO inspection programme, where the property meets the normal HMO criteria and any complaints regarding housing standards within temporary accommodation would be investigated and inspection of guest houses prior to use as temporary accommodation is standard practice Housing Options confirms that when they use Bed and Breakfasts as Temporary Accommodation they do this on a spot purchase arrangement
Exemptions/Exceptions:
None
Request reference: 8864
Issue date: 20.01.23
Request received:
CON29 information relating to a property at EX33 1NX
Response provided:
Applicant provided with the information, where held and also directed to the Council's website for some of the information
Exemptions/Exceptions:
None
Request reference: 8866
Issue date: 25.01.23
Request received:
1. Does the Council deliver on-the-ground enforcement functions such as issuing fixed penalty notices for anti-social behaviour, littering and fly tipping, and if so, how (directly, contracted out, etc)? 2. Does the Council deal with abandoned and/or untaxed vehicles, if so, how? 3. Does the Council deal with unlawful encampments and traveller incursions, if so, how? 4. If yes to either 1, 2 or 3, does an enforcement strategy exist, and can this be provided? 5. In the last 5 financial years, how much has your authority recovered through Fixed Penalty Notices, fines and other actions as a result of enforcement action for these activities? 6. In the last 5 financial years, how much has been spent on delivering these enforcement activities (for ease, if these form the substantive part of a department or team's responsibilities, please provide its combined net revenue budget)? 7. Please provide any internal email correspondence and documents (including service reviews and committee reports) which relate to any consideration of reviewing expenditure on the aforementioned enforcement functions within the last 2 years
Response provided:
1. Yes, in-house. The Council publishes information on fly-tipping and waste crime, littering and anti-social behaviour on its website 2. Yes, the Council publishes information on this on its website 3. Yes, the Council publishes information on this on its website 4. Yes, the Council's Corporate Enforcement policy is published on its website 5. The Council publishes annual FPN datasets (by calendar year) on its website which provides this information. Each FPN is itemised with the date so you will be able to calculate the information by financial year. The 2022 dataset will be due for publication from February 2023, in accordance with Section 22 of the Act 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 the Council has done so in providing the links as set out above 6. The following includes items in Q1 but also stray dogs and dog fouling as these are not split. Within the figures are salaries plus on costs, vehicles, fuel and equipment: 2021/22 - £78,622.19 2020/21 - £54,557.36 2019/20 - £48,248.72 2018/19 - £63,649.92 2017/18 - £56,586.75 7. Information provided to applicant with all personal data redacted relating to non-Managerial and Senior Management roles and also a former employee in accordance with Section 40 of Act
Exemptions/Exceptions:
Sections 16, 21, 22 and 40 of Act
Request reference: 8867
Issue date: 13.01.23
Request received:
1. Please confirm if your organisation has an internal IT architecture and/or Enterprise Architecture function, along with respective job titles and the quantity of these positions. For example - 1x lead architect, 2x solution architect, etc 2. Please confirm if your organisation uses 3rd party Enterprise Architecture tooling software. For example - Spa
Response provided:
1. No it does not. The Council does not employ any individuals within the roles as set out above 2. No it does not
Exemptions/Exceptions:
None
Request reference: 8868
Issue date: 16.01.23
Request received:
1. The total amount of plastic waste shipped to Asia from your organisation over the past five years, organised by year (e g 10 tonnes in 2019, 20 tonnes in 2020) 2.The countries that the plastic waste was shipped to
Response provided:
1. The Council confirmed that it does not currently ship and has not shipped any plastic waste collected within the Council's area to Asia over the last five years 2. N/A
Exemptions/Exceptions:
None
Request reference: 8869
Issue date: 20.01.23
Request received:
1. How many parking permit zones/areas does the Council have in its area for 2023? 2. How many parking permit zones/areas did the Council have in its area in 2013? 3. How much does the Council's parking permits costs annually in 2023? 4. How much did the Council's parking permits costs annually in 2013?
Response provided:
1. Applicant referred to the Parking Permits page on the Council's website for this information 2. The zones/areas were the same in 2013 3. As 1. above 4. The applicant was provided with a Word document (pages 5 and 6) providing the charges for 2013 and advised that not all permits are charged for annually, it depends on the type of permit. Document available upon request
Exemptions/Exceptions:
None
Request reference: 8870
Issue date: 19.01.23
Request received:
Information about the Council's electricity sources in relation to climate action for the Council Climate Action Scorecards. This information may be held by an estates department or similar a) Does the Council have a 100% renewable green electricity tariff for all of the electricity that the council is directly responsible for, and is this tariff with Green Energy UK plc, Good Energy Limited or Ecotricity? This includes all electricity that the Council is directly responsible for, in Council offices and any other buildings leased and managed by the council where the Council pays the electricity tariff. This does not include homes owned or managed by the Council. If unsure, please state your provider and tariff b) Does the Council generate and use energy from waste? And if so, what percentage of the council's total electricity use is powered by these energy from waste electricity sources? c) Does the Council buy directly from a local renewable electricity source or have its own renewable electricity sources? And if so, what percentage of the council's total electricity use is powered by this/these renewable electricity sources? This includes Council owned renewable electricity sources that are located outside of the council area, such as solar farms located further south to maximise electricity generation
Response provided:
a) The energy tariff the Council has is: Clean renewable, specifically sourced from wind, solar and hydro assets. This tariff is not provided by Green Energy UK plc, Good Energy Limited or Ecotricity b) No c) No
Exemptions/Exceptions:
None
Request reference: 8873
Issue date: 24.01.23
Request received:
1a. How many staff does the Council directly employ (excluding contractors or subcontractors, and excluding teachers), that work directly for the Council as opposed to a school, leisure centres or other venture? 1b. How many directly employed staff spend 3 or more days per week (0.6 Full Time Equivalent (FTE)) on implementing the Climate Action Plan or other climate change projects? Please provide a list of all the roles. Please exclude waste management staff unless they are specifically working 3 or more days per week on implementing the Climate Action Plan or other climate change projects If you have answered yes to have a biodiversity planning officer and/or a retrofit staff member below, both these staff members can be included in this question even if they are contracted. This is likely to include all staff in your climate/sustainability team, such as Climate Change Officers or similar. This may include full time staff who spend 60% of their time on climate change projects and 40% of their time on other work You might include other staff in other departments, such as a procurement officer if they are spending 3 or more days per week (0.6 FTE) on writing and implementing a sustainable procurement policy or a planner that is working primarily on low carbon policies for new buildings 2. Does the council have one or more staff member who works on home energy efficiency retrofitting, such as retrofit officers or project managers across the council area, for 3 or more days per week (0.6+ FTE)? This can include both directly employed and contracted staff, provided they work 3 or more days per week (0.6 FTE). The work of this officer may include working on any retrofit projects, including council buildings, council homes or private rented or owned households Please list any roles that work in this area, including the full time equivalent (FTE) if they work part time Please include staff members that are shared with other councils, such as between county and district councils, and note if they are shared across other areas 3. How many planning ecologists (ecologists within the planning department) or equivalent working for 3 or more days per week (0.6+ FTE) does the council employ to scrutinise planning reports for Biodiversity Net Gain? This can include both directly employed and contracted staff, provided they work 3 or more days per week (0.6 FTE)
Response provided:
1a. 432 as at 24.01.23 1b. One Sustainability and Climate Officer shared with Torridge District Council, who spends three or more days a week on implementing the Climate Action Plan for North Devon Council 2. The Council's Service Lead officer for Home Adaptations, Improvements and Energy Efficiency, however they confirm that whilst part of their role relates to Energy Efficiency, but it is not for three or more days each week. The role includes being the Council's lead officer for consortium bids for Government funding opportunities (such as Sustainable Warmth) and also the lead officer for ECO4 Flex North Devon Council has commissioned 361 Energy CIC to provide a home energy service to residents who have applied for a Disabled Facilities Grant, homeless applicants who have been supported to move into private rented accommodation, residents in receipt of state benefits in relation to Affordable Warmth Criteria, residents that meet the criteria in North Devon Council's Statement of Intent or residents with a low household income that live in a property with high running costs (this can be determined via a fuel poverty assessment) 3. The Council employs one Full Time (working five days per week) Sustainability Officer within Strategic Development and Planning
Exemptions/Exceptions:
None
Request reference: 8874
Issue date: 17.01.23
Request received:
I would like information about your council's planning in relation to climate action for the Council Climate Action Scorecards. This information is most likely to be held by a planning officer or similar In particular, please supply me with information relating to the following questions: a. Has the Council approved any new*1 or expanded*2 roads or road junctions in its area from 1st January 2019 until 1st January 2023? Please list which ones were accepted *1 The intention of this question is to understand overall increases in road capacity, rather than recent housing developments. Please exclude minor roads built exclusively to connect new housing to the pre-existing road network *2 An expanded road or road junction is one that has increased capacity for motor vehicle traffic, not counting bus lanes, cycle infrastructure, or pedestrian infrastructure. Please include roads and junctions where new lanes have been added b. Has the council approved any new or expanded airport runways, terminals, measures to increase passenger numbers or other planning proposals that expand airport capacity in its area since 1st January 2019 until 1st January 2023? Please list which ones were accepted
Response provided:
The Council's Planning department confirms that the information requested covering North Devon falls under the remit of Devon County Council Highways and was directed to send their request onto their Information Governance team. Furthermore, the Council does not have any airports in its area
Exemptions/Exceptions:
None
Request reference: 8876
Issue date: 25.01.23
Request received:
Has the council written to or met with UK national or devolved governments to ask or lobby for climate action since 1st January 2019? Please provide some evidence of the most recent letter or meeting such as a copy of the letter or email sent, or the date, topic of meeting and position of the person that the meeting was held with This includes either asking for more powers and funding for local authorities to take climate action, or asking for the government to take further action themselves. This includes working with other local authorities to send joint letters or meetings to lobby UK or devolved governments, and includes both general climate action and calls for action on specific issues such as transport where climate change is mentioned as a motivating factor for taking action This includes if a cabinet member or other councillor has written to or met with the UK or devolved governments on behalf of the council
Response provided:
Notices of motions have been considered by full Council on five occasions since 1st January 2019. Details of the notices of motions are included on the Council agenda and are published on our website: https://democracy.northdevon.gov.uk/ieDocHome.aspx?Categories= The most recent is the Council meeting on 23 February 2022, which was in relation to Ocean net recovery https://democracy.northdevon.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=137&MId=2432&Ver=4 Please see attached copy of the letter that was sent to George Eustice MP regarding the above Furthermore, the Council's Climate Officer also confirms that lobbying was carried out with Plastic Free North Devon on single use plastics. Please see attached draft letter which was issued by Plastic Free North Devon signed by the Council's Chief Executive, Ken Miles. The letter was also sent to MP's Selaine Saxby and Geoffrey Cox and also to DEFRA at the request of Selaine Saxby
Exemptions/Exceptions:
None
Request reference: 8878
Issue date: 27.01.23
Request received:
CON29 information relating to a property at EX31 4PJ
Response provided:
Applicant provided with the information, where held and also directed to the Council's website for some of the information
Exemptions/Exceptions:
None
Request reference: 8881
Issue date: 27.01.23
Request received:
CON29 information relating to a property at EX34 7HN
Response provided:
Applicant provided with the information, where held and also directed to the Council's website for some of the information
Exemptions/Exceptions:
None
Request reference: 8882
Issue date: 18.01.23
Request received:
The total number of environmental enforcement Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs) that have been issued by your council in 2020, 2021 and 2022 Could this also be broken down by: The offence each environmental enforcement FPN was issued The value of each penalty issued Whether each penalty was paid by the offender
Response provided:
Applicant advised that the Council proactively publishes the requested information in dataset format which is completed annually: Environmental Fixed Penalty Notices. The datasets published provide the information requested for 2020 and 2021 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 it has done so in providing the applicant with the link to the datasets as above In accordance with Section 22 of the Act (information due for future publication) the dataset with the 2022 data is in the course of completion and will be published during February 2023
Exemptions/Exceptions:
Sections 16, 21 ad 22 of Act
Request reference: 8884
Issue date: 20.01.23
Request received:
In Excel format: 1. Please can you tell me the number of public bins the council has provided in your area for the past five years (1 January 2018 - 19 January 2023). Please could this be broken down by month, the type of bin, the location (e g park or street) 2. Please can you tell me the number of public bins removed from your area over the past five years (1 January 2018 - 19 January 2023). Please could this be broken down by month, the type of bin, the location (e g park or street) and the reason for removal 3. Please can you tell the savings made from the removal of the bins, broken down annually from 1 January 2018-19 January 2023
Response provided:
1. 309 litter bins. The Council does not record how many bins each month or year, however the Council provided the applicant with a copy of its 2021 Litter bin audit in Excel format, which is available upon request 2. This information is not recorded 3. This information is not recorded
Exemptions/Exceptions:
None
Request reference: 8885
Issue date: 23.01.23
Request received:
All information available regarding enforcement of the High Fat, Salt and Sugar (HFSS) regulations which passed into law in April 2022; specifically: - The number of businesses which breached HFSS since its introduction - How many HFSS compliance visits the council has made since its introduction - The penalty for the breach. If the punishment was a fine, please outline the value of the fine - The name that the offending businesses traded under, and its address - A breakdown of the business type (supermarket, convenience store, retailer, restaurant) - Copies of the enforcement letters sent to businesses breaching HFSS legislation Applicant requested that these figures be broken down month on month
Response provided:
Applicant directed to Devon County Council (Trading Standards) for this information
Exemptions/Exceptions:
None
Request reference: 8890
Issue date: 24.01.23
Request received:
1. How many individuals who came to the UK as part of the Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme (Homes for Ukraine scheme) or the Ukraine Family Scheme are now statutory homeless, as registered with your council? To be clear, I am referring to Ukrainians who arrived in your council's constituency under either scheme and have now been recorded as statutory homeless 2. If a parent has made the homelessness application/registration on behalf of a family, please include the total number of family members affected (not just the one member making the application)
Response provided:
1. Zero 2. Zero
Exemptions/Exceptions:
None
Request reference: 8893
Issue date: 26.01.23
Request received:
1. The total number of women currently (as of 24/01/23) on your waiting list for council housing who are living in a refuge/ supported living facility for women fleeing domestic abuse 2. Of this number, please can you provide the total number of women who have been on the list for: i) up to six months ii) up to one year iii) up to two years iv) more than two years
Response provided:
1. Five 2. As follows: i) up to six months = Three ii) up to one year = One iii) up to two years = One (note on register for up to two years, in a refuge and on the register for up to one year) iv) more than two years = Zero
Exemptions/Exceptions:
None
Request reference: 8894
Issue date: 25.01.23
Request received:
The number of dedicated warm banks, warm spaces or warm places created and run within your local authority broken down by ones operated by the Council, and ones operated by other organisations of which the Council is aware
Response provided:
North Devon Council do not run any Warm Banks; we have an application process for groups to apply for funding to run them All information on Warm Banks which North Devon Council have knowledge of is contained on the council website -this is for both North Devon Council funded and others
Exemptions/Exceptions:
Sections 16 and 21 of Act
Request reference: 8895
Issue date: 25.01.23
Request received:
Information in relation to the administration of Business, non-domestic rates within the council's area, the number of non-domestic properties that are classed by Special Rate Code 998, which may also be known special category code (SCat) 998 and may have a letter(s) after the code 998 for example 998c Please could you provide a list of properties and addresses classified by special rate code or (Scat) 998 in your area?
Response provided:
The Council's Revenues department advises that it does not hold the 'special category code' for all its NDR properties, however this information is available on the Valuation Office website If you select an 'Advanced' search you can search by 'special category code' and then by 'local council'. Revenues further confirms that if their officers are required to find out properties in a specific code, this is how they would obtain the information
Exemptions/Exceptions:
None
Request reference: 8896
Issue date: 25.01.23
Request received:
A list of unclaimed business rate credit balances. Please can you also include accounts where a 'write on' has been used to cancel an overpayment which has not since been reversed Please can this information be provided to me in an Excel Spreadsheet, including the following fields: 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:
Request fully refused 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 this to validate the accuracy of the accounts 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 and it is estimated that it would take in excess of 1,500 hours to complete, and therefore far exceeds the 18 hour limit
Exemptions/Exceptions:
Section 12 of Act
Request reference: 8897
Issue date: 27.01.23
Request received:
A list of all bids made by the local authority to the levelling up fund, providing the following for each bid: 1. The date the bid was submitted 2. The bid title and a brief description of what the bid was for, if available 3. The amount of money being requested from the fund 4. The name of any external contractors used in the bid 5. The amount paid to each of the external contractors used in the bid 6. The total estimated cost to the local authority of putting the bid together
Response provided:
1. Tuesday, 2 August 2022 2. Levelling Up Ilfracombe; The Council's projects will help to re-establish Ilfracombe as the premier coastal destination in North Devon. Delivered through a coordinated investment in developing our cultural offer and enhancing the Seafront 3. £10,108,053 4. Inner Circle Consulting 5. £12,050 6. £3,496
Exemptions/Exceptions:
Request reference: 8898
Issue date: 26.01.23
Request received:
Please can you confirm how much has been spent on Consultants or other independent contractors providing assistance with the 'Levelling up Scheme' to date
Response provided:
The total paid to consultants to date (2021 bid and 2022 bid) is £31,891 for support in the preparation of Levelling Up scheme
Exemptions/Exceptions:
None
Request reference: 8903
Issue date: 31.01.23
Request received:
The Registration number, make and model of all vehicles registered as a Taxi, Hackney Carriage or for Private Hire between 6 September 2022 and 26 January 2023 within North Devon Council
Response provided:
Information provided to the applicant in excel format, which is available upon request
Exemptions/Exceptions:
None