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.
1,821 disclosures
-
I am writing to request information under the Freedom of Information Act in relation to your authority's policies and practices in providing refunds under the planning guarantee legislation (Regulation 9A of the Town and Country Planning (Fees for Applications, Deemed Applications, Requests and Site Visits) (England) Regulations 2012) and more recent iterations.
1. Please detail how the authority determine an applicant's eligibility for a refund in accordance with the legislation.
2. Can you provide any official documentation, policies, or guidelines that outline the process and criteria for refund eligibility under the planning guarantee legislation? This would include any procedural steps that applicants must follow to initiate a refund request.
If the authority does not have any official documentation, policies or guidelines and has not sought to create this since the inception of the legislation can you provide an explanation why?
3. Are there circumstances, such as the statute of limitations, under which refunds would not be provided? If so, what are these circumstances? Any supporting written advice from your legal department would be of interest.
4. Has your authority been proactive in informing applicant's that they are due a refund of their planning application fees paid when they become eligible?
If the answer to 4 is no, could you explain the rationale behind this approach?
5. Has your authority been proactive in refunding applicant's fees when they become eligible?
a) If the answer to 5 is no, could you explain the rationale behind this approach?
b) If refunds are not proactively made, can you advise what happens to the funds from the unclaimed refunds, since the legislation was implemented?
6. Please provide the contact information for submitting refund requests i.e. the relevant person/team, contact telephone number and contact email address.
7. Please provide the contact information for the authority's Monitoring Officer, as their oversight may be relevant to my inquiries.
For the avoidance of doubt, the provision of individual names and contact details under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 does not give consent to receive direct marketing via any media and expressly does not constitute a 'soft opt-in' under PECR.
Published: 20 May 2024
-
I would like to request the following information regarding Tax Increment Financing (TIF) in your Council:
1) Is the Council currently making use of tax increment financing (retaining business rate increases above a set baseline, for a set period, in a designated area? For clarification, this practice is sometimes also known as 'business rate borrowing', although it does not have to involve borrowing.
2) If so,
a. Could you please provide a map of the designated area(s)?
b. Could you please provide a list of postcodes that fall within the designated area(s)?
c. Please provide a short description of the purpose of using TIF (e.g., for regeneration of the designated area). i. Has any investment taken place in relation to TIF? If so, could you please provide a short description of the type of investment, timelines, and amount invested?
d. When did the TIF mechanism come into effect, and for which period (e.g., in April 2013, for a period of 25 years).
e. Has the Council taken out any borrowing to be repaid through the retained business rates? If so, could you please state how much was borrowed, and who the lender was (e.g., £XX borrowed through bond issuance, £XX borrowed from the PWLB, etc.).
Published: 17 May 2024
-
Please state the number of dog poo bins that were in place in your area in:
a) 2024
b) 2023
c) 2022
If the number has declined, what was the reason for this?
Published: 16 May 2024
-
I would appreciate if you could answer the following questions relating to your electricity and gas contracts.
- Electricity Contracts
Please can you confirm the following information regarding the electricity contracts:
1. Who is your Electricity Supplier?
2. Do you purchase your electricity through a framework provider or third party broker?
3. Please confirm who the framework provider or broker is?
4. What is the contract end date of your electricity contract?
5. What is the estimated annual spend of the electricity contract?
6. Approximately how many non-half-hourly electricity supplies do you have in your portfolio?
7. Approximately, what is the annual consumption of non-half-hourly electricity supplies in kWHs?
8. Approximately how many half-hourly electricity supplies do you have in your portfolio?
9. Approximately, what is the annual consumption of HH electricity supplies in kWHs?
10. Approximately how many unmetered electricity supplies do you have in your portfolio?
11. Approximately, what is the annual consumption of unmetered electricity supplies in kWHs?
- Gas Contracts
Please can you confirm the following information regarding the gas contracts:
12. Who is your Gas Supplier?
13. Do you purchase your gas through a framework provider or third party broker?
14. Please confirm who the framework provider or broker is?
15. What is the contract end date of your gas contract?
16. What is the estimated annual spend of the gas contract?
17. Approximately how many gas electricity supplies do you have in your portfolio?
18. Approximately, what is the annual consumption of gas supplies in kWHs?
- Energy Management Systems or Energy Bureau Provider
Please can you confirm the following information regarding your energy management system or energy bureau provider?
19. Do you utilise an energy management or energy bureau software?
20. Is this service managed in house or through an external provider?
21. If an external provider, please confirm who the supplier is?
22. If an external provider, what is the contract end date of your agreement with them?
Published: 16 May 2024
-
Can you provide an up to date list of all roads within Herefordshire that currently have Section 38 or Section 278 highway agreements in relation to them?
Published: 16 May 2024
-
I am writing to you under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 to request the following information. Specifically, I would like to request:
1. The total number of noise complaints from residential properties received in the last three years.
2. The total number of noise abatement orders issued, and the number of fines issued (and value).
Published: 16 May 2024
-
This is a request for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and all other rights to (and guidance in respect of) information.
It relates to criminal proceedings under the Consumer Protection Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 ('the Regulations") and to the period between 1st January 2021 and 31st December 2023.
Please state in respect of each calendar year 2021, 2022 and 2023:
(1) The total number of prosecutions commenced by your council under regulations 8,9,10, 11 and 12 of the Regulations - a breakdown between regulations is not required under this first request.
(2) The total number of prosecutions commenced by your council under regulations 10 Regulations (whether solely under regulation 10 or under regulation 10 and other regulations).
Published: 15 May 2024
-
I would like to make the following FOI requests.
1. The names of the manufacturers that have contracts with your council to supply a) disposable vapes/e-cigarettes, and b)refillable vapes/e-cigarettes, under the NHS Swap to Stop scheme
2. The total number of a) disposable vapes/e-cigarettes, and b) refillable vapes/e-cigarettes given out by the council under the NHS Swap to Stop scheme
3. The value of the contracts awarded by your council to manufacturers of a) disposable vapes/e-cigarettes, and b)refillable vapes/e-cigarettes, under the NHS Swap to Stop scheme.
Published: 14 May 2024
-
Regarding the Council's next financial software tender, in particular for the software you use for your maintained schools.
Could you please let me know the below in relation to this:
• Supplier Name
• Spend (Total, Annual or contract value)
• Contract Duration
• Contract Extensions
• Contract Start Date
• Contract Expiry Date
• Contract Description [Please provide me with as much detail as possible.]
• Contact Owner (Person that manages the contract register)
Published: 14 May 2024
-
1. What was the total spend on your scheme in 2023/24?
2. How many applications did you receive to this scheme in 2023/24?
3. How many applications were successful in 2023/24?
4. What percentage of your entire scheme (including food, fuel and furniture support) was delivered via: · Cash · Vouchers · In-kind provision of goods
5. How much was spent on the provision of furniture, white goods and furnishings (including flooring and window coverings) in 2023/24? This includes cash, vouchers and the provision of the item itself.
6. What percentage of your furniture and appliance spend only was: · Cash · Vouchers · Provision of the item itself
7. (a) What percentage of your 2023/24 spend was funded by your core spending power (as opposed to additional Govt. funding provided via Section 31 grants, such as the Household Support Fund)
(b) What percentage of your 2023/24 spend came from the Household Support Fund?
(c) What other sources did you use to fund your LWA scheme in 2023/24 and what percentage of the scheme did each source make up respectively?
8. What is your budget for 2024/25?
9. What percentage of your 2024/25 budget is funded by your core spending power? If this budget is not 100% core funded, how is the remaining budget funded?
10. If your LWA budget for 2024/25 is smaller than in 2023/24, what percentage of the reduction is due to the expectation that the Household Support Fund would not be renewed?
The current tranche of the Household Support Fund is due to end on 31 September 2024. If no further funding is provided by central government after this date, how will this affect the funding for your Local Welfare Provision scheme from October 2024 to March 2025? Please select one of the below:
We will spend more on our Local Welfare Scheme
It will have no impact,
spending will remain at the same level throughout the year
Our local welfare provision budget will be reduced by: 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% - Include an estimate of the reduction here: _______
There will be no local welfare provision - we will close our scheme on 1 October 2024
If you have any further comments about LWA support or the Household Support Fund, please share it here.
Published: 14 May 2024