Request reference: EIR 10231

Issue date: 09.01.25

Request received: 

Copies of all electronic correspondence held between the Council's Planning team and third parties (Georgeham CLT, GPC, Highways) regarding planning application 78142 since 1 March 2024

Response provided:

The applicant was provided with the correspondence held with some personal data redacted throughout in accordance with Regulation 13  

Request reference: FOI 10251

Issue date: 15.01.25

Request received: 

The applicant requested the following data pertaining to households with children in temporary accommodation

The applicant advised that this FOI is similar to one filed earlier this year (2024), but refers to a different time period. If any part of the data cannot be provided, please provide the rest and clearly mark which is not available and explain why

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

 

3a. Number of households with children aged under 12 in temporary accommodation (This will include the numbers from part 1, don't worry I will make sure nothing is double-counted)

3b. Number of households with children (under 12) in temporary accommodation for more than 6 weeks

3c. Number of households with children (under 12) in temporary accommodation for more than 6 months

3d. Total number of children aged under 12 in temporary accommodation (not number of households)

4a. Number of households with children aged under 12 in Bed and Breakfast temporary accommodation

4b. Number of households with children (under 12) in Bed and Breakfast temporary accommodation for more than 6 weeks

4c. Number of households with children (under 12) in Bed and Breakfast temporary accommodation for more than 6 months

4d. Total number of children aged under 12 in Bed and Breakfast temporary accommodation (not number of households)

Response provided:

Applicant provided with the information in two Excel spreadsheets which are available upon request 

Request reference: FOI 10267

Issue date: 21.01.25

Request received:

Housing Register:

1. The total number of households on the Council's Housing Register at 31 March 2024

2. The average waiting times at 31 March 2024 for the following types of affordable property across the Authority:

a. 1-bed affordable dwelling

b. 2-bed affordable dwelling

c. 3-bed affordable dwelling

d. A 4 plus bed affordable dwelling

3. The average waiting times at 31 March 2023 for the following types of affordable property across the Authority:

a. 1-bed affordable dwelling

b. 2-bed affordable dwelling

c. 3-bed affordable dwelling

d. A 4 plus bed affordable dwelling

4. The total number of households on the Council's Housing Register at 31 March 2024 specifying the following locations as their preferred choice of location

5. The number of properties advertised, and the average number of bids per property over the 2023/24 monitoring period for the following types of affordable property in the locations listed below:

a. 1-bed affordable dwelling

b. 2-bed affordable dwelling

c. 3-bed affordable dwelling

d. A 4 plus bed affordable dwelling

6. Any changes the Council has made to its Housing Register Allocations Policy since 2011 including:

• The date they occurred

• What they entailed

• Copies of the respective documents

Social Housing Stock:

7. The total number of social housing dwelling stock at 31 March 2024 for Fremington Civil Parish

8. The number of social housing lettings in the period between 1 April 2022 and 31 March 2023; and between 1 April 2023 and 31 March 2024 for Fremington Civil Parish

Temporary Accommodation:

9. The number of households on the Housing Register housed in temporary accommodation within and outside the LPA region as at 31.03.2023 and 31.03.2024

10. The amount of money spent on temporary accommodation per household within the North Devon Council region 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024

11. The amount of money spent on temporary accommodation per household outside the North Devon Council region 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023

Housing Completions:

12. The number of NET housing completions in the North Devon Council region broken down on a per annum basis for the period between 2000/01 and 2023/24

13. The number of NET affordable housing completions in the North Devon Council region broken down on a per annum basis for the period between 2000/01 and 2023/24

14. The number of NET housing completions in Fremington Civil Parish broken down on a per annum basis for the period between 2000/01 and 2023/24

15. The number of NET affordable housing completions in Fremington Civil Parish broken down on a per annum basis for the period between 2000/01and 2023/24

Response provided:

1. The Council’s Housing team confirms that they do not monitor this specifically on a daily basis and are unable to provide retrospective data, however their monitoring reports contain quarterly data. As at 1 April 2024, 2,039 applicants were on the North Devon Housing Register

2. As above, the Council’s Housing team does not monitor this specifically and are only able to provide live data on an ad hoc basis. As at 5 December 2024:

a)         1 bed affordable dwelling = 557 days

b)         2 bed affordable dwelling = 575 days

c)         3 bed affordable dwelling = 581 days

d)         4 bed affordable dwelling = 490 day

e)         5 bed affordable dwelling = 552 days

f)         6 bed affordable dwelling = 734 days

Total average across all of the above = 563 days

3. As above, the Council’s Housing team does not monitor this specifically and are only able to provide live data on an ad hoc basis, however they are able to advise that the average waiting time for affordable rented property in 2023 was as follows:

a) 1 bed affordable dwelling = 405 days

b) 2 bed affordable dwelling = 422 days

c) 3 bed affordable dwelling = 375 days

d) 4 bed affordable dwelling = 979 day

Total 411 days

4. 69

5. Properties advertised via Devon Home Choice in Fremington between 01.04.23 - 31.03.24:

                  Number of properties advertised     Average Bids per Property

1 Bed                              7                                          178

2 Bed                              7                                          160

3 Bed                              4                                          157

Total                               18                                         166

6. The applicant was provided with 55 documents provided via WeTransfer link which include (i) Policy versions for all changes since 2009 and (ii) documents detailing Policy changes (usually annual changes). Some version changes are small wording changes maybe for understanding/clarification purposes

7. North Devon District Council does not own social housing stock. North Devon Council and each of the individual Registered Providers (with stock in the North Devon District area) report separately to Central Government so national data sets will need to be searched for this data. An example of one of the national data sets are available in the public domain 

8. 01.04.22 to 31.03.23 = 10

    01.04.23 to 31.03.24 = 12

9. As follows:

Households in Temporary Accommodation               31 March 2023    31 March 2024

Households Housed within North Devon Council              67                          62

Households Housed outside North Devon Council              1                            0

Total Households                                                                 68                         62

10. 2023/24 = £948,699.17, (all within North Devon area)

11. 2022/23 = £902,952.31 (£900,091.13 within North Devon area and £2,861.18 outside the North Devon area)

12 – 15. This information was provided within an Excel spreadsheet which is available upon request 

Request reference: FOI 10280

Issue date: 21.01.25

Request received: 

1. How many temporary accommodation is the council using as of today’s date to accommodate households with at least one child under the age of two?

Of these units, as of today’s date:

1. How many have been assessed as having adequate space for a cot?
2. How many have been assessed as NOT having adequate space for a cot?
3. How many have not been assessed for whether or not there is space for a cot?
4. How many families with children aged under two at the time of placement have been placed in temporary accommodation since February 2024?
5. Of these, how many families did not have their own cots and what provisions was the council able to make for them? (This information can be supplied as totals; for instance, X number of households had a cot provided, Y number of households were given guidance on how to obtain a cot, etc)

Response provided:

1. 21.01.25 = 11

2. We do not have specific assessment. Client with child would only be placed into placement that has space for a cot

3. As above

4. Information not held

5. 68

6. Information not held. If client does not have their own cot we would purchase on their behalf and they would keep when they move on 

Request reference: FOI 10282

Issue date: 10.01.25

Request received: 

The following information about each planning appeal cost award or partial cost award made for or against the council (including information for any now-defunct councils that have been merged into your council) by planning inspectors between 1 April 2018 and 31 March 2024:

• Date of cost award decision

• Date of appeal decision letter (if different to date of costs award decision)

• Was the award for or against your council?

• Has the amount of the cost award been determined?

• Amount of sum (if determined) negotiated between the applicant and council for cost award

• Was the decision that was the subject of the appeal made against officer recommendation?

• PINS case reference number

Please note that we are asking about planning appeal cost awards only, and not, for example, awards that relate to enforcement or householder appeals

This is similar to a request made in 2023, in which we asked for data for the five years to March 2023. In response to our 2023 FOI, your authority gave us data relating to the following appeal PINS references, for which we do not need further information:

APP/X1118/W/19/3227309, APP/X1118/W/19/3230844, APP/X1118/W/19/3230845, APP/X1118/W/19/3230846, APP/X1118/W/19/3230930, APP/X1118/W/21/3272335, APP/X1118/W/21/3283943

We have identified the following additional planning appeal PINS references as likely to relate to successful costs claims over the period, and therefore relevant to this request:

APP/X1118/W/19/3225305

APP/X1118/W/20/3255204

APP/X1118/W/20/3255430

APP/X1118/W/20/3259771

APP/X1118/W/21/3266917

The above may not be a comprehensive list of relevant appeals over the period, and is merely intended to aid your response. Therefore, if no appeals are listed above, this does not necessarily mean that your authority was not involved in any successful costs claims over the six year period

Response provided:

Applicant provided with the information requested in a Word table format, which is available upon request 

Request reference: FOI 10283

Issue date: 02.01.25

Request received: 

I am looking into the effects of gentrification on the village of Croyde. In order to do this I would require:

The following data would be useful to have current, 10 years ago and 20 years ago:

1. the number and location of holiday lets
2. the number and location of second homes
3. the number and location of affordable/social homes and plans for any future ones to be built
4. the number of registered voters
5. population by age
6. number and location of business premises in Croyde incurring business rates excluding holiday lets, e g restaurants and shops
7. number of food/alcohol serving licences in issue

This following data is just the current position that I am looking for:

1. number of planning applications
2. proposed new housing areas/local development plan

I am aware that some of this information has GDPR standards implications so is there a way that it can be formatted so that I may still be able to obtain this information that holds relative value, e g by postcode

Response provided:

1. Applicant directed to the Council’s Business Rates datasets published on its website which are updated on a quarterly basis. There is a specific property description for those businesses operating as self-catering holiday units and so this information can easily searched for and found

2. The applicant was advised that the Council does not specifically record properties as ‘second homes’. The Council’s Revenues team record properties paying Council Tax as:

Unoccupied and furnished, or

Furnished, unoccupied and with a planning restriction that prevents the property being lived in permanently (in some cases where there is a maximum number of days each year that it can be occupied)

With unoccupied and furnished, they may not always be considered to be a second home and in some cases a property could be empty due to the death of its owners and is in the process of being sold, going through probate etc. There is no way for the Council to know which properties this applies to as ratepayers are not required to provide this information to Council Tax

The applicant was provided with two spreadsheets as explained above provide a partial disclosure of the postcode of each applicable property as it is considered that any information held that would directly and indirectly identify ratepayers/property owners be exempt from disclosure 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, particularly as a disclosure is not just to you as the requester under the FOI, but also to the world at large

3. Affordable rented (social rent level):

4 x 1 bed flats

2 x 1 bed bungalows

4 x 2 bed flats

5 x 2 bed houses

1 x 2 bed bungalow

 

Affordable Ownership:

1 x 3 bed house for Shared Ownership

2 x 3 bed houses at Discounted Market Sale

The applicant was provided with a map of the area to which the properties are located, however the individual properties were not identified on the map in order to provide anonymity of the occupants/owners as to provide this in full would breach GDPR and so this information was also withheld in accordance with Section 40 of the Act

The Council’s Housing team confirms that there are currently no planning permissions granted in Croyde that secure any Affordable Housing for the future

4.  Current = 565

2014 = 593

2004 = 707

Prior to 2004 – This information is no longer held

5. This information is not recorded by the Council, the applicant was directed to the Office of National Statistics for this data

6. This information can be found within the Council’s published Business Rate datasets which are updated on a quarterly basis,

The datasets are published in CSV format therefore they can be filtered the applicable postcodes and addresses for the Croyde area and also by the property description, such as restaurants, shops etc

7. Businesses with licences to serve alcohol as it currently stands is published via the Council’s Premises Licence Register. With regards to any historic data, as long as a licence is still current then it will show on the published registered, however anything older than seven years will have been destroyed/deleted in line with Document Retention and Destruction Schedules

With regards to businesses registered with the Council to serve food, this information as it currently stands published via the Food Standards Agency (linked via the Council’s website). With regard to historic data held by the Food Hygiene team, they confirm that they are unable to provide information dating back 10 and 20 years ago; much of this still have been destroyed/deleted in line with document retention and destruction schedules

8. For full planning applications made, this information can be found via the Advance search facility of the Planning Tracker. A search on the Parish of Georgeham on all Full Applications has generated a result of 2,158 applications dating from 03.08.1948 to October 18.10.24

9. For information on new housing areas/local development plan, please refer to the following page on the Council’s website which details the Georgeham Neighbourhood Plan:https://www.northdevon.gov.uk/planning-and-building-control/neighbourhood-plans/georgeham-neighbourhood-plan

Applicant also directed to the published Local Plan (covering North Devon and Torridge

Request reference: FOI 10286

Issue date: 07.01.25

Request received: 

Information below about cashless parking solutions in the local authority:

1. The name, job title, and contact details for the person responsible for car parking management

2. The name, job title, and contact details for the person responsible for procuring the external providers (if any) which manage car parking for your authority

3. On which of your sites do you own or operate car parks? Please list

4. In which of these car parks are cashless parking solutions used? Please list

5. For those car parks with cashless parking - what solutions are currently being used (pay by phone, pay by app, on-line, space booking etc.)? Please state for each car park

6. For those car parks without cashless parking, are you considering changing this? Yes/No

Additionally, if you do already have cashless parking: 

1. Do any external companies provide your cashless parking solution(s)? Yes/No

2. If yes - for each, please state the company name, the value(s) of the current contract(s), the start and end dates of the current contract(s), if there are any extensions in place or planned to these contract(s) and the length of these extensions.

3. What procurement route(s) did you use to tender for these external providers of cashless parking? (e g via a named framework agreement, competitive competition, direct award, extension of existing contract, etc)

4. What is the planned date(s) for re-tender for your contract(s) for external provider(s) of cashless parking?

5. How do you plan to procure your next external provider(s) of cashless parking (existing framework, new framework, competitive competition, direct award, extension of existing contract, etc)? What is the timescale for this?

Response provided:

1. Lena Iliffe, Parking Manager
2. As 1 above
3. This is published on the Council’s website: https://www.northdevon.gov.uk/parking/car-parks
4. This is published on the Council’s website: https://www.northdevon.gov.uk/parking/ringgo
5. All NDC Pay and Display car parks have the option to pay by phone, currently RingGo. It is indicated on the website.
6. None of NDC car parks are cashless and there is not plan to change this at present.
7. Yes
8. RingGo. Please refer to the linked Council’s Contract Register as linked for details concerning the value, start and end dates, extension dates.
9. Direct award
10. August 2026
11. Via Framework, options are currently being explored by the Parking team, timescale currently unknown

Request reference: FOI 10288

Issue date: 06.01.25

Request received: 

1. The number of reports of cigarette butt waste from 1st January 2023 to 12th December 2024

2. The number of reports of vape waste from 1st January 2023 to 12th December 2024

3. The number of Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs) issued by your council in 2023 and 2024 for the littering of cigarette butts

4. The number of FPNs for littering cigarette butts that were not paid within the allocated time frame and subsequently went to court in 2023 and 2024

Response provided:

1. Four (Three in 2023 and One in 2024)

2. Zero

3. Two (Both in 2024)

4. Zero

Request reference: FOI 10291

Issue date: 16.01.25

Request received: 

1. How often are bin collections carried out by the Council? Please provide details on the frequency of bin collections, including any variations based on location or type of collection (e.g., general waste, recycling, garden waste)

2. Has the frequency of bin collections changed since the 2020/21 financial year? If the frequency has changed, please provide details of the previous frequency of collections

3. Please provide the total amount of funding allocated for waste collection services in the financial years 2020/21 to 2023/24, broken down by year if possible

4. Are data available on missed bin collections? If so, please provide details on the number of missed bin collections in the financial years 2020/21 to 2023/24, broken down by year if possible

5. Please provide data on the number of complaints received regarding bin collections in the financial years 2020/21 to 2023/24, broken down by year if possible. Also, if possible, categorise the complaints by type

6. Please provide data on any actions taken as a result of complaints made (e.g., payouts to complainants, changes to processes, etc.) in the financial years 2020/21 to 2023/24, broken down by year if possible

7. Is bin collection performed and managed directly by the council, or outsourced to private contractors? If outsourced, how are the contracts awarded and how is fair competition ensured?

8. Please provide all contract amounts awarded for any outsourced bin collection and management services in the financial years 2020/21 to 2023/24, broken down by year if possible

9. How many bin men/women have been employed by the council in the financial years 2020/2021 to 2023/24, broken down by year if possible?

10. For the financial years 2020/2021 to 2023/24, what is the average salary of bin men/women in your council area per year?

Response provided:

1. General Waste and Garden Waste fortnightly (alternating weeks), Recycling (food waste, card, paper, glass, plastic and tin/metal weekly

2. No

3. As follows:

Recycling

	2020/21	2021/22	2022/23	2023/24
Expenditure	3,028,878	3,354,084	3,574,499	4,067,925
Income (Recycling Credits, Sale of materials, Shared Savings Scheme)	-1,172,936	-1,482,540	-1,560,153	-1,423,401
Net Expenditure	1,855,941	1,871,544	2,014,347	2,644,523

Domestic Refuse

	2020/21	2021/22	2022/23	2023/24
Expenditure	2,343,169	2,389,243	2,599,494	2,546,380
Income (Garden Waste income, Bulky waste collections)	-791,397	-858,838	-913,002	-1,137,382
Net Expenditure	1,551,773	1,530,405	1,686,492	1,408,998

Total

 

	2020/21	2021/22	2022/23	2023/24
Expenditure	5,372,047	5,743,327	6,173,993	6,614,305
Income (Garden Waste income, Bulky waste collections)	-1,964,333	-2,341,378	-2,473,154	-2,560,783
Net Expenditure	3,407,714	3,401,949	3,700,839	4,053,522

4. 2020/21 = No longer held/recorded

    2021/22 = 2,855 (oldest data available 14.12.2021 – 31.03.22)

    2022/23 = 10,512

    2023/24 = 8,848

5. AS follow:

2020/2021

                                                                                     Black       Green    Recycling

Not returned/actioned request                                        2               2               0

Does not agree with policy/procedure                            0               1               1

Alleges we have not followed procedure                        1               1               2

Missed collections                                                          27            10             31

Not returned for missed in SLA                                      2              0               0

Dangerous driving                                                           2              0               1

Unhappy with decision or explanation                            1              2                3

Service is not value for money                                        1               0               0

Created expense/caused damage                                     6              0               5

Not replacing containers properly                                   3              0               3

Poor staff behaviour attitude                                           6              4              20

Waste left behind after collection                                    2              0              11

Container not delivered/fixed/moved in SLA                 8              9               8

Parked Cars                                                                     1              0               0 

Unsuitable container                                                       0              0               1

 

 

2021/2022

                                                                                    Black       Green     Recycling

Not returned/actioned request                                       4               4               2

Does not agree with policy/procedure                           3               1               2    

Alleges we have not followed procedure                       3               0               4

Missed collections                                                        50             51            118

Not returned for missed in SLA                                     4               5               3

Disputes crew/Bartec record                                          2              0               1

Unhappy with decision or explanation                           6              3                3 

Service is not value for money                                      0              2                0

Created expense/caused damage                                3              0                1

Not replacing containers properly                                 4               0               5

Website information                                                      0              1                0

Cancelled collections                                                    0               0               0

Poor staff behaviour attitude                                        13              2              21

Waste left behind after collection                                  1               1              10

Container not delivered/fixed/moved in SLA                 7               6              13

Parked Cars                                                                  1               0               0

 

2022/2023      

                                                                                 Black         Green      Recycling

Not returned/actioned request                                    4                  3              6

Does not agree with policy/procedure                        1                  0              2

Alleges we have not followed procedure                    5                  6              5

Missed collections                                                      33                36           155

Not returned for missed in SLA                                  17                7              14

Disputes crew/Bartec record                                       1                 2               0

Unhappy with decision or explanation                        2                 5               3

Service is not value for money                                    0                5               1

Created expense/caused damage                              3                1               7 

Not replacing containers properly                               0                 0              4

Cancelled collections                                                   0                3               0

Poor staff behaviour attitude                                      20                4             21

Waste left behind after collection                                1                 1              4

Container not delivered/fixed/moved in SLA               3                 0              6

Parked Cars                                                                0                 0             1

Other                                                                          0                  0             1

 

2023/2024

                                                                               Black       Green       Recycling

Not returned/actioned request                                  2               1                1

Does not agree with policy/procedure                      1               1                2

Alleges we have not followed procedure                  1               3                4  

Missed collections                                                   16             15              152

Not returned for missed in SLA                                1               1                4

Dangerous driving                                                    1               0                0

Held up traffic                                                           1               0                0

Disputes crew/Bartec record                                    2               3                5

Unhappy with decision or explanation                     1               1                3

Service is not value for money                                0                0               1

Created expense/caused damage                          3                1               4

Not replacing containers properly                           0                0               1

Website information                                                0               0                1

Poor staff behaviour attitude                                  11             3                25

Waste left behind after collection                            1              0                 5

Container not delivered/fixed/moved in SLA           3              3                 16

2024 to date

                                                                           Black      Green        Recycling

Not returned/actioned request                              0              0                  1

Does not agree with policy/procedure                  1              1                  2

Alleges we have not followed procedure              2              3                  5

Missed collections                                               17            11                 28  

Not returned for missed in SLA                            2              2                  4

Dangerous driving                                                2              2                  3

Disputes crew/Bartec record                                 0             2                  2

Unhappy with decision or explanation                  7             5                  5

Created expense/caused damage                           1              1                 2

Not replacing containers properly                         1              0                 1

Poor staff behaviour attitude                                  6               3                9

Waste left behind after collection                          0               0                0

Container not delivered/fixed/moved in SLA         0               1                2

6. Applicant provided with this information within an Excel spreadsheet (which is available upon request), however the data is only held going back to April 2021 (as per the last tab for April 2021/22). The dataset contained some personal data (names of complainants) that would have otherwise identified them, therefore this was been redacted throughout where appropriate in accordance with Section 40 of the Act

7. In-house

8. Not applicable

9. 20/21 (31/03/21) - 122

    21/22 (31/03/22) - 115

    22/23 (31/03/23) – 121 

    23/24 (31/03/24) - 136

10. The Council does not record this information, however it can provide the following which is made up of a combination of roles that “binmen” as per your request and together they range from SCP 4-17:

 

31.03.21 - SCP £18,933 - £24,491

31.03.22 - SCP £19,264 - £24,920

31.03.23 - SCP £21,189 - £26,845

31.03.24 - SCP £23,114 - £28,770 

Request reference: FOI 10292

Issue date: 17.01.25

Request received: 

Regarding planning permission applications specifically related to garden rooms submitted to the authority over the past three years

For the purpose of this request, “garden rooms” refer to standalone structures such as garden offices, studios, cabins or other ancillary outbuildings in residential gardens. If you cannot provide just specific to garden rooms then please provide for all planning permission requests

1. The total number of planning permission applications received for garden rooms during the specified period

2. Of these applications:

- The number that was approved

- The number that was declined

3. A breakdown of these applications by category (why they’re submitting the planning permission application), including but not limited to:

- Height or width

- Use for regular sleeping accommodation

- Use for commercial purposes

- Listed building

- More than a storey high

- Covers more than 50% of the land surrounding the house

- It’s at the front or side of the house

4. For the applications that were refused, please provide a breakdown of the reasons for the refusals, including:

- Non-compliance with local planning policies

- Issues related to size, scale, or height

- Concerns about the visual impact on the neighbourhood

- Objections raised by neighbours or other parties

- Sleeping accommodation

- Commercial purposes

- Other

Please provide the requested information in a machine-readable format (e g Excel, Google Sheets or PDF) if possible

Response provided:

The applicant was provided with the information covering 1 and 2 in an Excel spreadsheet  

The remainder of the information however cannot be gathered by a report from the Planning system and so the only other way that these outstanding parts can be provided would require a manual search of each of the identified planning applications as listed within the spreadsheet

The applicant was advised that they would be able to find the answers to these outstanding parts of their request by carrying out a manual search of each published application using the Planning Tracker using the provided spreadsheet

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 considers it has done so in providing the spreadsheet listing the applicable applications that would need to be individually searched through and the link to the advance search facility of the planning tracker 

Request reference: FOI 10294

Issue date: 14.01.25

Request received: 

The applicant requested the Council confirm since the financial year beginning April 2022, all the services the council has provided for refugees and how much these cost, regardless of where the funding came from, e g internally, or via government grants/schemes for Ukrainian/Afghan/Syrian/Vulnerable refugees. This could also include funding from the Local Authority Housing Fund (LAHF) among other schemes like ARAP, ACRS, UKRS etc

For reference, other councils have mentioned services that includes housing, translation, education, childcare, transport, goods/services and so on

Response provided:

Since April 2022 we have welcomed Refugees under the Homes for Ukraine Scheme and the Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy (ARAP). As a council we commission the Pickwell Foundation to carry out support services for any arrivals, so consequently, we are unable to quantify the cost of individual services provided by them. Additionally, as the Pickwell Foundation is a Charity that has areas of function outside of the Local Authority Funding, some services they provide may be done so through Pickwell’s own volition and not associated with North Devon Council and its funding streams. However, please see below our expenditure for Refugee Services within the council:

ARAP 2023/24:

Salaries - £61833.3

Welcome Payments - £14000

The Pickwell Foundation - £84,097.8

Other Miscellaneous Expenses - £2315.66

Rent In Advance - £162,246.8

Education - £54,000

 

ARAP April to Dec 24/25:

Rent in Advance for SFA properties - £13079.25 

Welcome Payments - £3700 

The Pickwell Foundation - £212230.56 

ESOL - £3208.33 

Other Miscellaneous Expenses - £567.15 

PRS Deposits - £800 

PRS Rent In Advance - £1200 

Education - £76,500

 

Homes for Ukraine:

Payments to Hosts:

22/23 - £179,962.50             

23/24 - £245,550              

24/25 Q1 - Q3 - £192,230

 

HFU 2022/2023:

Salaries: £120,395.25

Top up for Host Payments: £29,250.00

Welcome Payments: £35,000

Pickwell Foundation: £178,175.00

Sunrise Diversity Charity: £14,517.00

Property Inspections: £11,620.00

Counselling: £56.02

Temporary Accommodation: £21,280.00

Other Miscellaneous Expenses: £592.23

 

HFU 2023/2024:

Salaries: £61,833.30

Furniture and Electric for LAHF property: £51,276.27 

Top up for Host Payments: £36,450.00 

Welcome Payments: £2,061.80 

The Pickwell Foundation: £241,500.00 

Property Inspections: £2,400.00 

Temporary Accommodations: £9,069.29 

Host Incentives: £2,453.73.

Miscellaneous expenses: £534.51

Court Costs - £10,000

PRS Deposits: £865.38

PRS Rent in Advance: £3,576.93

PRS Rent in Advance, non-recoverable - £1,400.00

 

HFU 2024/2025 (Q1-Q3):

Welcome Payments: £430.60

The Pickwell Foundation: £127,000

Host Incentives: £2569.30

Miscellaneous Expenses: £725.79

PRS Deposits: £2786.00

PRS Rent in Advance: £1200

PRS Rent in Advance, non-recoverable: £5612.00

 

Asylum Dispersal Grant 3 23/24:

PRS Deposits: £3443

Staff Training: £1200

Salaries: £16283.26

Agency Housing Staff Payments: £78,000

 

LAHF:

For the Local Authority Housing Fund, the funding received is used to purchase properties in line with government requirements

LAHF Round 1 – We have purchased and used a property for the Homes for Ukraine Scheme, which was Funded £211,500 by North Devon and £100,000 from the LAHF (total cost £311,500) 

Request reference: FOI 10295

Issue date: 14.01.25

Request received: 

1. How many Blue Plaques there are in the council’s region in total? (If full figure is known, please provide that, if only those approved by the council are known, please specify)

a. Who each of the Blue Plaques in the region is for and when it was installed

2. How many applications for blue plaques there have been in the 2024 to the council? (If full figure is known, please provide that)

a. Who they are for

b. How many, and which ones were approved

3. Please identify any other organisations in your region that approve and install Blue Plaques

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 Planning department confirmed that they do not maintain a database of sites with blue plaques. Previously, English Heritage has managed the blue plaque scheme in London since 1986, but outside of London, provision has been sparse, with many local schemes having come and gone, each with different designs and criteria

The only records of applications found are as follows. Each of these were listed building consent for the siting of blue plaques, but Planning has no record of when they were installed, if at all:

• THE HILL, FORE STREET, HILL, CHULMLEIGH, DEVON, EX18 7BS

• SKIRR COTTAGE, GEORGEHAM, BRAUNTON, EX33 1JL

• THE THATCH INN, LARKSTONE COTTAGE, HILLSBOROUGH ROAD, ILFRACOMBE, DEVON, EX34 9PG

• NORTHFIELD HOUSE, NORTHFIELD ROAD, ILFRACOMBE, EX34 8AL

• 7 MONTPELIER TERRACE, ILFRACOMBE, EX34 9HR

• RUNNYMEDE HOUSE, RUNNACLEAVE ROAD, ILFRACOMBE, EX34 8AW

• THE GABLES, 1 BELMONT ROAD, ILFRACOMBE, EX34 8DR

• ROYAL BRITANNIA HOTEL, BROAD STREET, ILFRACOMBE, EX34 9EE

No applications were received in 2024. Planning do not hold any records of any other organizations that approve and install blue plaques apart from Historic England and English Heritage 

Request reference: FOI 10296

Issue date: 07.01.25

Request received: 

The following information regarding internship schemes run or facilitated by the council over the last four years:

1. Details of Internship Schemes: A list of all internship schemes, including the year(s) they operated, the number of placements offered, and the departments or services involved

2. Eligibility Requirements: A full breakdown of all requirements for applicants, including:

- Age restrictions or criteria

- Any specifications based on ethnicity, religion, or other personal and protected characteristics

Response provided:

1. The Council does not have its own internship schemes, however it does provide work experience placements when approached by local schools and students, also supported internships and T level placements as approached by local colleges and students

The Council also supports unpaid work experience where it can be accommodated and will commence one placement within Planning within 2025, also hosted a placement within both Environmental Health and Legal Services in 2024

The Council has provided one Supported internship through Petroc College within the Council’s Crematorium which took place two days per week over a six month period (November 23 through July 24) and also four T level placements (two within ICT and one within Environmental Health) in years 2023 – 2024. One is due to start in Car Parks/Parks in 2025

2. These placements are not created or advertised by the Council, but local schools and colleges, therefore the Council does not have any criteria

The Council does not have any specifications

The Council has advertised two Graduate Schemes, (not internships) the LGA Pathways to Planning Scheme and also the LGA Impact Scheme – again these schemes use their own marketing and recruitment criteria, and actively market to all groups 

Request reference: FOI 10301

Issue date: 22.01.25

Request received: 

How many planning applications in the past 12 months have been refused solely on the grounds that the land subject to the application was agricultural land graded 1-3a?

Response provided:

The Council’s Planning department confirms that no planning applications within the past 12 months have been refused solely on the grounds that the land subject to the application was agricultural land graded 1-3a

Request reference: FOI 10302

Issue date: 23.01.25

Request received: 

1. Does the Council currently use nightly paid temporary accommodation?

2. How much is paid for nightly based temporary accommodation on the following size properties;

HMO Room

Studio

1 Bed

2 Bed

3 Bed

4 Bed

3. How many units of nightly based temporary accommodation does the Council currently use?

4. How many singles and families does the Council current have in a hotel or Bed and Breakfast?

5. How many of those singles or families have been in the hotel or Bed and Breakfast accommodation for more than 54 days?

6. Is the Council’s temporary accommodation via a tender or fixed contract currently?

Response provided:

1. Yes

2. HMO Room - Not used

Studio - Not used

Bed and Breakfast - charged on the amount of people including breakfast

Single - £40 per day

Double - £58 per day

Children under 5 years - £6.00 per day 

Children 5 -12 years - £14 per day 

Children 12 -16 years - £16 per day

We do not pay on room size unless it is the Travelodge and that is a nightly charge that varies day to day

3. Three

4. Three

5. None

6. Fixed contract or nightly charge 

Request reference: FOI 10303

Issue date: 13.01.25

Request received: 

Successful tender for Installation of new changing places WC, Green Lanes Shopping Centre 10.01.23

Response provided:

Applicant advised that the Council is unable to disclose the successful tender information requested. The release of this information falls under Section 43(2) which states that information is exempt if its disclosure under this Act would, or would be likely to, prejudice the commercial interests of any person (including the public authority holding it). In this instance, the Council considers that it would compromise Grills Renovations and Refurbishments Ltd (Grills) commercial interests and in turn, the Council itself

Grills consider the tender documentation they submitted to be commercially sensitive. They inform the Council that they are currently in the process of tendering for a number of local contracts and that a disclosure of the information at this time would likely weaken their ability to win those contracts. Whilst it is appreciated that there is a need to openness and transparency, they confirm that the contract award value is publically available via the Council's Contract Register. Whilst it is noted that the contract is complete and in progress, the information sought remains to be used by Grills to utilise to their advantage in future bidding within a competitive market; therefore it is considered to be intrinsically sensitive and carries significant commercial value

The Council acknowledges that this request may not be made to seek this information for competitive purpose, however a disclosure under the FOIA would effectively place the information into the public domain and so that would set a precedent for any future requests for such information

Public Interest Test

The Council must apply the Public Interest Test when applying the above exemption which requires me to decide whether, in all the circumstances in the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information

Arguments for Disclosure

It is recognised the disclosure of the information would facilitate openness, transparency and accountability, allowing you and the wider public to be better informed of the spending of public money through the Council’s procurement of its goods and services

Arguments for Withholding

The Council does not hold the necessary consent of Grills to disclose the information. The release of the information would jeopardise the Council’s future relationship with Grills and negatively affect its positive working relationship that it has developed since the contract was awarded

A disclosure against the wishes of Grills would leave the Council open to costly future legal challenge should Grills determine/evidence/link a disclosure with any adverse/detrimental harm to their business and their ability to win future bids

The future implications that a disclosure would have on the Council and the potential harm it would ultimately have on its working relationships it has with its other suppliers would more than likely occur should it become public knowledge that the Council is making confidential information publicly available against the wishes of its suppliers. This in turn would lead to suppliers and potential suppliers being reluctant to share sensitive information of this nature and would make it increasingly difficult for the Council to procure future goods and services effectively

If the Council is unable to consider all of the required information that it needs in order to make a well balanced and informed decision, this would likely lead to tenders taking longer to process as there would be more time spent corresponding and negotiating with potential suppliers to obtain information that they require. There could well be instances where, depending on the nature of some tender exercises, the Council is unable to procure some goods and services for fear (on the part of the supplier/potential supplier) that the Council may make their commercially sensitive information publicly available/disclose it against their wishes

The Council does not have any provision or right under the Act to be able to verify the identity of information request applicants to ascertain that they are who they say they are when they submit a request to the Council. Therefore the Council cannot be certain that when disclosing information to requesters that may be requesting such information for commercial/competitive gain or in an attempt to undermine a commercial bargaining position in the context of existing or future negotiations. For example, a competitor could very easily create an email account with a false name and the Council would be obliged to respond to that individual in the same way as it is responding to you. Applicants are only required to provide a name and address or response, they are not required to identify the reasons for which they seek information from the Council or identify whether they are a member of the public or an employee/owner of a company

A potential rival competitor could use the information to their advantage and would be valuable commercially as it would provide an insight and assist them in formulating/improving their own business plans. There is a strong public interest in ensuring a level playing field for all parties and that there is fair competition for public sector procurement of goods and services. The Council believes that a disclosure would prejudice both Grills and itself in the following ways:

- Restrict purchasing position and bargaining power

- Artificially formulated future tenders may be submitted that are not sustainable or effective in practice

- Damage to the wider market place, therefore limiting choice

Balance of Public Interest 

Having taken into account the arguments for and against disclosure, the Council has determined that the public interest in this case is best served by maintaining the exemption and by not disclosing the commercially sensitive information in this instance 

Request reference: FOI 10304

Issue date: 06.01.25

Request received: 

1. What software solutions does the council currently use for CAFM (Computer-Aided

Facilities Management) or IWMS (Integrated Workplace Management Systems)? If there are multiple solutions, please list all of them, including niche or secondary systems

2. What are the contractual terms for each solution? Please specify start and end dates. If on an annual/rolling contract, indicate this and provide renewal terms

3. What are the council’s plans at the end of each contract? Will you renew, extend, replace, or re-evaluate the software solution?

4. What are the total contract values for each solution? Please provide annual, monthly, or total lifetime costs, as applicable

5. Who is responsible for managing the CAFM/IWMS system(s)? Please provide their name, job title, and department

Q6. Which of the following functionalities does the organisation use? Are these integrated into the core system, or managed separately? Please specify

- Planned and Reactive Maintenance

- Asset Management

- Property Management

- Lease Agreements

- Health & Safety

- Project Management

- Condition Surveys

7. Are there any known limitations or challenges with the current system(s)? Please elaborate on any pain points, inefficiencies, or unmet requirements

8. Are there any upcoming plans for the adoption of new technologies or solutions? This includes both CAFM/IWMS-specific upgrades and broader facility management technologies. Please elaborate on potential timelines and goals

Q9: Are there any specific factors or features that would influence the decision to switch or upgrade systems?

For example, cost savings, functionality, ease of use, or integration with other systems

10. Has the council conducted or planned a review, audit, or tender process for its CAFM/IWMS solutions? If so, when, and what are the key evaluation criteria?

11. Are there any preferred vendors or frameworks for procurement? Please specify if the council uses certain frameworks like G-Cloud or regional consortia agreements

12. What level of integration does your current system(s) have with other council software (e g Finance, HR, Procurement)? Are there gaps or areas for improvement?

13. What data and reporting capabilities are critical for your facilities management needs? Are these fully supported by the current system(s)?

Response provided:

1. Civica

2. Rolling

3. Extend

4. In accordance with Section 21, this information is published on the Council's Contract Register: Property Management Software, Licences, Hosting, Support and Maintenance

5. Chay McKenzie, Building Surveyor

6. Planned & Reactive Maintenance - yes

    Asset Management

    Property Management - yes

    Lease Agreements - yes

    Health & Safety

    Project Management

    Condition Surveys - yes

7. Not Applicable

8. No

9, 10 and 11. Unknown

12. Finance only

13. Covers all that is required 

Request reference: FOI 10307

Issue date: 02.01.25

Request received: 

How many traffic-related (both parking and moving traffic) Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) have been overturned/refunded by the authority in each year for the last five. For 2024, I would appreciate data to the end of the year, as this is being sent on December 30

If this information is not available for moving traffic offences for the last five years, please provide the numbers for as long as the data is available

Response provided:

Applicant advised that information regarding moving traffic PCN’s covering North Devon will be held by Devon County Council as they are responsible for Highways as well as On-Street parking enforcement. North Devon Council will only be able to respond regarding its Off-Street Parking (Car Park) enforcement

Applicant directed to the Council’s website for some of the requested information:

Dataset: Summary of Parking Enforcement (PCNs issued, paid, cancelled, written off and outstanding (unpaid) from 2011/12 to and including 2023/24

This dataset will be due for updating with the 2024/25 data from end of May 2025 once it is complete

It is noted that the dataset does not detail how many refunds were issued, therefore the applicant was provided with a separate spreadsheet that provides this information, which is available upon further request 

Request reference: FOI 10308

Issue date: 22.01.25

Request received:

1. Please provide information on the number of individuals on the Council’s social housing waiting list who require accessible social housing:

a. Provide the overall total number of people on the waiting list for a type of accessible social housing

b. Include a breakdown of the number of people on the waiting list per type of accessible housing, according to your own accessible housing categorisation system. Accessible housing categorisation types vary by local authority. Examples of how properties may be categorised include, but at not limited to: Mobility Level 1, 2, 3; Part M Building Regulations 2010 – Cat 1 (M4(1)) Cat 2 (M4(2)) Cat 3 (M4(3)); Accessible Housing Register – Categories A, B, C, D, E, F, G

2. Please provide a breakdown of the Council’s overall housing stock by accessibility level. As stated above, the accessibility categorisation of properties varies between councils, please present the information using the council’s own categorisation system. Please include properties that are unclassified in the breakdown

3. Please provide a breakdown of all new build dwellings approvals and completions in the  Council area by both Building Regulations Part M4 standard (M4(2), M4(3) etc) and tenure type (market, social rented, discount market sale etc, or the tenure breakdown the Council measures by) in the year beginning 1st January 2022 ending 31st December 2022

Response provided:

1. Applicant referred to the provided link to the Devon Home Choice Procedures - A - Sections 56 and 57 describe the DHC Partnership’s approach to Accessible Housing. There are four categories of applicants on the Housing Register and data is provided below for applications on the North Devon Housing Register. Each application contains a ‘household’ of persons who normally live together or want to live together as a household

a) (note - Total on North Devon Housing Register = 2216) 530 on the Housing Register with a type of accessible housing need

b) Maximum of 3 steps = 308

     Step Free = 204

     Wheelchair Accessible = 18

2. North Devon Council does not hold this data as it is not a social housing landlord and therefore does not hold stock. Registered social landlords are required to provide annual reports the Social Housing Regulator and there are published data sets which you may wish to consider many of which can be found here: Private registered provider social housing stock in England - GOV.UK but there may be other, more relevant data sets for consideration

3. The Council does not record the data for completions for all part M4 standard dwellings. The Council does hold figures for M4(3)(2)b dwellings of which two were completed during the time in question. Both were Social Rent 

Request reference: FOI 10309

Issue date: 13.01.25

Request received: 

The cost of local authority elections between January 2021 and December 2024:

• How often local election cycles are held excluding by-elections. For example, the full council is elected every four years or a third of councillors are elected every year except the county council year

• The year or years local elections took place in the latest cycle since 2021 excluding by-elections. For example, if there is one local election where all councillors are elected once every four years then provide the year in which that election was held. If councillors are elected by thirds over a four year period then provide all years within the time period that these elections took place in the latest cycle to elect all councillors

• The total cost of each local council election held excluding by-elections broken down by election. For example, if there is one election where all councillors are elected once every four years then provide the cost of running that election. If councillors are elected by thirds over a four year period then provide the costs for each of those three elections in the latest cycle

Please see an example response below:

Full election date Cost of election

May-21 X

May-22 X

May-23 X

May-24 X

Response provided:

May 2023 -The cost of the District election was £203,420.60.  District elections were combined with parish elections

Request reference: FOI 10310

Issue date: 06.01.25

Request received: 

1. How many times did your council experience an attempted cyber-attack in each of the following calendar years: 2022, 2023, 2024? If you do not have complete data for 2024, please provide the most up to date information you have available

2. Of these attacks, how many resulted in the criminal being able to obtain data or disable systems, per calendar year: 2022, 2023, 2024?

3. Please advise what is the most common type of attack you have experienced, again per calendar year: 2022, 2023, 2024? (e g malware, ransomware, phishing)

4. For each of the calendar years: 2022, 2023, 2024, what has been the financial cost to recover from these cyber-attacks? If you cannot provide an exact cost, please provide an estimate. Please include costs such as rectification, loss of data, money paid to hackers, legal costs, etc

5. Do you have an insurance policy to protect against the potential consequences of cyber-attacks?

6. When did you last update your security system to cope with the volume and sophistication of cyber-attacks?

Response provided:

Section 1(1)(a) of the Act requires the Council to inform you whether it holds information of the description specified in the request. Section 31(1)(a) states that information which is not exempt information by virtue of section 30 is exempt information if its disclosure under the Act would, or would be likely to, prejudice (a) the prevention or detection of crime. Under section 31(3) the duty to confirm or deny does not arise if, or to the extent that, compliance with section 1(1)(a) would, or would be likely to, prejudice any of the matters mentioned in subsection (1)

In light of the above, the Council can either confirms or denies whether the information you have requested exists or is held as it is exempt from disclosure under section 31(3) of the Act. Confirming or denying its existence would be likely to prejudice the prevention or detection of crime. It is the Council’s opinion that the confirmation or denial of the possession of the requested information would be likely to compromise the Council’s information security strategies by giving cyber criminals insight into vulnerabilities which may, or may not, exist

In the ICO decision FS50600199 it was submitted that disclosing the information would help an IT attacker establish that its attack had or had not been detected. The ICO confirmed this and stated that revealing whether the public authority holds or does not hold the number of cyber security/details of would pose a real and significant threat to the authority’s operations, and consequently, the prevention or detection of crime. The test is whether the prejudice envisaged from complying with section 1(1)(a) is real and significant and in this case the compliance with section 1(1)(a) would be likely to assist a determined attacker, and consequently, that the risk to the authority’s IT systems as a result, is real and significant

When applying this exemption, the Council is required to carry out a Public Interest Test which considers the factors that favour disclosure and the withholding of the data:

Factors in favour of disclosure

Would promote openness and transparency about how the Council deals with cyber-crime and demonstrate its accountability in managing this in order that the public can be reassured that the Council is doing everything it is practicably able to keep the information is holds safe

Factors in favour of withholding

When the Council releases information to an individual pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act 2000, it is effectively releasing it into the public domain for all to see, that includes those who may not have genuine and honest reasons for wanting to see the information and maybe seeking the information in order to identify, expose or take advantage of potential weaknesses in the Council’s specific ICT security software and hardware, in order to cause intended damage to the Council’s systems or theft of information held

The Council operates a multi layered approach to ICT security. One of these layers is to obfuscate information that could be used to comprise its security

The Council considers that the answering of this part of your request could be used to jeopardise the integrity of the Council’s systems via current or future vulnerabilities. Revealing the requested information would provide some of the Council’s security counter measures and mean that potential hackers would have an insight into both the strengths and weaknesses of the Council’s cyber security measures and ultimately provide them with an advantage in identifying, or being able to easily find potential vulnerabilities and accordingly weaken and/or breach the Council’s security controls currently in place. There is a strong public interest in not making it easier for crime to be committed and so the Council is required to consider very carefully the amount of information is chooses to disclose in this regard

The Council’s ICT team indicates that the risk of cyber-attack is greater than even given today’s current climate and raise valid concerns that we are unable to expand upon further as that information in itself would disclosure information that could be used to target the Council negatively

The Council determines that for the reasons as set out above, the public interest in preventing crime from being committed outweighs the public interest in releasing the information on this occasion

Request reference: FOI 10311

Issue date: 27.01.25

Request received:

1. Current Social Housing Occupancy: The number of people currently placed in social housing

2. Temporary Accommodation Usage: Of the individuals referenced in query 1, the number currently residing in temporary accommodation facilities, including but not limited to hotels and hostels

3. Local Residency in Social Housing: Of the total number of individuals in social housing (Q1), the number who are native to the area, defined as having been born or raised within the region

4. Home Office Placements: The total number of individuals placed under the care of the council by the Home Office or any other governmental body since the beginning of the 2014 calendar year

5. Demographic Breakdown: A breakdown of the individuals referenced in query 1, categorized by ethnicity and age range

6. Homelessness and Housing Instability: An estimation of the number of individuals within the council area who are currently experiencing homelessness or residing in unsuitable housing conditions

7. Waiting List Duration: The current average waiting time for social housing, categorized by eligibility band as defined by the council's allocation policy

8. Social Housing Expenditure: A breakdown of the council's current expenditure on social housing, categorized by housing type (houses, flats, HMOs, hostels, hotels) Per year for the last 10 years

9. Asylum Seekers in Temporary Accommodation: Of those individuals residing in temporary accommodation (Q2), the number who are currently awaiting the adjudication of an asylum application

10.       Asylum Seeker Housing Policy: A detailed explanation of the council's current policy for housing individuals whose asylum applications have been granted. This explanation should include: 

- Procedures for transitioning individuals from temporary to more permanent accommodation

- The eligibility band assigned to such individuals within the council's housing allocation scheme

- The criteria and scoring methodology used to determine the housing band for this specific cohort, including any deviations from the standard operating procedure for housing allocation

Response provided:

1. The Council does not hold this data. We are not a social housing landlord. Registered social landlords are required to provide annual reports the Social Housing Regulator and there are published data sets which you may wish to consider, for example - Social housing lettings - GOV.UK Ethnicity facts and figures (ethnicity-facts-figures.service.gov.uk)

2. No data to provide. Please see response to Q1 above. NDC is not a social housing landlord. We do have Homelessness duties, including providing temporary accommodation, but that data set is different data set from the data set at Q1 above

3. No data to provide. Please see response to Q1 above

4. This is not information that we hold, please contact the Home Office, Home Office Direct Communications, Unit 2 Marsham Street, London, SW1P 4DF, e-mail: public.enquiries@homeoffice.gov.uk, telephone 020 7035 4848, Minicom 020 7035 4742

5. As 3. Above

6. Homelessness and Housing Instability – 170 individuals. There is currently one applicant on the North Devon Home Choice register who meets section 3.21 of the policy for an award due to Housing Defects

North Devon Council (NDC) is part of the Devon wide Devon Home Choice (DHC) Partnership scheme. North Devon manages the housing register for all applications received from applicants either (i) currently living in the NDC administrative area, or (ii) applicants who do not currently live in Devon but wish to live in the NDC area. Each application on the housing register is comprised of an application household (which can be more than one person). Each application is assessed in accordance with the DHC Policy and are awarded Bands A to E (with Band A being the highest housing need and Band E the lowest). An applicant household can have more than one banding award depending on their circumstances. Usually those in Bands A to D are considered to in ‘housing need’ and are likely to be in unsuitable housing (please refer to DHC Policy link provided above to understand award criteria and restrictions to banding awards) which can be due to accommodation being too small/large, or for health reasons or due to risk of or actual homelessness. However some households in Band E could be in housing need but have their banding restricted due to policy reasons – see full policy for details (e.g. having capital/savings/equity considered sufficient to meet their own housing needs).

7. Average Wait Time (days) of Applicants on North Devon Housing Register Active as at 10.01.2025:

Band A            338

Band B            643

Band C            555

Band D            432

Band E            716

Total                574

8. As 1. Above

9. As 1. Above

10. Procedures for transitioning from Temp to more permanent accommodation 

Anyone can apply to go on the Devon Home Choice Housing Register and will be assessed in accordance with the Policy - see this link to Policy - Devon Home Choice Policy v12.7 18 December 2024.pdf

- The eligibility band assigned to such individuals within the council's housing allocation scheme

Every application is assessed in accordance with the Devon Home Choice Policy - Devon Home Choice Policy v12.7 18 December 2024.pdf

- The criteria and scoring methodology used to determine the housing band for this specific cohort, including any deviations from the standard operating procedure for housing allocation

Every application is assessed in accordance with the Devon Home Choice Policy - Devon Home Choice Policy v12.7 18 December 2024.pdf

With regards to the allocation of social housing – North Devon Council (NDC) does not own social housing stock. North Devon Council (NDC) is part of the Devon wide Devon Home Choice (DHC) Partnership scheme. Please see this link for details of DHC Policy, scheme and partnership, including responsibilities of partner organisations - Devon Home Choice. In operation of the DHC Policy and scheme, all partners, including NDC, are required to comply with the latest statutory legislation and social housing allocations guidance (see here for the Gov.uk links - Social housing allocations guidance - GOV.UK ). Chapter three of guidance describes provisions relating to an applicant’s eligibility for social housing (including persons subject to immigration control and persons exempted) – see link here for current Chapter three - Allocation of accommodation: guidance for local authorities - Chapter 3: Eligibility and qualification - Guidance - GOV.UK. Please response to Q6 above for details in relation to the DHC banding 

Request reference: FOI 10312

Issue date: 06.01.25

Request received: 

The applicant requested the current business rates charged for the 2024/25 financial year (including reliefs and exemptions) in respect of the property listed below:

High Bullen Hotel, Chittlehamholt, Umberleigh, Devon EX37 9HD 

Response provided:

2024/25 = £104,832.00

Request reference: FOI 10313

Issue date: 27.01.25

Request received:

1. What percentage of each type of recycling is put in each of the recycling containers compared to the total produced?

2. Where, including postcode, are each of the seven types recycled?

3. What percentage of each type of recycling collected is processed at each location?

4. What are each of the seven types of recycling processed into?

4. Where is the processed material at each location transferred or sold on to?

5. What percentage of each of the seven types of recycling is not recycled? If not recycled how is it processed, where and want is it made into?

Response provided:

1. The Council does not recorded the amount of recycling that is presented at the kerbside for collection, therefore it is unable to answer this part of the request

2. As follows:

Plastic = Corby, Northants, NN18 9EX

Tins/ Steel/Aluminium = Llanelli, SA15 2HD, Barnstaple, EX31 1GB, Barnstaple, EX31 3NL

Glass = Kirby in Ashfield, NG17 8AP

Paper = Kings Lynn, PE34 3AL

Brown paper and card = Barnstaple, EX31 1GB

Food waste = Codford, BA12 0PJ

Garden waste = Torrington, EX38 7JA

3. 100%

4. This information is unknown

5. This information is unknown

Request reference: EIR 10314

Issue date: 21.01.25

Request received: 

CON29 information relating to a property at EX34 9FF

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 10315

Issue date: 23.01.25

Request received:

The applicant requests the following with regard to the Council’s use of herbicides in 2024

1. Does the Council, or contractors acting on behalf of the Council, use herbicides in the following areas:

a) Parks and green spaces 

b) Cemeteries 

c) Playing fields 

d) Road verges and roundabouts 

e) Hard surfaces such as pavements and highways 

f) Housing estates 

2. What volume of herbicides did the Council, or contractors acting on behalf of the Council, use from 1st January to 31st December 2024? Please answer in litres or kilograms

3. Does the council, or contractors acting on behalf of the Council, use glyphosate-based herbicides? 

4. How much money did the Council spend on costs associated to buying and using herbicides from 1st January to 31st December 2024? Please include all costs, including but not limited to; the purchase of pesticide products, application equipment and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), staff training and costs associated to outsourcing to contractors

5. How many complaints did the Council receive about weeds from 1st January to 31st December 2024?

6. a) Does the Council have a policy in place aimed at reducing or ending the use of herbicides on land under its control? 

    b) If yes, please provide a link to the policy or provide a hard copy if not available online

Response provided:

1. a) Yes

    b) No

    c) No

    d) No

    e) No

   f) No

2. The Council used Round up pro active 3.2l, nomix hilite glyphosate 30l. Contractor used 40l nomix hilite glyphosate

3. Yes

4. Materials - £1,652.15

    Contractor - £3,840.00

5. This information is not recorded

6. a) No, but this will be looked at. Hot foam and pedestrian weed brush have been trialled

    b) N/A

Request reference: FOI 10316

Issue date: 28.01.25

Request received: 

A copy of Exmoor Zoo's formal inspection report dated 14.12.2016 and Ilfracombe Aquarium's formal inspection report dated 21.12.2020

Response provided:

Applicant provided with the requested information, but with all third party/personal data redacted throughout under Section 40 of the Act 

Request reference: FOI 10317

Issue date: 20.01.25

Request received: 

The applicant requested the following information regarding the following 2024 grant scheme - Rural Prosperity Fund - closed 1st April 2024:

1. Total number of grant applications received

2. Total number of successful grant applications

3. Total grant funds available to applicants

4. Total grant funds awarded

5. Top 10 recipients of grant funding by value

6. Breakdown of sectors receiving awards by percentage

Response provided:

1. 43

2. 35

3. £798,000

4. £603,859

5. As follows:

£34,995.80

£33,219.90

£32,220.42

£32,000.00

£31,948.96

£28,880.00

£28,680.50

£25,000.00

£23,849.00

£22,848.00

6. As follows:

Tourism, Leisure, Entertainment - 14 = 39.9%

Agriculture - 12 = 34.2%

Retail - Three = 8.6%

Health and wellbeing - Three = 8.6%

Food and drink retail - Three = 2.85%

Construction - Three = 2.85%

Engineering/Garage - Three = 2.85%

Request reference: FOI 10318

Issue date: 23.01.25

Request received: 

The applicant requested to know when the council plans to tender its PPE and work wear lot

Response provided:

It was confirmed to the applicant that he Council has no currently plans to tender for PPE and work wear due to the procurement threshold not being met 

Request reference: FOI 10319

Issue date: 28.01.25

Request received: 

1. Does your local authority routinely consider people living with HIV to have a priority need for social housing? 

a) What criteria do you use to determine whether a person living with HIV has a priority need for social housing?

b)  Do you use the MHCLG “Homelessness code of guidance for local authorities” to assess whether a person living with HIV has a priority need for social housing?

2. Does your local authority have the sufficient time and resources to assess the priority need for social housing of a person living with HIV?

3. Are there further resources or guidance that do not currently exist that would help your local authority assess if a person living with HIV had a priority need for social housing?

Response provided:

1. a, b) North Devon Council is a partner of Devon Home Choice (DHC), a choice based letting scheme that covers the whole of Devon. DHC is a partnership between the 10 Devon local authorities and housing associations working in Devon

The DHC Policy follows government guidance and legislation. The policy and aforementioned guidance does not refer to priority need groups (Homelessness Legislation uses that terminology) but does refer to reasonable preference groups, including those who may have health and wellbeing related needs, all are provided for in the linked DHC Policy

All applicants are provided with an opportunity to express their housing needs

2. Please see response to 1 above

3. No 

Request reference: FOI 10320

Issue date: 14.01.25

Request received: 

In calendar year 2024, how many households did the council end its homelessness duty towards due to the household’s refusal to accept an offer of housing outside the local authority area?

Response provided:

None  

Request reference: FOI 10322

Issue date: 23.01.25

Request received: 

The applicant requested the following for the calendar years 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024, so please provide a breakdown by calendar year (in addition to a total number accounting for all years) for all questions below:

1. How many accidents occurred at council-owned or council-operated sports centres, leisure centres, gyms, or sports pitches? As well as a yearly breakdown, please provide the location and nature of injury for each incident

2. How much was spent on repairs to the above facilities?

3. How many legal claims were lodged against the council relating to injuries suffered at any of the above facilities in the past five calendar years? Of those, how many were settled, refused, or remain ongoing?

4. How much compensation has the council paid for claims relating to injuries suffered at any of the above facilities?

The Council sought clarification from the applicant with regards to Council spend on repairs, which they advised that they are looking for the total spent on all repairs regardless of how the damage, wear and tear was caused, but if it is possible for the Council to confirm the spend relating to identified accidents they would be grateful to receive this

Response provided:

1. As follows:

North Devon Leisure Centre (now demolished as replaced with Tarka Leisure Centre) - 2020 (20), 2021 (37), 2022 (up until 22nd June 2022 (16) Total 73

Tarka Tennis - 2020 (5), 2021 (4), 2022 Up until 22nd June 2022 (7) Total 16

Tarka Leisure Centre from 22nd June 2022 (51), 2023 (45), 2024 (42) Total 138

Ilfracombe - 2020 (11), 2021 (11), 2022 (25), 2023 (29), 2024 (31) Total 107

Applicant was also provided with an Excel spreadsheet for the yearly breakdown, providing the location and nature of each injury

2. Unfortunately the Council does not hold costs in calendar years but can provide by financial year. Below is the spend on repairs for the relevant financial years

	2020/21	2021/22	2022/23	2023/24	2024/25
03210: Other Works-General	25,357	12,721	33,279	598	0
03462: Response Maintenance - General	580	681	0	250	0

3. No claims have been lodged against the Council in each of the requested years

4. No compensation claims have been paid by the Council in each of the requested years

Request reference: FOI 10324

Issue date: 16.01.25

Request received: 

The applicant requested the following information regarding the running costs of the Council’s IT service management system (ITSM):

1. Running costs: Please provide the past three years costs (for clarity, these refer to your financial year whatever that may be)

1.1 Implementation                                               

1.2 Subscription / Licencing                                               

1.3 Support                                               

1.4 Professional Services (project work etc)                                               

1.5 Managed Services (where applicable)                                   

1.6 Approximate Staff costs associated with running the platform and/or                                               

1.7 Number of FTE associated to platform operations (if unable to provide answer to six)                                               

2. Implementation: if your system was implemented in the last three years, please provide the start and finish date or duration of this implementation project

3. Service Management System Vendor: Which vendor provided the service management system software (e g ServiceNow, Jira Service Management, Halo, Freshservice, Ivanti, Xurrent/4me, ManageEngine etc)?

4. Scope: Please provide the business scope of your system, does it include business functions outside of IT (e g HR Case Management, Facilities, Finance etc)?

5. Users: How many agent (fulfillers/users) licences do you have?

Response provided:

1. 2024 = £7,716.72

    2023 = £7,230.00

    2022 = £   900.00

1.1 = £8,400

1.2 = 14 licences

1.3 = Included in licensing model

1.4 = £0

1.5 = £0

1.6 = Unable to provide

1.7 = 14

2. 30.03.23 -31.03.24, implementation was phased as we introduced different modules

3. Top Desk

4. ITIL compliant ITSM for IT only

5. 14

Request reference: FOI 10326

Issue date: 16.01.25

Request received: 

1. In the previous 36 months, on how many occasions has the Council engaged the services of an Executive Search recruitment company (a recruitment service for senior staff on a retained fee basis)?

2. If the response to one is positive, what fees, either in percentage or a pounds and pence figure where paid by the Council to the supplier?

Response provided:

1. Zero

2. N/A

Request reference: FOI 10327

Issue date: 16.01.25

Request received: 

List of Private Hire vehicles currently licensed with NDC

Response provided:

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

Request reference: FOI 10328

Issue date: 30.01.25

Request received: 

Digital services and transformation 2025

1. The contact information of the individual(s) designated as Digital Transformation Officer(s) or equivalent position responsible for overseeing digital transformation initiatives within the council

2. The name of current software providers currently being utilized as part of your digital transformation strategy

Hybrid mail

SMS

Email

Portal

Inbound scanner

3. Who is the software supplier of your Revenue and Benefits application?

How long have they been the supplier, and when does the contract expire?

4. Who is responsible for the Digital Transformation in Revenue and Benefits?

5. Do you have a web portal for your Revenue and Benefits business area that allows citizens to access their council tax bills and benefits letters? If yes, How much was spent on this portal in terms of Capital and on-going costs? Is there an additional transactional cost for each document you publish (rather than post) via your Council Tax Portal? How many council tax bills do you send out per year? What percentage of these are delivered digitally through your council tax portal (rather than being posted)

Digital = 

Physical = 

6. How many council tax bills and associated documents do you create and send out per year in total?

How many of these are published via your web portal?

How many of these are emailed?

How many of these are posted?

7. How many council Benefit Letters and associated documents do you send out per year?

How many of these are published via your web portal?

How many of these are emailed?

How many of these are posted?

Response provided:

1. The Council does not employ any individual(s) designated as Digital Transformation Officers

2. Hybrid Mail = CFH Docmail (but it is not used by all departments)

    SMS = Intellisoftware (but this is only used by one department)

    E-mail = Microsoft Office 365/Exchange

    Portal = CRM is Granicus GovService/GovDelivery. In terms of Online bills we are in 

    the  process of implementing Civica OpenPortal

    Inbound Scanner = Documents are scanned using different scanners/MFD’s. The 

    MFD’s are provided by Kyocera

3. Civica since 1995. Contract expires 30.09.34

4. Julie Dark, Revenues and Benefits Manager, 01271 388361

5. Yes. Capital Cost: Not Available, On-going cost: No breakdown as included in contract. No additional cost for each document published (rather than post) via Council Tax portal

Annual billing of 2024/25 Council Tax bills sent = 48,602

Digital = None 

Physical = 100%

6. Total bills between 17.01.24 and 16.01.25 = 33,620. 

How many of these are published via your web portal? = All, provided the customer has a   portal account

How many of these are emailed? = None

How many of these are posted? = All

7. Benefit Notification letters = 22,563

Other letters/documents = Not recorded

Number of these published via web portal = None

Number of these emailed = None

Number of these posted = All, provided the customer has a portal account

Request reference: FOI 10329

Issue date: 17.01.25

Request received: 

1. The total number of Data Subject Access Requests (DSARs) received by the Council for each of the last three calendar years (2021, 2022, and 2023)

2. The number of DSARs completed within the statutory one-month timeframe during each year

3. The number of DSARs that required an extension beyond the one-month timeframe, along with the average length of extensions granted

4. Any recorded costs (e g staff time, software, or other resources) associated with processing DSARs for each of these years

Response provided:

1. Applicant provided with this data in a spreadsheet which is available upon request

2. As 1. Above

3. The specific costs associated with the processing of DSARs in terms of staff time, software and other resources (such as printing and postage) are not recorded, therefore this information cannot be provided. The staff who deal with DSARs as a core element of their job descriptions include:

- Data Protection Officer and Solicitor

- Legal Administrator and Paralegal

These officers are supported by colleagues within the Legal team in their absence

DSAR requests are processed within the Legal departments case management system Iken, details of which are published via the Council's Contract Register, however there is no way to calculate how much of this spend specifically relates to DSARs as it is used for areas of legal work carried out by the team

Request reference: FOI 10330

Issue date: 17.01.25

Request received: 

How does the local authority access ecological expertise? Is it through:

a) in-house ecological staff within the local authority

b) through a Service Level Agreement/shared resource with another local authority

c) through a Service Level Agreement with another body e.g. Wildlife Trust

d) through other external expertise e g consultants

e) no access to ecological expertise?

If it is a mixture of the above, could you please specify what the arrangements are

I am specifically looking for how the authority accesses staff/resources for implementing, delivering, monitoring and reporting on biodiversity net gain and other natural environment functions

Response provided:

a) Yes, one Sustainability Officer

b) Yes, Devon County Council - collaboratively funded Strategic BNG Officer post

c) Yes, Devon Biodiversity Records Centre - protected species and protected habitat site mapping

d) No

e) N/A

Request reference: EIR 10332

Issue date: 28.01.25

Request received: 

CON29 information relating to a property at EX32 0BS

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 10333

Issue date: 17.01.25

Request received: 

Provision of the Councils the latest inclusive language guide document for staff and other documents used for internal diversity training

Response provided:

Applicant was provided with the requested information held by the Council in the format of three PowerPoint presentation slides, one Word document which are available upon request

Request reference: FOI 10334

Issue date: 20.01.25

Request received: 

1. The total number of individuals and associations of individuals on your local authority’s statutory Self Build and Custom Housebuilding Register, as defined under the Self-build and Custom Housebuilding Act 2015 (as amended), as at 30 October 2023. Where your local authority has divided the register into two parts, please provide the total number for both parts of the register

2. The total number of planning permissions (including permissions in principle) your local authority has granted for self-build and custom housebuilding under Section 2A(2) of the Self-build and Custom Housebuilding Act 2015 (as amended), between 31 October 2022 and 30 October 2023. Please provide number of permissions and total number of dwellings

3. Where your local authority is a Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) charging authority, the number of self-build housing exemption claim applications (CIL Form 7 part 1: Self Build Exemption claim) the authority has received between 31 October 2022 and 30 October 2023. Please provide number of applications and total number of dwellings subject to claim applications

4. The total number of dwellings for self-build and custom housebuilding, as defined under the Self-build and Custom Housebuilding Act 2015 (as amended), expected to be delivered as a result of site allocations or policies seeking a percentage of such forms of housebuilding on housing sites in an adopted development plan for the local authority area (please provide development plan period)

Where your local authority covers more than one area for purposes of planning, please provide data for each area

Response provided:

1. Total number of individuals = 153

    Total number of associations of individuals = One

2. Total permissions for serviced plots suitable for self and custom build =66

3. North Devon Local Authority is not a CIL charging authority

4. There are no sites allocated nor policies regarding self-build and custom house build

Request reference: FOI 10335

Issue date: 22.01.25

Request received: 

1. Is your Council a member of the Local Government Association?

2. If so, has it served notice of its intention to resign?

3. What was the total amount of any membership subscription your Council paid to the Local Government Association in the financial year 2023/24?

4. What was the total amount of any other payments your Council made to the Local Government Association in the financial year 2023/24?

5. What is the total amount of any membership subscription your Council is due to pay to the Local Government Association in the current financial year?

6. What is the total amount of any other payments your Council is due to pay to the Local Government Association in the current financial year?

Response provided:

1. Yes

2. No, the Council has not served its intention to resign.

3. £9,920.32

4. £753.90

5. £9,921.00

6. £2,916.00

Request reference: FOI 10336

Issue date: 20.01.25

Request received: 

The request is for information regarding parking prices within your local authority and more specifically whether your council uses emissions-based parking charge structures, or has in place a surcharge for diesel vehicles

1. Does your council currently use emissions-based parking charges for:

a. parking permits

b. on-street parking 

c. council car parks?

d. If you do, could you indicate when emissions-based parking rules were first brought in?

2. Could you please provide any links to the pricing structures (emission-based or non-emission based) for:

a. parking permits 

b. on-street parking 

c. council car parks

3. Do you currently use a diesel surcharge for diesel vehicles for: 

a. parking permits

b. on-street parking

c. council car parks? 

d. If so, how much?

4) Could you give a breakdown for how much in total the council has made through parking charges and permits across the last five financial years e g) 19/20, 20/21, 21/22, 22/23 and 23/24

Response provided:

1. No, North Devon Council does not. Parking charges are designated by vehicle size (Motorcycle, Standard Vehicle, Coach/Lorry, Motorhome)
2. This information is available on the Council’s website under each car park
3. No, the applicant was directed to Devon County Council for information regarding on-street parking
4. This information is available on the Council’s website (last dataset listed): Revenue received by the Council in parking charges and fines - 2009/10 - 2023/24 

Request reference: FOI 10338

Issue date: 29.01.25

Request received:

Please include the following information for the financial years 2022/23 and 2023/24:

1. The total number of planning applications submitted for all housing projects under the program 

2. The current status of these applications categorised as approved, pending, or rejected. Include the housing type for example, social rent, shared ownership, or first-time buyer schemes etc

3. The total number of infrastructure or housing projects that have been called in as infrastructure projects of national significance by the government for the following time periods July 5th 2022 - July 4th 2023, July 5th 2023 - July 4th 2024 and July 5th, 2024 - present day

Response provided:

The Council confirms that it has no affordable housing projects that are of national significance as per the Housing and Planning Bill: Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects and Housing Briefing note October 2015 Department for Communities and Local Government 

Request reference: FOI 10339

Issue date: 22.01.25

Request received: 

The applicant requested a copy of the full visit report for the New Inn, Fremington, EX31 2NT following their recent food hygiene 1 star rating

Response provided:

Applicant provided with a copy, with some third party personal data redacted throughout in accordance with Section 40 of the Act, which is available upon request

Request reference: FOI 10342

Issue date: 22.01.25

Request received: 

1. Current IT Service Model: Is the Council’s IT delivery primarily in-house, outsourced, or a hybrid approach, and if not delivered in-house, who provides this service?

2. Major IT Contracts: Key details of significant IT service contracts (including scope, value, end date and any options for extension or renegotiation)

3. Future IT Plans: Are there any strategic plans or considerations for changing IT delivery models (e g, outsourcing, in-sourcing, multi-sourcing)

Response provided:

1. In house

2.  In accordance with Sections 16 (advice and assistance) and 21 (information accessible by other means), this information where held would be published through the Council’s Contract Register: https://procontract.due-north.com/ContractsRegister/Index?v=2

The register can be exported into Excel format in order that it can be filtered accordingly

3. No 

Request reference: FOI 10343

Issue date: 24.01.25

Request received: 

A list of Businesses in the Parish (Lynton and Lynmouth) who have/don't have trade waste bin agreements

Response provided:

Applicant advices that the Council’s Trade Waste team confirms that it only maintains a record of premises that have a Trade Waste agreement with the Council. There may be some businesses within Lynton and Lynmouth that have agreements in place with private companies that offer the same service, however the Council would not hold a record of this

The applicant was provided with a list of all premises within Lynton and Lynmouth that, at the time of this response, have a Trade Waste collection arrangement with the Council

Request reference: FOI 10344

Issue date: 22.02.25

Request received: 

How many properties in the parish of Kings Nympton are holiday lettings or second homes?

Response provided:

The Revenues team does not specifically record properties considered to be a second home. They either have properties paying Council Tax recorded as:

• Unoccupied and furnished, or:
• Furnished, unoccupied and with a planning restriction that prevents the property being lived in permanently (in some cases where there is a maximum number of days each year that it can be occupied)

With unoccupied and furnished, they may not always be considered to be a second home and in some cases a property could be empty due to the death of its owners and is in the process of being sold, going through probate etc. There is no way for the Council to know which properties this applies to as ratepayers are not required to provide this information to Council Tax

With regard to holiday lets, the applicant was referred to the Council’s Open Data page on its website, specifically those relating to Non Domestic Rate properties. The datasets are updated and published on a quarterly basis: Business Rates with the last update carried out 1 January 2025

The datasets are published in CSV format and so by downloading the dataset ‘All NDR Properties Occupied and Empty as at 01.02.2025’ and by filtering column J (property description) the applicant is able to filter all those recorded as ‘Self-catering holiday unit’, then allow them to review and identify those that fall within the Kings Nympton Parish area

Request reference: FOI 10345

Issue date: 27.01.25

Request received: 

A copy of the hygiene report for Sandbanks Cafe, Yelland, EX31 3UH

Response provided:

Applicant provided with a copy of the latest hygiene report, with some personal information redacted under Section 40 (personal data) of the Act, which is available upon request  

Request reference: FOI 10346

Issue date: 23.01.25

Request received: 

The applicant requested the following information relating to large panel system (LPS) within high rise block buildings

1. How many LPS buildings are there in your area?

2. How many blocks have a gas supply?

3. How many have had refurbishment to reduce the risk of spread of fire or structural failure?

4. How many LPS buildings are to be demolished?

Response provided:

1. The Council does not maintain a register or record of this information for all buildings within its area

With regard to North Devon Council owned buildings (both commercial and residential), the Council does not have any high rise block buildings within its assets

2. N/A

3. N/A

4. N/A

Request reference: FOI 10347

Issue date: 24.01.25

Request received: 

1. The total spending by your Council on training for your staff in the financial year 2023/24

2. The title of each training course your staff attended in the financial year 2023/24 and the name of any external provider where applicable

3. The total spending by your Council on conference fees and expenses for your staff in the financial year 2023/24

4. The name of each conference your staff attended in the financial year 2023/24

Response provided:

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

Request reference: FOI 10348

Issue date: 29.01.25

Request received: 

AI Strategy

1. Does the council have an official AI strategy or roadmap?

If yes, please provide a copy or summary

If no, are there plans to develop one?

2. Has the council allocated a specific budget for AI initiatives in the last three financial years?

If so, please provide details of the budget allocation and expenditure

3. Are there specific teams, departments, or individuals responsible for overseeing AI strategy or implementation within the council?

If yes, could you provide their name, role, and contact information (email address and phone number)?

4. Has the council engaged with external consultants or organisations to develop or implement AI projects? If so, please provide details

 

AI Projects and Use Cases

5. Is the council currently using or piloting any AI tools or solutions?

If yes, what are the primary use cases (e g chatbots, fraud detection, process automation)?

Please list any vendors or solutions used

6. Has the council completed or planned any feasibility studies or pilot projects related to AI?

If yes, please provide a summary of findings or expected outcomes

 

Governance and Ethical Considerations

7. How does the council ensure ethical considerations in the use of AI, such as avoiding bias in algorithms or ensuring transparency?

Are there governance frameworks in place to address these issues?

8. Has the council undertaken any risk assessments for the implementation of AI technologies?

If yes, please provide details or copies of any assessments

9. How does the council comply with data protection regulations (e g GDPR) when implementing AI projects?

 

Talent and Skills

10. What proportion of the council’s staff has received AI-related training or upskilling in the past three years?

11. Does the council employ data scientists, AI specialists, or other technical staff dedicated to AI initiatives?

If yes, how many, and in what roles?

 

Infrastructure and Budget

12. What technological infrastructure is currently in place to support AI initiatives (e.g., data storage, computing resources, cloud platforms)?

13. Has the council faced challenges in implementing AI due to resource or infrastructure limitations?

If yes, please provide details

14. Is there a long-term budget allocation plan for AI adoption or expansion?

 

Public Engagement

15. Has the council conducted any public consultations or outreach efforts regarding the use of AI in council operations?

16. Are there mechanisms for residents to understand or influence how AI is being used by the council?

Contact Information

17. Could you provide the name, role, and contact details (email address and phone number) of the person(s) responsible for IT or AI adoption within the council?

Response provided:

AI Strategy

1. No, no plans to develop an AI Strategy or Roadmap

2. No

3. No

4. No

 

AI Projects and Use Cases

5. Yes, Chat bot and telephony meeting summary and CSC agent assist, Zoom

6. No

 

Governance and Ethical Considerations

7. As per the Council’s draft AI Policy. This is currently with the Council’s HR team for consideration and confirmation as to whether it needs to go through any formal approval process. It is unknown how long this likely to take

8. As 7 above

9. No

 

Talent and Skills:

10. Follow normal GDPR rules

11. The ICT team and CSC team have received some training relating to Zoom AI products

 

Infrastructure and Budget: 

12. None

13. No

14. No

 

Public Engagement:

15. No

16. No

 

Contact Information:

17. Andy Tapp, ICT Manager, 01271 388232

Request reference: FOI 10357

Issue date: 30.01.25

Request received: 

AI Strategy and Planning

1. To what extent does your department have a clearly defined and documented AI strategy? Please select one of the following options that applies

A. No AI strategy in place

B. Initial discussions or ideas about AI, but no concrete plan

C. A basic AI strategy is in development or has been drafted

D. A well-defined AI strategy is in place, but implementation is in the early stages

E. The AI strategy is being actively implemented with measurable progress

F. A fully defined and implemented AI strategy is driving significant impact

2. To what extent does your AI strategy or goals align with the AI opportunities action plan? Please select one of the following options that applies

A. Unaware of the AI opportunities action plan or no attempt to align with it

B. General awareness of the AI opportunities action plan, but no specific efforts to align

C. Some aspects of the AI strategy or goals are aligned with the AI opportunities action plan

D. Conscious effort made to align the AI strategy with the key principles and directions of the AI opportunities action plan

E. Strong alignment between the AI strategy or goals and the AI opportunities action plan, with clear connections and shared objectives

F. AI strategy or goals are fully integrated with the AI opportunities action plan, contributing directly to its successful implementation

3. What is the likelihood that your department's AI strategy will be fully implemented within the next two years? Please select one of the following options that applies

A. Significant obstacles and uncertainties make full implementation unlikely in the next two years

B. Implementation is in progress but faces challenges that may delay completion

C. Moderate confidence in achieving full implementation within the timeframe

D. High likelihood of full implementation, with most key elements in place 

E. Almost certain to achieve full implementation within the next two years

4. How confident is your department that current AI governance structures are adequate for managing AI risks? Please select one of the following options that applies

A. No AI governance structures in place or serious concerns about their adequacy

B. Limited AI governance in place, with significant gaps and areas for improvement

C. Moderate confidence in current AI governance, but some areas of uncertainty remain

D. Generally confident in the adequacy of AI governance structures to manage most risks

E. Strong confidence in AI governance, with robust processes and oversight in place

F. Extremely confident that AI governance structures can effectively manage all foreseeable AI risks

5. What percentage of your department's total budget is allocated to AI-related projects this fiscal year? How much is this?

6. How does your department or agency assess the economic impact or cost-effectiveness of AI technologies? Please select one of the following options that applies and provide any relevant data or reports on AI’s economic benefits

A. No formal assessment: No systematic approach to evaluating the economic impact of AI

B. Qualitative assessment: Relies on anecdotal evidence, case studies, or expert opinions to assess the impact of AI

C. Quantitative assessment: Uses metrics, data analysis, and modelling to measure the economic benefits and costs of AI

D. Comprehensive evaluation: Includes both qualitative and quantitative assessments, considering a wide range of economic factors and potential impacts

 

AI Deployment and Use Cases

7. What is your department's current stage of AI deployment? Please select one of the following options that applies

A. No AI use cases

B. Exploring opportunities

C. Planning for at least one AI use case

D. Piloting at least one AI use case

E. At least one AI use case is fully deployed

F. Multiple AI use cases fully deployed

8. For your most significant AI use case, how confident are you that the expected benefits will be realised? Please select one of the following options that applies

A. No clear expectations of benefits or serious doubts about achieving them

B. Some anticipated benefits, but significant uncertainty about their realisation

C. Moderate confidence in achieving some of the expected benefits

D. Confident that most of the expected benefits will be realised

E. Strong confidence that the AI use case will deliver significant benefit

F. Extremely confident that the AI use case will fully achieve or exceed its intended benefits

 

Risk Management and Ethics

9. How thoroughly has your department assessed the risks associated with AI deployment? Please select one of the following options that applies

A. No formal risk assessment conducted for AI deployment

B. Initial discussions about AI risks, but no systematic assessment

C. Some areas of AI risk have been assessed, but gaps remain

D. A moderate risk assessment has been conducted, covering key areas

E. A comprehensive risk assessment is in place, addressing a wide range of potential risks

F. A thorough and ongoing risk assessment process is embedded in AI development and deployment

10. How confident are you that your department is compliant with relevant data protection laws when using AI? Please select one of the following options that applies

A. Significant concerns about compliance with data protection laws

B.  Limited understanding of data protection requirements for AI

C. Some measures in place to ensure compliance, but gaps may exist

D. Reasonably confident in compliance with data protection laws

E. Strong confidence in data protection compliance, with robust processes in place

F. Fully confident in compliance with all relevant data protection laws and regulations

11. How well does your department ensure transparency in the use of AI in public services? Please select one of the following options that applies

A. No efforts to ensure transparency in AI use

B. Limited information provided to the public about AI systems

C. Some transparency measures in place, but room for improvement

D. Reasonable transparency in AI use, with public information available

E. Strong commitment to transparency, with clear communication about AI systems

F. Full transparency in AI practices, including open data and explainable AI

 

Data Residency and Sovereign Infrastructure

12. How does your department or public body ensure that its data storage complies with UK sovereignty and data residency requirements? Please outline any policies or regulations guiding data storage within UK borders

13. Can you provide the proportion of data stored within UK-based infrastructure versus foreign cloud services (e g, US-based providers) within your department/agency?

14. What measures are in place to ensure that your data storage solutions meet national security standards? Please provide details of relevant frameworks or protocols currently implemented

 

Energy Consumption and Efficiency of AI

15. What is the estimated carbon footprint of your department or agency’s AI operations (e g training, deployment) over the past year? Please include energy consumption figures if available

16. How do you track the energy usage of AI workloads, and are there any reporting mechanisms in place for sustainability goals? Please provide relevant metrics or guidelines

 

Data and Infrastructure

17. How would you rate the quality of data used for your AI systems? Please select one of the following options that applies

A. Data quality is poor and unreliable

B. Data quality is a concern, with significant issues

C. Data quality is adequate but could be improved

D. Good data quality with regular validation processes

E. High data quality with robust quality assurance measures

F. Excellent data quality with continuous validation and improvement

18. What is the level of confidence in your department's digital infrastructure's ability to support current and future AI initiatives? Please select one of the following options that applies

 

A. Serious concerns about the infrastructure's ability to support AI

B. Infrastructure limitations may hinder AI initiatives

C. Moderate confidence in the infrastructure's capacity for AI

D. Confident that the infrastructure can adequately support current and near-term AI needs

E. Strong confidence in the infrastructure's ability to support ambitious AI projects

F. Extremely confident that the infrastructure is future-proof and ready for any AI challenge

19. Does your department or agency currently use a hybrid infrastructure (i e a mix of on-premises and cloud services) for its digital operations, including AI applications? Please specify the proportion of services hosted on each type of infrastructure

20. What factors influence your department’s decision-making process when choosing between public cloud, private cloud, or on-premises infrastructure for AI-related projects or services?

 

Financial cost, ICT skills and suitability of solution/application

21. What plans or initiatives are in place to ensure your department’s digital infrastructure is scalable enough to meet future demands for AI-powered services or technologies over the next 5–10 years?

22. How does your department or agency ensure the quality of data used in AI-driven projects or services? Please provide any metrics, guidelines, or standards employed for data validation

 

Skills and Training

23. How effectively is your department upskilling employees to use AI? Please select one of the following options that applies

A. No upskilling initiatives in place for AI

B. Limited training available, with little focus on AI skills development

C. Some training programs offered, but not comprehensive

D. Effective upskilling programs are in place, providing employees with essential AI skills

E. A strong focus on AI skills development, with comprehensive training and support

F. A culture of continuous learning and development, ensuring employees are equipped for the AI-powered future

24. Will you be relying on in-house skills for AI strategy development and implementation or seeking third-party services/consultancy? 

 

Future Ambitions

25. How confident are you that your department will reach its AI ambitions? Please select one of the following options that applies

A. Significant doubts about achieving AI ambitions

B. Low confidence in reaching AI goals

C. Moderate confidence in achieving some AI ambitions 

D. Confident in achieving most AI goals 

E. Strong confidence in reaching AI ambitions, with clear plans in place

F. Extremely confident in achieving and exceeding AI ambitions

Response provided:

1. A

2. A

3. A

4. B

5. Zero percent

6. B

7. D

8. B

9. C

10. D

11. D

12. The council complies with GDPRR and other government regulations

13. 95 – 99% of Council data is held within the UK, the remainder within the EU

14. The council complies with the Government's PSN and submits to regular internal and external audits

15. The council holds no figures for this

16. The council does not currently track this

17. The council is not currently using AI in this way so it is unable to select from the list A through F above

18. C

19. Approximately 70% of ICT is currently on premises

20. Financial cost, ICT skills and suitability of solution/application

21. Many applications are moving to SaaS. Local Government Devolution/reorganisation will dictate long term plans

22. At present AI has only been deployed for things like chat bots and meeting summaries

23. A

24. No plans at present

25. C