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.

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3,322 disclosures

  1. Out-of-repair footbridge on public footpath FWC2C

    As highway authority, Herefordshire Council has certain important duties in this regard, including, under section 130 of the Highways Act 1980, the duty to assert and protect the rights of the public to the use and enjoyment of all highways, including public rights of way. Moreover, section 41(1) of the Act provides that “… the highway authority for a highway maintainable at the public expense are under a duty … to maintain the highway.” (Just about all public rights of way are highways maintainable at the public expense.)

    The Act does not specify any particular standard of maintenance, though case-law shows that it must be such as to enable the passage of users at all times of the year. For most of the public footpath network, where people expect to find mud and varied terrain, the standard may not be very great. But it would be idle to argue that a footbridge so badly collapsed as to have required the prohibition of its use on safety grounds somehow measured up to an appropriate standard. This, however, has been the position for some time (along with many other similar footbridges in Herefordshire) with public footpath FWC2C at Fownhope, where the footbridge at grid reference SO 60163741 has fallen into such a state as to be dangerous to use.

    Instead of repairing the path pursuant to its duties under section 41, your Council closed the bridge by an order under section 14 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984. Such orders are described by the statute as

    “temporary”, so are clearly not meant as a means of avoiding the duty to maintain. (It is not clear if this order remains in force, since such orders expire after 6 months unless renewed by the Secretary of State. If it is in force, there is no notice to advise the public that they commit a punishable offence by trying to use what is left of the bridge.)

    Published: 17 October 2024

  2. Homelessness amongst people who are granted refugee status

    I am doing some research into homelessness amongst people who are granted refugee status in the UK. I would like to request the following information under Freedom of Information. The number of people who presented as homeless where the reason for the homeless presentation was recorded as “Required to leave accommodation provided by Home Office as asylum support” in 2023. The number of people who presented as homeless where the reason for the homeless presentation was recorded as “Required to leave accommodation provided by Home Office as asylum support” so far in 2024 broken down by month. Does your Council have an estimate of the number of people who will approach you for housing/homeless support between today’s date and the end of 2024 where the reason will be “Required to leave accommodation provided by Home Office as asylum support”.

    Published: 15 October 2024

  3. Severe Weather Emergency Protocol from 01/01/2021 to 31/03/2024

    We would like to know about how you implemented the Severe Weather Emergency Protocol from 01/01/2021 to 31/03/2024.

     

    1. Dates of SWEP activation since 01/01/2021

     

    This refers to the dates of every local authority Severe Weather Emergency Protocols activation since January 1st 2021 - activation is defined as when the weather has reached a prescribed threshold that is temperature based or aligned with the Cold-Heath Alert (CHA) System leading to emergency spaces for shelter being made available for people sleeping rough.

     

    2. Length of activation

     

    This refers to the duration of the SWEP activation. Please answer in hours. If accurate data on duration is not available, please answer to the nearest day (enter 24 hours for roughly one day, 48 hours for roughly two days etc).

     

    3. Total number of emergency spaces made available under SWEP

     

    This refers to the total number of spaces (including bed spaces and sit ups) made available under the Severe Weather Emergency protocols in your local authority area.

     

    4. Number of emergency spaces made available under SWEP specifically for young people

     

    This refers to the total number of spaces (including bed spaces and sit ups) that are specifically made available under SWEP to young people aged 16-25.

     

    5. Number of emergency spaces made available under SWEP specifically for groups defined as priority need in legislation

     

    This refers to the total number of spaces (including bed spaces and sit ups) that are specifically made available under SWEP to all peoples defined as priority need*

     

    Published: 15 October 2024

  4. Current Contracts

    Please provide me with the following information: Details of all contracts your authority currently holds with any of the following companies: - Celotex - Kingspan - Arconic - Arconic Architectural Products SAS - Saint-Gobain - Exova - Warringtonfire - Harley Facades - Rydon - Real Group For each contract held with any of the above, please list when the contract was awarded, its value, its purpose and when the contract is due to expire.

    Published: 14 October 2024

  5. Looked after children in P1 placements as of 01/09/24, 01/04/24 and 01/04/23

    Please can you inform us of the number of looked after children up have in P1 placements 'placement with parents' as of:

    1. 1st September 2024 - or the nearest date to this.

    2. April 1st 2024 - or the nearest date to this.

    3. April 1st 2023 - or the nearest date to this.

    Published: 11 October 2024

  6. Crematoria facilities for the last 4 years

    Please could you provide the following information for all crematoria facilities under your authority. If your authority is responsible for more than one crematorium, please provide data for each crematorium separately. Questions are listed in order of priority.

    1. Energy Consumption and Cost:

    • How much energy, in kilowatt-hours (kWh), was consumed via cremations for each of the past four years (year end 31st March, latest year being y/e 31st March 2024)?

    This is referring only to the energy consumption of the cremation itself, as opposed to ancillary energy use in the crematorium. If this information is not available, please provide total Scope 1 emissions from cremations over the same period as an alternative.

    • Could you please provide data on the cost of this energy consumption for each of the past four years (year end 31st March, latest year being y/e 31st March 2024)?

    2. Cremation Pricing and Frequency:

    • Could you please provide data on the average revenue received for an attended and an unattended cremation for each of the past four years (year end 31st March, latest year being y/e 31st March 2024)? This is referring to cremation fees charged. Please provide separate answers for attended and unattended cremations, if possible.

    • What is the total number of attended and unattended cremations that have taken place for each of the past four years (year end 31st March, latest year being y/e 31st March 2024) in your crematorium? Please provide separate answers for attended and unattended cremations, if possible.

    • Please also provide data on ‘ancillary’ cremation revenue received for each of the past four years (year end 31st March, latest year being y/e 31st March 2024). By ‘ancillary’, we mean any additional revenues received related to cremations, but outside of the core cremation fee. For example: cremation memorials / cremation plots, provision of in-house celebrant, photo tributes, etc.. Please provide data on this revenue broken down by type of revenue as is possible. If the information could be provided in a structured format in an excel format that would be much appreciated.

    Published: 11 October 2024

  7. Herefordshire Council Vehicle Fleet

    I am writing to you today under The Freedom of Information act. Please can you provide me with the following:

    1. Fleet Size and List.

    2. Value of vehicle hire expenditure for 2023.

    Published: 10 October 2024

  8. Spend on diversions of telecommunication utilities in 2022 and 2023

    I am writing to you under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 to request the following information please;

    1)a) How much is spent directly by the Council on the diversion of telecommunication utilities in 2022 and 2023?

    1)b) Of this amount, how much was spent with Openreach?

    1)c) How much was spent with Virgin Media?

    1)d) How much was spent with City Fibre?

    2) If known, how much is spent indirectly by the Council on the diversion of telecommunication utilities in 2022 and 2023, by paying developers to do this work on the council's behalf?

    3) Does the Council have any resources in-house (or externally) to audit these costs and mitigate them or reduce them in any way?

    Published: 10 October 2024

  9. Personal injury claims and road maintenance expenditures from 2013-2023

    I am writing to submit a Freedom of Information (FOI) request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. I am seeking detailed information regarding personal injury claims and road maintenance expenditures managed by Herefordshire Council over the past 10 years. Specifically, I would like to request the following information for each year from 2013 to 2023. Please provide the data broken down by each individual year, from 2013 to 2023.

    1) Total Amount Paid Out for Personal Injury Claims:

    a) The total amount of money paid out by the council for personal injury claims.

    2) Number of Personal Injury Claims:

    a) The total number of personal injury claims submitted to the council.

    3) Average Compensation Payout for Personal Injury Claims:

    a) The average amount of compensation paid out per personal injury claim.

    4) Expenditure on Fixing Potholes/Road Repairs:

    a) The total amount of money spent by the council on fixing potholes and other road repairs.

    5) Number of Highways Inspectors:

    a) The number of highways inspectors employed by the council.

    Published: 9 October 2024

  10. The Future of the county farm estate within the UK

    The purpose of this information request is to gather information on the current and future status of the county farm estate within the UK.

    1.     How many county farm holdings do you have?

     

    Number of holdings

    Number of acres

    Equipped (house, buildings and land)

     

     

     

    Non-equipped (buildings and land)

     

     

     

    Bare land only

     

     

     

     

     

    2.     What is the current structure of your county farm estate?

     

     

    Total number of tenants

     

    Average age of tenants

     

    Number of tenants who are new entrants to farming

     

    Number of tenants with no family history in agriculture

     

    Total net income from estate

     

    Total value of estate

     

     

     

    3.     Please complete the following table in relation of the movement of tenants on the estate over the past 3 years

     

    Number

    New tenancies granted

    To existing tenants

     

    To previously established farmers (not from county farms estate)

     

    New entrants to farming

     

     

     

    Progression of tenants

    To a new farm on county farm estate

     

    To private tenanted sector

     

    Purchased a farm

     

    Retired and moved off estate

     

    Left farming industry but not retired

     

    Unknown

     

     

    4.     What factors do you consider when considering a new tenant for a farm?

     

    5.     Have you sold any of your county farm holdings in the last 5 years?

     

    Yes

     

    No

     

     

    6.     If yes, please explain the factors which led to this decision.

     

     

    7.     Do you have any plans to dispose of any of your county farm holdings within the next 5 years?

     

    Yes

     

    No

     

     

    8.     If yes, please explain what factors have led to this decision.

     

     

     

    9.     Have you used any of your county farms to support wider council objectives e.g. the use of care farms or to support sustainability goals?

     

     

    10.  What do you consider are the five biggest benefits to the county farm estate?

     

    11.  What are the five biggest challenges that currently face the county farm estate?

     

    12.  What are your future plans for your county farm estate?

     

    Published: 7 October 2024