Date: 15 October 2009

My Ref: FOI/2009/0524/ACK

Contact: Dave Martin

Direct dial: 01934 634650

Mrs L Taylor

Sent via email

Dear Mrs L Taylor,

Freedom of Information Act (2000) - Request for Information

Thank you for your request for the following information.

I would be grateful if under the FOIA you could advise how many times your Local Authority has applied for care orders via the Family Courts WITHOUT the Welfare checklist set out in section 1 of the Children Act 1989 being completed. The completion of the Welfare Checklist would confirm that extended family members had in fact been contacted prior to any application for a care order.

Whoever signs the application for a care order is responsible for ensuring that the Welfare checklist has been fully completed; please state who within your authority holds this position.

This request was received on 14 October 2009 and has been allocated Freedom of Information Request Reference FOI/2009/0524.

North Somerset Council will respond to your request for information in line with the Freedom of Information Act (2000).

We will try to respond to your request as soon as possible and aim to respond within a maximum of 20 working days from when we received your letter. We will also try and provide the information requested in the format you require.

We will contact you as soon as possible should we need to clarify any aspect of your request. Once the information you requested has been identified we may ask that a fee be paid to cover processing and delivering the information to you. You will be notified of any fee to be charged.

If you have any further queries or concerns please contact the Directorate Administrator handling your request on the above number or via e-mail at: [email address]. I would be grateful if you would use the Freedom of Information Request Reference in all future correspondence.

Yours sincerely

Emily Baker

Information Governance (Modern Apprentice)

North Somerset Council

Philip Hall

Director of Finance and Resources

Information, Communication and Technology Department

North Somerset Council

Town Hall

Weston-super-Mare

Somerset BS23 1UJ

www.n-somerset.gov.uk