Request reference: FOI 9955 

Issue date: 19.09.24

Request received:

Figures on the success in obtaining uniform rates from empty shops in the Green Lane shopping centre since the Council purchased it. The applicant requested to know that the landlord responsible for the empty shops is paying the Non Uniform business rates due

Response provided:

The Council confirmed to the applicant that the Council’s Revenues team advises that since the Council purchase Green Lanes, 100% of any void rate charges have been paid by the Landlord

However, in some cases where the tenant of a unit is still liable to pay void rates, the percentage of void rates payable in these cases are not recorded, therefore the only way in which it would be possible to answer these would require a member of the Revenues team to manually go through the system and other records held in order to identify, locate, retrieve and collate the information to be then able to answer specifically and would far exceed the 18 hour cost limit under Section 12 of the Act; therefore the Council refuse to respond to this part of the request 

Request reference: FOI 10027

Issue date: 20.09.24

Request received: 

Youth Homelessness 2023/24 data:

Information about any young people aged 16-24 who approached you, including both as a main applicant and those who were part of a household or couple and were not the main applicant, during the financial year 2023-2024 because they were homeless or at risk of homelessness

The information we are requesting falls under the Housing Act 1996 which has been amended to include the new duties brought in by the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017

Response provided:

Applicant provided with information within completed spreadsheet template they provided to the Council

Request reference: FOI 10032

Issue date: 20.09.24

Request received: 

1. How many times the FOI requester has been reported to the Monitoring Officer since their limited time on a Parish Council? They do not wish to know names
2. Who holds the record for being reported the most whilst serving on a Parish Council?

Response provided:

1. The Council considers that this is the FOI requesters own personal information which ICO guidance under Section 40(1) of the Act states that it should not be disclosed under the FOI or EIR, but instead processed and responded to as a Subject Access Request under the UK GDPR or Data Protection Act 2018. However, the Monitoring Officer has considered this and has confirmed that he is content to respond to the FOI requester separately on this under day to day business. Applicant advised that they should expect to receive a separate response in due course

2. The Council considers that this information that relates to third party individuals and therefore is exempt from disclosure under Section 40 of the Act. The information constitutes personal data and the individual to which it would concern would have no reasonable expectation for the Council to make this publicly available, particularly as a disclosure under the FOI is not just to the requester but also to the world at large

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 10064 

Issue date: 03.09.24

Request received: 

1. A list of Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPOs) currently in force. If these are available on your website then please provide a link to each PSPO and the area on your website where each of the PSPOs can be accessed

2. Where a PSPO restricts access to dogs on a lead please provide the length of lead prescribed by the PSPO and the reasons that this length was chosen in the order

3. If there is any other Order (other than a PSPO) made by the Council which restricts the length of a dog lead then please provide a copy of that Order

Response provided:

1. A list of all Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPOs) that are currently in force are published on the Council's website: Public Spaces Protection Orders

2. The Council's PSPO in relation to dogs - in place from 01.01.24 for three years       specifies the length of the lead required

The reason that this length was chosen. The Council looked at what other Local Authorities used in their PSPOs and noted that this ranged between one and three meters. It was considered that for a tall person having a small dog on a one meter lead may cause an issue, it was decided that two meters was a good middle ground

3. No other order is in place which restricts the length of a dog lead

Request reference: FOI 10068

Issue date: 04.09.24

Request received: 

1. The names of all banking providers that this institution has used in the past two financial years (1st April 2022 – 1st April 2024)

2. The services that were used from the above banking providers in the past two financial years (1st April 2022 – 1st April 2024)

Banking provider refers to: an institution that deals in money and its substitutes which provides money-related services including but not limited to accepting deposits, making loans and providing credit card services

3. The name of the insurance company or companies that currently provide your institution with the following types of insurance coverage:

Employers’ liability insurance

Public liability insurance

Professional indemnity insurance

Officials Indemnity

Business Interruption

Property Owners

Personal Accident

Casualty

Motor/Vehicle

Fine Art

Property

Event

Travel

Crime

Terrorism

Excess Liability

4.  Any other type of insurance not listed above - please provide the name of the company together with the type of the insurance cover

5. The start and end dates of the current insurance contract(s) for each type of insurance coverage listed above

Response provided:

1. NatWest, Lloyds, Handelsbanken, Santander, Barclays, SMBC International, National Bank of Kuwait, Bank of Scotland, Standard Chartered Bank, Goldmann Sachs

2. NatWest provides day to day banking service, including procurement cards. The other UK Counterparties are used for treasury Investments only

3. Zurich Municipal

    Business Interruption: QBE UK Ltd Property Owners: QBE UK Ltd 

    Personal Accident American International Group UK (AIG)

    Casualty Zurich Municipal 

    Motor/Vehicle QBE UK Ltd

    Fine Art Hiscox (Syndicate 33) Lloyd’s of London 

    Property QBE UK Ltd 

    Event organised by event runner. For NDC events it would be Zurich Municipal under Public Liability 

    Travel American International American International Group UK (AIG)

    Crime QBE UK Ltd 

    Terrorism QBE UK Ltd

    Excess Liability no coverage 

4. Computer Insurance - HSBeil  HSB Engineering Insurance which is a Munich Re company

    Construction Insurance HSBeil  HSB Engineering Insurance which is a Munich Re company

    Cyber Insurance – Pen Underwriting Limited

    Fine Art for Verity – AON UK Ltd

    Environmental Insurance ‘Brownfield Plus’ for Seven Brethren Bank, Barnstaple, Devon – Liberty Mutual Insurance Europe SE UK

5. All expire 31.03.25 apart from Cyber, Verity and Seven Brethren which expires on 10.10.24, 15.10.24 and 27.07.33 (10 year cover started 28.07.23) 

Request reference: FOI 10072

Issue date: 04.09.24

Request received: 

Information relating to an ex-Council owned housing estate: Beech Tree, Brayford, North Devon comprising of four properties built in 1952 (approximately). Sometime after its original construction, new estate roads were built to enable residents to use and park vehicles

1. What year were the new estate roads built?

2. What years did tenants became private owners at Plot 1 and Plot 4?

3. Either an expressed right, a permission or an assumed right is used by residents to park on the council's estate roads.

a) What express rights or permissions were given to tenants to park on these roads?

b) Later, under private ownership, how were residents enabled to park on the council's property, i e, what grant or permission was given, or was permission tacit/assumed?

4. If this information is not available, is it possible to secure copies of tenant contracts for this estate or conveyances for Plot 1 and Plot 4 from the time of their initial sale by the council? 

5. In absence of any of the above, what would the standard policy be for Barnstaple Rural District Council and/or North Devon District Council to enable tenants and proprietors to park on council owned land; would it be an expressed right, a permission, tacit implication or other?

Response provided:

The Council confirmed to the applicant that it does hold some limited information that falls within the remit of the request. In discharge of its obligation under section 1(1)(b) the Council confirms that it no longer holds the deeds as the housing was transferred to North Devon Homes Ltd from 21.02.2000. An extensive search has been carried out, however the Council now holds limited information regarding the LSVT has been unable to find all of the documented information that enables it to answer some of the applicant’s specific questions:

1. The Council was unable to locate any documented information that provides this information. It is possible that North Devon Homes Ltd have retained these therefore it was suggested that the applicant contact North Devon Homes Ltd for this
2. Plot 1 – 04.05.1982 Plot 4 – 19.08.1992
3. a)  The tenants’ right would have been in the tenancy agreement, which North Devon Council no longer holds. It is possible that North Devon Homes Ltd have retained these therefore it was suggested that the applicant contact North Devon Homes Ltd for this information

b) The freehold rights would have been granted by the Right to Buy conveyances, however North Devon Council no longer holds copies of these; however they will be available from the Land Registry

4. North Devon Council no longer holds this information, this would have been included within the information transferred to North Devon Homes Ltd

5. Applicant advised that this question appears to relate to Council land generally within North Devon Council’s area at present rather than following on from the above prior to the LSVT. If this is correct then the Council confirmed that it does not hold such a policy. Matters such as these would be for the Council’s Estates team to consider and respond to on a case by case basis as this would likely require an element of legal interpretation

If the question does relate to the other parts of the request and that the applicant is seeking to know if the Council ever held a standard policy prior to LSVT, then the Council confirms it is unable to locate any documented information that provides this information and so for the purposes of the Act the Council does not consider it holds this. It is possible that if anyone had permission to park as tenants then this could have been included within their tenancy agreement or in a separate agreement, or with verbal permission, therefore it was suggested that the applicant contact North Devon Homes Ltd for this information 

Request reference: FOI 10073

Issue date: 16.09.24

Request received: 

1) How many stray dogs entered pounds for each year between 1st January 2019 and 31st December 2023, including by breed

2) Broken down by year 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 (calendar years)

2a) How many of these were reclaimed by their owners?

2b) How many were adopted from the pound?

2c) How many went to an animal rescue? Please provide a breakdown in numbers per year for each rescue used

2d) How many were euthanized?

2e) What happened to any remaining dogs that did not fall into above categories?

2f) How many dogs were chipped?

2g) How many were chipped with owners details up to date?

3a) For each year (2019-2023) could you please tell me the total number of WTE (whole time equivalent) dog wardens you employ?

3b) If the role of the dog warden has been dispersed to other staff could you please let me know how many staff undertake dog warden duties and what proportion of their time in whole time equivalents that they roughly spend on the dog warden's role

3c) If you do not directly employ any dog wardens and manage this function via a contract with an external provider could you please confirm the provider

4) Please provide the first part of the postcode of the pound holding kennels (the details are for geographical spatial mapping and so exact address is not required)

Response provided:

Question 1:

2019 - 33 

(x4 of Staffordshire Bull Terrier / Springer Spaniel, x3 of Border Collie / Jack Russell Terrier, x2 of Collie Cross / Whippet / Cross Breed Other / Labrador, x1 of Shih Tzu / Yorkshire Terrier / Labradoodle / Bulldog / Unknown / Chihuahua / Lurcher / Malamute / Cocker Spaniel / West Highland White / Pug)

2020 - 21 

(x3 of Cross Breed Other / Staffordshire Bull Terrier, x2 of Alsatian / Labrador / Collie Cross / Jack Russell Terrier, x1 of Shih Tzu / Springer Spaniel / Huskey / Schnauzer / Lurcher / New Zealand Huntaway / Boston Terrier)

2021 - 17 

(x2 of Bichon Frise / Lurcher / Unknown / Cocker Spaniel / Collie X / Cross Breed Other, x1 of Jack Russell Terrier / Beagle / Boxer / Labrador / Patterdale Terrier)

2022 - 16 

(x3 of Jack Russell Terrier / Cross Breed Other / Staffordshire Bull Terrier / Unknown, x1 of Border Collie / Collie Cross / Labrador / Belgian Shepherd)

2023 - 14 

(x2 of Cross Breed Other, x1 of Unknown / Border Collie / Lurcher / Labrador / Bichon Frise / Springer Spaniel / West Highland White / Jack Russel Terrier / Rottweiler / Bulldog / Jack Russell Cross / Staffordshire Bull Terrier)

Question 2a-e:

2019 - 33 

(x29 Returned to Owner / x4 Taken to Kennels or Trust, including x3 to Dogs Trust, x1 to Blue Cross)

2020 - 21 

(x19 Returned to Owner, x2 Rehomed to a New Owner)

2021 - 17 

(x13 Returned to Owner, x2 Rehomed to a New Owner, x1 Euthanized, x1 Taken to Kennels or Trust (Dogs Trust))

2022 - 16 

(x14 Returned to Owner, x2 Taken to Kennels or Trust including x1 to one of our local kennels, x1 to Hearts 4 Paws Dog Rescue)

2023 - 14 

(x12 Returned to Owner, x1 Rehomed to a New Owner, x1 Taken to Kennels or Trust (one of our local kennels))

Question 2f:

2019 - 25 

2020 - 16

2021 - 8

2022 - 11

2023 - 12

Question 2g:

The Council records only state if the dog is chipped or not, it does not specify if the details were up to date or not, therefore this information is not recorded

3. The Council employs full time Neighbourhood Officers who carry out dog warden duties along with other tasks such as investigation of abandoned vehicles, littering, fly tipping etc. The Council employed one Neighbourhood Officer in 2019 and three from 2020 to 2023

4. In this period the Council has used three different kennels with the postcodes EX36, EX37 and EX38 

Request reference: FOI 10077

Issue date: 06.09.24

Request received: 

Information about your council’s electricity sources in relation to climate action for the Council Climate Action Scorecards. This information may be held by an estates department or similar

In particular, please supply me with information relating to the following questions:

a. Does the council have a 100% renewable green electricity tariff for all of the electricity that the council is directly responsible for, and is this tariff with Green Energy UK plc, Good Energy Limited or Ecotricity?

This includes all electricity that the council is directly responsible for, in council offices and any other buildings leased and managed by the council where the council pays the electricity tariff. This does not include homes owned or managed by the council. If unsure, please state your provider and tariff

b. Does the council generate and use energy from waste? And if so, what percentage of the council’s total electricity use is powered by this/these energy from waste electricity sources?

c. Does the council buy directly from a local renewable electricity source or have its own renewable electricity sources? And if so, what percentage of the council's total electricity use is powered by this/these renewable electricity sources?

This includes council owned renewable electricity sources that are located outside of the council area, such as solar farms located further south to maximise energy generation

Response provided:

a) No

b) No

c) No

North Devon Council no longer has a 100% renewable green electricity tariff for all of the electricity that the Council is directly responsible for, as our supplier uses REGOs to make up their tariff and is not investing in sufficient renewable energy projects

Request reference: FOI 10078

Issue date: 17.09.24

Request received: 

1a. How many staff does the Council directly employ (excluding contractors or subcontractors, and excluding teachers), that work directly for the Council as opposed to a school, leisure centres or other venture?

1b. How many directly employed staff spend 3 or more days per week (0.6 Full Time Equivalent (FTE)) on implementing the Climate Action Plan or other climate change projects? Please provide a list of all the roles. Please exclude waste management staff unless they are specifically working 3 or more days per week on implementing the Climate Action Plan or other climate change projects

If you have answered yes to have a biodiversity planning officer and/or a retrofit staff member below, both these staff members can be included in this question even if they are contracted. This is likely to include all staff in your climate/sustainability team, such as Climate Change Officers or similar. This may include full time staff who spend 60% of their time on climate change projects and 40% of their time on other work

You might include other staff in other departments, such as a procurement officer if they are spending 3 or more days per week (0.6 FTE) on writing and implementing a sustainable procurement policy or a planner that is working primarily on low carbon policies for new buildings

2. Does the council have one or more staff members who work on home energy efficiency retrofitting, such as retrofit officers or project managers across the council area, for 3 or more days per week (0.6 plus FTE)? This can include both directly employed and contracted staff, provided they work 3 or more days per week (0.6 FTE). The work of this officer may include working on any retrofit projects, including council buildings, council homes or private rented or owned households

Please list any roles that work in this area, including the full time equivalent (FTE) if they work part time

Please include staff members that are shared with other councils, such as between county and district councils, and note if they are shared across other areas

3. How many planning ecologists or equivalent working for 3 or more days per week (0.6+ FTE) does the council employ to scrutinise planning reports and/or applications for improvements to biodiversity and/or Biodiversity Net Gain? This can include both directly employed and contracted staff, provided they work 3 or more days per week (0.6 FTE)

Planning ecologists are ecologists that scrutinise planning applications on biodiversity measures. They often sit within the planning department but they can sit within other departments in the council. If the planning ecologist does sit outside the planning department it must be made clear that the planning ecologist spends 3 days or more per week (0.6 FTE) scrutinising planning applications

Please include staff members that are shared with other councils, such as between county and district councils, and note if they are shared across other areas

Response provided:

1. 

a) 459

b) Two: Sustainability and Climate Officer, Sustainability Officer plus any additional    staff below. The Sustainability Officer currently covers the role of Biodiversity Planning Officer

2. Yes, it has a Private Sector Housing Officer (Energy Efficiency) who's role includes:

• Energy Company Obligation/Great British Insulation Scheme flex scheme - NDC representative on producing Statement of Intent (declarations etc), promoting, assessing applications and outputs. Signing up installers for the scheme. Ofgem audits

• Government funding i e Home Upgrade Scheme (HUGS2); this is part of consortium with other Devon Local Authorities and Devon County Council. NDC representative in monitoring programme and promotion

• Home Energy Service* commissioned to 361 Energy CIC; responsible for referrals, monitoring outputs and review of 3 year contract

*bespoke to individual circumstances and includes advise on behaviour changes, fabric changes, ventilation and grants available.

• NDC representative on relevant boards, meetings (including Retrofit in Devon and Energy Saving Devon) and events to promote energy efficiency (including to social landlords)

3. The Council's Sustainability Officer currently covers the role of biodiversity officer. Their role does not sit in the Development Management/Planning department, this falls under Environmental Enhancement, however this officer assists Development Management/Planning with BNG queries. There is currently no other officers (e.g. ecologists) that the Council utilises. The Sustainability Officer scrutinises BNG reports/metrics etc submitted to supported planning applications and feed this advice back to Planning officers 

Request reference: FOI 10079

Issue date: 10.09.24

Request received: 

1. Has the council written to or met with UK national or devolved governments to ask or lobby for climate action since 1st January 2023?

2. Please provide some evidence of the most recent letter or meeting such as a copy of the letter or email sent, or the date, topic of meeting and position of the person that the meeting was held with

This includes either asking for more powers and funding for local authorities to take climate action, or asking for the government to take further action themselves. This includes working with other local authorities to send joint letters or meetings to lobby UK or devolved governments, and includes both general climate action and calls for action on specific issues such as transport where climate change is mentioned as a motivating factor for taking action. This includes if a cabinet member or other councillor has written to or met with the UK or devolved governments on behalf of the council

Response provided:

Yes, the Council has had several discussions on climate action as part of the devolution deal for Devon, through the Devon Climate Emergency groups. Applicant referred to the published final devolution deal Appendix B - Final proposal for DT CCA.pdf (torbay.gov.uk) submitted 1 May 2024 for information, page 15 is most relevant 

Request reference: FOI 10086

Issue date: 16.09.24

Request received: 

1. Number of licensed dog breeders between 1 Jan 2022 - 31 December 2022

2. Number of licensed dog breeders between 1 Jan 2023 - 31 December 2023

3. Please provide the postcode for each dog breeder holding a licence in the calendar year 2023

4. The number of dog breeding licenses issued between 1 Jan 2023 - 31 December 2023, to those who have bred up to 2 litters in the calendar year (licensed under the business test)

5. The number of dog breeding licenses issued between 1 Jan 2023 – 31 December 23 to those who have bred 3 or 4 litters in the calendar year

6. The number of dog breeding licenses issued between 1 Jan 2023 – 31 December 23 to those who have bred 5 or more litters in the calendar year

7. Number of licenses issued to those selling kittens in the course of a business between 1 Jan 2023 - 31 December 2023

8. Number of times licensing officers have taken action, in relation to dog breeding licensing condition ‘6.5’ – “No dog may be kept for breeding if it can reasonably be expected, on the basis of its genotype, phenotype or state of health that breeding from it could have a detrimental effect on its health or welfare or the health or welfare of its offspring.”

Response provided:

1. 10

2. 14

3. EX16 8FD, EX35 6LG, EX34 9RH, EX31 3DB, EX36 4QT, EX16 9JR, EX36 3QT, EX36 3ND, EX36 4PB, EX35 6NF, EX36 3QU, EX31 4BN, EX35 6PU, EX31 4LF

4. Information not held, however, they was 1 operator licensed for 2 breeding bitches

5. Information not held, however, they were 3 operators licensed for 3 or 4 breeding bitches

6. Information not held, however, they were 10 operators licensed for 5 or more breeding bitches

7. Two

8. Zero 

Request reference: EIR 10089

Issue date: 04.09.24

Request received: 

CON29 information relating to a property at EX31 2FE

Response provided:

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

Request reference: FOI 10090

Issue date: 26.09.26

Request received: 

Detailed information regarding your organisations Access Control System and maintenance contract(s). This information is likely known by someone within Estates, Security, or Facilities Management

Please provide the following details:

Access Control System Overview:

1. Current System(s): What electronic access control system(s) do you currently have in place? Please include manufacturer of control unit & model (e g SALTO, PAXTON, ASSA)

2. Access-Controlled Doors: How many doors across all of your sites have access control systems installed? How many per each site? 

3. Access Control Types: Please provide a detailed breakdown of the different types of access control hardware in place (e g, magnetic lock doors, paxton p50 door readers, electric strike doors, battery-operated electronic handle sets, battery-operated electronic cylinders, etc)

4. System Age: When was your current access control system installed? Which company installed it? 

5. System Integration: Is your access control system integrated with your ID card production or other systems (e g, time and attendance, building management, CCTV and/or fire/security alarm systems)? If so, which system(s) is it integrated with? 

6. Supplier Information: What are the names of the suppliers of your existing access control system? Who is your current supplier for access cards and fobs, and do you purchase these directly or through your access control installers/maintenance contractors? If not, where do you purchase these from?

7. Manufacturer and Models: What manufacturer and model of hardware, cards and fobs do you use for your access control system? Please provide specific details of each of the exact manufacturer/model of equipment; card(s)/fob(s) that you use at each site (e g Paxton 692-052 Net2 Proximity ISO Cards Pack of 500 SKU: AC-PAX-692-052) together with the ongoing cost for fobs/cards (including VAT) each month/year

8. Management Software: What software is used to manage the door controllers and readers in your access control system? (e g Paxton Net2 Pro)

Usage and Distribution Details:

9. Consumable Usage: Please provide data on the monthly and annual usage/purchases of access control cards and fobs. This should include how many are issued, lost/replaced, and returned faulty/damaged each month/annum

10. User Information: How many individual users require access control cards/fobs across all sites? If possible, please provide a breakdown by site or building

Maintenance and Support:

11. Management and Contact Information: Who manages your site’s access control system? Please provide a name, direct email address and direct telephone number/extension for this contact

12. Support/Maintenance Contracts: Do you have a current support/maintenance contract for your access control system? If so, when does this contract expire?

13. Future Plans/Planned Changes: What are the organisations plans related to the installation, upgrade, or support/maintenance of access control systems over the next three to five years?

Response provided:

The Council confirmed that it does hold this information. In discharge of its obligation under section 1(1)(b) the Council confirmed that it is unable to fully disclosed the requested information as the majority of it engages exemption at Section 31(1)(a) - prejudicial to law enforcement which states information is exempt if its disclosure under the Act would or would likely to prejudice the prevention or detection of crime 

The information that can be disclosed is provided as follows:

4. Installed in 2018

5. Yes it is integrated with Payroll and HR system

6. This information is published on the Council's contract register: Provision of Security Services, however the remainder of this information requested under this part of the request is exempt from disclosure, which is set out in more detail below

7. The cost of purchasing control cards/fobs are not included within the cost of the contract annually. £4 per card, however it does not record the ongoing costs by month/year. The remainder of the information requested under this part of your requests is exempt from disclosure, which is set out in more detail below

9. The Council does not keep a record of the monthly/annual usage of control cards. When HR requires more they order 500 at a time

10. Across all five separate sites = 990 total users/cards. This includes Cleaners, Security, External Contractors, Visitors, Auditors, Partnership Users, Agency Staff, Councillors, Staff

It is difficult to break down user counts by site as most of the Council's staff and Councillors are able to go to any site during office hours as it was considered that restricting movement could cause issues/conflicts. Therefore the only breakdown than can be provides is as follows:

This is broken down:

Site 1 = 23 Total (2 Visitor cards, 19 Volunteer cards, and 2 contractor cards)

Site 2 = 13 Total (5 postal cards, 8 auditor cards)

Site 3 = 83 Total (62 visitor cards, 11 contractors cards, 10 partnership worker cards)

Site 4 = 20 Total (15 visitor cards, 5 contractor cards)

Site 5 = Three Total (2 contractor cards, 1 user card)

The remainder of the users/cards (848) can go between all sites as above during normal working hours

11. As 6. above

12. Yes, details of this contract including expiry date are published on the Contract Register: Fire and Intruder Alarms 

13. Applicant referred to the contract register for the review date of the contract. One site is being added to the portfolio and will be adding door access control. No other plans 

The remainder of the specific information requested, is considered to be highly sensitive and is not already publicly available. A disclosure of this remaining information would place the authority's business continuity and the safety of its employees at risk

In the considering of the request, the Council conducted a Public Interest Test, looking at the arguments for disclosure and withholding:

Arguments for Disclosure

The release of the information would enable the Council to meet its requirements in the promotion of openness, transparency and accountability with regard to the Council's contract information for access control and maintenance that it has in place, giving an insight into what the Council's security measures are in order to be prepared for any future tender opportunity

Arguments for Withholding

 

When the Council releases information to an individual under the Act, it is effectively releasing it into the public domain for all to see, and that includes to those who may not have genuine and honest reasons for wanting to obtain the information. They may be seeking the information in order to identify, expose or take advantage of potential weaknesses in the Council’s specific security controls in order to cause intended damage to the Council’s systems or theft of information it holds. The Council operates a multi layered approach to its security. One of these layers is to obfuscate information that could be used to comprise its security.

 

Provision of the information beyond what is provided above and what is published the Contract Register (see links provided) would likely jeopardise the integrity of the Council’s security system as it would reveal specific details about the system in place that could be used in order to identify potential vulnerabilities and therefore weaken security controls. Specifically:

1. Current electronic access control system(s) in place, including manufacturer of control unit and model

With this information, research could be carried out in order to identify potential flaws/limitations that may be experienced and use this information to identify potential methods of hacking the system

2. Number of doors across all sites that have access control systems, number per site

Placing the number of doors that the system manages across each site would provide those that may wish attempt physical theft of equipment/information the further knowledge 

3. Detailed breakdown of the different types of access control hardware in place

With this information, research could be carried out in order to identify potential flaws/limitations of the hardware and use this information to identify potential methods of hacking/breaking into both physical Council sites and its electronic system

6. Who is the current supplier for access cards and fobs, does the council purchase these directly or through its access control installer/maintenance contracts? If not, where does the council purchase from?

By knowing the name of the supplier of the access cards and fobs, it would make it easier to identify the types of cards and fobs used and once known, would allow for the identification of any potential flaws/limitations that could assist in the hacking/breaking into both the physical Council sites and its electronic system

7. Manufacturer and model of hardware, cards and fobs used for access control system, providing specific details of each of the exact manufacturer/model of equipment; card(s)/fob(s)

With information, research could be carried out in order to identify potential flaws/limitations with the type of access cards/fobs used in order to be able identify potential methods to physically break into Council sites

8. Software used to manage the door controllers and readers in access control system

Knowing the specific software used would provide further information that could be used to research potential flaws/limitations that could enable potential methods of accessing the Council both virtually through hacking and also physically breaking into Council offices

Balance of Public Interest

The Council considers that in this case, the reasons for withholding outweigh the reasons for disclosing and so in this instance, the Council maintains that this remaining information be exempt from disclosure under Section 31(1)(a) of the Act

Request reference: FOI 10092

Issue date: 18.09.26

Request received: 

1. The number of complaints received for dog fouling in the last year (September 2023 - August 2024)

2. The number of fixed penalty notices issued for dog fouling/dog littering during the same period

3. The value in pounds of those fines outlined in point 2

4. Specific locations of those FPNs outlined in point 2 (if possible) by postcode or similar

Response provided:

1. 75

2. One

3. £100 which remained unpaid at the time the response was issued to the applicant

4. EX31 3NP

Request reference: FOI 10095

Issue date: 03.09.26

Request received: 

Whether any odour complaints have been lodged against The Smugglers Rest at Smugglers Rest, North Morte Road, Mortehoe, Woolacombe, EX34 7DR, in the past six years

If there have been complaints, please provide (to the allowable level):

- the location of the address

- the complaint (e g strong cooking odours detected)

Response provided:

The Council confirmed that it holds no records of any odour complaints against this premises over the last six years 

Request reference: FOI 10096

Issue date: 02.09.24

Request received: 

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

Response provided:

Postal votes and election printing = in-house 

Poll cards =Sci Print 

Annual canvass forms = Civica 

There are no contracts in place for this printing

Request reference: FOI 10097

Issue date: 13.09.24

Request received: 

CON29 information relating to a property at EX18 7DD

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 10098

Issue date: 06.09.24

Request received: 

Details of any section 44a certificates in place in your business rates hereditament database effective ‘1.4.2017’ to any ‘end date’ and including all current and historic S44a values effective 1.4.2023 onwards:

The certificate information should contain the following information:

• Certificated Rateable Value

• Date of Issue/Application

• Hereditament Address

• BA Reference number

Response provided:

The applicant was provided with this information Excel format, which is available upon request   

Request reference: FOI 10099

Issue date: 06.09.24

Request received: 

The applicant requested a list of all regulation 19 certificate values effective 1.4.2023 onwards, including the following information:

• Certificated Rateable Value

• Date of Issue/Application

• Hereditament Address

• BA Reference number

Response provided:

The applicant was provided with this information Excel format, which is available upon request  

Request reference: FOI 10100

Issue date: 03.09.24

Request received: 

1. How many employees are part of your legal team?

2. Do you use external sources for legal advice and if so, what is the average monthly spend on external resources?

3. Do you use a legal research platform and if so, how much do you spend per month on this platform?

4. Who is responsible for the legal costs associated with the above questions?

Response provided:

1. Nine

2. The Council publishes a dataset providing the total annual spend on External Law Firms and Barristers covering the years 2014 to and including 2023. The dataset is due for updating in November, however the applicant was advised that the Council’s Accountancy team have been asked to provide the figure for year end March 2024 ahead of this. Upon its receipt the dataset will be updated and republished

3. Yes: Legal Research Platform = £710.33

            e-book volumes = £247.12

            Case Management = £484.08

4. Simon Fuller, Senior Solicitor and Monitoring Officer

Request reference: FOI 10101     

Issue date: 30.09.24

Request received: 

1. Homeless Applications and Interim Accommodation:

 a) Over the past twelve months, how many people have made a homeless application to the Council? 

b) Over the past twelve months, how many people have been provided with interim accommodation pursuant to Section 188(1) of the Housing Act 1996?

c) Over the past twelve months, how many people have been provided with interim accommodation pursuant to Section 189(b) of the Housing Act 1996?

d) Over the past twelve months, what was the total cost of providing interim accommodation? 

e) What proportion of this cost was paid to Travelodge and/or any of its parent companies/subsidiaries? 

f) What was the total amount paid to Travelodge and/or its related entities over the past twelve months? 

 

2. Temporary Accommodation Expenditure and Associated Costs:

a) What has been the total expenditure on interim temporary accommodation (e g Travelodge, Bed and Breakfasts) for homeless individuals over the past three financial years? 

b) Please provide a breakdown of these costs by location 

c) The number of placements made outside the borough 

d) What has been the total expenditure on affiliated costs such as storage, taxis, and other related services for individuals placed in temporary accommodation outside the borough over the past three financial years? 

e) Please provide details of these costs by category (e g storage, transportation, etc.) and location

 

3. Protection of Personal Property for Homeless Applicants:

a) Over the past twelve months, how many homeless applicants have had their personal property protected by the local authority?

b) What is the average length of time that a homeless applicant’s personal property is stored by the local authority?

c) What is the average cost of storing a homeless applicant’s personal property while they are in interim accommodation?

d) Under what circumstances does the local authority protect the personal property of homeless applicants?

 

e) As part of the homeless application process, does the local authority expressly ask the homeless applicant whether they need their personal property protected? If not, please state the reasons why this question is not asked

f) Please provide copies of the local authority’s policies regarding homeless applications

g) Please provide a copy of the local authority’s policy regarding the protection of the personal property of homeless applicants

h)  Please disclose a copy of the council's homeless procedures manual or policy document followed by housing solutions officers at its homeless service centres/homeless person’s offices

i) Over the past three years, how many complaints have been made by homeless applicants regarding the council’s failure to protect their personal property?

 

4. Proactive Measures to Reduce Temporary Accommodation Costs:

a) What specific measures has the council taken to reduce the reliance on temporary accommodation outside the borough, such as Travelodge and Bed and Breakfasts?

b) Has the council developed or initiated any programs to increase the availability of local temporary accommodation, particularly through the use of empty properties or land within the borough? If so, please provide details

 

5. Utilisation of Empty Properties and Land:

a) How many empty properties and parcels of land are currently owned by the council that could potentially be used for temporary accommodation?

b) Has the council considered or initiated any compulsory purchase orders (CPOs) to acquire vacant properties for conversion into temporary accommodation? If so, please provide details, including the number of properties targeted, the outcome, and associated costs

c) What steps has the council taken to encourage community/ non-profit groups or social enterprises to make use of disused land or buildings via adverse possession for temporary accommodation or support services? Please provide examples, if any

 

6. Comparative Models and Best Practices:

a) Is the council aware of successful models such as Calderwood House in Cumbria, where an empty property (a former police station) was transformed into temporary accommodation and support services? If so, has the council explored similar initiatives within the borough? Please provide details of any discussions, plans, or actions taken

b) Has the council considered offering similar arrangements, such as a peppercorn rent, to community groups or social enterprises willing to repurpose empty properties for temporary accommodation or support services? If not, what are the reasons for not pursuing this option?

 

7. Support Services for Individuals in Temporary Accommodation:

a) What support services does the council currently provide for individuals placed in temporary accommodation outside the borough, particularly in terms of maintaining their connection to local support networks, healthcare providers, and other essential services?

b) Are there any programs in place to assist individuals in transitioning from temporary accommodation outside the borough to permanent housing within the borough? If so, please provide details on the nature of the support provided, outcomes, and costs

 

8. Monitoring, Evaluation, and Complaints:

a) How does the council monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of its temporary accommodation placements, particularly those made outside the borough? Please provide any available data on the impact of these placements on residents, including any assessments of detriment or distress caused

b) Has the council conducted any cost-benefit analysis comparing the current expenditure on temporary accommodation outside the borough with potential savings from investing in local solutions (e g repurposing empty properties)? If so, please provide the findings

 

Response provided:

1. Homeless Applications and Interim Accommodation:

a) 1,602 

b) 328

c) 328

d) Please refer to the Council's dataset: Cost of Providing temporary accommodation to the Council for this information

e) 1.77% (£16,289.11 / £918,723.18)

f) £16,298.11 – Applicant provided with a spreadsheet -'Travelodge payments 23 24' which is available upon request

2. Temporary Accommodation Expenditure and Associated Costs:

a) Please refer to 1.d) above

b) Applicant provided with a spreadsheet setting out a breakdown of TA payments with all names of individuals/third parties redacted in accordance with Section 40 of the Act as this information is personal data as it relates to individuals/third parties. These individual(s) would have no reasonable expectation for the Council to make their personal information publicly available. 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

 

c) None 

d) N/A

 

3. Protection of Personal Property for Homeless Applicants:

a) Two households have had their property put into storage by NDDC in year 23/34, only one was paid from prevention funds which is shown on the dataset, the other was funded via DHP which the Housing team does not hold the details of

b) Eight months

c) This will be the total storage costs from the Other Prevention Costs Spreadsheet, divided by the number of applicants whose possessions needed storing (the one paid via prevention funds came to £590.83)

d) The Council will look to assist with storage of personal belongings if after a financial assessment it is found that a client cannot afford the storage costs themselves

e) Yes, options for storage of belongings is discussed with all households that this would be relevant for

f) Applicant provided with a PDF copy of the Council's Preventing Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy - 2019 - 2024 which is currently being reviewed

g) The Council does not hold such a policy

h) The Housing team use a Locata system which all new officer receive training through. Housing Officers receive Shelter training and follows its code of guidance

i) Zero

 

4. Proactive Measures to Reduce Temporary Accommodation Costs:

a) The Council is not currently using any Bed and Breakfasts/Temporary Accommodation outside of the Council's area; it works closely with providers of such accommodation to ensure a supply within the North Devon area

b) The Council has an Empty Homes officer who discuss bringing accommodation back on line in the private rented sector, but also discuss with the TA team if considered suitable to use under the Private Sector Lease scheme for TA.  As a LA we are not a stock holding authority however we have taken the decision to purchase accommodation for TA use to ensure suitability, and area

 

5. Utilisation of Empty Properties and Land:

a) Empty properties = One

Parcels of land = The land currently owned by the council is unsuitable to build on due to restrictions (within a floodplain) 

b) No

c) The Council pro-actively works with Community Land Trusts to provide Social Rent dwellings available for local families, let on long-term tenancies. It has a pipeline of potential projects across the district, aimed at increasing housing stock

 

6. Comparative Models and Best Practices:

a) and b) 

North Devon Council's Housing team confirms that they are currently looking at options to increase the number of suitable Temporary Accommodation units and will look at the above models to which the applicant refers

 

7. Support Services for Individuals in Temporary Accommodation:

a and b) As above, the Council currently does not have any placements outside of its area; however when it has had placements outside of its area in the past, this has been for short period of time and the TA officers and Housing Case officer has maintained communication, with those placements having returned to the area within a short period of time

 

8. Monitoring, Evaluation, and Complaints:

a and b) When purchasing or leasing accommodation, the Council must look at data as to where areas of approach, it has used this as a guide to the areas TA is needed and where residents will have easy access to services. As the Council is a rural authority it has to be minded of the lack of transport services when obtaining TA units.  The Council has very small numbers of placements outside of area so the analysis has not been required 

Request reference: FOI 10102

Issue date: 06.09.24

Request received: 

Mobile Telephony Services

Organisation details

1. What is your organisation's name? 

2. How many full-time employees are at your organisation?

3. Who is your mobile phone network provider?

Renewal

4. Did you switch on last renewal?

5. When did you renew the last time? 

6. What is the contract length? 

7. Did you use a Framework, if so which one?

Contract and usage details

8. How many total connections do you currently have?

9. How many connections are Voice only?

10. How many connections are Voice and Data? 

11. Do you use a shared data bundle, if so, what is the data allowance? 

12. What is your average data usage of the last 3 months?

13. The total mobile phone contract costs for July 2023 (excluding purchase of handsets)

14. The total mobile phone contract costs for August 2023 (excluding purchase of handsets)

15. The total mobile phone contract costs for September 2023 (excluding purchase of handsets)

16. The total mobile phone contract costs for October 2023 (excluding purchase of handsets)

17. The total mobile phone contract costs for November 2023 (excluding purchase of handsets)

18. The total mobile phone contract costs for December 2023 (excluding purchase of handsets)

19. The total mobile phone contract costs for January 2024 (excluding purchase of handsets)

20. The total mobile phone contract costs for February 2024 (excluding purchase of handsets)

21. The total mobile phone contract costs for March 2024 (excluding purchase of handsets)

22. The total mobile phone contract costs for April 2024 (excluding purchase of handsets)

23. The total mobile phone contract costs for May 2024 (excluding purchase of handsets)

24. The total mobile phone contract costs for June 2024 (excluding purchase of handsets)

25. Is VAT included in the above figures?

26. Do you have a hardware fund, if so, how much and is it included in the monthly spend?

27. Do you host any mobile phone masts on your premises, if so, how many and who provides them? 

28. Who is the primary contact for this contract?

Response provided:

Organisation Details 

1. North Devon Council
2. 450
3. Vodaphone

Renewal - ICT

1. No
2. Please refer to the Council published Contract Register for this information: Mobile Telephony
3. As 5 above
4. As 5 above

Contract and usage details

1. 163
2. 21
3. 127
4. 1199GB per month
5. 67GB per month
6. This data is not held per month, however the costs are £3,400 per quarter
7. As 13 above
8. As 13 above
9. As 13 above
10. As 13 above
11. As 13 above
12. As 13 above
13. As 13 above
14. As 13 above
15. As 13 above
16. As 13 above
17. As 13 above
18. No
19. No
20. No
21. As 5 above

Request reference: EIR 10103

Issue date: 18.09.24

Request received: 

CON29 information relating to a property at EX32 7NH

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 10104

Issue date: 24.09.24

Request received: 

1. The Council’s expenditure on agency staff for the most recent year available, broken down by service and where the information is available, also the role

2. Can you confirm if you use a vendor (such as Matrix) or engage with agencies directly?

3. Can you confirm which frameworks you use?

4. Please confirm if you have any off-framework spend and the percentage of the total spend this

Response provided:

The Council provided the spend broken down by service for 2023/24, however the actual job roles to which these relate are not recorded

The Council primarily uses Comensura, details of which are published via its Contract Register: Managed Service for Temporary Agency Workers

The Council does also use other agencies which are off-framework and this represents 22% of the total spend

 

Agency Spend                                                2023/24

0899: Car Parks General                                 254

1021: Customer Services                                11,832

1050: Communications                                   4,932

1080: Parks Administration                            27,612

1309: EH and Housing Administration          258,163

1314: Food Safety - Control Activities          111,491

1450: Kerbside Recycling                               470,623

2000: Human Resources                                 4,330

2116: Accountancy Services                           6,371

3531: Building Control                                   197,823

3800: Development Control/Enforcement     414,281

7400: Domestic Refuse Collection                 38,554

7404: Street Sweeping Contract                     65,710

7700: DLU Management/Administration       18,762

7800: Toilet Cleaning Contract                      81,393

            Total                                                    1,712,131

 

Request reference: FOI 10105

Issue date: 17.09.24

Request received: 

1. How many staff worked from abroad – full time or for a period of time – in the year ending 31 December 2023 (by abroad I mean overseas - i e not Wales or Scotland (or Republic of Ireland if the local authority is in Northern Ireland))?

2. If any staff did work from abroad – full time or for a period of time – please name the country and the grade of the employee

3. If for a period of time, please say how long the staff member worked abroad

4. Please include the details of employees working abroad full time – or for a period of time - in 2024

Response provided:

1. Zero

2 and 3. N/A 

4. Zero

Request reference: FOI 10106

Issue date: 20.09.24

Request received: 

An Environmental Safety Officer (who has now retired) visited Sainsbury's Store on 28 March 2023 regarding an incident that occurred on 14th March 2023 where a member of the public (the applicant’s partner) tripped on some protruding decorative bricks and subsequently lost their life from injury. This request is for a copy of the report produced following the visit

Response provided:

Applicant provided with the requested report, but with all personal information relating to any living individuals identified redacted throughout, in accordance with Section 40 of the Act 

Request reference: FOI 10107

Issue date: 17.09.24

Request received: 

Private Hire Vehicle Information as follows:

• Plate Number
• VRM (and I believe that the VRM IS IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST)
• If possible I would also like to know the Operator

Response provided:

Applicant provided with some of this information, however some of the Operator names are individuals that are not already publicly available and therefore were redacted under Section 40 of the Act (Personal Data)

Request reference: FOI 10108

Issue date: 18.09.24

Request received: 

The applicant requested all correspondence in and out regarding a complaint against them to the Council’s Environmental Information team in relation to noise  

Response provided:

Applicant provided with a copy of the information held, but with all of the data that would identify the complainant redacted throughout, under Section 40 (personal data) of the Act

Request reference: FOI 10109

Issue date: 09.09.24

Request received: 

1. Unified Communications

1. The manufacturer of the council's unified communications software

2. The provider (the company that you signed the contract with) for your unified communications software

3. Contract end date for your current unified communications software

4. Do you have any extensions available on your current contract for the councils unified communications software? If so, please give full details

2. Contact Centre

1. Is the council's contact centre outsourced? If so, to who?

2. How many contact centre agents does the council employ?

3. The manufacturer of your contact centre software

4. The provider (the company that you signed the contract with) for your contact centre software

5. Contract end date for your current contact centre software

6. Do you have any extensions available on your current contract for the council's contact centre software? If so, please give full details

Response provided:

Unified Communications

1. Zoom
2. Zoom Video Communications Inc
3. 31.05.26
4. 1 year

Contact Centre

1. No
2. 50
3. Zoom Video Communications Inc
4. Zoom
5. 31.05.26
6. 1 year 

Request reference: FOI 10110

Issue date: 24.09.24

Request received:

Information related to the Council’s attendance at conferences

Please could you provide the following: 

1. Over the course of financial year 2023-2024 how much did your authority spend on attending conferences?

2. Which conferences did you fund for people to attend?

3. What are the job titles of people who attended conferences?

Response provided:

Applicant provided with this information in Excel format

Request reference: EIR 10111

Issue date: 18.09.24

Request received: 

CON29 information relating to a property at EX31 3GN

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 10112

Issue date: 26.09.24

Request received:

Please provide the data for two (2) time periods: end of June 2024, end of June 2023

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

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

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

1d. Total number of children aged under 5 in temporary accommodation (not number of households)

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

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

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

2d. Total number of children aged under 5 in Bed and Breakfast temporary accommodation (not number of households)

Response provided:

Information provided to applicant in two Excel spreadsheets, which are available upon request
 

Request reference: EIR 10114

Issue date: 26.09.24

Request received: 

CON29 information relating to a property at EX31 1PU

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 10115

Issue date: 17.09.24

Request received: 

Please supply detailed maps of the Barnstaple North and Barnstaple South electoral divisions, clearly showing all streets

Please also supply comprehensive lists of street names for both Barnstaple North and Barnstaple South electoral divisions, identifying the number of dwellings in each street and the number of potential adult electors for the May 2025 county council elections

Response provided:

Applicant provided with the Street Indexes for Barnstaple North and Barnstaple South (which are available upon request) and the following:

Barnstaple North – 7.063 properties and 10,847 registered electors

Barnstaple South – 6,045 properties and 10,456 registered electors

Applicant also provided with the link to Devon County Council to view boundary maps

Applicant advised that the Council is unable to provide the number of dwellings and electors for each street as the information is not recorded in this way, however the software company used by the team assisted in providing a further report which provides a further breakdown the number of streets, properties and electors by the Electoral area which is also available upon request

Request reference: FOI 10116

Issue date: 12.09.24

Request received: 

A list of all residential and commercial addresses within your jurisdiction along with the Unique Property Reference Number (UPRN) associated with each address

Specifically, I would appreciate it if this data could be provided in an Excel or similar spreadsheet format where:

1. Column 1 contains a list of all addresses, including postcodes

2. Column 2 contains the UPRN corresponding to each address

Response provided:

Applicant advised that North Devon Council is unable to supply address date due to licensing issues and intellectual property rights. The data requested is however available as a commercial product from Ordnance Survey, Address Base

Geoplace, who work with Ordnance Survey (OS) also have a webpage where addressed and UPRN can be viewed: https://www.findmyaddress.co.uk/search

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 links above 

Request reference: FOI 10118

Issue date: 18.09.24

Request received: 

All Outstanding Billing Authority Reports for Non-Domestic properties passed to the Valuation Office:

1.         Billing Authority Report Number

2.         Property Address

3.         Billing Authority Report (if available)

Response provided:

Applicant provided with the requested information, which is available upon request  

Request reference: FOI 10119

Issue date: 13.09.24

Request received: 

The following information, with data broken down by calendar month since 12 February 2024:

1. The total number of planning applications received by your authority that were subject to the mandatory statutory biodiversity net gain (BNG) requirements. (For the avoidance of doubt, please include both applications received that claimed BNG applied to their development AND applications that claimed BNG did not apply on their site (i e they claimed an exemption))

2. The total number of planning applications that:

a. Claimed to be exempt from BNG

b. Of this number, please provide the number that:

i. Claimed they were exempt from the BNG requirements under the householder exemption

ii. Claimed they were exempt from the BNG requirements under the de minimis exemption (developments impacting less than 25 square metres of habitat or 5 metres of linear habitat)

iii. Claimed they were exempt from the BNG requirements under the self-build and custom-build exemptions

iv. Claimed they were exempt from the BNG requirements under different criteria

3. For the answer to 2b(ii), 2b(iii) and 2b(iv) please set out 

a. How many of these claims of exemption were accepted by the validation team 

b. Of this number, how many applications provided a complete statutory biodiversity metric sheet or Small Site Metric Sheet to demonstrate that they were genuinely entitled to an exemption

Response provided:

The Council confirmed that it does hold this information

1.  Information on planning applications is publicly available by searching applications on the Council’s public planning register and reviewing application forms

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

1. Applicant provided with an Excel spreadsheet, which also covered the information requested under 3

3.b) Zero. Any application that applies for an exemption (De Minimis, Householder, Self-Build, Permitted Development, etc) is scrutinised and judged on the nature of the application and the site context and therefore a Metric is not required

Request reference: FOI 10120

Issue date: 18.09.24

Request received: 

A full list of businesses who have recently become responsible for a new business premises and responsible for business rates from between the 01/06/2024 to the 10/09/2024, providing:

• the full business name
• address 
• liable party 
• liable dates and 
• type of property

Response provided:

Applicant provided with this information in Excel format, with all liable parties who are individuals redacted from the list under Section 40 of the Act (personal data). This is available upon request 

Request reference: FOI 10123

Issue date: 19.09.24

Request received: 

The costs and number of hours associated with Local Roots Tree Nursery Chittlehamholt EX379PG (current planning application 79124) to date, requesting a thorough breakdown of all costs and man hours connected with this address from February 2023 to date, as this has involved multiple agencies of North Devon Council (Planning/Environmental etc) the applicant wants a complete list thereof

Response provided:

Applicant advised that Planning and Planning Enforcement both confirm that they do not record the number of hours spent on specific applications and matters, therefore they are unable to provide the information requested. Therefore, for the purposes of the Act, the Council does not hold this information

Request reference: FOI 10124

Issue date: 16.09.24

Request received: 

Information of the locations of large estates of properties that were built between 1990 and 2005 of cavity construction. Construction firms like Redrow etc

Response provided:

The Council confirmed that it does hold information on planning applications made between 1990 and 2005. In discharge of its obligation under section 1(1)(b) the Council is unable to provide a specific response, due to the way in which the information within Planning Applications are recorded

A search on the Council’s public Planning Tracker of all Full Planning Applications between 01.01.1990 and 31.12.2005 has generated a result of 19,794 applications

It is not possible to identify those applications that specifically fall within the remit of the request without going through each application to ascertain who it was made by (Redrow, or any other similar construction firms) and whether it relates to cavity construction. The Council does not maintain a separate record of such applications

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, in the Council’s view, far exceed 18 hours to provide a response to the request. The procedure would cause serious disruption to the day to day working of the Planning department and therefore the Council is unable to process 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

Request reference: FOI 10125

Issue date: 20.09.24

Request received: 

1. Please state the number of Civil Penalties your Local Authority has served under Section 249a of the Housing Act 2004

2. Please state the number of Civil Penalties your Local Authority has served specifically in relation to breaches of the HMO Management Regulations (Section 249a (2)(e)

3. Please state the number of Prosecutions pursued in relation to breaches of the HMO Management Regulations in the last 5 years

4. Please state the amount of money gained from all Civil Penalties served since their introduction

5. Please state the amount of money gained from all Civil Penalties served in relation to breaches of the HMO Management Regulations

 

6. Please state the number of Civil Penalties formally appealed by the recipient 

7. Please state the number of fully qualified EHOs within your department

8. Please state the number of Technical Officers within your department

9. Please state the number of licensed HMOs within your district

10. Please state whether you have additional/selective licensing schemes within your district and the number of properties that fall under these schemes

Response provided:

1.         Two

2.         One

3.         None

4.         £38,000

5.         £21,500

6.         One

7.         Three

8.         Three

9.         46 as at 17.09.24

10.       None

Request reference: FOI 10127

Issue date: 17.09.24

Request received: 

1. The number of employees currently with permission to work outside of the United Kingdom
2. The number of employees who were given permission to work outside of the United Kingdom in the 2021/22, 2022/23, 2023/24 financial years
3. If possible, for each employee given permission, please provide their band, and the country which they were provided permission to work from

Response provided:

1. Zero

2. Zero for each financial year requested

3. N/A  

Request reference: FOI 10128

Issue date: 18.09.24

Request received: 

This is an information request relating to public events or festivals that have been organised by the council but were cancelled

Please provide the following information for the last five financial years, 2020/21, 2021/22, 2021/22, 202/23, 2023/24

• The name and date of each event or festival that was cancelled

• The total expenditure on each cancelled event, including:

- Costs associated with planning and organisation

- Marketing and advertising costs.

- Deposits paid for venues, equipment, or other services

• Any additional information on whether the council was able to recoup any of the expenditure from deposits or other payments made

Response provided:

The Council confirms that in each of the requested years there have been no Council organised public events/festivals, nor any that have subsequently been cancelled during each of the requested years

Request reference: FOI 10131

Issue date: 20.09.24

Request received: 

1. The council current or past ownership (or lease) of the “Bus Depot” (old and new sites) and “Green Lanes” in Barnstaple and what dates the ownership was between
2. Confirmation of any re-development or construction works having taken place on the sites, with the dates of that occurring

Response provided:

1. In accordance with Section 21(1)(a), all information regarding ownership, both current and historical, is already publicly available via the Land Registry. Therefore, the Council is not obliged to provide this information as it is already easily accessible within the public domain. However, it does have a duty under Section 16(1) to provide all applicants advice and assistance in order to assist with locating the information, which the Council has done so in providing the appropriate link as above to the applicant
2. The Council has not undertaken any substantial work on the former bus station, The Strand, Barnstaple within the last 10 years, any refurbishment work would have been under taken by the tenants

Regarding the current bus station, the Council has just completed the refurbishment of the café, waiting area and toilets, information regarding this is also publicly available via the Council’s website: 

https://www.northdevon.gov.uk/news/2024/barnstaple-bus-station-reopen-summer-improvement-works-begin

https://www.northdevon.gov.uk/news/2024/revitalised-barnstaple-bus-station-hub-officially-reopens

Since acquiring Green Lanes, the only major refurbishment works that the Council has undertaken is of 47 High Street which was vacant for some time prior to being now occupied by Pavers 

Request reference: FOI 10132

Issue date: 20.09.24

Request received: 

1. How much was spent directly by the Council on the diversion of telecommunication utilities in 2022 and 2023 (where the council has had to pay money to a telecoms company to get them to move their network due to development work)

2. Of this amount, how much was spent with Openreach

3. How much was spent with Virgin Media

4. How much was spent with City Fibre 

 5. If known, how much is spent indirectly by the Council on the diversion of telecommunication utilities in 2022 and 2023, by way of paying developers to do this work on the council's behalf

6. Does the Council have any resources in-house (or externally) to audit these costs and mitigate them or reduce them in any way

Response provided:

1. £0/No spend in either 2022 or 2023

2. N/A

3. N/A

4. N/A

5. £0/No spend in either 2022 or 2023

6. N/A as there are no costs to audit

Request reference: FOI 10133

Issue date: 24.09.24

Request received: 

Section 13A discretionary relief policy allowing for Council Tax debt write-off:

1. Do you have an Exceptional Hardship Council Tax Reduction policy, or a similar named discretionary relief policy that provides for persons who may need additional support on top of Council Tax Support? 

2. Does the policy support those who are not supported by the existing council tax reduction scheme? 

3. Please provide a link to the policy

4. Does the policy allow for Council Tax to be written off? 

5. When considering using Section 13A to remit the Council Tax charge, do you also consider alternative write off methods that would allow the Council to share bad debt with the other preceptors. If so, please detail them

6. How much council tax has been written off under Section 13A each financial year from 2017-2024?

7. How much council tax has been written off using alternative hardship policies each financial year from 2017-2024

8. If able, please provide a breakdown overview of the primary reasons where the scheme is used for the years 2017-2024? (examples may include victims of domestic violence, referral from money advice service, referral from Housing Support, and ill health.) If no data, any commentary would be appreciated

Response provided:

1. Yes
2. Yes
3. North Devon S13A 1 C Policy and Exceptional Hardship Policy (northdevon.gov.uk)
4. Yes
5. No
6. None
7. Exceptional Hardship Policy:

2017 - £11,659.48

2018 - £7,988.84

2019 - £8,705.79

2020 - £8,219.36

2021 - £45,021.71

2022 - £13,068.35

2023 - £8,19961

2024 - £10,314.12

1. No data held, each application is considered on a case by case basis

Request reference: FOI 10134

Issue date: 23.09.24

Request received: 

The following information regarding funerals arranged by the Council under Section 46 Public Health Act 1984 (England and Wales) and Section 87 of the Burial and Cremation Act 2002 (Scotland):

1. How many such funerals has the Council arranged since 13 June 2024? 

In each case please disclose:

1. The name and last residential address of the deceased 

b) The deceased’s dates of birth and death 

c) Whether the deceased’s next of kin/family members have been traced 

d) Whether the deceased’s estate has been referred to the Government Legal Department or elsewhere 

2. Has the Council passed this information to any other individual or organisation (either formally through a FOI request or by other means)? 

3. Does the Council work with any genealogist? If so, which? 

4. Does the Council publish a list of Public Health Funerals it has arranged? Yes If so:

1. Where is the list published (please provide web url if on-line)?
2. How often is the list updated? Monthly, as stated on the dataset linked above
3. When was the list last updated? The date of the last update is stated on the dataset

 

5. Who in the Council is responsible for the Council’s Public Health Funerals? Please advise us of their names and contact details. Environmental Protection Team environmentalprotection@northdevon.gov.uk

Response provided:

1.   This information is published within the Council’s Monthly public health funeral dataset

a) The full name of the deceased is published within the dataset, however the Council only publishes the first part of the Postcode of the last address of the deceased. The Council considers that publication or disclosure under the FOI of the full address would likely prejudice the prevention and detection of crime as those properties are likely to be unoccupied and may still contain valuables, cash and other personal effects that would be vulnerable to criminal activity. Any assets of the deceased must be secured and so the disclosure of this information, together with the information that is published, may lead to arson, theft and cause loss to the unsecured estates

The ICO recognises that there is a strong public interest in avoiding likely prejudice to the prevention of crime, and in this case would be likely to include a diverse range from anti-social behaviour, criminal damage, arson, organised groups stripping empty properties to identity fraud and crimes that can be committed using false information. Furthermore, it recognises that tackling issues such as these involve a significant amount of public expense and believes it is in the public interest to protect property and to ensure that public resources are used efficiently. There is also a strong public interest in avoiding personal distress to the direct victims of the crime and in the case of crime related to empty properties, to those in the wider neighbourhoods who may also be affected; therefore this is exempt from disclosure under Section 31 of the Act

b) Applicant referred to the published dataset

c) As b) above 

d) As b) above, referral to Treasury Solicitor column

2. Yes

3. No

4. Yes a) as 1) above

            b) Monthly, as stated on the dataset linked above

            c) The date of the last update is stated on the dataset

5. Environmental Protection Team 

Request reference: FOI 10135

Issue date: 19.09.24

Request received: 

1. How many apps and pieces of software do you provide to your employees that contain or use an AI copilot (e g Microsoft Copilot or SAP Joule)? 

*By copilot, we mean an assistant using AI to assist the user – for instance by answering questions, automating tasks, or analysing/generating text or images

• We do not know the exact number 

• 0

• 1-9

• 10-19

• 20-29

• 30-39

• 40-49

• 50 or more 

2. How much money has your organisation spent on training employees (including time spent on internal training sessions, external contractors and third party courses) how to use AI for work-related activities (between 01/09/2023 and 31/08/2024)? 

3. Do you have a usage policy in place on the use of AI in the workplace? (for instance – have you banned all use of AI, or are employees advised to only use AI for set purposes)

4. Has your organisation taken disciplinary action against employees for their use of technology – e.g. using it outside the bounds of the workplace usage policy? 

If yes, did any of the activity relate to the use of AI?

5. Are your employees using any of the following AI copilots?

• Microsoft Copilot

• SAP Joule

• WalkMeˣ 

• Salesforce Einstein Copilot

• Github

• Tabnine

• Other

Response provided:

1.         20 – 29

2.         £0

3.         No

4.         No

5.         Other

Request reference: FOI 10137

Issue date: 20.09.24

Request received: 

1. Please can you indicate what, if any, software the council has obtained specifically to help with implementing the following aspects of BNG?

a. Validation of applications, including checking that the correct version of the Biodiversity Metric has been submitted

b. Determination of applications subject to BNG, including assessment of ecological considerations

c. Determining if the biodiversity gain objective (biodiversity gain condition) is met

d. Monitoring of planning obligations set out under S106 agreements or Conservation Covenants, analogous to other planning obligations

e. Ecological monitoring of BNG habitats, a new statutory duty required by legislation, including ensuring that individual habitats on a given site are progressing in line with expectations set out in the Habitat Management and Monitoring Plan

f. Statutory reporting of BNG habitat progress under the NERC Act Biodiversity Duty

2. Is the council generating income, or planning to generate income, by charging BNG monitoring fees? If so, how are you calculating this fee?

3. Please answer the questions below to indicate if the council has made use of the government’s new burdens funding for BNG in the financial year 23/24:

a. How much of the funding was spent by the council in this year?

b. What was the funding spent on?

4. Please answer the questions below to indicate if the council has made use of the government’s new burdens funding for BNG in the financial year 24/25:

a. How much of the funding was spent by the council in this year?

b. What was the funding spent on?

Response provided:

1. Verna/Mycelia
2. Any monitoring fees charged will be proportionate to the size of the site and in accordance with the DCC monitoring fees framework
3. Yes 
4. All of the funding  
5. Officer time, training, software
6. Not yet claimed
7. N/A
8. N/A

Request reference: FOI 10139

Issue date: 26.09.24

Request received: 

In Excel, the Registration number, make and model of all vehicles licensed as a Taxi, Hackney Carriage or for Private Hire between 1st April 2024 and 31st July 2024 within the Council

The total number of currently licensed vehicles, both for Taxi/Hackney Carriage and then for Private Hire

The standard length of the Council’s taxi/private hire license issue

Response provided:

The Council provided the requested list (which is available upon request) and confirmed that it currently has 171 vehicles licensed for Hackney Carriage/Private Hire (combined licence) and 56 for just Private Hire. The standard length for these vehicle licences is 12 months 

Request reference: FOI 10140

Issue date: 27.09.24

Request received: 

1) For the Hackney Carriages/taxis that the Council licences, which manufacturers and models are currently approved by the authority?

2) A copy of the Council’s “Conditions of Fitness” requirements for your Hackney Carriage/taxi vehicles?

3) The total Hackney Carriage / taxi fleet size in your jurisdiction and the number of vehicles of each type (per manufacturer and model)?

4) What is the age limit for Hackney Carriages/taxis vehicles that are licenced?

5) Is there a maximum age limit that a Hackney Carriage/taxi vehicle can be for it to be licensed with the Council for the first time? e g if the maximum age limit is 15 years, can a vehicle only be licensed with the Council for the first time up to e g 10 years old but not after that time? Or any other such rules?

6) Is there a cap on the number of Hackney Carriage/taxi vehicle licences issued by the Council?

7) Or is there a cap on the number of Hackney Carriage/taxi driver licenses issued by the Council?

8) What is the size of the private hire vehicle fleet licensed by the Council?

9) Is there a cap on the number of private hire vehicles or private hire vehicle drivers licensed by the Council?

Response provided:

1. Applicant provided with an Excel spreadsheet in response to 1 and 3

2. Applicant refer to the Council's published Licensing policy

3. 171

4. Vehicles must be less than 5 years old when first plated but there is no age limit for vehicles that are licensed

5. As 4. Above

6. No

7. No

8. 56

9. No

Request reference: FOI 10141

Issue date: 27.09.24

Request received: 

The number of complaints about aesthetic procedures in the local authority area

Definition of terms:

• We are defining 'aesthetic procedures' as non-surgical, cosmetic treatments. For example: filler injections, liquid Brazilian butt lifts, lipo reduction, liposuction, Botox and non-surgical/filler breast implants. This is not an exhaustive list – but please disregard complaints involving tattoos, piercings, hair treatments and massages

• We are defining 'complaints' as customers of the business reporting negative experiences about their treatments

1. In the last 5 years, how many times have you been contacted with a complaint about an aesthetic procedure or non-surgical cosmetic treatment?

Please break down the data as follows:

1st January 2020 - 31st December 2020

1st January 2021 - 31st December 2021

1st January 2022 - 31st December 2022

1st January 2023 - 31st December 2023

1st January 2024 - 18th September 2024

2. For each year, how many complaints related to injury, or health complications following a procedure? 

Response provided:

1. None in each of the requested years 

2. Not Applicable 

Request reference: FOI 10142

Issue date: 23.09.24

Request received: 

Historic S106 Developer Contributions - 2005 - 2020

Response provided:

Applicant provided with the information Excel format

Request reference: FOI 10147

Issue date: 26.09.24

Request received: 

The Council’s spend on external consultants and training firms for the most recent 12 month period broken down by type of consultancy service or training service

Response provided:

Applicant provided with this information Excel format for the 2023/24 financial year, which is available upon request