Scarborough Borough Council

2. How many currently rent council property?

3. How many charitable organisations been evicted from council property since 1/1/2011?

4. Has the council cut the reduced rent scheme to any extent and if so by how much?

5. If the answer to (4) is yes:

  i) By how much have rents increased

2. If so, does the Council charge residents for this service? How much?

3. If paid for, how many subscribers (a) does the service currently have (b) have there been in each year the service was available?

4. If paid for, how many subscribers join and leave the service on average each year?

5. What is the total cost to the Council/contractor of operating the service each year? What is the unit cost per subscriber?

6. What is the total revenue of the service each year?

7. How many collection trucks are used in providing the service? Who owns the trucks and what did they cost to purchase/hire?

8. If operated as a wheelie bin service, how many garden waste bins are collected by the crews per hour, on average?

9. Who is the Council's supplier of garden waste wheelie bins (if used) and what was the most recent unit cost?

I would like to know the total amount charged to the council in

Northgate Report Feb 2010

Northgate Report Review 29 January 2010 part 1 (7.4MB)

Part 2 (4.3MB)

If YES, what materials do you pay for?  (including Furniture items)

If YES, at what rate do you pay recycling credits?

If we were to apply for recycling credits, who is your contact point at the council?

Following widespread restructuring in local authorities I would like to know the name and email address of the senior officer currently in the following roles at your Council:-

a)       Finance (e.g. Finance Director)

b)       Human Resources (e.g. Head of Human Resources)

c)       Information Technology (e.g. IT Director)

d)       Performance Management (e.g. Performance Manager)

If the Council has entered into Shared Service with another Council, can you please let us know the name of that Council and which officer from either Council now leads the above functions. 

Additionally, in relation to the use of application software at the Council we would like to know the name of the Vendor and application name for the following systems:-

a)       Finance General Ledger (e.g. Oracle Financials, Agresso)

b)       Planning/Budgeting (e.g. Excel, SPSS, component of Ledger system)

c)       Human Resources (Personnel/payroll e.g. iTrent, Resourcelink, HR-Pro)

d)       Performance management (e.g. Covalent, Corvu, Inphase. This software has typically recorded your National, Local and Partnership Indicators)

1.       Head of Refuse;

2.       Head of Street Cleaning;

3.       Head of Civil Enforcement Team/Car Wardens;

4.       Head of Highways;

5.       Head of Parks and Countryside;

6.       Head of Grounds Maintenance;

7.       The person responsible for winter management planning at the Council;

8.       The person responsible for Health and Safety (the welfare of the workforce) e.g. the Health and Safety Officer; and

1. The total amount paid in employer’s contributions to staff pension schemes in the financial year 2009-10, not including staff in schools and the fire service. “Employer’s contributions” should include all payments to the scheme, including added years benefit and unfunded payments.

2. The total amount paid in employer’s contributions to staff pension schemes in the financial year 2010-11, not including staff in schools and the fire service. “Employer’s contributions” should include all payments to the scheme, including added years benefit and unfunded payments.

3. How many serving councillors are members of the pension scheme for each of the financial years 2009/10 & 2010/11?

1. All copy documentation to show all the steps the Council are taking to balance their land charge budget.

2. A copy of the accounts (and accompanying reports) for the land charge section showing the profit and loss for they years 2005 to date.

20110329 ICM Charges

Response

1.       Copies of all reports relating to zoo inspections (including Informal and Special Inspections) carried out under the Zoo Licensing Act since January 2005.

2.       A copy of the zoo’s current stock list.

3.       Copies of any correspondence between the zoo and the council, relating to zoo licensing, since January 2005.

Response

ZooLicence20030325

ZooLIcence20070325

InspectionReport20090423

InspectionReport20080418

Letter20091117

InspectionReport20070531

1.  How many residents in your council area have been identified by the council as currently being "at risk" of losing their homes? (eg: those in housing difficulty who have contacted the council for assistance in any of the above situations and those identified by the council as being at risk of becoming homeless), comparing figures September 2010 and September 2011.

2.  Can you provide a breakdown of these residents by their tenure (privately renting, council tenants, private homeowners)?

3.  Can you provide a breakdown of the reasons given by households in need of advice or assistance (eg: redundancy, family breakdown, domestic violence, financial difficulty etc)?

4.  Does your council have an accurate figure or estimate for the number of people in the council area currently sleeping rough, as at your last rough sleeping count?

5.  Does your council have an accurate figure or estimate for the number of people placed by the council and currently living in temporary accommodation? Comparing figures forSeptember 2010 and September 2011.

6.  What is the council's total budget for homelessness services in the 2011/12 financial year, and how does this compare to the budget for 2009/10 and 2010/11? 

1) OCR scanning technology is used within Scarborough Borough Council and in which departments?

(2) What type of documents are processed by OCR scanning technology?

(3) Name of supplier for current OCR scanning contract?

(4) What Document Management System is currently in place within Scarborough Borough Council?

(5) Is there a Workflow system as well? Please name it.

(6) Which ERP system is currently used with Scarborough Borough Council and what version?

(7) Does Scarborough Borough Council use Invoice Capture Software? Please name it.

1) How many FOIA requests has the Council received?

2) How many FOIA requests have received a formal designation number and formal response?

3) How many FOIA requests have been issued with a refusal Notice?

4) How many responses have invoked any of the exemption clauses of the FOIA, DPA or EIR?

5) How many FOIA requests have resulted in an appeal to the ICO?

6) How many FOIA appeals to the ICO have been refused?

7) How many FOIA appeals to the ICO have been upheld?

8) How many FOIA appeals to the ICO are presently pending resolution?

9) How many upheld ICO appeals have resulted in sanctions against the Council; please list, by number and date, quoting the ICO judgement showing the nature and degree of the sanction(s)?

9) How many complaints have been lodged against the Council or indivdual employees of the Council?

10) How many complaints have been upheld?

11) What sanctions or reprimand was imposed as a result of successful complaints (if any)?

12) Of those complaints that failed to achieve resolution at all three stages of the Council's Complaints Procedure, how many resulted in a complaint to the Local Government Ombudsman?

13) How many were denied?

14) How many were upheld?

15) How many are presently pending resolution?

16) Of those that were upheld, how many have resulted in sanctions against the Council; please list, by number and date, quoting the LGO judgement showing the nature and degree of the sanction(s)?

17) How many Council employees named in complaints are still in the Council's employ?

18) Of those, how many resigned voluntarily, for reasons unconnected with the outcome of the complaint?

19) How many former employeesof the Council against whom complaints have been lodged have signed non-disclosure agreements?

FOIA1716 Response

FOIA1716 Response Spreadsheet

Could you please tell me if I report a breach of planning permission is the person responsible for the breach told the

- name of deceased (including maiden name)

- date and place of death

- data and place of birth

- last known residence for the deceased

- whether next of kin have been traced

- value of the estate

- date of which referred/due to be referred to the Treasury Solicitor

Name of the deceased including any maiden name

Date of Birth of deceased

Date of Death of deceased

Last known Address of the deceased

When the estate was passed onto the Treasury Solicitor, Duchy of Lancaster or Cornwall, QLTR ( Scotland)

Estimate of the estate if any

The details requested concern those members of the public who have died without any known next of kin or those people that have died with a named next of kin that cannot be traced and therefore the treasury Solicitor maybe unwilling to act upon.

I would like this information from January 2011 to present date if possible.

The date(s) they passed away.

Their addresses at death.

Their forenames, or initials, plus Surnames.

Ages at death or dates of birth.

Places of birth.

Marital condition (bachelor, spinster etc).

Maiden surnames of married/widowed/divorced females.

The values of their estates.

The date(s) on which information was referred to the Treasury Solicitor, Duchy of Lancaster or Cornwall.

My request is for information regarding persons who have died with no known next of kin since 1/6/11 to the present day and to include any 'pending' cases that may shortly pass to the Treasury Solicitor and any cases where the Deceased died before 1/6/11 but were not included in your last response to me for whatever reason. More specifically;

1. full names,

2. dates of birth  / ages at death,

3. marital status,

4. maiden surnames of married females,

5. dates of death,

6. last known addresses,

7. estimated value of estates,

8. date(s) when the information was passed (or information that is pending or about to be passed) to the Treasury Solicitor (or Duchy of Lancaster or Cornwall or Q&LTR in Scotland).

We request the following information only:

1)      The full name of the deceased

2)      The date of death

3)      Last known address

4)      Approximate value of estate ( if not exempt )

I would be grateful if you would provide a breakdown of the amount written off by the council in unpaid debts over the following three financial years: 2008/9; 2009/10; 2010/2011,

broken down for each year by type of debt: including council tax, business rates, parking fines, overpaid benefits

I request the following information only:

1.  The full name if the deceased

2.  The date of death

3.   Last known address (if not exempt)

1. full names of deceased persons,

2. dates of death,

3. marital status,

4. maiden surnames of married or widowed females,

5. dates of birth or ages at death,

6. last known addresses,

7. estimated value of estates,

1.  Surnames and forenames or initials

2. Dates and places of death

3. Age at death or date of birth

4. Place of birth

5. Marital status

6. Maiden surnames of married or widowed women

7. Usual address

8. approx. value of their estate if known

9. The date you sent information to the Treasury Solicitor (or, if in Lancashire, the Duchy of Lancaster, or, if in Cornwall, the Duchy of Cornwall), or confirmation that this action was not applicable.

I would like to know details of anyone who has died with no known next of kin from my last request of 21/3/2011 to the present, but to include details of any person who may have died prior to this date whose details were not included in your last reponse to me, and to be more specific;

1. their full names

2.  the date they died

3.    3. the approximate value of their estate

4.    4. their dates of birth or age at death

5.    5. whether or not they were married, divorced, single, or widowed

6.    6. the maiden surnames of married females or widows

7.    7.their address at death

8.    8. the date when a referral was made of this estate to the Treasury Solicitor or Duchy of Lancaster or Cornwall

9.    9. If a referral to the Treasury Solicitor or Duchy has not yet been made and you think it will be made soon could you advise me of this too.

2) How many applications for planning permission for homes on green belt land were received for each calendar year since 2001?

3) How many homes have been given planning permission on Brownfield land for each calendar year since 2001?

4) How many applications for planning permission for homes on Brownfield land were received for each calendar year since 2001?

5) How many of these homes were actually built?

6) How many applications for planning permission were received on green belt land for each calendar year since 2001?

7) How many applications for planning permission were received on Brownfield land for each calendar year since 2001?

8) For question 6 how many were granted permission?

9) For question 7 how many were granted permission?

10) For question 1, how many of these homes were classed as Affordable?

FOIA1717 Response

CCTV Location

1. Can you provide details of any planning permissions granted by your Local Planning Authority which mandated any habitat or biodiversity offsetting schemes under Conservation (Natural Habitats, &c) Regs 1994 (Commonly known as 'Habitats Regulations' under the EU Habitats Directive)?

2. Have you undertaken any other offsetting scheme under other planning legislation (such as Section 106 planning agreements)? Are you aware of any voluntary or other offsetting agreements that have taken place by developers?

3. Can you send all the relevant documentation relating to any offsetting schemes (preferably as PDFs)? This could include, but should not necessarily be limited to:

-- Environmental Impact Statements

-- Any Section 106 documentation relating to the offsetting schemes

-- Details of long-term management plans

-- Evidence of current condition of offset sites

-- Evidence of effect on transported species

4. How much did each individual offsetting scheme cost?

5. Can you provide any evidence of any monitoring and follow-up assessing the ongoing quality of the offset scheme.

6. Has your local authority instigated any enforcement action if the offsetting was unsuccessful? What was the outcome of the enforcement for each offsetting scheme?

7. Does your Local Authority employ an in-house ecologist? If not, how do you get advice on ecological matters in planning?

I note Councils are now being offered financial support. Is there likely to be a shortfall and, if so, who will bear the cost? 

Was there a legitimate expectation that all Councils would have their losses met in full? 

The documents below suggest that such an expectation would be reasonable.

 DEFRA letter dated 28.9.10 to local authorities:

 “There should be no overall cost to local authorities in the current financial year as the loss of income and repayment of unlawful charges will be met by central government.”

The Ministry of Justice advised 11.11.10 that:

Paragraph 1 of page 12 of the Cross-Whitehall review of statutory duties states that “The cost of the recent withdrawal of the fee for a personal search of the local land charges register in England for the current year is being met by Central Government.”

How does the £34,555 compare with the figures you supplied to Government via the MOJ and LGA?

1. Meetings of land charges staff, including reports and minutes of such meetings.

2. NLIS including copy contracts and differential pricing.

3. Search numbers for official and personal searches over the last 6 years

4. Market share of the Council for searches compared with the private sector

5. The formulation of Council charging policies and practises for all such environmental information as to enable a land property search to be undertaken

6. Restrictions on appointments for personal searches and number of searches permitted per appointment.

7. Staff numbers, staff reorganisations and salary gradings.

8. Charging policies and practices for personal searches of the local land charges register.

FOIA1690 Response

FOIA1690 ICM Charges

FOIA1690 Stats

· The Council’s understanding of the legal position on charges for personal searches.

· The Council’s current charging policy for personal searches.

· Estimates of the financial liability for refunds of charges  wrongly made.

The reply should include all recorded information covering the above issues.

FOIA1687 Response

20110329.ICM.Charges

List 1 - New Business Rates accounts opened from 1/4/2007 and 31/3/2009
List 2  - A current list of live Business Rates accounts
In each case please provide the following information:

- Properties with a rateable value in excess of £30,000

- Name and Address of the current rate payers

– Billing Authority Reference Number

·   Details of all genuine credits that are held on your business rates system, to include: credits written away to suspense/ control accounts

·   amounts written off during the last 12 months

Please exclude all non genuine credits that may have arisen as a result of internal accounting practices.Could you please provide the following details :-

·   Name of Company

·   Amount (Value)

·   Date credit arose

·   Property Address

·   Property Postcode

·   Billing Address

·   Billing Postcode

·   Account Number

·   Property Reference Number

·   Reason for Credit

FOIA1735 Response

FOIA1735 Attachment

1.  Current overpayment/credit shown for 2008/2009 or any other financial year if credit balance hasn't been carried forward

2.  Accounts where a 'write on' has been used since 1st April 2000 to cancel an overpayment which has not since been reversed.  I would request that the list contains the following information:

Ratepayer name *

Address of property concerned

Amount of overpayment/write on

·   The name of each business in respect of which Non-Domestice Rate credit balances remain payable;

·   The value of overpayment in each case which remains unclaimed;

·   The year(s) in which overpayment was made; and

·   The hereditament address

I would like to obtain information on council tax. In particular I would like answers to the following questions:

1) How many councillors were sent one or more reminder letters for late payment of their council tax?

2) Of these what was the total amount that they all failed to pay straight away?

3) What were the individual amounts of these? i.e. £100 and £560 etc...

4) How many councillors have been sent two or more reminder letter for late payment?

5) If possible, could the above be broken down to show figures from each political party?

The above questions all cover the last full financial year (2010/2011) and only cover people who are councillors and not, for example, just people who work for the council.

An example of a preferred response would be:

1) 3 (2x Labour, 1x Conservative)

2) £2000

3) £1000, (Labour) £750 (Labour), £250 (Conservative)