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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332 disclosures

  1. Commercial Waste Collection Noise and Enforcement

    For the period 1 January 2023 to the date of this request, please provide:

    1. The number of complaints received concerning noise arising from commercial waste collections.

    2. The number of complaints specifically relating to commercial waste collections occurring before 07:00.

    3. The number of such complaints investigated by Environmental Health.

    4. The number of warning letters, advisory notices or other informal interventions issued in relation to commercial waste collection noise.

    5. The number of statutory nuisance abatement notices or other formal enforcement notices issued in relation to commercial waste collection noise.

    6. The number of prosecutions or other formal enforcement actions taken in relation to commercial waste collection noise.

    7. Copies of any policies, guidance, protocols, service standards, operating procedures or codes of practice used by the Council when assessing complaints relating to commercial waste collection noise.

    8. Copies of any policies, guidance, agreements, memoranda of understanding or other documents relating to commercial waste collections occurring before 07:00.

    9. Copies of any documents referring to an "agreed 7am" collection start time, including the source, purpose and status of that agreement.

    10. Copies of any guidance provided to Environmental Health officers regarding the evidence required before formal action may be considered in relation to commercial waste collection noise.

    11. Any target timescales, service standards or internal guidance relating to the review of evidence submitted by complainants and the communication of assessment outcomes.

    12. Copies of any guidance, policy, protocol, service standard or internal instruction relating to the handling, review or assessment of resident-submitted noise recordings or video evidence.

    Published: 16 June 2026

  2. Parking app

    1. Current parking app provider and commercial model a) Which parking app(s) or mobile parking payment solution(s) are currently used in your authority’s on‑street and off‑street parking estate? b) Is your authority using the National Parking Platform (NPP) provider model, or are you contracted with a single/solo cashless parking provider? Please provide brief details. 2. Contract details and renewal date a) What is the start date and end date of your current contract(s) for your parking app / mobile parking payment services? b) Does the contract include any extension options, and if so, what are the extension periods and the latest possible end date if all extensions are used? 3. Revenue from convenience fees / reminder & alert fees a) Does your current parking app arrangement include any convenience fees, reminder fees, or alert fees charged to motorists? b) If so, what is the :- * Convenience fee - pence per transaction? * Reminder fee - pence per transaction? * Alert fees - pence per transaction? c) If so, what was the total revenue generated from: * Convenience fees in the most recent full financial year? * Optional reminder and alert‑related fees in the most recent full financial year? * Please indicate whether these revenues are retained by the authority, by the provider, or shared (and if shared, in what proportions, if available). 4. Route to market for the next contract a) How do you currently plan to procure your next parking app / mobile parking payment contract when the existing arrangement ends? b) Specifically, do you intend to use any of the following frameworks: * ESPO framework (please specify which, if known) * Crown Commercial Service (CCS) framework (please specify which, if known) * Another framework (please specify) * A standalone/open tender outside a framework * Unsure / not yet decided 5. Timescales and market engagement a) What is your anticipated timescale for commencing any procurement activity for the replacement or re‑procurement of your parking app / mobile parking payment contract (e.g. quarter/year)? b) Do you plan to undertake any soft market testing or supplier engagement exercises prior to starting procurement? 6. Devolution and local government reorganisation a) Is your authority affected by any current or proposed devolution deals or local government reorganisation (for example, moving into a combined authority or changes to council boundaries/structure)? b) If so, what impact, if any, do you anticipate this having on the management or procurement of your parking app / mobile parking payment services (for example, joint procurements, merged contracts, or changes to decision‑making responsibility)? c) Do you have an indicative timeframe for any such changes becoming operational? 7. Contact and roles Please provide the name & job title of the officer with primary responsibility for day‑to‑day management of parking services (e.g. Parking Manager). 8. Contact for future procurement correspondence Please provide the contact details or generic email address that suppliers should use for any future correspondence relating specifically to parking payment app procurements (e.g. procurement or commissioning inbox), or confirm which Tender Platform the Council plans to use.

    Published: 11 June 2026

  3. Renters Rights Implementation

    Q1: Has the council's Private Sector Housing enforcement officers been provided with any Justice For Tenants services free of charge (please delete as appropriate): (a) Bundled services package: Yes-£5000-pack / Yes-£2000-pack / No (b) CPN Generator : Yes / No (c) Training Course(s) : Yes / No (d) Model Licence Condition or Policy Documents: Yes / No (e) Case Reviews/Advice : Yes / No (f) Other : Yes / No Q2: Have charged-for services provided by Justice For Tenants been used ? * (please delete as appropriate): Yes / No Q3: Were the charged-for services reasonable value for money ? * (please delete as appropriate): Yes / No Q5: If you have not used JFT's services to date but intend to: * (please delete options that do not apply): * Use free services only * Use both free and paid-for services * Not Yet Sure Q6: Does the council have a formal process for offered/accepted gifts to be registered/recorded ? * (please delete as appropriate): Yes / No / Not Sure Q7: If JFT services used free of charge have been registered as one or more gifts: * (please delete options to leave the best-fit statement): * A single gift entry has been made covering all use together. * Entries are made periodically (monthly/ quarterly/annually) at the end of the period. * Officers are expected to make a gift register entry each time they use a free JFT service. * Not applicable – free use has not been registered as a gift. Q8: If JFT services used free of charge have not been registered as a gift: * (please delete options to leave the best-fit statement): * Free use is not registered as a gift because there is no personal gain for the officers. * Free use is not registered because the service always free. * Free use is not registered because the value of each use is below the policy threshold. * Not applicable – free use is registered as a gift.

    Published: 3 June 2026

  4. Cemetery grass cutting

    Please can you provide me with the details of the current contract for the maintenance of Tunbridge Wells Cemetery. In particular I would like the specific details of the agreed grass cutting regime - such as frequency or grass height to be maintained, and a list of the sections of the cemetery where it has been agreed that the grass should be cut on an annual basis only. I would also like the details of the hedge cutting regime. Please can you also provide details of how the performance of the contractor is audited in relation to these areas, whether the contract has been breached, and if so what the penalties were.

    Published: 3 June 2026

  5. Print Room, External Print and Mail room (Inbound and/or Outbound)

    Please answer the following questions: Print Room 1. Do you have a print room equipped with one/more high-speed production device/s to handle large volume printing? 2. Is this run by your own staff or outsourced to a third-party provider? 3. If run internally, how many full-time equivalent (FTE) run this facility? 4. Number of devices & model type/s? 5. Name of incumbent supplier? 6. Contract start / end date and length of any option to extend? 7. If outsourced, please advise contract start / end date and length of any option to extend? 8. Was this contract awarded through a framework? If yes, which one used? 9. Annual spend (ex VAT) covering non-pay and staff costs or total outlay if this service is outsourced? External Print 1. Do you outsource any print requirements to external suppliers - for example to print forms, booklets, leaflets, manuals, posters, banners etc - but excluding print / mailing arrangements covering other areas such as revenue-related demands, housing benefit letters, electoral registrations, parking penalty notices etc? 2. Name of incumbent supplier/s? 3. If this arrangement is provided under contract, please advise start / end date and length of any option to extend? 4. Was this contract awarded through a framework? If yes, which one used? 5. Alternatively, was this awarded through a DPS arrangement? 6. Annual spend (ex VAT) for this service over the past 12 months? Mail Room (Inbound and/or Outbound) 1. Do you have your own in-house Mail Room operation? 2. If yes, how is the service run - physical or digital mail distribution? 3. Is this run by your own staff or outsourced to a third-party provider? 4. If run by your own staff, how many full-time equivalent (FTE) staff run this facility? 5. If outsourced, please advise name of current provider, contract start / end date and length of any option to extend? 6. Was this contract awarded through a framework? If yes, which one used? 7. Annual spend (ex VAT) covering non-pay and staff costs or total outlay if this service outsourced? 8. Do you use a Hybrid Mail service / solution? 9. If yes, please (a) name supplier (b) contract start / end date (c) framework through which this awarded? Finally, who is responsible for these arrangements at the Council?

    Published: 1 June 2026

  6. Static caravans/park homes

    This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act. I am seeking information about housing benefit payments where the claimant is living in a static caravan or park home. Q1: Can you tell me how many of your housing benefit claimants live in this type of accommodation and how much the council paid out in housing benefit for their homes in each of the last five years? Q2: Also how many housing benefit claimants did you have in total in each of these years - so I can understand the proportion that lived in static caravans/park homes? Q3: Lastly, is it possible to also identify how much was paid (directly or indirectly) to each of the three landlords of this type of accommodation who received the largest sums?

    Published: 1 June 2026

  7. Staffing and businesses

    The information requested is as follows: 1. Staffing: 1.1: Number of full-time equivalent (FTE) staff (including, if possible, agency or contractor staff working in equivalent roles) in your environmental health dept, unit or team in 2019/20 and 2025/26. 1.2. Of the total FTE in your environmental health team, please indicate, for both 2019/20 and 2025/26, the approximate FTE allocated to the following functions: * Food hygiene/food standards inspections and enforcement * Pest control * Infectious disease control (including outbreak investigation, liaison with health protection bodies, etc.) Note: I appreciate that some staff work across multiple areas. Where possible please apportion their FTE by time spent (e.g. a 1.0 FTE officer spending half their time on food safety and half on housing should be counted as 0.5 in each category). If exact data is not held, please provide the best available estimate used for internal planning, monitoring or statutory reporting - rather than create a new data set. 2. Businesses: 2.1: Number of food businesses (including restaurants and takeaways) registered in the local authority in 2019/20 and 2025/26. 2.2: Number of food businesses (including restaurants and takeaways) inspected in 2019/20 and 2025/26. 2.3: Number of registered food businesses that are eligible for inspection, but which have never been inspected. 2.4: Number of food businesses (including restaurants and takeaways) that failed inspections in 2019/20 and 2025/26. 2.5: Number of enforcement visits to food businesses in the local authority in 2019/20 and 2025/26. 2.6: Number of incidents involving pests (vermin, insects etc) at food businesses in 2019/20 and 2025/26. 2.7: Number of closures of food businesses in 2019/20 and 2025/26 due to enforcement action through a Hygiene Emergency Prohibition Notice. 2.8: Number of prosecutions of food businesses in 2019/20 and 2025/26.

    Published: 29 May 2026

  8. Second home premium

    Between April 1, 2025 and March 31, 2026: 1. How much council tax did the council collect through the second home premium? Please give this figure to the nearest £1 and only include the amount specifically collected through the premium element of second home owners' council tax bill. 2. How many homes did the council collect a second home premium from?

    Published: 22 May 2026

  9. Planning Committee

    Please could you supply the following information for the time period May 2020 – May 2026 (could you please supply for years running May-May as this will line up with any changes as a result of elections): 1. The number of Members on your Planning Committee for each year 2. The political composition of the Planning Committee for each year (i.e. how many Members there are for each political party) 3. The number of planning applications determined at Planning Committee for each year 4. The number of each decision type at Planning Committee for each year (grant/refuse/defer) 5. The number of decisions made in line with the officer recommendation, and the number made against officer recommendation for each year.

    Published: 22 May 2026

  10. Waste Compliance and Enforcement for Short-Term & Holiday Lets

    1. The number of properties which are registered for Business Rates as “Self-Catering Holiday Units” (or similar classification).

    2. The number of Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs) or formal warnings issued to owners of holiday lets or short-term rental properties for unauthorised use of domestic bins (i.e., using domestic waste collections for commercial business waste). If the data is not recorded by property type, please provide the total number of FPNs issued for unauthorised use of domestic bins for commercial waste generally.

    3. The number of Section 34 (Duty of Care) notices or Section 47 notices issued to holiday let owners requesting proof of a commercial waste contract.

    4. The number of reports or complaints received by the council regarding holiday lets/short-term rentals incorrectly using domestic bins in residential areas.

    5. The total monetary value of fines collected from holiday let owners related to waste offences in the requested periods.

    Published: 21 May 2026