Impact of proposed home education legislation

C. Blades made this Freedom of Information request to Lancashire County Council

The request was refused by Lancashire County Council.

From: C. Blades

15 September 2009

Dear Sir or Madam,

In the wake of Graham Badman’s review of Elective Home Education,
the Government is planning to introduce legislation to register,
monitor and support home educated children.

It is clear that this legislation will have financial and staffing
impacts upon local authorities and yet the Government has made it
equally clear that no extra funding will be made available to local
councils to fulfil their new responsibilities.

In the light of the expected impact of this proposed legislation:

(a) Has it been formally discussed by the committees of elected
councillors responsible for education, children’s social care,
finance or any other relevant department?

(b) Has it been formally discussed by the officers responsible for
education, children’s social care, finance or any other relevant
department?

(c) Have the committees responsible for education, children’s
social care, finance or any other relevant department taken part in
the Government consultation into the proposed legislation, which
ends on 19 October 2009?

(d) Have the unelected local authority officers responsible for
education, children’s social care, finance or any other relevant
department taken part in the Government consultation into the
proposed legislation, which ends on 19 October 2009?

(e) If the councillors or officers have not taken part in the
consultation, are they planning to do so?

Yours faithfully,

C. Blades

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From: Freedom of Information
Lancashire County Council

16 September 2009

Dear Sir/Madam,

Request for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000

We are writing to acknowledge receipt of your email dated 15 September
2009, in which you request the disclosure of information under the
provisions of the above Act.

We have begun a search for the information you require and shall contact
you again when we are in a position to respond further. Should we envisage
any delays, or require more details from you, we will contact you
immediately. In the meantime, if you have any queries about the above,
please do not hesitate to contact us, quoting ref. RFI 636/2009.

Yours sincerely,

On behalf of the Freedom of Information Team

Freedom of Information | Access to Information Team

Lancashire County Council, PO Box 78,

County Hall, Preston, PR1 8XJ

Tel: 01772 533997 | Fax: 01772 530949

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Lancashire, a place where everyone matters

********************

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From: Freedom of Information
Lancashire County Council

13 October 2009

Dear Sir or Madam,

Request for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000

Further to your email, dated 16 September, in which you request the
disclosure of information under the provisions of the above Act, we are
now in a position to respond.

It is clear that this request has not been made in isolation, and forms
part of a wider campaign for information about home education being
conducted by a number of individuals via the 'whatdotheyknow' website.

Section 12 of the Freedom of Information Act provides that public
authorities are not obliged to comply with requests for information if to
do so would exceed the 'appropriate limit' set by the Freedom of
Information and Data Protection (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations
2004 ("the Regulations").

As prescribed in Section 5(1)(b) of the Regulations, a public authority
can aggregate the cost of complying with requests under the Act if two or
more requests for the same or similar information are made by 'different
persons who appear to the public authority to be acting in concert or in
pursuance of a campaign' within a period of 60 consecutive working days. 
We have accordingly taken the decision to aggregate the cost of complying
with your request with the cost of complying with all related requests
received within the last 60 working days. It has been determined that
complying with all related requests incurs a commitment of resources in
excess of the limit of £450 set by the Regulations, which equates to 18
hours of work.  As such, we regret to inform you that your request is
refused by virtue of Section 12(1) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

In the event that you wish to complain about the manner in which your
enquiry has been handled, you should write in the first instance to The
Freedom of Information Officer, Lancashire County Council, PO Box 78,
County Hall, Preston PR1 8XJ, or email
[1][Lancashire County Council request email]

If, after this stage, you remain dissatisfied, you have the right to refer
the matter to the Information Commissioner, whose contact details are as
follows:

The Information Commissioner

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

Tel: 01625 545700

Email: [2][email address]

Website: [3]http://www.ico.gov.uk

If you have any queries regarding our response, or you require any
additional information, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Yours sincerely,

Freedom of Information

Lancashire County Council

PO Box 78

County Hall

Preston

PR1 8XJ

Tel: (01772) 531116

Fax: (01772) 530949

Email: [4][Lancashire County Council request email]

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Lancashire, a place where everyone matters

********************

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2. mailto:[email address]
3. http://www.ico.gov.uk/
4. mailto:[Lancashire County Council request email]

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