Progress of Retained Firefighters Matthews Second Options Exercise
Dear Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service,
Please provide the following information:
1) Number of completed Expression of Interest forms received for each
month from December 2023 to date, broken down by category of:
Current Firefighters
Firefighters who have left the service
Firefighters who have left the service and are in receipt of a pension
Firefighters who have left the service and in receipt of ill health
benefits
Others.
2) Historic pay scales for rank/role of Firefighter, LFf - Crew Manager,
SubO - Watch Manager for each year from 1975 to 2008.
3) Numbers and categories of completed calculations sent to applicants to
date, broken down by applicant category and month.
4) Cost of purchasing historic service per £1000 of salary earned for each
year from 1975 to 2008 inclusive of tax relief adjustment.
5) Interest rate to be applied for each year of payable pension arrears
from 2006 to 2024.
6) Number of Expressions of Interest received requesting costs of
converting FPS2006 membership to the Modified Pension Arrangements and how
many have been completed and sent out.
Yours faithfully,
Steve Hunter
Ref No: 21/5.8.24
Date: 5 August 2024
Dear Steve
Thank you for your email of 4 August 2024 requesting the following
information: Progress of Retained Firefighters Matthews Second Options
Exercise.
We are treating your correspondence as a request for information under the
Freedom of Information Act 2000. You should expect to receive a further
reply from DFRS within 20 working days from the day when your request was
originally received by us. In some circumstances a fee may be payable and
if that is the case, I will let you know the likely charges before
proceeding.
If you have any queries about this request do not hesitate to contact me.
Yours sincerely
Marie Lloyd-Jones
Louise Taylor (she/her/hers - [1]why I use pronouns)
Solicitor & Monitoring Officer I Derbyshire Fire & Rescue Service
Joint Police & Fire Headquarters, Butterley Hall, Ripley DE5 3RS I Main
Tel: 01773 305305
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
From: Steve Hunter <[2][FOI #1155067 email]>
Sent: Sunday, August 4, 2024 12:12 PM
To: Reception <[3][email address]>
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Progress of Retained
Firefighters Matthews Second Options Exercise
CAUTION: This is an External email and not from DFRS. DO NOT click links
or open attachments unless you recognise the sender and know the content
is safe.
Dear Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service,
Please provide the following information:
1) Number of completed Expression of Interest forms received for each
month from December 2023 to date, broken down by category of:
Current Firefighters
Firefighters who have left the service
Firefighters who have left the service and are in receipt of a pension
Firefighters who have left the service and in receipt of ill health
benefits
Others.
2) Historic pay scales for rank/role of Firefighter, LFf - Crew Manager,
SubO - Watch Manager for each year from 1975 to 2008.
3) Numbers and categories of completed calculations sent to applicants to
date, broken down by applicant category and month.
4) Cost of purchasing historic service per £1000 of salary earned for each
year from 1975 to 2008 inclusive of tax relief adjustment.
5) Interest rate to be applied for each year of payable pension arrears
from 2006 to 2024.
6) Number of Expressions of Interest received requesting costs of
converting FPS2006 membership to the Modified Pension Arrangements and how
many have been completed and sent out.
Yours faithfully,
Steve Hunter
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[4][FOI #1155067 email]
Is [5][Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service request email] the wrong address for Freedom of
Information requests to Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service? If so, please
contact us using this form:
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[9]https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/ico-...
Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will
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Ref No: 21/5.8.24
Date: 30 August 2024
Dear Steve
Thank you for your email of 4 August 2024 where you requested the
following information:
• Progress of Retained Firefighters Matthews Second Options Exercise
Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, you have the right to:
• Know whether we hold the information you require
• Be provided with that information (subject to any exemptions under the
Freedom of Information Act 2000 which may apply).
I can confirm that Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service holds some of the
information you have requested and our responses are given below.
1. Number of completed Expression of Interest forms received for each
month from December 2023 to date, broken down by category of: Current
Firefighters, Firefighters who have left the service, Firefighters who
have left the service and are in receipt of a pension, Firefighters
who have left the service and in receipt of ill health benefits,
Others.
We have recorded information in the form of quarterly returns which we
have provided to the Local Government Association (LGA). The quarterly
returns from October 2023 to June 2024 on progress made with the Matthews
Second Exercise are given below. We intend to publish these returns on our
website from the next quarterly submission in September 2024.
Date Total number of cases Total number of
identified: individuals who have
elected to join,
broken down as
follows:
Individual Individual Total Total Total Total Special Special Special Total number
located not number of number of number of number of firefighter Deferred pensioner of cases
ie. have located cases individuals cases statements members members members passed to the
an address i.e. no which have who have which issued administrator
on record address on been sent replied and cannot be for
record the expressed run implementation
initial an interest through
expression version
of one or two
interest of the
letter calculator
and will
need to be
sent to
GAD
Oct
– 523 0 523 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Dec
2023
Jan
– 470 69 539 170 9 0 0 0 0 0
Mar
2024
Apr
– 471 68 539 250 6 0 2 0 2 4
Jun
2024
2) Historic pay scales for rank/role of Firefighter, LFf - Crew Manager,
SubO - Watch Manager for each year from 1975 to 2008.
Historic pay scales are held on the [1]FPS Regs and Guidance website and
a direct link to that page is [2]here
3) Numbers and categories of completed calculations sent to applicants to
date, broken down by applicant category and month.
Please see the response to Question 1.
4) Cost of purchasing historic service per £1000 of salary earned for each
year from 1975 to 2008 inclusive of tax relief adjustment.
The initial cost of purchasing £1000 of pensionable service is £110 as the
contribution rate for all service up to 2012 is 11%. However, this cost
does not include additional interest to be added and tax relief to be
offset. The Service is unable to provide costs of interest and levels of
tax relief over the period in question as the interest calculation is
highly complex as described in our response to Question 5. This data is
held within the coding of the GAD Calculator which is produced by the
Government Actuary Department and which the Service uses to produce the
Statements of Service. The Service does not have access to this coding. We
have been provided with an analysis of the interest and tax relief
calculations by an external party as shown below but the Service is unable
to verify the accuracy.
Year Cost to purchase this year of service only
1975 - 76 £742.08
1976 - 77 £688.62
1977 - 78 £644.55
1978 - 79 £601.72
1979 - 80 £578.95
1980 - 81 £527.70
1981 - 82 £500.10
1982 - 83 £419.01
1983 - 84 £406.79
1984 - 85 £376.71
1985 - 86 £347.41
1986 - 87 £326.16
1987 - 88 £311.12
1988 - 89 £298.31
1989 - 90 £277.58
1990 - 91 £256.60
1991 - 92 £235.57
1992 - 93 £218.14
1993 - 94 £205.78
1994 - 95 £194.97
1995 - 96 £184.29
1996 - 97 £176.99
1997 - 98 £170.24
1998 - 99 £162.35
1999 - 00 £156.29
2000 - 01 £151.87
2001 - 02 £146.41
2002 - 03 £141.65
2003 - 04 £137.67
2004 - 05 £133.30
2005 - 06 £129.31
2006 - 07 £125.49
2007 - 08 £121.28
5) Interest rate to be applied for each year of payable pension arrears
from 2006 to 2024.
Interest Is referenced multiple times within the regulations, see link
[3]Firefighters’ Pension Schemes (England) (Amendment) Order 2023
“Future interest rate” is a rate equivalent to 1.5% plus the FTSE
Actuaries UK Gilt 10 years yield index less the average of the FTSE
Actuaries UK. Index-linked Gilt 5 to 15 years index with assumed inflation
rates of 0% and 5%.
“Past interest rate” is a rate equivalent to the interest available on the
most recent issue of five-year fixed interest savings certificates from
National Savings and Investments available on the 15th day of each month
which would have been applicable to the period in question.
6) Number of Expressions of Interest received requesting costs of
converting FPS2006 membership to the Modified Pension Arrangements and how
many have been completed and sent out.
Please see the response to Question 1.
I trust this deals with your request.
Your right to request an internal review of our decision
If you are not satisfied with this response or you wish to complain about
any aspect of the handling of your request, then you should contact our
Data Protection Officer (details below) for an internal review. Please
note that any request for an internal review must be made within 40
working days of the date on which the attempt to reach informal resolution
has come to an end.
Email: [4][email address]
Telephone: 01773 305430
Data Protection Officer
Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service
Headquarters
Butterley Hall
Ripley, Derby DE5 3RS
Your right to appeal
If you’re still unhappy after we have responded to your complaint, you
have a right to appeal to the Information Commissioner:
The Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF.
Telephone: 0303 123 1113
Website: [5]www.ico.org.uk
Further details of the role and powers of the Information Commissioner can
be found on the Commissioner’s website: [6]http://www.ico.gov.uk
There is no charge for making an appeal.
Yours sincerely
Marie Lloyd-Jones
Information Governance Team I Derbyshire Fire & Rescue Service
Joint Police & Fire Headquarters, Butterley Hall, Ripley DE5 3RS
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
From: Steve Hunter <[7][FOI #1155067 email]>
Sent: Sunday, August 4, 2024 12:12 PM
To: Reception <[8][email address]>
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Progress of Retained
Firefighters Matthews Second Options Exercise
CAUTION: This is an External email and not from DFRS. DO NOT click links
or open attachments unless you recognise the sender and know the content
is safe.
Dear Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service,
Please provide the following information:
1) Number of completed Expression of Interest forms received for each
month from December 2023 to date, broken down by category of:
Current Firefighters
Firefighters who have left the service
Firefighters who have left the service and are in receipt of a pension
Firefighters who have left the service and in receipt of ill health
benefits
Others.
2) Historic pay scales for rank/role of Firefighter, LFf - Crew Manager,
SubO - Watch Manager for each year from 1975 to 2008.
3) Numbers and categories of completed calculations sent to applicants to
date, broken down by applicant category and month.
4) Cost of purchasing historic service per £1000 of salary earned for each
year from 1975 to 2008 inclusive of tax relief adjustment.
5) Interest rate to be applied for each year of payable pension arrears
from 2006 to 2024.
6) Number of Expressions of Interest received requesting costs of
converting FPS2006 membership to the Modified Pension Arrangements and how
many have been completed and sent out.
Yours faithfully,
Steve Hunter
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[9][FOI #1155067 email]
Is [10][Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service request email] the wrong
address for Freedom of Information requests to Derbyshire Fire and Rescue
Service? If so, please contact us using this form:
[11]https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/change_re...
Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on
the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
[12]https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/offi...
For more detailed guidance on safely disclosing information, read the
latest advice from the ICO:
[13]https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/ico-...
[14]https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/ico-...
Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will
be delayed.
If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.
Dear Freedom of Information,
Can I please request the response to Q1 in the form of an Excel SS or a PDF as the content supplied as below is not readable in this format. Hence the reply to Q6 makes no sense either. Thank you for the other responses which are all understood.
Date Total number of cases Total number of
identified: individuals who have
elected to join,
broken down as
follows:
Individual Individual Total Total Total Total Special Special Special Total number
located not number of number of number of number of firefighter Deferred pensioner of cases
ie. have located cases individuals cases statements members members members passed to the
an address i.e. no which have who have which issued administrator
on record address on been sent replied and cannot be for
record the expressed run implementation
initial an interest through
expression version
of one or two
interest of the
letter calculator
and will
need to be
sent to
GAD
Oct
– 523 0 523 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Dec
2023
Jan
– 470 69 539 170 9 0 0 0 0 0
Mar
2024
Apr
– 471 68 539 250 6 0 2 0 2 4
Jun
2024
Yours sincerely,
Steve Hunter
Ref No: 21/5.8.24
Date: 4 September 2024
Dear Steve
Thank you for your email of 3 September 2024.
The table for question 1 has not transferred in the table format so the
attached Excel sheet has the information we refer to in the response to
question 1 below.
1. Number of completed Expression of Interest forms received for each
month from December 2023 to date, broken down by category of: Current
Firefighters, Firefighters who have left the service, Firefighters who
have left the service and are in receipt of a pension, Firefighters
who have left the service and in receipt of ill health benefits,
Others.
We have recorded information in the form of quarterly returns which we
have provided to the Local Government Association (LGA). The quarterly
returns from October 2023 to June 2024 on progress made with the Matthews
Second Exercise are given below. We intend to publish these returns on our
website from the next quarterly submission in September 2024.
I trust this deals with your request.
Your right to request an internal review of our decision
If you are not satisfied with this response or you wish to complain about
any aspect of the handling of your request, then you should contact our
Data Protection Officer (details below) for an internal review. Please
note that any request for an internal review must be made within 40
working days of the date on which the attempt to reach informal resolution
has come to an end.
Email: [1][email address]
Telephone: 01773 305430
Data Protection Officer
Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service
Headquarters
Butterley Hall
Ripley, Derby DE5 3RS
Your right to appeal
If you’re still unhappy after we have responded to your complaint, you
have a right to appeal to the Information Commissioner:
The Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF.
Telephone: 0303 123 1113
Website: [2]www.ico.org.uk
Further details of the role and powers of the Information Commissioner can
be found on the Commissioner’s website: [3]http://www.ico.gov.uk
There is no charge for making an appeal.
Yours sincerely
Marie Lloyd-Jones
Information Governance Team I Derbyshire Fire & Rescue Service
Joint Police & Fire Headquarters, Butterley Hall, Ripley DE5 3RS
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