looked after children

FoI/2009/379

Dear Ms Wileman,

Thank you for your request. I will discuss this with the Children &
Young People Service and we will seek to respond within twenty working
days.

Yours sincerely

Sue Broughton

Information Management Officer

Policy & Communication

* West Berkshire Council, Council Offices, Market Street, Newbury RG14
5LD

Email: [West Berkshire Council request email]

01635 519747 (external) ' 2747 (internal) 6: 01635 519613

You should be aware that all emails received and sent by this Council
are subject to the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and therefore may be
disclosed to a third party.

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FoI/2009/378

Dear Ms Wileman,

I have now had the opportunity to discuss your request with the Head of Children's Services. You have asked for statistical data on Interim Care Orders and Emergency Protection Orders enumerated by the category 'emotional harm'. I regret that we do not collate the statistical information you have requested under this heading.

I have attached the information held relating to the statistics from 1998 when the Council came into existence, for all children received into care under Interim Care Orders or Emergency Protection Orders. However, to extract the statistics you have requested would require staff to review the case files in each case to establish the circumstances of the order. In the case of the older files, which have been archived, this would also require a request to access the file from the secure store, for which there is a charge.

There were over 100 orders over this period. I have scoped the request with the Head of Children's Services and it is our opinion that to progress this would exceed the 'appropriate limit' by a considerable margin (we have estimated an average of at least 2 hours per case file, factoring in the time which will be needed to obtain the files, and for staff to search the data). In addition, there would be the additional cost of obtaining files from storage, which is an on-cost. Finally, although this is not a consideration under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act), the information obtained would have no practical use for the authority.

Where administration of a request would exceed the 'appropriate limit' under Section 12 of the Act (defined in the Fees Regulations as £450 of staff time calculated at 18 hours costing £25 per hour) the authority may refuse the request. We are therefore refusing this request under Section 12 of the Act, but to advise and assist you we have, as noted above, supplied the statistics we do collect which we hope will be of use to you. However, without some better idea of how you wish to use this data we cannot supply further advice and assistance, since your request is so precise.

If you are unhappy with the way your request has been handled, you may ask for an internal review. You should contact David Lowe, Policy & Scrutiny Manager, Policy & Communication, Council Offices, Market Street, Newbury RG14 5LD email [email address] if you wish to make a complaint. If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at:
Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF

If you have any queries about this letter, please contact me.

Yours Sincerely

Sue Broughton

Information Management Officer

Policy & Communication

* West Berkshire Council, Council Offices, Market Street, Newbury RG14 5LD

Email: [West Berkshire Council request email]

01635 519747 (external) ' 2747 (internal) 6: 01635 519613

You should be aware that all emails received and sent by this Council are subject to the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and therefore may be disclosed to a third party.

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FoI/2009/378

Dear Ms Wileman,

Thank you for your email, which I will pass to the Head of Children's Services for her advice. However, I would point out that the fact that the Council does not collect statistical data on an issue is not indicative of policies or actions. Statistical data is generally collected for performance indicators and reporting processes for government.

Yours sincerely

Sue Broughton

Information Management Officer

Policy & Communication

* West Berkshire Council, Council Offices, Market Street, Newbury RG14 5LD

Email: [West Berkshire Council request email]

01635 519747 (external) ' 2747 (internal) 6: 01635 519613

You should be aware that all emails received and sent by this Council are subject to the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and therefore may be disclosed to a third party.

P Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail

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FoI/2009/378

Dear Ms Wileman,

I have now discussed your email with the Head of Children's Services.
She advises that for the last few years the council can supply
statistics on how many children have had certain codes set by the DCSF
which include aspects of abuse- this information would be for the whole
child social work population. We can also provide statistics for how
many children have been subject to child protection plans created
because of emotional abuse and we can provide statistics for how many of
those ended up becoming looked after children under any legal order. I
understand from her that the DCSF also publishes some of these
statistics. You will find DCSF statistical data here:
http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/search1...

Please advise me if you require any of the data we collect.

Yours sincerely

Sue Broughton

Information Management Officer

Policy & Communication

* West Berkshire Council, Council Offices, Market Street, Newbury RG14
5LD

Email: [West Berkshire Council request email]

01635 519747 (external) ' 2747 (internal) 6: 01635 519613

You should be aware that all emails received and sent by this Council
are subject to the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and therefore may be
disclosed to a third party.

P Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail

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FoI/2009/378

Dear Ms Wileman,

I note that you have not responded to my email of 2nd October. As advised in this, we do collect certain datasets at the request of the DCSF. Your request for an internal review must be for a review of the administration of your FoI request - the process does not provide for a review because you are dissatisfied with the statistical data we collect and wish the Council to collect additional data. If you are still requesting a review of your request, please indicate how you consider the Council has failed to respond (beyond the fact that we do not hold the specific data you requested).

Yours sincerely

Sue Broughton

Information Management Officer

Policy & Communication

* West Berkshire Council, Council Offices, Market Street, Newbury RG14 5LD

Email: [West Berkshire Council request email]

01635 519747 (external) ' 2747 (internal) 6: 01635 519613

You should be aware that all emails received and sent by this Council are subject to the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and therefore may be disclosed to a third party.

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FoI/2009/r/07

Dear Ms Wileman,

Thank you for your response. I will pass your request for a review of
our S12 refusal (appropriate limit) to the Policy and Scrutiny Manager,
David Lowe, and we will seek to respond within twenty working days.

Yours sincerely

Sue Broughton

Information Management Officer

Policy & Communication

* West Berkshire Council, Council Offices, Market Street, Newbury RG14
5LD

Email: [West Berkshire Council request email]

01635 519747 (external) ' 2747 (internal) 6: 01635 519613

You should be aware that all emails received and sent by this Council
are subject to the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and therefore may be
disclosed to a third party.

P Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail

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FoI/2009/IR/07

Dear Mrs Wileman,

I am writing to advise you that the Council is still progressing your
request for a review. We hope to respond by the middle of next week.

Yours sincerely

Sue Broughton

Information Management Officer

Policy & Communication

* West Berkshire Council, Council Offices, Market Street, Newbury RG14
5LD

Email: [West Berkshire Council request email]

01635 519747 (external) ' 2747 (internal) 6: 01635 519613

You should be aware that all emails received and sent by this Council
are subject to the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and therefore may be
disclosed to a third party.

P Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail

Disclaimer
This e-mail and any files transmitted with it are intended solely for
the use of the intended individual or entity to whom they are
addressed. If you have received this e-mail in error
(a) please tell us immediately and
(b) take no action based on it, nor copy or show it to anyone.

The views and opinions expressed in this email are personal to the
sender and do not represent the positions and policies of West
Berkshire Council.

All communication sent to or from West Berkshire Council may be
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Although this e-mail and its attachments have been screened and are
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Dear Mrs Wileman,

Please find attached a letter outlining the findings of my review into the
handling of your request for information, made under Section 1 of the
Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Yours sincerely,

David Lowe
Policy and Scrutiny Manager
West Berkshire Council
Market Street
Newbury
Berkshire
RG14 5LD

T: 01635 519817
F: 01635 519613
E: [1][email address]

[2]www.westberks.gov.uk/informationmanagement

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