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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3,289 disclosures

  1. Flooding incidents at council-run sports facilities from 2013 to present

    Can I please request, in the form of a spreadsheet such as Excel or CSV file, information on flooding incidents at council-run sports facilities. The flooding incidents should be in relation to weather-related incidents only (i.e. not as a result of plumbing incidents).

    For the years 2013 to present I would like the following information for each flooding incident:

    1. Date of flooding incident

    2. Name of sports facility flooded

    3. Address of sports facility

    4. Description of area flooded - football pitch, rugby field, gym, etc.

    5. Cost of damage/repairs (£)

    6. Information if the facility had to be closed and if so, for how long

    Published: 23 September 2024

  2. Provider to manage Court of Protection, Deputyships, Appointeeships

    1. Do you currently use an external provider to manage your Court of Protection, Deputyships, Appointeeships, and if so, what is the provider’s name? If not, is the Council looking at outsourcing this area in the next 3-5 years?

    2. What date does the current contract expire (if applicable)?

    3. What is the name, email address and phone number of the person and team that manages the Contract/ or potential contract?

    4. Which services within the Council or associated partners have an agreement with the provider (if applicable?)

    5. What is the annual cost of this contract (if applicable)?

    6. Does the Council have a preferred suppliers list for solicitors/companies undertaking Deputyships/Appointeeships where service user is over threshold, if so please supply details?

    7. If the Council does have a preferred supplier list please confirm the name, email address and contact number for the person and team that manage this list.

    8. How many Deputyships and Corporate Appointeeships does the Council currently manage?

    9. How many referrals have been made to the Council for Deputyships in the last 3 years?

    10. How long on average does it take from initial referral to the application for Deputyship being submitted to the Court of Protection?

    Published: 23 September 2024

  3. Tier 2 weight management services

    I would be most grateful if you would provide me, under the Freedom of Information Act, details in respect to the Tier 2 weight management services, or integrated lifestyle services including weight management.

     

    The details I require are:

    1.          Do you currently commission a tier 2 weight management service for adults, or an integrated lifestyle service including weight management for adults?

     

    2.          Start date & duration of framework/contract? Is there an extension clause in the framework(s)/contract(s) and, if so, the duration of the extension?

     

    3.          Is/Are the framework(s)/contract(s) being extended or renewed? If they are going out to tender, when is the ITT expected to be released?

     

    4.          How many service users were supported through these weight management services to date?

      

    5.          What are the contractual performance KPI's for this contract/the weight management service aspect of this contract? Can you please outline which of these have achieved/not achieved? (Actual outcomes would be appreciated if available)

       

    6.          Suppliers who applied for inclusion on each framework/contract and were successful & not successful at the PQQ & ITT stages

     

    7.          Indicated budget for this contract/framework at ITT stage, and actual spend on this contract/framework (and any sub lots), from the start of the contract to the current date

     

    8.          Could you please provide a copy of the service/product specification given to all bidders for when this contract was last advertised?

     

    9.      Who is the senior officer (outside of procurement) responsible for this contract?

     

    Published: 20 September 2024

  4. Looked After Children Placements/budgets

    Under the Freedom of Information Act, I would like to request the following information regarding Looked After Children (also referred to as LAC, children in care, or children looked after by a local authority) Please kindly include responses on the attached spreadsheet.

    1. Please could you supply the name, job title, email address and telephone number of the commissioner with responsibility for Looked After Children and/or placements in children’s care homes. For questions 2 through 6, please supply the following information for the financial years 2020/21 to 2023/24, and where possible, the budget or most up to date snapshot available for 2024/25.

    2. Please provide the total number of children looked after by the local authority (please include all placements at any point throughout the financial year).

    3. Please provide the local authority’s total expenditure on placements for looked after children in regulated children’s homes (this is the total spend on all looked after children and should exclude expenses related to travel, social work visits etc).

    4. Of the total number of children looked after by the local authority (q.2) please provide the number of placements in children’s homes (not including unregulated children’s homes, secure units or hostels)

    5. Of the total number of children looked after by the local authority in regulated children’s homes (q.4) please provide the number placed inside the local authority boundary (in area) and the number placed outside the local authority boundary (out of area). Please exclude unregulated children’s homes.

    6. Of the number of children looked after by the local authority in regulated children’s homes, please provide the number of children looked after by the local authority in:

    • In placements inside the local authority boundary, in ‘own provision’ (operated by the local authority)

    • In placements outside the local authority boundary, in ‘own provision’ (operated by the local authority)

    • In placements inside the local authority boundary, in ‘private provision’ (operated by the independent sector)

    • In placements outside the local authority boundary, in ‘private provision’ (operated by the independent sector)

    7. For the current financial year (or as recent as possible, provide date), please provide the highest, average (mean), and lowest weekly fee paid for LAC in a regulated children’s home (please include all placements in regulated children’s homes, including those in and outside of the local authority boundary, as well as those operated by the local authority, the independent sector, and others).

    Published: 20 September 2024

  5. Households accommodated under section 17 of the Children Act 1989.

    Freedom of Information request: Households accommodated under section 17 of the Children Act 1989. We would like to understand how many families are being provided with accommodation under section 17 of the Children Act 1989.

    These could be households provided with accommodation under section 17 for a range of reasons, including: because they did not qualify for accommodation under the 1985 and 1996 Housing Acts because they were not eligible for assistance because they were eligible for assistance but were found to be intentionally homeless.

    We would only like to collect information on the number of families that are currently in housing provided under section 17 of the Children Act. Please note we are not asking for information on households housed in Temporary Accommodation under housing or homelessness legislation. It is our understanding that this information will be held at the county/unitary authority level, as that is how social services departments are configured. We would be very grateful for your help.

    THE REQUEST: I would like to request the following information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

    1. The number of households living in accommodation provided by the local authority under section 17 of the Children Act 1989 on 30th June 2024 (or most recent data available)

    2. (if available) The total number of adults living in these households on 30th June 2024 (or most recent data available)

    3. (if available) The total number of children living in these households on 30th June 2024 (or most recent data available) We understand that many authorities will hold some but not all the information requested. Where this is the case, we would appreciate it if you could provide the information that you do hold and to mark others as ‘Not available’.

    For ease, please place the requested figures into the table below: Total number of households living in accommodation provided by the local authority under section 17 of the Children Act 1989 at the end of June 2024:

    x Total number of adults in these households:

    x Total number of children in these households:

    x

    EXEMPTIONS: Section 12: I understand that one exemption that may apply to this request is that described at Section 12(1) - 12(4) of the Freedom of Information Act, where “the authority estimates that the cost of complying with the request would exceed the appropriate limit”. If the Council does refuse the request by relying on Section 12, I would respectfully ask that it comply with the Information Commissioner’s advice and confirm whether or not the information is held by the Council. I respectfully ask that you advise us of any parts of the request that it would be possible to complete within the appropriate limit, and provide that information.  

    Section 16: Further, I am available to help and assist the Council, and would be happy to refine the request, in order to reduce the time needed to provide the information requested. I would respectfully ask that the Council consider its duty “to provide advice and assistance” as set out at Section 16 of the Act. The Information Commissioner states in advice that the “a public authority should consider in these circumstances...how it can provide advice and assistance to help an applicant narrow, reform or refocus their request…”

    Section 21: If this information described in Questions 1, 2 and 3 of this request is already publicly available and therefore exempt under Section 21 of the Act, I respectfully request that the Council inform me of where specifically it can be found. Public Interest: I do not believe that any of the Freedom of Information Act exemptions should apply to the information requested. However, in the case that the Council argues otherwise I now present some arguments as to why it would be in the public interest - and indeed in the interests of the Council and the people it serves - to release the information I have requested. There is a bias toward disclosure in the Freedom of Information Act itself, as there is a general public interest in transparency in public affairs. There is a clear public interest in the efficient administration of public money and resources. There is a legitimate aim in greater transparency in the inner workings and process of the management of help for households in need of housing assistance. The publication of the information requested serves the interest of homeless households themselves in achieving greater transparency about their own housing situation. Publication will enable charities in this sector to target resources at areas where people are in need, and where councils are having to provide assistance to many households.

    Published: 20 September 2024

  6. Direct payments for Care Act services

    1) How many of your authority's customers are in receipt of a direct payment for Care Act services, please?

    2) What was the combined value of all Care Act budgets (Adult & Children) delivered through direct payments made in 2023 and 2022, please?

    3) What is the median amount of a gross direct payment made on behalf of your organisation?

    4) How frequently are direct payments made (i.e., weekly, fortnightly, 28 days or calendar month). Please provide a breakdown, thank you.

    5) How many of your direct payment clients receive their payment into a prepaid card or managed account? Please provide a breakdown of the numbers, thank you.

    6) What is the applicable contract length with these providers and when do these arrangements come up for renewal?

    7) Does your authority use prepaid cards to disburse funds to other people (i.e., asylum seekers, refugees, homeless). If so, please can you provide a breakdown of the median amount, recipient category, frequency of funds disbursed and the total value of funds made in 2023 and 2022, please?

    Published: 19 September 2024

  7. Potholes reported between 01/05/2024 and 13/08/2024

    Please can you provide a list of all potholes (together with job number, reports from the public, location data and any other details or description of each pothole) reported between 1 May 2024 and 13 August 2024 on:

    - the B4214 from its junction with the B4220 (Cottons Corner) to its junction with the A4103 (Hop Pocket); and

    - the A4103 from its junction with the B4214 (Hop Pocket) to its junction with the A465 (Aylestone Hill); and

    - the A465 from its junction with the B4349 (Dunan) to its junction with Dean Pool, Kingstone, HR2 9ES.

    Please also provide the date of each report and the date on which each pothole was repaired.

    Published: 18 September 2024

  8. VAT on Adult or Children care

    Please can you confirm if your authority has paid fees to any of your suppliers of Adult or Children care plus standard rated VAT (at 20%) at any time within the last six months?

     

    If yes, can you confirm:

     

    A)   The names of the care provider organisations (adult and/or children services) who you are paying plus VAT at standard rate (20%).

     

    B)   When did the council start paying these providers VAT.

     

    Published: 17 September 2024

  9. Food Business contact details

    Planet Buffet, 47 Commercial Rd, Hereford HR1 2BJ We have been requested to supply food and dinks to the above business. Part of our due diligence process, we have to check if they have registered their food business with the Council and the name of the person/company who is registered. May I request the name of the person/company who has registered with the Council for the Food Business please?

    Published: 17 September 2024

  10. Highways Maintenance Request

    Please could you respond to the following questions, regarding highways delivery.

     

    -       Do you use contractors or self-deliver highways maintenance for your local authority?

    -       If a contractor is used for a PFI contract, when did this contract commence and when does it end?

    -      Have you considered using innovated materials to fix road defects?

     

    -       Which highways maintenance contractors and sub contractors do you (or your wider main contractor) use and what activity are they responsible for?

     

    -       What plant machinery is used in your highways maintenance, both yours and your contractors / rental partners?

    -       What measurement criteria is used to assess the contractor’s performance?

    How have they performed over a 12 month period?

    -       What is the spending and workforce associated to each of the following – planned highways maintenance, reactive highways maintenance, capital schemes?

    -       Who is the individual(s) that assess the assets and machinery used in your highway maintenance?

    -      Do you provide your own PPE?

    -       What measurement do you use to identify the longevity of the highways maintenance fix?

    -       What innovation have you trailed for highway maintenance?

     

    Published: 17 September 2024