Freedom of information (FOI) releases from Herefordshire Council

This is a disclosure log of Herefordshire 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

3,308 disclosures

  1. Local SEND Reform Plant and Experts at Hand Data

    I would like to request the following information:

    Request Part 1 In June 2026, your council submitted a set of Local SEND Reform Plan documents to the Department for Education (DfE). As part of this process, the DfE asked your council to submit a completed data template. I have attached a publicly-released example of this completed data template from Hertfordshire Council, to help identify the document in your records. Please provide the completed copy of this data template submitted by your council to the DfE.

    • I would be grateful if you could supply this template in read-only Excel spreadsheet form. If this is not possible, then please provide it in as a pdf, formatted in the same way as the completed template example from Hertfordshire Council.

    Request Part 2 In summer 2026, the Department for Education provided your council with an allocation from its Experts at Hand & Local Authority SEND Transformation Fund, to cover implementation of these schemes in the 2026-2027 financial year. Please provide the following: A breakdown of the local area partnership’s intended expenditure of the allocation for these grants the 2026-27 financial year, split into three categories:

    • Experts at Hand direct delivery;

    • Experts at Hand administration; and •

    Local Authority SEND transformation.

    For the Experts at Hand direct delivery spending, please break the figures down as follows:

    • Specialist posts, broken down by type of expertise, number of additional full-time equivalent (FTE) posts, and anticipated spend (including on-costs);

    • Assistant or trainee posts, broken down by type of expertise supported, number of additional full-time equivalent (FTE) posts, and anticipated spend (including on-costs);

    • Specialist outreach support by source of specialist expertise (ie special schools, AP), number of FTE posts where known, and anticipated allocation;

    • Other additional Experts at Hand direct delivery posts, with role described, number of full time equivalent (FTE) posts, and anticipated spend (including on-costs). For the Experts at Hand administration and LA SEND transformation spending, please break the figures down as follows:

    • Description of roles, number of full-time equivalent (FTE) posts, and anticipated spend (including on-costs);

    • Spending on contracted or consultancy services, including purpose of spend and amount of allocated funding.

    I have attached a publicly-released guide to 2026-27 EaH and LA SEND Transformation grant spending from Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole Council. Pages 26 & 27 of this document provide an example of the data that I’m requesting.

    • I would be grateful if you could supply this template in read-only Excel spreadsheet form. If this is not possible, then please provide it in a pdf formatted in the same way as the completed template example from BCP Council. Please feel free to get in touch if you need any further clarification of this request. I have also attached two exemplar documents - published online by other councils - to help process the request. Please let me know if you need any further information.

    Published: 5 November 2026

  2. School Attendance Penalty Notices & Third-Offence Outcomes

    QUESTIONS (Replicated below for internal routing and sign-off)
    Please provide the data broken down into three periods:


         Period A: The 2024/25 academic year (19 August 2024 to 31 July 2025)


             Period B: The 2025/26 academic year (1 August 2025 to 31 July 2026)


         Period C: The current 2026/27 academic year up to the October half-term breakpoint (1 August 2026 to 23 October 2026)

    1. Notices to Improve

             a) How many Notices to Improve were issued (either directly by the Local Authority, or notified to the Local Authority by schools) prior to considering a penalty notice?


            Period A (2024/25): This information is not centrally recorded.  


                Period B (2025/26): This information is not centrally recorded.  


            Period C (2026/27 up to 23 Oct): This information is not centrally recorded.  

    2. First and Second Penalty Notices Issued

             a) Total FIRST penalty notices (£160, reduced to £80 if paid within 21 days) issued:


            Period A (2024/25): 582


                Period B (2025/26): 638


            Period C (2026/27 up to 23 Oct): 166


             b) Of those first penalty notices, how many were for:


            i) Unauthorised term-time leave (holidays):


                   Period A: 580 | Period B: 618 | Period C: 164


            ii) Other unauthorised absence (irregular attendance):


                   Period A: 2 | Period B: 20 | Period C: 2

     

     

     


         c) Total SECOND penalty notices (flat rate £160 within a rolling three-year period) issued:


                Period A (2024/25): 2



            Period B (2025/26): 27


                Period C (2026/27 up to 23 Oct): 7


         d) Of those second penalty notices, how many were for:


                i) Unauthorised term-time leave (holidays):


               Period A: 2 | Period B: 25 | Period C: 7


                ii) Other unauthorised absence (irregular attendance):


               Period A: 0 | Period B: 2 | Period C: 0

    3. "Third Offences" (Breaching the Two-Notice Cap)
    Where a parent/child reached the national threshold of 10 sessions of unauthorised absence in 10 rolling weeks for a THIRD (or subsequent) time within the rolling three-year period—meaning a further penalty notice could not legally be issued:


             a) Total such referrals/cases received or identified by the Local Authority:


            Period A (2024/25): 0


                Period B (2025/26): 0


         *   Period C (2026/27 up to 23 Oct): 0

     

     

     

     

     

     


         b) Where recorded centrally, how many of these third-offence referrals were primarily for:


                i) Unauthorised term-time leave (holidays):


               Period A: 0 | Period B: 0 | Period C: 0


                ii) Other unauthorised absence (irregular attendance):


               Period A: 0 | Period B: 0 | Period C: 0

    4. Outcomes of "Third Offence" Cases
    Of the third-offence cases identified in Question 3, please state the number of cases that resulted in each of the following outcomes:


             a) Prosecution pursued under Section 444(1) of the Education Act 1996:


            Period A: 0 | Period B: 0 | Period C: 0


             b) Prosecution pursued under Section 444(1A) of the Education Act 1996:


            Period A: 0 | Period B: 0 | Period C: 0


             c) Application for an Education Supervision Order (ESO) in the Family Court:


            Period A: 0 | Period B: 0 | Period C: 0


             d) Formal caution / warning issued:


            Period A: 0 | Period B: 0 | Period C: 0


             e) Case closed / No further legal action taken / Returned to school for support:


            Period A: 0 | Period B: 0 | Period C: 0


             f) Decision still pending:


            Period A: 0 | Period B: 0 | Period C: 0

    5. Cross-Border Tracking & Policy

             a) Does the Local Authority have a standard process or system check to identify whether a pupil moving into the authority has already been issued one or two penalty notices by a previous Local Authority since 19 August 2024?(Please state Yes or No, and briefly explain how this information is obtained if Yes): .

     

    Answer: Yes, contact other Local Authorities on their cross border penalty notice email.
     

         b) Since 19 August 2024, how many penalty notices (or third-offence escalations) in your authority have incorporated a prior penalty notice issued by a different Local Authority?.

    Answer: 0.

             c) Please provide a web link to (or copy of) your Local Authority’s current Penalty Notice Code of Conduct:

     

    Answer: This information is publically available on the Herefordshire council website and can be viewed via the following link:

     

    Penalty Notice (Education) Local code of conduct 2024 - Herefordshire Council

     

    As such we consider this information to be exempt under Section 21 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 because it is reasonably accessible to you via other means. Please take this letter as a refusal notice under S17 of the Act.




    Published: 4 November 2026

  3. Livestock Worrying and Dogs Shot on Garway Hill and Garway Common

    I am writing to request information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and, where applicable, the Environmental Information Regulations 2004.

    I would like information concerning incidents involving dogs and livestock on Garway Hill and Garway Common, Herefordshire, covering the period from 1 January 2016 to 27 October 2026. Specifically, please provide:

    1. The number of reported incidents of livestock worrying involving dogs on Garway Hill, broken down by calendar year.

    2. The number of incidents in which dogs have been shot on Garway Hill, whether fatally or non-fatally, in connection with actual or alleged livestock worrying.

    3. Where recorded, the dates of these incidents and the types of livestock involved.

    4. The number of incidents resulting in police investigations, prosecutions, cautions or other formal action.

    5. Where available, the number of incidents involving livestock being injured or killed.

    Please include all recorded reports, regardless of whether an offence was subsequently established or any prosecution resulted. If records specifically identifying Garway Hill or Garway Common are not available, please advise what geographical breakdown can be provided.

    Published: 4 November 2026

  4. oversight and risk-based inspection of laboratory-animal transport

    I am therefore making a separate Freedom of Information request concerning the Council’s system for deciding how animal transport is monitored and enforced.

    For the period 1 January 2024 to the present, please provide:

    1. Policies, procedures, guidance, service plans or operating instructions used by Herefordshire Council Animal Health & Welfare Officers to decide which animal transporters, premises, journeys or sectors are selected for welfare-in-transport inspection.

    2. Any risk-assessment criteria, scoring systems, inspection matrices or prioritisation frameworks used to determine the frequency or targeting of welfare-in-transport checks.

    3. Records showing whether research establishments, laboratory-animal breeders/suppliers, contract research organisations, or transporters carrying animals for scientific use are specifically included in, excluded from, or otherwise considered within the Council’s welfare-in-transport inspection programme.

    4. Any record showing whether Sequani Limited, Bromyard Road, Ledbury,HR8 1LH has appeared on:

    - an animal-health or welfare premises list;

    - an inspection programme;

    - a risk register;

    - an intelligence log;

    - a targeted-enforcement list;

    - or any other schedule used to identify premises or transport activity for possible inspection.

    5. If Sequani has been considered for inspection but no inspection was carried out, please provide any recorded reason for that decision. I am not asking the Council to create an explanation if none is recorded.

    6. The total number of welfare-in-transport inspections/checks carried out by the Council in each calendar year from 2024 to the most recent available date, broken down where recorded by type of activity or location, for example:

    - markets;

    - agricultural shows;

    - farms;

    - roadside operations;

    - pet/commercial dog transport;

    - laboratory/research-animal transport;

    - other categories used by the Council.

    7. The number of those checks that involved dogs, non-human primates, or other non-farmed species, where this is recorded.

    8. Any guidance, training material or instructions provided to Council officers concerning the transport of animals used for scientific or laboratory purposes, including dogs or non-human primates.

    9. Any correspondence, guidance or instructions received from APHA, Defra or the Home Office concerning the division of responsibility for enforcing welfare-in-transport legislation in relation to animals transported to or from establishments regulated under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986.

    10. Any records identifying whether the Council considers welfare-in-transport checks at research establishments such as Sequani to be:

    - routine;

    - intelligence-led;

    - complaint-led;

    - roadside-only; - outside the Council’s normal inspection programme; - or subject to another approach.

    11. Any performance targets, inspection targets or service objectives relating specifically to animal transport enforcement for 2024, 2025 and 2026.

    12. If no specific policy, risk assessment, inspection programme or guidance exists concerning laboratory-animal transport, please confirm that explicitly. This request does not seek details of future planned inspections, future transport movements, routes, timings, vehicle registrations or other operational information whose disclosure could prejudice enforcement or site security. If any information is withheld, please identify the exemption relied upon and disclose the remainder with appropriate redactions. Please provide the information electronically by email.

    Published: 4 November 2026

  5. IT systems and contract end dates

    Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, please tell me, for each of the systems listed below:

    1. the name of the system or product

    2. the supplier

    3. the contract start date

    4. the contract end date, and the latest date it could end if all extension options are used

    5. the annual contract value (or the total value, if that is how you record it) The systems:

    (a) Housing management (if the council manages its own housing)

    (b) Revenues and benefits (council tax, business rates, housing benefit)

    (c) Finance or ERP

    (d) HR and payroll

    (e) Customer relationship management (CRM) or customer contact

    (f) Waste and recycling collection management

    (g) Parking enforcement and permits

    (h) Planning and building control

    (i) Adult and children's social care case management

    (j) Telephony or contact centre If the council doesn't use a system in one of these areas, please just say so. If some of this is already published, for example in your contracts register, a link is enough for that part.

    A spreadsheet would be ideal, but any format is fine. Please also confirm that the information can be re-used under the Open Government Licence. If any part of this request would go over the cost limit, please answer the parts you can and tell me which part caused the problem, rather than refusing the whole request.

    Published: 4 November 2026

  6. SAR statistics 2025/26

    Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, please provide the following information relating to Subject Access Requests (SARs) made under the UK GDPR / Data Protection Act 2018 and received by the Council in the financial year 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026. I would be grateful for the following:

    1. The total number of SARs received.

    2. The number of those SARs that were responded to within the statutory period (one calendar month, or up to three months where an extension was applied).

    3. The number of those SARs that were responded to outside the statutory period.

    4. The number of SARs that remain open and past their statutory deadline as at the date of this request.

    5. The number of staff (full-time equivalent) whose primary role is handling SARs.

    6. Whether the Council uses any software to manage SARs or to redact documents for disclosure, and if so, the name of the product(s) and the contract end date.

    7. Whether the Council has, in the same period, received any correspondence from the Information Commissioner's Office concerning its SAR compliance, and if so the number of such complaints.

    If any part of this request would exceed the appropriate cost limit, please provide the information for the remaining parts and advise which part is affected. I am content to receive the response by email.

    Published: 4 November 2026

  7. Publicly accessible toilets list

    Please treat this as a request under the Freedom of Information Act2000 (and the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 if preferred).

    1. A current list of publicly accessible toilets the council operates, manages, or lists (including community toilet schemes if held).

    2. For each, where held: name, address/postcode, coordinates, hours, free/charge, wheelchair access, baby changing, RADAR, Changing Places, permanent closures.

    3. Machine-readable format if available (CSV/JSON/spreadsheet), or a link if already published as open data. I will credit your council and use data under the Open Government Licence where applicable.

    Published: 4 November 2026

  8. Soft plastics recycling

    I am seeking information about recycling. I would like to know:

    1. whether you currently offer kerbside/household flexible plastics recycling;

    2. the date on which you will begin offering kerbside/household flexible plastics recycling, if collections do not currently take place;

    3. the date on which you began offering kerbside/household flexible plastics recycling, if collections currently take place;

    4. whether you currently offer soft plastics recycling for non-household properties;

    5. the date on which you will begin offering flexible plastics recycling for non-household properties, if collections do not currently take place;

    6. the date on which you began offering flexible plastics recycling for non-household properties, if collections currently take place;

    7. the total tonnage of flexible plastics collected for recycling, if collections currently take place and such a figure is available;

    8. the estimated tonnage of flexible plastics collected for landfill, if such an estimate is available.

    Additionally, it would be useful if you could say whether there are any restrictions on the flexible plastic which you collect (e.g. "the flexible plastic must be see-through", "no crisp packets" etc.).

    Published: 4 November 2026

  9. term maintenance contracts and expenditure

    Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, please provide the following recorded information about your council’s externally supplied term maintenance contracts for council buildings, facilities and any council-operated care homes. Please could you provide:

    1. Details of the current contracts, including supplier names, contract references, start and end dates, any extension options and annual spend.

    2. Actual spend under these contracts, and any predecessor contracts, for each of the last three financial years: 2023/24, 2024/25 and 2025/26, broken down by supplier where held. Please state whether figures include VAT.

    3. Any recorded plans for retendering or replacing these contracts, including the anticipated procurement route, relevant framework name and reference where applicable, and expected tender date. If no plans are recorded, please confirm this.

    Please identify any different arrangements for council-operated care homes. An electronic response, preferably in Excel or CSV, would be appreciated.

    Published: 29 October 2026

  10. Children known to social care and school information sharing – Herefordshire

    Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, I am writing to request the following information from Herefordshire. This request covers both children's social care and the Virtual School.

    1. Children who have left care through permanence orders The number of children who ceased to be looked after by your authority between 1 April 2014 and 31 March 2026 due to

    (a) an adoption order,

    (b) a special guardianship order, or

    (c) a child arrangements order, who are currently of compulsory school age.

    2. Sharing information with schools Please describe how your authority informs schools that a pupil

    (a) is currently, or

    (b) has previously been, subject to a Child in Need plan, a child protection plan, or looked after.

    In particular, please state whether this information continues to be shared after a plan ends or when a child moves school, and whether your authority operates a dashboard or portal giving schools this visibility. A copy of any relevant information-sharing protocol would be welcome.

    3. Virtual School staffing The number of full-time-equivalent Virtual School staff working with

    (a) previously looked-after children, and

    (b) children with a social worker, as at 1 September 2026.

    4. Pupil Premium Plus for previously looked-after children Does your Virtual School take any steps to inform adoptive parents, special guardians or schools that previously looked-after children are eligible for Pupil Premium Plus? If so, please briefly describe these steps.

    CLARIFICATION To clarify, regarding Q1, the phrase refers to children who are of compulsory school age as of today, rather than the age they were when they ceased being looked after. I hope that helps. Please let me know if you need any further information to proceed with the request.

    Published: 29 October 2026