Clare's Law 209/2026

FOI Reference: 209/2026

Request

Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, please provide information regarding support and safety planning offered following Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme (DVDS / “Clare’s Law”) disclosures within your force.

Please provide the data for the most recent 12 months (or last financial year), plus if readily available at no extra cost, please also provide the same for the previous year. If you hold it in a different reporting format (calendar year/financial year), please use what you hold.

1. Volume of disclosures For each period, please provide:

• Total number of DVDS applications received (Right to Ask), and total number of proactive enquiries (Right to Know), if recorded.
• Total number of DVDS disclosures made (i.e., where information was disclosed).

2. Support offered at/after disclosure For each period, for people who received a DVDS disclosure, please provide:

• Number and percentage who were offered referral/signposting to specialist domestic abuse support (e.g., IDVA service, local domestic abuse service, victim support), if recorded.
• Number and percentage who accepted that offer (or were referred), if recorded.
• Number and percentage who were successfully contacted/engaged by the support service following referral (if the force records this outcome).
• If the force uses specific categories (e.g., IDVA, ISVA, Victim Support, MARAC referral, children’s services, housing), please break the figures down by category as recorded.

3. Safety planning / follow-up by police For each period, please provide (if recorded):

• Number and percentage where a safety plan was completed/provided (or “safety advice” recorded).
• Average and median time from (a) application to (b) disclosure decision to (c) disclosure delivery.
• Number and percentage where there was any recorded follow-up contact by police within: 48 hours, 7 days, or 28 days after the disclosure (please provide whichever time bands you record). Please advise if this search will exceed the cost limit. 

4. Recording and policy

• Copies of any current force policy/SOP, guidance, or checklist used by staff that covers post-disclosure safeguarding, referrals, and follow-up under DVDS (redact names/emails if needed).
• The definition(s) or codes used on force systems to record: “support offered”, “referral made”, “referral accepted”, “engagement/uptake”, and “safety planning”

Response

Section 1 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 places two duties on public authorities. Unless exemptions apply, the first duty at Section 1(1) (a) is to confirm or deny whether the information specified in a request is held. The second duty at Section 1(1) (b) is to disclose information that has been confirmed as being held.

Where exemptions are relied upon Section 17 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 requires Dyfed Powys Police, when refusing to provide such information (because the information is exempt) to provide you the applicant with a notice which:   (a) states that fact, (b) specifies the exemption in question and (c) states (if that would not otherwise be apparent) why the exemption applies.

I can confirm that Dyfed-Powys Police does hold the information you have requested. However, we are withholding the whole of the requested information since we consider that the Section 12(1) exemption the Cost of Compliance exceeds the Appropriate Limit applies to it.

Section 12 (1) – The cost of compliance exceeds the Appropriate Limit

Section 12(1) states: “…Section 1 (1) does not oblige a public authority to comply with a request for information if the authority estimates that the cost of complying with the request would exceed the appropriate limit.”

The cost of providing you with the information requested in respect of your request is above the amount to which we are legally required to respond i.e. the cost of locating and retrieving the information exceeds the “appropriate level” as stated in the Freedom of Information (Fees and Appropriate Limit) Regulations 2004. It is estimated that it would exceed 18 hours (i.e. minimum of 232 hours) to comply with this part of your request. The regulations can be located @ https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2004/3244

The Freedom of Information department has been advised that the information in respect of Questions 2 & 3 of your request is not held in an easily retrievable format. In light of this and in order to accurately obtain the information relative to your request for the time frame stipulated would involve Dyfed Powys Police accessing and manually reviewing 1,989, in order to obtain the requested information.

A dip sample has been conducted, and it has also been established that it would take a minimum of 7 minutes to review and obtain the information for a single record in respect of your request. 

Please note: In relation to Q4, a response can be provided within the 18hrs.  

The process outlined results in the below time estimate:-

1,989 occurrence x 7 minutes per occurrence = 232 hours

Time estimate to complete task = 232 hours

In accordance therefore with the Freedom of Information Act 2000, this letter acts as a Refusal Notice for the Whole of this request under Section 17(5) A public authority which, in relation to any request for information, is relying on a claim that section 12 or section 14 applies must, within the time for complying with section 1(1), give the applicant a notice stating that fact.

You may wish to refine and resubmit your request so that it reduces the time shown above to fall within the 18 hours, should you require any further advice in relation to this matter please don’t hesitate to contact the Freedom of Information Unit. Please also be advised that should the request be refined, it does not remove the public authorities right to cite exemptions if relevant.

Although excess cost removes the forces obligations under the Freedom of Information Act to provide any further information, as a gesture of goodwill, I have provided information, relative to question 1 of your request which has been easily retrievable and outlined below. I trust this is helpful, but it does not affect our legal right to rely on the fees regulations for the remainder of your request.

Response Q1

I can confirm that Dyfed-Powys Police does hold the information requested, as outlined below:-

2024

Total applications = 789

Total disclosures = 336

Breakdown…

RTA – 419 (135 disclosures made)

RTK – 370 (201 disclosures made)

2025

Total applications = 1200

Total disclosures = 459

Breakdown…

RTA – 652 (210 disclosures made)

RTK – 548 (249 disclosures made)                                

(This is a response under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and disclosed on 18/03/2026)