age assessment guidance 01 06 09

Cassidy, J made this Freedom of Information request to Bedford Borough Council

The request was successful.

From: Cassidy, J

1 June 2009

Dear Sir or Madam,

The recent court ruling A v London Borough of Croydon, WK v Kent
Borough Council [2009] EWHC 939 (Admin), 8 May 2009, [1] makes a
number of references to the practice of two Social Workers
conducting age assessments of young people claiming asylum.

In view of the fact that the Care Standards Act 2000 (Chapter 14
(part 1V) section 61) contained provisions for the protection of
the professional title of "Social Worker" and that anyone using
this Title has to be registered on one of the UK Social Care
Registers, (since 01 April 2005) can you Confirm or Deny the
following:

1) Age assessments are always conducted by at least two Social
Workers?

1.1 If they are not always conducted by at least two Social
Workers, can you provide information that explains this apparent
anomaly and provide details of the job Titles of those who
currently conduct age assessments.

2) During said Court case a Helen Johnson, Refugee Council's
Children's Panel, questioned the assertion by a Ms Janet Patrick,
senior manager of the Croydon Council's Unaccompanied Minors' Team,
that Council's are routinely advising applicants that they can have
an adult present to give support during their age assessment.

Therefore can you provide copies of any information you hold, such
as policies, memos, notes and guidance, (showing dates
issued/written/drafted) as given to Social Workers, the applicants
or anyone else, that Confirms or Denies that applicants are
routinely advised that they can have an adult present to give
support.

3) Please provide copies of any age assessment guidance or training
material you hold.

Relevant quotes:

"The social workers involved in the decision making process who are
employed by the local authorities in these cases have had training
and do have substantial experience in assessing the age of UASCs.

My conclusion is that age determination, being part of broader
questions relating to the provision of accommodation, and being but
one of the many responsibilities for local authorities to provide
support for children and families under Part III, are decisions
which fall squarely within the social field of child care and are,
therefore, customarily and properly entrusted to the social workers
to decide.

This is based partly on the contention that their judgment can be
no better than that of the experienced social worker...

It is said that her opinions in a number of cases show a consistent
disagreement with the social workers' factual observations always
in favour of the individual in question.

While recognising and indeed supporting the use of social workers
and other professionals he records concerns that financial
pressures can influence the assessment of age since the particular
age of an individual will require a greater or lesser expenditure
on him.

But the real question in these cases is whether a report from a
paediatrician which reaches a conclusion contrary to that found by
experienced social workers means that the assessment must be varied
in the UASC's favour.

It is Dr Stern's view that a paediatrician is unlikely to be able
to reach a conclusion which is superior to that reached by an
experienced social worker, provided, of course, that the social
worker is properly trained and experienced and conducted the
necessary interview in an appropriate fashion.

Thus I do not think that the existence of a report from Dr Birch
can generally attract any greater weight than the observations of
an experienced social worker. In order to comply with the
Hillingdon and Croydon guidelines, the assessments of social
workers will be made by two working together and based upon
interviews and observations over a far greater time period than
that available to Dr Birch or indeed any paediatrician instructed
by a UASC representative.

All this presupposes that the authority's decision is made by
properly trained and experienced social workers in accordance with
the guidelines approved by Stanley Burnton J in B v Merton.

Each authority has put before the court evidence of the training
given to and the experience of the social workers who have to deal
with age assessment.

She is satisfied from her experience that the reports of Drs Michie
and Birch do not raise matters which cast doubt on the reliability
of the decision reached by the two social workers."

etc

Reference:

[1] A Claimant - and - London Borough of Croydon - and – Secretary
of State for the Home Department Defendant Interested Party And WK
Claimant - and - Secretary of State for the Home Department First
Defendant - and - Kent County Council Second Defendant [2009] EWHC
939 (Admin), 8 May 2009
http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Admi...

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upon that would explain such a decision

Yours faithfully,

Cassidy, J

Yours faithfully,

Cassidy, J

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From: Corinne Airey
Bedford Borough Council

10 June 2009

Dear J Cassidy

Request pursuant to Freedom of Information Act 2000 - Request No. 860

Thank you for your email requesting information under the Freedom of
Information Act 2000.

We will proceed with the request which we received today. It is our
intention to have the information delivered to you by 29 June 2009.

The request is subject to any exemptions which the Council may rely on to
refuse the request, some of which are absolute and some of which only
apply where the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs
that in disclosing the information.

Once the information has been identified, the Council may also ask that a
fee be paid for processing and delivering the information to you. Details
of any fee to be charged will be notified to you as soon as possible.

Any future correspondence you may have with the Council in relation to
this matter should be sent to the Corporate Information Officer, Bedford
Borough Council, St Pauls Square, Bedford, MK40 1SJ.

Yours sincerely

Corinne Airey

Freedom of Information Assistant

Tel: 01234 227367

Ext: 2367

1. The statements in this message are made by the individual who sent them
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From: Charlie Gartland
Bedford Borough Council

30 July 2009

Attachment 860 Cassidy.doc
108K Download View as HTML

Dear J Cassidy

Please find attached the Borough's response to your FOI request number
860. We have attached the letter but have not attached all the
supporting documentation is they are very large files and there are too
many to send through the email system. Please contact me on 01234 228721
or email: [email address] in order to arrange delivery
of these files.
Kind regards

Mrs Charlie Gartland
Access to Records & FOI Officer (Childrens Services)

show quoted sections

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From: Cassidy, J

8 August 2009

Dear Charlie Gartland,

re
http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/ag...

You can send me files through email of upto 50MB per email.

Yours sincerely,

Cassidy, J

Link to this

From: Charlie Gartland
Bedford Borough Council

10 August 2009

Hi

I sent all relevent files through on one email the other day to you.

Kind regards
Charlie

1. The statements in this message are made by the individual who sent them and do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of Bedford Borough Council. It does not constitute a contract or agreement between the recipient and the Council.
2. Copyright in this e-mail either belongs to Bedford Borough Council or this use has been approved by the copyright holder.
3. This e-mail may contain confidential information and may be legally privileged. It is intended only for the person(s) indicated. Do not copy or send it to anyone else or use it in any other way unless you are authorised to do so. To do so is prohibited and may be unlawful. If you receive this e-mail by mistake, please delete it and e-mail a reply to advise sender immediately.
4. The information in this e-mail and attachments is provided in confidence. If you do not wish information provided to the Council to be disclosed, please indicate that the information is provided in confidence.
5. In the event that this e-mail indicates the recipient concerned is away from the office, please re-submit your request for information to [Bedford Borough Council request email].

Requests for information should be directed to this e-mail address.

Bedford Borough Council is a 4 star Excellent Council as rated by the Audit Commission.

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From: Cassidy, J

10 August 2009

Dear Charlie Gartland,

RE: Request No. 860 - Your letter of 10/08/09 >>>
http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/ag...

I do not appear to have received any further documents, as you
suggest. To confirm this please look here >>>
http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/ag...
only one letter received so far.

Yours sincerely,

Cassidy, J

Link to this

From: Charlie Gartland
Bedford Borough Council

10 August 2009

Attachment Practice Guidelines only.pdf
70K Download View as HTML

Attachment Joint working protocol between Adults and Children feb 09 v4.pdf
209K Download View as HTML

Dear J Cassidy

The email was sent with all the attachments. However if you have not
received it then perhaps it has been blocked by the email system on
site, therefore i will send them a couple at a time instead. These
attachements cover both FOI 859 & 860.

Kind Regards
Charlie

1. The statements in this message are made by the individual who sent them and do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of Bedford Borough Council. It does not constitute a contract or agreement between the recipient and the Council.
2. Copyright in this e-mail either belongs to Bedford Borough Council or this use has been approved by the copyright holder.
3. This e-mail may contain confidential information and may be legally privileged. It is intended only for the person(s) indicated. Do not copy or send it to anyone else or use it in any other way unless you are authorised to do so. To do so is prohibited and may be unlawful. If you receive this e-mail by mistake, please delete it and e-mail a reply to advise sender immediately.
4. The information in this e-mail and attachments is provided in confidence. If you do not wish information provided to the Council to be disclosed, please indicate that the information is provided in confidence.
5. In the event that this e-mail indicates the recipient concerned is away from the office, please re-submit your request for information to [Bedford Borough Council request email].

Requests for information should be directed to this e-mail address.

Bedford Borough Council is a 4 star Excellent Council as rated by the Audit Commission.

Link to this

From: Charlie Gartland
Bedford Borough Council

10 August 2009

Attachment cp DATA 1.doc
27K Download View as HTML

Attachment eligibility pro forma 2.doc
42K Download View as HTML

Attachment assessment start 2.doc
173K Download View as HTML

Attachment ASYLUM Age Assessment MASTER.doc
67K Download View as HTML

Here is part 2 attachments for FOI 859 & 860
Regards
Charlie

1. The statements in this message are made by the individual who sent them and do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of Bedford Borough Council. It does not constitute a contract or agreement between the recipient and the Council.
2. Copyright in this e-mail either belongs to Bedford Borough Council or this use has been approved by the copyright holder.
3. This e-mail may contain confidential information and may be legally privileged. It is intended only for the person(s) indicated. Do not copy or send it to anyone else or use it in any other way unless you are authorised to do so. To do so is prohibited and may be unlawful. If you receive this e-mail by mistake, please delete it and e-mail a reply to advise sender immediately.
4. The information in this e-mail and attachments is provided in confidence. If you do not wish information provided to the Council to be disclosed, please indicate that the information is provided in confidence.
5. In the event that this e-mail indicates the recipient concerned is away from the office, please re-submit your request for information to [Bedford Borough Council request email].

Requests for information should be directed to this e-mail address.

Bedford Borough Council is a 4 star Excellent Council as rated by the Audit Commission.

Link to this

From: Charlie Gartland
Bedford Borough Council

10 August 2009

Attachment 859 Cassidy.doc
107K Download View as HTML

Attachment 860 Cassidy.doc
108K Download View as HTML

Here is a copy of both letters also contained in the attachments emailed
previously, sent but not received by yourself.

Kind regards
Charlie

1. The statements in this message are made by the individual who sent them and do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of Bedford Borough Council. It does not constitute a contract or agreement between the recipient and the Council.
2. Copyright in this e-mail either belongs to Bedford Borough Council or this use has been approved by the copyright holder.
3. This e-mail may contain confidential information and may be legally privileged. It is intended only for the person(s) indicated. Do not copy or send it to anyone else or use it in any other way unless you are authorised to do so. To do so is prohibited and may be unlawful. If you receive this e-mail by mistake, please delete it and e-mail a reply to advise sender immediately.
4. The information in this e-mail and attachments is provided in confidence. If you do not wish information provided to the Council to be disclosed, please indicate that the information is provided in confidence.
5. In the event that this e-mail indicates the recipient concerned is away from the office, please re-submit your request for information to [Bedford Borough Council request email].

Requests for information should be directed to this e-mail address.

Bedford Borough Council is a 4 star Excellent Council as rated by the Audit Commission.

Link to this

From: Cassidy, J

10 August 2009

Dear Charlie Gartland,

Thanks all documents received.

Yours sincerely,

Cassidy, J

Link to this

From: Charlie Gartland
Bedford Borough Council

10 August 2009

Dear J Cassidy,

My pleasure. I do not understand why you didnt receive them previously
when they were sent altogether as they were under 50MB collectively, but
atleast you have received them now.

Kind regards
Charlie

1. The statements in this message are made by the individual who sent them and do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of Bedford Borough Council. It does not constitute a contract or agreement between the recipient and the Council.
2. Copyright in this e-mail either belongs to Bedford Borough Council or this use has been approved by the copyright holder.
3. This e-mail may contain confidential information and may be legally privileged. It is intended only for the person(s) indicated. Do not copy or send it to anyone else or use it in any other way unless you are authorised to do so. To do so is prohibited and may be unlawful. If you receive this e-mail by mistake, please delete it and e-mail a reply to advise sender immediately.
4. The information in this e-mail and attachments is provided in confidence. If you do not wish information provided to the Council to be disclosed, please indicate that the information is provided in confidence.
5. In the event that this e-mail indicates the recipient concerned is away from the office, please re-submit your request for information to [Bedford Borough Council request email].

Requests for information should be directed to this e-mail address.

Bedford Borough Council is a 4 star Excellent Council as rated by the Audit Commission.

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