Trade unions
Case reference FOI2026/00242
Received 30 January 2026
Published 16 February 2026
Request
Please advise: 1. The details of any office accommodation your organisation provides to staff to carry out trade union business. Please include details of:
* space measured in square feet
* how much of this space is contained within entirely separate buildings (i.e. occupied solely by staff carrying out trade union business)
* whether a professional valuation of the market rental value of the space has been sought either in-house or externally, and if so, what the valuation of the space was
* any charges the council levy for office space given to trade unions.
2. Do you deduct trade union subscriptions for any of your employees via payroll (sometimes known as the "check off" system)?
If so, do you charge a fee to the trade unions concerned for providing this service?
3. With regard to trade union facility time, please provide the total cost of facility time from your pay bill for the financial year 2024/25 and the budget for the current financial year.
Please also advise the current number of employees that you fund to be union officials, measured as full time equivalents?
4. Please advise any estimates for other costs met for those staff on trade union facility time apart from salaries - including travel expenses, office supplies, telephone expenses and energy bills.
Response
1. The details of any office accommodation your organisation provides to staff to carry out trade union business. Please include details of:
* space measured in square feet
* how much of this space is contained within entirely separate buildings (i.e. occupied solely by staff carrying out trade union business)
* whether a professional valuation of the market rental value of the space has been sought either in-house or externally, and if so, what the valuation of the space was
* any charges the council levy for office space given to trade unions.
A: We don’t provide dedicated office space and the unions make their own arrangements but we allow access to meeting rooms.
2. Do you deduct trade union subscriptions for any of your employees via payroll (sometimes known as the "check off" system)? If so, do you charge a fee to the trade unions concerned for providing this service?
A: Yes, 2.5%
3. With regard to trade union facility time, please provide the total cost of facility time from your pay bill for the financial year 2024/25 and the budget for the current financial year. Please also advise the current number of employees that you fund to be union officials, measured as full time equivalents? (For guidance on definitions please refer to the Government's Transparency Code for local government:
A: The information you have requested is due to be published in August as part of our requirement mandatory requirement for local authorities in line with the Local Government Transparency Code. It will be published alongside the already published figures here: Staff and organisation information - Herefordshire Council
Therefore we consider your request to be exempt under Section 22 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 on the grounds that the information is intended for future publication.
This exemption is subject to a Public Interest Test and accordingly I have weighed the reasons for and against the release of the information in the public interest as follows:
The public interest in disclosure:
Openness and transparency regarding the facility time
The public interest in non-disclosure:
Herefordshire Council is not refusing to disclose the information, but is following a defined course of action before the information is made public.
The information is being finalised and checked and is intended for future publication as per the timescales indicated on the council's website. It is important when making decisions that the correct procedures are followed to ensure that matters are processed correctly and effectively.
Taking the above into consideration, I find the balance in favour of not disclosing the information until it is made public. Please take this letter as a refusal notice under S17 of the Act.
4. Please advise any estimates for other costs met for those staff on trade union facility time apart from salaries - including travel expenses, office supplies, telephone expenses and energy bills.
A: There are no other costs or expenses claimed
Documents
This is Herefordshire Council's response to a freedom of information (FOI) or environmental information regulations (EIR) request.
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