Date of Request
22/01/2026
Request
Good morning FOI Team,
This is a request made under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
Please provide all recorded information held by Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service or the Fire Authority that explains, evidences, or records how capital financing methodology has been applied inconsistently to different classes of vehicles.
Specifically, this request concerns the comparative treatment of:
• frontline fire appliances (including On-Call and Wholetime fire engines), and
• officer response vehicles (including management or officer car fleets)
between 1 April 2015 and 31 March 2024.
Background to this request
In the Resource Review (January 2024), HWFRS explicitly calculated and relied upon an annual figure described as “Appliance Capital Finance savings” (reported as £248,000 per year) when proposing the removal or reduction of On-Call fire engines. This calculation demonstrates that HWFRS understands, quantifies, and applies the revenue impact of capital expenditure decisions (including MRP and interest) when assessing frontline appliances.
This request seeks recorded information showing whether the same methodology was applied, considered, or deliberately not applied to officer vehicle fleets during earlier vehicle replacement decisions.
Information requested
Please provide all recorded information that does any of the following:
• applies the same or similar capital financing methodology (MRP and/or interest) to officer response vehicles as was applied to frontline appliances in the Resource Review (January 2024)
• considers, discusses, or records a decision to apply or not apply capital-financing or revenue-impact calculations to officer vehicle fleets
• compares the revenue impact of capital expenditure on officer vehicles with alternative options (including cheaper vehicles, reduced fleet size, or extended replacement cycles)
• explains why capital-financing impacts were calculated for frontline appliances but not calculated, disclosed, or relied upon for officer vehicles
• records any assumption that officer vehicles should be treated differently from frontline appliances for the purposes of capital financing or revenue impact
This includes, but is not limited to:
• internal reports, briefing papers, presentations, or spreadsheets
• emails or correspondence between finance, fleet, or senior management
• business cases or options appraisals for officer vehicle replacement
• committee or Senior Management Board papers discussing vehicle funding methodology
If no such recorded information exists, please confirm explicitly whether:
• no comparative capital-financing analysis was ever undertaken for officer vehicles, and
• no recorded decision exists explaining why such analysis was not undertaken.
This request is limited to recorded information already held. I am not seeking new analysis, new calculations, or opinion.
Kind regards,
Response
Good Afternoon,
Thank you for your request for information, which has been received by Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service (the Service) and considered under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 2000.
The Service can confirm that the information that you have requested is not held. Please see the attached Capital Financing Note for more information.
If you have any questions regarding your request, please contact Information Governance on tel: 0345 122 4454 or by e-mail at informationrequests@hwfire.org.uk. In any such communication please include the reference number assigned (see Subject).
Should you have any queries regarding the management of your request and wish to make either a complaint or request a review of the information disclosed to you, please do so by using Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service’s complaints system: Comments and Complaints. This must be done within 40 working days of our response to your request. After this date, in line with ICO guidance the Service is not obliged to provide an internal review of your request.
If you are not satisfied with the outcome of the internal review, you may appeal the decision by contacting the Information Commissioner, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, SK9 5AF, Tel: 0303 123 1113 (alternatively 01625 545745) or E-mail: casework@ico.org.uk.
Further information on Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service may be viewed at the Service’s website: www.hwfire.org.uk
Thank you for your request for information.
Kind regards,
Information Governance Team