Request reference: 9243
Issue date: 05.09.23
Request received:
How many temporary housing applications the Council has received based on domestic abuse the last six months
Response provided:
The number of approaches the Council received between 01/03/2023 and 31/08/2023 where the main reason for loss of settled home was due to being a domestic abuse victim was 86
Exemptions/Exceptions:
None
Request reference: 9270
Issue date: 12.09.23
Request received:
A list identifying all properties and land that the Council currently owns both within the District area and elsewhere and any associated financial details about the income and expenditure of the properties and land for the last three years
Response provided:
Applicant provided with a link to the Council’s Asset Register as published on its website, a further Excel spreadsheet request and financial information which is available upon request
Exemptions/Exceptions:
None
Request reference: 9278
Issue date: 04.09.23
Request received:
CON29 information relating to a property at EX31 1JU
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: 9281
Issue date: 04.09.23
Request received:
CON29 information relating to a property at EX32 8RE
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: 9282
Issue date: 04.09.23
Request received:
CON29 information relating to a property at EX31 3PU
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: 9283
Issue date: 04.09.23
Request received:
CON29 information relating to a property at EX37 9SR
Response provided:
Applicant advised no information held
Exemptions/Exceptions:
None
Request reference: 9285
Issue date: 04.09.23
Request received:
CON29 information relating to a property at EX31 1TP
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: 9286
Issue date: 12.09.23
Request received:
information related to your organisation's debt collection and write-off policies, as well as certain debt-related practices:
1) Can you please confirm whether your organisation has a corporate or departmental debt collection policy? If yes, please specify which and provide copies of the policy or a link to the source where it can be accessed
2 Can you please confirm whether your organisation has a corporate or departmental write-off policy? If yes, please specify which and provide copies of the policy or a link to the source where it can be accessed
3) Can you please confirm whether your organisation utilizes enforcement agents to collect statutory debts? If yes, could you also confirm if any added value services are extracted due to this contract, such as fintech utilization or financial assistance? Additionally, please provide a list of the types of debts for which enforcement agents are used
4) Can you please confirm whether your organisation utilises debt collection agents (DCA) to collect debts owed to the organisation? ? If yes, could you also confirm if any added value services are extracted due to this contract, such as fintech utilization or financial assistance? please provide a list of the types of debts for which Debt collection agents are used
5) Can you please confirm whether your organisation has a local authority-owned enforcement agent facility for undertaking "taking control of goods fees regulations" debt collections? If yes, please provide a list of debts for which this the debts the team collects, and kindly provide a copy of the notice of enforcement that is used
6) Please confirm the total amount of debt written off by your local authority for the years 2021/22 and 2022/23. Please break down the figures by debt area, such as Council Tax, Parking, and Sundry Debt etc
Response provided:
Question 1 and 2
The Council has a corporate debt recovery policy which is published on its website: North Devon Council Debt Recovery Policy. Please refer to pages 4/5 regarding writing off bad debt
Question 3
Enforcement agents (EAs) are used to collect CT and NDR which is a statutory debt. An added value service has been provided for CT and NDR, this being the purchase of software by the EAs
Question 4
Yes. PCN debts are collected by Dukes, Sundry Debts are collected by CPA however the Council only uses their letter service rather than enforcement. Breathing Space debt respite scheme was introduced during the COVID pandemic
Question 5
No
6. As follows:
2021/2022
Council Tax debt written off = £430,064.49
Non Domestic Rates debt written off = £217,398.91
Housing Benefit Debts written off = £15,243
Sundry Debtors written off = £74,006
Parking PCNs written off = £23,658
2022/2023
Council Tax debt written off = £349,816.71
Non Domestic Rates debt written off = £191,015.03
Housing Benefit debts written off = £82,375
Sundry Debtors written off = £150,609.12
Parking PCNs written off = £5,632
Exemptions/Exceptions:
None
Request reference: 9288
Issue date: 07.09.23
Request received:
1. Since 1st January 2018, how many times have you confiscated animals under the Dangerous Wild Animal Act? Which species of animal have been confiscated in these instances?
2. Since 1st January 2018, how many individuals in your local authority have been prosecuted and subsequently convicted under the Dangerous Wild Animal Act? Which species of animal were involved? What sentences were imposed?
3. Since 1st January 2018, how many individuals in your local authority have you instigated prosecution against under the Dangerous Wild Animal Act, but have not subsequently been convicted? Which species of animal were involved? Why were the individuals not convicted?
4. Since 1st January 2018, how many individuals in your local authority have you considered prosecuting under the Dangerous Wild Animal Act, but have subsequently chosen not to prosecute? Which species of animal were involved? Why were the individuals not prosecuted?
5. Since 1st January 2018, how many individuals have been granted a Dangerous Wild Animal Licence as an alternative to the confiscation of their animal/s? Which species of animal were involved?
If you could break these number down on a year-by-year basis that would be great. If you are not able to fulfil any part of this request, I would request responses to the questions which you are able to respond to
Response provided:
1. None
2. None
3. None
4. None
5. None
At the time of response, North Devon Council has no licensed DWA premises within its area and have no evidence of unlicensed DWA activity that requires prosecution
Exemptions/Exceptions:
None
Request reference: 9290
Issue date: 04.09.23
Request received:
CON29 information relating to a property at EX34 8JY
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: 9292
Issue date: 04.09.23
Request received:
CON29 information relating to a property at EX34 9AB
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: 9293
Issue date: 19.09.23
Request received:
1. The name of the company or organisation that supplies you the software you use
2. The name of the product you use
3. When (mm/yyyy) your current software first went into live use
4. When your current contract ends (mm/yyyy)
5. How much is paid in the most recent year for continued access, support and updates
6. The name, email and job title of the senior officer responsible for the system
For the following:
a) Core Finance
b) Employee Expenses Management
c) Budgeting and Forecasting
d) Automated Invoice scanning
e) Core HR
f) Learning Management System
g) Recruitment Management and Job Application Tracking
h) Payroll
Response provided:
Core Finance a) and Automated Invoice Scanning d):
2. Please see description of contract via the link provided for 1
3. Please see Details section of the contract via the link provided for 1.
4. As 3 above
5. £31,876
6. Please see the Primary contact details section of the contract via the link provided for 1
Budgeting and Forecasting c) – No external software is used for this
Employee Expenses management b) Core HR e) and Payroll h)
1. MHR bought through the framework Insight Direct UK
2. Personnel and payroll services using the product Itrent
3. Please see Details section of the contract via the link provided for 1.
4. As 3 above
5. Core Finance System £31,876 per annum
HR and Payroll system £19,153
per annum
6. Please see the Primary contact details section of the contract via the link provided for 1
Learning Management System f)
The Council does not have a Learning Management System. Instead, it records some training using MS Teams and shares the links. Quizzes are created and shared with staff via the staff Intranet (Insite), however the Council does not have an LMS to host any of this, it’s currently kept in the Council’s Intranet
Some of our e-learning comes direct from source, for example, Prevent training is created by the Home Office
Recruitment Management and Job Application Tracking g)
The Council manages this in-house within Itrent
Request reference: 9296
Issue date: 08.09.23
Request received:
1. The oath of office of every employee paid by the people to serve the people
2. The name of your Public Liability Insurer and associated Bond numbers
Response provided:
1. The Council does not have an Oath of Office, however it does have an Employees’ Code of Conduct which forms part of the Council’s Constitution and which officers are required to comply with
2. Public Liability Insurer – Please refer to the link provided which takes you to the Council’s published Contract Register for this information
Bond numbers – The Council confirms that there are no bond numbers held or associated with its insurance policy as above and so for the purposes of the Act, the Council confirms that it does not hold this information
Exemptions/Exceptions:
None
Request reference: 9298
Issue date: 04.09.23
Request received:
CON29 information relating to a property at EX36 4AZ
Response provided:
Applicant provided with the information, where held and also directed to the Council’s website for some of the information
Response provided:
None
Request reference: 9299
Issue date: 04.09.23
Request received:
CON29 information relating to a property at, EX33 2HS
Response provided:
Applicant provided with the information, where held and also directed to the Council’s website for some of the information
Response provided:
None
Request reference: 9303
Issue date: 18.09.23
Request received:
For the purposes of this request, I define “use of force” as force used on behalf of the Council to protect the public and themselves from harm. Use of force includes, but is not limited to, the following tactics: handcuffing people, unarmed skills (including pressure points, restraints and takedowns), limb/ body restraints, drawing or use of irritant spray, spit guards, batons, firing rubber bullets. Use of force includes both physical and mechanical restraint.
I am interested in roles that are both directly employed by the council or arranged by private sector providers (commercial partners) through contractual arrangements with the Council.
Q1. Are there roles within the Council regarding the management of anti-social behaviour? The role may be called ‘Security Officer’, ‘Security Manager’, “Ranger”, or another title. Please answer either “yes” or “no”. If the Council does not employ staff to manage anti-social behaviour, please ignore the remaining questions of this request
Q2. Are any of these roles regarding the management of anti-social behaviour authorised to use physical intervention or force? Please answer either “yes” or “no”
Q3. For the purposes of this request, I will refer to those employed by the Council regarding the management of anti-social behaviour as “Security Officers”. If the Security Officer role is authorised to use physical intervention or force, please share the following information:
Any forms, or written documents from employees after using force between 1 June 2022 and 1 June 2023. These may be called “incident forms” or “high profile notification forms”, or the Council may use a different terminology internally. Please indicate if the Council does not require employees to debrief in this way after use of force. I understand these may be redacted for personal information but I ask that you redact only exempted information and justify the use of those exemptions. I also kindly remind you that the time taken for redactions does not usually contribute towards the cost cap under FOI
Copies of the minutes of all Council use of force governance meetings. Please indicate if the Council does not hold meetings to scrutinise use of force. I understand these may be redacted for personal information but I ask that you redact only exempted information and justify the use of those exemptions, as above
Copies of any written documents that were distributed to those attending each use of force governance meetings. I understand these may be redacted for personal information but I ask that you redact only exempted information and justify the use of those exemptions, as above
Copies of any presentations, such as PowerPoint slideshows, which were shown during each use of force governance meeting. I understand these may be redacted for personal information but I ask that you redact only exempted information and justify the use of those exemptions, as above
Response provided:
1. No
2. N/A
3. N/A
Exemptions/Exceptions:
None
Request reference: 9304
Issue date: 08.09.23
Request received:
Details in respect to the council's procured Housing software
1a. Who is the incumbent supplier for the provision of the council's Housing Register software?
1b. Start date and duration of the contract?
1c. Has a decision been made as to whether the existing contract will be renewed/extended?
1d. What has been the average annual spend to date for the council's current Housing Register software?
1e. Who is the senior officer (outside of procurement) responsible for this contract?
1f. Please provide any specification/documentation relating to the last procurement exercise for this contract
2a. Who is the incumbent supplier for the councils Homelessness Case Management software?
2b. Start date and duration of the contract?
2c. Has a decision been made as to whether the existing contract will be renewed/extended?
2d. What has been the average annual spend to date for the council's current Homelessness Case Management software?
2e. Who is the senior officer (outside of procurement) responsible for this contract?
2f. Please provide any specification/documentation relating to the last procurement exercise for this contract
Response provided:
1.a - e Devon Home Choice which is a Devon-wide Partnership. Exeter City Council is the lead authority for the procurement of this partnership, therefore please contact Exeter City Council for this information
1.f Applicant provided with this information in PDF format which is available upon request
2.a Homelessness, Prevention and Advice System - Locata Housing Services Ltd
2.b Please refer to the link above for this information where it is published
2.c Please refer to the link above for the date which the contract will be reviewed
2.d Please refer to the link above for this information
2.e Please refer to the link above for this information
2.f Applicant provided with this information in PDF format which is available upon request
Exemptions/Exceptions:
None
Request reference: 9307
Issue date: 21.09.23
Request received:
1.How many new homes have been built as part of developments in your council area in each of the financial years:
a. 2023/24 (as much information as can be provided)
b. 2022/23
c. 2021/22
d. 2020/21
e. 2019/20
f. 2018/19
2.For those news homes, how much money did the council collect from the developers, either via section 106 obligations or by the community infrastructure levy, to support local infrastructure in:
a. 2023/24 (as much information as can be provided)
b. 2022/23
c. 2021/22
d. 2020/21
e. 2019/20
f. 2018/19
3.How much of that money was spent on building or developing GP practices in your area in:
a. 2023/24 (as much information as can be provided)
b. 2022/23
c. 2021/22
d. 2020/21
e. 2019/20
f. 2018/19
4.Please list, for each year in questions 1-3, what kind of support was given to GP practices using this money
Response provided:
1. As follows:
HLA Year No. Homes Built
2018/2019 693
2019/2020 884
2020/2021 552
2021/2022 595
2022/2023 579
2023/2024 (August) 122
2. Please see below the total S106 contributions received in the relevant years requested. These won’t necessarily relate to the numbers of new homes built in those years as the S106 payments are received at different trigger points throughout the developments:
Insert table
3. a. 2023/24 (as much information as can be provided) = to date £0
b. 2022/23 = £0
c. 2021/22 = £0
d. 2020/21 = £0
e. 2019/20 = £0
f. 2018/19 = £0
4. Not Applicable
Request reference: 9308
Issue date: 07.09.23
Request received:
1. The total number of public benches within the area.
2. A list of public bench locations , including addresses, GPS, Northing and Easting Coordinates where the benches are situated
Response provided:
Applicant provided with the Council’s information in Excel format of the benches it is responsible for within its area. Parish and Town Councils also provide benches however the Authority does not hold this information
Town and Parish Councils are responsible for processing and responding to their own requests for information, therefore you will need to contact these direct. The Council publishes a list of all parish council contacts on its website. You may also wish to contact the following Town Councils for any information that they may hold:
Lynton and Lynmouth Town Council
Exemptions/Exceptions:
None
Request reference: 9309
Issue date: 18.09.23
Request received:
The information I require is to do with the organisation’s CCTV maintenance and support contract
Please can you send me the information stated below:
1. Supplier of the contract for CCTV maintenance and support
2. How much does the Org/s spend annually with the supplier? (if multiple suppliers please list the annual spend for each)
3. What is the renewal date of this contract?
4. What is the duration of the contract?
5. What is the review date of this contract? If possible the likely outcome of this review
6. The primary brand of the CCTV equipment. I don’t require the model just the brand. If there is various brands could you please list?
7. What is the total number of cameras in use/under this contract?
8. The description of the services provided under this contract. Please state if this contract includes more than just CCTV services.
9. Contact details of the employee responsible for the contract between the supplier and the organisation. Can you please provide me with their full contact details
If there is no CCTV maintenance contract in place
1. What is the brand of CCTV cameras in use? if there is variety could you please send me a list? I do not need the serial number or model just the brand.
2. How much is the average annual spend on the in-house maintenance?
3. How many cameras are in use?
4. Is there a plan to review this at any point, if so what would the date be?
5. Who is in charge of overseeing the in-house maintenance?
If there is no maintenance contract or in-house maintenance in place, is there a ad-hoc agreement?
If yes,
1. Who is the supplier? Is this varies could you please list?
2. What is the brand of CCTV cameras in use? if there is variety could you please send me a list? I do not need the serial number or model just the brand.
3. How many cameras are in use?
4. How much is the average annual spend on the ad-hoc agreement?
5. What is the date it is to be reviewed?
Response provided:
Applicant referred to the Council’s contract Register for the information in response to 1, 3, 4, 5, 8 and 9
2. Approximately £7K
6. Dahua
7. 33
Exemptions/Exceptions:
None
Request reference: 9312
Issue date: 25.09.23
Request received:
Please provide by category of expense allocation eg schools, highways, NHS, etc. the amount of S106 money available from each development site and for what the money was specified for. Also advise me on what money as been spent and on what item/function etc.Any S106 monies not yet spent and what it is allocated for
Please advise which Officer or Councillors have authorised the spending of the S106 monies along with minutes of meetings
There may be more than one Planning number and name description to each site
Unfortunately the Planning Department allocate different numbers to the same site and allow the site name to change which does not facilitate tracking and searching. The sites are Northfield Lane 56685, Shearford Close 56396, Trayne Farm 56047, Barum Knoll 57503, Land at Westaway Plain 74500
Response provided:
The Council can provide you with the attached Excel spreadsheet which provides all payments that relate to Public Open Space/Recreation
Any payments for schools, highways would be paid by Devon County Council and therefore you would need to apply to them separately for this information
A search has been carried out by our Finance and Planning teams against the specific application numbers you have supplied, however it is possible that they may be held on different planning application numbers and address. They have been unable to identify if any contributions under either 57503 or Barum Knoll (Raleigh Holt)
The approval of spending of S106 monies is made by Strategy and Resources committee. The minutes of which are published on the Council’s website: https://democracy.northdevon.gov.uk/ieListMeetings.aspx?CommitteeId=296 and so any approval of such spend will be available to view by referring to the spreadsheet where the report dates have been entered where identified
Request reference: 9314
Issue date: 05.09.23
Request received:
1. How much council tax arrears was passed to enforcement agents/internal enforcement agents for recovery in 2021 and how much was recovered?
2. How much council tax arrears was passed to enforcement agents/internal enforcement agents in 2022 and how much was recovered?
3. How much council tax arrears was passed to enforcement agents/internal enforcement agents to date in 2023 and how much was recovered?
4. How many charging orders against people’s homes were obtained in 2021
5. How many charging orders against people’s homes were obtained in 2022
6. How many charging orders against people’s homes were obtained in 2023 to date
Response provided:
1. Total value of Council Tax debt referred = £4,347,688.32
Total value of Council Tax debt collected = £1,594,694.00
2. Total value of Council Tax debt referred = £2,252,518.40
Total value of Council Tax debt collected = £539,969.94
3. Total value of Council Tax debt referred 2023 to 01/09/2023 = £1,564,298.17
Total value of Council Tax debt collected 2023 to 01/09/2023 = £103,361.01
4. None
5. None
6. None
Exemptions/Exceptions:
None
Request reference: 9315
Issue date: 19.09.23
Request received:
The FOI request is based around Direct Payments, prepaid cards, cash and voucher options that the council has for Residents, Service Users and Staff. Please note the follow are areas that commonly use these services, but not limited to:-
• Direct Payments
• Client Financial Affairs (The Council acting as Corporate Appointee and property and affairs Deputy
• No Recourse to Public funds
• Finance – Petty Cash Cards
• Care Agencies – In House or External
• Adult or Children Social Care – Emergency Cards
• Household Support Payments
Do you currently use a PrePaid card or other type of card provider, and if so what is the provider's name?
What date does the current contract expire?
What is the name, E-Mail Address & phone number of the person and team that manages the Contract?
Which services within the Council or associated partners have a programme or platform with the provider?
How much does each card cost?
What transaction costs are there and how much are they?
What is the annual cost or upper limit to the council?
Does the Council have a functioning cashier counter to enable cash to be paid out?
Do you use a provider to enable Service Users or Residents to collect cash, receive a text message or barcode, and if so what is their name?
When does this contract end?
What is the name, E-Mail Address & phone number of the person and team that manages the Contract?
Which services within the Council or associated partners use this provider?
How much does each payment cost?
What is the annual cost or upper limit to the council?
Do you use a provider to enable Service Users or Residents to send and receive shopping vouchers by text message or bar codes or other ways, and if so what is their name?
When does this contract end?
What is the name, E-Mail Address & phone number of the person and team that manages the Contract?
Which services within the Council or associated partners use this provider?
How much does each voucher cost?
What is the annual cost or upper limit to the council?
Does the Council use a third party to manage Direct Payment Managed accounts, if so who?
What Services do they provide on behalf of the council?
When does the contract end?
What is the name, E-Mail Address & phone number of the person and team that manages the Contract?
How much does each service cost?
What is the annual cost or upper limit to the council?
Does the Council offer payroll services for Direct Payment employers and their employees?
What is the name, E-Mail Address & Contact number of the person and team that is the lead?
How many staff deal with the payroll?
What annual cost is there to the council for the payroll staff?
£50,000 - £60,000
£60,000 - £70,000
£70,000 - £80,000
£80,000 - £90,000
Other
Response provided:
Household Support Fund:
No
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
No
Post Office Payout
Rolling Contract
Andrea Beasley andrea.beasley@northdevon.gov.uk (01271) 388201 Customer Services Manager
Customer Services for Household Support Fund
£1.57
No cost to council as all costs are from the Household Support Fund
Yes – Black Hawk
Expired – currently procuring
Andrea Beasley andrea.beasley@northdevon.gov.uk (01271) 388201 Customer Services Manager
Customer Services for Household Support Fund
Nothing – there is a 1.2% discount on the face value of each voucher
No cost
N/A for Household Fund
Request reference: 9316
Issue date: 22.09.23
Request received:
1. Do you record people’s disabilities when placing them into temporary accommodation?
2. If so, how many people currently living in temporary accommodation (that you placed there) have disabilities?
3. What percentage is that of the total number of people currently living in temporary accommodation (that you placed there)?
The answers to the last 2 questions are for total tenancies not the number of people in Temporary Accommodation as the Housing system does not record the information in this way
The answers to the questions below are for each individual in Temporary Accommodation that has a disability, however this system does not have the facility to run a report from. This is a system we are in the process of developing and so should be able to provide figures on the actual number of people, not just tenancies in the future
4. How do you record their disabilities? (Please describe the recording system you have in place and how the data is stored)
5. How is the data used? (for example are residents with disabilities prioritised in any way when they need a repair/help)
Response provided:
1. Yes
2. 12
3. 62 in total or 19.35%
4. This is listed on their initial application if they have a physical or MH disability or Learning disability. Each tenancy then has its own blackboard with the residents risk assessment attached
5. The risk assessment (which includes any disabilities) of any of the household members would be looked at when requesting repairs, i.e. elderly disabled person with no heating prioritised for repair of boiler
Request reference: 9317
Issue date: 20.09.23
Request received:
1. The total number of works of art owned by your local authority
2. The estimated total value
3. The number of works currently on display
4. How many works of art have been donated by the local authority over the past five years?
5. How many works of art have been leased by the local authority over the past five years and the total revenue
6. How many works of art have been sold by the local authority over
the past five years and the total proceeds from any sales
7. The cost to the local authority of maintaining your art collection
for the financial year 2022/23, including any costs for security, conservation and insurance
Response provided:
The Council's museum is primarily a collection ranging from geology to social history. The Council's response is based solely on "artworks" defined to including paintings and artist's (not commercial) prints;
1. 145
2. C.£30,000
3. Four that belong to the Council
4. None
5. None
6. None
7. The cost of maintaining the museum collections cannot be separated out from the overall running costs of the museum, which was reported at £301,295.01 for 2022-23. This includes recharged costs from other council departments and income from the museum shop and tea room. Without these recharges the costs of the museum alone are £178,525.69
It is not possible to separate the costs associated with “artworks” from the rest of the collections. These works of art are approximately 0.2% of the total collections, and approximately 2.5% of the insured value of the collections
The security cost would include alarms, CCTV, callouts, repairs etc and is not held in a separate budget so cannot easily be supplied. We do not have any specific security costs associated with artworks
Our collections care spend in 2022-33 was £2,484.15; this is mostly materials for storage i.e. preventive conservation rather than remedial. Our insurance cost for 2022-3 was £3,952.61 for the buildings insurance plus additional covers of £2085.40 (including some items on loan from other museums)
Request reference: 9318
Issue date: 18.09.23
Request received:
1. How many councils have you formally collaborated with on climate action initiatives in the past 12 months?
2. Do you have a formal process for sharing information and best practices with other councils? If yes, please provide a link to the documentation outlining this process
3. Do you have a dedicated team or individual responsible for monitoring climate action initiatives undertaken by other councils?
4. Do you subscribe to any databases, newsletters, or other resources that provide updates on other councils' climate actions? If yes, please list them
5. How many public consultations or surveys related to climate action have you conducted in the past 12 months?
6. What percentage of businesses in your jurisdiction have been formally engaged in your climate action plans?
7. Do you have a scoring or ranking system for prioritising climate actions? If yes, please provide a link to the documentation outlining this system. If no, how do you currently prioritise potential actions?
8. What are the most significant barriers you face in implementing climate action initiatives?
9. Do you have a formal process for discovering, evaluating and adopting climate solutions from private sector suppliers? If yes, please provide a link to the documentation outlining this process
10. How many people in the council have roles that focus on environmental issues? Please provide job titles and an indication of whether they are part or full time roles. If these could be listed in order of seniority it would also be helpful
11. What percentage of your annual budget is specifically allocated for climate action initiatives?
12. Do you have a sustainable procurement policy? If yes, please provide a link to the policy document
13. Do you have any case studies highlighting successful climate action initiatives? If yes, please provide links
Response provided:
1. North Devon Council has collaborated with Torridge District Council in employing a joint Sustainability and Climate Officer and also are part of the Devon Climate Emergency Partnership with membership from all 11 Devon Councils plus the two National Parks. The latter was agreed when the Council signed the Devon Climate Emergency Declaration in 2019 and so whilst it has been approved by Council, there is no formal legal agreement to be part of it
2. No
3. No
4. Devon Climate Emergency Newsletter, South Hams and West Devon Climate Newsletter
5. None
6. Unknown, this is carried out by Devon County Council
7. Use Corporate Risk Assessment process.
8. Finance, staff resource.
9. No
10. Mark Kentell, Head of Environmental Enhancement – Full Time, Mark Saunders, Sustainability Officer – Full Time, Andy Jones, Arboricultural Officer – Full time
11. Unknown
13. No
Request reference: 9320
Issue date: 08.09.23
Request received:
CON29 information relating to a property at EX34 9TB
Response provided:
Applicant provided with the information, where held and also directed to the Council’s website for some of the information
Request reference: 9321
Issue date: 08.09.23
Request received:
CON29 information relating to a property at EX32 9JQ
Response provided:
Applicant provided with the information, where held and also directed to the Council’s website for some of the information
Request reference: 9323
Issue date: 11.09.23
Request received:
Details about Motor Vehicles that have been registered for public hire and private hire, such as Taxis or Chauffeur hire, for the period spanning from January 1st, 2013 to the present date. Specifically, I am requesting the following information:
Vehicle registration number Manufacturer (Make) of the vehicle Model of the vehicle Date when the vehicle was initially licensed Date when the license for the vehicle ceased If certain elements of this information are not available, I kindly request you provide the ones that are accessible
Response provided:
Provided in Excel format to applicant, which is available upon request
Exemptions/Exceptions:
None
Request reference: 9324
Issue date: 21.09.23
Request received:
Please provide information on whether or not you employ an access officer(s)
Notes: They do not need to have the specific job title of access officer for you to respond affirmatively. The role may be defined as having responsibility for any one or all of the following and may be split between more than one person;
• respond to requests, comments and complaints from all concerned with disability access
• prepare adaptation programmes, including budgets, and monitor progress
• carry out surveys, feasibility studies, drawings, specifications, contract documentations and supervise their implementation
• give advice on all access design issues: transport, pavements, damaged kerbs, road crossings, highways schemes, traffic calming, parking and street furniture.
• assist in the development of appropriate access plan policies and design guidance, primarily through implementing supplementary planning guidance
• provide technical consultation and interpretation on applications that justify detailed input and provide guidance to development control officers on when to consult
• be available for pre-application consultations on larger applications.
• co-ordinate the consultation process with statutory consultees, such as English Heritage, Building Control and the Statutory Highway Authority
• co-ordinate and manage the Council's training programme for new and existing officers, in particular in development control
• liaise with neighbouring authorities and national bodies
• establish a local access group where one does not exist, encourage and support the local access group and ensure that disabled people and other appropriate voluntary groups are effectively involved in the planning process. Servicing regular planning application consultation meetings and providing accessible transport and meeting rooms can be supportive
If an employee(s) is responsible for the above, please respond and clarify which responsibilities or similar responsibilities they hold
Response provided:
The Council can confirm that it does not employ any individuals as access officers or anyone or anyone to undertake the duties as listed
Request reference: 9325
Issue date: 04.09.23
Request received:
The questions relate to any Council funds put towards supporting
people with climate anxiety in the community (sometimes known as eco anxiety) and educating residents on the issue
1. Has the council launched or run any initiatives relating to
climate anxiety? Please list all relevant schemes, consultations or
initiatives launched or run in the past five years and include their
costs and relevant timescales that they ran for (e g workshop run by
X, cost £x – February 24, 2023 Please present these schemes in
categories for the last five calendar years (including 2023)
2. Has the council paid for the services (consultations or
workshops) of Dr Patrick Kennedy-Williams and Megan Kennedy-Woodard?
They operate under the company known as Climate Psychologists. If so, please provide details of what services they provided the council and when as well as how much the council paid for each service
3. Please provide any public documents or material created or
shared by the council in relation to climate anxiety
4. Does the council have any policies or guidance in relation to
climate anxiety and if so what is it?
Response provided:
1. No, however the Council confirms that that would fall under the remit of Devon County Council to action within the North Devon area.
2. No
3. Not held
4. No
Exemptions/Exceptions:
None
Request reference: 9326
Issue date: 04.09.23
Request received:
Information relating the operation of a business (car sales and repairs) from a residential property in Barnstaple
Response provided:
Applicant referred to Devon County Council for this information covering North Devon (Trading Standards and Highways)
Exemptions/Exceptions:
None
Request reference: 9328
Issue date: 08.09.23
Request received:
CON29 information relating to a property at EX36 4JU
Response provided:
Applicant provided with the information, where held and also directed to the Council’s website for some of the information
Request reference: 9330
Issue date: 22.09.23
Request received:
a. When did the council start a chargeable garden waste collection service from previously have no/free collection service for garden waste?
b. Wwhat proportion of households subscribed for the service in the initial couple of years?
c.What proportion of households are currently subscribing for the service?
Response provided:
a. 2018
b. Originally we had a population of 44,000, of which 38,000 (86%) received a free collection. When we moved to a chargeable service 17,000 subscribed (38%)
c. 19,000 (43%)
Request reference: 9331
Issue date: 26.09.23
Request received:
Email encryption
• Do you have a product or supplier for email encryption?
• If so, please can you supply details of the contractual arrangements in place including date of award, details of any Framework used or link to the advertisement, contract value and duration
• If so, please can you indicate the plans for future procurement of this product?
• If not, please can you indicate what evaluation of the requirement for email encryption has been undertaken?
• Please can you confirm the individual responsible for managing your email encryption contract or wider cyber security contracts and provide their contact details and role title?
E-signatures
• Do you use a specific product or solution for electronic signatures?
• If so, please can you confirm the name of the supplier from which this solution is purchased
• If so, please can you supply details of the contractual arrangements in place including date of award, details of any Framework used or link to the advertisement, contract value and duration
• If so, please can you indicate the plans for future procurement of this product?
• If not, please can you indicate what evaluation of the requirement for email encryption has been undertaken?
• Please can you confirm the individual responsible for managing your e-signature solution contract or wider cyber security and provide their contact details and role title?
Response provided:
Section 1(1)(a) of the Act requires the Council to inform you whether it holds information of the description specified in your request. The Council confirms that it does hold some of this information; however there is some information that the Council can neither confirm nor deny it holds. In discharge of its obligation under section 1(1)(b) the Council can provide you with the following response:
Email Encryption
The Council can neither confirm nor deny that it holds the information you requested, as the duty in Section 1(1)(a) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 does not apply, by virtue of Section 31(3) (Law Enforcement) of that Act. However, this should not be taken as conclusive evidence that the information you requested exists or does not exist. As Section 31 is a qualified exemption the following Public Interest Test has been carried out.
The Public Interest Test
Arguments that support Disclosure of the Information
- The Council acknowledges that there is a general public interest in the disclosure of information held by public authorities.
- Transparency and openness helps to increase public engagement and build trust between the Council and its constituents.
- There is a public interest in assuring the public that the Council has the necessary arrangements that protects their information and supports the prevention and detection of crime where required.
Arguments that support Withholding the Information
- When the Council releases information to an individual pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act 2000, it is effectively releasing it into the public domain for all to see, that includes those who may not have genuine and honest reasons for wanting to see the information and maybe seeking the information in order to identify, expose or take advantage of potential weaknesses in the Council’s specific ICT security. The Council operates a multi layered approach to ICT security. One of these layers is to obfuscate information that could be used to comprise network security.
- Confirmation as to whether the Council holds or does not hold this information would, in the Council’s view, disclose information about its security systems that are not already known to the public/already in the public domain which could very likely facilitate the likelihood of crime and/or hinder its detection and therefore not be in the public interest and would impede the Council’s duty to maintain the integrity of personal and sensitive information it processes.
- Revealing this information would provide cyber criminals (who are known to use the provision of the Act to gather intelligence) an insight into identifying potential vulnerabilities that would likely lead to the inappropriate use or destruction of information held within the Council. This could then result in the misuse of business, personal and sensitive data and also increase the likelihood of business interference and disruption of the Council’s services to its constituents and result in a loss of confidence and trust.
- A disclosure would likely increase the Council’s chances of a cyber-attack, resulting in a disruption to essential Council services provision, increased expenditure due to the cost of implementing further security fixes and increase security protocols.
Therefore the Council concludes the public interest in preventing crime from being committed outweighs the public interest in confirming whether or not it holds this information in this instance.
E-signatures
The Council uses Foxit editor to insert digitised signatures into documents which was purchased from Phoenix Software. This three year licence was purchased via the KCS framework. It will be reviewed in 2025.
Cyber Security is the responsibility of the Council’s ICT Manager Andy Tapp who can be contacted via our ICT helpdesk
Request reference: 9329
Issue date: 18.09.23
Request received:
CON29 information relating to a property at EX31 4EX
Response provided:
Applicant provided with the information, where held and also directed to the Council’s website for some of the information
Request reference: 9333
Issue date: 18.09.23
Request received:
CON29 information relating to a property at EX32 0LJ
Response provided:
Applicant provided with the information, where held and also directed to the Council’s website for some of the information
Request reference: 9334
Issue date: 20.09.23
Request received:
1. Between 1 September 2013 and 1 September 2023, which public buildings within the local authority has the council previously been made aware may contain reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC), and on what date were concerns first raised?
2. Can you provide a list of these buildings and their current use (ie town hall/primary school/public library), in both a written email and spreadsheet format (ideally .xlsx) where possible?
3. In which of these buildings have further investigations into RAAC been carried out?
4. Which of these buildings are still deemed potentially unsafe?
Response provided:
Applicant directed to Devon County Council regarding information covering schools and libraries and also provided with a list of all parish council contacts as well as the following Town Council contacts:
Lynton and Lynmouth Town Council
The Council’s Property Services team confirms that they only checked the building identified (below) after the period of time as stated within the request:
1. Yes, 13 September 2023
2. Bicclescombe Park PC, Ilfracombe
3. Pending engineers visit
4. Pending engineers visit
Request reference: 9335
Issue date: 05.09.23
Request received:
A list of businesses that qualify for Small Business Rates Relief (SBRR) but haven't applied for it, setting out the following for each:
1. The name of the rate payer Dataset
2. The start date of the business rates account Dataset
3. Rateable Value Dataset
4. Applied for SBRR (YES OR NO)
5. The full property address of the property
6. The full amount of credit you hold for the business (if any)
Please can you email me an excel sheet with the information above
Response provided:
The Council confirmed that its most recent dataset Open data (northdevon.gov.uk) publishes the information 1 through 5 as at 01.07.23 and indicated the columns where this information can be found:
- Column B
- Column AA
- Column I
- Column S
- Columns C through H
The NDR datasets will be updated and re-published during October 2023
In response to 6, the Council no longer publishes or provides the details of individual business rates credits. Following careful consideration of the ICO decision for Wandsworth Council (FS50619844) and discussions with the Council’s Revenues team which holds this data, the Council considers that the continued publication and provison of this data on request would be likely to prejudice the prevention and detection of crime and therefore the Council considers that this data is now exempt from disclosure under Section 31(1)(a)
When applying this exemption, the Council is required to carry out a Public Interest Test which considers the factors that favour disclosure and the withholding of the data:
Factors in favour of disclosure
- Withholding the information could be perceived as the council attempting to retain monies that belong to the public
- It is in the public interest to be open and transparent about its use of public funds
- It is also in the public interest to be transparent regarding the records held in respect of the administration of business rates. This could be of interest to the minority of people who are due a refund, but have somehow failed to receive the notifications that money is owed to them
Factors in favour of withholding
- There is a public interest in ensuring that monies from the public purse, such as rebates on business accounts, are not fraudulently claimed and also a public interest in not making it easier for fraud to be committed
- The Council’ current verification procedure for refund claims is simple and cost effective however the Council cannot be certain as to whether some claimants are who they really say they are for every refund processed. If the Council were to continue to publish this data then this would ultimately result in additional verification processes needing to be implemented by the Revenues team at additional cost to the public, which would be disproportionate to the benefits that would accrue from disclosure. The additional verification procedures would also be likely to slow the verification process, resulting in detriment to the genuine ratepayer in that it would take longer for their credit to be refunded to them
- In relation to any new verification processes that might be needed, these would be likely to require the production of additional documents by those claiming a rebate which would place a new administrative burden on the majority of those legitimate claimants that did not currently exist. This would be compounded by the fact that the level of scrutiny of those documents would be higher than at present, given the increased suspicion that some of the claims (and associated documents) might well be fraudulent
The result would be that a new verification process would be likely to slow the rate at which credit balance claims could be considered and refunded, causing delay in all refunds and the likelihood of complaints, which would further burden the Council’s limited resources
- Disclosure of the requested information would result in the need to implement disproportionate steps and additional expense to the Council to counter an increased fraud risk
The cost consequences of a successful fraudulent claim would:
· have incurred the cost of paying out to the fraudster
· remain liable to the legitimate rate payer for an equivalent amount, raising the prospect of paying out twice; and
· be faced with the cost (legal and incurrence of internal management time) of seeking to recover the funds wrongly paid to the fraudster
It would not be in the public interest to expose it to such potential costs and expenses, given that they would be funded from the public purse
It is considered that the greater public interest, therefore, lies in no longer publishing the data. In coming to that conclusion, the public interest in providing the information has been carefully weighed against any prejudice to the public interest that might arise from withholding the information; in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information
Applicant referred to the following dataset NDR credits and refunds 2023/24 which is published instead
Response provided:
Section 31 of Act
Request reference: 9336
Issue date: 18.09.23
Request received:
CON29 information relating to a property at EX31 1QH
Response provided:
Applicant advised no information held
Request reference: 9339
Issue date: 21.09.23
Request received:
CON29 information relating to a property at EX31 3EU
Response provided:
Applicant provided with the information, where held and also directed to the Council’s website for some of the information
Request reference: 9340
Issue date: 26.09.23
Request received:
• A list of all commercial investments taken by the council during the 2019/20, 2020/21, 2021/22, 2022/23 and current financial years
• The value of each investment
• The future annual income forecast at the time of purchase
• The actual income received each year since the purchase, up until and including the 2022/23 financial year
Response provided:
Applicant provided with copies of the Council’s Annual Treasury Reports for the requested financial years which sets out this information
Request reference: 9341
Issue date: 07.09.23
Request received:
1. Do you accept mattresses at the majority/all your HWRCs? Please answer yes or no.
2. If yes, what is the charge in pounds per mattress?
3. How are most of the mattress materials and components disposed of from HWRCs?
Please select one option:
a) Sent for recycling (separated into component parts)
b) Sent for landfill
c) Sent for incineration for energy recovery
4. Do you offer a collection service for mattresses? Please answer yes or no.
5. If yes, what is the charge in £ per mattress?
6. If yes, how are most of the mattress materials and components disposed of from collections?
Please select one option:
a) Sent for recycling (separated into component parts)
b) Sent for landfill
c) Sent for incineration for energy recovery
7. Does your authority have plans to revise how mattresses are disposed of in the next 12 months? Please answer yes or no
8. If yes, how do you plan to dispose of mattresses in future?
9. Do you signpost households to private sector mattress recycling providers in your region? Please answer yes or no
10. If yes, please list providers.
11. Where possible, please provide a URL(s) for any pages on your council website which provide information to residents about mattress disposal
Response provided:
In response to questions 1-3. Please contact Devon County Council for this information as they are responsible for Waste and Recycling Centres covering North Devon: https://www.devon.gov.uk/wasteandrecycling/
4. Yes
5 and 11. Please refer to the Council's website for information regarding its Bulky Waste collection service (which includes mattresses) https://www.northdevon.gov.uk/bins-and-recycling/bulky-items/
6. Taken to nearest HWRC
7. No
8. N/A
9. No
10 N/A
Exemptions/Exceptions:
None
Request reference: 9343
Issue date: 21.09.23
Request received:
Provide figures for the number of reports, fixed penalty notices (FPNs), prosecutions and fines relating to dog fouling from August 2013 - August 2023 for North Devon?
Please could you provide the breakdown of this information per year if possible. If available, please could you also provide a breakdown of where these reports, fixed penalty notices (FPNs), prosecutions and fines relating to dog fouling have occurred (for example: parks, beaches, private property etc)?
Response provided:
The number of dog fouling reports for the period 01.08 – 31 July annually, are as follows; however they only hold complete records from 2017 onwards:
August 2017 - July 2018 = 87
August 2018 - July 2019 = 91
August 2019 - July 2020 = 66
August 2020 - July 2021 = 97
August 2021 - July 2022 = 80
August 2022 - July 2023 = 60
Total = 481
The only way in which it would be possible to identify the locations of these dog fouling reports would require an officer within Environmental Protection to manually go through each of the 481 reports and manually compile this information, which they estimate that they would need to spend a minimum of three minutes per report identifying, locating, retrieving and collating the data, where it is held
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 responding officer within Environmental Protection that it would take approximately that it would take in excess of 24 hours to provide the requested information
The procedure would cause serious disruption to the day to day working of the Environmental Protection team and therefore we are 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
The Council publishes an annual dataset of all Environmental Fixed Penalty Notices (which includes dog fouling) that are issued per calendar year (1 January – 31 December) and from 2010 through to and including 2022. The 2023 dataset will be published in the January 2024 once the data is complete got 2023 for that year. The dataset provides the location of the offence and further details which you have not requested, but may find useful
Prosecutions and any associated fines relating to dog fouling will be included on our Prosecutions dataset which is updated and published on a quarterly basis
Request reference: 9344
Issue date: 21.09.23
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
Request reference: 9346
Issue date: 25.09.23
Request received:
The number of times a breach of planning permission occurred
The reason for the breach of planning permission
The number of fines handed out and cost due to breach of planning permission
Can these be supplied for the years of 2023, 2022 and 2021
Response provided:
Of the Enforcement Notices served within the date parameters, the authority has not served Enforcement Notices in respect of breach of condition(s). It follows for the same periods there have been no prosecutions
Request reference: 9347
Issue date: 20.09.23
Request received:
1. Has the council commissioned any surveys for any of its buildings for RAAC since 01 January 2018, up to and including the day you process this request? Please answer only ‘yes’ or ‘no’. If you need to give any other context, please use the explanatory notes column of the table provided
2. If the answer to question 1 is yes, please give the dates any surveys were commissioned, the dates date completed or expected to be completed and the number of buildings surveyed. Whether the answer is yes or no, please outline what work is taking place to identify the presence of RAAC and prepare for its removal
3. Please give building types where RAAC is suspected and/or has been found and the date on which it was discovered. By building types I am asking for a general description of the purpose of the building, for example: council office, civic centre etc
4. If possible, please provide the address and postcode of any buildings referred to in your answer to question 3.
5. For each building in your answer to question 3, please give details of any action taken or to be taken as a result of discovering RAAC
Response provided:
1. Yes
2. Pending engineers visit expected 01.10.23 which was commissioned 13.09.23
3. Public Convenience
4. Bicclescombe Park PC, Ilfracombe, EX34 8EU
5. As 2 above
Request reference: 9349
Issue date: 21.09.23
Request received:
CON29 information relating to a property at EX34 8HD
Response provided:
Applicant provided with the information, where held and also directed to the Council’s website for some of the information
Request reference: 9350
Issue date: 11.09.23
Request received:
Information Required Accrued NNDR National Non Domestic Rates credit balances and write on's (credits that you have been unable to trace recipients for and have therefore wrote into your accounts, leaving an outward appearance of a zero balance)
We request a breakdown of credit balances accrued remaining unclaimed since your earliest records, for the amounts owing to all `incorporated companies or public bodies (i e not individuals/private individuals) within any local authorities billing area, including:
- The name of each business in respect of which Non Domestic Rate credit balances remain payable
- The value of overpayment in each case with remains unclaimed
- The years(s) in which the overpayment was made
- The hereditament address, and
- Account Number or billing hereditament reference
Where possible could you please send the information in electronic format, preferably excel to the email address below
Please note that no personal data (as defined under the Data Protection Act 1988) is requested and any personal data contained within your files concerning Non Domestic Rates is exempt from this request (Section 40)
Response provided:
the Council regrets to confirm that it is unable to provide you with this information as it would require the manual checking of all accounts that had a 'write on' to ensure it had not been reversed.
The Revenues department would need to do this to validate the accuracy of the accounts identified in the 'write on' report. To identify the cases they would need to run a transaction report for each individual year (going back to 1 April 1993, which is as far back as the information is held) and the accounts on each report would have to be checked manually
The transaction report only gives details of the account number and the amount of the write on/off so once the relevant accounts had been identified the company name, address and amount of credit would have to be entered manually into a spreadsheet which again would require looking at each account individually
Section 12 of the Act makes provision for public authorities to refuse requests for information where the cost of dealing with them would exceed the appropriate limit, which for Local Authorities is set at £450 by the Freedom of Information and Data protection (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004. This represents the estimated cost of one person spending 18 hours at £25 per hour in determining whether the Council holds the information, locating, retrieving and extracting the information
It has been estimated by the Revenues department that it would take in excess of 1,500 hours to go through each transaction report going back to 1993 and identify, locate, retrieve and collate the information. The procedure would seriously disrupt the day to day working and operation of the Revenues department and therefore it has been decided that your request should not be processed further, as set out in the previous paragraph, the Council has the right to refuse to take the matter further by virtue of Section 12 of the Act
Request reference: 9351
Issue date: 28.09.23
Request received:
CON29 information relating to a property at EX34 9TA
Response provided:
Applicant provided with the information, where held and also directed to the Council’s website for some of the information
Request reference: 9353
Issue date: 12.09.23
Request received:
1). A list of the following officers within the organisation in an excel document (which we have attached for your ease):
1. Chief Executive
2. Assistant Chief Executive
3. Executive Director
4. Director
5. Assistant Director
6. Head of Service
7. Service Manager
2). Along with their:
1. Name
2. job title
3. the function/service they are directly responsible for/oversee
4. email address
5. phone number
3). A copy of the organisation chart and structure or a link to this information on the council website
Response provided:
Response provided in Excel format, available upon request
Exemptions/Exceptions:
None
Request reference: 9354
Issue date: 13.09.23
Request received:
In relation to the Freedom of Information Act of 2000, and subject to section 40(2) on personal data, please can I request a complete and most-recently updated list of all business (non-residential) property rates data, including the following fields:
1. Full Property Address
2. Retail Relief Previously Claimed (TRUE/FALSE)
Response provided:
Applicant directed to the Council’s Open Data and Business Rates webpages where this data is located. Datasets are updated quarterly and can be downloaded onto a spreadsheet format
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 you the link above
Request reference: 9355
Issue date: 15.09.23
Request received:
Does the Council have a council tax exemption policy in place for care leavers?
Response provided:
No, the Council does not
Request reference: 9356
Issue date: 28.09.23
Request received:
CON29 information relating to a property at EX34 8LH
Response provided:
Applicant provided with the information, where held and also directed to the Council’s website for some of the information
Request reference: 9357
Issue date: 28.9.23
Request received:
Environmental Review of Land at Lauder Lane, Roundswell, Barnstaple EX31 3TA
Response provided:
Questions 1 - 3:
Applicant provided with a map and spreadsheet (QGIS contaminated land report) of the land identified
The Council’s Environmental Protection team does not hold any other records regarding potentially contaminated land in this area. It is recommend that the applicant 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
4. The Council does not hold this information.
5. No
6. No
7. There are no Part A(2)s or Part Bs, however Roundswell Services Ltd, EX31 3RZ is a petrol station, to the South of the subject site
Request reference: 9359
Issue date: 15.09.23
Request received:
This is an information request relating to the MJ Awards
Please include the following information, for the 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, and 2019 awards:
• The total amount the council spent from its own budget attending each award ceremony
• The number of representatives from the council that attended each ceremony (please provide a breakdown of the number of councillors and council officials)
• The cost of travel for each year, including the mode and class
• The cost of accommodation for each year, including the name of the hotel or other form of accommodation
• The agenda for each awards ceremony, including details of the food and drink available, if these documents are available
Response provided:
North Devon Council has not participated in the 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 MJ awards. Responses to all questions are not applicable
Request reference: 9362
Issue date: 28.09.23
Request received:
CON29 information relating to a property at EX34 0AT
Response provided:
Applicant advised that no information is held
Request reference: 9363
Issue date: 27.09.23
Request received:
If any pre applications have been made in either of three fields in Fremington - the following points are located in each field:
Easting 252381, Northing 132904 Easting 252361, Northing 132770
Easting 252448, Northing 132769
Response provided:
Applicant provided with the details of three pre-application enquiries held with regards to the field
Easting 252381, Northing 132904 with all personal data redacted (where it relates to individuals external to the Council) under Regulation 13 of the EIR
Request reference: 9364
Issue date: 28.09.23
Request received:
CON29 information relating to a property at EX31 4EG
Response provided:
Applicant advised that no information is held
Request reference: 9365
Issue date: 28.09.23
Request received:
Following your awarding of £1,214,999 from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, please can you detail how much of this funding has been allocated to the 'Communities & Place' investment strand over the entire funding period?
In addition, of the £147,451 of UKSPF funding allocated to be spent in 2022 - 2023, could you please confirm how much of this has been allocated to projects in the 'Communities & Place' investment strand and provide as much detail as to the reporting criteria as set out below:
• Name of Project
• Project Description – a brief description of the project
• Budget for this Project (both total UKSPF budget and amount spent in 2022/23)
• New or pre- UKSPF Project – is this a continuation of an existing project with UKSPF funding, or a new project?
• The main UKSPF intervention (E1, E2 etc.) the project has been set up to support - primary intervention, based on spend
• Location – Project Postcode or Project Delivery Postcode (if applicable). Local Authority Areas that will benefit
• Delivery Lead – name of the organisation delivering project
• Type of Organisation delivering project – for example, VSO, Private Sector etc
• Status – that is, Planned, Live, Finished (completed), Closed (stopped early)
• Reason for closure – if project has closed early rather than being successfully completed
Response provided:
Following your awarding of £1,214,999 from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, please can you detail how much of this funding has been allocated to the 'Communities & Place' investment strand over the entire funding period? The total allocation for Communities and Place is £405,399
In addition, of the £147,451 of UKSPF funding allocated to be spent in 2022 - 2023, could you please confirm how much of this has been allocated to projects in the 'Communities & Place' investment strand and provide as much detail as to the reporting criteria as set out below:
£95,951 has been allocated to Communities and Place in 2022/23, as follows:
- Name of Project
1: Town Centre Enhancement Schemes
2: Events Coordinator
3: Integrated Travel Study
4: Volunteer Connect
5: Community Land Trust feasibility studies
- Project Description – a brief description of the project
1: small grants for town centre enhancement projects – businesses/organisations open to apply
2: creative consultant contracted to design an events programme for Barnstaple
3: working with Torridge Council to look at an integrated transport/travel plan for the area
4: contract with North Devon Voluntary Services to employ a ‘volunteer connector’ to boost volunteering opportunities
5: supporting the development of community land trusts
- Budget for this Project (both total UKSPF budget and amount spent in 2022/23)
1: £55,951 (budget) and £15,000 spend (rest was carried over to 23/24)
2: £10,000 (budget) and £5,000 spend (rest was carried over to 23/24)
3: £5,000 (budget) and £0 spend (was carried over to 23/24)
4: £20,000 (budget) and £0 spend (was carried over to 23/24)
5: £5,000 (budget) and £0 spend (was carried over to 23/24)
- New or pre- UKSPF Project – is this a continuation of an existing project with UKSPF funding, or a new project?
All of the above named projects are new under UKSPF funding
- The main UKSPF intervention (E1, E2 etc.) the project has been set up to support - primary intervention, based on spend
1: E1
2: E6
3: E7
4: E9
5: E14
- Location – Project Postcode or Project Delivery Postcode (if applicable). Local Authority Areas that will benefit
None of the projects are very specific to a location – they cover multiple locations across the district (North Devon)
- Delivery Lead – name of the organisation delivering project
1: North Devon Council
2: North Devon Council – with an external contractor
3: North Devon Council – in partnership with Torridge District Council and an external contractor (not yet procured)
4: North Devon Voluntary Services
5: North Devon Council
- Type of Organisation delivering project – for example, VSO, Private Sector etc
1: Public Sector
2: Public Sector/self-employed creative consultant
3: Public Sector/procured contractor – could be private sector not yet held procurement process
4: Registered Charity
5: North Devon Council
- Status – that is, Planned, Live, Finished (completed), Closed (stopped early)
All projects are planned or live
- Reason for closure – if project has closed early rather than being successfully completed
N/A for any projects – all are still ongoing or due to complete as scheduled
Request reference: 9366
Issue date: 26.09.23
Request received:
Copy of all planning pre-application correspondence associated with C113679
Response provided:
Provided to applicant, with some personal information redacted in accordance with Regulation 13 (personal data)
Request reference: 9370
Issue date: 19.09.23
Request received:
All properties within your Billing Authority area where there is either a credit held on the account or there was previously a credit which has now been written on. The fields required are all non-personal
• Primary Liable Party Name (Business Name)
• Full Property Address
• Postcode
• Billing Authority Reference Number (Assessment Number)
• Current Rateable Value
• Credit Amount
• Date Credit Applies To
Response provided:
The Council has made the decision to no longer publish or provide the details of individual business rates credits on request. Following careful consideration of the ICO decision for Wandsworth Council (FS50619844) and discussions with the Council’s Revenues team which holds this data, the Council considers that the continued publication of this data would be likely to prejudice the prevention and detection of crime and therefore the Council considers that this data is now exempt from disclosure under Section 31(1)(a).
When applying this exemption, the Council is required to carry out a Public Interest Test which considers the factors that favour disclosure and the withholding of the data:
Factors in favour of disclosure
• Withholding the information could be perceived as the council attempting to retain monies that belong to the public.
• It is in the public interest to be open and transparent about its use of public funds.
• It is also in the public interest to be transparent regarding the records held in respect of the administration of business rates. This could be of interest to the minority of people who are due a refund, but have somehow failed to receive the notifications that money is owed to them.
Factors in favour of withholding
• There is a public interest in ensuring that monies from the public purse, such as rebates on business accounts, are not fraudulently claimed and also a public interest in not making it easier for fraud to be committed.
• The Council’ current verification procedure for refund claims is simple and cost effective however the Council cannot be certain as to whether some claimants are who they really say they are for every refund processed. If the Council were to continue to publish this data then this would ultimately result in additional verification processes needing to be implemented by the Revenues team at additional cost to the public, which would be disproportionate to the benefits that would accrue from disclosure. The additional verification procedures would also be likely to slow the verification process, resulting in detriment to the genuine ratepayer in that it would take longer for their credit to be refunded to them.
• In relation to any new verification processes that might be needed, these would be likely to require the production of additional documents by those claiming a rebate which would place a new administrative burden on the majority of those legitimate claimants that did not currently exist. This would be compounded by the fact that the level of scrutiny of those documents would be higher than at present, given the increased suspicion that some of the claims (and associated documents) might well be fraudulent. The result would be that a new verification process would be likely to slow the rate at which credit balance claims could be considered and refunded, causing delay in all refunds and the likelihood of complaints, which would further burden the Council’s limited resources.
• Disclosure of the requested information would result in the need to implement disproportionate steps and additional expense to the Council to counter an increased fraud risk.
The cost consequences of a successful fraudulent claim would:
• have incurred the cost of paying out to the fraudster
• remain liable to the legitimate rate payer for an equivalent amount, raising the prospect of paying out twice; and
• be faced with the cost (legal and incurrence of internal management time) of seeking to recover the funds wrongly paid to the fraudster
It would not be in the public interest to expose it to such potential costs and expenses, given that they would be funded from the public purse.
It is considered that the greater public interest, therefore, lies in no longer publishing the data. In coming to that conclusion, the public interest in providing the information has been carefully weighed against any prejudice to the public interest that might arise from withholding the information; in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.
In accordance with Section 21 of the Act, the Council has publishes a dataset on a quarterly basis that provides:
• the total amount of credit refunded
• the number of refunds
• the total amount of outstanding credit
• the number of outstanding refunds
In accordance with Section 22 of the Act, this dataset will be updated again in October 2023, together with the other datasets currently published.
Request reference: 9372
Issue date: 20.09.23
Request received:
1. How many properties owned by your local authority have been sold under Right to Buy since 1980?
2. Of those properties, how many are registered with an away address, indicating they are being sub-let?
3. Of those properties registered with an away address, please break down how many were sold by your local authority for each year since 1980
4. The value of right to buy receipts retained for each year since 2012, and how much has been returned to His Majesty’s Treasury for each year since 2012
5. A breakdown of the tenure of replacement homes delivered using right to buy for each year since 2012
Response provided:
1. 353
2. The Council does not maintain a register with an away address indicating that they are being sub-let
3. The Council is unable to answer this as it is does not maintain a register as explained in 2 above
4. The Council sold its former housing stock to North Devon Homes, 21.02.2000, therefore it no longer provides this housing and does not hold this information
5. As 4 above
Request reference: 9375
Issue date: 21.09.23
Request received:
1. How many people did you commence committal proceedings against with regard to unpaid council tax in the financial year 2022/23?
2. What was the total amount of council tax arrears owed by people
subject to council tax committal proceedings, at the time of the commencement of those proceedings in the financial year 2022/23?
3. As a result of those committal proceedings how many people were
committed to prison for non-payment of council tax in the financial year 2022/23?
4. What estimates do you have (if any) of your legal costs in the
financial year 2022/23 in seeking to recover unpaid council tax and
the total amount of that debt that has thus far been recovered?
Response provided:
1. Nil
2. N/A
3. N/A
4. Council Tax confirms that they do not hold any estimates
With regard to the total amount of that debt that has thus far been recovered, The Council asked the applicant if they were able to define debt as they are unclear as to what the applicant was requesting here. This part of the request was placed on hold, however the applicant did not respond to this
Request reference: 9379
Issue date: 22.09.23
Request received:
1. What apprenticeship qualifications and levels does your council offer to externally recruited apprentices and existing employees within your council or local authority maintained schools?
2. For September 2021 – July 2022:
a) What was the annual rate of pay for an: externally recruited apprentice working in the council, or a local authority maintained school?
b) Did existing employees while doing an apprenticeship in the council or a local authority maintained school remain on the same pay as for their substantive post?
I. Yes
II. No
c) What was the total number of apprentices that started as an:
1) Externally recruited apprentice to do an apprenticeship scheme in:
I. the council.
II. a local authority maintained school.
2) Existing employees that started an apprenticeship as part of their career progression in:
I. the council.
II. a local authority maintained school.
d) What was the total number of apprenticeship starts broken down by age range:
I. 18-24
II. 25-34
III. 35-44
IV. 45-54
V. 55-64
e) What was the total number of apprenticeship starts broken down by race, disability, gender identity and sexual orientation?
f) Of the total number of starts, what number of apprentices completed, left and continued their apprenticeship scheme?
g) What number of externally recruited apprentices got a permanent job at the end of their apprenticeship?
3. For September 2022 – July 2023:
a) What was the annual rate of pay for an: externally recruited apprentice working in the council, or a local authority maintained school?
b) Did existing employees while doing an apprenticeship in the council or a local authority maintained school remain on the same pay as for their substantive post?
I. Yes
II. No
c) What was the total number of apprentices that started as an:
1) Externally recruited apprentice to do an apprenticeship scheme in:
I. the council.
II. a local authority maintained school.
2) Existing employees that started an apprenticeship as part of their career progression in:
I. the council.
II. a local authority maintained school.
d) What was the total number of apprenticeship starts broken down by age range:
I. 18-24
II. 25-34
III. 35-44
IV. 45-54
V. 55-64
e) What was the total number of apprenticeship starts broken down by race, disability, gender identity and sexual orientation?
f) Of the total number of starts, what number of apprentices completed, left and continued their apprenticeship scheme?
g) What number of externally recruited apprentices got a permanent job at the end of their apprenticeship?
4. Does your council’s official pay scale points include an apprenticeship pay band?
I. Yes
II. No
5. On what terms and conditions do you employ all apprentices? For example: National Joint Council (Green book), Scottish Joint Council, or other (please specify).
Response provided:
1. We do not have a number of set type or number of apprenticeships that we offer, apprenticeships are offered in areas they become available and have been offered in levels 2 – 7 and in areas which have included the following apprenticeship qualifications:
Regulatory Compliance (Level 4)
Team Leader/ Supervisor (Level 3)
Operations/ Departmental Manager (Level 5)
Housing and Property Management (Level 3)
Senior Housing & Property Management (Level 4)
Building Control Surveyor (Degree) Level 6
Business and Administration (Level 2)
Business and Administration (Level 3)
Paralegal (Level 3)
Solicitor (Level 7)
Chartered Town Planner Degree (Level 7)
Revenues and Welfare Benefits Practitioner (Level 4)
Accounts or Finance Assistant (Level 2)
Environmental Health Practitioner (Level 6)
Vehicle Maintenance and Repair (HGV) Level 2
IT Solutions Technician Level 3
Procurement and Supply Assistant
Digital Marketer (Level 3)
Accountancy Taxation Professional (Level 7)
2. a) Year 1: fixed salary of £10,000 per annum. Year 2: salary will be set according to your age NMW or £11,159 whichever is higher
b) Yes
c) 1. I) Zero
2. I) Two
d) IV) Two
e) We do not hold this information
f) The Apprenticeship provider withdrew the apprenticeship programme part way
g) N/A None recruited in this specific time period
3. a)
From September – December 2022 - Year 1: fixed salary of £10,000 per annum. Year 2: salary set according to age NMW or £11,159 whichever is higher
This changed from Jan 2023, and the following applied :
Year 1 Year 2+
Level 2 £7.26 NMW for age or
75% of salary for linked post
whichever is higher
Level 3 £8.00 NMW for age or
75% of salary for linked post
whichever is higher
Level 4 £9.00 75% of salary for linked post
whichever is higher
Level 5+ £9.50 75% of salary for linked post
whichever is higher
b) I) Yes
c) 1. I Seven
2. I) Two
d) I) 18-24 = Six, 25-34 = Two, 35-44 = One
e) We do not hold this information
f) None of the above apprentices completed in this time period, two left NDC, and six continued with their studies, and one left the apprenticeship programme (not suitable) but achieved permanent employment
4. II) No – this is separate to the pay scale (as above)
5. National Joint Council (Green book)
Request reference: 9382
Issue date: 22.09.23
Request received:
1. Which organisation do you have a contractual agreement with to carry out this service?
2. What is the actual spend on this contract/framework (and any sub lots), from the start of the contract to the current date?
3. What are the start date and duration of the framework/contract?
4. Is there an extension clause in the framework/contract and, if so, the duration of the extension?
5. What is the final disposal method for the sanitary waste collected?
6. Who is the senior officer/representative (outside of procurement) responsible for this contract?
Response provided:
1. Peake GB Ltd
2. ? £3,491
3. 01.04.2023. One year.
4. Rolling one year
5. Incineration
Request reference: 9384
Issue date: 25.09.23
Request received:
1. How many multi-use games areas (MUGAs) available for public use were there in your local authority area during the financial year:
a. 2019/20
b. 2022/23
2. How many netball courts available for public use were there in your local authority area during the financial year:
a. 2019/20
b. 2022/23
3. How much financial support (grants/funding) was given to netball clubs during the financial year 2022/23.
Response provided:
1. a) and b) = Zero
2. a) = One
b) = Three
3. £0/Nil
Request reference: 9388
Issue date: 25.09.23
Request received:
1. The total expenditure by your local authority on providing temporary accommodation in the private rental sector for each year since 2019.
2. A breakdown of the total expenditure for each year on: (a.) rent paid to private landlords, (b.) deposits, (c.) fees/commissions paid to letting agents, and (d.) any other associated costs (please specify)
I would like this information provided in an Excel spreadsheet or other digital document format if possible
Response provided:
Applicant provided with a link to this information which is published on the Council’s website and is updated annually
Temporary Accommodation costs to the Council
Request reference: 9390
Issue date: 26.09.23
Request received:
How many computers on your IT network are operating on Windows 7 or Windows XP?
Response provided:
The Council has zero computers on its network running Windows 7 or Windows XP