Freedom of information (FOI) releases from Guildford

This is a disclosure log of Guildford Council's responses to freedom of information (FOI) or environmental information regulations (EIR) requests that might be of wider public interest.

If you can't find the information you're looking for, you can make a new FOI request.

Filters

Clear filters

  • Keywords filters

  • Year filters

  • Month filters

573 disclosures

  1. Planning committee members & party political affiliations

    Information Request - 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: 9 June 2026

  2. council tax arrears

    I am writing to you under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 to request the following information in spreadsheet form:

    1 . The number of households in council tax arrears for each financial year from 2015-16 to 2025-26.

    2. Of those households who are in council tax arrears please provide the average amount of arrears a household is in for each financial year from 2015-16 to 2025-26.

    3. The total amount of council tax arrears for each financial year from 2015-16 to 2025-26.

    Published: 9 June 2026

  3. Business rates enquiry

    Could you please provide me with your local authority’s complete and most-recently updated list of all business (non-residential) property rates data, including the following fields:

    - Billing Authority Property Reference Code (linking the property to the public VOA database reference);
    - Firm's Trading Name (i.e. property occupant or ratepayer);
    - Full Property Address (Number, Street, Postal Code, Town);
    - Occupation / Vacancy status;
    - Date of Occupation / Vacancy;
    - Reliefs and / or exemption categories (classifications) granted or applied.

    Published: 9 June 2026

  4. 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: 9 June 2026

  5. Non-Domestic Completion Notices enquiry

    Under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 please could I request a list of Non-Domestic Completion Notices served by the authority from 01/03/2026 to the present date.

    I would be grateful if the list could include;

    * The property reference number (otherwise known as billing authority reference number);

    * The address of the property to which the notice relates;

    * The date the notice was served;

    * The completion date recorded;

    * The business or person to whom the notice was served;

    * Address to where the Notice was sent;

    * Whether the notice was issued by the billing authority or a third party.

    Published: 9 June 2026

  6. Taxi information enquiry

    I am submitting a request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 regarding currently licensed Hackney Carriage and Private Hire vehicles licensed by Guildford Borough Council.

    I have reviewed the Council’s publicly accessible taxi register and note that certain vehicle information is already available online. However, the register does not appear to include:

    Full date of first registration with the DVLA
    Original vehicle body colour

    I would therefore kindly request this information for all currently licensed Hackney Carriage and Private Hire vehicles.

    The date of first registration is important in order to establish the age of licensed vehicles and to determine whether and when a vehicle becomes subject to mandatory MOT testing requirements. This is a matter of public interest, as members of the public rely on the Council’s licensing regime to ensure that licensed vehicles are safe, roadworthy and appropriately maintained.

    Published: 9 June 2026

  7. Business rate appeals enquiry

    I want to better understand the data being collected by local authorities on their business rates and whether these are being appealed. Under the Freedom of Information Act 2001, I would like to know the following:

    1. Has the authority subjected any of the rateable values of the properties it is liable for paying business rates on in the 2023 Rating List to a review under the Valuation Office Agency's Check, Challenge, Appeal process? This question applies to any review submitted after 3 April 2023.

    2. Does the authority intend to subject any of the rateable values of the property it is liable for paying business rates on in the 2026 Rating List to a review under the Valuation Office Agency's Check, Challenge, Appeal process? This question applies from the date 1 April 2026.

    3. Does the authority currently engage any external rating adviser(s) (e.g. rating surveyor(s), consultants, agents or firms) in relation to the review, management, appeal, or mitigation of business rates? If the answer is no, then does the authority employ or retain internal officer(s) with responsibilities in relation to the review, management, appeal, or mitigation of business rates?

    4. The number of business rates challenges filed by the authority, broken down by sector (leisure, retail, offices, etc), covering 2017 to the most recent date.
    Plus, the sector breakdown of challenges that resulted in:

    * a reduction in rateable value
    * no change
    * an increase
    * a decrease
    We would like this data in an Excel format.

    5. The breakdown of challenges and appeals filed by the authority by reason category or type of valuation issue, to be presented within the context of the original dataset. We would like this data in an Excel format.

     

    Published: 9 June 2026

  8. Data Request: Local Government Communications Records

    This request is made under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. I would be grateful if you could provide the information below for your local authority.

    Unless otherwise stated, please provide figures covering the period 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026.

     

    Print and Postal Communications

      1.  The total number of letters sent by the authority.

      a.  Of these letters:

         *   i. Number sent via 1st class post

         *   ii. Number sent via 2nd class post

      b.  The number of letters printed and posted in‑house.

      c.  The number of letters sent via a hybrid mail service.

      d.  If hybrid mail is used:

         *   i. The name of the hybrid mail provider (e.g. Whistl, UK Mail, etc.).

         *   ii. The date the current arrangement was agreed.

         *   iii. The contract expiry date (if applicable).

     

    Digital Communication Portals

      2.  The number of digital communication portals currently operated by the authority.

      a.  The name(s) of the digital portal provider(s).

      b.  For each digital portal:

         *   i. The month and year it went live

         *   ii. The number of citizens registered

         *   iii. The approximate number of communications sent via the portal during the period.

      c.  The preferred framework used (if any) for procuring digital communication platforms.

     

    Digital Transformation and Channel Mix

      3.  Please state whether the authority has an active digital transformation programme relating to citizen communications (yes/no).

      4.  Whether the authority uses email as an outbound communication channel for residents (yes/no).

     

    Responsible Roles

      5.  The name of the Manager responsible for:

      *   a. Print and post management

      *   b. Parking services

      *   c. Accounts payable

      *   d. Digital transformation

     

      6.  For each role above, please provide a Specific email address where available.

     

    Published: 9 June 2026

  9. Web platform enquiry

    Please provide the following information under the freedom of information act 2000.

    1. Website platform and hosting: who the supplier is, product name, hosting arrangements, contract starts and end dates, annual cost.

    2. Content management system: supplier name, product name, contract starts and end dates, annual cost.

    3. Digital communication platform: supplier name, product name, contract start and end dates, annual cost.

    4. Customer engagement or digital engagement platform:  supplier name, product name, contract start and end dates, annual cost.

    Published: 9 June 2026

  10. Council Spending

    Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

    I would like to request the previous three years of receipts, or proof in pounds, showing where council tax funding is being spent.

    For the avoidance of doubt, I am seeking the recorded information held by the Council showing itemised expenditure for the last three financial years, preferably in spreadsheet form. This should include, where held:

    * date of payment or transaction;

    * supplier/payee;

    * amount paid;

    * VAT where recorded;

    * service area, cost centre or department;

    * description or purpose of spend;

    * invoice, receipt, purchase order or payment reference, where disclosable;

    * whether the expenditure relates to general fund/council tax funded services, or any other relevant funding source classification held by the Council.

     

    If the Council considers that some of this information is already published, please identify the exact documents or datasets which correspond to the information requested, not merely a general webpage.

    Please also confirm whether those published datasets cover all itemised expenditure for the previous three years or only a subset, for example payments over £500.

    If the Council does not hold “receipts” in the literal form requested, please interpret the request as covering the closest equivalent recorded information held by the Council, such as invoices, payment ledgers, purchase card records, transaction-level expenditure reports, supplier payment spreadsheets, or other spend data held by the Council.

    If the Council is refusing any part of the request, please issue a proper refusal notice specifying the relevant exemption or exception relied upon, and explain how it applies.

    If the Council considers the request too broad or likely to exceed the cost limit, please provide advice and assistance on how the request can be refined, for example by limiting it to spending over a certain threshold, a particular fund, or particular service areas.

     

    In particular, please confirm:

     

    1. Whether the Council holds itemised transaction-level expenditure data for the last three financial years.

     

    * date of payment or transaction;

    * supplier/payee;

    * amount paid;

    * VAT where recorded;

    * service area, cost centre or department;

    * description or purpose of spend;

    * invoice, receipt, purchase order or payment reference, where disclosable;

    * whether the expenditure relates to general fund/council tax funded services, or any other relevant funding source classification held by the Council.

     

    2. Whether the Council holds copies of invoices, receipts, purchase card statements or similar records supporting that expenditure.

     

    3. Whether the Council holds data for payments below £500, given that published transparency data may only cover payments over £500.

     

    4. What information, if any, is being withheld, and under which provision of FOIA or the EIR.

     

    5. Whether the spending information provided online is intended to be relied upon as a complete answer to my request, and if so, where exactly the itemised records for each of the last three years can be accessed.

     

    Published: 8 June 2026