Agency worker: Agreements, Contracts, pay scales

Dear Mr Blair,

Thank you for your recent request for information. This is to inform you
that we are unable to answer your request based on the details you have
provided. To assist us in proceeding with your request could you please
provide me with further information.

Please can you confirm if the terms 'social care staff' and 'social worker
staff' relate to work with both adults and children?

The term 'social care' has a broad meaning. Please can you confirm if the
term 'social care' in the context of your request relates to staff who
carry out traditional social worker duties or a more broad range of duties
such as homecare? You may like to visit our public website page on social
care provision to help you define this term.
[1]http://www.lewisham.gov.uk/HealthAndSoci...

After receiving your reply, your request will be acknowledged and
considered and you will receive a response within the statutory timescale
of 20 working days, subject to the application of any statutory
exemptions.

Kind regards and many thanks

Karina O'Neill
Information Governance
0208 3146539

----

Eric Blair [[FOI #7797 email]]
Mon 09/02/2009 09:47

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am writing to clarify/amend a part of my information
request,Section 1.2, with regards payscale information.

This part of my original request stated:

":- Hourly Pay scales/rates with regards agency/temporary social
care/social worker staff.

1.2) A list of each Vendor you use and copies of hourly
pay-scales/rates you hold for each Vendor. Whether or not you use
each Vendor via a Managed Service Provider framework. Please ensure
any provided pay-scale information provided explains how many years
of experience is required to be applicable to any specific hourly
rate."

Please also add after the word 'framework':

If you do you use a Managed Service Provider please also provide a
copy of the pay-scales/rates that are used by the Managed Service
Provider to manage all these Vendors.

Therefore section 1.2 should now read thus:

1.2)A list of each Vendor you use and copies of hourly
pay-scales/rates you hold for each Vendor. Whether or not you use
each Vendor via a Managed Service Provider framework. If you do you
use a Managed Service Provider please also provide a copy of the
pay-scales/rates that are used by the Managed Service Provider to
manage all these Vendors. Please ensure any provided pay-scale
information provided explains how many years of experience is
required to be applicable to any specific hourly rate.

Yours sincerely,

Eric Blair

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Dear Mr Blair,

Re: Freedom of Information Act 2000
Reference No: 51389
Thank you for your recent request clarification, received 10 February
2009. For practical reasons, your request has been stated here.
Unfortunately, the format of your original emails is not very user
friendly so I have had to reformat the text to make the clarified request
easier to read.

Your request relates to: Temporary Agency Staff undertaking the roles of
Social Workers and Social Work Assistants working within services for
adults and children.

Your specific requests are:

1. Copies of any contracts you have for the provision of temporary worker
agency staff. Contracts you may have with individual agency staff
recruitment businesses/services, hereafter called 'Vendors'. Or contracts
you may have with organisations like, Comensura, Manpower, Reed, hereafter
called 'Managed Service Provider' who provide Master/Vendor Neutral
framework to manage all vendors on behalf of Public Authorities like
yourselves.

2. A list of each Vendor you use and copies of hourly pay-scales/rates you
hold for each Vendor. Whether or not you use each Vendor via a Managed
Service Provider framework. If you do you use a Managed Service Provider
please also provide a copy of the pay-scales/rates that are used by the
Managed Service Provider to manage all these Vendors. Please ensure any
provided pay-scale information provided explains how many years of
experience is required to be applicable to any specific hourly rate.

3. A copy of any contract/agreement used by yourself or any Managed
Service Provider to manage individual Vendors through any Master/Vendor
Neutral framework you operate or participate in, this is sometimes called
a Panel Vendor Agreement.

4. Please also indicate whether any of the information requested questions
1 to 3 have ever been disclosed before under the FOI Act.

Your request is being considered and you will receive a response within
the statutory timescale of 20 working days, subject to the application of
any exemptions. Where consideration is being given to exemptions the 20
working day timescale may be extended to a period considered reasonable
depending on the nature and circumstances of your request. In such cases
you will be notified and, where possible, a revised time-scale will be
indicated. In all cases we shall attempt to deal with your request at the
earliest opportunity.

There may be a fee payable for the retrieval, collation and provision of
the information requested where the request exceeds the statutory limit or
where disbursements exceed £10. In such cases you will be informed in
writing and your request will be suspended until we receive payment from
you or your request is modified and/or reduced.

Your request may require either full or partial transfer to another public
authority. You will be informed if your request is transferred.

If we are unable to provide you with the information requested we will
notify you of this together with the reason(s) why and details of how you
may appeal (if appropriate).

Please note that the directorate team may contact you for further
information where we believe that the request is not significantly clear
for us to respond fully.

Kind regards
Information Governance

DISCLAIMER

This message is confidential and intended solely for the use of the
individual or entity it is addressed to. If you have received it in
error, please contact the sender and delete the e-mail. To see the full
version of this disclaimer please visit the following address:
http://www.lewisham.gov.uk/AboutThisSite...

For advice and assistance about online security and protection from
internet threats visit the "Get Safe Online" website at
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Dear Mr Blair,

Re: Freedom of Information Act 2000
Reference No: 51389
Thank you for your recent request received in February 2009. Please find
our responses to your four specific requests as follows which all relate
to temporary agency staff undertaking the roles of Social Workers and
Social Work Assistants working within services for adults and children.

1. Copies of any contracts you have for the provision of temporary worker
agency staff. Contracts you may have with individual agency staff
recruitment businesses/services, hereafter called 'Vendors'. Or contracts
you may have with organisations like, Comensura, Manpower, Reed, hereafter
called 'Managed Service Provider' who provide Master/Vendor Neutral
framework to manage all vendors on behalf of Public Authorities like
yourselves.

3. A copy of any contract/agreement used by yourself or any Managed
Service Provider to manage individual Vendors through any Master/Vendor
Neutral framework you operate or participate in, this is sometimes called
a Panel Vendor Agreement.

We confirm that the Council contracts Reed as a 'Managed Service
Provider'. The Council also contracts a number of other recruitment
agencies as and when needed.

With respect to specific request numbers 1 and 3 for copies of
contracts/agreements with these agencies, we apply Section 43, Commercial
interests, of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Section 43, Commercial interests, of the Act states:
(1) Information is exempt information if it constitutes a trade
secret.
(2) Information is exempt information if its disclosure under this Act
would, or would be likely to, prejudice the commercial interests of any
person (including the public authority holding it).
(3) The duty to confirm or deny does not arise if, or to the extent that,
compliance with section 1(1)(a) would, or would be likely to, prejudice
the exemptions mentioned in subsection (2).

This acts as an exemption notice. We confirm that the information you have
requested is held. We have applied this exemption because the requested
information relates to commercially sensitive information. Some of this
information is specific to each supplier regarding the provision of their
services and as such constitutes trade secrets i.e. pricing structures. If
the requested information was released to the general public this could
jeopardise any future negotiations between the Council and its suppliers
and could also likely provide an unfair advantage to other organisations.

This is a qualified exemption and requires the consideration of a public
interest test. In this case we have considered that the public interest
favours non-disclosure. This is because the disclosure of this information
would likely prejudice the commercial interests of both potential
suppliers as third parties and the Council. It is in the public interest
that the Council is able to undertake contract negotiations without such
prejudice. In considering this public interest test we have followed
guidance from the Information Commissioner's Office. Such guidance can be
accessed through their website at the following link;
[1]http://www.ico.gov.uk/upload/documents/l...

There is information available on our public website concerning the
contractual arrangements between the Council and its suppliers in general
terms. For example, the Council's Code of Practice for suppliers can be
found at the following public website link. :
[2]http://www.lewisham.gov.uk/Business/Tend...

You have a right of appeal against this decision. If you wish to appeal
you must do so in writing to the Corporate Information Manager at the
following address:
Information Governance Team
Room 203, 2nd Floor
London Borough of Lewisham
Town Hall, Catford Road
London, SE6 4RU
or
[email address]

2. A list of each Vendor you use and copies of hourly pay-scales/rates you
hold for each Vendor. Whether or not you use each Vendor via a Managed
Service Provider framework. If you do you use a Managed Service Provider
please also provide a copy of the pay-scales/rates that are used by the
Managed Service Provider to manage all these Vendors. Please ensure any
provided pay-scale information provided explains how many years of
experience is required to be applicable to any specific hourly rate.

We confirm that this information is not held. The Council does not
currently hold a list of pay-scales/rates for each of its suppliers. There
is currently not a standardised set of pay-scales/rates for any of these
suppliers. Pay-scales/rates can change frequently and are determined by a
number of factors for each contracted role. Such factors include: whether
or not an individual is paid via PAYE or a limited company;
qualifications; experience; current local demand for staff; and budget
limitations.

4. Please also indicate whether any of the information requested questions
1 to 3 have ever been disclosed before under the FOI Act.

We confirm that information requested in questions 1 to 3 has not been
disclosed before by the Council under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Yours sincerely
Information Governance Team

DISCLAIMER

This message is confidential and intended solely for the use of the
individual or entity it is addressed to. If you have received it in
error, please contact the sender and delete the e-mail. To see the full
version of this disclaimer please visit the following address:
http://www.lewisham.gov.uk/AboutThisSite...

For advice and assistance about online security and protection from
internet threats visit the "Get Safe Online" website at
http://www.getsafeonline.org

References

Visible links
1. http://www.ico.gov.uk/upload/documents/l...
2. http://www.lewisham.gov.uk/Business/Tend...

Dear Mr Blair,

We acknowledge receipt of your appeal to our response to your information
request (reference number 51389). We will now undertake a review of our
original response to you. There is no set timeframe for conducting
reviews. However, we will endeavour to respond to you as quickly as
possible.

Kind regards
Information Governance

----

Eric Blair [[FOI #7797 email]]
Tue 03/03/2009 08:28

Dear Sir or Madam,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of
Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Lewisham Borough
Council's handling of my FOI request 'Agency worker: Agreements,
Contracts, pay scales'.

Your response mentions "that the Council contracts Reed as a
'Managed Service Provider'", I therefore consider you have applied
the non-disclosure exemptions incorrectly. Other Public Authorities
have disclosed such Reed contract's, an example can be found at:

[1]http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/di...

I note this Reed contract makes provision for Freedom on
Information Act Disclosures. I therefore cannot understand your
exemptions notice.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is
available on the Internet at this address:

[2]http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/ag...

Yours sincerely,

Eric Blair

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Dear Mr Blair,

Re: Freedom of Information Act 2000, Response to Appeal

Reference No: 51389

Please find the attached review letter and supplied information in
response to your appeal which you submitted by email on 03 March 2009.

Kind regards

Karina O'Neill
Information Governance
0208 3146539

_____________________________________________
From: O'Neill, Karina
Sent: 04 March 2009 10:24
To: 'Eric Blair'
Subject: FoI Request Review 51389

Dear Mr Blair,

We acknowledge receipt of your appeal to our response to your information
request (reference number 51389). We will now undertake a review of our
original response to you. There is no set timeframe for conducting
reviews. However, we will endeavour to respond to you as quickly as
possible.

Kind regards
Information Governance

----

Eric Blair [[FOI #7797 email]]
Tue 03/03/2009 08:28

Dear Sir or Madam,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of
Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Lewisham Borough
Council's handling of my FOI request 'Agency worker: Agreements,
Contracts, pay scales'.

Your response mentions "that the Council contracts Reed as a
'Managed Service Provider'", I therefore consider you have applied
the non-disclosure exemptions incorrectly. Other Public Authorities
have disclosed such Reed contract's, an example can be found at:

[1]http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/di...

I note this Reed contract makes provision for Freedom on
Information Act Disclosures. I therefore cannot understand your
exemptions notice.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is
available on the Internet at this address:

[2]http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/ag...

Yours sincerely,

Eric Blair

show quoted sections