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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245 disclosures

  1. Solar photovoltaics (PV)

    I am researching solar photovoltaic (PV) development and wish to make the following request under the Freedom of Information Act.

    Q1 On land and building assets that are owned or controlled

    * by the authority, how much solar PV capacity in kilowatt peak (kWp) has been installed? (*"controlled" means where the authority has management control of a site's facilities and utilities, such as under a long-term lease)

    I would like the response for this to be separated into four categories:

    * Solar PV capacity owned by the authority:

    * Solar PV capacity owned by a community group:

    * Solar PV capacity owned by another party, that is not a community group, where a power purchase agreement (PPA) exists to supply the authority:

    * Any other solar PV capacity owned by another party:

    * If an exact figure for installed solar PV in kWp cannot be obtained, please make an estimate of a minimum value that is known with confidence.

    For example, “estimated – at least 100kWp”.

    Q2 This question asks for information about procurement of solar PV goods and services in the past three years, where a contract has been awarded between 1 January 2023 and the date of this request.

    Could you supply me with the following information please: I have also put Q2 into an Excel template (attached to this email).

    Please use this to return to me, if possible. Please complete these columns for each procurement activity (add more if necessary) No.

    Question Response type List 1 2 1 Procurement route Select from list Framework;

    Dynamic Purchasing System;

    Open Tender; Restricted Procedure;

    Direct Award;

    Other (Please specify) 1a If "other", please specify:

    Text entry 2 What was procured Select from list Design, supply and installation of solar PV panels and related equipment (Design and Build);

    Supply of solar PV panels and related equipment only;

    Supply and installation of solar PV panels and related equipment (separate to design work);

    Installation costs only (separate to supply of equipment or design);

    Design or advisory services only;

    Operations and maintenance only; Other (please specify) 2a If "other", please specify:

    Text entry 3 Procurement award date

    Text entry 4 Final value of the contract (GBP). (Final amount claimed by the supplier. Where a contract is still being delivered, please supply the estimated total spend by the contract end)

    Text entry 5 Contract awarded to (Supplier name)

    Text entry 6 Companies house company number of supplier

    Text entry 7 Kilowatt peak (kWp) of solar PV installed

    Text entry 8 Type of solar PV development Select from list Roof-mounted; Ground-mounted; Solar car park canopy; Other (please specify)

    8a If "other", please specify:

    Text entry 9 Commissioning / handover date

    Text entry 10 Project location (Site name and address)

    Text entry 11 Project location (Post code)

    Text entry 12 What category best describes the type of site? Select from list Residential dwellings; Commercial, business and services (including offices); Industrial or storage; Schools; Other public services, leisure and community; Agricultural; Car park; Land; Other (please specify)

    12a If "other", please specify:

    Text entry 13 Was the project this contract relates to funded wholly or in part by an external grant? Select from list Yes - Wholly funded with grant; Yes - Partially funded with grant; No

    13a If "yes", please give the value of grant funding (GBP)

    Text entry 13b If "yes", please give the grant funding source

    Text entry 14 Was the project this contract relates to funded or financed from any other sources external to the local authority, other than a grant? (for example, loans, bonds, other equity investors) Select from list Yes; No

    14a If yes, please give the value of external funding or finance (GBP) Text entry

    14b If yes, please give the source of external funding or finance Text entry

    15 Please give a description of the contract.

    Please include any details included in the contract value that are not solar PV or related equipment (for example, battery energy storage or additional works to a roof).

    Published: 23 January 2026

  2. Vacant properties

    Please treat this as a request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

    I am seeking anonymised information held by the council relating to long-term vacant residential properties within your local authority area.

    The information will be used to identify opportunities to bring empty homes back into use through refurbishment.

    Specifically, for all residential properties recorded as vacant, I request the following where held and where disclosure is permitted:

    The total number of residential properties classed as long-term vacant (6 months or more)

    The length of time each property has been recorded as vacant (banded if necessary, e.g. 6-12 months, 1-2 years, 2-5 years, 5+ years)

    Council Tax empty property classification codes applied

    Property type (e.g. house / flat), if recorded

    Ownership category (private individual / company / other), if recorded

    Published: 23 January 2026

  3. Public Health Funerals

    Under the Freedom of Information Act, I am writing to request the following information regarding funerals arranged by the Council under Section 46 Public Health Act 1984 (England and Wales) and Section 87 of the Burial and Cremation Act 2002 (Scotland).

    1. How many such funerals has the Council arranged since 17 September 2025?

    1. In each case please disclose:

    a) The name and last residential address of the deceased

    b) The deceased’s dates of birth and death

    c) Whether the deceased’s next of kin/family members have been traced d) Whether the deceased’s estate has been referred to the Government Legal Department or elsewhere

    1. Has the Council passed this information to any other individual or organisation (either formally through a FOI request or by other means)?

    1. What is the Council policy on referring Bona Vacantia matters to the relevant authorities across the UK?

    1. Does the Council work with any genealogist? If so, which?

    1. Does the Council publish a list of Public Health Funerals it has arranged? If so:

    a) Where is the list published (please provide web url if on-line)?

    b) How often is the list updated?

    c) When was the list last updated?

    1. Who in the Council is responsible for the Council’s Public Health Funerals? Please advise us of their names and contact details.

    Published: 21 January 2026

  4. Tree Management and Survey Data (2015–Present)

    1. Tree Management System

    Please confirm which tree management software package your organisation currently uses. If it is an in-house system, please state this; or state if none is used.

    2. Tree Inventory Summary

    Please provide:

    • The approximate number of trees for which your organisation has management responsibility.

    • The number of those trees that are subject to Tree Preservation Orders (TPOs).

    3. Tree Data

    Please provide available tree data for the period 2015 to the current date.

    If the dataset is too large or would exceed the appropriate cost/time limits under Section 12 of the FOI Act, please provide a manageable subset of the data.

    I will calculate proportionality from this subset.

    Would you either:

    • Provide a link to a publicly accessible and downloadable portal, or

    • Provide the data in CSV or XLSX format.

    For each tree, I would be grateful if the following attributes could be included where available:

    • Survey data capture date

    • Tree number/reference

    • Species

    • Height

    • Diameter at breast height (DBH)

    • Crown dimensions

    • Growth direction measurements (North, East, South, West)

    • Tree location (Ordnance Survey coordinates, British National Grid reference, Global ID, or other locational parameter)

    Where a tree has been surveyed on multiple occasions, please include all recorded entries (for example, Tree 1 may have data spanning 2015–2024, Tree 2 may only have data for 2023–2024).

    4. Format and Clarification

    If the data structure or field names differ from the list above, please include a brief explanation or a data dictionary so that the dataset can be interpreted accurately.

    Published: 21 January 2026

  5. Use of AI

    AI Use in Operations

    1. Does your organisation currently use any form of Artificial Intelligence (AI) or automated systems in its operations?

    * If yes, please list the tools or systems in use and provide a brief description of their purpose (e.g., administrative support, triage, analytics, chatbot services, etc.).

    * If not, please state whether your organisation has explored or piloted any AI-based technologies in the past 3 years.

    AI for Decision-Making

    2. Does your organisation use AI or algorithmic systems to support or inform decision-making in any area (e.g., resource allocation, risk assessments, case prioritisation)?

    * If yes, please describe the type of decision-making supported and the nature of the AI’s role (e.g., advisory, automated assessment, automated decision).

    * Please also confirm whether human oversight is applied.

    AI Chatbots and Customer Interaction

    3. Does your organisation currently use chatbots or virtual assistants—AI-driven or rules-based—to support public enquiries or internal staff functions?

    * If yes, please specify their purpose, whether they are AI-based, and when they were implemented.

    Policies and Governance

    4. Does your organisation have any formal policy, strategy, or guidance relating to the use of Artificial Intelligence or automated decision-making?

    * If yes, please supply a copy or provide a link.

    * If not, please indicate whether such a policy is in development.

    Data Protection and Ethics

    5. If AI systems are used, what measures or frameworks does your organisation have in place to ensure:

    * Compliance with data protection and privacy obligations

    * Transparency for service users

    * Ethical or responsible use (For example, DPIAs, algorithmic impact assessments, ethical guidelines—if applicable.)

    Trials, Pilots, or Future Plans

    7. Has your organisation run any pilots, trials, or exploratory projects involving AI in the last 3 years, or does it plan to do so in the next 12–24 months?

    * If yes, please provide brief details of the purpose, timeline, and status of these initiatives.

    Staff Training and Awareness

    8. Does your organisation provide any training, guidance, or internal communications to staff relating to AI, its use, or its implications?

    * If yes, please describe the type of training or include documents if available.

    If any of the above information is already publicly accessible, please feel free to provide links instead of attachments.

    Published: 20 January 2026

  6. CCTV Cameras

    1. Please provide the total number of fixed and mobile public-space CCTV cameras currently operated by the council

    2. Please indicate the year when those CCTV cameras were deployed/installed?

    3. Please indicate whether the council’s CCTV system is primarily on-premises, hybrid, or cloud-hosted

    4. Please list the primary supplier(s) for video management software and whether the council operates an in-house CCTV control room, a shared control room (multi-authority), or a third-party operated control room

    Published: 20 January 2026

  7. Temp accommodation

    I am requesting aggregated, non-personal information about households placed in temporary accommodation outside your administrative area ("out-of-area") and the cost to your council of those placements. Definitions (to avoid ambiguity) 1. "Temporary accommodation (TA)" means interim/temporary accommodation secured or provided in connection with homelessness duties/powers under Part VII Housing Act 1996 (e.g. s.188, s.190, s.193 and related provisions), including nightly-paid accommodation such as B&B/hotels and other TA forms. 2. "Out-of-area" means TA located outside your council's administrative area (including placements elsewhere in Kent/Medway and outside Kent/Medway). 3. "Household with children" means a household containing at least one dependent child aged under 18. Time period Financial years: 1 April 2023 - 31 March 2024, 1 April 2024 - 31 March 2025, 1 April 2025 - 31 Dec 2025 Information requested (please answer from existing reports/ledgers) Please provide the following single-year totals for FY 2023/24, 2024/25, 1 April 2025 - Dec 31 2025: 1. Households placed out-of-area in TA a) Total number of households your council accommodated in out-of-area TA at any point during the year; and b) Of (a), the number of households with children. 2. Section 208 notifications (totals only) a) Total number of Section 208 (out of district) notifications sent by your council during the year (relating to your out-of-area placements); and b) Total number of Section 208 notifications received from other authorities during the year (relating to households they placed into TA within your area, also name the council who received the notification from). 3. Cost to the council of out-of-area TA (totals only) a) Total gross expenditure by your council on out-of-area TA during the year; and b) If your accounts/reporting hold it without manual casework: total income/recoveries attributable to out-of-area TA during the year (however recorded in your systems), and the resulting net cost (gross minus income/recoveries). If (b) is not held in a way that can be attributed specifically to out-of-area TA, please state "not held". Format Please provide the figures in a reusable electronic format (CSV/Excel preferred). Aggregated totals are sufficient; I am not requesting any personal data. Cost limit / advice and assistance This request is intentionally limited to headline totals for the financial years mentioned and is directed at information that should be retrievable from existing management information and finance systems. If you nevertheless consider any part exceeds the FOIA appropriate limit, please provide the information that can be supplied within the limit and offer advice under s.16 FOIA on the narrowest refinement that would make the remainder answerable.

    Published: 19 January 2026

  8. 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

  9. 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

  10. 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