Dear Mr Kenning,

We acknowledge receipt of your email and request for information of 27 April 2021 to Ards and North Down Borough Council.

We confirm your request regarding litter and dog fouling Fixed Penalty Notices issued in 2020/21 will be processed as a request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Accordingly, you will receive the information you have requested within 20 working days of the date of receipt of your request by the Council unless the Council does not hold the information or there is a reason to withhold all or part of the information requested. Council will write to you in any event.

For further information in relation to the Freedom of Information Act we would refer you to the Information Commissioner's Office website, www.ico.org.uk

If you wish to discuss the above, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Regards,

FOI Team
Ards and North Down Borough Council
Town Hall
The Castle
Bangor
BT20 4BT
Tel: 0300 013 3333

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Dear Mr Kenning,

We refer to the above and acknowledge receipt of your email dated 19 June 2021 to Ards and North Down Borough Council’s FOI Team, received on 21 June.

Your request for an internal review of FOI487/21-22/001 will be passed to the Council’s Director for Organisational Development and Administration, Mrs Wendy Swanston, and a response will be issued within twenty working days of the date of receipt of your request.

Regards,

FOI Team
Ards and North Down Borough Council
Town Hall
The Castle
Bangor
BT20 4BT
Tel: 0300 013 3333

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To: Mr Ronald Kenning

Email: [1][FOI #750835 email]

Our Ref: FOI479/21-22/003 - Litter and Dog Fouling fixed penalty notices

Dear Mr Kenning,

I am writing in response to your request for an internal review, which was
received on 21^st June 2021.

Ards and North Down Borough Council apologises for the delay in processing
your initial request.  The delay was due to the amount of information
requested and the resource required to collate the response”. 

Please see the Council’s response below:

1.    How many FPNs [Fixed Penalty Notices] were issued for litter between
1/4/2020 and 1/4/2021?

572

2.    What was the location of each of these issued litter FPNs as above?

Please see attached “FOI479 21-22 003 Q2 Litter”

3.    How many FPNs were issued for dog fouling between 1/4/2020 and
1/4/2021?

113

4.    What was the location of each of these issued dog fouling FPNs as
above?

Please see attached “FOI479 21-22 003 Q4 Fouling”

5.    How many FPNs were paid either early or in full between 1/4/2020 and
1/4/2021?

Litter – 498

Fouling – 100

6.    How much total revenue was generated by these FPNs between 1/4/2020
and 1/4/2021?

Litter – £30,940

Fouling - £6,060 

7.    How many FPNs were progressed to court proceedings between 1/4/2020
and 1/4/2021?

Litter – 46

Fouling – 9

8.    How much revenue was received via the court system from any
litter/dog fouling FPNs prosecutions between 1/4/2020 and 1/4/2021?

Please note that any money received by the Council from the Courts Service
is not considered revenue and is treated as court costs recovered.

Please also note that court costs recovered and paid by the Courts Service
to the Council between 1^st April 2020 and 1^st April 2021 may relate to
prosecutions brought in previous financial years.

In the period 1^st April 2020 to 1^st April 2021 the Council received
£4,719.51 from the Courts Service in respect of court costs recovered for
litter / dog fouling FPN prosecutions.

9.    What were the total legal costs for the prosecution of any
litter/dog fouling FPNs through the court system between 1/4/2020 and
1/4/2021?

The Council holds a record of the legal costs associated with the
prosecution of litter/dog fouling FPNs through the court system between
1^st April 2020 and 1^st April 2021. The exact amount is being withheld
from disclosure in accordance with section 43(2) of the Freedom of
Information Act on the basis disclosure to the world at large would be
likely to prejudice the commercial interests of the firm of solicitors
which provides legal services to the Council in respect of Fixed Penalty
Notice matters, and the Council’s commercial interests. Disclosure of the
total costs for the cases would provide economic operators who may wish to
participate in a future procurement process with an insight into the
current costs and the current provider’s pricing, which would distort
competition.

This exemption to disclosure is subject to the public interest test. The
Council recognises the public interest in transparency and accountability
in its spending. The Council also recognises the public interest in
ensuring it retains the ability to compete fairly in a marketplace and in
ensuring the greatest possible competition between economic operators so
that public authorities can secure the best possible value for money. By
disclosing the information requested, the Council would be providing an
unfair advantage to economic operators which would distort competition and
adversely affect the current provider’s competitiveness. For these
reasons, the Council considers the public interest rests in withholding
the legal costs so as to ensure fairness and competition in the provision
of goods and services to the Council, in accordance with section 43(2) of
the Freedom of Information Act.

Please note the Council’s Environment Directorate does publish Fixed
Penalty Notice statistics annually, which includes a total cost incurred
in respect of legal fees for prosecutions. Statistics compiled most
recently, for the 2019/20 financial year, were published at the Council’s
Environment Committee meeting of 2^nd September 2020 and please see the
weblink below to the Agenda of that meeting (Item 3 includes the annual
statistics):

[2]https://www.ardsandnorthdown.gov.uk/imag...

If you are not satisfied with the way in which your internal review
request has been handled, or with this response, you may contact the
Information Commissioner’s Office at:

The ICO – Northern Ireland

3rd Floor

14 Cromac Place,

Belfast

BT7 2JB

Telephone: 0303 123 1114

Email: [3][email address]

Yours sincerely,

Wendy Swanston

Director of Organisational Development and Administration

The information contained in or attached to this message is intended only
for the people to whom it is addressed. If you are not the intended
recipient, any use, storage, disclosure or copying of this information is
unauthorised and prohibited. This information may be confidential or
subject to legal privilege. If you have received this email in error
please notify the sender immediately by using the reply facility in your
email software and then delete the email from your inbox. The contents of
this message do not represent the expressed view of Ards and North Down
Borough Council unless that is clearly stated. The Council cannot accept
liability in the event that the onward transmission, opening, or use of
this message and/or any attachments adversely affects the recipient's
systems or data. Personal information contained in or attached to this
message will be processed in line with the Council’s obligations under the
Data Protection Act 2018, its Data Protection Policy and for the purpose
for which it was provided. If you have a data protection query, please put
your request in writing, stating clearly who you are and your query to:
Data Protection Officer, Ards and North Down Borough Council, Town Hall,
The Castle, Bangor, BT20 4BT, email:
[email address], tel: 0300 013 3333 or visit the
Council’s website at www.ardsandnorthdown.gov.uk/privacy-and-....

References

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