Subsistence payments to families with No Recourse to Public Funds seeking access to support under section 17 of the Children Act 1989.
Dear Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council,
In a recent reply to a FOIA response submitted 26/02/2021 you outlined the local authority's policy on the provision of financial support to families with No Recourse to Public Funds (“NRPF”) seeking access to support under section 17 of the Children Act 1989.
Under the Freedom of Information Act, could you please confirm whether the local authority, for a family eligible for support under Section 17 of the Children's Act 1989, who have no other source of income:
a) has guidance on the minimum or median rate of support provided per family member?
b) if so, what is the minimum or median rate received per week (or fortnight if subsistence is paid fortnightly rather than weekly)?
c) whether the local authority provides additional funds for children aged 1-3?
d) whether the local authority provides additional funds for children aged 0-1?
e) whether the local authority provides additional funds for pregnant mothers?
f) whether the local authority provided any additional subsistence payments during the Covid-19 pandemic to help with additional costs?
g) if the answer to any of questions c)-f) is yes, then please outline what additional funds are received per week (or fortnight if subsistence is paid fortnightly rather than weekly)?
h) whether the local authority provides a maternity grant following the birth of a child?
i) and if so, how much is this grant and is it provided for every child or only for the first child born to the mother?
j) whether the local authority provides discretionary payments for additional expenditure, eg. winter clothes, school uniforms, travel costs?
k) and if so, is there any guidance on the maximum amount payable or the frequency of payments?
If you hold any of the information requested but consider it is exempt from disclosure, please state specifically what exemption you rely upon (including the relevant statutory provision) and the reason you consider it to be applicable.
We look forward to receiving your response within 20 working days as per the FOIA.
Kind regards
Kristine Harris
Dear Ms Harris
Request for Information RFI-3219-21
Thank you for your request for information relating to Subsistence
payments to families with No Recourse to Public Funds seeking access to
support under section 17 of the Children Act 1989. which was received on
15 July 2021.
In accordance with the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000
the council will respond to your request within 20 working days, saying
whether we have the information that you want, and if there will be any
charges.
If, for any reason, we cannot provide you with the information, we will
tell you why.
If we need to clarify your request, we will contact you again.
Update – Your Information Rights Requests and Coronavirus:
Walsall Council is working extremely hard to ensure the safety and
wellbeing of all residents of the borough during this difficult period. As
part of this working practices and priorities within the council may need
to change in line with advice from the Government and our own Public
Health Service.
This may mean that our usual processes for responding to requests for
information will need to change, and unfortunately you may experience
delays in receiving the information you have requested.
We apologise in advance if we cannot respond within the statutory
timeframe of your request - however should your request be effected we
will let you know and will endeavour to keep you updated on our progress.
We ask that show understanding and patience as we work through this
difficult time and we assure that we will do our upmost to ensure you
receive a response to your request as soon as possible
In the meantime, if you need to contact me about your request, please do
so quoting the above reference number.
Yours sincerely,
Julie Noble
Assurance Team, Resources and Transformation
Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council,
Civic Centre,
Darwall Street,
Walsall, WS1 1DG
Email: [Walsall Council request email]
Service area: [1]walsall.gov.uk/ Information Governance and Assurance
Website: [2]www.walsall.gov.uk
[3]http://int.walsall.gov.uk/portals/0/Comm...
Disclaimer: IF THIS EMAIL IS MARKED PRIVATE OR CONFIDENTIAL - PLEASE
RESPECT CONFIDENTIALITY AND DO NOT SHARE OR FORWARD IT TO ANYONE ELSE
WITHOUT THE EXPRESS CONSENT OF THE AUTHOR. The information in this message
should be regarded as confidential and is intended for the addressee only
unless explicitly stated. If you have received this message in error it
must be deleted and the sender notified. The views expressed in this
message are personal and not necessarily those of Walsall MBC unless
explicitly stated. E-mails sent or received from Walsall MBC may be
intercepted and read by the Council. Interception will only occur to
ensure compliance with Council policies or procedures or regulatory
obligations, to prevent or detect crime. You should also be aware that any
email may be the subject of a request under Data Protection, Freedom of
Information or Environmental Information legislation and therefore could
be disclosed to third parties.
E-mail Security: Communication by internet email is not secure as
messages can be intercepted and read by someone else. Therefore we
strongly advise you not to email any information, which if disclosed to
unrelated third parties would be likely to cause harm or distress. If you
have an enquiry of this nature please provide a postal address to allow us
to communicate with you in a more secure way. If you want us to respond by
email you must realise that there can be no guarantee of privacy.
References
Visible links
1. https://eur01.safelinks.protection.outlo...
2. https://eur01.safelinks.protection.outlo...
Dear Ms Harris,
I write to acknowledge and apologise for the delay in responding to your
request relating to 'Subsistence payments to families with No Recourse to
Public Funds seeking access to support under section 17 of the Children
Act 1989'. As you know, the council is required to respond to all requests
for information under the Freedom of Information Act within 20 working
days, unless a ‘qualified exception’ applies that requires the
consideration of the Public Interest.
Walsall Council takes its obligations under this legislation extremely
seriously and I am sorry that in this case we have not met this timescale.
I would like to take this opportunity to assure you of our best
intentions in this regard. I can confirm that a full reply to your request
will be sent to you on or before 26th August 2021.
If you have any queries in regard to this process, please do not hesitate
to contact us.
Yours sincerely,
Kim Pahal - Assurance Officer
Assurance Team, Resources and Transformation
Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council,
Civic Centre,
Darwall Street,
Walsall, WS1 1DG
Email: [Walsall Council request email]
Service area: [1]walsall.gov.uk/ Information Governance and Assurance
Website: [2]www.walsall.gov.uk
[3]http://int.walsall.gov.uk/portals/0/Comm...
Disclaimer: IF THIS EMAIL IS MARKED PRIVATE OR CONFIDENTIAL - PLEASE
RESPECT CONFIDENTIALITY AND DO NOT SHARE OR FORWARD IT TO ANYONE ELSE
WITHOUT THE EXPRESS CONSENT OF THE AUTHOR. The information in this message
should be regarded as confidential and is intended for the addressee only
unless explicitly stated. If you have received this message in error it
must be deleted and the sender notified. The views expressed in this
message are personal and not necessarily those of Walsall MBC unless
explicitly stated. E-mails sent or received from Walsall MBC may be
intercepted and read by the Council. Interception will only occur to
ensure compliance with Council policies or procedures or regulatory
obligations, to prevent or detect crime. You should also be aware that any
email may be the subject of a request under Data Protection, Freedom of
Information or Environmental Information legislation and therefore could
be disclosed to third parties.
E-mail Security: Communication by internet email is not secure as
messages can be intercepted and read by someone else. Therefore we
strongly advise you not to email any information, which if disclosed to
unrelated third parties would be likely to cause harm or distress. If you
have an enquiry of this nature please provide a postal address to allow us
to communicate with you in a more secure way. If you want us to respond by
email you must realise that there can be no guarantee of privacy.
References
Visible links
1. https://eur01.safelinks.protection.outlo...
2. https://eur01.safelinks.protection.outlo...
Dear Ms Harris,
Freedom of Information Request - Our Ref: RFI-3219-21
Please accept my sincerest apologies for the delay you have experienced in
receiving a response to your Freedom of Information Request. As you know,
the council is required to respond to all requests for information under
the Freedom of Information Act within 20 working days, unless a ‘qualified
exception’ applies.
I am however happy to provide the information you requested below. I hope
this information is still of use to you. Please note that the information
given in this response is as at the date of your request.
If you do have any queries or additional questions regarding the
information that has been provided please do not hesitate to contact me
direct on the details at the bottom of this email.
Further to your request for information about Subsistence payments to
families with No Recourse to Public Funds seeking access to support under
section 17 of the Children Act 1989, please refer to the attached
information for a copy of our full response
Most of the information that we provide in response to Freedom of
Information Act 2000 requests will be subject to copyright protection. In
most cases the copyright will be owned by Walsall Council. The copyright
in respect of other information may be owned by another person or
organisation, as indicated.
You are free to use any information supplied to you in response to this
request for your own non-commercial research or private study purposes.
The information may also be used for any other purpose allowed by a
limitation or exception in copyright law, such as news reporting.
However, any other type of re-use, for example by publishing the
information in analogue or digital form, including on the internet, will
require the permission of the copyright owner.
I hope that the information provided is useful to you. However, if you are
dissatisfied, you should set out in writing your grounds for complaint and
send to: Lead Assurance Officer, Business Change, Civic Centre, Darwall
Street, Walsall, WS1 1TP.
If you are not content with the outcome of your complaint, you may apply
directly to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) for a decision.
Please remember that, generally, the ICO cannot make a decision unless you
have first exhausted the complaints procedure provided by the council. The
Information Commissioner can be contacted at: The Information
Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9
5AF.
Again I would like to offer my apologies for any inconvenience the delay
to your request may have caused you
Yours sincerely,
Kim Pahal - Assurance Officer
Assurance Team, Resources and Transformation
Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council,
Civic Centre,
Darwall Street,
Walsall, WS1 1DG
Email: [Walsall Council request email]
Service area: [1]walsall.gov.uk/ Information Governance and Assurance
Website: [2]www.walsall.gov.uk
[3]http://int.walsall.gov.uk/portals/0/Comm...
Disclaimer: IF THIS EMAIL IS MARKED PRIVATE OR CONFIDENTIAL - PLEASE
RESPECT CONFIDENTIALITY AND DO NOT SHARE OR FORWARD IT TO ANYONE ELSE
WITHOUT THE EXPRESS CONSENT OF THE AUTHOR. The information in this message
should be regarded as confidential and is intended for the addressee only
unless explicitly stated. If you have received this message in error it
must be deleted and the sender notified. The views expressed in this
message are personal and not necessarily those of Walsall MBC unless
explicitly stated. E-mails sent or received from Walsall MBC may be
intercepted and read by the Council. Interception will only occur to
ensure compliance with Council policies or procedures or regulatory
obligations, to prevent or detect crime. You should also be aware that any
email may be the subject of a request under Data Protection, Freedom of
Information or Environmental Information legislation and therefore could
be disclosed to third parties.
E-mail Security: Communication by internet email is not secure as
messages can be intercepted and read by someone else. Therefore we
strongly advise you not to email any information, which if disclosed to
unrelated third parties would be likely to cause harm or distress. If you
have an enquiry of this nature please provide a postal address to allow us
to communicate with you in a more secure way. If you want us to respond by
email you must realise that there can be no guarantee of privacy.
References
Visible links
1. https://eur01.safelinks.protection.outlo...
2. https://eur01.safelinks.protection.outlo...
We work to defend the right to FOI for everyone
Help us protect your right to hold public authorities to account. Donate and support our work.
Donate Now