Disclosure Log - December 2025

Request reference: FOI 10955

Issue date: 01.12.25

Request received: 

Littering Fines

1. Does the Council issue fines for littering? 

2. If so, at what level does the Council levy fines?

Enforcement and Statistics

3. Does the Council use an in-house team or a private enforcement company to issue fines for littering?

4. How many Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs) for littering did were issued in 2024/2025 (to date)?

5. How many Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) for car parking were issued in 2024/2025 (to date)?

Litter Bins

6. How many litter bins does the Council have its area now?

7. How many litter bins did the Council have 10 years ago (2014/2015)?

8. Has the Council removed any litter bins in the past 10 years, and if so, how many?

Litter Clearance Costs

9. What was the annual spend on litter clearance in 2024/2025 compared to 2014/2015?

Fly-tipping

10. How many people did the Council catch fly-tipping in 2024?

11. How many FPNs did the Council issue for fly-tipping in 2024?

12. How many of the FPNs issued for fly-tipping were paid?

13. How many people were prosecuted for fly-tipping in court in 2024?

14. How many of the court prosecutions resulted in a custodial sentence for fly-tipping?

Response provided:

Littering Fines:

  1. Yes
  2. Fixed Penalty Notice issued. If this is not paid then it would be progressed to prosecution

Enforcement and Statistics:

  1. No, in house
  2. In accordance with Section 21 of the Act, this information is published within the Council’s 2024 Environmental FPN dataset. The 2025 dataset will be published in January 2026
  3. In accordance with Section 21 of the Act, this information is published within the Council’s Parking PCNs issued by Location 2024 dataset. The 2025 dataset will be published in January 2026

Litter Bins:

  1. The Council has 489 litter bins and 97 dog waste bins. In accordance with Section 21 of the Act, there locations are published via the Council’s Maps facility on its website. From the link, select the button with the three horizontal lines and then select My Data. Expand ‘Local Facilities’ and from here you will see a list of facilities which includes litter bins and dog bins
  2. This information is not record.
  3. Yes, however the quantity is not record, usually replaced with newer bins

Litter Clearance cost:

  1. The costs of litter clearance are included within Street Cleaning:

2014/15 = £577,772

2024/25 = £937,205

Fly-tipping:

  1. The Environmental Protection team considers that this would be the same as the response provided for 11 below as anyone that is identified as committing the offence of fly-tipping is automatically issued with a FPN
  2. In accordance with Section 21 of the Act, please refer to 2024 Dataset as linked in the response to 4 above
  3. In accordance with Section 21 of the Act, please refer to 2024 Dataset as linked in the response to 4 above
  4. In accordance with Section 21 of the Act, please refer to the Council’s published dataset: Prosecutions from 2019/20 – 2025/26 which is updated quarterly and would record this information, where applicable
  5. As 13 above (the outcome column) would record this information, where applicable

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 applicant with the relevant links to the published information as set out in its response above

Request reference: FOI 10958

Issue date: 02.12.25

Request received: 

The applicant requested copy of the Council’s documented Service Plan(s) setting out its plans for service delivery, addressing the financial year 2025-26, for the following services:

- environmental health

- private sector housing standards regulation,

- licensing

- anti-social behaviour

- community safety

- environmental crime

- emergency planning

 

Response provided:

The Council provided the service plan for Environmental Health and Housing 2025/26 to the applicant, which is available upon request and the following updates regarding the plan were also supplied, as follows:

  • Food Health and Safety training descoped due to internal capacity
  • The Trolley Removal Scheme was not pursued following the baselining of the issue
  • The 18 plus monies references monies spent by Devon County Council on commissioning services
  • Pools and Spas now being carried out as business as usual
  • Hidden Homeless has been delivered

Applicant advised that the Council has phased out the use of service plans (which were originally used to help identify any revenue implications for budget setting) and so if there are operational changes that require funding, they now go through the Project Appraisal Group (PAG) process. If monies are allocated to any of these projects they are reported via the Council's Strategy and Resources Committee, where all reports are published on our website and can be found via the provided link 

Request reference: FOI 10962

Issue date: 04.12.25

Request received: 

The applicant requested, for the last four years, how many North Devon District Council Officers have been dismissed for gross misconduct

Response provided:

The Council provided the following response to the applicant for the period 01.04 to 31.03 in each of the last four financial years:

2021/22 = One

2022/23 = Zero

2023/24 = Five

2024/25 = Six

Request reference: FOI 10963

Issue date: 02.12.25

Request received: 

1. In the years 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025 to date, the number of applications made by the council for anti-social behaviour (ASB) injunctions under the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014

2. For each of these years, a breakdown of the gender, age (child or adult if necessary), ethnicity and any disability recorded for the person who is subject to the application

3. A list of the reasons given for the ASB injunction applications made in each of the above years

4. How many of the injunctions sought included a term prohibiting begging, whether actively or passively

5. How many of the injunctions sought included a term prohibiting rough sleeping

6. Details on how much was spent by the council in court costs (applications, legal fees, etc) for ASB injunctions in each of these years

7. Copies of any policies or internal procedures relating to the council’s approach to using ASB injunctions to address begging or rough sleeping

Response provided:

1. In each of the requested years (2021 through to 2025 to date) the Council has not made any applications for anti-social behaviour (ASB) injunctions under the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014

2. N/A

3. N/A

4. N/A

5. N/A

6. N/A

7. The council does not hold any policies or internal procedures relating to the council’s approach to using ASB injunctions to address begging or rough sleeping 

Request reference: FOI 10968

Issue date: 04.12.25

Request received: 

1. How many employees were dismissed by your local authority for disciplinary reasons in the financial year 2024/25? Please indicate the reasons for any dismissals, e g misconduct or poor performance

2. How many employees ceased being employed by your local authority in the financial year 2024/25 by mutual (or settlement) agreements? If recorded, please advise how many of these cases included non-disclosure agreements (NDAs)?

Response provided:

1. Six, all were for misconduct.

2. One and yes, it contained a confidentiality clause 

Request reference: FOI 10972

Issue date: 05.12.25

Request received: 

1. As of 20.11.25, the number of employees within the Council classed as lone workers at least some of the time? The applicant requested this as a number and a percentage of total staff

2. A breakdown of lone workers by department or role

3. The gender split (male, female, other) of the Council’s lone worker population?

4. The number of lone worker employees are provided with Personal Safety Devices (such as GPS-enabled panic alarms, wearable trackers, and/or mobile apps that can alert supervisors or emergency services if a worker is in distress)?  The applicant requested this as a percentage

5. The number of safety-related incidents involving lone workers reported from 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2024? If possible, broken down by:

• Type of incident (accident, near-miss, physical assault, verbal abuse, harassment, etc)

• Whether the employee had access to a Personal Safety Device at the time

6. Are employees provided with follow-up support (counselling, safety briefings, debrief sessions) after incidents? The number of employees who received such support following an incident as a percentage

7. The staff turnover rate for lone worker roles from 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2024

Response provided:

1, 2 3 and 4

Applicant provided with a spreadsheet that provides some of the information (where recorded) in response to these parts of the request

The applicant was advised that the council does not already record the data as a percentage; however, the Council provided the following data on the first and second tabs of the spreadsheet in order that the applicable is able to make these calculations

Tab 1 = ‘NDC Head Count & FTE’ as at 01.01.24 and 31.12.24 

Tab 2 = ‘NDC Head Count by Gender’ as at 31.12.24

5. There is no data held

6. The Council confirms that it does provide support to staff, providing confidential counselling and each incident is followed up by supervisors/managers. The Council does not maintain specific records of employees who have received such support following an incident

7. This data is not recorded

Request reference: FOI 10974

Issue date: 17.12.25

Request received: 

The applicant requested the number of individuals and families classified as homeless and placed in “temporary accommodation” throughout the year

1.  Monthly Homelessness Data in Temporary Accommodation 

 2. Monthly Counts of Individuals and Households in Temporary Accommodation:

For each month in the past five years (November 2021- November 2025), please provide the total number of individuals and households recorded as homeless and residing in “temporary accommodation.” 

Include a breakdown of the types of accommodation provided (e g hotels, Bed and Breakfasts, hostels, caravans, shelters)

 Please categorise those in temporary accommodation as follows: 

  -Single parents with children, identifying mothers and fathers separately if possible

  -Individuals without children

  -Family units, classified by family size (e g mother, father, and one child; mother, father, and two children, etc)

Response provided:

Applicant provided with the requested information over four separate excel spreadsheets, where recorded

Request reference: FOI 10976

Issue date: 10.12.25

Request received: 

The applicant requested in Excel, a list of 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 14/08/2025 to the 21/11/2025

Specifically:

• Vehicle Registration Number

• Manufacturer (Make)

• Model

• Licence Issue Date

• Licence Expiry Date

Response provided:

The applicant was provided with the requested information in Excel format, which is available upon request  

Request reference: FOI 10977

Issue date: 10.12.25

Request received: 

The applicant requested a list of motor vehicles operated by the authority, including the following details:

1. Registration Mark of each motor vehicle 

2. Fleet number allocated (if any) 

3. Chassis Make and Model

Response provided:

The applicant was provided with the requested information in Excel format, which is available upon request  

Request reference: FOI 10978

Issue date: 15.12.25

Request received: 

Development management

1. How many full-time equivalent planning staff (not including administration staff) do you have on the establishment in your “development management team” or equivalent team? 

2. How many full-time equivalent vacancies are there currently in your development management team? How many temporary staff or consultants are currently employed in your development management (or equivalent) team?

Planning policy

3. How many full-time equivalent planning staff (not including administration staff) do you have on the establishment in your “planning policy team” or equivalent team? 

4. How many full-time equivalent vacancies are there currently in your planning policy team. How many temporary staff or consultants are currently employed in your planning policy (or equivalent) team?

Planning enforcement

5. How many full-time equivalent planning staff (not including administration staff) do you have on the establishment in your “planning enforcement team” or equivalent team? 

6. How many full-time equivalent vacancies are there currently in your planning enforcement team. How many temporary staff or consultants are currently employed in your planning enforcement (or equivalent) team?

Expert planning advisors

7. Does your local council have in-house expert planning advisors to deal with issues such as ecology, heritage and design? 

8. Does your local council ever have to access external expert planning advice on such issues as ecology, heritage and design? If so, what areas do you have to request external advice on?

Entry level planners 

9. Do you fund entry level planning staff to undergo university courses or apprenticeships? 

10. If yes, how many entry level planners have you provided such funding for in the last 5 years? 

Case loads

11. What was the average annual case load that planning officers in your planning enforcement/development management teams were carrying in the financial years a) 2020/21 b) 2022/23 c) 2024/25

Local Plan

12. Does your council have an up-to-date local plan? If it does, when was it last formally approved?

Response provided:

Development Management:

  1. 15
  2. One

Planning Policy:

  1.  Three
  2. One

Planning Enforcement:

  1. One
  2. One

Expert planning advisors:

  1. Conservation Officer, Tree Officer and Sustainability Officer (although they do not sit in the Development Management team, Development Management uses these specialist officers)
  2. Occasionally ecology advice and flood risk advice, depending on the scale and complexity of the application

Entry level planners:

  1. Yes
  2. Three

Caseloads:

  1. It is not possible to provide historic caseload data for the specific financial years requested. The reporting function within the Planning system used can only run reports that show the current caseload for an officer on the day that the report is run and therefore taking a snapshot of what the system, showing the current number of matters open per officer

Local plan:

  1. Yes, it was adopted in 2018 and is considered to be up to date, except for any policies relating to housing numbers

Request reference: EIR 10981

Issue date: 09.12.25

Request received: 

CON29 information relating to a property at EX34 9SH

Response provided:

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

Request reference: EIR 10983

Issue date: 05.12.25

Request received: 

The applicant requested the following information in relation to Lagoon View Orchard:

  1. A copy or copies of any and all variations referring to the orchard area, including any that permitted the builders not to install play equipment there
  2. A copy of the documents signing off and transferring the equipment from Pearce Construction to the council, and any documents to do with safety checks being completed on the equipment, company invoices for installation at the time, and after, installation

Response provided:

The applicant was advised that the Council does hold some of the information as requested:

  1. The Council advised the applicant that it considers its response to 2 within its response to EIR 10943 (made by another applicant) which the applicant of this request was copied into on 26 November 2025, already addresses this. It was confirmed that the Planning department are unable to locate any formal variation of condition or approved plans in relation to the orchard area, and that from the provided letter (697_COR 870313_Redacted) (as disclosed under EIR 10943) from the agent at the time, advised that the area will not be equipped with play equipment and that there is no evidence of another area being accepted as compensation for not using this area as POS, and, that the use as POS had no other planning permission for an alternative use before or after the permission at Lagoon View was substantially complete

    The Planning department confirmed that, due to the age of its record for the site, the information already disclosed to the applicant is the only information that is held electronically, the remainder is held on microfiche and so if the applicant wishes to view this, they will need to make an appointment with the Planning department direct as they will need to arrange for the Microfiche reader to be made available and an officer within the team to be present during the viewing

  2. The applicant was informed that the Council’s Parks team has reviewed its records and confirmed that there is no mention of a play area and that there has never been any such equipment on site 

Request reference: FOI 10984

Issue date: 05.12.25

Request received: 

1. Does the council have a written anti-poverty strategy (this may also be referred to as a ‘poverty strategy’)? This may be an all-age strategy, or one focusing on a specific group of the population, such as a child poverty strategy. If so, please provide a link to the strategy if it is available publicly, or a copy via email

2. If the council does not have an anti-poverty strategy in place, does it plan to develop one within the next 12 months? If so, please provide a link to any public facing document detailing this commitment

3. Has the council voluntarily adopted the socio-economic duty? Please answer yes or no, providing more detail if necessary. For example, you may answer “no, but we recognise socio-economic disadvantage as an additional factor in Equality Impact Assessments”

Response provided:

1. No, however the applicant was directed to contact Devon County Council which is responsible for Health and Social Care which includes the North Devon area for information that they may hold

2. No, there are no plans to develop such a plan within the next 12 months

3. No, the Council has not adopted the socio-economic duty. In terms of the EIA, it does not include socio-economic disadvantage. The EIA is based on the protected characteristics within the Equality Act. The applicant was directed to the website of One Northern Devon undertakes work in relation to health inequalities which includes socio-economic deprivation 

Request reference: FOI 10985

Issue date: 15.12.25

Request received: 

Telephone System

  1. What make is your telephone system?
  2. How old is the telephone system you operate?
  3. How many users do you have?
  4. Is your telephone system cloud based or on premise?
  5. Can your switchboard operators transfer external incoming calls to all users across your estate?
  6. How many extensions does your telephone system have?

Telecoms Estate

  1. How much do you spend annually on telecoms?
  2. Do you know how this is split into Voice Telecoms / Data Networking / Mobile Communications / Maintenance?
  3. How many analogue lines do you have?
  4. How many ISDN2 Services do you have?
  5. How many ISDN30 Services do you have?
  6. How many mobiles do you have?
  7. Have you done anything about the Analogue Switch Off / Digital Switch On? If so, what have you done?
  8. What are the contact details for the person who looks after telecoms and the costs associated with these?

Microsoft

  1. How much do you spend annually with Microsoft?
  2. How often do you review licensing costs?

Response provided:

Telephone System:

  1. Zoom
  2. Two years
  3. 400
  4. Cloud
  5. We do not have a switchboard
  6. 400

Telecoms Estate:

  1. £65,000 on Zoom £12,000 mobiles
  2. Zoom are licensing costs maintenance is included so cannot be split
  3. Five
  4. Zero
  5. Zero
  6. 150
  7. Yes, we’ve migrated lines to SOGEA and are picking the rest up as a project
  8. Andrew Tapp, ICT Manager

Microsoft:

  1. £120,000
  2. We have entered into a three year contract with Microsoft 

Request reference: FOI 10987

Issue date: 09.12.25

Request received: 

1. The total number of reports received by the council of damp, mould and condensation issues in council-owned homes since 1 January 2021. If held yearly, the applicant requested a breakdown by calendar year 

2. The total number of council-owned homes managed by the council (or, if exact current data is not available, the most recent figure)

Response provided:

The applicant was provided with the following data in Excel format:  

  1. 2021 = One

    2022 = One

    2023 = Two

    2024 = Two

    2025 = Four

  2. 2021 = Five

    2022 = Five

    2023 = 15

    2024 = 18

    2025 = 18

Request reference: FOI 10989

Issue date: 15.12.25

Request received: 

The applicant requested the following data in relation to Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) in the local authority area, for each calendar year from 2018 to 2024 inclusive (or for as many of those years as held)

If a year-by-year breakdown cannot be produced within the statutory time or cost limits, the applicant requested the total figure for the entire period (2018–2024)

1) The number of HMO licence applications received

2) The number of HMO licence applications refused

3) The number of HMO licences revoked or suspended

4) The number of complaints received relating to HMOs

5) The number of inspections of HMOs carried out

6) The number of enforcement or improvement notices issued, or prosecutions brought, relating to HMOs

7) (If recorded) The number of unlicensed or illegal HMOs identified

Response provided:

1.   The following totals include withdrawn applications:

    2018 = Seven

    2019 = Four

    2020 = Three

    2021 = Eight

    2022 = 21

    2023 = 16

    2024 = 13

2. 2022 = One

3. This data was not collected and recorded until 2021. Since, 2021, Zero licences have been revoked

4. 2022 = One

    2023 = Nine

    2024 = 19

Please note, specific HMO data is not held for 2018 - 2021 (due to a change in data reporting in 2022). The Private Sector Housing (PSH) team only holds the total number of all PSH complaints for 2018 – 2021:

5. 2018 = 107

    2019 = 141

    2020 = 32

    2021 = 11

    2022 = 16

    2023 = 15

    2024 = 74

6. 2018 = Two prosecutions

    2021/2022 = One RRO, One CPN, One Closure Order

   The following number of notices/orders were issued relating to HMOs:

    2018 = Seven 

    2019 = Six

    2020 = Four

    2021 = One

    2022 = Two

    2023 = One

    2024 = Two

7. 2018 = Unknown

    2019 = Zero

    2020 = Zero

    2021 = One

    2022 = Three

    2023 = Two

    2024 = Five

Request reference: FOI 10990

Issue date: 22.12.25

Request received: 

1. A list of all property licensing schemes operating, and under consultation, within your jurisdiction, including:

• Selective licensing schemes

• Additional licensing schemes (please specify which apply to properties falling under Section 254 and Section 257 of the Housing Act 2004)

• Mandatory licensing schemes for Houses in Multiple Occupation

• (HMOs)

• Short-Term Let Schemes or restrictions

For each scheme, please supply the following information:

• The areas or wards covered

• The start/end (or renewal) date for each scheme

• Eligibility criteria for properties

• Types of properties included under Section 254 and 257 for additional licensing, if relevant

• Fee structure and any applicable discounts

• The current number of properties licensed under each scheme

2. Article 4 HMO Direction and Short-Term Let Schemes or Restrictions in force and under consultation for:

Details of any planning directives Article 4 HMO Direction and Short-Term Let Schemes or Restrictions in force and under consultation, including:

• The precise areas they cover - map and list of streets/properties

• The date implemented or proposed

• Types of properties affected

If possible, please provide the information as a spreadsheet or table, and include links to accessible documents or public notices relevant to these schemes and directives

Response provided:

1. Mandatory licensing schemes for Houses in Multiple Occupation

    Mandatory licensing covers the whole district

    Standard eligibility criteria for mandatory licensing applies

Fee structure and any applicable discounts = Please find the relevant information as published via the Council’s website: Environmental health and all licensing fees

The Council currently has 58 licenced properties on its register

2. The Council does not have any Article 4 HMO Directions or Short-Term Let Schemes or Restrictions in force or under consult 

Request reference: FOI 10993

Issue date: 19.12.25

Request received: 

The applicant requested the following details for all Hackney Carriage vehicles licenced by the authority:

  • Plate
  • VRM
  • Vehicle Type
  • Operator 

Response provided:

The applicant was provided with a spreadsheet providing the requested information except for the operator which is not recorded as this only applies to Private Hire vehicles 

Request reference: FOI 10994

Issue date: 18.12.25

Request received: 

The applicant requested the name and address of the people responsible for an incident in September 2025 where a heating oil tank leaked and emptied into the drains that run through the applicant’s home

Response provided:

The Council confirmed that it does hold the address of the property that was responsible for the incident, however it does not hold the names of any individuals connected with the property

It is the Council’s view that the address held is indirect personal data and that its disclosure would provide the applicant with the necessary information to be able to easily identify any individuals at the property, either by physically visiting the property or by obtaining the title documentation from the Land Registry, which would name any owners of the property

The Council considers that this information to be exempt under Regulation 13 of the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 as the information constitutes third party personal data and those individual(s) would have no reasonable expectation for the Council to make their personal information publicly available, particularly as a disclosure under the Regulations would not be just to the applicant requesting the information, but also to the world at large, and thus would place that information into the public domain for all to see

Regulation 13(1) provides that personal data shall not be disclosed if one of the conditions in Regulation 13(2A), (2B) or (3A) are satisfied. In this case Regulation 13 (2A)(a) is met because disclosure of this information would amount to a breach of the fair processing provisions of the General Data Protection Regulation, therefore, by virtue of Regulation 13 of the Environmental Information Regulations, the Council is exempt from any obligation to disclose the withheld information 

Request reference: FOI 10995

Issue date: 22.12.25

Request received: 

1. Does your Local Authority have any Article 4 Directions currently in place for HMOs? (C3 to C4)

2. If the Local Authority does have an Article 4 Direction (C3 to C4) in place, what kind of designation is it? i e Borough/City-Wide, single designated area, multiple single designated areas

3. Has your Local Authority formally consulted/currently consulting/planning to consult in the next/last 12 months on introducing an Article 4 Direction? (C3 to C4)

4. If the Local Authority has formally approved an Article 4 Direction (C3 to C4) in the last 12 months, when does it come into force?  

5. What is the best contact email address to contact the planning department to discuss matters relating to planning enquiries and Article 4?

Response provided:

1.         No

2.         N/A

3.         No

4.         N/A

5.         planning@northdevon.gov.uk 

Request reference: FOI 10997

Issue date: 05.12.25

Request received: 

The applicant requested the following information regarding Rural Rate Relief, for the financial years 2023-24, 2024-25, and 2025-26 (where available):

1. A list of businesses in the local authority that received rural rates relief in each year

2. The individual rateable values of these businesses in that year

3. The category of each eligible business (general store, food shop, post office, public house, or petrol station)

4. If possible, also provide the number of businesses whose rateable values were increased between financial years so that they exceeded the threshold of eligibility for business rates relief

Response provided:

The applicant was provided with the requested information within three separate Excel spreadsheets for each of the requested financial years, with some personal data redacted throughout in accordance with Section 40 of the Act (personal data), which is available upon request

Request reference: FOI 10998

Issue date: 17.12.25

Request received: 

the following information concerning unlicensed dog boarding establishments (kennels, home boarding, dog daycare, etc) within the authority’s area over the past five years (2021–2025 inclusive, or the most recent five-year period for which data is held):

1. The total number of investigations / enforcement actions your authority has opened in that period into unlicensed dog boarding / animal boarding establishments (kennels, catteries, day care, home boarding, etc)

2. For each such investigation / enforcement action:

- Name and (full or partial) address / postcode of the premises (or a unique reference ID)

- Date when investigation/enforcement began

- Type of alleged breach (e g operating without a licence; unlicensed boarding; failure to meet licence/animal welfare standards)

- Outcome of the investigation (e g licence issued, prosecution, closure, warning, no further action)

- If prosecution: date of conviction, offence, penalty/outcome (fine, ban, destruction of licence, etc)

3. The number of complaints or reports received by your authority (from public, other agencies or referrals) relating to suspected unlicensed animal boarding / dog boarding establishments over that period (2021–2025)

If records are held on a different basis (e g financial years, calendar years, licences by year etc the applicant is happy to accept data in the form the Council holds them (with dates clarified)

Response provided:

Applicant was provided with some of the information, where held. Some of the address information was redacted in accordance with Section 40 (personal data)  

Request reference: FOI 11001

Issue date: 08.12.25

Request received: 

The applicant requested the following information on local authorities’ revenue expenditure and financing data since the financial year 1999/00, broken down by standard categories (education, housing, police, roads, health services, etc) for the period spanning the financial 2006/2007

Response provided:

1999/2000 = No data available

2000/2001 = No data available

2001/2002 = No data available

2002/2003 = No data available

2003/2004 = Statement of Account 03.04 (provided and available upon request)

2004/2005 = S o A 2004 (provided and available upon request)

2005/2006 = Inc Exp 2005-06 (provided and available upon request)

2006/2007 = SOA - Main Statements (v2) (provided and available upon request)

Request reference: FOI 11002

Issue date: 16.12.25

Request received: 

Between the dates of 1 October 2024 and 31 October 2025. Specifically, the following information regarding such orders: 

1. The number of Anti-Social Behaviour Injunctions (ASBIs) and Dispersal Orders issued for or enforced against protest-related or public demonstration activities from 1 October 2024 to 31 October 2025

2. The number of Public Spaces Protections Orders (PSPOs) imposed or breached in respect of protest-related or public demonstration activities between 1 October 2024 and 31 October 2025

3. The specific behaviours that justified issuing the PSPOs, ASBIs, and Dispersal Orders referred to in Q1 and Q2

4. The prohibitions and/or requirements that were imposed by the PSPOs, ASBIs, and Dispersal Orders referred to in Q1 and Q2

Response provided:

The Council provided the following response for the requested period 01.10.24 and 31.10.25:

1. Zero ASBIs and Dispersal Orders issued/enforced against

2. Zero PSPOs imposed/breached

3. N/A

4. N/A

Request reference: EIR 11003

Issue date: 17.12.25

Request received: 

CON29 information relating to a property at EX31 4FQ

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 11004

Issue date: 08.12.25

Request received: 

The following information held by the authority in relation to biodiversity gain sites where the authority owns or manages the land used for BNG purposes:

1. The revenue and volumes of biodiversity units sold for each biodiversity gain site

1.1. The total amount of money received by your organisation from the sale of biodiversity units (or credits) arising from land it owns or manages for BNG purposes.

1.2. The total number of biodiversity units (or credits) sold. With the data being broken down by financial year (or calendar year, if that is how the data is held), and

1.2.2. broken down by habitat type as recorded for BNG purposes (e g habitat category/metric habitat type), and where possible, broken down by biodiversity gain site

2. Please provide any information you hold about the pricing of biodiversity credits for different habitat types, including:

2.1. The price(s) per unit charged for different habitat types or categories (e g baseline price lists, internal pricing schedules, or similar documents)

2.2. Any information showing how prices differ between sites (if applicable). Where possible, please indicate the time period during which each price (or price list) was in effect (e g by year or date range)

Response provided:

The applicant was advised that the Council does not have any registered Habitat Banks where it owns and/or manages the land and so it does not hold the requested information

Request reference: FOI 11005

Issue date: 18.12.25

Request received: 

The applicant requested copies of the Zoo Inspection Reports (ZOO2) for Combe Martin Wildlife and Dinosaur Park between 2021-2023

Response provided:

The applicant was provided with a copies of two inspection reports applicable (one in 2022 and one in 2023) with some personal data redacted throughout in accordance with Section 40 of the Act 

Request reference: FOI 11008

Issue date: 09.12.25

Request received: 

The applicant requested the number of noise complaints recorded within the council between:

01 Jan – 31 Dec 2024

01 Jan – 31 Dec 2025

If possible, the data to be broken down by different wards/areas within the Council’s jurisdiction

Response provided:

Applicant directed to the Council’s website for the following data that is publicly available:

Details of Noise and Odour Complaints are in the public domain on the Council's website, within an Environmental Health dataset, and located within Open Data pages. Noise complaint information covering 01 Jan - Dec 31st 2024 is found within this dataset

Complaints for the period 01 Jan - Dec 31st 2025, are not yet published.  The Council's Noise and Odour complaints dataset will be updated with 2025 data in January 2026

Information on the Council's Wards is also in the public domain.  Applicant referred to the Your Councillors page of the Council's website, where this information can be found 

Request reference: FOI 11009

Issue date: 19.12.25

Request received: 

The applicant requested the following information concerning asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) in all buildings for which the Council is the duty holder or responsible for maintenance

1. Asbestos Presence Breakdown

A breakdown of the total number of buildings under the Council’s control that contain asbestos-containing materials (ACMs), categorised by building type as follows:

- Educational Establishments: (schools, colleges, nurseries)

- Health/Institutional Buildings: (hospitals, clinics, residential care homes)

- Civic/Administrative Buildings: (council offices, town halls, depots, fire/police stations)

- Leisure/Cultural Buildings: (leisure centres, libraries, community centres, museums)

- All Other Public Buildings: (Any other type of building not covered above)

2. Management and Claims

a)  For each category above, the total number of buildings that have not had an updated independent audit of their Asbestos Management Plan in the last 3 years (i e since December 2022)

b) The number of reported incidents of potential or confirmed asbestos exposure in all buildings under the Council’s control between 2020 and the present date

c) The number of current and former employees/users who have pursued a claim against the Council for asbestos exposure in a building under its control from 01.01.2020 to the date of the Council’s response

d)  The total amount of money paid in settlement of these claims (c above) (with or without acceptance of liability) from 01.01.2020 to the date of the Council’s response

Response provided:

1. As follows:

Educational Establishments: (schools, colleges, nurseries) = Zero

Health/Institutional Buildings: (hospitals, clinics, residential care homes) = Zero

Civic/Administrative Buildings: (council offices, town halls, depots, fire/police stations) = Two

Leisure/Cultural Buildings: (leisure centres, libraries, community centres, museums) = Zero

All Other Public Buildings: (Any other type of building not covered above) = Zero

2. a) N/A, asbestos management plans are updated in-house

    b) Zero

    c) Zero

    d) N/A

Request reference: FOI 11010

Issue date: 10.12.25

Request received: 

The applicant requested an Excel spreadsheet containing details of all contracts due to expire within the next 12 months. Specifically, the following information for each contract:

• Contract reference number

• Contract name

• Start date

• End date

• Any extensions granted

• Contract value

• Winning bidder

• List of all other bidders who participated in the original tender process

Response provided:

The information requested is in the public domain accessible through the ‘supplyingthesouthwest.org.uk Procurement Portal’.  Under section 21(1) of the Freedom of Information Act, to assist the applicant with locating the requested information the Council provided the following link to the Procurement Portal Contracts Register: Contracts register

To narrow the search, select “North Devon District Council” from the drop-down list of Organisations

You can then select the Green ‘Export’ button at the bottom of the screen which will export contract information into a spreadsheet 

Request reference: FOI 11012

Issue date: 23.12.25

Request received: 

The applicant requested details about Motor Vehicles that have been registered for Private hire, such as Taxis or Chauffeur hire, Hackney Carriage for the period spanning from January 1st, 2022 to the present date. Specifically, the following information:

1. Vehicle registration number

2. Manufacturer (Make) of the vehicle

3. Model of the vehicle

4. Date when the vehicle was initially licensed

5. Date when the license for the vehicle ceased

Response provided:

The applicant was provided with the requested information in two Excel spreadsheets 

Request reference: FOI 11014

Issue date: 15.12.25

Request received: 

The applicant requested statistical data regarding the usage of official council email accounts for all elected councillors. Specifically, a breakdown of the following metadata for the period May 4th to 1st of December 2025:

1. Total Received: The total number of emails received by the Councillor’s official council email address (e g @devon.gov.uk) during the specified period

2. Total Sent: The total number of emails sent from the Councillor’s official council email address during the specified period

Response provided:

The applicant was advised that whilst the Council is able to provide the number of emails and sent and received by its Councillors, it is not possible to run this report that would provide the data for the specific period 04.05.25 - 01.12.25 as per the request as the report used by the ICT team can only produce data back 180 days from the date that the report is run and that there is no ability to choose a specific date that has already passed. The report can only take a snapshot of the last 180 days from the date that it is run. The applicant was provided with such a report as run on 15.12.25 providing the requested data 

Request reference: FOI 11016

Issue date: 17.12.25

Request received: 

For the last three financial years:

1. For the purposes of serving a Completion Notice for council tax, at what stage of construction does the authority consider a property to be “substantially complete” or “capable of being completed within three months”? For example, is this considered only when final fixtures/fittings are outstanding, or when the roof, windows, doors, and main structure are in place?

2. Are full council tax charges applied to new build dwellings that are unoccupied, unfurnished, and unsold, or is a discount or exemption implemented?

3. How much council tax revenue has been raised from unoccupied, unfurnished, and unsold new build dwellings in each of the past three financial years?

4. How many instances in each of the past three financial years has a developer challenged the completion date set out in a Completion Notice served on a new build dwelling that is unoccupied, unfurnished, and unsold?

5. Of the instances in Question 4, in how many cases has the authority withdrawn the original Completion Notice and issued a new notice with a revised date?

6. How many instances in each of the past three financial years has a developer appealed the completion date set out in a Completion Notice served on a new build dwelling that is unoccupied, unfurnished, and unsold to the Valuation Tribunal?

7. Of the instances in Question 6, in how many cases has the Valuation Tribunal upheld the appeal by a residential developer regarding the completion date set out in a Completion Notice for a new build dwelling that is unoccupied, unfurnished, and unsold?

Response provided:

1. The Council’s Revenues team considers the property to be complete when the roof, windows, doors, and main structure are in place and the remaining works to the property can reasonably be completed within three months

2. A three-month 100% discount is applied to an unoccupied and unfurnished new build

3. This information is not recorded in a way in which it can be easily obtained/calculated. It would require an officer within the Revenues team to manually go through 253 Valuation Office schedules to obtain this data and is estimated that the officer would require approximately 20 minutes per schedule

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

It has been estimated by the Revenues team that it would take approximately 84 hours to provide the requested information which would well exceed the 18-hour limit as explained above. The procedure would cause serious disruption to the day to day working of the Revenues team and therefore, the Council confirmed that it was unable to process this part of the request any further. As set out in the previous paragraph, the Council has the right to refuse to provide the information in accordance with Section 12 of the Act

4. This information is not recorded in a way in which it can be easily obtained/calculated. It would require an officer within the Revenues team to manually go through 974 documents to obtain this data and is estimated that the officer would require approximately four minutes per document

It has been estimated by the revenues team that it would take approximately 64 hours to provide the requested information which would well exceed the 18-hour limit as explained above. The procedure would cause serious disruption to the day to day working of the Revenues team and therefore, the Council confirmed that it was unable to process this part of the request any further. As set out in the previous paragraph, the Council has the right to refuse to provide the information in accordance with Section 12 of the Act

5. As 4 above

6. None

7. None

Request reference: FOI 11017

Issue date: 17.12.25

Request received: 

The applicant requested the following regarding the Council’s IT service management (ITSM) software:

  
1.         Total number of employees

2.         Total number of IT service desk agents

3.         Existing service desk/ITSM software used

4.         Deployment model (Cloud-based or on-premise)

5.         Number of software licenses

6.         Contract renewal date

7.         Annual cost of contract

8.         Total cost of contract

9.         Contract review date

10.       Main decision maker/contact for service desk software

Response provided:

1. 420

2. 14

3. Topdesk

4. Cloud

5. 14

6. 31.12.2026 with the option of an extension.

7. £8,203.32

8. £33,000

9. January 2026

10. ICT Manager 

Request reference: FOI 11018

Issue date: 17.12.25

Request received: 

  1. What is the name of the company/supplier which provides the Council’s current cashless parking system?
  2. What date did the current cashless parking contract start?
  3. When date does the current contract end? (including any potential extensions).
  4. For cashless parking does the supplier or the Council act as the Merchant Acquiring provider?
  5. Does the Council have Pay and Display machines in operation?
  6. If yes, how many machines are in situ?

Response provided:

1. RingGo

2. 07.08.24

3. 07.08.26

4. No, the Council does

5. Yes

6. 61 

Request reference: FOI 11022

Issue date: 18.12.25

Request received: 

1. Which single street in your council area has produced the highest income from traffic or parking violations (income just from Penalty Charges Notices - PCNs) in the 2024/2025 financial year?

2. Please provide details of the number of tickets issued to motorists paying traffic or parking violations fine in relation to this single street in the 2024/25 financial year, and what the violations were? (e g parking, driving in bus lanes etc)

3. Please provide details of the total income to the council from the number of tickets issued of motorists paying traffic or parking violations fine in relation to this single street in the 2024/25 financial year

4. What was the total number of Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) issued across the entire council area in the 2024/2025 financial year, and what was the total income received by the council from these PCNs during this period?

Response provided:

1, 2 and 3. Applicant referred to Devon County Council as they are responsible for On-Street parking enforcement (roads/streets) 

4. The applicant did not stated that this is requested only in relation to on-street parking and so it was confirmed that North Devon Council is responsible for off-street parking enforcement (car parks) only and that it publishes the numbers of PCN's issued by location in each calendar year from 2013 to 2024 via its website which will be updated in the January 2026 with the 2025 data

The revenue received in parking charges and fines is published in a separate dataset covering the years 2009/10 - 2024/25 via the Council's website 

Applicant advised that if they are seeking this data for on-street parking too, then they will also need to direct this question to Devon County Council for a response 

Request reference: FOI 11023

Issue date: 19.12.25

Request received: 

The applicant requested the following information regarding recruitment agency usage for communications roles

Definition of Scope: For the purposes of this request, "communications" refers to the general department or function that encompasses:

  • Internal or external communications functions
  • The press office or media relations
  • Social media management
  • Marketing functions (where these sit within the communications structure)

1. 2025/26 Actuals and Outturn Forecast

1a. The total number of days a temporary worker was employed via an agency for the communications roles defined above from 6 April 2025 to the date of this request

1b. The council’s current projected year-end outturn for the total number of agency days for these roles for the full 2025/26 financial year (ending 31 March 2026)

1c. A breakdown of these days (actual and forecast) by job grade or title (e g Communications Officer, Senior Communications Officer, Communications Manager)

2. 2026/27 Planned Requirements

2a. The total number of days currently budgeted or forecasted for agency-provided communications staff for the 2026/27 financial year

2b. A breakdown of this requirement by job grade or title

2c. Financial Qualifier: The applicant stated that they were requesting the currently held financial forecasts and draft budget allocations for 2026/27 as they exist at the time of their request. If these forecasts do not yet segment requirements by specific job title, please provide the department's overall forecasted budget or total "headcount days" for temporary agency workers within the communications function

Response provided:

The Council confirmed that it does not use temporary workers or agency staff within its Communications team, therefore the Council's response is as follows:

 

1. a) Zero

    b) N/A

    c) N/A

2. a) Zero/N/A

    b) N/A

    c) N/A

Request reference: FOI 11026

Issue date: 23.12.25

Request received: 

Over recent years the government has been operating a program of managed migration which is seeing people being invited to migrate to Universal Credit (UC) or their current benefits will be terminated. The government has accelerated this process and according to the House of Commons library all income-relate Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) claimants will receive their migration notices by Autumn 2025 and be moved by April 2026

Reading comments on forums and groups some disabled people who have completed their move to UC from ESA are saying their council tax bills and/or social care charges have changed as a result, with most saying they have increased

As a billing authority, North Devon Council will have been notified by the Department for Work and Pensions when an ESA claimant is migrated to UC. As a result, the authority will have recalculated their council tax and any reduction they were getting. Therefore, the applicant requested the following information about this group:

How many ESA to UC claimants have you been notified about?

How many have seen their council tax bill increase?

How many have remained the same?

How many have decreased?

While not every claimant who migrated from ESA to UC will be getting social care, some will. Therefore please share the following information

How many ESA to UC claimants are getting social care?

How many have seen their social care charges increase?

How many have remained the same?

How many have decreased?

Response provided:

The Council's Benefits team confirmed that the total number of ESA claims is 685; 40 of which are active claims where the customer is still in receipt of ESA. However, the only way it would be possible to identify why it changed/ended would require each of those 645 remaining claims to be manually searched by an officer within the Benefits team

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

It has been estimated by the Benefits team that it would take approximately 54 hours the requested information which is based upon each claim taking approximately five minutes to be checked for the following and then recorded within a spreadsheet:

- why the income changed

- whether it was a natural or managed migrations to UC if applicable 

- whether the entitlement increased or decreased

This task would cause serious disruption to the day to day working of the Benefits team and therefore we are unable to process 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 

Request reference: FOI 11028

Issue date: 23.12.25

Request received: 

1. What is the minimum and maximum number of nights that people are in temporary accommodation?

2. How many people are on the housing waiting list in Combe Martin?

Response provided:

1. Time can range from a minimum of one day until their current longest being in self-contained temporary accommodation since October 2022 (a single male)

2. Last data available is as follows: 

45 households as at July 2025 

46 households in January 2025 

44 households as at July 2024 

The next data set to be produced will be in January 2026

The above information is provided from Devon Home Choice system which allows application for affordable rented housing in Devon. An application can be made by a person(s) wishing to be considered for a property for their ‘household’ which can comprise of more than one person, e g partner and children along with applicant

The data shows the number of households currently living in the parish registered as being in housing need. It does not detail whether those persons want to remain in the parish in which they are registered. Local connection is not confirmed; this is done at a later stage of housing process. Not all households tend to register themselves on the housing register as they don’t think that they will have the opportunity to be housed, so the figures are often higher than those stated. Equally, the data does not count those people who hold a local connection to the parish but live in a different parish or out of North Devon. Those are the sort of caveats that would be picked up in a housing needs survey