Freedom of information response

1. How many FPNS have been issued against homeless people in 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023?  If available, please break this down by year and restriction.

• No FPNs have been issued to homeless people.

2. Do you record data about how warnings and breaches of the PSPO are broken down into the protected characteristics covered by the Equality Impact Assessments (EIA)?  If so, please supply this data.

• No.

3. Please either attach copies of your current PSPOs or confirm that those on the PSPO section of your council website are up to date. 

• Thurrock Council Web page is up to date with PSPOs.

4. Were the street homeless community involved in consultations for PSPOs that might affect them – for example, those that restrict begging, obstruction of premises, public urination and defecation? 

• No.

5. Do you have any specific guidelines or training for officers enforcing PSPOs that impact the homeless community - such as on mental health or signposting to services?  

• We do not enforce against homeless persons or vulnerable individuals. They are signposted to the appropriate agencies.

6. Are any measures in place to prevent PSPOs from having a disproportionate impact on the homeless community? 

• We do not enforce on the homeless.

7. What steps does the council take to monitor PSPOs to ensure that the recommendations of the EIA are being followed? Please send over any documentation outlining this process.

• We do not enforce on the homeless or vulnerable persons.

8. Is there a process in place for handling complaints following warnings and breaches of the PSPO? If so, please send over any documentation outlining this process.

• Thurrock council have a Complaints process publicised on the council’s web page.

General complaints

This page sets out our process for general complaints.

To begin this process, read how to make a complaint.

In the descriptions below, 'working days' are Monday to Friday excluding public holidays, starting from the first full working day after we receive the complaint.

Stage 1

A complaint will be investigated within 10 working days by a member of staff from the service complained about. Our complaints team will track the complaint.

If the person is not happy with the response, they may ask that it be escalated to stage 2. This must be requested no later than 28 calendar days from our initial reply.

Stage 2

When requested for a complaint to be escalated it must be explained why. The response at stage 1 will tell the individual how to do this.

A senior officer in our complaints team will review the complaint and, if an investigation is needed, this will be completed within 20 working days.

After stage 2

If the complainant is still not satisfied after the complaint has been through all stages of our complaint’s procedure, the person can refer it to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.

9. Do any of your PSPOs include dispersal powers?

• No

10. Please provide the number of warnings issued for Public Space Protection Orders (PSPO) in 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023. If this data is available, please provide a breakdown of these warnings by restriction.

You are free to use any information supplied to you for your own use, including non-commercial research purposes. However, any other type of re-use, for example, by publishing the information or issuing copies to the public will require the permission of the copyright owner.

Where the copyright is owned by Thurrock Council, you must apply to the Council to re-use the information. Please email information.matters@thurrock.gov.uk if you wish to re-use the information you have been supplied. For information where the copyright is owned by another person or organisation, you must apply to the copyright owner to obtain their permission.

If you are dissatisfied with the way in which the council have managed your FOI request you can pursue an Internal Review by contacting us using the above email address. An internal review must be submitted within 40 working days of your original reply. Your request will be considered by a senior member of the Information Management Team who will update you with the outcome of the review.

If you remain unhappy following the outcome of your Internal Review you may wish to refer your case to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and details of this organisation can be found at www.ico.org.uk . Please be advised that the ICO will not consider your case until they have confirmation that you have already been through the Internal Review stage with the council.