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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2,859 disclosures

  1. Repayment of S106 Contributions

    With regard to residential developments, and focusing on contributions and expenditure, we would kindly request your assistance in supplying the information below.

    For Section 106 documents signed between 1st January 2010 and 31st December 2014 please can you supply the following:

    a) That S106 contributions were received 

    b) all monies unspent/unexpended 

    c) all monies uncommitted 

    d) all corresponding planning references numbers 

    e) any funds that have been returned to the payee

    f) any money sat in account where claw back clause has expired Thank you very much for your help.

    Published: 4 March 2026

  2. Non-duty-paid cigarettes

    I would like to request the following information:

    1. How many retailers in your area have been found to have sold non-duty-paid cigarettes in 2022/23?

    1a. If data is available, please provide the value of the cigarettes seized (2022/23)

    2. How many retailers in your area have been found to have sold non-duty-paid cigarettes in 2023/24? 2a. If data is available, please provide the value of the cigarettes seized (2023/24)

    3. How many retailers in your area have been found to have sold non-duty-paid cigarettes in 2024/25?

    3a. If data is available, please provide the value of the cigarettes seized (2024/25)

    4. How many retailers in your area have been found to have sold non-duty-paid cigarettes in 2025/26 so far?

    4a. If data is available, please provide the value of the cigarettes seized (2025/26) Please respond in an email or Excel format and label responses with 1, 1a etc.

    Published: 4 March 2026

  3. Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) Tribunal Expenditure

    Information requested For each financial year listed above, please provide total spend (rounded to the nearest £1,000 if necessary) for the following categories:

    1. External legal costs Including but not limited to:

    * Payments to solicitors, barristers, or legal firms relating to SEND tribunal cases

    * Retainer arrangements for SEND/EHCP tribunal work (please state whether a retainer exists and the annual value)

    * Disbursements and associated legal expenses

    2. Internal staffing and teams Including:

    * Costs associated with dedicated EHCP tribunal teams, SEND legal teams, or casework teams whose work includes tribunal preparation or attendance

    * Where specific tribunal teams do not exist, please provide estimated staffing costs attributable to tribunal-related work (e.g. percentage of role function)

    3. Complaints and dispute resolution linked to tribunals Including:

    * Costs associated with formal complaints, dispute resolution, mediation, or pre-tribunal processes where these relate to EHCP appeals 4. Tribunal-related fees and charges Including:

    * Any payments made by the Local Authority in connection with SEND tribunal proceedings, including payments to HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS), expert witnesses commissioned for tribunal purposes, or other tribunal-related charges where such costs are borne by the Local Authority

    Published: 4 March 2026

  4. Herefordshire Climate Assembly

    I am writing to request information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 regarding the Herefordshire Climate Assembly (or similarly titled citizens’ assembly on climate change). Please could you provide:

    1. The total number of facilitators engaged for the Climate Assembly process.

    2. Information on how expert witnesses/speakers were selected, specifically: Whether they were selected by the Council, by the facilitation team, by participants, or through another process. Any documented criteria, guidance, or decision-making process used for their selection.

    3. Information on how the Assembly’s final recommendations were drafted, specifically: Who was responsible for drafting the recommendations (e.g., participants directly, facilitators, council officers, or a combination).

    Whether facilitators or council officers edited, refined, or structured the recommendations prior to publication.

    If relevant documents (e.g., terms of reference, procurement documents, methodology reports, or internal guidance notes) contain this information, I am happy to receive copies of those documents in lieu of a narrative response.

    I look forward to your response within 20 working days as required under the Act. Many thanks.

    Published: 3 March 2026

  5. LOBO Loan Authorisation and Governance

    Thank you for your response dated 13 February 2026 regarding the two LOBO loans totalling £12 million.

    I write to request further clarification under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 in order to understand the specific capital application and funding rationale for these borrowings.

    1.       Specific Capital Project Allocation

    You stated that the loans were raised “to support the approved capital programme expenditure.”

    Please provide:

    a) A detailed schedule identifying the specific capital projects to which the £12 million (Danske £6m and Dexia £6m) was allocated.



    b) The project codes, budget lines, or accounting references against which the borrowed funds were applied.



    c) The total approved budget for each identified project.



    d) Confirmation whether the £12 million was earmarked against defined capital schemes at the time of borrowing, or whether it was raised as general capital financing without direct project attribution.



    e) Any internal reports, business cases, committee papers, or officer recommendations which identify the projects linked to these loans.

     

    2.       Capital Financing Requirement and Prudential Indicators

    Please provide:

    a) The Council’s Capital Financing Requirement (CFR) for the financial years 2003/04 and 2004/05.



    b) The authorised borrowing limit and operational boundary approved by Full Council for those years.



    c) Confirmation whether the £12 million LOBO borrowing was specifically included within those approved borrowing limits at the time of approval.


    3.       Consideration of Public Works Loan Board (PWLB) / Treasury Borrowing

    Given that local authorities may access borrowing via the Public Works Loan Board (PWLB) / HM Treasury at standard government rates, please provide:

    a) Confirmation whether the Council sought or considered PWLB borrowing for the same capital requirement before entering into LOBO agreements with private sector lenders.

    b) Copies of any comparative analysis, cost modelling, or option appraisal undertaken between PWLB borrowing and LOBO borrowing.

    c) The interest rate available from PWLB at the relevant dates (February 2004 and November 2004) and any documented comparison with the LOBO rates.

    d) Any recorded rationale explaining why private-sector LOBO borrowing was considered preferable to Treasury/PWLB funding.


    4.       Revenue vs Capital Clarification

    Please confirm whether any portion of the £12 million borrowed was used, directly or indirectly, to support revenue expenditure, cash-flow support, or general budget pressures rather than defined capital expenditure.

    If so, please provide full details.

    Published: 3 March 2026

  6. Private Water Supplies HR8 1HJ

    all private water supplies within a 1km radius of grid reference SO 6677345791. This has been requested to obtain an abstraction licence from the EA.

    Published: 3 March 2026

  7. Single Regeneration Budget evaluation reports

    I am writing to request information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. I am seeking copies of any evaluation reports, reviews, or assessments held by your authority relating to the following Single Regeneration Budget (SRB) scheme(s):

    SRB406 - Teme Working; SRB511 - Wye - We Can Make It Better; SRB631 - Herefordshire In Touch

    This request includes, but is not limited to:

    * final evaluation reports

    * mid-term or interim evaluations

    * consultant reports commissioned as part of monitoring or evaluation * internal assessment or review documents

    If your authority was the accountable body for this SRB scheme, I would expect that such documents may be held by you. If the scheme pre-dates local government reorganisation, I am requesting any records inherited from predecessor authorities.

    If you do not hold the requested information, I would be grateful if you could confirm this. Where possible, please also advise whether you believe another local authority is more likely to hold the evaluation.

    Published: 2 March 2026

  8. Holiday Activities and Food Programme (2018-2025)

    I am a researcher working on a project investigating the impact of school holidays on children’s health and behavioural outcomes. As part of this research, we are seeking information on the Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme to better understand its reach and implementation across local authorities in England. To assist us with this research, please can you provide, at the local authority level and by year, data for the period 2018–2025 (or for as many years within this range as possible) on the following points. Information in the form of an Excel spreadsheet or CSV format would be appreciated, if possible: 1. How much of the allocated HAF funding local authorities have spent each year.

    2. The overall number of unique children who participated in the programme in each year.

    3. The overall number of unique children in receipt of FSMs who participated in the programme in each year.

    4. The number of children with SEND or additional needs who have participated in the programme in each year.

    5. The number and proportion of children who are in the primary school age range, the secondary school age range, and any children outside of those age ranges who attended the programme in each year.

    6. How the allocated 6 weeks of HAF are divided between the summer, Easter and Christmas holidays in each year.

    7. Length of sessions offered in each year.

    Published: 2 March 2026

  9. Return Home Interviews

    To whom it may concern, I am writing to make an open government request for information to which I am entitled under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Please provide the following information for the period 1 January 2025 – 31 December 2025.

    (1) Do you record ‘parental conflict’ as a risk factor / vulnerability marker / push / pull factor or equivalent in your Return Home Interviews?

    (2) If the answer to question 1 is yes, please tell us:

    (a) How many Return Home Interviews were completed in the period 1 January 2025 – 31 December 2025?

    (b) In how many of those Return Home Interviews was ‘parental conflict’ identified?

    If the answer to 1 is no, please tell us:

    (a) Do you routinely record another type of risk factor / vulnerability marker / push / pull factor that is similar or equivalent to parental conflict?1 If so, please list those here

    (b) How many Return Home Interviews were completed in the period 1 January 2025 – 31 December 2025?

    (c) in how many of those Return Home Interviews was / were the answer(s) to 3a identified?

    Published: 27 February 2026

  10. Fines Issued for Breaches of Single-Use Vape Ban

    I am writing to make a request for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Please could you provide the following information covering the period from 01 July 2025 to the present day, with a month-by-month breakdown of figures for July, August, September, and October 2025:

    1. The number of £200 fines issued by your local authority to individuals or businesses for breaches of the ban on single-use vapes that came into force on 01 June 2025.

    2. The total value of these fines issued to date within this timeframe. If your authority has not issued any such fines during this period, I would be grateful if you could confirm this is the case. If this request exceeds the cost limit, please let me know as soon as possible and advise how I may refine it.

    Published: 27 February 2026