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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2,479 disclosures

  1. Distribution of Household Support Fund allocation and Local Welfare Assistance April 24 - Sept 24

    These questions relate to your current processes for distributing your latest Household Support Fund allocation (April 2024 - September 2024) and any Local Welfare Assistance Scheme you are operating. Please only share information about how you currently distribute these schemes and not how they have been distributed in the past.

    We understand that the late announcement of the extension of the Household Support Fund in the Chancellor’s Spring Budget may mean that you are still making spending decisions. Please write back to us answering each question below in order. If you would like to share additional evidence to illustrate your specific answers to our questions please do.

    Questions regarding the Household Support Fund (April 2024 - September 2024):

    1. How are you currently distributing the Household Support Fund to residents?

    2. Do you offer cash payments to residents as part of the Household Support Fund? This includes bank transfers or BACS payments, vouchers (such as Post Office vouchers or PayPoint vouchers which can be exchanged for cash), or direct cash payments. Please note - the definition of cash payments does not include supermarket vouchers or in-kind support.

    3. If you do offer cash payments, do you put any limitations on how residents can spend the payments? For example requesting payments are spent on food or household bills, and asking for evidence of how the money is spent.

    4. Are cash payments available to all residents or are only certain residents able to receive them? For example if you send bank transfers automatically to certain residents, but other residents can only apply for payments via supermarket vouchers.

    5. Are residents able to apply directly for help from schemes linked to the Household Support Fund? Or do they need to access support through another agency, or by being automatically eligible for support?

    Questions regarding any Local Welfare Assistance scheme you are running:

    By Local Welfare Assistance scheme, we mean a discretionary service which:

    - provides grants to your residents when facing a crisis (these grants may take the form of cash, vouchers or the item itself, e.g. a cooker).

    - has a claims process through which any member of the public can apply for support i.e. it is not targeted at specific cohorts of people.

    1. Please confirm if you have a Local Welfare Assistance Scheme. If you do please share its name and a link to its webpage and answer the questions below.

    2. How are you currently distributing your Local Welfare Assistance scheme to residents?

    3. Do you offer cash payments to residents as part of your Local Welfare Assistance scheme? This includes bank transfers or BACS payments, vouchers (such as Post Office vouchers or PayPoint vouchers which can be exchanged for cash), or direct cash payments. It does not include supermarket vouchers or in-kind payments.

    4. If you do offer cash payments, do you put any limitations on how residents can spend the payments? For example requesting payments are spent on food or household bills, and asking for evidence of how the money is spent.

    5. Are cash payments available to all residents or are only certain residents able to receive them? For example if you send bank transfers automatically to certain residents, but other residents can only apply for payments via supermarket vouchers.

    Published: 11 June 2024

  2. Council Tax Liability Orders and Enforcement Procedures

    Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, I am requesting detailed information concerning the procedures and documentation related to the issuance and enforcement of Council Tax Liability Orders by Herefordshire Council.

    This request is particularly focused on understanding compliance with Regulation 35 of the Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992, especially following amendments that removed the requirement for liability orders to be issued in prescribed forms (such as Form A and Form B).

    1. Documentation and Verification of Liability Orders

    1.1 In the absence of prescribed forms, what type of documentation does Herefordshire Council use to establish the legality and enforceability of Council Tax liability orders?

    1.2 How does this documentation comply with the legal requirements for enforceability?

    2. Procedure for issuing Liability Orders

    2.1 Please provide a detailed, step-by-step breakdown of the procedure followed by the council to issue liability orders for Council Tax debts, including any internal checks or reviews to ensure compliance.

    3. Authority for Enforcement Actions

    3.1 How does the council ensure it possesses the requisite legal authority to enforce council tax debts in the absence of a court issued Liability Order?

    3.2 What documents or records are relied upon to initiate enforcement actions, such as sending Enforcement Agents or applying for Charging Orders?

    3.3 Please explain how the council's enforcement actions comply with Section 35(3) of the Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992, especially how Liability Orders are made enforceable in accordance with these regulations? 

    3.4 Detail the legal authority granted to enforcement agents acting on behalf of the council in evidence their authority, and how does this comply with legal requirements?

    4. Impact of Regulatory Charges on Council Practices

    4.1 How have the legislative changes, particularly the removal  of prescribed forms, impacted the council's procedures for enforcing Council Tax debts? What adjustments have been made to ensure continued legal compliance?

    5. Compliance with Legal Standards

    5.1 How does Herefordshire Council ensure compliance with the legal standards set out in the amended Regulation 35 when applying for and enforcing Liability Orders?

    5.2 Could you provide examples of internal reviews or audits conducted to ensure that enforcement actions for council tax debts are legally supported?

    6. Requests for Liability Order Documentation

    6.1 How does Herefordshire Council respond to requests from individuals for documentation proving the existence of Liability Order against them?

    6.2 Given the removal of Form A and Form B, what documents are provided to inhabitants who require the Judicially executed court document that provides a 3rd party, like an enforcement agent, with authority to enforce the Liability Order?

     

    Published: 10 June 2024

  3. SEN information for the financial years 2020/21 to 2023/24

    Under the Freedom of Information Act, I would like to request the following information regarding care and education for children with special educational needs (SEN).

    Please kindly include responses on the attached Excel spreadsheet.

    I am aware of data published by the Department for Education. However, the ‘Education, health and care plans' data set (https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/education-health-and-care-plans) does not provide any granular breakdown by primary type of SEN need. I am also aware of the 'Special education needs in England' data set (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-special-educational-needs-sen), which includes the number of pupils with SEN by primary type of need but excludes independent special schools, meaning that it cannot be directly compared or combined with the ‘Education, health and care plans' data set.

    Published: 10 June 2024

  4. Council tax arrears 2018-2024

    I would like to make a freedom of information request for:

    The number of people in your LA currently in council tax arrears.

    And the number of people in council tax arrears in your LA May 2022/2023.

    The number of people in council tax arrears in your LA 2018/2019.

    The number of liability orders made in 2023/24 in your LA.

    The number of liability orders made in 2022/23 in your LA.

    The number of liability orders made in 2021/22 in your LA.

    Published: 10 June 2024

  5. Non-Domestic Completion Notices from 01/04/2024

    Under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 please could I request a list of Non-Domestic Completion Notices served by the authority from 01/04/2024 to the present date.

    I would be grateful if the list could include:

    • The property reference number (otherwise known as billing authority reference number).

    • The address of the property to which the notice relates.

    • The date the notice was served .

    • The completion date recorded.

    • The business or person to whom the notice was served.

    • Address to where the Notice was sent.

    • Whether the notice was issued by the billing authority or a third party.

    Published: 10 June 2024

  6. Number of Planning Performance Agreements (PPAs) from 2010 to present date

    I would like to request the number of planning performance agreements (PPAs) agreed by Herefordshire Council from the beginning of 2010 to the present day, or as recent as the data goes. The data should be provided in a yearly format.

    Published: 7 June 2024

  7. Private Fostering Arrangements

    How many children are currently being privately fostered: an arrangement in which a child lives in the care of someone who is not the child’s parents, a person with parental responsibility for the child, or a relative of the child for a period of 28 days or more.

    Of these, how many are with a private foster carer who did not notify the local authority before the arrangement began?

    Please could you detail what checks the LA carries out on private foster carers?

    Can you confirm a social worker always conducts a visit and check of the premises within seven days of being notified of an arrangement?

    Published: 7 June 2024

  8. Personal Injury compensation paid to students under Local Authorities Responsibility

    1.  In the last financial year (2023/24) how much money did you pay to students, who attended school under your authority's responsibility, as compensation for personal injuries?

    2. How many individual claims did this represent?

    3. For all payments in excess of £2,000 please state the amount of compensation and a brief description of the nature of the claim, e.g. Fall from climbing frame (£2,100), Fingers trapped in door (£3,150).

    4. In relation to all claims for compensation for personal injury referred to in Q.1 how many of these claims were for injuries sustained as a result of an attack or assault from another student?

    5. What was the total compensation paid to students who were attacked or assaulted by fellow students?

    Note: These 5 questions relate to compensation claims paid in 2023/24 irrespective of when the actual injury incident took place or when the claim was lodged. No details of costs and payments to solicitors are requested.

    Published: 7 June 2024

  9. Council tax liability orders and enforcement procedures

    Under the Freedom of information Act 2000, I am requesting detailed information concerning the procedures and documentation related to the issuance & enforcement of council tax liability orders by Herefordshire Council.

    The request is particularly focused on understanding compliance with Regulation 35 of the Council Tax (Administration & Enforcement) Regulations 1992, especially following amendments that removed the requirement for liability orders to be issued in prescribed forms (such as Form A & Form B)

    1. Documentation & Verification of Liability Orders

    1.1 In the absence of prescribed forms, what type of documentation does Herefordshire Council use to establish the legality & enforceability of Council Tax liability orders?

    1.2 How does the documentation comply with the legal requirements for enforceability?

    2. Procedure for issuing Liability Orders

    2.1 Please provide a detailed step-by-step breakdown of the procedure followed by the council to issue liability orders for Council Tax debts, including any internal checks or reviews to ensure compliance.

    3. Authority for Enforcement Actions

    3.1 How does the council ensure it processes the requisite legal authority to enforce council tax debts in the absence of court issued liability order?

    3.2 What documents or records are relied upon to initiate enforcement actions, such as sending Enforcement Agents or apply for charging orders?

    3.3 Please explain how the council's enforcement actions comply with Section 35(3) of the Council Tax (Administration & Enforcement) Regulations 1992, especially how liability orders are made enforceable in accordance with these regulations?

    4. Impact of Regulatory Changes on Council Practices

    4.1 How have the legislative changes, particularly the removal of prescribed forms, impacted the council's procedures for enforcing Council Tax debts? What adjustments have been made to ensure continued legal compliance?

    5. Compliance with Legal Standards

    5.1 How does Herefordshire Council ensure compliance with the legal standards set out in the amended Regulation 35 when applying for & enforcing liability orders?

    5.2 Could you provide examples of internal reviews or audits conducted to ensure that enforcement actions for council tax debts are legally supported?

    6. Requests for Liability Order Documentation

    6.1 How does Herefordshire Council respond to requests from individuals for documentation proving the existence of a liability order against them?

    6.2 Given the removal of Form A & Form B, what documents are provided to inhabitants who require the judicially executed court document that provides a 3rd party, like an enforcement agent, with authority to enforce the Liability Order?

    Published: 7 June 2024

  10. Monies received and allocated for Section 106 agreements

    In accordance with the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, I write with 4 separate requests for information.

    1. How much money received via Section 106 agreements is currently held, unspent, by the local planning authority?

    2. How much of this figure (Q1) is allocated for:

    a) affordable housing provision,

    b) highways/roads,

    c) schools and education contributions,

    d) social infrastructure (e.g. recreation, open spaces, play areas),

    e) health and social care services,

    f) un-allocated?

    3. How much of this figure (Q1) was received:

    a) in the 2023/24 or 2024/25 financial years,

    b) between the 2019/20 and 2022/23 financial years (inclusive),

    c) in the 2018/19 financial year or earlier?

    4. How much money received via Section 106 agreements has been returned to the developer within the last ten years (2013/14 financial year onwards), due to it not being spent in the required time frame?

    If the reason for returning money to the developer has not been recorded, please just put here the total amount of Section 106 money that has been returned to developers for any reason.

    Published: 6 June 2024