Disclosure Log - April 2021

Exemptions/

Exceptions:

1. Why did Planning Officer MB agree to act in this planning application when there was a clear conflict of interest previously referred to be him in 12370 on the 22/6/20 in an email and go forward to being the decision maker in this case?

2. Why did Planning Officer BP allow MB to be the DM in this case when he was aware of the conflict of interest?

3. Does the LPA agree or disagree that the planning decision of the 18th December 2020 in 72392 was a departure from the local development plan?

4. Please provide the number of times and case references in the last 5 years within this LPA that paragraph 11 of the current NPPF and its predecessor (and following Burwood and its predecessor) has been engaged and has merited a departure from the local development planning permission for one small dwelling

5. What are the Planning Officer’s actual family ties to the 2 parties he refers to in his email to BP of the 22 June 2020 in file 12370?

6. How extensive are his family ties and connections in the Braunton Area?

7. How many times has MB had to consider a potential conflict of interest in this Planning Area and on what cases providing the planning case numbers did he go on to act?

8. At the time of the decision in 57606 was Jasmine Chesters a member of the Members Area Planning Committee and District Councillor for Braunton West?

1. The Council does not hold a documented record of this

2.The Council does not hold a documented record of this

3. This is not a request for information that falls under the remit of the Act for documented information or information considered to be held by the Council, therefore the Council is not required to answer this question within the remit of the Act

4. In order for the Planning unit to be able to answer, they confirm that they would need to manually check approximately 4,500 applications to determine which ones fall within the remit of the information you seek, for the requested period of the last five years.  Each application would take approximately 10 minutes to identify, locate, retrieve the relevant information and then collate into a document/spreadsheet

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

Planning estimates that it would take approximately 750 hours to provide the requested information. The procedure would cause serious disruption to the day to day working of the Planning service 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

Planning have been asked if there is any way in which this part of your request could be refined in order bring the total number of hours to respond to under 18 hours, however they confirm that even for the last financial year there would still be at least 1,000 applications that would need to be checked and that this would still take in excess of 166 hours to complete

5. It is understood that the Planning Officer’s mother’s cousin may partly own the site

6. The Council does not hold this information

7. The Planning Officer’s Register of Interests were provided, which are available upon request

8.Councillor Chester’s terms of Office history is published on her profile via the Council website:

https://democracy.northdevon.gov.uk/mgUserInfo.aspx?UID=129  

Using this information and the information found on the Planning Tracker for 57606, you would be able to determine the answer this part of your request

1. What is the average eligible rent for Housing Benefit claims where the claimant resides in exempt supported accommodation and is of working age?

2. For the above cases, how much of the eligible rent is attributed to “rent”

3. For the same cases, how much of the eligible rent is attributed to “eligible service charges

1. £239.85

2. £143.96

1. What Software Systems are currently used by the Council for Planning, Land Charges, Building Control, Trading Standards, Licensing, Environmental Health and Anti-Social Behaviour?

2. When does each contract expire?

3. How much does each system cost annually?

4. Is the Council planning to go to market for a different Software System? If so, when?

5. How many users / licences for each system does the Council have?

6. Who is the person responsible for software system(s)? Please provide full name, title and contact information

Planning

The contract for planning is published via our Contract Register, which provides the information requested for 2, and 6:

https://procontract.due-north.com/ContractsRegister/ViewContractDetails?contractId=40923c7b-a790-e811-80ed-005056b64545&p=696a9836-1895-e511-8105-000c29c9ba21 3. £24,895

4. No, the current contract expires in 2023, but it is unlikely that the Council would look to change suppliers so soon after changing in 2019

5. 30 concurrent users

Land Charges

No software systems currently used

 Building Control

1. Idox Uniform

2. Annually

3.  Building Control is delivered via a partnership between North Devon Council and Mid Devon District Council (MDDC). Procurement of our ICT systems is via MDDC who use iDox as a common platform across the Authority

The costs for Building Control are therefore part of this general package and not itemised individually. Costs passed on to Building Control as part of the overall ICT recharges that do not split out software charges. The total cost of the iDox contract is £62,594.00 per annum

4. No

5. 13

6. Mike Tucker, Building Control Manager, mike.tucker@northdevon.gov.uk  

Please note in providing this information, Mr Tucker advises that he does not consent to being contacted with regard to software sales enquiries

Trading Standards

As advised in my acknowledgement email, this falls under the remit of Devon County Council

Licensing

The contract for planning is published via our Contract Register, which provides the information requested for 2,3 and 6:

Idox - https://procontract.due-north.com/ContractsRegister/ViewContractDetails?contractId=8f99c380-1a95-e511-8105-000c29c9ba21&p=696a9836-1895-e511-8105-000c29c9ba21 

4. Currently on a rolling contract which will be reviewed with provider over next few years, perhaps going to market or absorbing in Northgate contract below. No definitive plans as of yet, but is highlighted for review during the next financial year

5. 10 users

Environmental Health and ASB

Environmental Health & Housing Case Management System (includes ASB)

The contract for planning is published via our Contract Register, which provides the information requested for 2,3 and 6:

Northgate Public Services (UK) Ltd - https://procontract.due-north.com/ContractsRegister/ViewContractDetails?contractId=0aba5ded-0fe8-e811-80ef-005056b64545&p=696a9836-1895-e511-8105-000c29c9ba21  

4. On a rolling contract with no plans to go to market at present

5. 45 users

Homelessness, Prevention and Advice System (HPA)

The contract for planning is published via our Contract Register, which provides the information requested for 2,3 and 6:

Locata Housing Services Limited - https://procontract.due-north.com/ContractsRegister/ViewContractDetails?contractId=b0eb320e-1426-e811-80eb-005056b64545&p=696a9836-1895-e511-8105-000c29c9ba21  

4. Contract has been extended last time for a year for next financial year, it will be reviewed during the next financial year

5. No limit on users

1. Copies of all documents currently used by housing officers to conduct housing affordability assessments (such as guidance notes, briefings, training sessions and template forms). If any of these documents are already in the

public domain, please send a link to where we can retrieve these exact documents

These documents could include (but not be limited to):

(a)  Guidance for housing officers on how to carry out affordability assessments;

(b) Training materials on how to assess affordability;

(c) Template income and expenditure forms;

(d) Details of what costs are regarded as essential living needs; and

(e) Costs of essential living needs, for different family types, used in affordability assessments

2. If not included in the above documents, please can you send us the following

information:

(a) A list of items that are regarded as essential living needs, for the purpose of

assessing affordability; and

(b) A list of costs of essential living needs, for different family types, that are used

for the purpose of assessing affordability

The below information for each of the following calendar years (1 January to 31 December): 2018, 2019, 2020

For 2020, please can the information be broken down per month. Can you also please provide me the information for the period between 1 January 2021 and 28 February 2021

1) On how many occasions did your council carry out surveillance operations authorised under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 over the stated period(s)?

For Q1, please can you breakdown the information by stating on how many such occasions your council: acquired/disclosed communications data (such as telephone billing information, subscriber details, traffic information); directed surveillance (i e covert surveillance of individuals in public places); used covert human intelligence sources (such as the deployment of undercover officers). For each occasion your council has used the RIPA powers under one of these categories of surveillance, could you please specify in detail the purpose/reason of/for such operations (for example, but not limited to: detecting/preventing criminal behaviour in relation to environmental crime; Covid premises regulation breaches; consumer scams; loan sharks; taxi cab regulation; underage sales of knives, alcohol, solvents and tobacco; the employment of minors). Can you please also tell me in days how long each of the authorised surveillance investigations/operations lasted for, as well as if on any of the occasions the criminal offences you were investigating in relation to the surveillance operation carried a maximum custodial sentence of less than six months (please state the offence- and its maximum custodial sentence)

2) How many times was an application for authorisation for surveillance in respect to the RIPA 2000 approved by the council's appointed authorising officer but subsequently disapproved by a magistrate (failed to gain judicial approval)?

2a) Have any such surveillance operations in respect of the RIPA 2000 commenced before said operation/investigation had been externally approved by a court? If so, please can you tell me how long in days the operation was active before a court approved/disapproved it, what the purpose of said operation was and what day it commenced (without authorisation)- in the format DD/MM/YYYY

3) How many days of surveillance in respect to the RIPA 2000 did your council request permission for over the stated period(s)?

4) On how many occasions between 1 January 2018 and 28 February 2021 has your council conducted covert surveillance within a person’s home or vehicle, for example- but not limited to: using a hidden camera or bugging device?

For Q4, if there has been any such occasion, could you please state the reason such surveillance was deemed necessary, the (criminal) offence the person/people being monitored had/were suspected to have committed, the date (DD/MM/YYYY) on which the surveillance commenced and how long the covert surveillance device/technique was carried out/installed for in days

For all of these questions, surveillance can be defined as monitoring, observing or listening to persons, their movements, conversations or other activities and communications

(1) None (for each of the years mentioned)

(2) None

(2a) No

(3) Not applicable

(4) None

The audit trail of the decision making powers allocated for Condition 37 of the Batsworthy Cross planning consent, i e

1) who (whether it be a committee or officer(s)) initially held the decision making power on this matter

2) how was this initial power allocated e g under which part of the Council’s Constitution or other

3) has this initial power been re-allocated elsewhere and if so to who and how was this done e g under which part of the Council’s Constitution or other

4) if the decision making powers are allocated to more than one officer, how is a final decision reached (i e officers may disagree) e g under which part of the Council’s Constitution or other

5) Who has the final say on decisions in relation to Condition 37

6) Records (an audit trail) of all of the above i e meeting minutes, the council's Scheme of Delegation, officers authorised by the council's Constitution, the Register of Delegated Powers held by Member Services etc about the decision making powers allocated for Condition 37 of the Batsworthy Cross planning consent

1)The decision-making power in relation to condition 37 of the planning permission relating to Batsworthy Windfarm rests with the Head of Place

2) The power derives from Part 3, paragraph 7.6 of the Constitution

3) The power remains with the Head of Place

4) The decision-making power is not allocated to more than one officer

5) The Head of Place has the final say on decisions in relation to Condition 37, although all powers delegated to Heads of Service are also delegated to the Chief Executive (Part 3, paragraphs 3.6, 3.7 and 3.8), and the Monitoring Officer has the power to “initiate, prosecute, defend and appear in any legal proceedings on behalf of the Council and to take such decisions affecting such matters as are necessary” (Part 3, paragraph 11.2)

6) The Council’s Scheme of Delegation is recorded in the Council’s Constitution. The transfer of a delegation of power to the Head of Planning (7.2 and 7.3 of the Constitution) from the Chief Executive to two Leading Planning Officers, dated 30.5.18, was provided to applicant, which is available upon request

1. Does the council currently use the services of an external tracing agent, research firm or genealogists to assist with finding owners of empty or presumed empty, privately owned residential property?

2. If so, which firm(s) has the council worked with?

3. Please provide the name, email address and direct telephone number of the officer or team that manages or monitors private residential empty homes matters

1. No, the council have not worked with any companies to identify empty homes

2. Not applicable

3. Richard Squire 

richard.squire@northdevon.gov.uk

01271 327711

1. How many reports did you receive from whistleblowers in 2019 and in 2020?

2. How many people do you have in your organisation that are trained/permitted to take reports from whistleblowers?

3. What training have the people in question number 2 received in whistleblowing?

4. What cost, if any, was there for this training?

5. Which organisation delivered each course?

6. What is the name of the person that arranged this training and what is their email address?

7. What methods do you have for whistleblowers to contact a person that is authorised to take their report and what are the specific details of these, i e, email addresses, telephone numbers etc?

8. What are the email addresses for the people authorised to receive whistleblower reports?

9. How many whistleblowers have left the organisation within 12 months of making a report?

10. How many whistleblowers have made an allegation of ‘detriment’ against your organisation?

1. None

2. Four, please refer to 4.2 within the Council’s published policy: https://www.northdevon.gov.uk/media/380172/whistleblowing-policy-aug-2020-amended-ref-governance-committee.pdf  

3. There has not been any specific whistleblowing training; however all those who are permitted to take reports from whistleblowers are senior officers of the Council

4. N/A

5. N/A

6. N/A

7. Please refer to the Council’s published policy as referred to above

8. As 7 above

9. N/A as there have been no reports made in 2019 or 2020

10. As 9 above

1. Do you use online forms for residents to complete using a web browser?

2. Approximately how many online forms do you have?

3. What third party or in-house software do you use to develop your online form? This may be different from the software used to publish your website

4. How much did you pay in the most recent financial year for the use of it?

5. What third party or in-house software do you use to publish your online form? This may be different from the software used to publish your website

6. How much did you pay in the most recent financial year for the use of it?

7. Do you use in-house resources or third parties to develop your online forms?

8. When are your contracts for third party forms development and/or forms publishing software due for renewal?

9. Do you carry out data analysis on your online forms? If so, what product do you use for the analysis?

1. Yes

2. 21

3. Please see the following contract on our Contract Register for this information: Contract for the provision of Communications and Notification Management System

4. This information is not held, please refer to the Contract Register to the total value of the contract that is published

5. As 3 above

6. As 4 above

7. In-house

8. As 3 above

9. Yes, but only using Excel, no other products used

For the years 2018/19, 2019/20 and 2020/21:

1.The total number of planning applications received by the Council relating to dropped kerbs

2.The total number of these applications that were approved

3. How many investigations has the Council made into driveway developments that had not been granted planning permission?

4. How many investigations has the Council made into dropped kerb developments that had not been granted planning permission?

1.2018/19 = One   2019/20 = Zero   2020/21 = Two

2. 2018/19 = One   2019/20 = Zero   2020/21 = Two

3. 2018/19 = Two   2019/20 = One   2020/21 = Six

CON29 information relating to a property at EX34 0DJ

Applicant advised that no information is held

CON29 information relating to a property at EX16 8AU

Applicant advised that no information is held

CON29 information relating to a property at EX33 1PB

Applicant advised that no information is held

CON29 information relating to a property at EX31 3EW

Applicant advised that no information is held

Motor Vehicles registered for public hire i e Taxi/Private Hire/Hackney Carriage that were either issued a new or renewal licence in the period 1st January 2021 to 31st March 2021

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

1.The number of approved planning permission applications for commercial properties in the calendar years of 2020 and 2019, if possible with the corresponding postcode

2.The number of rejected planning permission applications for commercial properties in the calendar years of 2020 and 2019, if possible with the corresponding postcode

3.The number of approved planning permission applications for residential properties in the calendar years of 2020 and 2019, if possible with the corresponding postcode

4.The number of rejected planning permission applications for residential properties in the calendar years of 2020 and 2019, if possible with the corresponding postcode

The information is extracted from the Council’s planning software and based up the following MHCLG categories:

Commercial

o N02 Major office/R and D/Light Industry

o N03 Major General Industry/Storage/Warehousing

o N04 Major Retail and Service

o N14 Offices/R and D/Light Industry

o N15 General Industry/storage/warehousing

o N16 Retail and service

Residential

o N01 Major Dwellings

o N13 Dwellings

o N21 Householder Developments

1. 2019 = Six 2020 = 16
2. 2019 = Zero 2020 = Zero
3. 2019 = 662 2020 = 574
4. 2019 = 42 2020 = 28

Applicant also provided with Excel spreadsheet which supplies the requested breakdowns, which is available upon request

CON29 information relating to a property at EX34 7HN

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

For 2019 and 2020, a list of all the new properties constructed within the local authority. Please can the UPRN be attached to each Address, either in Excel or CSV format

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

Details of any formal or informal pre-application discussions or live planning cases in respect of vacant land located opposite Seaholm/Greyholm, The Rock and Cragside at Granville Road Ilfracombe, EX34 8AS

Applicant advised that that the Council does not currently hold any details of any pre-applications, either formal or informal, or any live planning applications regarding this parcel of land

CON29 information relating to a property at EX31 3JW

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

CON29 information relating to a property at EX34 7AG

Applicant advised that no information is held

How the local authority has been impacted by Natural England and Natural Resources Wales updated legal advice on nitrogen and phosphorous pollution in or near Natura 2000 sites in England and Wales since 2019

In June 2019, Natural England updated its legal position on approving planning applications where excess nutrient pollution from a prospective residential development might negatively impact a nearby Natura 2000 site.  It has issued this fresh planning advice to councils in south Hampshire, Kent, Herefordshire and Somerset, which includes a provision on housebuilders to demonstrate nitrate or phosphate neutrality as part of the appropriate assessment under the The Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017

In January, Natural Resources Wales followed suit in relation to excess phosphate levels in river SACs

1. A list of all the Natural 2000 sites that sit within, or partially within, the local authority's boundary?

2. As a result of Natural England’s updated planning advice on excess nutrients, would you please tell me how many planning applications are currently stuck or frozen in your planning system?

3. Would you please tell me how many homes this equates to?

1. Applicant provided with Habitat Regulations Assessment from the North Devon Local Plan dated November 2017 and in particular, Section 4.0 on the beginning of Page 8 provides the list, maps and descriptions of each protected site in North Devon Council/Torridge District Council. This document is available upon request

2. There are no applications stuck/frozen as a result of the Natural England Guidance

3. N/A

CON29 information relating to a property at EX34 0LL

Applicant advised that no information is held

1. How much funding did your council receive from MHCLG as part of the initial ‘Everyone In’ programme (March 2020)?

2. Between the start of Everyone In (26/03/2020) and the 31st March 2021, what was the total spend on sustaining the support for rough sleepers as part of Everyone In (i e, keeping people in accommodation, providing services they needed)?

3. Please list all of the additional funding sources that you have used between 26/03/2020 and 31/03/2021 to support this effort? (i e, if your council spent more on ‘Everyone In’ than the initial funding provided, where did this come from?).

4. How many people were housed under ‘Everyone In’ in your council area?

5. How many of these have been re-settled?

6. And how many have returned to rough sleeping (at the time of completing this request)?

1. A Covid Contingency Grant of £12,357 from MHCLG was received by the Council

2. This data was not captured

3. Core funds, Homeless Prevention Grant, MHCLG Rough Sleeper Initiative funds and MHCLG Cold Weather/Protect Plus funding

4. Between March 20 and March 2021 70 people were housed under ‘Everyone In’

5. 46 have been placed in settled or supported accommodation

6. Five have returned to rough sleeping

With regard to any Section 106 Developer Contributions that the Council may currently hold

Information required (in an excel spreadsheet format if possible) is a list of all currently held S106 developer contributions held by the council, broken down into individual contributions detailing:

- Planning Application Number associated to the individual S106

- Name and address of the person/organisation that paid the funding

- Date the S106 agreement was signed

- End date of the signed agreement for the funding to have been spent (i e 5 years post signature)

- Schedule of contributions secured, by use type – i e for public open space, highways, etc

- Schedule of contributions currently unspent, by use type – i e for public open space, highways, etc

Information provided to applicant in Excel format, which is available upon request, except for the following which is not already collated centrally

- Name and address of the person/organisation that paid the funding

- Date the S106 agreement was signed

- End date of the signed agreement for the funding to have been spent (i e 5 years post signature)

This information would be held within the respective planning application records via the Council’s website (Planning Tracker) and that it would be identifiable within the relevant applications by searching on the planning tracker either by the planning application reference provided in column C or the description information/address column B

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 in providing the link to the Planning Tracker above and the spreadsheet with the required information that would be needed to be able to identify the relevant applications

CON29 information relating to a property at EX34 9QE

Applicant advised that no information is held

A copy of any and all agreements entered into between the authority and the company Earnd (UK company registration number 11391391), between 31 May 2018 and 31 March 2021

The Council has not entered into any agreements with the company Earnd (UK company registration number 11391391), between 31 May 2018 and 31 March 2021

A copy of any and all assessments made by the authority as to whether it should enter into an agreement with the company Earnd (UK company registration number 11391391), between 31 May 2018 and 31 March 2021

The council does not hold any assessments made by the Council as to whether it should enter into an agreement with the company Earnd (UK company registration number 11391391), between 31 May 2018 and 31 March 2021

CON29 information relating to a property at EX34 8JA

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

CON29 information relating to a property at EX34 9FR

Applicant advised that no information is held

Further to the internal case by Devon County Council against Cllr Brian Greenslade, can the Council please confirm the quantum of compensation costs incurred for the employees and ex-employees, including any enhanced pension rights and early termination costs, incurred as a consequence of North Devon Council’s failure to protect its employees from his misdemeanours as found by the investigation. Please break-down the costs including the sums paid directly to them

Clearly no individual details are to be revealed, simply the total cost and the number of employees involved please

Please also confirm if any sums have been recovered from Cllr Greenslade

The Council confirms that it does not hold any information that falls within the remit of this request.  Further to this, the Council can assure that it takes all reasonable steps to protect its employees from all manner of risk and so it does not agree with the implied allegation within the request

Details of your current awarded Lift Maintenance and Stair Lift Maintenance Contracts within the council authority

How many lift units are on these contracts and what date does your current agreement end and who is responsible in the Council for running each contract (Name, Job title and email address

The Council’s lift service and maintenance for three lifts is on a rolling 12 agreement, the value is very low, approx. £720 per annum, so quotes are obtained as a when required

Recycling refuse collectors noise exposure:

1. Which method for collecting recycling glass do you complete?  (kerbside or co-mingled for example) 

2. I. Have you completed any noise assessments for refuse recycling collection services?

    II. If yes, have these been completed for exposure to the workforce or for environmental noise? 

3. If you have completed noise assessments for noise exposure to the workforce of recycling refuse collections, can you please provide the information with exposure levels? (Sound level readings, dosimeter readings or noise assessment reports)

4. If you have not completed noise assessments for recycling refuse collection services, can you provide the rationale for not completing these?  (Working environmental noise or other hazards)

5. I. Do you consider any existing noise induced hearing loss when recruiting a new employee as a recycling refuse loader?

    II. Or, when contracting agency staff, as refuse loaders?

6. I. Do you provide recycling refuse collection loaders with any personal hearing protection?

    II. If yes, what type?

     III. If No, the rationale for not? (may be similar to Q4 response)

1. Kerbside

2. I. No

    II. N/A

3. N/A

4. Staff are provided with PPE for this purpose. Glass is collected in Romaquip recycling vehicles. These have plastic curtains to reduce noise levels. The Council has not received any complaints/requests about noise issues

5. I. No

    II. No

6. I. Yes

    II. Ear plugs and ear defenders

     III. N/A