Disclosure Log - April 2025 | North Devon Council

Request reference: EIR 10394

Issue date: 08.04.25

Request received:

With regard to planning application 77576 – White Cross Offshore Windfarm Ltd:

All documents created on or after 1 January 2015 within the possession or power of NDC relating to or relevant to the consideration, application or potential application of the ‘Rochdale Envelope’ principles as to what is now White Cross Onshore Project or any related activities of any connected entity of White Cross, to include but limited to all of:

Correspondence between NDC and parties acting on behalf of NDC
Correspondence between NDC and/or parties acting on behalf of NDC, and relevant parties external to NDC
Notes of meetings, memoranda, correspondence, of, or between, parties internal to NDC including persons or entities acting on their behalf

Relevant parties within any of i), ii) and iii) above include:

Employees of North Devon Council
Employees of Tokyo Electric Power Co and/or its subsidiaries
Employees of any White Cross Offshore Windfarm Ltd and/or connected companies
Companies or entities for which Lord Nicol Stephen is or was a ‘connected person’
Persons or entities acting on behalf of any relevant parties within iv) to vii) above

Response provided:

The applicant was provided with the information held that falls within the remit of the request where it is not already published via the Planning Tracker, with some personal data redacted throughout in accordance with Regulation 13 of the EIR

Request reference: FOI 10423

Issue date: 01.04.25

Request received:

This FOIA request is to ask for your data (if held) on incidents that cover the above circumstances, specifically:

- Reports of dumped game birds (pheasants and partridges)

- During the time periods 01/09/2022 – 01/03/2023, 01/09/2023 – 01/03/2024 and 01/09/2024 – 01/03/2025 (time period relates to the game bird shooting season)

Response provided:

The applicant was informed that the Council’s Environmental Protection team confirms that whilst it does not have a separate complaint code specifically for ‘fly-tipped game birds’, it does however have one for ‘animal carcass’. In discharge of its obligation under section 1(1)(b) the team has checked all complaints under this code for the requested years but has found none relating specifically to game birds, therefore the Council’s response is as follows:

01/09/2022 – 01/03/2023 = Zero

01/09/2023 – 01/03/2024 = Zero

01/09/2024 – 01/03/2025 = Zero

Request reference: FOI 10432

Issue date: 15.04.25

Request received:

1. The amount of funding to be provided by the local authority to organisations supporting sexual violence and abuse victim-survivors in your area, for the 25/26 financial year. Please break this down by organisation funded, providing information about the nature of the funding arrangement, and the services to be provided by the organisation supporting victim-survivors of sexual violence and abuse, using the attached spreadsheet template

2. The total amount of funding to be provided by the local authority to organisations supporting victim-survivors of domestic abuse in your area, for the 25/26 financial year

Response provided:

The Council confirmed it does not fund any organisations solely for sexual violence victims/survivors. The applicant was directed onto Devon County Council’s Information Governance team as they are responsible for Health and Social Care which covers North Devon
The Council will provide NDADA £25,491 for 2025/26. This funds a housing triage domestic abuse officer who speaks to all clients who advise the Council’s Housing team they are fleeing domestic abuse and offers advice on options available to the client tailored to their circumstances, completes DASH risk assessments, arranges refuge interviews/travel and referrals to appropriate organisations. This is the only organisation that the Council provides funding to

Request reference: FOI 10440

Issue date: 07.04.25

Request received:

1. A copy of each active zoo licence issued by the local authority

2. Each licensed zoo's most recently submitted stock list/inventory of animals

3. Each licensed zoo's most recent inspection report

Response provided:

The applicant was provided with the requested information with some third party personal data redacted throughout (which is available on request) in accordance with Section 40 of the Act

Request reference: FOI 10441

Issue date: 08.04.25

Request received:

The applicant requested copies of all of the complaints that the planning department has continually received regarding their land/property within the Council area

Response provided:

The Council confirmed to the applicant that it holds three complaints received; two of which were received from members of the public/third parties which were made to the Council in confidence and therefore were full withheld from disclosure in accordance with Section 40 of the Act. The third complaint was received from the Parish Council local to the site in question which was provided to the applicant, but with the personal data of the sender (a member of the Parish Council and their email address) were redacted in accordance with Section of the Act

Request reference: FOI 10442

Issue date: 09.04.25

Request received:

The applicant requested information regarding planning application refunds within the council jurisdiction in a list (in Excel format) of all planning applications submitted from 12th September 2024 to the most recent data available where no decision was made within the statutory period (26 weeks for major applications and 16 weeks for non-major applications), unless a longer period has/had been agreed in writing between the applicant and the Local Authority, and no refund of fees has been made to date

Requested Columns:

1. Planning application reference

2. Applicant name

3. Site address

4. Valid date

5. Planning application fee paid (£)

6. Decision due date

7. Actual decision date

8. No. of days to decision

9. The decision (e g approved, refused, etc)

10. Extension of time/Planning performance agreement in writing (Yes or No)

11. Refund (Yes or No)

12. Eligible for Refund (Yes or No) (Based on statutory decision deadlines: 16 weeks for non-major applications and 26 weeks for major applications)

13. Withdrawn (Yes or No)

14. Proposal description

The applicant requested that the information be provided in chronological (date) order

Response provided:

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

Request reference: FOI 10444

Issue date: 03.04.25

Request received:

The following information on the implementation of Housing First programmes in the local authority area:

1. Is the local authority running a Housing First programme? If so, how many? If yes, please complete the following:

2. Is your Housing First scheme run by the local authority or by an external partner?

3. How many individuals can your Housing First programme(s) support at any given time?

4. How many individuals are either:

a) currently on a waiting list for Housing First support?

b) assessed as eligible but not currently receiving support due to capacity constraints or any other reason? If you cannot provide this, please still provide 4 a)

5. The most up to date cost benefit analysis (CBA) or cost estimate analysis (CEA) estimating the costs of support provided by your Housing First service(s) and the value of benefits delivered. For this request, please provide the information including itemised costs, benefits, and any other underlying data including discounting used and your methodology. If you have not conducted a CEA or CBA please provide any cost estimates and any benefit estimates that you have. Please prioritise costs if you cannot provide other information. For this request, please provide the information including estimation methodology in a word or pdf document with underlying data preferably as .xlsx or .csv. If you cannot provide the underlying data, please still provide the methodology

6. What is the current length of the funding period for your Housing First provision?

7. How is your Housing First programme funded? For example, local authority homelessness funding (through pots like the Rough Sleepers Initiative or the Homeless Prevention Grant), local authority funding via adult social care (e g adult social care or public health) and/or charitable grants or partnership

8. What is the primary source of housing for your Housing First programme? For example, council housing, housing association, or private rented sector

Response provided:

1. No

2. External partner

3. Four

4. a) Not holding a waiting list due to being unable to secure additional housing to increase the scheme

b) N/A

5. Unable to provide this as the scheme is run by an external partner

6. Funding for the support element has been extended until 31.03.26

7. Rough Sleeper Initiative

8. Private rented sector

Request reference: FOI 10447

Issue date: 10.04.25

Request received:

1. How many Section106 (S106) agreements were completed in financial years a) 2022-23, b) 2023-24 and c) 2024-25?

2. What was the average time taken from a planning application being validated to the completion of an associated S106 agreement in a) 2022-23, b) 2023-24 and c) 2024-25?

3. What was the longest and shortest duration taken to complete an S106 agreement in a) 2022-23, b) 2023-24 and c) 2024-25?

4. Do you have any internal targets or key performance indicators for S106 negotiation timescales? If so, please provide details.

5. How many S106 agreements took longer than 12 months to be agreed a) 2022-23, b) 2023-24 and c) 2024-25?

6. How many planning applications lapsed or were withdrawn due to delays in S106 negotiations in a) 2022-23, b) 2023-24 and c) 2024-25?

7. How much was spent on external legal consultants on work to negotiate S106 agreements in a) 2022-23, b) 2023-24 and c) 2024-25?

Response provided:

1. 2022/23 = 50

2023/24 = 48

2024/25 = 41

2. This information is not recorded, however the average time taken from date valid to date decision issued is as follows:

2022/23 = 576 days

2023/24 = 380 days

2024/25 = 429 days

3. This information is not recorded, however the time taken to issue a decision (from date valid to date decision issued) for an application with an accompanying legal agreement, is as follows:

2022/23 = longest: 2,154 days, shortest: 140 days

2023/24 = longest: 1,833 days, shortest: 34 days

2024/25 = longest: 2,229 days, shortest: 114 days

4. No

5. 2022/3 = 29 applications took longer than 12 months for a decision to be issued

2023/24 = 22 applications took longer than 12 months for a decision to be issued

2024/25 = 10 applications took longer than 12 months for a decision to be issued

6. This information is not recorded

7. This information is not recorded. In the event that an agreement is outsourced to external solicitors the invoices would be paid by the applicant/developer

Request reference: EIR 10452

Issue date: 01.04.25

Request received:

A copy of the advice given by Planning under ENQ/0895/2024 in relation to Planning Application 79853

Response provided:

The Council contacted the Agent that submitted the pre-application enquiry t which they responded confirming that the application has been determined. As they did not raise any concerns with the information being disclosed, a copy of the advice given under ENQ/0895/2024 in relation to PA79853 was disclosed

Request reference: FOI 10453

Issue date: 14.04.25

Request received:

1. The charge for littering in the council area in 2023, 2024 and 2025 year to date

2. The number of Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs) given for littering in the years 2022, 2023 and 2024

3. The FPN charge amount in 2021, 2022

Response provided:

1. 2023, 2024 and 2025 YTD = £100 reduced to £80 if paid within 14 days

2. 2022 and 2023 = Applicant directed to the Council’s website where this information is published within an annual Environmental FPN dataset

2024 = Two. Applicant advised that the 2024 dataset is being prepared for publication in due course

3. 2021 and 2022 = £100 reduced to £80 if paid within 14 days

Request reference: FOI 10454

Issue date: 24.04.25

Request received:

A list of all providers currently active on the required frameworks for the following services:

- Supported Living

- Temporary Accommodation

- Emergency Housing

- Homelessness (Individuals and Families)

- Extra Care Housing

- Refugees and Safe Housing

- Offender and Ex-Offender Accommodation

- Residential Home Providers

If possible, please provide this information in an Excel spreadsheet, including company names and email addresses. If there is no active framework for any of these services, I would appreciate a list of the providers you are currently working with

Response provided:

The Council confirmed to the applicant that it does hold some of this information. In discharge of its obligation under section 1(1)(b) the Council confirmed that it does not have frameworks for any of the services as listed within the request, however below a list of the providers the Council is currently working with under the relevant headings:

- Temporary Accommodation, Emergency Housing, and Homelessness (Individuals and Families):

North Devon Resorts

Wildwood Guest House, Ilfracombe

Darnley Guest House, Ilfracombe

Coaching Inn, South Molton

Travelodge, Barnstaple

North Devon Council own stock

North Devon Homes

Supported Living:

Westward Housing

Amber Project, Chawleigh

Livewest Registered Social Provider

Encompass Supported Accommodation

Freedom Social Projects

Sanctuary Housing Association

Beckcare Homes Ltd

North Devon Against Domestic Abuse

Young Devon

Enpowering Lives

Request reference: FOI 10455

Issue date: 08.04.25

Request received:

For the period November 2024 which was invoiced by the supplier to the Council in December, the applicant requested the following:

For the Council’s half-hourly meter portfolio, the grid Electricity kwh’s consumed and the £-value spent excluding VAT

The natural Gas kwh’s consumed and the £-value spent excluding VAT

Indicate if the electricity is classed as being Green or Brown

Response provided:

Electricity (Brown, however the Crematorium has a current solar panel project and are hoping for Green/brown mix by November 2025)

Total Kwh’s used = 62,259.5

Total £-value/spend = £15,088.37 excluding VAT

Gas

Total Kwh’s used = 182,782.54

Total £-value/spend = £7,760.91 excluding VAT

Applicant advised that cost and consumption figures are based on estimated use not readings. Data provided within this response covers commercial assets and the Crematorium

Request reference: FOI 10457

Issue date: 01.04.25

Request received:

1. The total number of dwellings in developments that were granted planning permission by the council between 5 July 2024 and 4 January 2025 - and how many of these dwellings are currently designated as being for social rent*? (For the avoidance of doubt, please count individual units within multi-home developments as separate dwellings – e g count a block of 20 flats as 20 dwellings, etc)

* To be clear, we are asking for data specifically on dwellings that will be let at social rent, and do not want statistics on umbrella categories such as "affordable". This is the case for every question in this FOI request that asks about social rent dwellings

1a. If possible, please provide a breakdown of this data for each month, detailing the total number of dwellings given planning permission and how many of these are for social rent

1b. If possible, of the dwellings currently designated as being for social rent, please provide a breakdown of how many are one-bed, two-bed, three-bed, have more than three bedrooms or have an unspecified number of bedrooms

2. What is your policy on the proportion of units in each new development in your area that should be for social rent, and has this changed since 5 July 2024?

Response provided:

1. 226

There were two applications approved that included Social Rent dwellings in the period 05.07.24 - 04.01.25:

17.10.24 an outline application number 65528 was approved for 17 dwellings. Including three x two bedroom Social Rent Dwellings

19.12.24 a full application number 74500 was approved for 17 dwellings

and 76 bed care home (Use Class C2). Including three x 2 bed and one x four bed Social Rent dwellings

1. a) July = 33

August = 39

September = 43

October = 65

November = 19

December = 27

January = 0

1. b) As detailed above

2. The policy on all developments over the qualifying thresholds is to provide at least 75% of the affordable dwellings as Social Rent. This policy has not changed since July 2024

Request reference: FOI 10459

Issue date: 15.04.25

Request received:

Information regarding complaints about smoke nuisance within the local authority. Please could you provide the following data:

1. The number of complaints received about smoke nuisance in the last 10 years (please provide a year-by-year breakdown from 2015 to 2025)

2. If recorded, the identified source of the smoke nuisance complaints (e.g., wood burners, bonfires, barbecues, grills, industrial sources, agricultural activities, or other specified sources)

3. Any available data on enforcement actions or resolutions taken in response to these complaints

4. Whether your local authority has issued any public guidance, restrictions, or policy changes related to smoke nuisances in recent years

5. Has the local authority received any complaints specifically citing health concerns (e g respiratory issues, aggravation of asthma, or other medical conditions) due to smoke nuisance?

a. If so, what was the cause of the smoke nuisance noted? (e g wood burners, bonfires, barbecues, grills, industrial sources, agricultural activities, or other specified sources)

Response provided:

Applicant advised that regarding 2015 and 2016 the data is no longer available as it has since been destroyed in line with Council data retention policy

1 and 2. Applicant provided with this information in spreadsheets, one per year from 2017 - 2024 inclusive which are available upon request

3. Applicant referred to column 5 (Outcome) within the disclosed spreadsheets

4. Applicant referred to the following page on the Council’s website: Bonfires and Smoke Nuisance

5. Applicant referred to column 4 (Details) within the disclosed spreadsheets

Applicant further informed that all personal data has been redacted throughout the spreadsheets, including data that may also indirectly lead to the identification of both complainant and those being complained about as this information is considered to be exempt under Section 40 of the Act. As the information constitutes personal data and those individuals would have no reasonable expectation for the Council to make their personal information publicly available, as a disclosure to the requester under the Act is also a disclosure of the information into the public domain for the wider public to see

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 10460

Issue date: 14.04.25

Request received:

The applicant requested, in an accessible format such as Excel, Word, PDF, or text, a vehicle fleet list operated by the council, whether owned or leased, providing the following details for each vehicle:

- Chassis Make and Model

- Registration Mark of each motor vehicle (VRM)

- Type of Body fitted

- Date of acquisition

- Date of disposal (if applicable) for vehicles decommissioned between 2020 and 2025

Response provided:

The applicant was provided with the requested information (as far as it is held) in an Excel spreadsheet, which is available upon request

Request reference: FOI 10464

Issue date: 16.04.25

Request received:

The applicant requested the Council to inform them whether it produces the data indicated, whether it publishes it publicly, and how frequently it is published.

The applicant indicated that they do not require and is not asking for the data itself, or its published location, only an indication of whether this is data routinely produced and published

For Produced, the response does not need to say more than: Yes, no or partially

For Published by the Council: Yes or no (Please note: Providing the data to a third party, including central government, for publication, but not directly publishing it yourself, should be answered “no”)

For Publication frequency: Annual, quarterly, monthly, weekly, or real time.

Organisational data

Data	Produced	Published by you	Publication frequency
Number of permanent and fixed term staff employed by the organisation, broken down by service area
Number of agency staff in the organisation, broken down by service area
Total staffing costs, broken down by service area
Total number of days lost due to staff sickness, broken down by service area (including both permanent and agency staff)
Percentage of vacant roles, broken down by service area
A detailed schedule of all posts advertised for the previous 12 months, by service area, including role type, date the role was advertised, number of applications received, date staff were appointed and start date
Percentage of staff who left the organisation during the previous 12 months (turnover rate), broken down by service area
The number of staff who have claimed overtime, broken down by each service area

Service information

Data	Produced	Published by you	Publication frequency
Operational opening hours for contact centres
Logs of calls to contact centres and other areas, including call answer times and outcomes
Logs of emails to contact centres and other areas, including response times and outcomes
Forecast/actual revenue and capital spend, broken down by service area

KPIs - Benefits

Data	Produced	Published by you	Publication frequency
Total number of new Housing Benefit claims
Average number of days to process new Housing Benefit claims
Total number of new Council Tax Support claims
Average number of days to process new Council Tax Support claims
Total number of new Housing Benefit change requests
Average number of days to process new Housing Benefit change requests
Total number of new Council Tax Support change requests
Average number of days to process new Council Tax Support change requests
Total number of undisputed invoices
Number and percentage of undisputed invoices paid within 30 days

KPIs - Revenue

Data	Produced	Published by you	Publication frequency
Total housing rent due
Total housing rent collected
Total business rates due
Total business rates collected
Total council tax due
Total council tax collected

KPIs – Planning

Data	Produced	Published by you	Publication frequency
Number of major applications including Public Service Infrastructure Developments received
Number of major applications including Public Service Infrastructure Developments, broken down by whether they were determined within 8 weeks, 8 to 13 weeks, or with an associated planning agreement
Total number of major applications including Public Service Infrastructure Developments decided upon, broken down by delegated and non-delegated decision
Number of non-major applications including change of use and householder developments received
Number of non-major applications including change of use and householder developments, broken down by whether they were determined within 8 weeks, 8 to 13 weeks, or with an associated planning agreement
Total number of non-major applications including change of use and householder developments decided upon, broken down by delegated and non-delegated decision
Number of householder planning applications received
Number of householder development applications, broken down by whether they were determined within 8 weeks, 16 weeks, or with an associated planning agreement
Total number of householder planning applications decided upon, , broken down by delegated and non-delegated decisions
Average time to determine validated householder planning applications (weeks)
Number of appeals against major planning applications that had been refused, and the number of decisions on those appeals
Number of appeals against non-major planning applications that had been refused, and the number of decisions on those appeals
Number of appeals against major planning applications on the grounds of non-determination, and the number of decisions on those appeals
Number of appeals against non-major planning applications on the grounds of non-determination, and the number of decisions on those appeals

KPIs – Land charges

Data	Produced	Published by you	Publication frequency
Number of land charges searches requested
Average number of days to respond to a land charges search request

KPIs – Housing

Data	Produced	Published by you	Publication frequency
Number of customer satisfaction surveys completed
Number of completed customer satisfaction surveys with a score of 7 or above out of 10
Average days to re-let all housing stock
Total number of responsive repairs
Total number of emergency repairs
Number of emergency repairs completed within 24 hours

KPI – Democratic services

Data	Produced	Published by you	Publication frequency
Number of public hybrid (in person and online) meetings
Number of public hybrid meetings run without issues causing downtime exceeding 5 minutes

KPI – Waste and environment

Data	Produced	Published by you	Publication frequency
Total tonnes of household waste collected
Total tonnes of household waste sent for reuse, recycling and composting
Total number of bins collected
Number of bins collected on time

KPIs – Complaints

Data	Produced	Published by you	Publication frequency
Number of formal complaints received
Total number of formal complaints resolved
Number of formal complaints resolved within timescale

KPIs – Contact centre

Data	Produced	Published by you	Publication frequency
Total number of calls to the contact centre
Total number of calls to the contact centre that are answered
Average call answer time (seconds)
Number of calls to the contact centre resolved first time

Response provided:

Organisational data

Data	Produced	Published by you	Publication frequency
Number of permanent and fixed term staff employed by the organisation, broken down by service area	Yes	No	N/A
Number of agency staff in the organisation, broken down by service area	Yes	No	N/A
Total staffing costs, broken down by service area	Yes	Yes (Budget book)	Annual
Total number of days lost due to staff sickness, broken down by service area (including both permanent and agency staff)	Yes but excludes agency	Yes	Annual
Percentage of vacant roles, broken down by service area	Yes	No	N/A
A detailed schedule of all posts advertised for the previous 12 months, by service area, including role type, date the role was advertised, number of applications received, date staff were appointed and start date	Yes	No	N/A
Percentage of staff who left the organisation during the previous 12 months (turnover rate), broken down by service area	Yes	No	N/A
The number of staff who have claimed overtime, broken down by each service area	Yes	No	N/A

Service information

Data	Produced	Published by you	Publication frequency
Operational opening hours for contact centres	Yes	Yes	Real time
Logs of calls to contact centres and other areas, including call answer times and outcomes	Yes	No	N/A
Logs of emails to contact centres and other areas, including response times and outcomes	Yes	No	N/A
Forecast/actual revenue and capital spend, broken down by service area	No	N/A	N/A

KPIs - Benefits

Data	Produced	Published by you	Publication frequency
Total number of new Housing Benefit claims	Yes	Yes	Quarterly
Average number of days to process new Housing Benefit claims	No	No	No
Total number of new Council Tax Support claims	Yes	Yes	Quarterly
Average number of days to process new Council Tax Support claims	No	No	No
Total number of new Housing Benefit change requests	Yes	Yes	Quarterly
Average number of days to process new Housing Benefit change requests	No	No	No
Total number of new Council Tax Support change requests	Yes	Yes	Quarterly
Average number of days to process new Council Tax Support change requests	No	No	No
Total number of undisputed invoices	No	No	No
Number and percentage of undisputed invoices paid within 30 days	No	No	No

KPIs - Revenue

Data	Produced	Published by you	Publication frequency
Total housing rent due	N/A	N/A	N/A
Total housing rent collected	N/A	N/A	N/A
Total business rates due	Yes	No	N/A
Total business rates collected	Yes	No	N/A
Total council tax due	Yes	No	N/A
Total council tax collected	Yes	No	N/A

KPIs – Planning

Data	Produced	Published by you	Publication frequency
Number of major applications including Public Service Infrastructure Developments received	Yes	No	N/A
Number of major applications including Public Service Infrastructure Developments, broken down by whether they were determined within 8 weeks, 8 to 13 weeks, or with an associated planning agreement	Yes	No	N/A
Total number of major applications including Public Service Infrastructure Developments decided upon, broken down by delegated and non-delegated decision	No	No	N/A
Number of non-major applications including change of use and householder developments received	Yes	No	N/A
Number of non-major applications including change of use and householder developments, broken down by whether they were determined within 8 weeks, 8 to 13 weeks, or with an associated planning agreement	Yes	No	N/A
Total number of non-major applications including change of use and householder developments decided upon, broken down by delegated and non-delegated decision	No	No	N/A
Number of householder planning applications received	No	No	N/A
Number of householder development applications, broken down by whether they were determined within 8 weeks, 16 weeks, or with an associated planning agreement	Yes	No	N/A
Total number of householder planning applications decided upon, , broken down by delegated and non-delegated decisions	No	No	N/A
Average time to determine validated householder planning applications (weeks)	No	No	N/A
Number of appeals against major planning applications that had been refused, and the number of decisions on those appeals	No	No	N/A
Number of appeals against non-major planning applications that had been refused, and the number of decisions on those appeals	No	No	N/A
Number of appeals against major planning applications on the grounds of non-determination, and the number of decisions on those appeals	No	No	N/A
Number of appeals against non-major planning applications on the grounds of non-determination, and the number of decisions on those appeals	No	No	N/A

KPIs – Land charges

Data	Produced	Published by you	Publication frequency
Number of land charges searches requested	Yes	No	N/A
Average number of days to respond to a land charges search request	No	N/A	N/A

KPIs – Housing

Data	Produced	Published by you	Publication frequency
Number of customer satisfaction surveys completed	Yes (in relation to Devon Home Choice)	Yes	Every two years
Number of completed customer satisfaction surveys with a score of 7 or above out of 10	No	No	N/A
Average days to re-let all housing stock	No	No	N/A
Total number of responsive repairs	N/A	N/A	N/A
Total number of emergency repairs	N/A	N/A	N/A
Number of emergency repairs completed within 24 hours	N/A	N/A	N/A

KPI – Democratic services

Data	Produced	Published by you	Publication frequency
Number of public hybrid (in person and online) meetings	Yes: Note the total number is not published. All meetings that are hybrid are published online
Number of public hybrid meetings run without issues causing downtime exceeding 5 minutes	No	N/A	N/A

KPI – Waste and environment

Data	Produced	Published by you	Publication frequency
Total tonnes of household waste collected	Yes	Yes	Quarterly
Total tonnes of household waste sent for reuse, recycling and composting	Yes	Yes	Quarterly
Total number of bins collected	Estimated	No	N/A
Number of bins collected on time	No	No	N/A

KPIs – Complaints

Data	Produced	Published by you	Publication frequency
Number of formal complaints received	Partially	Yes	Annually
Total number of formal complaints resolved	Partially	Yes	Annually
Number of formal complaints resolved within timescale	Partially	Yes	Annually

KPIs – Contact centre

Data	Produced	Published by you	Publication frequency
Total number of calls to the contact centre	Yes	No	N/A
Total number of calls to the contact centre that are answered	Yes	No	N/A
Average call answer time (seconds)	Yes	No	N/A
Number of calls to the contact centre resolved first time	Yes	No	N/A

Request reference: FOI 10465

Issue date: 09.04.25

Request received:

The following information for these financial years 2022/23, 2023/24 and 2024/25:

1. The total number of full-time employees currently employed by the council, excluding teaching staff and school staff

2. The total number of part-time employees currently employed by the council, excluding teaching staff and school staff

3. The total number of full-time and part-time employees in each of the last four financial years (2020-21, 2021-22, 2022-23, and 2023-24), also excluding teaching staff and school staff

4. If available, a breakdown of the number of full-time and part-time employees by department/service area (e g social care, planning, HR, communications, etc)

5. Please include temporary staff for each year. Separately from the total and full-time staff

Note: This FOI is specifically asking for headcounts, not FTE. If headcounts are not available, please provide total FTE

Response provided:

2022/23 Headcount:

Service	Male FT	Male PT	Female FT	Female PT	Temporary
Customer Focus	24	2	33	18	1 Male FT
Environmental Enhancement	143	7	9	3	1 Male FT
Governance	7	0	7	8	0
Organisational Development	0	0	5	0	0
Place, Property and Regeneration	20	6	15	12	1 Male FT, 1 Female PT
Planning, Housing and Health	31	2	32	16	1 Male PT, 4 Female PT
Programme Management and Performance	1	0	2	0	0
Head of Paid Service and Deputy	2	0	0	0	0

2023/24 Headcount:

Service	Male FT	Male PT	Female FT	Female PT	Temporary
Customer Focus	24	1	32	20	1 Female PT
Environmental Enhancement	153	11	10	3	1 Male FT
Governance	8	0	16	8	1 Female FT
Organisational Development	0	0	6	0	0
Place, Property and Regeneration	20	6	19	14	1 Male FT, 1 Female FT
Planning, Housing and Health	35	5	36	18	1 Male PT, 1 Female FT
Programme Management and Performance	0	0	2	0	0
Head of Paid Service and Deputy	2	0	0	0	0

2024/25 Headcount:

Service	Male FT	Male PT	Female FT	Female PT	Temporary
Customer Focus	25	1	26	24	2 Male FT
Environmental Enhancement	151	11	8	2	2 Male FT, 2 Female FT
Governance	8	0	13	10	1 Male FT, 1 Female FT
Organisational Development	0	0	6	0	0
Place, Property and Regeneration	22	3	20	14	2 Female FT, 2 Female PT
Planning, Housing and Health	37	11	39	15	1 Female PT
Programme Management and Performance	0	0	5	0	0
Head of Paid Service and Deputy	2	0	0	0	0

Request reference: FOI 10467

Issue date: 17.04.25

Request received:

Copies of correspondence between the planning department and applicants/agent regarding planning application ref 78845, in particular that detailing the likely reasons for refusal and allowing the application to be withdrawn

Response provided:

Information that falls within the remit of the request was disclosed to the applicant, but with some personal data redacted throughout under Regulation 13 (personal data). A small amount of other information that does not fall under the remit of the request was also redacted

Request reference: FOI 10468

Issue date: 09.04.25

Request received:

The applicant requested information regarding the use of the lease model known as rent-to-rent; specifically, how much the council has spent on housing residents in rent-to-rent properties within and outside its borough in the last five financial years:

April 1, 2024 – March 19, 2025

April 1, 2023 – March 31, 2024

April 1, 2022 – March 31, 2023

April 1, 2021 – March 31, 2022

April 1, 2020 – March 31, 2021

Response provided:

The Council confirmed to the applicant that it does not hold any of this information. In discharge of its obligation under section 1 (1) (b) the Council's Housing team confirms that the authority is not a registered provider and therefore its occupants do not pay rent. Customers are in occupation of Interim/Temporary Accommodation via Non-assured licence agreement under part vii of the Housing Act 1996 for occupation of premises. They pay charges under licence, but this is not rent:

April 1, 2024 – March 19, 2025 = Nil/£0

April 1, 2023 – March 31, 2024 = Nil/£0

April 1, 2022 – March 31, 2023 = Nil/£0

April 1, 2021 – March 31, 2022 = Nil/£0

April 1, 2020 – March 31, 2021 = Nil/£0

Request reference: FOI 10470

Issue date: 11.04.25

Request received:

1. What contract or arrangements does the Authority have in place to procure temporary/agency staff?

2. For temporary/agency staff do you use a specific procurement Framework?

3. For temporary/agency staff do you have any off-framework spend?

4. What contract or arrangements does the Authority have in place to procure permanent staff via commercial agencies?

5. For permanent staff do you use a specific procurement Framework?

6. For permanent staff do you have any off-framework spend?

Response provided:

Contract for Managed Serviced for Temporary Agency Resources
Details of the Framework are published on the Contract Register as linked above
Yes, this is published within a dataset which is updated annually: Council spend on agency staffing 2011/12 – 2023/24. The 2024/25 data will be ready for publication from end of May/early June 2025
N/A. The Council does not use any agency to recruit permanent staff; this is done in-house by the Council’s Human Resources team
N/A
N/A

Request reference: FOI 10471

Issue date: 22.04.25

Request received:

The applicant requested the following information regarding local dog waste:

1. The total number of dog fouling complaints that you have received in the last 12 months? (March 2024-March 2025)

2. How many fines/fixed penalty notices have been handed out to people for not cleaning up dog waste between March 2024 - March 2025?

3. How many dog poo/dog waste bins do you have, as of March 2025? This includes dedicated dog poo/dog waste bins as well as public litter bins that accept dog waste

Response provided:

In the last 12 months (01.04.24 - 31.03.25) = 103 dog fouling complaints received
Two FPNs were issued between 01.04.24 - 31.03.25 regarding dog fouling
Applicant referred to the Council’s mapping facility which provides the locations of all Dog bins within the authority area. For Litter bins, the applicant was referred to this link. All litter bins as per the mapping accept dog waste

Request reference: FOI 10472

Issue date: 17.04.25

Request received:

Information about the number of deaths from 1 January 2024 - 31 December 2024 (inclusive) in your local authority area, in each of the following housing situations:

- accommodation for homeless people, commissioned or directly delivered by your council, including night shelter, hostels and supported housing services for people rough sleeping or with a history of rough sleeping

- exempt accommodation

- interim, emergency or temporary accommodation (commissioned or directly delivered) offered under Part VII Housing Act. (Please specify which if this is known)

- supported accommodation for homeless young people (commissioned and directly delivered)

- refuge accommodation for survivors of domestic abuse

- rough sleeping or with no fixed abode

We are seeking this information about adults and children of all ages who were experiencing homelessness at the time of their death. Please include the cause or suspected cause of death, date of death, the person’s gender, age when they died, ethnicity, and immigration status. If you cannot provide all of this information, then please just provide all that you can

Response provided:

The Council confirms that it does hold this information. In discharge of its obligation under section 1(1)(b) the Council’s Housing team confirmed that they have had no individuals who have died during 2024 in any of the housing situations as listed within the request as above

Request reference: FOI 10474

Issue date: 23.04.25

Request received:

1. A list of all the GP practices that have received planning approval for either improvements to their building, or approval for a new build, since 1 April 2015 to date

2. The number of GP practices the Council has awarded Section 106 or Community Infrastructure Levy funding to since 1 April 2015, and how much that funding was worth

Response provided:

1. The Council confirmed that this information will be available via the Planning Tracker which publishes planning applications within the North Devon area. A list of all GP practices can be found online here. With this information, the applicant was advised that they will be able to carry out an advance search of the Planning Tracker of each practice postcode for the period of 01.01.15 to the date of their choice. They will need to select ‘Full Application’ for the Application type.

For example, Boutport Medical Centre at 110 Boutport Street, Barnstaple, EX31 1TD, the following applications are identified from 01.04.15 – 15.04.25 but no specific applications apply to this particular address and so there are no applicable applications for this GP practice. The applicant was advised that they will need to carry out this same search on every postcode/address for the other practices as linked above

In accordance with Section 21(1) of the Act, the Council is not obliged to provide or carry out searches of 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 relevant links and guidance as set out above to the applicant

2. The Planning department is unable to easily provide this information as it does not have a facility on the Planning Tracker that allows for all Section 106 agreements entered into to be searched upon. The only types of 106 that can be searched this way are S106 Discharge or Modification or S106 without compliance

The only way that the Planning department would be able to answer this part of the request would require an officer with the Planning department to manually go through the application file/record of all 416 S106 matter files between 01.04.15 to date to identify which fall within the remit of the request and then compile that information into a list/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

It has been estimated by the Planning department that it would take approximately 34.6 hours to provide the requested information, based upon a minimum of five minutes per matter. The task would cause serious disruption to the day to day working of the Planning department; therefore the Council is 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

Request reference: EIR 10480

Issue date: 14.04.25

Request received:

CON29 information relating to a property at EX31 3DH

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 10481

Issue date: 23.04.25

Request received:

The monetary charge of a fixed penalty notice for residents disposing of contaminated recycling located in North Devon District Council area

Response provided:

The Council confirmed that the current value of its FPN for a Waste Receptacle Offence is £110. This is reduced to £88 if paid before the expiration of seven days following the date of the notice

Request reference: FOI 10483

Issue date: 14.04.25

Request received:

Information on the appropriate contact within the Local Authority for submitting Thorough Examination reports that identify serious defects in lifting equipment (forklifts, telehandlers, tractors, MEWPs etc). In some cases, this responsibility falls under Environmental Health Officers, but we understand this may vary between authorities. Please confirm:

1. The department and/or role responsible for receiving reports of serious defects identified during Thorough Examinations of lifting equipment within your Local Authority

2. The preferred contact details (name, email address, phone number) for submitting such reports

3. If responsibility is shared across multiple departments, a brief outline of how cases are handled

4. A list of postcode districts covered by the responsible contact(s)

Response provided:

1. SFS (Specialist Fleet Services) external Workshop

2. Mario.dagostino@sfs.co.uk

3. N/A

4. Council Depot, EX31 3NP

Request reference: EIR 10484

Issue date: 14.04.25

Request received:

CON29 information relating to a property at EX33 1BH

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 10486

Issue date: 08.04.25

Request received:

This request is for councils that operate (or hold data for) a social housing register, regardless of whether or not they own any council housing

1. The average time the households in the highest priority band on the council’s social housing register have been in that specific priority band for (thus excluding any time they may have previously spent in other bands)

2. The average time the households in the second-highest priority band on the council’s social housing register have been in that specific priority band for (thus excluding any time they may have previously spent in other bands)

3. Among households in the highest priority band who were rehoused in calendar year 2024 (and thus left the social housing register), the average time they had been in the highest priority band for at the time they were rehoused

4. Among households in the second-highest priority band who were rehoused in calendar year 2024 (and thus left the social housing register), the average time they had been in the second-highest priority band for at the time they were rehoused

Response provided:

1 and 2 response:

Please note: Band A = Highest band, Band B = second highest band

North Devon active applicants wait time (days) from band start date up to and including 19.03.2025

Band A = 290

Band B = 609

Waiting times for Band B applicants might show longer (as per Policy section 3.13), for example band B includes care leavers with backdated band start dates to their 16th birthday, as well as existing Devon Home Choice (DHC) tenants who are downsizers, with backdated band start date (where eligible) of five years or those who are waiting on a suitable accommodation to downsize to

Band B applicants may also include those that were previously Band A and are now Band B that have kept their original Band Start Date in line with DHC policy:

3.13.3.1 Applicants whose housing need and/or circumstances changes

Applications that are re-assessed (e.g. because their circumstances have changed) and are placed in a higher band will have their band start date reset (see also Section 3.15). The band start date reflects how long they have had the higher level of housing need.

Applicants moved to a lower band following the removal of a higher band award will revert to the original lower band start date prior to the higher band award provided the application has remained active throughout and the change is notified within 56 days

The band start date will also remain unchanged for applications that are reassessed and remain in the same band, but for a different reason

3 and 4 response:

North Devon applicants in Band A and B wait time (days) based on lets in 2024 from band start date - housed as at 02.04.2025

Band A =145

Band B = 399

Waiting times for Band B applicants might show longer as explained above for questions 1 and 2

Request reference: FOI 10487

Issue date: 28.04.25

Request received:

Please provide all of the data for two (2) time periods: end of December 2024; and end of December 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:

The Council provides the following response as at 31 December for the request years:

1. a 2024 = 13

2023 = 21

1.b 2024 = 2

2023 = 7

1.c 2024 = 7

2023 = 16

1.d 2024 = 13

2023 = 21

2.a 2024 = 0

2023 = 1

2.b 2024 = 0

2023 = 1

2.c 2024 = 0

2023 = 1

2.d 2024 = 0

2023 = 1

Request reference: FOI 10488

Issue date: 28.04.25

Request received:

Council Spending for 2023/24 and 2024/25 on print media advertising, broken down by newspaper or outlet; and Online media advertising, broken down by platform, e g Facebook, Instagram, X, TikTok, etc

Response provided:

Information provided to the applicant where held in Excel format

Request reference: FOI 10489

Issue date: 30.04.25

Request received:

A list (in Excel format) of all planning applications submitted from 1st January 2020 to the most recent data available where no decision was made within 12 weeks and no refund of fees has been made to date.

Requested Columns:

1. Application reference

2. Applicant name

3. Site address

4. Application valid/received date

5. Fee paid (£)

6. Decision due date

7. Actual decision date

8. No. of days to decision

9. The decision

10. Extension of time agreed in writing (Yes or No)

11. Refund (Yes or No)

12. Eligible for Refund under 12-week rule

13. Withdrawn (Yes or No)

14. Description of conditions being discharged

Please provide the information in chronological (date) order

Please note that this request specifically relates to applications for the discharge of planning conditions, and does not concern standard planning applications

Response provided:

The applicant was provided with the majority of the information in Excel format, apart from the data regarding the fee per application and if a refund has been issued cannot be extracted from the Planning system via the report that gathered the rest of the data. The only way this could be provided is by manual search of each of the 391 records which the Planning team estimate would take a minimum of three minutes per matter

It has been estimated by the Planning team that it would take approximately between 19 and 20 hours to provide this information; the procedure of which would cause serious disruption to the day to day working of the Planning team. There is no other way that that can be provided and so the applicant was advised that the Council is unable to process this part of their 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 10490

Issue date: 09.04.25

Request received:

The applicant requested the following information regarding the registration and licensing of dog breeders within the local authority area. Specifically:

1. The number of licensed dog breeders currently registered with the local authority

2. The licensing threshold for dog breeders in the area (i e the number of litters per year at which a breeder must be licensed)

3. The upper limit on the number of litters a licensed breeder is permitted to breed per year, if applicable

4. The number of breeders in your area that are currently registered and permitted to breed at the licensing threshold (e g those breeding five litters per year or more)

Response provided:

1. 11 licenced dog breeders and six licence applications pending

2. Either or both of the following:

• three or more litters of puppies in any 12-month period (unless they can prove that none of the puppies have been sold as puppies or adults)

• breeding dogs and advertising a business of selling dogs - as defined under the business test

Businesses need a licence regardless of the number of litters produced. This is not restricted to registered businesses. Individuals can also be classed as a business depending on the extent of their activities

3. Please refer to the statutory guidance for local authorities: Dog breeding licensing: statutory guidance for local authorities - GOV.UK and have regard to the following paragraphs:

There must not be more litters than the number of breeding bitches referenced in the licence for that premises at any one time

6.3 The licence holder must ensure that no bitch:

(a) is mated if aged less than 12 months

(b) gives birth to more than one litter of puppies in a 12-month period

(d) is mated if she has had 2 litters delivered by caesarean section

Mating must not begin until the appropriate time after the previous mating

Breeders must not permit mating of any bitch beyond her sixth litter

Required higher standards for protecting dogs from pain, suffering, injury and disease

All bitches must be at least 18 months old before they are used for mating

A bitch must not be mated if she is 8 years of age or older

A bitch must not give birth to more than four litters of puppies in total

A bitch must not be bred from if they have had one caesarean

4. This data is not held by the Council

Request reference: FOI 10491

Issue date: 29.04.25

Request received:

Details on all spending with recruitment agencies, particularly spending that is not via your managed service provider.

1. What is the name of your agency recruitment provider aka an MSP (example Matrix, Comensura, Reed)?

2. What was the total spend via that MSP provider from 1/1/2024 to 1/1/2025?

3. What was the spend on ‘off contract’ Agency Workers/Consultants/Interims that were not supplied by the MSP from 1/1/2024 to 1/1/2025?

4. Please provide (preferably on excel) the spend, suppliers name, department, and most importantly the job title of that ‘off contract’ worker spend (as stipulated in point 3)

5. What was the spend on recruitment agencies used for permanent recruitment, agencies name, spend and department?

*For clarity, ‘off contract’ is spend on agency workers/consultants, whereby the supplier has invoiced the council directly and NOT via the MSP provider as outlined in point 1

If you require any clarification regarding my request, please do not hesitate to contact me. I look forward to your response within the statutory timeframe

Response provided:

Comensura
£908,883
£257,764
As follows:

cid:image001.png@01DBB502.A13AD0F0

Exact job titles not recorded, however, mainly:

Waste & Recycling would be LGV Driver/Loader/Recycler or Non Driver Loader/Recycler

Planning is Planning Officer (various level)

EH is Food Inspection and Housing staff

5. N/A

Request reference: FOI 10492

Issue date: 08.04.25

Request received:

A) How many licensing applications were made to your council for an Adult Gaming Centre (AGC), Betting Shops, Casino, or Bingo Hall?

B) How many of those applications were approved?

C) How many of those applications were refused?

D) Of those that were refused, how many appealed and were overturned by the Planning Inspectorate?

E) Please provide the names of the companies for 1B, IC and 1D and the dates approved/rejected

A) How many planning applications were made to your council for an Adult Gaming Centre (AGC), Betting Shops, Casino, or Bingo Hall?

B) How many of those applications were approved?

C) How many of those applications were refused?

D) Of those that were refused, how many appealed and were overturned by the Planning Inspectorate?

E) Please provide the names of the companies for 1B, IC and 1D and the dates approved/rejected

Response provided:

A) AGC = Two

Betting Shop = Zero

Casino = Zero

Bingo Premise = Three

B) All

C) Zero

D) N/A

E) Park Holidays UK Ltd approved 19.07.24 (Bingo)

Woolacombe Bay Holiday Village Ltd x2 both approved 06.03.25 (Bingo)

Tamar Gaming Ltd approved 31.10.24 (AGC)

Countgrade Ltd approved 15.11.24 (AGC)

2. Information regarding Planning applications can be found via the Council’s Planning Tracker: https://planning.northdevon.gov.uk/Search/Advanced using the proposal field the applicant was advised that they will be able to carry out a key word search to identify any applicable applications. For example, under Adult Gaming Centre, three applications are identified: https://planning.northdevon.gov.uk/Search/Results, two of which fall under 2024

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 link/advice above

Request reference: EIR 10493

Issue date: 30.04.25

Request received:

Copies of the Agricultural Appraisals for Planning Applications 64611, 71593 and 79840

Response provided:

The information was fully withheld from disclosure under Regulation 13 and Regulation 12(5)(f) of the Environmental Information Regulations

Request reference: EIR 10494

Issue date: 14.04.25

Request received:

CON29 information relating to a property at EX33 1NW

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 10496

Issue date: 25.04.25

Request received:

1. The oath of office taken by the following individuals:

a. The current Mayor

b. The Chief Financial Officer

c. The councillors for the municipality

2. The name of the insurer providing public liability insurance for the council town

3. The policy number associated with your public liability insurance

Response provided:

The Council confirmed that it does hold some of this information and provided the following response:

a) North Devon Council does not have a Mayor, however s.83 of the Local Government Act 1972 as linked below provides that a mayor of a town council would take the same oath. Applicant directed to contact the following Town Council’s for information regarding their respective mayors:

Barnstaple Town Council

Ilfracombe Town Council

Lynton and Lynmouth Town Council

South Molton Town Council

b) The Chief Financial Officer does not take an oath but their responsibilities are heavily governed by statutory requirements, professional standards and fiduciary duties

c) In accordance with Section 21 of the Act, the oaths that councillors take are publically available under s.83 of the Local Government Act 1972: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1972/70/section/83, with the actual oath taken is as prescribed in the Local Elections (Declaration of Acceptance of Office) Order 2012 – see: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2012/1465/made

The Council’s Public Liability insurance is held with Zurich Municipal Insurance
The policy reference is QLA-05H069-0153

Request reference: FOI 10497

Issue date: 03.04.25

Request received:

This request relates to the £150 energy bill support payments (sometimes called a ‘council tax rebate’) issued to Council Tax band A-D households in the Council’s area as at 1 April 2022.

On 2 September 2022, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities reminded local authorities in England to place any unclaimed “core” £150 payments onto council tax accounts for eligible households. This allowed for payment after the “core” scheme closed. See the section titled “Crediting council tax accounts”

The questions below only relate to the “core/main” £150 scheme. No information is required concerning the separate “discretionary” schemes

1) For properties where you are the local council, how many properties have an unclaimed “core” £150 on their council tax account?

2) How many of the properties in “1)” had at least one individual in council tax exemption class N as at 1 April 2022?

3) For properties where you are the local council, how many were recorded as a Home in Multiple Occupation (HMO) for planning purposes but not for council tax purposes as at 1 April 2022? If such data are not available, how many are currently classed as such?

4) How many of these properties in “3)” have an unclaimed “core” £150 on their council tax account and had at least one individual in council tax exemption class N as at 1 April 2022?

5) What decision(s) has the council made regarding distribution of these unclaimed “core” £150 payments to the eligible 1 April 2022 occupants?

Please provide this information above as at 31 March 2025 by return email

If time allows, please also provide the above information as at 31 March 2024 (again by return email)

Response provided:

1. None, all unclaimed credits have been used to offset future Council Tax liability

2. This information is not recorded in a way in which it can be easily provided. The only way would require a Revenues officer to manually go through 2,200 accounts which would take approximately three minutes per account

It has been estimated by Revenues team that it would take approximately 110 hours to provide the requested information, of which the procedure would cause serious disruption to the day to day working of the Revenues tem and therefore the Council confirmed that it is 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

3. This information is not recorded. The Council publishes its HMO register on its website

4. This information is not recorded

5. None claimed

Request reference: FOI 10498

Issue date: 03.04.25

Request received:

Second Home Premium

Does the council currently charge a premium on second homes?
If so, what is the rate of the premium (expressed as a percentage or multiplier of the standard council tax rate)?

Impact Assessment

Has the council undertaken any impact assessment(s) on the effect of the second home premium on the local economy?
If so, please provide a copy of the assessment(s).

Definition of a Second Home

How does the council define a second home for council tax purposes?

Disputes

Have any households challenged the classification of their property as a second home?
If yes, how many such disputes have there been, and how many resulted in a change of status?

Response provided:

1. Yes

2. 100% premium

3. No, this was not required for implementation

4. N/A

5. A furnished but unoccupied property (not a sole or main residence)

6 and 7. This information is not recorded in a way in which it can be easily provided. The only way would require a Revenues officer to manually search through approximately 2,000 accounts to identify, locate, retrieve and collate, which would take approximately 3 minutes per account

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 and then locating, retrieving and collating the information

It has been estimated by Revenues team that it would take approximately 100 hours to provide the requested information, of which the procedure would cause serious disruption to the day to day working of the Revenues team and therefore the Council confirmed that it is 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

Request reference: FOI 10499

Issue date: 28.04.25

Request received:

The names and email addresses of all Council Taxpayers in the authority area via return of an email document

Response provided:

The applicant was provided with some of the information held that was considered to be disclosable under the Act within two Excel spreadsheets, which are available upon request

The data was extracted from the Revenues system used as at 1 April 2025. Due to the way in which the information had to be extracted from the system and also the volume of data, it was not possible to provide all within one spreadsheet

The applicant was informed that each line of data represents a Council Tax account and each account can have up to four account associates (where there is more than one ratepayer for a property). Further to this, the applicant was advised that some of the information was redacted under Section 40 of the Act as the information constitutes personal data (individual names of ratepayers and their email addresses, where held) and those individuals would have no reasonable expectation that the Council would make their personal information publicly available. A disclosure of information under the Act to a requester is also considered to be a disclosure to the world at large and thus places that information into the public domain for all to see

The only email addresses held that were disclosable within spreadsheet (1) were those that were already publicly available via a search online where they related to businesses/companies. As this is information already within the public domain the Council was able to provide this information as they have been intentionally published by those respective ratepayers. All other email addresses where there ratepayer was a company/business (non-individual) held that are not already published have been redacted as the Council does no hold the necessary consent to disclose them. Those Ratepayers provided their email addresses to the Revenues team for the purposes of the administration and collection of Council Tax only and would have no reasonable expectation for the Council to disclose these into the public domain. A disclosure of such would, in the Council’s view, go beyond what is set out within the Council Tax and Non-Domestic Rates privacy notice

The requester was advised that the provision of email addresses of ratepayers is not mandatory and so there are many accounts which the Council does not hold an email address for. All email addresses for individual ratepayers (members of the public in relation to their homes/residences) are all withheld/redacted from disclosure

Request reference: FOI 10500

Issue date: 24.04.25

Request received:

Please provide any and all contingency plans, policy documents, internal guidance, risk assessments, simulations, or preparedness strategies held by your department that make reference to any of the following:

• Zombies

• The undead

• Alien attacks or extra-terrestrial threats

• Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs)

• Ghosts or hauntings

• Supernatural phenomena

This request includes, but is not limited to:

• Documents containing hypothetical planning for such events

• Risk assessments evaluating the likelihood or impact of these events

• Any drills, exercises, or simulations conducted that included any of the above scenarios

• Communications, memos, or policy proposals mentioning these terms or discussing such possibilities

Please search for documents containing the keywords: zombie, undead, alien, UFO, ghost, supernatural, and any associated terms your systems may link to these concepts

Response provided:

The Council confirms that it does hold some of this information. In discharge of its obligation under section 1(1)(b) the Council does not hold any information under Emergency Planning or Business Continuity that relate specifically to:

• Zombies

• The undead

• Alien attacks or extra-terrestrial threats

• Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs)

• Ghosts or hauntings

• Supernatural phenomena

While this is not an area the Council specifically plans for, under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004, the Council does have a statutory duty to prepare for emergencies and ensure business continuity. Our planning approach is centred around common consequences of emergencies, rather than the specific cause, this ensures our response frameworks are agile, adaptable and scalable. This enables us to respond to a range of different types of incidents

A list of risks we plan for can be found on the community risk register on the Devon Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Resilience Forum Website Local Risks - Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly Local Resilience Forum

Request reference: FOI 10501

Issue date: 25.04.25

Request received:

1. How many reports have been made about fake/scam QR Codes at council-owned or council-operated car parks in the past 12 months?

2. The names of the council-owned or council-operated car parks which have been affected

3. Please also provide copies of the 5 most recent reports related to QR scams at council-owned or council-operated car parks (or fewer if there are less than 5)

Response provided:

1. The Council has had 0/Zero reports in its car parks in the last 12 months

2. N/A

3. N/A

Request reference: FOI 10503

Issue date: 04.04.25

Request received:

Ref: Wrvs - Luncheon Club, Christchurch, East Street, Braunton, EX33 2EA

The Council attended the above site 7 March 2025 and awarded the service with 5 stars. For central repository purposes and trend analysis of contraventions, the applicant requested a copy of the EHO report

Response provided:

The applicant was provided with a copy of the inspection report with all personal third party data redacted throughout in accordance with Section 40 of the Act (personal data), which is available upon request

Request reference: FOI 10504

Issue date: 07.04.25

Request received:

Information regarding street trading pitches within the Council’s jurisdiction regarding street trading pitches:

1. A list of all currently available pitches for street trading, especially isolated pitches and pitches on pavement

2. If there are no pitches currently available, a list of all street trading pitches, along with the dates on which they are due for renewal

3. Where a person wishes to trade from a place that is not a designated site, please describe in detail your process for considering designating that place as a licence site e g comprehensive criteria that needs to be met and comprehensive reasons why a licence to a new site may not be given

Response provided:

The Council confirmed that it does hold some of this information. In discharge of its obligation under section 1(1)(b) the Council confirmed that it does not licence street trading, and the applicant was referred to the Council’s website: Street trading licences for further information

Request reference: FOI 10505

Issue date: 07.04.25

Request received:

1. Which enterprise resource planning (ERP) platforms the Council uses (if any) in the execution of duties

a. ERP platforms such as SAP, Oracle, or Microsoft Dynamics 365, are software systems that collect data from multiple sources and create a single source of truth helping organisations manage their core business processes such as finance, HR, manufacturing, supply chain, sales, and procurement

2. What version of the Enterprise Resource Planning the Council is utilising. As an example, the Council may utilise SAP ECC 6 or Oracle Fusion Cloud

3. Whether the Council is planning major projects such as an upgrade or a re-platforming of its ERP platforms in the next 24 months

Response provided:

The Council confirmed that it does not hold any of this information. In discharge of its obligation under section 1(1)(b) the Council confirmed that it does not use any Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) platforms

Request reference: FOI 10506

Issue date: 15.04.25

Request received:

The applicant requested the following for the financial years: 21-22, 22-23, 23-24, 24-25:

1. How many accounts were raised at billing in financial year?

2. What was the total value of liability in financial year?

3. How many accounts were in arrears at the end of the financial year?

4. How was the value of arrears in that financial year?

5. How many council tax cases were referred to bailiffs?

6. How much money was retrieved by the bailiffs?

7. How much debt was written off by the council in that financial year?

8. Do you currently have a formal policy in place for dealing with residents in vulnerable circumstances as part of your collections process for Council Tax arrears?

9. Do you currently have a policy of exempting recipients of Council Tax Support/Reduction from the use of bailiff action?

Response provided:

1. 21/22 = 47,071

22/23 = 47,561

23/24 = 48,009

24/25 = 48,602

2. This information is at 31st March:

21/22 = £74,340,320.23

22/23 = £77,949,862.13

23/24 = £81,620,476.96

24/25 = £87,443,412.55

3. This figure shows the number of debit period at 31 March which will include duplication of accounts:

21/22 = 11,578

22/23 = 11,365

23/24 = 11,409

24/25 = 11,273

4. This information is at 31 March:

21/22 = £5,690,278.50

22/23 = £5,999,184.10

23/24 = £6,604,849.79

24/25 = £7,451,122.32

5. 21/22 = 5,493

22/23 = 2,735

23/24 = 2,643

24/25 = 2,215

6. The below reflects monies remitted to the authority and does not include monies collected for Enforcement Agent fees:

21/22 = £1,186,835.61

22/23 = £ 994,550.36

23/24 = £ 917,579.65

24/25 = £ 892,442.86

7. 21/22 = £430,064.49

22/23 = £349,816.71

23/24 = £305,061,84

24/25 = £445,394,41

8 and 9. No to all years

Request reference: FOI 10507

Issue date: 10.04.25

Request received:

Content Management Systems

1. The name and version of your current primary Content Management System(s)

2. The annual cost of licensing, maintenance, and support for each CMS

3. The contract start and end dates for your CMS platform(s)

4. The name of the supplier/vendor for each CMS

5. The procurement framework used to purchase the CMS (if applicable)

6. The total implementation cost of your current CMS solution

7. Any planned procurement activities relating to CMS platforms in the next 24 months

Case Management Systems/Customer Relationship Management Systems

1. The name and version of your current Case Management System(s) or Customer Relationship Management System(s)

2. The annual cost of licensing, maintenance, and support for each Case Management System or Customer Relationship Management System(s)

3. The contract start and end dates for your Case Management System(s) or Customer Relationship Management System(s)

4. The name of the supplier/vendor for each Case Management System or Customer Relationship Management System(s)

5. The procurement framework used to purchase the Case Management System(s) or Customer Relationship Management System(s) (if applicable)

6. The total implementation cost of your current Case Management System solution(s) or Customer Relationship Management System(s)

7. Any planned procurement activities relating to Case Management Systems or Customer Relationship Management System(s) in the next 24 months

Response provided:

CMS:

1. Drupal v10.2.6

2. This is published the Council's Contract Register, please see link above

3. As 2. Above

4. As 2. Above

5. As 2. Above

6. The Council does not hold a definitive total cost for implementation. The Council had the solution for four months before the new website was built and went live. The Council also purchased £8,400 of additional development time, therefore it estimates that it was approximately £13,500

7. As 2. Above

CRM:

1. Granicus Gov Service

2. This is published the Council's Contract Register, please see link above

3. As 2. Above

4. As 2. Above

5. As 2. Above

6. £0. Implementation was included within the licence cost. Applicant provided with a PDF document which is available upon request

7. As 2. Above

Request reference: FOI 10508

Issue date: 09.04.25

Request received:

1. Whether the Council collects data on fires that occur in listed buildings in its planning area?

2. Whether the Council keeps records of derelict buildings in its planning area, including any records on risks associated with their condition?

3. If yes, please share

a. Any records that you have of fires that have occurred in listed buildings in your planning area from 1st January 2018 to 31st December 2024 (inclusive) in a csv or xlsx file

b. Any records that you have of derelict buildings in your planning area from 1st January 2018 to 31st December 2024 (inclusive) in a csv or xlsx file

c. The name, date, and location of fires in derelict listed buildings in your area from 1st January 2018 to 31st December 2024 (inclusive) in a csv or xlsx file

Response provided:

1. No the Council does not collect/record this data

2. No the Council does not collect/record this data

3. N/A

Request reference: FOI 10509

Issue date: 24.04.25

Request received:

The applicant requested the following information in an Excel spreadsheet:

Registration number

Make

Model

of all vehicles that were issued a license as a Taxi, Hackney Carriage or for Private Hire (both approved and active) between 1st December 2024 and 31st March 2025 within the Council

Response provided:

Applicant was provided with the information held within an Excel spreadsheet for the requested period, which is available upon request

Request reference: FOI 10512

Issue date: 22.04.25

Request received:

1. The total number of homelessness applicants who approached the council to join the housing register, in 2022/23, 2023/24, and 2024/25

2. The total number of homelessness approaches involving the applicant fleeing domestic abuse, in 2022/23, 2023/24, and 2024/25

3. The number of homelessness applicants (for any reason) on the social housing register who were placed in each of your housing allocation bands (e g Band A, Band B, Band C, etc), in 2022/23, 2023/24, and 2024/25. Please also include the number who were not accepted onto the housing register

4. The number of homelessness applicants on the social housing register, who are fleeing domestic abuse, who were placed in each of your housing allocation bands (e g Band A, Band B, Band C, etc), in 2022/23, 2023/24, and 2024/25. Please also include the number who were not accepted onto the housing register

Response provided:

The Council confirmed that it does hold some of this information. In discharge of its obligation under section 1(1)(b) the Council’s Housing Advice team and Devon Home Choice (Housing Register) team provided the following response:

1 and 2 response:

Housing Advice provides the following figures of homeless applications received during the requested years that are also included on Devon Home Choice as they do not specifically record homelessness applicants who approached the Council to specifically join the Housing Register. The Housing Advice team does not ask if the point of contact is a client registered with Devon Home Choice (Housing Register):

1. 24/25 = 405

23/24 = 413

22/23 = 532

2. 24/25 = 165

23/24 = 150

22/23 = 153

3 and 4 response:

Some of the Devon Home Choice (social housing register) banding awards (e.g. Band D) may have be awarded because someone has a homeless application and has an assessed homeless risk, but equally the same band could be awarded if an applicant has no current homeless application but has no permanent home. Please see the Band D award to which this is referencing and a link to the full policy

There is no way to determine the data unless Housing manually cross-correlates every DHC application against homeless application records. Housing could only do this for its current record and there are approximately 2,200 application records. This exercise would far exceed the time limit of *18 hours to complete and there would be no other way to provide this data

The Policy allows a Band B award for certain homeless applicants who are on DHC social housing register and therefore data for this cohort is provided below in response to questions 3 and 4

Stat Homeless or HRA applicants by band active on the Housing Register as at 11.04.2025
	Band B	Band C	Band D	Band E	Total
North Devon	64				64

Please note that as the Housing Register is live we are unable to provide retrospective data. As at 14.04.2025 there are no Homeless Category applicants showing as rejected on the North Devon register

Stat Homeless or HRA applicants that are fleeing DV by band active on the Housing Register as at 11.04.2025
	Band B	Band C	Band D	Band E	Total
North Devon	19				19

Please note that as the Housing Register is live we are unable to provide retrospective data. As at 14.04.2025 there are no Homeless Category applicants that are fleeing DV showing as rejected on the North Devon register

*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 Housing Advice team and Devon Home Choice (Housing Register) team that it would far exceed 18 hours to provide the requested information; the take of which would cause serious disruption to the day to day working of the Housing Advice team and the Devon Home Choice (Housing Register) team. 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

Request reference: FOI 10513

Issue date: 11.04.25

Request received:

The applicant requested the following information relating to the MIPIM conference held in Cannes from 10th to 14th March 2025

1. Did any members of the organisation attend MIPIM in an official capacity? If so, how many attended and what are their job titles?

2. If so, what was the total spend by the organisation on attending the conference? (please make clear how much was spent by the organisation itself, and how much it received, if any, in sponsorships or grants)

3. How much was spent on flights? (please provide information on the airline, and the class)

4. How much was spent on accommodation? (Please provide the name and address of the hotel)

5. How much was spent on food and subsistence? (Please provide receipts for any restaurants, cafes or bars visited)

6. How much was spent on conference costs? For example, tickets to the conference, any stands set up at the conference

Response provided:

1. No Council officers attended in their official capacity

2. N/A

3. N/A

4. N/A

5. N/A

6. N/A

Request reference: EIR 10514

Issue date: 30.04.25

Request received:

Copies of information held on Planning Application 30696

Response provided:

Applicant advised that only the Decision Notice is held for the application which was disclosed

Request reference: FOI 10515

Issue date: 17.04.25

Request received:

The applicant requested information regarding Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE). Local councils have a statutory duty to operate mechanisms that “collect prevalence and monitor cases of CSE”. They "should have specific local procedures to cover CSE (eg a strategy)". The applicant referred to the Local Government Association document ‘Tackling Child Sexual Exploitation: A Resource Pack for Councils’, page 6

The applicant requested confirmation:

a) that your council currently operates these mechanisms and has a strategy to cover CSE

b) the nature of these mechanisms used to monitor CSE and the strategy in place

c) the current number of cases of CSE being monitored by your council

d) the number of CSE cases monitored that are thought to be gang/group based (cases involving two or more perpetrators)

e) a breakdown of ethnicity and if possible age of the assumed victims of CSE being monitored by your council

f) a breakdown of ethnicity of perpetrators for cases being monitored by the council

g) the number of cases being monitored each year between 2010 and 2024 (please use the most appropriate reporting date for this data and, if this is not available, please provide this information as of the 1st March of that year). If data is not available for a particular year then please specify the reason for this

Response provided:

The Council confirmed that it does not hold any of this information. In discharge of its obligation under section 1(1)(b) the Council's Community Protection team confirmed to the applicant that they will need to direct the request to Devon County Council as they are the responsible authority covering North Devon

Request reference: FOI 10516

Issue date: 14.04.25

Request received:

The applicant requested information as set out below and that it include for those occupants residing in council properties and privately owned properties:

1. Whom do you use for the supply and installation of your modular/concrete/timber ramps currently? Both in council owned properties and privately owned properties. Date Range for all questions: September 2024 to Present date

2. Are you (council) in a current contract with a supplier/provider for this equipment (ramps)? Date Range: September 2024 to Present date If so whom is the contractor(s), you use for this type of adaptation?

3. If you are in a contract/framework for this when does this expire, please?

4. Please would you provide full contact details for the Senior/Lead Occupational Therapist, including contactable details?

5. Please kindly provide full listing of all approved contractors/builders you (council) use for disability adaptations

6. Please kindly state the manufacturer (brand) you use for the modular ramps?

7. Do you have an internal home improvement/handyman/handyperson/minor works team/agency? If so please kindly provide full details of who the person of responsibility would be, please include contactable details

8. If you are not in a contract, how is this work given out please?

Response provided:

North Devon Council is not involved in the procurement of ‘temporary’ modular or timber ramping solutions
North Devon Council is not involved in the procurement of ‘temporary’ modular ramping solutions. All temporary/semi-permanent modular ramping solutions are sourced directly via the Occupational Therapist’s (OT’s) working on behalf of Devon County Council (DCC) or NHS. We believe DCC has a contract with Millbrook Healthcare to provide temporary/semi-permanent modular ramping solutions, however contact should be made directly with DCC to confirm this (see Question 4)
North Devon Council is not involved in the procurement of ‘temporary’ modular or timber ramping solutions
The Care Direct Plus centres comprises professionals such as social care assessors, social workers, occupational therapist, therapy assistants. This is the first point of contact for those having difficulties living independently. They may be able to provide details of Senior/Lead OT’s – Tel: 0345 155 1007 Contacting Devon Adult Social Care (social services) Link details local suppliers: Independent Living Centre | Where to buy equipment
North Devon Council does not have a list of ‘approved’ contractors. All quotations for mandatory complex adaptations are sourced via the Supplying the Southwest Portal
North Devon Council is not involved in the procurement of ‘temporary’ modular or timber ramping solutions
North Devon Council do not provide any home improvement or handy person type service within the North Devon area
North Devon Council is not involved in the procurement of ‘temporary’ modular ramping solutions. All temporary/semi-permanent modular ramping solutions are sourced directly via the Occupational Therapist’s (OT’s) working on behalf of Devon County Council (DCC) or NHS. We believe DCC has a contract with Millbrook Healthcare to provide temporary/semi-permanent modular ramping solutions, however contact should be made directly with DCC to confirm this (see Question 4)

Request reference: FOI 10520

Issue date: 15.04.25

Request received:

1. How many council-run padel courts are in your local authority area?

2. For each of these courts, the year they opened

3. For each of these courts, how much they cost to build

Response provided:

1. Zero

2 and 3. N/A

Request reference: FOI 10522

Issue date: 16.04.25

Request received:

A copy of the most recent Credit report/Credit write on reports relating to all Non Domestic Rates accounts, excluding any personal information

Response provided:

The information was fully withheld under Section 31(1)(a) as its disclosure would likely prejudice the prevention and detection of crime

Request reference: FOI 10528

Issue date: 22.04.25

Request received:

Call-off contracts in public sector

Response provided:

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

Request reference: FOI 10529

Issue date: 22.04.25

Request received:

1. How many public electric car charging points currently exist in your council area which you either own and/or manage? Please break this down by the type of charger they are

2. How many new public electric car charging points are you planning on installing in your council area in the next 2 years that you will own and/or manage? Please break this down by the type of charger they will be

3. How many requests for more public electric car charging points have you received from residents in your council area since 1.1.24?

Note: By ‘public’ charging point I mean any point that can be used by any motorist as long as they have the requisite membership card, app etc

Response provided:

1. Six chargers at 22kw, 13 at 75kw

2. None at this time

3. None recorded

Request reference: FOI 10530

Issue date: 22.04.25

Request received:

1. What is the frequency of roadside litter collection on the North Devon Link Road (A361) including the last time litter was collected and the next scheduled litter collection?

2. What is the frequency of roadside litter collection on the A399 and its lay-bys including the last time litter was collected and the next scheduled litter collection?

3. What is the Council’s policy towards roadside litter collection on B-roads for which the Council is responsible?

Response provided:

1. Scheduled once a year around Easter. Then ad-hoc as litter levels demand

2. Some sections of the A399 are cleaned daily (in built up areas). Sections in rural areas are cleaned as required throughout the year

3. Some sections of B roads are cleaned daily (in built up areas). Sections in rural areas are cleaned as required throughout the year

Request reference: FOI 10531

Issue date: 28.04.25

Request received:

1. A list of all -cides used by the Council. This is inclusive of, but not limited to: any and all avicides, biocides, fungicides, herbicides, insecticides, pesticides, and rodenticides

1.These -cides may be used on property and assets that the Council owns or is responsible for managing, including but not limited to: schools, council housing, parks, local roads, and leisure facilities. Where management of a facility is shared with another devolved body, like a County Council, please note this down. I would, here, like to prevent data duplication between public bodies

2. The annual cost and volume of purchase of each of these -cides, broken down by -cide, from January 2014 to December 2024. Please list this on a spreadsheet (CSV), broken down by:

1. -Cide

2. Product Name

3. Volume Purchased

4. Price Paid

5. Purchase Date

3. A list of each of these -cides' use, by volume. Through this I am trying to ascertain whether the purchased volume is matched by the used volume, so if there is a record of expired or unused -cides too, that would be ideal. Please add this to the above CSV as an additional column, also on an annual basis over the same time period. Please list volume in either litres or kilograms, whichever is more appropriate

4. Only if available and easily accessible, the location and purpose of each specific -cide’s use. For the former, this may be classified by: location grouping, address, coordinate, or otherwise

Where relevant, also include the -cide use of defunct Councils now integrated into the current Council

If any of the individual pieces of information listed above are not available but others are, like cost and volume, then please signal this while responding with the other available information. Additionally, if records are only available for a time period less than that specified above, please provide these instead of rejecting the request as a whole

Response provided:

The Council confirmed that it does hold some of this information. In discharge of its obligation under section 1(1)(b) the Council’s Parks team provided a spreadsheet providing the data held within the remit of the requested (which is available upon request) and confirmed that it does not hold any further records other than this. Applicant advised that the grounds maintenance service was brought in-house from 1 April 2021

Request reference: FOI 10532

Issue date: 22.04.25

Request received:

1. Annual totals of electronic waste collected:

Please provide the total amount (in kilograms or tonnes) of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) collected by your authority per year for the years:

2020

2021

2022

2023

2024

2. Breakdown by type of item (if available):

If possible, please break down the annual totals into categories such as:

Large household appliances (e g fridges, washing machines)

Small household appliances (e g toasters, kettles)

IT and telecoms equipment (e g laptops, phones)

Consumer electronics (e g TVs, speakers)

Lighting equipment

Other WEEE categories (if applicable)

3. Collection source:

Please indicate whether the data includes:

Household waste

Commercial/business waste

Or both

4. Format:

If possible, please provide the information in an Excel or CSV format

If parts of this request are not available, please provide the data that you do hold. If the full dataset from 2020 is not available, data from 2022 onwards is sufficient

Response provided:

The Council confirmed that it does hold this information. In discharge of its obligation under section 1(1)(b) the Council's Waste and Recycling team advises that the data sought is published through the following website (see how can I obtain data): https://www.wastedataflow.org/home.aspx

Request reference: FOI 10537

Issue date: 29.04.25

Request received:

The following information about your procurement of any

(i) External Data Protection Officer (DPO)

(ii) Data protection GDPR compliance services for the period FY2022-23 to FY2024-25:

1. Current DPO arrangements

1.1 Is the organisation’s DPO and other staff that work on data protection compliance:

(a) An internal employee

(b) A DPO provided by an external service provider

1.2 Where services are provided by external providers, please share the following information:

(a) The Company name(s)

(b) Annual spend by your organisation (FY2022/2023 through to FY2024/2025)

(d) Contract dates (start/end/renewal terms)

(e) A brief description of the project or services provided (for instance, project title or internal reference)

(f) Services covered (e g audits, breach management, SAR management, delivery of DPIAs)

- Please indicate what deliverables were produced

- Procurement method (e g open competition, framework agreement, direct award) and name of the procurement framework, if applicable

2. Consultancy Spend

2.1 What is the organisations, total annual expenditure on data protection/GDPR consultancy services?

2.2 For SoW/projects which have spend of more than £5k), please share the following information:

- Supplier company name

- The scope of the Project (DPIA support, Internal Audit recommendation support)

- Spend

- Procurement method

3. Data Protection Compliance staffing

3.1 The Number of in-house data protection staff in the organisation? (FTE)

3.2 Are there any vacant roles? (Yes/No)

3.3 Where there any ICO investigations, audits, or enforcement actions for the period from FY2022/2023 to FY 2024/2025?

4. Future Plans

4.1 Is your organisation planning to put out to tender for any DPO/GDPR services in the current financial year?

4.2 If yes please provide the following:

- Expected timeline

- Budget range

- Key service requirements

- Procurement method

Response provided:

1.1 a) Yes

b) No

c) No

1.2 N/A

2.1 £0

2.2 None

3.1 Three staff, 1.0 FTE

3.2 No

3.3 Yes, 1 complaint responded to in February 2024.

4.1 Not currently

4.2 N/A

Request reference: FOI 10539

Issue date: 28.04.25

Request received:

For the years: 2020/21, 2021/22, 2022/23, 2023/24 and 2024/25:

1. How much did you receive in council tax payments?

2. How much did you spend on employer contributions to the Local Government Pension Scheme?

Response provided:

1. 2020/21 = £68,250,721.53

2021/22 = £73,953,103.01

2022/23 = £77,785,014.70

2023/24 = £80,778,370.56

2024/25 = £86,830,430.95

2. 2020/21 = £2,540,675

2021/22 = £2,616,573

2022/23 = £2,744,814

2023/24 = £3,097,238

2024/25 = £3,376,736

Request reference: FOI 10540

Issue date: 24.04.25

Request received:

1. How many penalty charge notices have been issued for breaches of parking rules (for example, overstaying) in 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025?

2. The total amount collected in fines (in £) of penalty charge notices issued in 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025?

3. How many appeals have been lodged against the penalty charge notices in 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025?

4. How many appeals saw a successful outcome for the claimant in 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025?

5. What was the money generated from penalty charge notices was used for in 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025?

6. Does the Council use a private parking company to issue penalty charge notices, if yes which company does it use?

Response provided:

The Council confirmed provided the following response:

1. 2022 = 5,465

2023 = 5,712

2024 = 7,219

2025 to date (24.04.25) = 1,851

2. In accordance with Section 21 of the Act, the applicant was referred to the published dataset ' Revenue received by the Council in parking charges and fines - 2009/10 - 2023/24

3. 2022 = 1,179

2023 = 1,119

2024 = 1,158

2025 to date (24.04.25) = 304

4. 2022 = 905

2023 = 751

2024 = 692

2025 to date (24.04.25) = 216

5. All income received from the Council's car parks goes towards running those car parks service and maintaining the car parks with any surplus going towards delivering everyday services such as refuse and recycling collections, cleaning and maintaining public toilets, providing parks and play areas and keeping the streets within its responsibility clean

6. No, in-house

Request reference: FOI 10541

Issue date: 28.04.25

Request received:

The latest food safety inspection report for: The Bengal Tiger, 2 Cooks Cross, South Molton, Devon, EX36 4AW

Response provided:

Applicant provided with a copy, with some personal data redacted throughout under Section 40 of the Act

Request reference: FOI 10542

Issue date: 25.04.25

Request received:

1. How many Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) have been issued for the misuse of disabled parking bays in each of the last 3 calendar years (2022, 2023, 2024)?

2. What is the total revenue generated from fines related to Blue Badge misuse in each of the last 3 calendar years (2022, 2023, 2024)? These offences might include but are not limited to using a fake blue badge, using an out-of-date one etc

3. What is the total revenue generated from fines related to drivers parking in a bay without a blue badge in each of the last 3 calendar years (2022, 2023, 2024)?

Response provided:

1. 2022 = 77

2023 = 105

2024 = 132

2. The Council's Parking team does not keep records of Blue Badge Fraudulent use; this is managed by Devon County Council as the issuing Authority for Blue Badges, therefore you will need to contact: accesstoinformation-mailbox@devon.gov.uk for this information

3. 2022 = £2,089.00

2023 = £3,788.84

2024 = £3,920.00

Request reference: FOI 10544

Issue date: 29.04.25

Request received:

The applicant requested the following information regarding the services provided by the Pickwell Foundation under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) or any other refugee support scheme:

1. The total amount of funding provided to the Pickwell Foundation by North Devon Council for the years 2023/24 and 2024/25 (up to date)

2. A copy of any contract, memorandum of understanding, service level agreement or official documentation outlining:

The scope of services the Pickwell Foundation is expected to deliver to Afghan families

Specific obligations in areas such as housing support, essential household items, mental health support, language classes, travel or educational assistance

3. Any performance or accountability reports submitted by the Pickwell Foundation to the council in relation to the services delivered under this agreement

Response provided:

The applicant was provided with copies of the following:

Grant Agreement between NDC and The Pickwell Foundation dated 05.02.24 for the provision of support in respect of the ARAP scheme

Deed of Variation of the aforementioned Grant Agreement dated 25.11.24

ARAP Scheme Half-Yearly Report

Some of the information was redacted (where certain text is blacked out). The Council considers that this redacted information is exempt from disclosure under Section 40 of the Act as the information is third party personal data and includes signatures, names, photos and other descriptive information that may indirectly lead to the identification of those individuals. The Council does not consider that they would have any reasonable expectation for the Council to make their personal information publicly available in this way. Any disclosure under the Act to an individual making a request is also a disclosure of that information into the public domain for all to see and so it would be unfair to those individuals concerned

Request reference: FOI 10548

Issue date:

Request received:

The applicant requested the number of sex establishment licenses issued by the council/local authority from 2010 until the most recent available data update

Primarily this should include the primary details of the establishment that received the license including, if possible, details about the leading person on the file of the company

If possible, I would like to receive this data in a CSV format, with clear date timelines

Response provided:

The Council's Licensing team confirms that zero sex establishment licenses have been issued by this authority from 2010 to the date of this response, 30.04.25

Enquiries

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