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.

Filters

Clear filters

  • Keywords filters

  • Year filters

  • Month filters

2,638 disclosures

  1. Children with a Statement or EHC Plan in an Independent Special School from 2020/21 to 2024/25

    Under the Freedom of Information Act, I would like to request the following information regarding placements and spending for Children with a Statement or EHC Plan in an Independent Special School. Please provide answers on the attached accompanying Excel spreadsheet.

    1. Please could you supply the name, job title, email address and telephone number of the commissioner with responsibility for children and young people's Special Educational Needs (SEN) school placements.

    2. Please provide the total number of children and young people with a Statement of SEN or Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan who are in placement at an Independent Special School, as at 31 March, with a primary diagnosis of;

    a) Severe Learning Difficulty (SLD)

    b) Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

    Please provide data as at 31 March for the five years from 2020/21 to 2024/25.

    3. Please provide the total number of children and young people with a Statement of SEN or EHC Plan who are in placement at an Independent Special School: day placement, as at 31 March, with a primary diagnosis of;

    a) Severe Learning Difficulty (SLD)

    b) Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

    Please provide data as at 31 March for the five years from 2020/21 to 2024/25.

    4. Please provide the total number of children and young people with a Statement of SEN or EHC Plan who are in placement at an Independent Special School: 38 or 52 week placement, as at 31 March, with a primary diagnosis of;

    a) Severe Learning Difficulty (SLD)

    b) Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

    Please provide data as at 31 March for the five years from 2020/21 to 2024/25.

    5. Please provide a list of Independent Special School providers used by the council, as at 31 July 2025, to place children and young people with a Statement of SEN or EHC Plan, in a day placement, with a primary support need of a SLD or ASD, with fees per child or young person of £2,000 or more per week

    a) Please provide the number of children and young people being funded by the Council with each provider, as at 31 July 2025

    b) Please provide total Council expenditure with each provider, as at 31 July 2025

    Please state which timescale was used if data as at 31 July 2025 wasn't available.

    6. Please provide the number of children and young people with a Statement of SEN or EHC Plan with a primary support need of a SLD or ASD, in a day placement at an Independent Special School, with fees per week, as at 31 July 2025, of:

    a) Less than £500

    b) £500 to £749

    c) £750 to £999

    d) £1,000 to £1,249

    e) £1,250 to £1,499

    f) £1,500 to £1,999

    g) £2,000 to £2,499

    h) £2,500 or more

    Please state which timescale was used if data as at 31 July 2025 wasn't available.

    Please do let me know if there is any clarity that I can provide.

    Published: 17 October 2025

  2. Local Plans Layers

    I hope this message finds you well. I am writing to formally request the provision of the most recent Local plans shape file in vector format for Herefordshire. Currently, the mapped local plans maps cannot be assessed in sufficient detail, and having access to them in vector format is crucial for our analysis for planning purposes. I am happy to receive map/shape files in any recognised vector format which contains the coordinates describing the shape of the local plans, so can be used in GIS software. As local plans are part of land designation, these shape files should be publicly accessible. Therefore, I kindly ask that you provide these shape files in a compatible vector format. If the shape files are not available, please provide information about any Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) that you may have relating to conservation areas. Such APIs will help us accessing the files directly without the use of email. Please treat this request under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act, ensuring that the files and documentation are provided in the requested formats. Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter. I look forward to your response and the provision of the requested information.

    Published: 17 October 2025

  3. Dog-breeding licensing and enforcement (2022–2024)

    Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, please provide the following information regarding your council’s regulation of dog-breeding establishments under the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018 or the equivalent legislation in Wales (the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (Wales) Regulations 2021).

    Please supply figures for each of the past three calendar years (2022, 2023 and 2024). If your records are held by financial year rather than calendar year, please provide data for 2021/22, 2022/23 and 2023/24 instead.

    If any part of this request would exceed the Section 12 cost limit (£450 for local authorities, calculated at £25 per hour), please process as much of it as possible within that limit, and advise which parts could be refined to remain compliant.

    Please provide the following:

    (1) Number of dog-breeding licences currently issued by your authority.

    (2) Number of new licence applications received and number refused each year.

    (3) Total income received from dog-breeding licence fees each year.

    (4) Total expenditure on administering and enforcing these licences each year (including officer time, inspections and related costs).

    (5) Number of full-time-equivalent (FTE) officers responsible for animal-licensing inspection and enforcement in each year.

    (6) Number of inspections carried out at licensed breeding premises each year.

    (7) Number of inspections carried out at unlicensed or suspected breeding premises each year.

    (8) Number of dog-breeding licences revoked, suspended, or not renewed each year.

    (9) If held, the number of formal investigations or enforcement actions relating to breaches of dog-breeding licence conditions or unlicensed breeding, broken down (where recorded) by:

     a. Investigations initiated

     b. Formal warnings / improvement notices issued

     c. Fixed-penalty notices issued

     d. Cautions administered

     e. Prosecutions commenced

     f. Prosecutions resulting in conviction

    (10) Does the council maintain a public register of licensed dog breeders?

     10a. If yes, please provide the URL or explain how the public may access it.

     10b. If no, please confirm whether an internal register exists.

    Please provide the data in spreadsheet format (Excel or CSV), where possible. Where exact figures are not held, please provide your best available estimate or state “information not held.” If data are stored across systems, you may provide annual totals rather than extract individual records.

    Published: 17 October 2025

  4. Council Tax Debt Recovery

    We are conducting some research into council tax debt collection, as it impacts our clients significantly, and as such I am making a Freedom of Information Request. I am noting that the request has been made on the 18th September and therefore I look forward to hearing from you by the 16th October. In more detail, I ask that you please provide by email copies of the standard template letters or digital communications your council issues to residents in relation to Council Tax arrears, specifically:

    1. The initial reminder notice issued as part of the arrears or recovery process, as per requirements under Regulation 23 of The Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992.

    2. The second reminder notice, issued in the event that a resident has rectified one missed instalment but gone on to miss a second instalment over a given annual period.

    3. The final notice issued once the resident has lost the right to pay by instalments and prior to any further enforcement action, as per requirements under Regulation 33 of The Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992.

    4. Any additional reminder notices or discretionary communications issued to residents with Council Tax arrears, including between the first reminder notice and final notice being issued (prior to a court summons).

    For each, please include:

    • The full wording of the standard template

    • Any headers, footers, or formatting used in the letter or digital communications • The typical method of delivery (e.g. post, email)

    • Any differences in the templates based on resident circumstances (e.g. prior arrears, benefits status, vulnerability) In addition, please can you inform us of:

    The total number of households against which you started imprisonment committal proceedings relating to unpaid council tax, for each year from 2020.

    Published: 16 October 2025

  5. Unregulated care packages

    1) How much has your LA spent in unregulated care/crisis intervention for children for each of the last three financial years? Please list the total amount spent for 2024-25, 2023-24, 2022-23 (if financial year not completed please include spend to date)

    2) How many children are currently in unregulated packages of care (non/Ofsted registered provisions)

    3) How many crisis packages have you commissioned in each of the last three calendar months? September 2025, August 2025, July 2025.

    4) Please list each of the companies that has provided an unregulated care package in each of the following months (and how many packages they look after) September 2025, August 2025, July 2025, June 2025, May 2025, April 2025.

    5) Please confirm how many of these are via a tendered framework of providers and how many packages have been 'spot purchased'.

    6) How many of these children have been placed out of county?

    7) Do any children currently require packages of care where placements have broken down and you are unable to find solutions? If so, how many children currently require accommodation?

    Published: 16 October 2025

  6. Highway A4110 Aymestrey Road Works

    Highway A4110 adjacent to Wit's End, Aymestrey HR6 9ST

    The works have involved excavating the road surface to expose and repair a leaking water pipe crossing the highway in this location. These repeatedly ineffective works have taken place on numerous occasions over the last few years. Most recently they have involved digging up (several times) the new surface of the completely resurfaced highway.

    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

    CLARIFICATION: My request is that the Council supply information as to when Welsh Water has requested and been granted permissions for highway works and associated matters (e.g. traffic lights) at this location. Further details are in my previous emails. So the question is when and on what dates.

    Published: 15 October 2025

  7. Melatonin Products

    I am writing to make a request for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. This request relates to enforcement activity concerning unlicensed melatonin products, such as melatonin gummies, supplements, capsules, or other forms of presentation, which are not authorised as licensed medicines in the UK. I would be grateful if you could provide the following information held by your authority (or, if more appropriate, by your Trading Standards team) for the period 1 January 2020 to the most recent available date: 1. The number of reports, complaints, or referrals received concerning unlicensed melatonin products

    2. The number of seizures, detentions, or removals of such products undertaken or recorded by your authority

     

    3. The total estimated value of products seized (if available)

     

    Published: 14 October 2025

  8. Data for the Luston Integrated Constructed Wetland (ICW) recorded on a weekly basis

    Please provide the following data for the Luston Integrated Constructed Wetland (ICW) recorded on a weekly basis: Inflow phosphate levels (mg/l) Outfall phosphate levels (mg/l) Flow rate (m3/hr) Date range: from inception to current day

    Published: 14 October 2025

  9. Empty properties exempt from Council Tax

    I am writing to request information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

    I am seeking data relating to properties within your authority area that are currently exempt from Council Tax under the following classes:

    Class E – Property left empty where the liable person is in hospital.

    Class F – Property left empty following the death of the liable person.

    Specifically, I request: Please provide the number of properties in each full postcode (not just the outward or first-half code) where either Class E or Class F exemptions are applied. If available without exceeding cost limits, a breakdown of the count per exemption class (E and F) within each full postcode. If this level of detail would exceed cost limits, I am willing to accept a single combined total count of properties (E + F) per full postcode.

    Purpose and Public Interest This request is made in the public interest.

    I am conducting research to: Understand housing availability and long-term vacancy patterns in the local area. Track the extent to which properties remain empty during the probate process, which can inform local and national housing policy. Empty homes are a matter of national concern, and greater transparency on exemption data will help inform evidence-based policy solutions. Crime Risk and Mitigation I am aware of refusals under Section 31(1)(a) (prevention of crime).

    I respectfully submit that: My request does not seek full property addresses, only aggregated postcode-level counts, eliminating the risk of properties being individually identified. Classes E and F typically relate to properties under legal control (executors or solicitors), which are no more vulnerable than those already published through Land Registry data.

    Aggregated data poses no realistic risk of unauthorised occupation or criminal activity. I am happy for the data to be provided in spreadsheet (Excel or CSV) format if possible.

    Published: 13 October 2025

  10. Procurement of telecare services

    1) Please email me a copy of the specification used to tender telecare services eventually awarded to NRS Healthcare in April 2025.

    2) Please email me a copy of the report that approved the council seeking a new contract via tender that eventually led to the award of contract to NRS Healthcare.

    3) Please email me a copy of the report that approved the award of the tender to NRS Healthcare.

    4) Please email me a copy of the report that approved the subsequent award of telecare service provision to Careium following the liquidation of NRS Healthcare.

    Published: 13 October 2025