NFRS 2025 5 - Agency workers

You asked for

1. Does Nottinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service have a contract of any kind in place with any agency for the provision of temporary workers? (Across any job category).
2. If yes to the above question, who is the contract with, when was the contract awarded and when does it expire? Please also provide a breakdown of the job categories hired via an agency.
3. How much did Nottinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service spend on agency workers for the period April 2022 to March 2023 & the period April 2023 to March 2024?
4. Who would be responsible for awarding a temporary staffing contract for Nottinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service, please could you confirm the name of the individual and their position and role within the organisation?

Our Response:

1. Does Nottinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service have a contract of any kind in placewith any agency for the provision of temporary workers? (Across any job category). 
   Answer: - No Information Held, there are no formal contracts in place. We have two preferred agency suppliers for administrative roles but this is not a formal contract.

   Other use of agencies would be on a case-by-case basis dependent on the role vacancy that needs to be filled.

2. If yes to the above question, who is the contract with, when was the contract awarded and when does it expire? Please also provide a breakdown of the job categories hired via an agency.
   Answer: - No Information Held, as no formal contracts in place. Agencies have been utilised for administrative and professional type roles.
3. How much did Nottinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service spend on agency workersfor the period April 2022 to March 2023 & the period April 2023 to March 2024?
   Answer: - Exempt by virtue of section 21 (Information accessible to the applicant by other means) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

   We routinely publish our expenditure for agency staff via our website per month Expenditure over £250 - NFRS. Simply select ‘Admin Agency Staff ‘ under ‘ExpenditureDescription’ and it will bring back all costs for that month and it is further broken downby area.

4. Who would be responsible for awarding a temporary staffing contractfor Nottinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service, please could you confirm the name of the individual and their position and role within the organisation? 
   Answer: - No Information Held, there are no formal contracts in place.

21.Information accessible to applicant by other means.

1. Information which is reasonably accessible to the applicant otherwise than under section 1 is exempt information.
2. 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.
3. For the purposes of subsection (1), information which is held by a public authority and doesnot 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 out nor must Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service articulate the harm in disclosure.