Birmingham Council Children at Risk Poor Services

Dear Sir or Madam,

1 Provide details of what action Birmingham City Council Chief
Executive took to implement the recommendations in the 2007 report
about the Council children services regarding the children
potentially at risk.

2 Provide details of what action Birmingham City Council Leader and
the Deputy Leader of the Council and the Cabinet Member for
Children Services took to implement the recommendations in the 2007
report about the Council children services regarding the children
potentially at risk.

3 Provide copies of all the correspondence between the Council
Chief Executive and other Council officials from 2006 onwards about
Birmingham Council children services regarding the children
potentially at risk.

4 Provide details of the percentage of children (census
classification) by racial groups of the children potentially at
risk.

5 Provide details from 2004 onwards of the racial equality impact
assessment undertaken by Birmingham Council children services
regarding the children potentially at risk.

6 Provide details from 2004 onwards of the action plans that came
out of the racial equality impact assessment of the Council
children services regarding the children potentially at risk.

7 Provide details of the actions taken by the Council Chief
Executive to do with the Council children services regarding the
children potentially at risk after the Commission for Racial
Equality served an Enforcement Order in January 2007 on the Council
because Birmingham Council was not complying with racial equality
law in the Council services and in the Council employment.

8 Provide details of the actions taken by the Council Chief
Executive to do with the Council children services regarding the
children potentially at risk after the the Audit Commission
Comprehensive Performance Assessment Report in February 2007 said
that Birmingham Council was not complying with racial equality law.

9 Provide details of the consultations the Birmingham Council has
undertaken from 2006 onwards to do with the Council children
services regarding the children potentially at risk.

10 Provide details of the action plans that came out of
consultations undertaken Birmingham Council from 2006 onwards to do
with the Council children services regarding the children
potentially at risk.

11 Provide details of how many complaints have been submitted to
Birmingham Council from 2006 onwards regarding Council children
services to do with the children potentially at risk.

12 Provide details of how many complaints have not been
investigated by Birmingham Council from 2006 onwards regarding
Council children services to do with the children potentially at
risk.

13 How many grievances are submitted by Birmingham Council
employees working in the Council children service potentially at
risk.

14 How of the grievances were upheld and how many of the grievance
were dismissed submitted by Birmingham Council employees working in
the Council children service potentially at risk.

Yours faithfully,

Luqman Khan

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 and to request further
information of Birmingham City Council's handling of my FOI request
'Birmingham Council Children at Risk Poor Services'.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is
available on the Internet at this address:
http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/bi...

I refer to Birmingham City Council (BCC) response of 3 November
2009 to my FOI request of 6 October 2009.

BCC response says that - 'Accordingly, Birmingham City Council
invites you to either scale down the number of requests, so that
the Council can provide the information to you within the 18 hours
specified in the legislation, or alternatively, you can agree to
pay the excess time at the specified statutory rate of £25.00 per
hour'.

I am not satisfied with BCC response and I request and internal
review. Also I request further information. Also I have modified my
requests. Please see below.

All my 14 requests now are covered by the statutory race equality
public duty under the Race Relations Act and therefore all of the
information should already have been and should continue to be
produced and published in public. Therefore there should be no
application of cost to me or anyone else for requesting the
information, which I am now requesting below. BCC would be breaking
the Race Relations Act if BCC does not already have all the
information, which I have requested below.

BCC have neglected that my request made on 6 October 2009 in items
4 to 8, which concerns statutory race equality public duty under
the Race Relations Act. BCC and all public authorities are required
by the statutory race equality public duty under the Race Relations
Act to automatically publish in public all the information relating
to the discharge of the statutory race equality public duty without
anyone requesting the information.

BCC has broken the FOI Act by not being helpful to inform me that
my request in items 4 to 8 were covered by the statutory race
equality public duty under the Race Relations Act and for which the
information would be already be available and BCC not providing it
to me is a breach of the FOI Act and a breach of the Race Relations
Act.

Please can you confirm whether the statutory race equality public
duty information I requested in items 4 to 8 was published in
public prior to 6 October 2009, which was the date of my FOI
request. Please inform me where the the information was published
and the dates of the publication.

Please inform me why BCC response have not told me when (dates) BCC
have published in public the race equality information I have
requested in items 4 to 8 and where (the place) I and other public
can access the information.

Below I have now modified all 14 items of my requests and now all
of it relates to the statutory race equality public duty under the
Race Relations Act.

1 Provide details of what action Birmingham City Council Chief
Executive took to implement the recommendations in the 2007 report
about the Council children services regarding the children
potentially at risk and what percentage of the children at risk
were ethnic minorities. Please give in percentages the children at
risk by racial groups such as Pakistanis and so on.

2 Provide details of what action Birmingham City Council Leader and
the Deputy Leader of the Council and the Cabinet Member for
Children Services took to implement the recommendations in the 2007
report about the Council children services regarding the children
potentially at risk. Please give in percentage the children at risk
by racial groups such as Pakistanis and so on,.affected by the
actions

3 Provide copies of all the correspondence between the Council
Chief Executive and other Council officials from 2006 onwards about
Birmingham Council children services regarding the children
potentially at risk. Please show in percentages the racial groups
such as Pakistanis and so on, of the children potentially at risk
whose well-being would be affected by the correspondence.

4 Provide details of the percentage of children (census
classification) by racial groups such as Pakistanis and so on, of
the children potentially at risk.

5 Provide details from 2004 onwards of the racial equality impact
assessment undertaken by Birmingham Council children services
regarding the children potentially at risk. Please give in
percentages the racial groups such as Pakistanis and so on.

6 Provide details from 2004 onwards of the action plans that came
out of the racial equality impact assessment of the Council
children services regarding the children potentially at risk.
Please give in percentages the racial groups such as Pakistanis and
so on.

7 Provide details of the actions taken by the Council Chief
Executive to do with the Council children services regarding the
children potentially at risk after the Commission for Racial
Equality served an Enforcement Order in January 2007 on the Council
because Birmingham Council was not complying with racial equality
law in the Council services and in the Council employment. Please
give in percentages the racial groups such as Pakistanis and so on,
children potentially at risk affected.

8 Provide details of the actions taken by the Council Chief
Executive to do with the Council children services regarding the
children potentially at risk after the the Audit Commission
Comprehensive Performance Assessment Report in February 2007 said
that Birmingham Council was not complying with racial equality law.
Please give in percentages the racial groups such as Pakistanis and
so on, children potentially at risk affected.

9 Provide details of the consultations Birmingham Council has
undertaken from 2006 onwards to do with the Council children
services regarding the children potentially at risk. Please give in
percentages those consulted, by racial groups such as Pakistanis
and so on.

10 Provide details of the action plans that came out of the
consultations undertaken by Birmingham City Council from 2006
onwards to do with the Council children services regarding the
children potentially at risk. Please give in percentages by racial
groups such as Pakistanis and so on, the children potentially at
risk affected by the action plans.

11 Provide details of how many complaints have been submitted to
Birmingham City Council from 2006 onwards regarding Council
children services to do with the children potentially at risk.
Please give in percentages by racial groups such as Pakistanis and
so on the people making complaints and in percentages by racial
groups such as Pakistanis and so on the complaints were concerned
with.

12 Provide details of how many complaints have not been
investigated by Birmingham Council from 2006 onwards regarding
Council children services to do with the children potentially at
risk. Please give in percentages the racial groups such as
Pakistanis and so on, of the children potentially at risk that the
complaints, which have not been investigated were concerned with.

13 How many grievances are submitted by Birmingham City Council
employees working in the Council children service potentially at
risk. Please give in percentages by racial groups such as
Pakistanis and so on, of the employees who submitted the
grievances.

14 How many of the grievances were upheld and how many of the
grievance were dismissed submitted by Birmingham Council employees
working in the Council children service potentially at risk. Please
give in percentages the racial groups such as Pakistanis and so on,
whose grievances were upheld and whose grievances were dismissed.

Yours faithfully,

Luqman Khan

Dear Sir or Madam,

I refer to you response of 13 November 2009 to my FOI request.

You ask me to confirm the precise report I am referring to as "the
2007 report about the Council children services regarding the
children potentially at risk"

The 2007 report I am refering to is the 2007 report refered to in
Birmingham Post Newspaper article, part of which I set out below.

Social Services report: Investigation author
demands culture change at council

Oct 6 2009

(http://www.birminghampost.net

By Paul Dale

The author of a damning report into “systematic failure” by
Birmingham children’s social services today challenges city
council leaders to provide new investment to turn the troubled
department around.

Tory councillor Len Clark, whose all-party scrutiny investigation
exposed a catalogue
of poor practice by social workers and incompetent management,
called for a culture
change and a fresh approach by politicians.

A 50-point recovery plan drawn up by the council as recently as
2007 was found to
contain unrealistic timetables, a lack of priorities and paid no
attention to the council’s
capacity to change.

Yours faithfully,

Luqman Khan

Dear Birmingham City Council,

Dear Sir?Madam

1.) I am not happy with Birmingham City Council (BCC) response of
11 December 200 consisting of the review of the decision and of 7
December 2009.

2.) In the BCC review of the decision BCC says - The panel
considered the requests solely under access rights under the
Freedom of Information Act, as under the Race Relations Act, the
council has a general duty to give regard to the information.
However, the Race Relations Act does not give access rights to
information. BCC is completely abusing the Public Duty in the Race
Relations Act. The Public Duty in the Race Relations Act not only
requires the public authorities to collect and monitor the level
and quality of services provided to the different racial groups but
the Public Duty also requires the public authorities to place and
publish all that information where the public can easily access all
the information. By BCC admitting that the information is not
easily accessible to the public, BCC has clearly failed to carry
out its race equality Public Duty under the Race Relations Act. BCC
has failed to comply with the law.

3.) Also BCC review of the decision has failed to properly look
into all the other matters. Clearly BCC in not capable of properly
reviewing itself. It is evident that BCC cannot have the public
trust and confidence to undertake any form of challenging self
assessment. BCC has shown itself yet again that it is self serving
and that it is not interested in providing quality, fair and value
for money public services in compliance with the law.

4.) BCC response to my questions 1, 2 and 4 says - The Priority
Review did not look at a defined caseload of ‘children at risk’ nor
did it collect any figures on ethnic background. Yet again BCC
admits that BCC does not collect figures on ethnic background of
people to whom BCC provide public services. Yet again BCC, without
any respect for the law has not complied with the race equality
Public Duty in the Race Relations Act. The Public Duty in the Race
Relations Act not only requires the public authorities to collect
and monitor the level and quality of services provided to the
different racial groups but the Public Duty also requires the
public authorities to place and publish all that information where
the public can easily access all the information.

5.) BCC response to my questions 3, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 10 says -
Accordingly, you are invited to either scale down the number of
requests, so that the City Council can provide the information to
you within the 18 hours specified in the legislation or,
alternatively, you can agree to pay the excess time at the
specified statutory rate of £25.00 per hour. Yet again BCC chooses
to have complete contempt for the law. All the information I have
requested in questions 3, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 10 is covered by the race
equality Public Duty in the Race Relations Act. There is no
question of anyone been asked to pay £25 per hour to get the
information from BCC. The Public Duty in the Race Relations Act not
only requires the public authorities to collect and monitor the
level and quality of services provided to the different racial
groups but the Public Duty also requires the public authorities to
place and publish all that information where the public can easily
access all the information. BCC is clearly breaking the law.

6.) BCC response to my question 9 does not provide the racial
statistical information I requested. The Web address BCC has shown
in its response does not work. Yet again BCC has failed to comply
with the the Public Duty in the Race Relations Act.

6.) BCC response to my questions 11, 12 says - We do not collect
information based on an “at risk” category. Yet gains BCC fails to
provide the race equality information I have requested. The Public
Duty in the Race Relations Act not only requires the public
authorities to collect and monitor the level and quality of
services provided to the different racial groups but the Public
Duty also requires the public authorities to place and publish all
that information where the public can easily access all the
information. Yet gain BCC admits that it is breaking the law.

7.) BCC response to my questions 13, 14 say – Nil. Clearly it is
not credible to say that in a largest local authority in the UK,
employees working in children at risk services have submitted zero
grievances.

8.) It is abundantly clear that Birmingham City Council (BCC) does
not comply with the race equality Public Duty law in services to
Children at Risk. It is also fair to believe that the Chief
Executive and the Services Directors and senior Councillors would
be aware of BCC not complying with the law. It is also reasonably
fair to believe that BCC failure to comply with the race equality
duty would most certainly have caused detriment to members of the
public. It would be unthinkable and it would be breach of other
laws if senior managers and Councillors are not declared to be
unfit to hold public office because they have breached the
confidence and Trust of the public and because they have caused
detriment to the people and because they have put the safety of the
community at increased risk and because their contempt for the law
had led to the breakdown in social cohesion. These serious failures
by BCC senior managers and Councillors can not be left without the
then being held accountable.

9.) I have now exhausted Birmingham City Council internal
processes. I shall progress the matter with all the relevant
regulators and enforcing authorities and legal authorities and
politicians. I will do all this at the significant expense of my
own time because as a responsible citizen I care about public
services and fair and values for money to the tax payers.

Yours faithfully,

Luqman Khan