NFRS 2023 08 - Cycle to work scheme

You asked for:

In consideration of the climate crisis, I would like to request the following information about how the organisation is enabling staff to reduce their emissions through sustainable transport, and more specifically, cycling.

over the past five years, broken down by year -
1. how many staff members used the Cycle to Work scheme?
2. what percentage of staff was this?
3. what was the average value of the vouchers claimed on the scheme?
4. what was the number of those who took up the scheme, who then failed to complete, leaving the organisation with costs?
what tools does the organisation use to encourage cycling for their staff -
1. on a work basis
2. on a leisure/health basis
with regards to staff, does the organisation -
1. have any monitoring for what modes of transport staff use -
  1. for their journey to work
  2. for journeys during work time
2. and if this data is recorded, I request a copy of such data as detailed as it can be reasonably given, while still protecting personal data rights
how many of the following does the organisation have available for staff use
1. pedal cycles
2. electric bikes
3. motorbikes
4. internal combustion cars
5. electric or hybrid cars
6. internal combustion vans
7. electric or hybrid vans
8. heavy trucks
does the organisation mileage scheme clearly state the claim rate for cycling
how many cycling miles have been claimed by the organisation's staff in the past five years
Regarding your current cycle-to-work scheme -
1. what scheme is currently in place?
2. what is the maximum limit on the cost of a bike, if a limit is currently in place

Our Response:

over the past five years, broken down by year -
1. how many staff members used the Cycle to Work scheme?
  Answer: -
  - 2018: No Information Held, the service didn’t run a scheme
  - 2019: 33
  - 2020: No Information Held, the service didn’t run a scheme
  - 2021: No Information Held, the service didn’t run a scheme
  - 2022: 34
2. what percentage of staff was this?
  Answer: - This information requested has been deemed exempt by virtue of section 21(1) Information reasonably accessible by other means, under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
3. what was the average value of the vouchers claimed on the scheme?
  Answer: - Average value of vouchers per year is as follows,
  - 2019: £792.06 (Please be advised this scheme is no longer in operation and is separate from the cycle to work scheme via Vivup).
  - 2022: £1,000.31
    The years 2018, 2020 and 2021 are No Information Held, as no scheme was running during this time period.
4. what was the number of those who took up the scheme, who then failed to complete, leaving the organisation with costs?
  Answer: - No Information Held.
what tools does the organisation use to encourage cycling for their staff -
1. on a work basis
  Answer: - On-going scheme staff can order at any point by logging onto the Vivup website. The Service promotes this via its intranet page.
2. on a leisure/health basis
  Answer: - As above.
with regards to staff, does the organisation -
1. have any monitoring for what modes of transport staff use –
  1. for their journey to work
    Answer: - No Information Held
  2. for journeys during work time
    Answer: - No Information Held
2. and if this data is recorded, I request a copy of such data as detailed as it can be reasonably given, while still protecting personal data rights
  Answer: - No Information Held.
how many of the following does the organisation have available for staff use
1. pedal cycles
  Answer: - No Information Held.
2. electric bikes
  Answer: - No Information Held.
3. motorbikes
  Answer: - No Information Held.
4. internal combustion cars
  Answer: - 38
5. electric or hybrid cars
  Answer: - 12
6. internal combustion vans
  Answer: - 20
7. electric or hybrid vans
  Answer: - 4 with 2 to be delivered 2023
8. heavy trucks
  Answer: - 54
does the organisation mileage scheme clearly state the claim rate for cycling
Answer: - No Information Held, cycling does not form as part of the mileage scheme.
how many cycling miles have been claimed by the organisation's staff in the past five years
Answer: - No Information Held, cycling does not form as part of the mileage scheme.
Regarding your current cycle-to-work scheme -
1. what scheme is currently in place?
  Answer: - Cycle to work scheme via Vivup.
2. what is the maximum limit on the cost of a bike, if a limit is currently in place
  Answer: - £2000

21. Information accessible to applicant by other means.

Information which is reasonably accessible to the applicant otherwise than under section 1 is exempt information.
For the purposes of subsection (1)—
1. Information may be reasonably accessible to the applicant even though it is accessible only on payment, and
2. Information is to be taken to be reasonably accessible to the applicant if it is information which the public authority or any other person is obliged by or under any enactment to communicate (otherwise than by making the information available for inspection) to members of the public on request, whether free of charge or on payment.
For the purposes of subsection (1), information which is held by a public authority and does not fall within subsection (2)(b) is not to be regarded as reasonably accessible to the applicant merely because the information is available from the public authority itself on request, unless the information is made available in accordance with the authority’s publication scheme and any payment required is specified in, or determined in accordance with, the scheme.

Section 21 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 is categorised as an Absolute and Class Based type exemption and therefore does not require a public interest test to be carried nor must Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service articulate the harm in disclosure.

The information requested can be accessed from Fire statistics data tables on the government's website.