I refer to your recent request for information.

Unfortunately, we are unable to carry out the work in order to provide the information in response to this request. We are relying upon Section 12 of the Freedom of Information Act which provides that a public authority is not obliged to comply with a request for information if it estimates that meeting the request would exceed the appropriate cost limit. The appropriate limit is £450, calculated at a rate of £25 per hour, and so equating to 18 hours.

Due to the very specific details of abuse required, in particular `emotional harm' and `domestic violence between their parents', it would only be possible for us to retrieve this information via a manual search though each case file. This will amount to well over 500 case files. Each case file will contain a substantial amount of information which will need to be read in order to determine if the young person meets the criteria requested. It is our view that the search for this information would far exceed the appropriate limit set for response to requests.

We note your request to go back 10 years or for as far back as possible without charging you. However, even if we were to refine the request to 1 year it would still exceed the limit due to the amount of time required to conduct a manual search through each of the files.

If you would like to discuss further the possibility of refining your request please get back to us and we will look into the feasibility of this. For example, the categories of need for looked after children currently used within our IT system are: Absent Parenting, Abuse/Neglect, Disability, Family Dysfunction, Family in Acute Stress, Low Income, Other, Parental Illness/Disability and Socially Unacceptable Behaviour.

I am sorry that we were unable to provide the information in response to your request on this occasion. If you are unhappy with the service you have received in relation to your request or wish to make a complaint or appeal against any decision we have made in response to your request you should write in the first instance to Terry Walsh at the following address:

Head of Management Information & Sharing,

Salford Children's Services,

Minerva House,

Pendlebury Road,

Swinton,

Salford,

M27 4EQ

Guidance on how to make a formal appeal against a decision under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 is also available on our web site at www.salford.gov.uk.

Should you continue to disagree with the decision following the appeal you may wish to contact the Office of the Information Commissioner at:-

Wycliffe House,

Water Lane,

Wilmslow,

Cheshire,

SK9 5AF

www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk

Telephone: 08456 30 60 60 or 01625 54 57 45

Fax : 01625 524510