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1. How much has the local authority spent to date (2024-26) on matters relating to Local Government Reorganisation and Devolution?
2. How much has the local authority budgeted to spend in the future on matters relating to Local Government Reorganisation and Devolution before it is abolished in 2028? Note: The above figures should include funds being allocated and spent by the council but covered by central government grants or other external sources of funding.
Published: 15 September 2026
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I am writing to request information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 regarding the Council's procurement and use of cyber security services. Where available, please provide details for the current contract(s), supplier(s) and procurement arrangements relating to the following services. 1. Procurement Routes 1. Which procurement platform(s) does the Council use for IT and cyber security procurements (for example Contracts Finder, Proactis, YORtender, Chest, Delta eSourcing or similar)? 2. Which framework agreements does the Council typically use for cyber security services (for example G-Cloud, DOS, CCS frameworks, Bloom or equivalent)? 2. Penetration Testing and Security Testing Please provide: * Current supplier name(s) * Contract start date * Contract expiry date * Contract value or annual spend * Procurement route or framework used * Whether services include infrastructure, web application, mobile, cloud, CHECK, IT Health Check or other penetration testing services 3. Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus Please provide: * Current supplier name * Contract value or annual spend * Contract start date * Contract expiry date * Procurement route or framework used 4. ISO 27001 Please provide details of any external supplier used for: * ISO 27001 consultancy * ISO 27001 implementation support * ISO 27001 internal audit * ISO 27001 certification preparation Including: * Supplier name * Contract value or annual spend * Contract expiry date * Procurement route used 5. PCI DSS Please provide details of any external supplier used for: * PCI DSS consultancy * PCI DSS QSA services * PCI DSS penetration testing * PCI DSS compliance support Including: * Supplier name * Contract value or annual spend * Contract expiry date * Procurement route used 6. Incident Response and Digital Forensics Please provide details of any external supplier used for: * Incident response retainers * Digital forensics retainers * DFIR services * Cyber breach response services Including: * Supplier name * Contract value or annual spend * Contract expiry date * Procurement route used 7. Future Procurement Activity Where known, please provide: * The expected renewal or re-procurement date for each service * Whether the Council currently expects to re-tender, extend or recompete the contract 8. Relevant Departments Please provide the name of the department or team responsible for: * Cyber Security / Information Security * ICT / IT Services * Procurement and Commercial Management
Published: 15 September 2026
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It is my understanding the new Crisis and Resilience Fund (CRF) replaces the Household Support Fund and Discretionary Housing Payments from April 2026, is delivered through local authorities. Please could you provide the following information for the period 1 April 2026 to [date]: 1. The total number of applications received for support under the Crisis and Resilience Fund, broken down by month (April 2026, May 2026, June 2026, July 2026, and August 2026 up to the end of the month as there are 20 working days to complete this request). 2. Of these applications, the number that were: a) Approved b) Refused c) Withdrawn or not proceeded with (if this is recorded as a separate category) 3. Where held separately, the figures in (1) and (2) broken down by type of support applied for (e.g. Crisis Payments vs. Housing Payments vs. any other CRF-funded payment type your authority operates). 4. The average and median processing time (in working days) between an application being received and a decision being made. 5. The total value of payments made under the CRF over the same period. If a monthly breakdown for any of the above is not readily available or would exceed the cost limit, I would be grateful for the total figures for the full period instead.
Published: 15 September 2026
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Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, I would be grateful if you could provide the following information relating to the Council's street cleansing fleet and operations: A list of all road sweepers owned or leased by the Council with a GVW of under 4 tonnes, including make and model. For leased sweepers, the lease starts and end dates (month and year only). For owned sweepers: Year purchased. Planned replacement date or details of any fleet renewal programme. Confirm whether street cleansing services are carried out in-house or by a contractor. If contracted out, provide the name of the contractor.
Published: 15 September 2026
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I am writing to make a request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000/Environmental Information Regulations about the use of NON-glyphosate weed control products and methods, their efficacy and viability for use in local authority settings. The queries are as follows: 1. Do you or your contractors currently use any of the following NON-glyphosate-based weed control measures? Manual Weeding Mechanical weeding Mulching Cultural control Vinegar/ acetic acid Hot foam Non-glyphosate chemical products (please name) Pelargonic acid Hot lances/ weed guns (using flame) Weed barriers/ membranes Hot water Electricity Steam Letting weeds grow Other (please name) 2. For the same list, please identify which, if any, products you or your contractors have considered or trialled, but REJECTED giving the reasons why in each case. Manual Weeding Mechanical weeding Mulching Cultural control Vinegar/ acetic acid Hot foam Non-glyphosate chemical products (please name) Pelargonic acid Hot lances/ weed guns (using flame) Weed barriers/ membranes Hot water Electricity Steam Letting weeds grow Other (please name) If so, please outline: the nature of the infringement of each incident and whether it led to of the following: Improvement Notice Fee for Intervention Prosecution
Published: 15 September 2026
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Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, please provide information regarding the council's use of surveillance and investigatory powers under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) and the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 (IPA). Please provide the information covering every financial year since 2019, and up to the present (including the current financial year to date). Please tell me: 1. Authorisation Volumes The total number of RIPA/IPA authorisations granted by the council in each specified financial year, broken down by power type: * Directed Surveillance * Covert Human Intelligence Sources (CHIS) * Acquisition of Communications Data 1. Offence / Activity Categories For each granted authorisation, the general category of offence or matter being investigated (e.g., housing fraud, anti-social behaviour, fly-tipping, trading standards/underage sales, benefit fraud, license breaches). Note: To avoid identifying individuals, broad operational categories are requested rather than specific case file names or addresses. 1. Surveillance Tactics & Deployed Means An overview of the generic tactics or equipment deployed under these authorisations (e.g., static camera observation, mobile visual surveillance, social media monitoring, covert audio recording, undercover officers/informants). 1. Magistrates’ Court Approvals The number of applications submitted to the Magistrates’ Court for judicial approval, and how many were: * Approved * Refused * Approved with modifications 1. Non-RIPA / Covert Activity Whether the council maintains a central register or log for non-RIPA surveillance (e.g., covert monitoring or social media research conducted outside formal RIPA authorisations due to falling below statutory crime thresholds). If so, please state how many non-RIPA surveillance operations were logged during the specified period. 1. IPCO Oversight & Policy * The date of the most recent inspection or review carried out by the Investigatory Powers Commissioner’s Office (IPCO). * The date your internal RIPA Policy was last reviewed or updated by elected members/committee. Guidance on Disclosures (Section 40 & Section 31): To assist in processing this request within the statutory cost and time limits: * If full details of an individual operation cannot be disclosed to prevent identifying living individuals (Section 40) or harming ongoing law enforcement investigations (Section 31), please provide aggregated numeric data or generalized categorisations. * If any individual question exceeds the cost limits under Section 12, please prioritize Questions 1, 2, and 4.
Published: 11 September 2026
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Please provide, for each financial year from 2020/21 to 2024/25 inclusive: (a) the total value of Section 106 affordable housing contributions spent; (b) what that expenditure was applied to, identifying in each case whether it funded the delivery of affordable units, a grant or payment to a registered provider or housing association, land acquisition, or another purpose; and (c) where units were delivered, the number of units and their tenure.
Published: 11 September 2026
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I am seeking information relating to outstanding and uncollected business rates within your authority area over the past five financial years: 2021/22, 2022/23, 2023/24, 2024/25 and 2025/26. For each financial year, please provide: 1. The total value of non-domestic rates/business rates arrears outstanding as at 31 March. 2. The total amount of business rates written off during that financial year as irrecoverable or otherwise uncollectable. 3. Where recorded, the number of individual business rates accounts with an outstanding balance at the end of each financial year. 4. Where possible, details of the 10 largest outstanding business rates debts at the end of each financial year, including: o the name of the ratepayer or company; o the property address to which the debt relates; o the outstanding amount; and o the financial year or years to which the debt relates, where recorded. 5. The total amount of business rates due during each financial year which had not been collected by 31 March of that same year, before any subsequent recovery or write-off action.
Published: 11 September 2026
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1. Does the authority operate its own air quality monitoring stations or sensors, independent of Defra's national networks? 2. How many air quality monitoring stations or sensors are currently in operation across the authority's area? 3. What type of monitoring equipment is used (manufacturer, model, and parameters measured, for example PM2.5, PM10, NO2, or O3)? 4. Where is each monitoring unit located (addresses or geographic coordinates)? 5. Who operates the monitoring system (an in-house team or an external provider)? 6. What system is used to present and publish the monitoring data (web platform, mobile application, or public information display)? Please provide the URL if the data is published online. II. Ownership and contracts 7. Is the monitoring equipment owned by the authority? If so, please state: * the date of acquisition, * the cost of acquisition, * who services the equipment and under what agreement (provider name, type of contract, and contract term). 8. If the equipment is not owned by the authority, under what arrangement is it used (rental, lease, hire, loan, or other)? Please state: * the start date of the current agreement, * the end date of the agreement, * the name of the provider. III. Costs 9. What was the total cost of purchasing and commissioning the current monitoring system? 10. What is the annual cost of running the system, including servicing, calibration, data transmission, and hosting of the presentation platform? 11. What budget has been allocated to air quality monitoring for the 2026/27 financial year? IV. Development plans 12. Are any modifications to, or expansion of, the current monitoring system planned? If so, please state: * what changes are planned (for example additional sensors, a change of technology, or expansion of the data platform), * the intended timescale, * the estimated budget. 13. If the authority does not currently operate an air quality monitoring system, does it plan to implement one? If so, please state the intended timescale and the budget envisaged. V. External funding 14. Does the authority plan to apply for any grants or external funding related to air quality monitoring? 15. Which funding programmes are being considered or have already been identified (for example Defra's Air Quality Grant, or other national, devolved, or regional schemes)? 16. Has the authority previously drawn on external funding for this purpose? If so, from which sources and in what amounts? VI. Collaboration and data integration 17. Does the authority collaborate on air quality monitoring with any other organisations (for example universities, non-governmental organisations, Defra, or neighbouring authorities)? 18. Is the data from the authority's monitoring system integrated with any publicly accessible air quality platforms (for example UK-AIR)? 19. Does the authority use air quality monitoring data to inform operational decisions (for example issuing air quality alerts, managing traffic, or Local Air Quality Management action planning under Part IV of the Environment Act 1995)? 20. Does the authority use air quality monitoring data to inform or educate residents? VII. Air quality in planning and environmental permitting 21. When determining major development proposals (for example large construction, infrastructure, industrial, or minerals and waste schemes), does the authority require air quality or dust assessment, and does it attach conditions requiring air quality monitoring, dust management, or a Construction Environmental Management Plan during the works? 22. For industrial installations that the authority regulates through environmental permitting, does it set air emission limits or air quality monitoring requirements as permit conditions? 23. Where such conditions or permit requirements are imposed, is the operator required to carry out the monitoring, and is the resulting data reported to the authority or made publicly available?
Published: 10 September 2026
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Unless stated otherwise, please provide figures for each financial year from 2022/23 to 2025/26 inclusive, plus the current position at the date you answer. 1. Dispersal accommodation in the borough (a) Does the council hold information on the number of properties in the borough used as asylum dispersal or contingency accommodation? If so, how many, for each year requested? (b) How many individuals are accommodated in such properties in the borough at the most recent date for which you hold a figure? (c) Please confirm which Asylum Accommodation and Support Contract (AASC) provider or providers operate in the borough — for example Clearsprings Ready Homes, Serco or Mears — and whether the council holds any list of the properties concerned. 2. HMO licensing The Houses in Multiple Occupation (Asylum-Seeker Accommodation) (England) Regulations 2023 ceased to have effect on 1 July 2026, so properties previously exempt now require licensing. (a) How many HMO licence applications has the council received since 1 July 2026 in respect of properties used as asylum accommodation, and how many have been granted, refused, or remain outstanding? (b) How many properties in the borough are currently used as asylum accommodation without a licence, whether because an application is pending or because none has been made? (c) What steps has the council taken to identify properties that lost their exemption on 1 July 2026? (d) Please provide the council's total number of licensed HMOs in the borough, for each year requested, so the asylum figure can be read in proportion. 3. Inspection and enforcement (a) How many inspections has the council carried out of properties used as asylum accommodation, in each year requested? (b) How many such properties have failed an inspection or been found in breach of licensing or housing health and safety standards, and what was the nature of the breaches? (c) What enforcement action has the council taken in respect of those properties — improvement notices, prohibition orders, civil penalties, prosecutions — and with what outcome? (d) How many complaints has the council received from residents concerning such properties, and how many were upheld? 4. Money received (a) What sums has the council received from the Home Office, or from any other government department, in respect of asylum dispersal accommodation in each year requested? (b) Please break that down by the basis of payment — for example the per-existing-bed rate, the per-new-dispersal-bed rate, and any expedited-delivery or incentive payment. (c) How has that funding been applied? Please identify the service areas or budget lines to which it was allocated. 5. Agreements and governance (a) Does the council hold any written agreement, memorandum of understanding, protocol or service level agreement with the Home Office, or with any AASC provider, concerning asylum accommodation in the borough? If so, please provide copies. (b) Has the council formally considered asylum dispersal at any meeting of Cabinet, Full Council or any committee since April 2022? If so, please identify the meetings and provide the relevant reports and minutes. (c) Is the council a member of, or represented at, any regional or county-level asylum or migration partnership board? If so, please provide the minutes of its meetings for the period requested.
Published: 9 September 2026
