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Autism ( ASD ) / Communication units in RCT

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Dear Sirs,

In relation to the ASD / Communication Units in RCT (ages 3 to 7) ("Units") please provide details of:-

1. The number of staff working full time in each of the Units and number of children attending each of the Units (listing the Units 1 to X with the number of full time staff and children attending for each of the Units);
2. Each of the Units staff members qualifications to work with children with Autism (post graduate & bachelors degree level including autism specific qualifications from recognised ASD bodies for each of the Units) by listing the staff members from 1 to X with relevant information relating to each).

Yours faithfully,

S Akram

Freedomofinformation, Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council

Dear Mr Akram

Thank you for your request for information.

Your request will be processed in accordance with the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 (or Environmental Information Regulations 2004, if it
relates to environmental information).

You should ordinarily expect to receive a response to your request no
later than 20 working days following the date of submission to the
Council. We will contact you should this not be the case.

Yours sincerely

Corporate Governance Team
for Director of Legal & Democratic Services

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Freedomofinformation, Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Akram

We refer to your Freedom of Information Request in respect of the ASD /
Communication Units in RCT (ages 3 to 7) ("Units");

1. The number of staff working full time in each of the Units and number
of children attending each of the Units (listing the Units 1 to X with the
number of full time staff and children attending for each of the Units); -
Please see attached.

2. Each of the Units staff members qualifications to work with children
with Autism (post graduate & bachelors degree level including autism
specific qualifications from recognised ASD bodies for each of the Units)
by listing the staff members from 1 to X with relevant information
relating to each)

Unfortunately, we are unable to provide the qualifications of individual
members of staff. We believe that such information is exempt under Section
40 (personal information) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 ("the
Act"), as the information constitutes third party data. Section 40(2)
provides that personal data about third parties is exempt information if
one of the conditions set out in section 40(3) is satisfied. Under the Act
disclosure of this information would breach the fair processing principle
contained in the Data Protection Act (DPA), where it would be unfair to
that person.

Accordingly, in accordance with Section 17 of the Act this e-mail acts as
a Refusal Notice. In refusing this request I have considered the Public
Interest Test and have therefore balanced such issues as the Authority's
desire to be open and transparent in all its dealings against the need to
ensure that the personal data of individuals is not made public.

If you are unhappy with the way your request for information has been
handled, you can request a review of the Council’s response. If you wish
to exercise this right, please set out in writing your grounds and send
your appeal to Mrs Julie Llewellyn. She may be reached at
[1][email address] or at RCT CBC, Pavilions, Clydach Vale,
Tonypandy, CF40 2XX.

Additionally you may, if you wish, find out more about the Freedom of
Information Act & Environmental Information Regulations from the
Information Commissioner at
[2]http://www.ico.org.uk/

We trust this answers your queries.

Yours Sincerely

Marc Jones
Swyddog Gwasanaethau Democrataidd / Democratic Services Officer
Gwasanaethau Cyfreithiol a Democrataidd / Legal and Democratic Services

The Pavilions
Clydach Vale
CF40 2XX
Ffon: 01443 424102 / Tel No: 01443 424102

show quoted sections

Dear Sirs,
Prior to my referring your refusal to respond to question 2 to the ICO I would request that the LA carry out a internal review. I have for your ease of reference set out question 2 below. You will note that actual names of staff members were not requested but anonymised details i.e. "listing the staff members from 1 to X". The information requested can be anonymised relatively easily. I look forward to hearing from your review officer as a matter of urgency. In the event that you continue to refuse the request a referral to the ICO will follow.

"2. Each of the Units staff members qualifications to work with children
with Autism (post graduate & bachelors degree level including autism
specific qualifications from recognised ASD bodies for each of the Units)
by listing the staff members from 1 to X with relevant information
relating to each)"

Yours sincerely,

S Akram

Jones, Christopher B (Legal),

Dear Mr. Akram,

Thank you for your email of 24th August 2017.

Your appeal has been referred to Mr Christopher Jones, Director of Legal &
Democratic Services, who will undertake a review of the way your Freedom
of Information Request has been handled and you will receive a response
within 20 working days.

Kind regards,
Julie Llewellyn

Ysgrifenydd i / Secretary to C.B. Jones
Cyfarwyddwr y Gwasanaethau Cyfreithiol a Llywodraethol
Director of Legal & Democratic Services
D  Y Pafiliynau, Parc Hen Lofa'r Cambrian, Cwm Clydach, Tonypandy, Rhondda
Cynon Taf. CF40 2XX
The Pavilions, Cabrian Park, Clydach Vale, Tonypandy, Rhondda Cynon Taf.
CF40 2XX
   Ffon/Tel No: 01443 424105
/    Ffacs/Fax No: 01443 424027
/  [1][email address]
  Meddyliwch am yr amgylchedd cyn i chi argraffu'r e-bost hwn
Before you print - think about the environment     

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________      

show quoted sections

Dear Mr Jones, Christopher B (Legal),

This matter does not seem to be overly complex or controversial and should not take this amount of time for response.

Please respond to my request without further delay.

Could you also confirm on what basis you have applied a 20 working day response to this request for an internal review?

Yours sincerely,

S Akram

Llewellyn, Julie A,

Fydda i ddim yn y swyddfa tan Dydd Llyn, 25/9/17 – ffoniwch Sian Hopkins
neu Menna McCarthy ar 01443 424105 yn y cyfamser.

Diolch yn fawr. Julie

show quoted sections

Gummer, Claire,

SENT ON BEHALF OF MR CHRISTOPHER JONES - DIRECTOR, LEGAL & DEMOCRATIC
SERVICES

 

Dear Mr Akram

 

You have requested an internal review of the Council's response to
question 2 (copied below) of your request. As the Director for Legal &
Democratic Services it falls to me to undertake such reviews.

 

Request

 

2. Each of the Units staff members qualifications to work with children 
with Autism (post graduate & bachelors degree level including autism 
specific qualifications from recognised ASD bodies for each of the Units) 
by listing the staff members from 1 to X with relevant information 
relating to each)"

 

Response

 

Having completed my review I respond as follows. I uphold the Council’s
original response for the following reasons.

 

We are unable to provide the qualifications of individual  members of
staff. We believe that such information is exempt under Section

40 (personal information) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 ("the 
Act"), as the information constitutes third party data. Section 40(2) 
provides that personal data about third parties is exempt information if 
one of the conditions set out in section 40(3) is satisfied. Under the
Act  disclosure of this information would breach the fair processing
principle  contained in the Data Protection Act (DPA), where it would be
unfair to  that person.

 

s40(2) of FOIA is an absolute exemption. The exemption is engaged when a
condition in section 40(3) of FOIA (namely that disclosure would
contravene any of the data protection principles under the Data Protection
Act 1998 (DPA)) FOIA applies.

 

When a public authority receives a request for information that
constitutes personal data about its employees, it must decide whether
disclosure would breach Principle 1 of the DPA, i.e. whether it would be
fair and lawful to disclose the information.

 

Whether the disclosure is fair will depend on a number of factors
including:

• whether it is sensitive personal data; • the consequences of disclosure;
• the reasonable expectations of the employees; and • whether there is a
legitimate interest in the public or requester having access to the
information and the balance between this and the rights and freedoms of
the data subjects.

 

If a public authority decides that it would be fair, the disclosure must
also satisfy one of the conditions in Schedule 2 of the DPA. In addition,
if the information constitutes sensitive personal data, the disclosure
must also satisfy one of the conditions in Schedule 3 of the DPA.

 

I have considered the legitimate interest in the public and yourself as
the requester having access to the information and balanced this against
the rights of the employee.

 

After reviewing the request I do not consider the processing (in the case
of disclosure) to be fair in these circumstances. As disclosure is not
fair it would contravene the first DPA principle. We consider the
information requested to constitute sensitive personal data but more
importantly that the employees would not have a reasonable expectation
such information would be disclosed in response to an FOI request and
consequently to the public at large. We also consider the information
relates to the employees as individual’s rather than in their professional
role.

 

It is not possible to anonymise the information in this instance.

 

I also refer you to the following decision notice issued by the ICO
relevant to the Council’s response and nature of your request.

 

[1]https://ico.org.uk/media/action-weve-tak...

 

If you remain dissatisfied with the response to this internal review you
may now complain to the Information Commissioner. Her office can be
contacted at [2]www.ico.org.uk.

 

Kind regards

 

Mr Christopher Jones

Director, Legal and Democratic Services

 

show quoted sections

Gummer, Claire,

Dear Mr Akram

 

We write further to your Freedom of Information Request 17-18/236, in
particular Q2.   This is a revised response following further
investigation.

 

It has become apparent that the information the Council withheld in
relation to this particular request (relating to staff qualifications at
specific schools) was not in fact held by the Council at the time of
receipt of the request (please note this remains the case as of today).

 

It was considered the information was held by the Council because
information was held by it in relation to a previous similar request, made
by yourself, which was subject to an ICO decision notice. The reasoning
for us holding the information relating to staff qualifications in that
case was because it had been requested by a Special Education Needs
Tribunal Hearing Panel which the Council was a party too.  It was
incorrectly communicated to the Freedom Of Information Officer that the
information relating to this request was held as a result of that same
Tribunal request. However following further investigation it transpired
that this was not the case.

 

We have checked with our HR department and Access & Inclusion department,
who have confirmed the information is not held.

 

It is the case that we should have confirmed to you that we did not hold
information relating to that part of the request and redirect you to the
individual schools concerned.  The email addresses for the schools are set
out below:

 

Perthcelyn Community Primary – [1][email address]

 

Ysgol Yr Eos – [2][email address]

 

Maesybryn Primary – [3][email address]

 

Oaklands Primary – [4][email address]

 

Williamstown Primary – [5][email address]

 

We apologise for this oversight.

 

Yours sincerely

 

Corporate Governance Team

For Director of Legal & Democratic Services

 

 

Croesawn ohebu yn Gymraeg a fydd gohebu yn y Gymraeg ddim yn arwain at
oedi. Rhowch wybod inni beth yw'ch dewis iaith e.e. Cymraeg neu'n
ddwyieithog

Mae'r neges ar gyfer y person / pobl enwedig yn unig. Gall gynnwys
gwybodaeth bersonol, sensitif neu gyfrinachol. Os nad chi yw'r person a
enwyd (neu os nad oes gyda chi’r awdurdod i'w derbyn ar ran y person a
enwyd) chewch chi ddim ei chopïo neu’i defnyddio, neu'i datgelu i berson
arall. Os ydych chi wedi derbyn y neges ar gam, rhowch wybod i'r sawl sy
wedi anfon y neges ar unwaith. Mae'n bosibl y bydd holl negeseuon, gan
gynnwys negeseuon GCSX, yn cael eu cofnodi a/neu fonitro unol â’r
ddeddfwriaeth berthnasol. I ddarllen yr ymwadiad llawn, ewch i
[6]http://www.rctcbc.gov.uk/CY/Help/TermsOf...

We welcome correspondence in Welsh and corresponding with us in Welsh will
not lead to a delay. Let us know your language choice if Welsh or
bilingual

This transmission is intended for the named addressee(s) only and may
contain personal, sensitive or confidential material and should be handled
accordingly. Unless you are the named addressee (or authorised to receive
it for the addressee) you may not copy or use it, or disclose it to anyone
else. If you have received this transmission in error please notify the
sender immediately. All traffic including GCSx may be subject to recording
and/or monitoring in accordance with relevant legislation For the full
disclaimer please access [7]http://www.rctcbc.gov.uk/disclaimer

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. mailto:[email address]
3. mailto:[email address]
4. mailto:[email address]
5. mailto:[email address]
6. http://www.rctcbc.gov.uk/ymwadiad
7. http://www.rctcbc.gov.uk/disclaimer

Gummer, Claire,

5 Attachments

Dear Mr Akram

 

We refer to our discussions with the Information Commissioner's Office in
relation to FOI 17-18/236, in particular Q2 which relates to the
qualifications of staff members at each of the ASD/Communication Units.

 

Firstly, may we apologise for not providing you with the information
initially.  This was due to a misunderstanding by the department
responsible for providing the information, where officers dealing with
your request misinterpreted your request and believed that you were asking
for actual copies of the qualifications held.    

 

Set out below are the relevant education/childcare qualifications of staff
employed in each of the ASD/Communication Units.  (Please note: staff may
have undertaken further training/qualifications as part of the performance
management processes and that information (if recorded) would be held by
the individual schools).   

 

You will see that the list has been anonymised for data protection
purposes.  We believe that such information is exempt under Section 40
(personal information) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 ("the Act"),
as the information constitutes third party personal data. Section
40(2) provides that personal data about third parties is exempt
information if one of the conditions set out in section 40(3) is
satisfied.  Under the Act disclosure of this information would breach the
fair processing principle contained in the Data Protection Act (DPA).

 

In accordance with Section 17 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 ("the
Act") this email acts as a Refusal Notice.

 

We have considered the Public Interest Test and have therefore balanced
such issues as the Authority's desire to be open and transparent in all
its dealings against the need to ensure that personal data of individuals
is not made public.

 

Ysgol Yr Eos

Employee A - B.Ed (Hons) Degree

Employee B - Child Care Learning and Development – Level 3 & Health &
Social Care – Level 2

Employee C to D - No record on application form

 

Williamstown Primary School

Employee A - BA Education Hons and QTS

Employee B - BA and PGCE

Employee C to H - No record on application form

 

Perthcelyn

Employee A - CACHE Level 3 - Childcare & Education

Employee B to C - No record on application form

 

Maesybryn

Employee A - NNED Diploma

Employee B - BTEC 1^st Diploma in Social Care and NNEB Certificate

Employee C - National Diploma in Nursery Nursing in application form

Employee D to F - No record on application form

 

Oaklands

Employee A - No record on application form

 

We trust this answers your query.

 

Again, we sincerely apologise for the inconvenience that this has caused
you and the time and effort taken on your part, which could have been
avoided had officers communicated appropriately.      

 

If you remain unhappy, you can request a review of the Council’s
response.  If you wish to exercise this right, please set out in writing
your grounds and send your appeal to Mrs Julie Llewellyn. She may be
reached at j[1][email address] or at RCT CBC, The
Pavilions, Clydach Vale, Tonypandy, CF40 2XX.

Yours sincerely

 

Corporate Governance Team

Legal & Democratic Services

Rhondda Cynon Taff C.B.C.

[2]cid:image001.jpg@01D3CFF7.EE2BDC80[3]cid:image002.jpg@01D3CFF7.EE2BDC80[4]cid:image003.png@01D3CFF7.EE2BDC80[5]cid:image004.jpg@01D3CFF7.EE2BDC80[6]cid:image005.jpg@01D3CFF7.EE2BDC80

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Croesawn ohebu yn Gymraeg a fydd gohebu yn y Gymraeg ddim yn arwain at
oedi. Rhowch wybod inni beth yw'ch dewis iaith e.e. Cymraeg neu'n
ddwyieithog

Mae'r neges ar gyfer y person / pobl enwedig yn unig. Gall gynnwys
gwybodaeth bersonol, sensitif neu gyfrinachol. Os nad chi yw'r person a
enwyd (neu os nad oes gyda chi’r awdurdod i'w derbyn ar ran y person a
enwyd) chewch chi ddim ei chopïo neu’i defnyddio, neu'i datgelu i berson
arall. Os ydych chi wedi derbyn y neges ar gam, rhowch wybod i'r sawl sy
wedi anfon y neges ar unwaith. Mae'n bosibl y bydd holl negeseuon, gan
gynnwys negeseuon GCSX, yn cael eu cofnodi a/neu fonitro unol â’r
ddeddfwriaeth berthnasol. I ddarllen yr ymwadiad llawn, ewch i
[7]http://www.rctcbc.gov.uk/CY/Help/TermsOf...

We welcome correspondence in Welsh and corresponding with us in Welsh will
not lead to a delay. Let us know your language choice if Welsh or
bilingual

This transmission is intended for the named addressee(s) only and may
contain personal, sensitive or confidential material and should be handled
accordingly. Unless you are the named addressee (or authorised to receive
it for the addressee) you may not copy or use it, or disclose it to anyone
else. If you have received this transmission in error please notify the
sender immediately. All traffic including GCSx may be subject to recording
and/or monitoring in accordance with relevant legislation For the full
disclaimer please access [8]http://www.rctcbc.gov.uk/disclaimer

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
7. http://www.rctcbc.gov.uk/ymwadiad
8. http://www.rctcbc.gov.uk/disclaimer

We don't know whether the most recent response to this request contains information or not – if you are S Akram please sign in and let everyone know.