Safeguarding referrals received

The request was refused by Norfolk County Council.

Michael Carroll-Owen

Dear Norfolk County Council,

I would like to ask the following:

Local Authorities in England & Wales Question:

Between the dates of 1st Jan 2020 and 1st of February 2021 how many safeguarding referrals* have been received from the following organisations "Department for Work & Pensions", "Centre for Health & Disability Assessments also known as Maximus", "ATOS also known as Independent Assessment Services" and "Capita"?

*Adult Safeguarding Referrals only

Local Authorities in Scotland Question:

Between the dates of 1st Jan 2020 and 1st of February 2021 how many "Adult Support & Protection" referrals have been received from the following organisations "Department for Work & Pensions", "Centre for Health & Disability Assessments also known as Maximus", "ATOS also known as Independent Assessment Services" and "Capita"?

Yours faithfully,

Michael Carroll-Owen

Freedom of Information, Norfolk County Council

5 Attachments

Good Afternoon,

 

Freedom of Information Act 2000 – Information Request ENQ-461408-K0S7Y5

 

Thank you for your request for information under the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 received on 17 February 2021.
 
We have up to 20 working days in which to deal with your request; however,
the current circumstances relating to Coronavirus (COVID-19) may impact on
our ability to meet deadlines and so we may take longer to provide you
with a response.

 

If we require clarification regarding your request, we will contact you to
explain this. The 20 working day period will then start from the day that
we receive your clarification.
 
You will also be informed in advance if there is a charge for supplying
copies of the information.

 

Please also be aware that, if the requested information contains
references to any third parties, we may need to consult these individuals
about the release of their personal data before making a decision whether
or not to release the information to you.

 

We will also provide an explanation if any information is not released to
you.

 

For future reference please note that you can now submit FOI/EIR requests
through our new online webform which can be found at
[1]https://www.norfolk.gov.uk/what-we-do-an....

 

Should you have any queries regarding your request, please contact the
team by email [2][email address] or by telephone
01603 222661.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Sarah Cooper, Business Support Assistant

Information Compliance Team

Dept: 01603 222661

Bay 7-9, Ground Floor, County Hall, Norwich

[3]Norfolk County Council   [4]Twitter[5]Facebook[6]Web

[7]Campaign Logo

 

 

show quoted sections

Freedom of Information, Norfolk County Council

5 Attachments

Dear Mr Carroll-Owen

 

Freedom of Information Request ENQ-461408-K0S7Y5

 

I refer to your request for information dated 17 February 2021.

 

You asked for:

 

o Between the dates of 1st Jan 2020 and 1st of February 2021 how many
safeguarding referrals* have been received from the following
organisations "Department for Work & Pensions", "Centre for Health &
Disability Assessments also known as Maximus", "ATOS also known as
Independent Assessment Services" and "Capita"?

 

*Adult Safeguarding Referrals only

 

 

Our response

 

Your request has been considered and is refused under section 12 of the
Act.  In accordance with the Act, this letter acts as a Refusal Notice.

 

This is because the cost of locating and retrieving the information
exceeds the "appropriate limit" of £450 as stated in the Freedom of
Information & Data Protection (Appropriate Limit & Fees) Regulations 2004.

 

The information you have requested is not recorded in a reportable format
that would enable this to be retrieved. The source of the referral is not
recorded at organisational level as requested above and therefore we would
only potentially hold these details within the free text case notes of
each individual case. Every referral record received would have to be
reviewed for the above period, which would be a huge undertaking. It is
estimated that during the above period there will be in the region of over
1650 referrals, and 3000 plus concerns logged, which could then have
progressed to a referral.  Reviewing the 1650 referral records, at a very
conservative estimate of 5 minutes per record, this would take over 137
hours of officer time.

 

You may wish to refine and resubmit your request so that it reduces the
cost of locating and retrieving the information to within the "appropriate
limit".  Please contact me if you would like some advice on refining your
request. 

 

If you are dissatisfied with our handling of your request, you have the
right of appeal through the Council’s internal review procedure by setting
out the grounds of your appeal in writing to:

 

[1][Norfolk County Council request email]

or Information Compliance Team

County Hall

Martineau Lane

Norwich

NR1 2DH

 

An appeal should be submitted within 40 working days of the date of this
notice and should be identified as "FOI Appeal".

 

If you are dissatisfied after pursuing the complaints procedure, you may
apply to the Information Commissioner under Section 50 of the Act for a
decision whether your request for information has been dealt with in
accordance with the requirements of Part I of the Act.  Refer to the ICO
Website at: [2]https://ico.org.uk/concerns/ for advice on how to report a
concern.  Or you can write to them at:

 

First Contact Team

Information Commissioner's Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane, Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

 

Yours sincerely

 

Senior Information Compliance Officer 

Information Compliance Team, Insight and Analytics, Strategy and
Transformation 

Tel Dept: 01603 222661

Bays 7,8 & 9, Ground Floor, South Wing, County Hall, Martineau Lane,
Norwich 

[3]Norfolk County Council   [4]Twitter[5]Facebook[6]Web

 

[7]Campaign Logo

 

From: Freedom of Information
Sent: 17 February 2021 14:34
To: Michael Carroll-Owen <[FOI #728686 email]>
Subject: ENQ-461408-K0S7Y5 Freedom of Information request - Safeguarding
referrals received

 

Good Afternoon,

 

Freedom of Information Act 2000 – Information Request ENQ-461408-K0S7Y5

 

Thank you for your request for information under the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 received on 17 February 2021.
 
We have up to 20 working days in which to deal with your request; however,
the current circumstances relating to Coronavirus (COVID-19) may impact on
our ability to meet deadlines and so we may take longer to provide you
with a response.

 

If we require clarification regarding your request, we will contact you to
explain this. The 20 working day period will then start from the day that
we receive your clarification.
 
You will also be informed in advance if there is a charge for supplying
copies of the information.

 

Please also be aware that, if the requested information contains
references to any third parties, we may need to consult these individuals
about the release of their personal data before making a decision whether
or not to release the information to you.

 

We will also provide an explanation if any information is not released to
you.

 

For future reference please note that you can now submit FOI/EIR requests
through our new online webform which can be found at
[8]https://www.norfolk.gov.uk/what-we-do-an....

 

Should you have any queries regarding your request, please contact the
team by email [9][email address] or by telephone
01603 222661.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Business Support Assistant

Information Compliance Team

Dept: 01603 222661

Bay 7-9, Ground Floor, County Hall, Norwich

[10]Norfolk County Council   [11]Twitter[12]Facebook[13]Web

[14]Campaign Logo

 

 

show quoted sections