Social Worker Registration

The request was refused by Herefordshire Council.

Dear Herefordshire Council,

1. Between January 2016 and January 2019, how many qualified social workers employed by Herefordshire Council were a practising social worker before first being registered with the relevant authority (The HCPC)?
Please provide separate figures for Adults and Wellbeing Services and Children's Services.

It may be helpful for you to know I am aware of at least one instance, having evidence of such, where a Herefordshire Council Adults and Wellbeing social worker was practising without first being registered with The HCPC.

2. Of those individuals identified as an unregistered yet practising social worker by any member of the public or staff of Herefordshire Council, what action was taken by Herefordshire Council?
Please refer to The Care Standards Act 2000; denoting it is a criminal offence for a social worker to be practising without first being registered with The HCPC.

3. How many social workers are currently employed by Herefordshire Council in Adult Social Care (Adults and Wellbeing)?

4. How many social workers are currently employed by Herefordshire Council in Children's Social Care (Children's Services)?

Yours faithfully,

Chris Bury

Access To Information, Herefordshire Council

3 Attachments

Dear Sir,

 

Please find attached acknowledgement of your FOI request.

 

Kind Regards

 

[1]Image

[2]Image

 

Information Access Team

Herefordshire Council

Plough Lane

Hereford

HR4 0LE

[3][email address]

 

 

“Any opinion expressed in this e-mail or any attached files are those of
the individual and not necessarily those of Herefordshire Council,
Herefordshire Clinical Commissioning Group (HCCG), Wye Valley NHS Trust or
2gether NHS Foundation Trust. You should be aware that Herefordshire
Council, Herefordshire Clinical Commissioning Group (HCCG), Wye Valley NHS
Trust & 2gether NHS Foundation Trust monitors its email service. This
e-mail and any attached files are confidential and intended solely for the
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References

Visible links
1. file://herefordshire.gov.uk/data/C&CS/Communications/PublicRelations/00%20AJ%20Folder/Branding/www.herefordshire.gov.uk
3. mailto:[email address]

Access To Information, Herefordshire Council

6 Attachments

Dear Sir

 

Please see attached response to your recent FOI request.

 

 

Kind regards

 

Carol

 

[1]age

[2]age

 

Carol Saunders                                                            
Corporate Support

Information Access Officer                                          
Plough Lane

Telephone: 01432 260535                                           Hereford

Email: [3][email address]        HR4 0LE

                          
                                                                        

 

[4]cid:image001.png@01D45021.AD6FB8B0[5]cid:image002.png@01D45021.AD6FB8B0[6]cid:image003.png@01D45021.AD6FB8B0

 

Please consider the environment - Do you really need to print this E-Mail?

 

Any opinion expressed in this e-mail or any attached files are those of
the individual and not necessarily those of Herefordshire Council. This
e-mail and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended
solely for the use of the addressee. This communication may contain
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References

Visible links
1. file://herefordshire.gov.uk/data/C&CS/Communications/PublicRelations/00%20AJ%20Folder/Branding/www.herefordshire.gov.uk
3. mailto:[email address]
4. https://twitter.com/HfdsCouncil
5. https://www.facebook.com/hfdscouncil
6. https://www.instagram.com/hfdscouncil/

Dear Access To Information,

Thank you for the response.

Regarding item 1 of my FOI request. Can you please clarify why Herefordshire Council state 'we have no evidence of any social workers in Adults Wellbeing practising without being HCPC registered.'
Notable as some of the evidence I have originated from Herefordshire Council?

Regarding item 2 of my FOI request, I understand the name of the person you refer to is public knowledge. However, I will rephrase my question.
Can you please clarify how Herefordshire Council would deal with a Social Worker conduct wise if he or she is found or was found not to be registered with the HCPC?
Please refer to The Care Standards Act 2000; denoting it is a criminal offence for a social worker to be practising without first being registered with The HCPC.

Please also answer the following:

1. How many Social Workers have put reports to the Family Court arena and then it found they were not registered with the HCPC, please give statistics for the past 48 calendar months?

2. How many social workers have Herefordshire Council suspended since January 2012?

3. How many social workers have Herefordshire Council dismissed since January 2012?

4. How many social workers of Herefordshire Council have been struck off by The HCPC since January 2012?

Yours sincerely,

Chris Bury

Access To Information, Herefordshire Council

2 Attachments

Dear Sir,

 

Thank you for your email. I will seek a response to your queries item 1
and 2 and respond further in due course. Your additional questions will be
logged as a new request for which you will be sent a formal
acknowledgement in due course.

 

Kind Regards

 

[1]Image

[2]Image

 

Information Access Team

Herefordshire Council

Plough Lane

Hereford

HR4 0LE

[3][email address]

 

 

show quoted sections

Access To Information, Herefordshire Council

3 Attachments

Dear Sir,

 

Please find attached acknowledgement of your FOI request.

 

Kind Regards

 

[1]Image

[2]Image

 

Information Access Team

Herefordshire Council

Plough Lane

Hereford

HR4 0LE

[3][email address]

 

 

“Any opinion expressed in this e-mail or any attached files are those of
the individual and not necessarily those of Herefordshire Council,
Herefordshire Clinical Commissioning Group (HCCG), Wye Valley NHS Trust or
2gether NHS Foundation Trust. You should be aware that Herefordshire
Council, Herefordshire Clinical Commissioning Group (HCCG), Wye Valley NHS
Trust & 2gether NHS Foundation Trust monitors its email service. This
e-mail and any attached files are confidential and intended solely for the
use of the addressee. This communication may contain material protected by
law from being passed on. If you are not the intended recipient and have
received this e-mail in error, you are advised that any use,
dissemination, forwarding, printing or copying of this e-mail is strictly
prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error please contact the
sender immediately and destroy all copies of it.”

References

Visible links
1. file://herefordshire.gov.uk/data/C&CS/Communications/PublicRelations/00%20AJ%20Folder/Branding/www.herefordshire.gov.uk
3. mailto:[email address]

Access To Information, Herefordshire Council

3 Attachments

Dear Sir,

 

Please see further response to item 1 and 2 below:

 

Regarding item 1 of my FOI request. Can you please clarify why
Herefordshire Council state 'we have no evidence of any social workers in
Adults Wellbeing practising without being HCPC registered.'

Notable as some of the evidence I have originated from Herefordshire
Council?

 

Regarding item 2 of my FOI request, I understand the name of the person
you refer to is public knowledge. However, I will rephrase my question.

Can you please clarify how Herefordshire Council would deal with a Social
Worker conduct wise if he or she is found or was found not to be
registered with the HCPC?

Please refer to The Care Standards Act 2000; denoting it is a criminal
offence for a social worker to be practising without first being
registered with The HCPC.

 

A)      The council has noted your comments regarding your evidence for
item 1 of your request, this does not alter our response. Staff conduct is
dealt with through the council disciplinary policy, a copy of which is
attached.

 

In circumstances where standards of conduct or performance fall below
expected levels, Herefordshire Council may be required to work with the
Health & Care Professionals Council who are responsible for:

 

·         setting standards for professionals' education and training and
practice;

·         keeping a register of professionals who meet HCPC standards; and

·         taking action if professionals do not meet HCPC standards.

 

If you are dissatisfied with the handling of your request, further
information regarding our review procedure is available in the ‘Internal
Review Procedure for EIR and FOI requests’ which is published on
Herefordshire Council’s website via the following link:

https://www.herefordshire.gov.uk/downloa...

 

Further information is also available from the Information Commissioner
at:

Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow,
Cheshire, SK9 5AF

Telephone: 01625 545 745 Web Site: [1]www.ico.org.uk

 

Kind Regards

 

[2]Image

[3]Image

 

Information Access Team

Herefordshire Council

Plough Lane

Hereford

HR4 0LE

[4][email address]

 

 

From: Access To Information
Sent: 01 April 2019 13:13
To: 'Chris Bury' <[FOI #554604 email]>
Subject: RE: FOI IAT 17953.

 

Dear Sir,

 

Thank you for your email. I will seek a response to your queries item 1
and 2 and respond further in due course. Your additional questions will be
logged as a new request for which you will be sent a formal
acknowledgement in due course.

 

Kind Regards

 

[5]Image

[6]Image

 

Information Access Team

Herefordshire Council

Plough Lane

Hereford

HR4 0LE

[7][email address]

 

 

show quoted sections

Access To Information, Herefordshire Council

6 Attachments

Dear Sir,

 

Please see the attached.

 

Kind regards

 

Christine

 

[1]age

[2]age

 

Christine Dallow                                                     
     Corporate Support

Information Access Officer                                          
Plough Lane

Telephone: 01432 260535                                           Hereford

Email: [3][email address]        HR4 0LE

                          
                                                                        

 

[4]cid:image001.png@01D45021.AD6FB8B0[5]cid:image002.png@01D45021.AD6FB8B0[6]cid:image003.png@01D45021.AD6FB8B0

 

Please consider the environment - Do you really need to print this E-Mail?

 

Any opinion expressed in this e-mail or any attached files are those of
the individual and not necessarily those of Herefordshire Council. This
e-mail and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended
solely for the use of the addressee. This communication may contain
material protected by law from being passed on. If you are not the
intended recipient and have received this e-mail in error, you are advised
that any use, dissemination, forwarding, printing or copying of this
e-mail is strictly prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error,
please contact the sender immediately and destroy all copies of it.

 

 

 

 

 

References

Visible links
1. file://herefordshire.gov.uk/data/C&CS/Communications/PublicRelations/00%20AJ%20Folder/Branding/www.herefordshire.gov.uk
3. mailto:[email address]
4. https://twitter.com/HfdsCouncil
5. https://www.facebook.com/hfdscouncil
6. https://www.instagram.com/hfdscouncil/

Dear Access To Information,

Can Herefordshire Council explain why the response to Q1 is 'nil'?
Notably, as information provided to me verifies at least one instance of such happening.

I look forward to reading the reply.

Yours sincerely,

Chris Bury

Access To Information, Herefordshire Council

Dear Sir,

Thank you for your email.

The council notes your comments regarding information that you claim has been provided to you, this does not alter our response.

Regards

Information Access Team
Corporate Support
Herefordshire Council
Plough Lane | PO Box 4 | Hereford HR4 OLE

show quoted sections

Chris Bury left an annotation ()

I have marked this particular FOI request as rejected because Herefordshire Council has used deliberate obfuscation to withhold accurate and truthful information regarding at least one social worker practising without first being registered with The HCPC; as is a mandatory requirement.

Chris Bury left an annotation ()

Additional information which conflicts with that of which Herefordshire Council provided, regarding The HCPC.
http://www.locumtoday.co.uk/article.php?...

https://www.communitycare.co.uk/2017/06/...

https://www.herefordtimes.com/news/11020...

Chris Bury left an annotation ()

Another social worker struck off:
http://thhb.co.uk/2016/10/28/social-work...

Dear Herefordshire Council,

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

I am writing to request an internal review of Herefordshire Council's handling of my FOI request 'Social Worker Registration'.

Please provide full details of why the Herefordshire Council Information Access Team gave false information, appearing to intentionally hide accurate and truthful information from the public, in particular for the following:

A. How many social workers of Herefordshire Council were struck off by The HCPC since January 2012.

B. How many qualified social workers employed by Herefordshire Council were a practising social worker before first being registered with the relevant authority (The HCPC) between January 2016 and January 2019.

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

Yours faithfully,

Chris Bury

Access To Information, Herefordshire Council

1 Attachment

Dear Sir,

Please find attached a letter regarding your request for an internal review.

Yours faithfully,

Information Access Team
Corporate Support
Herefordshire Council
Plough Lane | PO Box 4 | Hereford HR4 OLE

show quoted sections

Chris Bury left an annotation ()

Another Herefordshire Council social worker (misconduct & ill-treatment): https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-he...

Chris Bury left an annotation ()

Below is a link to a redacted copy of the ICO's decision letter, after their investigation:

https://web.archive.org/web/202102281637...

Concerningly the ICO case officer ignored the false claim made by Herefordshire council regarding social workers struck off by the HCPC, as my response below describes.

email to ICO 28-02-2021:

Dear Ms Collins,

Thank you for your attached response of 25th January 2021.

It is was disappointing and concerning to note you have failed to identify Herefordshire Council declared false information regarding my submitted freedom of information request.
Not only regarding the criminal offence of using a protected title before registration, as documents from the local authority identify, and submission of false information to courts. But additionally, the declared number regarding social workers struck off by the Health and Care Professions Council.

Had you examined my FOI request and annotations available on the website, you would have noted the dishonestly declared figure of 'nil' social workers struck off by the HCPC for the period in question was, in fact, untrue, as is evidenced in the publically available news articles, my annotations direct too. In this instance, I will also add a redacted copy of your decision letter and this email to my annotations.

Sincerely

Chris Bury