Date of Request
16/01/2026
Request
Dear Freedom of Information Team,
This is a Freedom of Information request.
Please provide copies of any assessments, risk assessments, suitability evaluations, or other documented analyses produced or relied upon by Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service in relation to compliance with the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER) when specifying officer response vehicles.
This request relates specifically to:
• the Senior Management Board paper dated 7 December 2015 (“Response Cars”), which explicitly cites PUWER and justifies vehicle procurement by reference to operating conditions and associated specifications, including off-road / limited-traction capability and enhanced wading depth; and
• the subsequent reuse and continuation of those same operational specifications in later officer vehicle replacement decisions, including but not limited to the 2017 Officer Car Replacement Review, the 2019 officer vehicle replacement justification, and the 2021/22 Officer Car Replacement Review, where the same core requirements (e.g. all-wheel drive, limited-traction operation, and wading depth) are retained.
For the avoidance of doubt, this request is made in order to understand how HWFRS discharged its statutory duties under PUWER Regulation 4, which requires that work equipment is suitable for the purpose and conditions in which it is used, and that suitability is assessed and kept under review.
Please therefore provide:
a) any PUWER Regulation 4 “suitability” assessments, risk assessments, or safety evaluations produced prior to or during the 2015 decision that were relied upon to justify the original specification of 4×4 / enhanced-capability officer response vehicles;
b) any review, reassessment, validation, or re-evaluation undertaken between 2015 and subsequent replacement cycles (including 2017, 2019 and 2021/22) to confirm that those specifications remained suitable for the actual operating conditions encountered by officers, as required by PUWER;
c) any documents evidencing how operating conditions relevant to PUWER suitability (for example, the need for all-wheel drive capability, limited-traction operation, or increased wading depth) were recorded, monitored, assessed, or evaluated for the purposes of determining or reconfirming suitability;
d) any internal guidance, policy documents, or decision records explaining how lawful compliance with PUWER was considered when re-using or carrying forward the same specifications across multiple procurement cycles.
For clarity, this request is made in light of HWFRS’s confirmation in FOI 378 that the incident recording system does not record the need for specific vehicle features and that no relevant incident logs are available.
If no such assessments, reviews, records, or documents exist, please confirm this explicitly.
Kind regards,
Response
Good Morning
We 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 held as below and per the attached.
- any PUWER Regulation 4 “suitability” assessments, risk assessments, or safety evaluations produced prior to or during the 2015 decision that were relied upon to justify the original specification of 4×4 / enhanced-capability officer response vehicles;
Information not held
- any review, reassessment, validation, or re-evaluation undertaken between 2015 and subsequent replacement cycles (including 2017, 2019 and 2021/22) to confirm that those specifications remained suitable for the actual operating conditions encountered by officers, as required by PUWER;
Please see the attached SMB Paper.
- any documents evidencing how operating conditions relevant to PUWER suitability (for example, the need for all-wheel drive capability, limited-traction operation, or increased wading depth) were recorded, monitored, assessed, or evaluated for the purposes of determining or reconfirming suitability;
Please see the attached SMB Paper.
d) any internal guidance, policy documents, or decision records explaining how lawful compliance with PUWER was considered when re-using or carrying forward the same specifications across multiple procurement cycles.
Information not held.
If you have any questions regarding your request, please contact Information Governance and Committee Services on tel: 0345 122 4454 or by e-mail 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 and 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