Playground inspection numbers and management

The request was successful.

Dear North Devon Council,

Thank you in advance for your time answering this request. I am interested in knowing about the Council's digitisation of Playground inspections, as per Westminster Government's push for Local Councils to move to a digital approach for managing its assets and tasks, and its affect on budgets.

I would like to know how many Playground and/or Play Area inspections are carried out each week for Playgrounds / Play Areas you are responsible for? Also, are these inspections completed by an in-house Council team or are they conducted by a contracted 3rd party company?

Does the Council use digital play inspection software for recording and managing these inspections? If yes, which software is used and how much does it cost the Council on an annual basis for this solution.

Yours faithfully,

James Taylor

Legal Services, North Devon Council

Dear Mr Taylor

Thank you for your request received this morning, for which I acknowledge receipt.

Your request is now being dealt with in accordance with the Act and will be due for response no later than 4 November 2020, in accordance with the statutory time limit of 20 working days.

The Council has an adopted charging policy for dealing with requests for information under FOIA and EIR, which is published on the Council's website, however I will write to you in advance should the processing of your request require a fee, if we should require further any information/clarification from you or if we are going to need to extend the response deadline further.

Yours sincerely

Claire Chandler | Legal Apprentice
North Devon Council | PO Box 379 | Barnstaple | EX32 2GR
Tel. 01271 388237
[email address]

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Legal Services, North Devon Council

Dear Mr Taylor

I write in response to your request for information received 7 October 2020.

Section 1(1)(a) of the Act requires the Council to inform you whether it holds information of the description specified in your request. I confirm that the Council does hold this information. In discharge of its obligation under section 1(1)(b) I can provide you with the following response from the Council's Parks team:

They use a software package called All on Mobile to record the Council's play area inspections. This is carried out through the grounds maintenance contract with the software being supplied through the contractor Tivoli.

The Council is responsible for the management of 27 play areas throughout North Devon.

- Four play areas are inspected daily
- 13 play areas are inspected three times per week
- 10 play area are inspected once per week

The cost of this service is approximately £3,600 per annum

If you are dissatisfied with the handling of your request, you have the right to request an internal review which should be received within two months from the date of this response email and should be sent to;

Solicitor & Data Protection Officer
Legal Services
North Devon Council
PO Box 379, Barnstaple, EX32 2GR
[North Devon Council request email]

If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have the right to apply to the Information Commissioner for a decision:

Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

Tel: 01625 545 745
Fax: 01625 524 510
Email: [email address]

Yours sincerely

Vicky Eagle
Administrator, FOI & EIR
Legal Services
North Devon Council
PO Box 379, Barnstaple, EX32 2GR
[North Devon Council request email]

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