Date: 15/10/2009

Dear Mrs Taylor

Re: Freedom of Information request number 1444

Thank you for your request dated 14/10/2009 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.

Section 10(1) of the Freedom of Information Act requires that we process your application within 20 working days of the date we received your request, therefore we will respond to you by 12/11/2009. If we are unable to meet this deadline we will inform you of this and the reasons why.

If the information is already available to you through the Council's publication scheme we will advise you of this. We will advise you whether we hold the information you have requested and if you are able to access it. In some cases where exclusions apply we will not be able to provide you with the information you have requested. If we are unable to provide the information you request we will contact you and inform you of the reasons why. In some cases there may be a charge for the information you have requested. We will keep charges to a minimum and will inform you as soon as possible of any charges that apply.

If you are unhappy with the Council's response you can make a complaint via the Council's complaints procedures and this will be looked into. If you are not happy with this decision you may then appeal to the Information Commissioner.

Yours faithfully

Nina Burrell

Freedom of Information Coordinator

Telephone (01375) 652592

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