Disclosure Log - June 2024 | North Devon Council

Request reference: FOI 9835

Issue date: 04.06.24

Request received:

1. How much money received via Section 106 agreements is currently held, unspent, by the local planning authority?

2. How much of this figure (Q1) is allocated for:

a) Affordable housing provision

b) Highways/roads

c) Schools and education contributions

d) Social infrastructure (e g recreation, open spaces, play areas)

e) Health and social care services

f) Unallocated?

3. How much of this figure (Q1) was received:

a) in the 2023/24 or 2024/25 financial years,

b) between the 2019/20 and 2022/23 financial years (inclusive)

c) in the 2018/19 financial year or earlier?

4. How much money received via Section 106 agreements has been returned to the developer within the last ten years (2013/14 financial year onwards), due to it not being spent in the required time frame? If the reason for returning money to the developer has not been recorded, please just put here the total amount of Section 106 money that has been returned to developers for any reason

Response provided:

The Council confirmed that it holds some of this information and provided the requester with a spreadsheet containing information that this Council holds

Applicant advised that Devon County Council should be approached for responses to 2b highways/roads, 2c schools and education and 2e health and social care services. These areas fall under the wider remit of Devon County Council (which includes North Devon)

Request reference: FOI 9870

Issue date: 05.06.24

Request received:

The number of dog places that you have available at any one time in your shelter(s) or pound(s)
The number of dogs that have spent any time in your dog shelter(s) or pound(s) and
The number of stray dogs that have entered a shelter/pound(s)
The number of dogs that have entered a shelter/pound(s) that were seized for welfare reasons
The number of dogs that have entered a shelter/pound(s) that were seized for human safety reasons and
The number of dogs that have entered a shelter/pound(s) that were relinquished
The top 3 breeds of the dogs that entered the shelter/pound(s) plus amount of each breed
The number of dogs that were rehomed directly from your shelter and
The number of dogs that were moved to another rehoming centre (e g run by a charity) in the UK/Ireland and abroad
The average length of stay of dogs in your shelter/pound(s)
The number of each type of breed of dog that were euthanised
Currently, does the Council have any written policies on:
Welfare of the dogs in your shelter/pound(s), including requirements for exercise, enrichment, formal behavioural assessment? Yes/ No (If yes, please provide)
Euthanasia of dogs in your shelter/pound(s)? Yes/ No (If yes, please provide)
Please provide your most recent inspection report including the recommendations for improvement
Please provide the Full Time Equivalent staff and level of formal training of the staff that work in your shelter/pound(s)

Response provided:

1. 2021 =Two, 2022 = Two, 2023 = One

2 and 3. 2021 = 17. 2022 = 16. 2023 = 14

4, 5 and 6.

2021 = x14 dogs taken to kennels as deemed to be Strays / x3 dogs due to welfare reasons

2022 = x16 dogs taken to kennels as deemed to be Strays

2023 = x13 dogs taken to kennels as deemed to be Strays / x1 dog had been relinquished.

7. 2021 = x2 Jack Russell Terrier / x2 Cocker Spaniel / x2 sprocker spaniel / x2 cross breed Other

2022 = x5 Jack Russell Terrier / x3 Cross Breed Other / x3 Staffordshire bull terrier

2023 = x2 Cross Breed Other / x2 Border collie

8 and 9.

2021 = x2 dogs rehomed to a new owner / x1 dog taken to another rehoming centre (of the remaining x14, x13 were returned to original owners, x1 was euthanised)

2022 = x2 dogs taken to another rehoming centre (the remaining x14 were returned to original owners)

2023 = x1 dog rehomed to a new owner / x1 dog taken to another rehoming centre (the remaining x12 were returned to original owners)

10. 2021 = 3.5 days, 2022 = 2.6 days, 2023 = 3.2 days

11. The dog euthanised in 2021 was a cross breed/other

12. The council does not hold any such information/policies

The Council does not have its own Council owned kennel facilities

Please note, we are unable to provide name/location/details of kennel facilities. This information is withheld under Section 31(1)(a) as its release would or would be likely to prejudice the prevention or detection of crime. In this case, releasing the details of any establishment(s) which stray dogs are taken to could lead to owners attending and demanding the return of their dog(s) without going through the correct returns procedure. Before a dog is released, the owner must pay any kennelling fees that have been incurred. In considering the Public Interest Test, the Council considers that withholding the names and addresses of these establishments enables the process to be completed without the interference of other parties and allows the animals to be looked after in a safe environment for the duration of their stay. It is in the interest of the public to preserve this service which may be endangered if the addressee(s) were to become public knowledge

Request reference: FOI 9876

Issue date: 05.06.24

Request received:

The total number of Section 106 agreements between developers and the Council for each financial year since 2010
For the total number of planning obligations agreed under Section 106 since 2010, please provide the number of agreements that fall under each of the following categories:
Delivered in line with S106 and to expectations
Expected to be delivered in full in due course
Delivered but with agreed changes
Not delivered as agreed
Outcome unknown
Of the total S106 agreements made between 2010 to present, the number that resulted in a financial payment to the Council instead of a building or construction obligation
Of financial contributions collected under Section 106, how much remains unspent?

Response provided:

1. As follows:

01.04.2010 – 31.03.2011 44

01.04.2011 – 31.03.2012 36

01.04.2012 – 31.03.2013 43

01.04.2013 – 31.03.2014 38

01.04.2014 – 31.03.2015 46

01.04.2015 – 31.03.2016 45

01.04.2016 – 31.03.2017 70

01.04.2017 – 31.03.2018 52

01.04.2018 – 31.03.2019 49

01.04.2019 – 31.03.2020 47

01.04.2020 – 31.03.2021 46

01.04.2021 – 31.03.2022 45

01.04.2022 – 31.03.2023 49

01.04.2023 – 31.03.2024 45

2. This data is not monitored, therefore it is not possible to provide a response

3. It is not possible to provide a response as the Council’s s106 agreements are not yet captured electronically and therefore a manual search of each agreement since 2010 would need to be undertaken. 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 our responding Planning officer that it would take approximately 111 hours and 21 minutes to provide the requested information, of which the cost is calculated at 655 agreements at 10 minutes per agreement. The procedure would cause serious disruption to the day to day working of the Planning team and therefore we are unable to process your 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

The Planning team have suggested that they can provide you with lists of applications subject to a s106 Agreement if you would like to check information yourself? The Planning Register is accessible through the Council’s website:

Advanced Search - Council Services (northdevon.gov.uk)

The Planning Register allows a user to search for planning applications. 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 above

4. Regardless of when contributions were received):

CCTV - £11,170.21

Community Facilities - £17,334.00

Affordable Housing - £568,638.73

Public Open Space/Recreation - £2,176,931.68

Public Open Space (Maintenance) - £190,107.57

Flood Defence - £1,172,188.00

Heritage - £50,107.71

Total - £4,186,477.90

Request reference: FOI 9891

Issue date: 03.06.24

Request received:

The business plan for the development of Tarka leisure centre stated that NDDC took £7.5 million in prudential borrowing on the basis that the operator (LexLeisure/Parkwood – herein Parkwood) would be responsible for generating an agreed upon level of revenue that will be paid to the Council to service the loan

1) Can you confirm that NDDC Prudential Borrowing for the Tarka Leisure centre was £7.5m

2) Can you confirm that the agreed level of revenue to be paid by Parkwood leisure to NDDC (to service the prudential borrowing) was the agreed amount of £380KPA

3) By year, since the award of the Tarka pool contract, can you confirm 1) the amounts requested from NDDC of Parkwood and 2) the amounts paid by Parkwood to NDDC

4) If the annual monies requested by NDDC to Parkwood increased or decreased from the agreed level of revenue (380KPA), can you state, by year, the reasons why (e g interest rate rises). If they have remained constant as per agreed contract, then please say so

Response provided:

The original approval at Full Council in March 2019 was for external borrowing of £9.7m in relation to the Leisure Centre project. However, the Council borrows against its it total cash flow/treasury need rather than by a specific project

As at 31 March 2024 the Council’s total external borrowing (excluding finance leases) was £3m. For further details of the Council’s treasury or borrowing strategy please refer to the Treasury Management Strategy Statement and 10 Year Capital Strategy both approved by Strategy and Resources Committee, 5 February 2024

£380,518 plus VAT per annum rising annually by CPI
2022/23 £292,685.34 plus VAT requested in year 1 (Q1 invoice was £7,297.59 as facility opened in 24 June, all over quarters invoice was £95,129.25) and year 2 2023/24 £410,806.12 plus VAT requested in quarterly instalments of £102,701.53 and all paid quarterly so far barring 4th quarter 2023.24 which has just been invoiced for
Amount increases annually by CPI

Request reference: EIR 9903

Issue date: 06.06.24

Request received:

RE: Land off Blakes Hill Road, Landkey, Barnstaple. EX32 0NL

1. Pre-license landfill sites within 500m of the subject site, including:

• license holder

• location of landfill/grid reference

• nature of fill material

• dates of operation

• details of any leachate/landfill gas problems

2. Pollution incidents/known areas of contaminated land within 500m of the subject site, including:

• location/grid reference

• previous uses

• nature/source of pollution

• any further details

3. Part B APC authorisations within 500m of the subject site, including:

• authorisation holder

• location/grid reference

• nature of authorisation

4. Private water supplies within 500m of the subject site, including:

• location/grid reference

• details of source and abstraction purpose

5. Storage of Petroleum Hydrocarbons

6. Records of any previous Site Investigations on or in close proximity to the site

7. Records of any unexploded ordnance in the site area

8. Any known problems with ground gas in the site area

9. Any potential issues regarding naturally elevated contaminant concentrations

10. Any other information held by your authority which may have an impact upon the contaminative status of the site

Response provided:

Questions 1 and 2: Applicant provided with a map and spreadsheet (QGIS contaminated land report) regarding the site which is available upon request

The council does not hold any other records regarding potentially contaminated land in this area. It is recommended that you 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

Question 3: None

Question 4: None

Question 5: The Council would not hold this information

Question 6: None

Questions 7, 8 and 9: The Council would not hold this information

Question 10: None

Request reference: FOI

Issue date: 12.06.24

Request received:

The following information for the four time periods listed below:

(a) 19th July 2022 - 19th July 2023

(b) 19th July 2021 - 19th July 2022

(d) 1st January 2018 - 31st December 2018

1. The total number of noise complaints that have been filed against licensed premises/A4 pubs in your area

2. The total number of noise abatement notices issued to licensed premises/A4 pubs in your area

3. The total number of fines/fixed penalty notices issued to licensed premises/A4 pubs in your area, and the amount in each instance

Response provided:

Date	Noise complaints filed against licenced premises	Noise abatement notices issued to a licensed premises	Fixed Penalty Notices issued to licensed premises
19 July 2022 - 19 July 2023	37	One	Zero
19 July 2021 - 18 July 2022	54	One	Zero
1 January 2019 - 31 December 2019	35	One	Zero
1 January 2018 - 31 December 2018	33	One	Zero
Total	159	Four	Zero

Request reference: FOI 9913

Issue date: 05.06.24

Request received:

1. Total Number of Homes: The total number of residential properties for which the Council holds the leasehold from 2016 to the present

2. Revenue from Leaseholds: A breakdown of the annual revenue received from these leaseholds, year by year, from 2016 to the current year

Response provided:

Financial Year	No of Leasehold Properties (Resi)	Revenue from these properties
2018/19	16	£45,554.04
2019/20	16	£68,792.55
2020/21	19	£77,921.68
2021/22	20	£86,771
2022/23	21	£56,618
2023/24	22	£88,973
2024/25	22	Not available (Q1 financials not complete)

Data prior to 2018/19 is not held. Data was within an old system which is no longer accessible. The retention period for this data is 7 years (including current year)

Request reference: FOI 9914

Issue date: 03.06.24

Request received:

1. Prior to Lex Leisure/Parkwood entering into their new service contract for running Tarka Leisure Centre, they were running NDLC?

2. A copy of the services contract LexLeisure/Parkwood had with NDDC when running the old NDLC leisure centre

3. Was there ever a period of time, in the transition between the NDLC-Parkwood services contract and the new Tarka-Parkwood services contract that Parkwood/Lex leisure were not under a contract of services with NDDC?

Response provided:

1. Applicant provided with a copy of the Leisure Contract signed 2000. The contract was signed with CCL. Parkwood Leisure later bought out CCL and adopted the contract

2. Applicant provided with a copy of the Deed of Variation dated 2012

3. Applicant provided with the Deed of Variation dated 2020 to cover the period until new leisure centre was opened

Request reference: EIR 9917

Issue date: 03.06.24

Request received:

CON29 information relating to a property at EX31 4JP

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 9920

Issue date: 20.06.24

Request received:

A breakdown of how much the council has spent on temporary accommodation in each of the last five financial years up to 2024 (2019/20-2023/24), broken down by provider

By provider I mean the company contracted to provide this accommodation (of any type - hotel, b and b, caravan, private rented sector etc) to the council as part of its housing duty

If the council has procured this accommodation from more than 5 providers in any given year, can you limit your search to the 5 companies that have received the most funding from the council?

Can you provide the information in Google Sheets or Excel in the example format in the image attached?

Response provided:

Applicant provided with the Council’s response in Excel format, which is available upon request

Request reference: FOI 9923

Issue date: 11.06.24

Request received:

Information regarding the activities of the council's Economic Development / Business Support (ED) team

1. Does the council have an Economic Development (ED) team that provides business support to local companies?

2. If so, please provide the email address and telephone number of the Economic Development team

3. If the council does not have an ED team, please provide the contact details of the organisation responsible for offering business support in your council area

4. Does the ED team use a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system?

5. If a CRM system is in use, what is the name of the CRM system being used by the ED team?

6. If the ED team does not currently use a CRM system, does the ED team maintain a list of the companies that it supports?

7. And if the list is maintained on a spreadsheet, please share a blank copy of the spreadsheet, including the column headings indicating the information collected (no company data is required)

8. Additionally, if the information requested is already publicly available, I kindly request detailed guidance on where I can find it. Specifically, please provide instructions on how to locate expenditure on a CRM related to the Economic Development team, including:

9. The name and location of the document or webpage where expenditure data is published

10. Any specific filters or search terms I should apply to focus on expenditure related to the ED team and their subscription to a CRM

11. Does the ED team report the number of business support request that they receive to anyone?

12. And if so, who does the ED team report to – i e who are the ED team’s key stakeholders?

This might include for example: own management team, councillors, Department for Business and Trade, Department for Levelling Up, others – please specify

13. Kindly provide an example copy of the business support activity report the ED team gives its stakeholders

Response provided:

North Devon Council does have an Economic Development (ED) team; however it does not directly provide business support to local companies
economicdevelopment@northdevon.gov.uk, 01271 388372
There are a number of organisations who provide business support across North Devon one of which includes North Devon Plus
No
N/A
No
N/A
NA
N/A
No
N/A
N/A

Request reference: EIR 9924

Issue date: 05.06.24

Request received:

CON29 information relating to a property at EX31 4HN

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 9925

Issue date: 03.06.24

Request received:

Council Cloud Service Utilization and Adoption Challenges

Section 1: Cloud Service Utilization

Please indicate whether your council currently utilizes cloud services for any of the following purposes

Purpose	Yes/No	If yes, are these public/private/edge. Please provide details
Data Storage
Data Processing
Data Sharing
Software Application (SaaS (Software as a Service))
Platform Application (PaaS (Platform as a Service))

Additionally, please indicate the departments or equivalent services that use cloud services by ticking the relevant boxes below:

Complete the following table with the respective numbers or details

Department	Number of SaaS Applications	Number of PaaS Applications	Utilized for Data Storage/Processing/Sharing	Number of Locally Hosted Applications
Council Tax
Housing
Social Care
Education
Electoral Roll
Planning
Building Control
Waste Management
Streets, Roads, Pavements and maintenance parks, museums, and community
Library Services
Parking

Section 2: Cloud Adoption and Management

Question 1

Primary Reasons for Adoption of Cloud Services

1. What were the main motivations or driving factors behind your council's decision to adopt cloud services?

2. Please specify the key benefits or advantages that cloud services offer your council in comparison to traditional IT infrastructure.

Assessment of Reliability and Uptime:

1. How does your council evaluate the reliability of cloud services in terms of system uptime and availability?

2. Could you provide insights into the criteria or metrics used to assess the reliability and performance of cloud services?

3. What measures or mechanisms are in place to monitor and ensure uptime levels meet the council's requirements or service level agreements (SLAs)?

Question 2

Please provide detailed information regarding your council's compliance efforts, data protection measures, and challenges encountered in utilizing cloud services. Specifically, we are interested in the following:

GDPR Compliance

Please outline the specific measures and processes implemented by your council to ensure compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), including any procedures for data handling, consent management, and data subject rights

Data Encryption Practices

Please provide insights into the encryption methods and technologies utilized to secure data stored and transmitted through cloud services

Data Residency Requirements

How does your council ensure compliance with data residency requirements, particularly concerning the storage and processing of sensitive data within specific geographic locations?

Backup and Recovery Policies

Please describe the backup and recovery policies implemented by your council to safeguard against data loss and ensure business continuity in the event of disruptions or incidents

Challenges Related to Data Security

What are the primary challenges or concerns your council faces regarding data security in the context of cloud services? This could include issues such as unauthorized access, data breaches, or vulnerabilities in cloud infrastructure

Integration Complexity

Are there any complexities or difficulties encountered when integrating cloud services with existing systems or workflows within your council?

Performance Issues

Have there been any performance-related challenges or limitations experienced with the use of cloud services, such as latency issues, resource constraints, or service disruptions?

Section 3: SLAs and Cloud Service Performance

Question 1: Please provide insights into the council's experience with Service-Level Agreements (SLAs) within the G-Cloud framework. Specifically, how have SLAs impacted the council's usage and satisfaction with cloud services procured through G-Cloud? Please include details on adherence to SLA terms and any notable successes or challenges encountered in ensuring reliable and satisfactory cloud service delivery

Section 4: Cloud Service Models and Management

Question 1: Please provide insights into how cloud services are managed within your council. This could include details on how the services are controlled and customized, maintained and updated, as well as the types of agreements and support they come with. Additionally, can you elaborate on how these services are strategically aligned with the needs and goals of your different departments?

Question 2: Please share any notable experiences, challenges, or lessons learned in the process of migrating or managing applications on the identified cloud service models. This may include insights into compatibility issues, integration complexities, or successes achieved in optimizing application performance and resource utilization

Response provided:

Section 1: Cloud Service Utilization

Purpose	Yes/No	If yes, are these public/private/edge. Please provide details
Data Storage	Yes	Public Cloud
Data Processing	Yes	Public and Private Cloud
Data Sharing	Yes	Public Cloud
Software Application (SaaS (Software as a Service))	Yes	Public Cloud
Platform Application (PaaS (Platform as a Service))	No	N/A

Department	Number of SaaS Applications	Number of PaaS Applications	Utilized for Data Storage/Processing/Sharing	Number of Locally Hosted Applications
Council Tax	0	0	Processing	2
Housing	1	0	Processing	0
Social Care	Please contact Devon County Council (DCC) for this information
Education	Please contact Devon County Council (DCC) for this information
Electoral Roll	0	0	Processing	1
Planning	0	0	Processing	1
Building Control	N/A This is a shared service hosted by Mid Devon District Council
Waste Management	1	0	Processing	1
Streets, Roads, Pavements and maintenance parks, museums, and community	Please contact Devon County Council (DCC) for this information relating to streets, roads/highways
Library Services	Please contact Devon County Council (DCC) for this information
Parking (Off Street (Car Parks) only) Please contact Devon County Council (DCC) for information relating to On-Street Parking (on roads)	1	0	Processing	1

Sections 2, 3 and 4

These parts of the request, in the Council’s view, do not fall within the remit of the Freedom of Information Act as this is not information is considered to be held. Instead, these questions appear to be seeking views and opinions held by the Council, rather than documented factual information

Request reference: EIR 9926

Issue date: 05.06.24

Request received:

CON29 information relating to a property at EX31 3DU

Response provided:

Applicant advised that no information is held and also directed to Exmoor National Park and Devon County Council for a response

Request reference: EIR 9928

Issue date: 05.06.24

Request received:

CON29 information relating to a property at EX31 3DU

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 9929

Issue date: 17.06.24

Request received:

1. Please list the departments that conduct investigations into issues / breaches of policy (e.g. for fraud, planning enforcement, licensing, etc.) in your council?

a. Please list the approximate number of FTEs (full time employees) that work on investigations in each department?

b. If not covered in question 1.a., please also note the number of total FTEs focused on fraud (and note the number of fraud specialists specifically) in your council?

2. Considering third-party investigative software (e.g. for case management, financial investigation, covert operations, etc.), is this software typically procured by a centralised council IT team or by each investigation department?

3. What was your councils overall spend on third-party investigative software last year? £…k

4. In percentage terms, approximately how has your overall spend on third-party investigative software, on an annual basis, changed over the past 3 years?

a. Why (e.g. increase in number of users within existing departments, increase in departments, adopting new software, price increases, etc.)?

5. Please populate the table as provided, specifying if your council uses the listed third-party investigative software categories, noting your annual spend for each and your current software provider(s) if so

Note that the total annual spend across the below categories should approximately sum to the overall annual spend on third-party investigative software, as per Q3

Response provided:

1. Planning Housing and Health Service area which included Planning Enforcement, Private Sector Housing (HMO licensing, caravans/campsites, residential park homes), Environmental Protection, Food, Health and Safety and Building Control

a) Planning Enforcement = 1 FTE

Private Sector Housing covering HMO Licensing, caravans/campsites and residential park homes = 1 FTE

Environmental Protection = 6 FTE

Food Health and Safety = 2 FTE

Building Control = 5 FTE

b) The Council does not have any staff specialising in fraud

2. Each investigation department/service area. The investigation of benefit fraud within fraud falls under the remit of the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP)

3. £25K

4. This is not a request for information that is considered to be held for the purpose of the Act. The Council does not record the how and why spend has changed over the last three years. However, in relation to NEC Assure within the table below, EH confirms that the spend has remained fairly static and any increases relate to the ongoing annual contractual index-linked rises that occur

5. This information is available upon request

Request reference: FOI 9931

Issue date: 03.06.24

Request received:

Social Housing waiting lists

What is the waiting list for social housing in your Local Authority for each financial year since 2015/16?
What is the longest time (in days) that someone has been on your social housing waiting list as it stands?
What is your net loss or gain of the number of social homes in your Local Authority for each financial year since 2015/16?

Response provided:

1. Please note figures below (for North Devon) for years 2015 – 2023 are based on published data (on attached link Local authority housing data - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) ) for each year end date of the financial year (i.e. 31st March) as follows:

2015/16 3035

2016/17 3604

2017/18 2634

2018/19 1956

2019/20 2389

2020/21 2311

2021/22 2516

2022/23 2257

Unpublished data to be reported by 12.7.24 for above statistics:

2023/24 2041

2. We can only provide data based on live data. As at present, the longest waiting time (Based on Band Start date to 29/05/2024 the data is as follows:

North Devon – 14,666 days

3. We are unable to provide this data because we do not hold this data. North Devon District Council does not own social housing stock. We own a small number of units (10) used to meet statutory homeless functions i.e. emergency/temporary accommodation placements. North Devon Council and each of the individual Registered Providers (with stock in the North Devon District area) report separately to Central Government. The national data sets are available on the following link https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/local-authority-data-housing-supply/

Request reference: FOI 9933

Issue date: 25.06.24

Request received:

1. The number of households where someone is in receipt of the state pension who have been put at risk of homelessness in your local authority due to a Section 21 notice in each of the financial years since 2018/19

2. The number of households where someone is in receipt of the state pension who have been put at risk of homelessness in your local authority in each of the financial years since 2018/19

3. The number of households where there where someone is aged under 18 who have been put at risk of homelessness in your local authority due to a Section 21 notice in each of the financial years since 2018/19

4. The number of households where there where someone is aged under 18 who have been put at risk of homelessness in your local authority in each of the financial years since 2018/19

5. The number of households where there where someone is registered as a carer who have been put at risk of homelessness in your local authority due to a Section 21 notice in each of the financial years since 2018/19

6. The number of households where there where someone is registered as a carer who have been put at risk of homelessness in your local authority in each of the financial years since 2018/19

Response provided:

1. As follows (numbers are clients who have advised a S21 notice, does not confirm if notice is legal:

2018/19 = 11

2019/20 = 17

2020/21 = 13

2021/22 = 13

2022/23 = 21

2. 2018/19 = 26

2019/20 = 28

2020/21 = 25

2021/22 = 21

2022/23 = 28

3. 2018/19 = 106

2019/20 = 100

2020/21 = 284

2021/22 = 145

2022/23 = 122

4. 2018/19 = 393

2019/20 = 266

2020/21 = 215

2021/22 = 253

2022/23 = 181

5. This information is not recorded by the Council

6. This information is not recorded by the Council

Request reference: FOI 9934

Issue date: 11.06.24

Request received:

Information regarding licensed dog breeders operating within this jurisdiction

Specifically, I kindly request the following details for each licensed dog breeder in your area:

1. License Number

2. Names of the Breeder(s)

3. Company Name (if applicable)

4. Date of License Issued

5. Date of License Commence

6. Date of License Expiration

Response provided:

The Council provided in response an Excel spreadsheet setting out the requested information and also confirmed that these details are also published via the Council’s Public Licensing Register

Request reference: EIR 9937

Issue date: 25.06.24

Request received:

Investigation of brown asbestos dumping at Long Meadow, EX18 7ES

Response provided:

Applicant provided with some information, however some information was redacted throughout under the following exceptions:

Regulation 14 (4) (e) - Internal communications

Regulation 12 (5) (d) - Confidentiality in proceedings

Regulation 13 - Third party personal information

Request reference: FOI 9939

Issue date: 13.06.24

Request received:

How many trees the council has ordered to be removed in the last 10 years? I would like information on all trees felled by council departments if possible, including those on streets and in woodlands

And how many have been replanted in that period? Can you specify how many trees were cut down because they faced insurance claims?

Can you specify how many trees were cut down to allow the construction of housing developments? If providing stats going back 10 years is not possible can you provide stats for tree felling for the past 5 or 3 years?

Response provided:

2015/16

Trees removed = 88

Trees planted = 13

2016/17

Trees removed = 51

Trees planted = 31

2017/18

Trees removed = 57

Trees planted = 64

2018/19

Trees removed = 31

Trees planted = 14

2019/20

Trees removed = 49

Trees planted = 38

2020/21

Trees removed = 39

Trees planted = 128

2021/22

Trees removed = 16

Trees planted = 423

2022/23

Trees removed = 37

Trees planted = 18,311

2023/24

Trees removed = 25

Trees planted = 5,545

The Council’s Parks team confirms that no trees have ben felled due to insurance claims or to allow housing developments within the years as set out above

Trees on streets/roads/highways within North Devon fall under the remit of Devon County Council, therefore the applicant was directed to their Information Governance team for a response

Request reference: EIR 9940

Issue date: 18.06.24

Request received:

All information held by Planning Enforcement for 24 Watermouth Road, Ilfracombe. EX34 9QY

Response provided:

Information fully withheld from disclosure under Regulation 12(5)(d) – confidentiality in proceedings and Regulation 13 – personal data

Request reference: EIR 9941

Issue date: 13 and 27.06.24

Request received:

A copy of the 106 viability appraisal submitted with the planning application number 65427 at Myrtle Farm Jones Hill Croyde EX33 1LX and the following Review carried out by Plymouth City Council dated 10.01.19

Response provided:

Applicant provided with a copy of each requested document with the consent of the company that produced the Viability Assessment and Plymouth City Council

Request reference: FOI 9944

Issue date: 25.06.24

Request received:

Information on all known cases whereby the developer has yet to fulfil their obligation of paying a commuted sum and transferring the Open Space to the Council

a. Site name/address of all unadopted areas of public open space within the Council’s jurisdiction

b. Name of developer associated with the corresponding site

c. Date of the Section 106 agreement to which the open space applies

d. The agreed commuted sum value to be paid to the developer

e. Planning application reference(s)

Response provided:

The Council confirmed that it does hold this information. In discharge of its obligation under section 1(1)(b) the Council is unable to provide the information sought in the requested format, due to the way in which it is recorded/held

Section 106 agreements are not held in an electronic format that would allow for the clauses to be easily searched for at this time, they are only held in PDF format. Planning are working on capturing these within their planning system, MasterGov, with a view to monitoring going forward, however the project is only in the very early stages currently

The only way in which the Council would be able to answer the request would require an officer within Planning to manually go through all Section 106 agreements (over 1,300 currently) held to identify, locate, retrieve and collate the required information. It is estimated that 30 minutes per agreement would be required. Once completed, the information would then need to be reviewed to narrow down the agreements to determine which areas are unadopted which would require additional time

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 would take in excess of 664 hours to provide the requested information; the procedure would cause serious disruption to the day to day working of the Planning department and therefore we are unable to process the request. 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 the Council has considered if there is a way of narrowing or refining the request, however it has been unable to identify such way, however it would be open to considering any revised request(s) that you may wish to make in the future

Request reference: FOI 9945

Issue date: 26.06.24

Request received:

1. Listing separately for each year, in the years 2021/22, 2022/23 and 2023/24 what was the

I. Total annual financial value of grants given to the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector by your authority?

II. Total number of grants given to the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector by your authority?

2. Listing separately for each year, in the years 2021/22, 2022/23 and 2023/24 of the above grants (question 1) what total number were awarded through

I. Competitive/open application processes?

II. Grants in aid?

III. Unknown?

3. Listing separately for each year, in the years 2021/22, 2022/23 and 2023/24 what was/were the:

I. Total number of formal challenges you received around your grant processes and decisions on the basis of alleged non-compliance with: State Aid, Subsidy Control, or Public Procurement regulations?

II. And of these what number of these challenged resulted in legal proceedings?

The applicant later clarified that:

By ‘grants’ the applicant means all grants distributed by the Council to the VSCE sector. It can be to support the organisation’s general work or to provide a service. Ideally the grants total provided should include both those funded from the Council’s own resources and those awarded by the Council but funded by Central Government

Response provided:

1. As follows:

2021/2022 2022/2023 2023/2024 Scheme/Fund

N/A 6,421.64 £7,319.80 Safer Streets (Government fund)

N/A £20,000 £56,000 UKSPF (Government fund)

2. As follows:

2021/2022 2022/2023 2023/2024 Scheme/Fund

N/A 13 15 Safer Streets (Government fund)

N/A 1 2 UKSPF (Government fund)

1. Competitive/open application process = all of the above are in this category

2. N/A

3. N/A

1. None

2. N/A

All of the grants that have been awarded to the VCSE which Corporate and Community Services team have been involved in are on the Council’s website:

Community Councillor Grants | North Devon Council

Results - Section 1 - Self (achieveservice.com)

The team also provides strategic grants to a number of organisations. The details would be included within the budget reports which are presented to Council in February of each year:

2021.02.01 Budget Appendix B - Grants 2021-22.pdf (northdevon.gov.uk)

Appendix B Grants 2022-23 (northdevon.gov.uk)

Appendix B Grants (northdevon.gov.uk)

Request reference: FOI 9946

Issue date: 26.06.24

Request received:

1. How many planning applications have you received since (and including) 2 April 2024?

2. Of those applications, how many have been validated?

3. (a) Of the validated applications, how many have claimed exemption from mandatory biodiversity net gain?

(b) Of those claiming exemptions, how many have relied on each exemption:

(i) Householder application

(ii) Self build or custom build application

(iii) Application for a biodiversity gain site

(iv) HS2-related application

(v) 'De minimis' exemption where less than 25sqm of area habitat, 5m of hedgerow, 5m of watercourse and no priority habitat are affected

(c) Of those claiming the de minimis exemption, how many have set out what habitats are within the red line boundary for the application?

4. Of the validated applications not claiming exemption from mandatory biodiversity net gain (i.e. answer to Q2 minus answer to Q3(a)):

(a) how many have been granted permission?

(b) of those granted permission under Q4(a), how many have submitted a biodiversity gain plan?

Response provided:

1. 326

2. 184

3 and 4.

Unfortunately the Council is currently unable provide this information as it does not currently have a function within its Planning System to track how many of these 184 applications claimed exemption from mandatory biodiversity net gain

The only way in which the Planning team would be able to answer at this time would require an officer within Planning to manually go through each of the 184 applications to identify, locate, retrieve and collate the information as requested which has been estimated at 10 minutes per application

It has been calculated that it would take approximately 30.6 hours to provide the requested information which far exceeds the 18 hour cost limit. The procedure would cause serious disruption to the day to day working of the Planning department. Therefore the Council is unable to process these parts 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

The Planning team advises that they are currently behind with an update build of their system that will ultimately allow for this information to be reportable. They anticipate that it will be implement over the course of the next few months

Request reference: EIR 9947

Issue date: 14.06.24

Request received:

CON29 information relating to a property at EX31 4GB

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 9948

Issue date: 14.06.24

Request received:

CON29 information relating to a property at EX32 7RJ

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 9949

Issue date: 18.06.24

Request received:

1. Most recent Article 4 Directive shape files in vector format. Currently, the mapped Article 4 Directive cannot be assessed in sufficient detail, and having access to them in vector format is crucial for our analysis for planning purposes. I am happy to receive map/shape files in any recognised vector format which contains the coordinates describing the shape of the Article 4 area and can be used in GIS software

As Article 4 Directives are part of land designation, these shape files should be publicly accessible. Therefore, I kindly ask that you provide these shape files in a compatible vector format

2. Additionally, I request the most up-to-date Article 4 Directive documentation in re-usable (computer readable) format (not as images or scanned documents). Having access to this documentation is essential for our comprehensive understanding and application of these directives

3. Also, please provide information about any APIs that you may have relating to planning information such as shape files, planning applications (in machine readable pdf) or other information

Response provided:

1. Applicant provided with the requested shape files which are available upon request

2. Applicant provided with a WeTransfer link with all of the information held (which is available upon request). Unfortunately the Council only holds this information in PDF format, due to age of the information. The Council further confirmed that there have been no changes or amendments to the information

For some orders the Council only holds these in black and white copies.

Some of the information has been redacted. The Council considers this redacted information (signatures of third parties) to be exempt under Regulation 13 of the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 as the information constitutes personal data. Regulation 13(1) provides that personal data shall not be disclosed if one of the conditions in Regulation 13(2A), (2B) or (3A) are satisfied

In this case Regulation 13 (2A)(a) is met because disclosure of this information would amount to a breach of the fair processing provisions of the General Data Protection Regulation, therefore, by virtue of Regulation 13 of the Environmental Information Regulations, the Council is exempt from any obligation to disclose the redacted information

Please note that not all of the orders have been confirmed/instigated there are two held within the records of Legal Services that indicate that they were not confirmed:

- Land at Pilton and Bradiford

- Penny Cottage, 2 The Square, 2 Church Hill and 4 Church Hill, Fremington

Land Charges advise that with regard to 8TRT – Trentishoe, they only hold a copy of the card, they not hold a copy of the order or the plan. No further information is held regarding this unfortunately

Land Charges also advise that some of the orders requested will have been created by Devon County Council, and therefore the applicant was advised to contact their Information Governance team to request any that they may hold: accesstoinformation-mailbox@devon.gov.uk as it is possible that they hold the original orders in colour

Request reference: EIR 9951

Issue date: 14.06.24

Request received:

CON29 information relating to a property at EX36 3JD

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 9952

Issue date: 06.06.24

Request received:

The following information regarding business rates accounts:

1. Could you please confirm the number of instances in the last 10 years where a fraudulent claim for a business rates refund has been made?

2. Could you please confirm the number of instances where a refund has been paid to an incorrect entity due to a fraudulent claim?

3. Could you please confirm the total value (£) over the last 10 years where a Ratepayer has had to be compensated due to a fraudulent claim for a business rates refund?

4. The total value of credits held on business rates accounts within the billing authority as of today's date (5 June 2024)

Response provided:

1. None

2. None

3. None

4. £22,792.59 as at 6 June 2024

Request reference: EIR 9953

Issue date: 07.06.24

Request received:

Details of any critical drainage report held by the Council regarding Application 13997

Response provided:

The Council confirmed that it does not hold any critical drainage report for Application 13997

Request reference: FOI 9954

Issue date: 27.06.24

Request received:

1. How many public charging outlets or charge points for electric or plug- in hybrid vehicles have you installed to date in your local authority? Please provide figures to the nearest possible date and include the month and the year the figures correspond to.

2. For Question 1, how many of the public charging outlets or chargepoints are those classed as On-Street Residential Chargepoints, located on-street in residential streets or areas?

3. How many public charging outlets or chargepoints for electric or plug- in hybrid vehicles do you plan to install in the current fiscal year or the current calendar year? Please provide figures to whichever timeframe corresponds with your reporting.

4. For Question 3, how many of the planned public charging outlets or charge points are classed as On-Street Residential Chargepoints, to be installed in on-street residential areas?

5. Do you have a published strategy for On-Street Residential charging infrastructure?

6. Do you have a dedicated Policy Officer (or equivalent) responsible for your electric vehicle charging infrastructure?

7. Have you applied for the Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund yet? If yes, have you been successful?

Response provided:

2022 = 10 installed, 2023 = Three installed
None, North Devon Council does not manage on-street parking, this falls under the remit of Devon County Council
There are no current plans to install new EV chargers this fiscal year
Not Applicable
Not Applicable as the Council does not manage on-street parking
The Council does not have a dedicated officer, however the responsibility is split between the Fleet Manager, Parking officers and Environmental officers
North Devon Council is not going forward with the LEVI project as the project is non-compatible with a largely off street authority

Request reference: FOI 9956

Issue date: 19.06.24

Request received:

The following information for the 2023/24 financial year:

The total amount the council raised in council tax
The total amount the council received in central government grants
The amount the council paid in employer contributions to the Local Government Pension scheme
The total amount that the council paid in interest on its debts
The total level of all debt owed by your council at the end of the 2023/24 tax year

Response provided:

£81,620,476.96
£8,605,397 (Includes income from Business Rates)
£3,126,550 (Includes Pension Increase Acts and Past Deficit)
£60,350
£3,005,982

Request reference: FOI 9957

Issue date: 11.06.24

Request received:

Information regarding the licensing of "cat cafes" within your boundaries.

Specifically, I would appreciate it if you could provide me with the following details:

1. The total number of "cat cafe" premises which are licensed within your boundaries as of the latest available data

a. A breakdown of licensed “cat cafes” within your boundary by star rating

1. The total number of applications for new licences for cat cafes that have been received in the last financial year

2. The total number of cat cafe licences that have been granted to date in the last financial year

Response provided:

The Council confirms that it does not hold any of this information. In discharge of its obligation under section 1(1)(b) the Council confirms that it does not licence any cat cafes within its area of North Devon. A search online indicates there is one Cat café near Newton Abbott which falls under the jurisdiction of Teignbridge District Council

Request reference: FOI 9958

Issue date: 11.06.24

Request received:

1. Does your council have a contractual relationship with a firm of locksmiths or building contractors who are engaged to secure empty properties?

2. Does your council have a panel of approved locksmiths or building contractors who are engaged to secure empty properties?

3. Please supply the name of the firm of locksmiths or building contractors that are contracted or on your panel of approved contractors

Response provided:

1. No

2. The Council has certain contractors who would be instructed to secure a property, but whether they are approved depends upon the definition

3. N/A, as the Council is not contracted to a firm of locksmiths

Request reference: EIR 9959

Issue date: 24.06.24

Request received:

CON29 information relating to a property at EX31 3AF

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 9960

Issue date: 13.06.24

Request received:

1. Between 6th April 2023 and 5th April 2024, what guidelines did you follow when setting arrangements for constituents to pay Council Tax arrears? (YES/NO)

a. The Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992

b. The Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) (Wales) Regulations 1998

c. The National Standards for Enforcement Agents

d. Local Council Tax Support Schemes

e. Income and Expenditure Assessments

f. Flexible Payment Arrangements

2. Between 6th April 2023 and 5th April 2024, what industry standard tools did you use when assessing an individual’s ability to repay Council Tax arrears? (YES/NO)

a. Income and Expenditure Forms

b. Budgeting Software

c. Affordability Assessments

d. Credit Reference Agencies

e. Debt Advice Services

f. Legal Proceedings

3. Between 6th April 2023 and 5th April 2024, what % of Council Tax was:

a. Paid on time?

b. Paid after internal chase activities?

c. Collected by an enforcement agent?

4. How much did you spend on collecting Council Tax arrears between 6th April 2023 and 5th April 2024? Can you also state the cost per the following methods:

a. Internal chase activities

b. Enforcement agent

5. Do you have its own internal enforcement department? (YES/NO)

6. Between 6th April 2023 and 5th April 2024, did you use a benefits calculator to help residents in arrears maximise their income? If so, which tool?

7. Between 6th April 2023 and 5th April 2024, did you use attachment of earnings for constituents to pay Council Tax arrears?

Response provided:

a) Yes

b, c, d, e and f) No

2. a, b, c, d, e and f) No

3. This information is not recorded by the Council

4. This information is not recorded by the Council

5. No

6. No

7. Yes

Request reference: FOI 9961

Issue date: 26.06.24

Request received:

In Excel/CSV format, the following details regarding noise complaints received by North Devon Council from the period of May 1, 2019, to May 31, 2024:

1. The total number of noise complaints received each month

2. A breakdown of the reason for each complaint, categorized if possible, under specific headings such as:

Construction noise

Intrusion alarms

Domestic noise

Commercial/industrial noise

Traffic noise

Public events

Any other specified categories

Response provided:

Applicant provided with this information where held in Excel format, which is available upon request

Request reference: FOI 9962

Issue date: 14.06.24

Request received:

1. From May 1st 2023 to May 1st 2024, how many complaints have been made about private gardens in relation to their maintenance such as high hedges, invasive weeds & severely overgrown shrubs/plants etc or any other complaint relating to overgrown gardens? For each complaint could this be broken down into the following details:

• Date of the complaint

• The main reason cited in the complaint e g high hedges

• First part of the postcode for the property the complaint was made about - if this isn’t available, the first part of the postcode for the property making the complaint e g NG1 - this then isn’t specific enough to identify the exact property

2. From May 1st 2023 to May 1st 2024, how many private properties have received more than one complaint in relation to the maintenance of their garden such as high hedges, invasive weeds & severely overgrown shrubs/plants etc or any other complaint relating to overgrown gardens? For each property, could this be broken down into the following details:

• First part of the postcode for the property the complaint was made about e g NG1 - this then isn’t specific enough to identify the exact property

• Total number of complaints about that property (within the given time period - May 1st 2023 - May 1st 2024)

Response provided:

As follows:

Date	Postal Area of Subject Property	Main Reason for complaint
03/05/2023	EX36	Accumulations of Waste
19/05/2023	EX31	Fly Tipping
25/05/2023	EX32	Noxious Weeds
26/05/2023	EX34	Pests and Vermin
31/05/2023	EX32	Accumulations of Waste
31/05/2023	EX33	Pests and Vermin
01/06/2023	EX36	Pests and Vermin
01/06/2023	EX32	Accumulations of Waste
09/06/2023	EX31	Fly Tipping
03/07/2023	EX31	Noxious Weeds
21/07/2023	EX31	Noxious Weeds
21/07/2023	EX34	Noxious Weeds
23/07/2023	EX31	Noxious Weeds
25/07/2023	EX34	Accumulations of Waste
25/07/2023	EX34	Pests and Vermin
30/07/2023	EX33	Accumulations of Waste
31/07/2023	EX36	Noxious Weeds
06/08/2023	EX32	Noxious Weeds
30/08/2023	EX31	Noxious Weeds
31/08/2023	EX34	Noxious Weeds
19/09/2023	EX31	Accumulations of Waste
26/09/2023	EX34	Accumulations of Waste
27/09/2023	EX32	Noxious Weeds
11/10/2023	EX31	Defective Drainage
30/10/2023	EX31	Accumulations of Waste
30/10/2023	EX32	Pests and Vermin
31/10/2023	EX34	Pests and Vermin
23/01/2024	EX34	Noxious Weeds
19/02/2024	EX34	Hoarding
22/02/2024	EX34	Fly Tipping
19/03/2024	EX31	Pests and Vermin
11/04/2024	EX33	Premises Prejudicial to Health
17/04/2024	EX34	Noxious Weeds
22/04/2024	EX33	High Hedge
01/05/2024	EX32	High Hedge
Total		35

2. Zero. Whilst the first part of the postcodes may be the same, none of these relate to the same property

Request reference: FOI 9964

Issue date: 13.06.24

Request received:

How much money has North Devon District Council spent rectifying defects on buildings, which were built by Carillion Group (or any of its subsidiaries). This should be split into yearly figures for every year from January 2018 to the date of the reply
Of the work mentioned in question 1, how many sites did North Devon District Council need to fix? This should also be broken down into yearly figures, and should include the type of site (i.e. school building, leisure building etc.)
How much money does North Devon District Council still expect to spend remediating defects on buildings built by Carillion in the coming years?

Response provided:

1. 2018 = £0

2019 = £0

2020 = £0

2021 = £0

2022 = £0

2023 = £0

2024 to date (13.06.24) = £0

2. N/A/Zero

3. £0/Zero

The applicant was directed to Devon County Council in relation to Schools and healthcare

Request reference: FOI 9965

Issue date: 14.06.24

Request received:

The number of holiday lets in North Devon over the past three years, separated by town/village (e g Ilfracombe, Lynton and Lynmouth, South Molton, Braunton etc). If this is not possible, then over the past 12 months

Response provided:

The Council Revenues team confirmed that whilst they do not specifically record holiday lets, they were able to provide the three datasets for the requested years (the April 2024 is currently published on the website, but will be removed once the October 2024 update is published) which identifies all self-catering holiday units within Column J – Property Description. This can be further filtered by town/village by filtering the property address columns C-G

All NDR/Business rates datasets are published on the Council’s website via its Open Data page

Request reference: FOI 9966

Issue date: 27.06.24

Request received:

The current details of the Council’s Merchant acquiring services contract for the collection of payments by credit and debit card, confirming details of:

The current provider

The contract start date

Expiry date (plus details of any extension options)

How the contract was procured (e g ITT, Framework etc)

Response provided:

The current provider = Civica Payments use Opayo and Verifone as the merchant and Worldpay as the acquirer

The contract start date = Applicant referred to the contract information as published on the Council’s contract Register: ICON Cash Receipting, epayments and Income management system

Expiry date (plus details of any extension options) = Applicant referred to the linked contract above

How the contract was procured (e g ITT, Framework etc) = Applicant referred to the linked contract above

Request reference: FOI 9967

Issue date: 27.06.24

Request received:

The following with reference to the prosecution of [name redacted] on 1st March 2023

1. Please can you supply the number of litters [name redacted] was prosecuted for?

2. Please can you provide evidence of large profit margins made by [name redacted]?

3. Please can you provide all the evidence submitted to the court?

4. Please can you supply government information that says it is illegal to advertise and sell one litter of puppies?

Response provided:

1. Two

2. The Council is unable to disclose this information

3. The Council is unable to disclose this information

4. Please refer to the Animal Welfare Act 2006, details of which are publicly available via the following link: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/45/contents

With regards to 2 and 3 of your request, the Council has considered this information, however it has determined that it falls under the following exemption:

Section 40 – Personal Data

The Council considers that information requested is exempt under Section 40 of the Act as the information constitutes the personal data of the prosecuted individual. This individual would have no reasonable expectation for the Council to make their personal information publicly available. A disclosure to you under the Act is also a disclosure to the world at large and so it would not be reasonable or fair to this person. Furthermore, whilst the individual was prosecuted, as they pleaded guilty there was no trial and so the evidence gathered did not enter the public domain. At this time the evidence remains confidential as it is personal information relating to and identifying the prosecuted

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

Request reference: FOI 9970

Issue date: 18.06.24

Request received:

This email is a FOIA request intended for the Elections Department

Voter Registration System

• Please provide the name and provider of your voter registration system?

• When did you acquire the voter registration system?

• What was the capital cost of the voter registration system?

• Is the VR system on-premise or cloud-based?

• What is the yearly maintenance cost of the voter registration system?

• Please provide a copy of the current active contract with the supplier of the voter registration system

Election Management System

Please provide the name and provider of your elections management system.

• What year did you acquire the elections management system?

• How long is the contract?

• What was the capital cost of the elections management system?

• Is the EM system on premise or cloud-based?

• What is the yearly maintenance cost of the elections management system?

• Please provide a copy of the current active contract with the supplier of the elections management system

Polling Station Management

Do you use any hardware/software device for managing your polling stations?

If you use a polling station management system please answer the following questions:

• What is the name of the company that provides it?

• When did you acquire the polling station management system including hardware/ software and services?

• Was the acquisition of the polling station management system the subject of a tender or pilot program?

• What was the capital cost of the whole system including any breakdown for hardware/ software/ services and yearly maintenance cost?

• Please provide a copy of the current active contract with the supplier of the polling station management system

Mobile Public Engagement Software

Do you provide any public engagement mobile apps or services for elections? if so can you provide:

• What is the name of the company that provides it?

• When did you acquire the system including hardware/ software and services?

• Was the acquisition of the polling station management the subject of a tender or pilot program?

• What was the capital cost of the whole system including any breakdown for hardware/ software/ services and yearly maintenance cost?

• Please provide a copy of the current active contract with the supplier of the polling station management system?

Canvass Technology

Can you provide a detailed description of any technologies you use for the canvass process including tablets, software, and suppliers of these systems?

General Department Questions

Can you provide a segmented systems and services budget for all services used by the elections department for an entire parliamentary and local government election cycle including money spent on information printing for local and parliamentary elections?

Can you supply a summary of helpdesk tickets/calls placed with each hardware, software, and services supplier to the elections department for the last 5 years?

Response provided:

Section 1(1)(a) of the Act requires the Council to inform applicants whether it holds information of the description specified in their request. The Council confirms that it does not hold any of the requested information. In discharge of its obligation under section 1(1)(b) the Council confirms that in this instance, information held by the Returning Officer or Electoral Returning Officer is does not fall under the remit of the Freedom of Information Act 2000

The registration of electors is governed by the Representation of the People Act 1983 as amended. Under Section 8 of the Act, the Council must appoint an officer of the Council to be the registration officer for any constituency or part of a constituency coterminous with or situated in the Council’s area. The Chief Executive for North Devon Council is the appointed officer for the registration area of North Devon

Their appointment as Electoral Registration Officer is separate to their appointment as Chief Executive and, although appointed by the Council, the Electoral Registration Officer’s responsibilities and duties are personal. An example of this is that the register of electors is deemed to be the property of the Electoral Registration Officer, not the local authority

The Electoral Registration Officer does not carry out the duties on behalf of the Council but in his own personal capacity. A list of public bodies and local authorities that are subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act is included in Schedule 1 to the Freedom of Information Act 2000 which can be viewed here: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/36/schedule/1

The Freedom of Information Act does not list any person appointed under the Representation of the People Act 1983. It follows that the Electoral Registration Officer, Returning Officer or any other person appointed under the Act are not subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000

Request reference: FOI 9971

Issue date: 20.06.24

Request received:

The Number of devices deployed by the Council for the following:

Desktop PCS

Laptops

Mobile phones

Printers

Multi-Functional Devices (MFDs)

Tablets

Physical Servers

Storage Devices such as NAS, SAN

Networking infrastructure such as switches, routers, interfaces, wireless access

Security infrastructure such as firewalls, intrusion detection systems (IDS), virus monitoring tools

Does the Council plan to procure any of the below enterprise applications or software? If yes, please provide the spend/budget for each for 2024/25 and 2025/26:

Content Management System

Supply Chain Management (SCM)

Inventory Management Software

Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) Software

Business Intelligence Systems

Other software applications

Does the Council have any plans to procure end user devices (desktop, laptop, tablet, mobile phones etc? If yes please provide the spend/budget for each for 2024/25 and 2025/26:

Desktops

Laptops

Mobile phones

Tablets and others

Does the Council have any plans to procure below services/software? If yes, please provide the spend/budget for each for 2024/25 and 2025/26:

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Cyber Security

Response provided:

1. As follows:

Desktop PCs = 78

Laptops = 304

Mobile Phones = 170

Printers = 41

Multi-Functional Devices (MFDs) = 22

Tablets = 155

Physical Servers = 22

Storage Devices (for example: NAS, SAN) = 4

Networking Infrastructure (for example: Switches, Routers, Interfaces, Wireless Access Points) = 128

Security Infrastructure (for example: Firewalls, Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS), Virus Monitoring Tools) = 21

2. 2024/25 = Zero for each of those listed

2025/26 = Zero for each of those listed

3. As follows:

2024/25 – Desktops = £0

Laptops = £70,000

Mobile phones = £4,000

Tablets and others = £14,000

2025/26 - Desktops = £10,000

Laptops = £70,000

Mobile phones = £4,000

Tablets and others = £2,000

4. As follows:

2024/25 – AI = £0

Cyber security = £0

2025/26 – AI = £0

Cyber security = £20,000

Request reference: FOI 9975

Issue date: 24.06.24

Request received:

1. Is it legal for someone who has a dog breeding licence to retain legal ownership of a dog and hold breeding rights over that dog, but for the dog to live in another location (not the address listed on the licence) with another family/person i.e. a proxy owner (also not listed on the licence)?

2. If this is allowed, would the number of dogs held at other locations with proxy owners be included in the number of dogs listed on the licence?

3. In this scenario would the licensee be able to sell puppies from this dog that is kept at a separate location?

4. Would a breeding licence be issued for any of the above scenarios? Would a different licence be needed to carry this out (e.g. a pet shop licence)?

5. What advice would the council give to someone who is seeking to do the above when applying for a dog breeding licence?

Please give explanations with answers to the above questions

Response provided:

The Council confirmed that it does not hold any of this information as the request does not appear to be requesting any documented/held information by the Council’s licensing team. In discharge of its obligation under section 1(1)(b) the Council is unable to answer questions about dog breeding and selling which appear to be seeking advice about dog licencing law in general, rather than asking for information considered to be held by the authority in relation to its licensing of the North Devon area

However, in order to assist the applicant as far as it is reasonably and practicably possible, in line with Section 16 (advice and assistance) the Licensing team can advises that they do not have any Animal Welfare licences that allow for breeding of proxy dogs and if a request was received for a dog to live in a location other than the address of the licensed breeder then they would look to obtain legal advice before considering whether to licence or not

Request reference: FOI 9976

Issue date: 27.06.24

Request received:

Information relating to pests in council buildings covering the years 2020/21, 2021/22 and 2022/23:

• Total number of pest issues cases in the council building

• The specific pest issue encountered and the date it occurred

• Total spent to fix each problem

• The length of time the problem persisted

Response provided:

2020/21	Specific issue	Total spend excluding VAT	Timescale
19/07/2021	Pigeon removal and clean up	£4,700.00	Newly acquired asset with historic pigeon infestation issues
14/10/2021	Bee removal	£65.00	Immediate effect
01/11/2021	Cluster fly spray	£130.00	Ongoing/recurring treatment
28/02/2022	Bird spikes	£250.00	Immediate effect

2021/22	Specific issue	Total spend excluding VAT	Timescale
04/05/2022	Cluster fly spray	£300.00	Ongoing/recurring treatment
16/05/2022	Cluster fly spray	£300.00	Ongoing/recurring treatment
19/08/2022	Rodent bait box	£180.00	Ongoing/recurring treatment
12/01/2023	Pigeon removal and clean up	£855.00	Immediate effect

2022/23	Type of treatment	Cost	TImescale
31/05/2023	Woodworm treatment	£1,155.00	Single treatment
20/06/2023	Woodworm treatment	£300.00	Single treatment
11/08/2023	Bird discs (prevents roosting)	£300.00	Single treatment
11/09/2023	Pigeon clean up	£165.00	Immediate effect
23/10/2023	Cluster fly spray	£120.00	Ongoing/recurring treatment
21/11/2023	Pigeon removal	£375.00	Immediate effect
01/02/2024	Bird discs (prevents roosting)	£150.00	Immediate effect

In addition to this, Waste and Recycling services spends £410 per quarter on pest control measures within its depot areas dealing with vermin, however they do not maintain records of how many/if any are caught which has been place during in each of the requested years and back to 2008

Request reference: FOI 9977

Issue date: 25.06.24

Request received:

1. In the 2023/24 financial year (1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024) how many new homes of any tenure did the council complete?

1. a) Please can you provide a breakdown of those new build completions, by tenure (for example, how many were social rent, affordable rent, shared ownership, market sale, temporary accommodation, etc)

2. If the council has a council-owned housing company, in the 2023/24 financial year (1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024) how many new homes of any tenure did the company complete?

2. a) Please can you provide a breakdown of those completions, by tenure (for example, how many were social rent, shared ownership, market sale, temporary accommodation, etc)

3. How many homes does the council expect to build in the next five years (i e from April 2024-March 2029)

4. If the council has a council-owned housing company, how many homes does it expect to build in the next five years (April 2024-March 2029)

Response provided:

1. Zero

1. a) Zero

2. Zero as the Council does not have a council-owned housing company

2. a) Zero

3. Zero

4. N/A as the Council does not have a council-owned housing company

Request reference: FOI 9978

Issue date: 24.06.24

Request received:

Information request relating to council bin fines:

• Total number of fines were handed out for people putting rubbish in the wrong bin for kerbside residential properties

• The value of the fines handed out

• Total amount received in fines by the council?

Response provided:

The Council confirmed that it does hold this information. In discharge of its obligation under section 1(1)(b) the Council publishes annual Environmental Fixed Penalty Notice datasets on its website (waste receptacle offence)

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 link to the datasets above

Request reference: FOI 9980

Issue date: 26.06.24

Request received:

How much did North Devon District Council spend in total on advertising in 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023?

For each of these years, please provide a full percentage breakdown of all the platforms used for North Devon District Council advertising including:

1. Regional and local UK news brand publishers

a) In print

b) Online

2. Google

3. Facebook

4. Other major online platforms e g Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, Tik Tok

Response provided:

Budget Code	Type of Spend	2019/20	2020/21	2021/22	2022/23	2023/24
01211	Staff Advertising	9,592	10,439	14,335	21,539	9,592
12610	Advertising (Non Exempt)	38,768	31,414	35,152	31,297	38,768
12620	Advertising (Exempt)	4,564	8,735	3,576	6,092	4,564
12630	North Devon Show Advertising	784	0	0	211	784
		53,708	50,587	53,062	59,139	53,708

The Council is unable to provide the percentage breakdown for platforms used as this information is not recorded

Request reference: FOI 9984

Issue date: 28.06.24

Request received:

Q1a If the IHRA Definition has been adopted by the Council. If so, please provide the date that the motion/decision to do so was approved and provide a copy of the relevant motion/minutes/policy document or a working link if it is available on your website

See antisemitism.org/definition for more information about the IHRA Definition and the IHRA statement on the integrality of the examples

Q1b If the IHRA Definition has been adopted, was the IHRA Definition adopted in its entirety including all of the examples?

Q1c If all of the examples were not adopted, which ones were adopted?

Q1d If the IHRA Definition has not been adopted at all, was there a motion/decision to adopt the IHRA Definition which was defeated, and if so on what date was it defeated?

Q1e. If the IHRA Definition has not yet been adopted, has adoption been timetabled?

Response provided:

Q1.a) No

b) N/A

c) No adoption has taken place

d) No

e) No

Request reference: FOI 9985

Issue date: 28.06.24

Request received:

the date(s) of any empty periods

the period(s) of any exemptions

from the date stated below:

Address	Postcode	BA Ref	From
20 St Georges Road, Barnstaple, Devon	EX32 7AS	04057631606	01/04/2017
Rawle Gammon and Baker, Witheridge Place, Ilfracombe	EX34 9RA	31052631300	30/09/2023

Response provided:

the date(s) of any empty periods:

20 St Georges Road – empty since the 16.10.2023

Land R/O Rawle Gammon and Baker – empty 30.09.23 – 7.04.24

the period(s) of any exemptions

20 St Georges Road – Exempt 16.10.23 – 15.1.24 inclusive

Land R/O Rawle Gammon and Baker – exempt 30.09.23 – 29.03.24 inclusive

Enquiries

Enquiries address

United Kingdom