Freedom of information (FOI) releases from TWBC

This is a disclosure log of Tunbridge Wells Borough Council's responses to freedom of information (FOI) or environmental information regulations (EIR) requests that might be of wider public interest.

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238 disclosures

  1. Councils spend on housing (2023-25)

    I would like to make the following request under FOIA: All questions apply to calendar years of 2023, 2024 and 2025: 1. How much did your council spend on total housing expenditure in this period? 2. How much of this total (in Question 1) was spent on private related housing? (Including temporary accommodation) 3. How much did your council spend on temporary accommodation each year? 4. How much did central government provide your council for all housing related expenditure? 5. Do local authorities have the resources to adequately tackle housing issues in their areas? 6. Other than grant funding, what can be done to support local authorities address housing issues, both with regards to access and condition? 7. What changes would the council recommend to the private market to make housing more accessible?

    Published: 16 January 2026

  2. PSPO

    Please provide the following information broken down by each of the past three full calendar years. 1: The number of PSPOs issued 2. Where PSPOs were issued, the brief details of those orders 3. The number of fines issued under PSPOs 4. Details of each fines issued and the fine amount 5. The number of prosecutions brought for breaches of PSPOs.

    Published: 16 January 2026

  3. Telecoms

    Under the Freedom of Information Act, I would like to request the following information.

    Telephone System

    What make is your telephone system?

    How old is the telephone system you operate?

    How many users do you have?

    Is your telephone system cloud based or on premise?

    Can your switchboard operators transfer external incoming calls to all users across your estate?

    How many extensions does your telephone system have?

    Telecoms Estate

    How much do you spend annually on telecoms?

    Do you know how this is split into Voice Telecoms / Data Networking / Mobile Communications / Maintenance?

    How many analogue lines do you have?

    How many ISDN2 Services do you have?

    How many ISDN30 Services do you have?

    How many mobiles do you have?

    Have you done anything about the Analogue Switch Off / Digital Switch On? If so, what have you done?

    What are the contact details for the person who looks after telecoms and the costs associated with these?

    Microsoft

    How much do you spend annually with Microsoft?

    How often do you review licensing costs?

    Published: 16 January 2026

  4. FOI: Fly tipping data

    Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, I would like to request information regarding fly-tipping over the past 10 years. Specifically, I am requesting: 1. The number of fly-tipping incidents reported each year. 2. The number of these incidents involving mattresses, if recorded. 3. The cost to the council for collection and disposal of fly-tipped items. If some of this data is not held or not recorded, please advise. If possible, please provide the information in a spreadsheet or table format.

    Published: 16 January 2026

  5. Service charges

    1. The policy or procedure for checking the legitimacy of service charges where a resident is claiming benefits to cover them. 2. The number of housing benefit or universal credit claimants whose service charges are paid directly to their landlord, including where this is a single payment incorporating rents plus service charges. 3. The proportion of the above whose landlords are housing associations, if recorded.

    Published: 14 January 2026

  6. Disposal and expenditure relating to St Mark’s Recreation Ground

    I am writing to request information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

    Please provide copies of all recorded information held by Tunbridge Wells Borough Council relating to:

    1. Disposal of Public Land

    1. Any sale, transfer, or disposal of a freehold interest in any part of St Mark’s Recreation Ground within the last 10 years, including:

    * The date of disposal

    * The purchase price

    * Any valuation(s) obtained or relied upon

    * The decision report(s) or formal approvals authorising the disposal

    2. Copies of any overage, clawback, profit-sharing, resale restriction, or anti-speculation provisions considered or included as part of any such disposal.

    2. Public Expenditure on the Site

    1. Records of any landscaping, drainage, pitch levelling, or groundworks undertaken at St Mark’s Recreation Ground within the last 10 years, including:

    * The cost

    * The funding source

    2. Details of any maintenance or groundskeeping services provided by the Council or its contractors on land at St Mark’s Recreation Ground that is not in Council ownership, including the annual cost for each of the last five financial years. If any information is withheld, please specify the exemption relied upon. If the request risks exceeding the cost limit, please advise how it may be refined.

    Published: 14 January 2026

  7. Cladding Remediation in England

    Please provide the figures up to the latest possible date: 1. The total number of residential and mixed-use buildings in the council area identified as having unsafe cladding or other external wall system fire-related defects that place them in scope for remediation programmes. 2. Of those identified, how many have: a. Have remediation work in progress (i.e., physical works on site) b. Completed remediation work c. Not yet begun remediation

    Published: 13 January 2026

  8. Temporary accommodation in South East

    Please can you tell me, in 2025, the total number of households (inc individuals) who were placed in temporary accommodation (including 'interim', 'emergency' or any other formulation for non-permanent accommodation) by the council. Can you please tell me in 2025 the number of refugee households (inc individuals) who were placed in temporary accommodation by the council.

    Published: 12 January 2026

  9. Agency Staffing for Internal and External Communications

    Request for Information: I request the following information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (or the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002) regarding recruitment agency usage for communications roles. Definition of Scope: For the purposes of this request, "communications" refers to the general department or function that encompasses: Internal or external communications functions; The press office or media relations; Social media management; Marketing functions (where these sit within the communications structure). Please provide the following data: 1. 2025/26 Actuals and Outturn Forecast 1a. Provide the total number of days a temporary worker was employed via an agency for the communications roles defined above from 6 April 2025 to the date of this request. 1b. Provide the council’s current projected year-end outturn for the total number of agency days for these roles for the full 2025/26 financial year (ending 31 March 2026). 1c. Provide a breakdown of these days (actual and forecast) by job grade or title (e.g., Communications Officer, Senior Communications Officer, Communications Manager). 2. 2026/27 Planned Requirements 2a. Provide the total number of days currently budgeted or forecasted for agency-provided communications staff for the 2026/27 financial year. 2b. Provide a breakdown of this requirement by job grade or title. 2c. Financial Qualifier: Note that I am requesting the currently held financial forecasts and draft budget allocations for 2026/27 as they exist at the time of this request. If these forecasts do not yet segment requirements by specific job title, please provide the department's overall forecasted budget or total "headcount days" for temporary agency workers within the communications function.

    Published: 8 January 2026

  10. Managed migration resulting in changes to council tax bills and social care costs

    As a billing authority you will have been notified by the Department for Work and Pensions when an ESA claimant is migrated to UC. As a result you will have recalculated their council tax and any reduction they were getting. Therefore, I request the following information about this group: How many ESA to UC claimants have you been notified about? How many have seen their council tax bill increase? How many have remained the same? How many have decreased? While not every claimant who migrated from ESA to UC will be getting social care, some will. Therefore please share the following information. How many ESA to UC claimants are getting social care? How many have seen their social care charges increase? How many have remained the same? How many have decreased? Please provide response in excel format

    Published: 8 January 2026