Adoption services

[name removed April 2013] made this Freedom of Information request to Birmingham City Council This request has been closed to new correspondence. Contact us if you think it should be reopened.

The request was successful.

[name removed April 2013]

Dear Birmingham City Council,

Here is a link to some criminal conduct offences capable with
disposal at a HM Forces summary hearing (a solicitor is not allowed
for summary hearings, and in some cases the person with the
criminal record does not know they have one):-
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006...
Subject to section 1 of the freedom of information act 2000:
1) Can you please provide any guidelines or policy that relates to
fostering children with a criminal record?
2) Can you please provide any guidelines or policy that relates to
adopting children with a criminal record?
3) With the list of convictions in the above link would any serving
or an ex Sailor, Soldier or Airman be refused the right to adopt or
foster? (Please break down the individual convictions and whether
or not fostering/adopting would be denied)

Yours faithfully,

[first name of requester removed] [last name of requester removed]

Birmingham City Council

Dear [first name of requester removed]

Thank you for your request for information held by the Council under the
provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 which was received on
30.10.12.

We will contact you again once it has been ascertained what data is held
by Birmingham City Council.  In some circumstances a fee may be payable
and if that is the case, we will let you know.  A fees notice will be
issued to you, and you will be required to pay before we will proceed with
your request.

If you require any further information or are not happy with our response
please do not hesitate to contact me quoting the reference number above in
any future communications.  Steve Cullen should also be copied in on any
correspondence relating to this request.

Yours sincerely
Tracey Robinson
Business Continuity and Information Governance Officer

Sent on behalf of:
Steve Cullen
Information Governance Manager
Governance and Policy
Children, Young People and Families Directorate
Birmingham City Council

Tel: 0121 464 4591
Email: [email address]

Data Protection Act 1998
The information you have provided within your Freedom of Information
request will be held on our database and may also be held within manual
records for a period of 2 years from the date Birmingham City Council
received your request. Any personal data that you provide to Birmingham
City Council will be held in line with the requirements set out within the
Data Protection Act 1998.

Re Use of Public Sector Information
Where Birmingham City Council is the copyright holder of any information
that may be released, re-use for personal, educational or non-commercial
purposes is permitted without further reference to the City Council. Where
the re-use is for other purposes, such as commercial re-use, the applicant
should notify the City Council in writing to seek approval or agree terms
for re-use.

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Birmingham City Council

3 Attachments

Dear [first name of requester removed]

I am writing in respect of your recent enquiry for information held by the
Authority under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000:

Here is a link to some criminal conduct offences capable with disposal at
a HM Forces summary hearing (a solicitor is not allowed for summary
hearings, and in some cases the person with the criminal record does not
know they have one):-
    [1]http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006...
    Subject to section 1 of the freedom of information act 2000:

1) Can you please provide any guidelines or policy that relates to
fostering children with a criminal record?

2) Can you please provide any guidelines or policy that relates to
adopting children with a criminal record?

3) With the list of convictions in the above link would any serving or an
ex Sailor, Soldier or Airman be refused the right to adopt or foster?
(Please break down the individual convictions and whether or not
fostering/adopting would be denied)

Please find herewith the following:
1) Can you please provide any guidelines or policy that relates to
fostering children with a criminal record?
There are certain offences that bar a person from fostering - this is a
legal requirement set down in the Fostering Services Regulations 2011.
 These are listed in the file C01HX2 below.  There are specific
circumstances in which this can be set aside - these are dealt with in the
file C01HX7 - 14 below.
The approach which Birmingham City Council takes in respect of other
offences is set out in the file C01HX3 below
2) Can you please provide any guidelines or policy that relates to
adopting children with a criminal record?
There are certain offences that bar a person from adoption - this is a
legal requirement set down in the Adoption Agencies Regulations 2005.
The approach which Birmingham City Council takes in respect of other
offences is set out in the file C01HX3 below
3) With the list of convictions in the above link would any serving or an
ex Sailor, Soldier or Airman be refused the right to adopt or foster?
(Please break down the individual convictions and whether or not
fostering/adopting would be denied)
The same rules are applied to ex-service personnel as to any other person.
 

               

Whilst we have undertaken a thorough search of the information held by
Birmingham City Council, it may be that, due to the size and amount of
information held by Birmingham City Council, some information may have
been inadvertently missed.

If you have any information which may assist us in determining or locating
any missed information, we would be grateful if you would contact us with
details of this information, so that we can conduct a further search.

If you are not satisfied with the response you may ask for an internal
review.  If subsequently you are not satisfied with the Council's decision
you may apply to the Information Commissioner for a decision.  Generally,
the ICO cannot make a decision unless you have exhausted the complaints
procedure provided by the Council.  The Information Commissioner can be
contacted at the following address:

The Information Commissioner
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

Telephone: 01625 545745        Web Address: www.ico.gov.uk

Yours sincerely,
Tracey Robinson
Business Continuity and Information Governance Officer

Sent of behalf of:
Steve Cullen
Information governance Manager
Governance and Policy Team
Children Young People and Families Directorate
Birmingham City Council
Tel: 0121 464 4591
Email: [email address]

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References

Visible links
1. http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006...

[name removed April 2013]

Dear Birmingham City Council,

Many thanks for the information.

Yours faithfully,

[first name of requester removed] [last name of requester removed]

[name removed April 2013]

Dear Birmingham City Council,

I notice from your guidance that from your policy that:-

General advisory time limits
6. The Directorate will not normally approve any person to foster or adopt if the applicant, or any member of the household, has been convicted of, or cautioned for, any offence in the last two years.

If Birmingham City council had an application for adoption with an individual with a CRB check with a criminal conviction from this list:-

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2009/...

These offences are unique to our armed forces but are also recordable offences, what would your policy be? This debate has already been started by UKBA http://www.channel4.com/news/army-wrongl...

Yours faithfully,

[first name of requester removed] [last name of requester removed]

Birmingham City Council

Dear [first name of requester removed]

Thank you for your question below, this has in this instance, been treated
as part of your original request and forwarded to the relevant team within
BCC for a response.
We shall forward a response in due course.
Tracey Robinson
Governance and Policy Team
PO Box 16568
Lancaster Circus
B2 2FX
464 0085

[first name of requester removed] [last name of requester removed] To [email address]
<[FOI #136038 email]> cc
Subject Re: FOI Response re:Fostering
12/11/2012 14:21 information (FOI7805)

Dear Birmingham City Council,
I notice from your guidance that from your policy that:-
General advisory time limits
6. The Directorate will not normally approve any person to foster
or adopt if the applicant, or any member of the household, has been
convicted of, or cautioned for, any offence in the last two years.

If Birmingham City council had an application for adoption with an
individual with a CRB check with a criminal conviction from this
list:-

[1]http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2009/...
These offences are unique to our armed forces but are also
recordable offences, what would your policy be? This debate has
already been started by UKBA
[2]http://www.channel4.com/news/army-wrongl...

Yours faithfully,
[first name of requester removed] [last name of requester removed]

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Birmingham City Council

Dear [first name of requester removed]

Further to your additional request regarding the information provided
against FOI 7805 I can now respond with the following:

The guidance to managers states that "the Directorate will not normally
approve ..."  The default position is that the Directorate would not
approve someone to adopt or foster if they have been convicted of any
offence within the last two years.     However managers have discretion to
set this aside, and they do use this discretion.  

In deciding whether to set a conviction aside the manager will consider
all information offered about the nature of the offence and the
circumstances in which it was committed.   The fact that these are
specifically service offences would be taken into account but the question
the manager should address is whether this incident tells us anything
relevant to the applicant's current suitability to foster or adopt.

If the applicant does not wish to discuss the circumstances of an offence
we suggest that they wait until two years after the conviction or caution.

I hope you find this information useful.  Should you wish to ask anything
further please do not hesitate to contact us.
Tracey Robinson
Governance and Policy Team
PO Box 16568
Lancaster Circus
B2 2FX
464 0085

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[name removed April 2013]

Dear Birmingham City Council,

Thank you very much indeed for all your answers to my requests. It is worrying that a serviceman can have a criminal conviction that they are unaware of from an HM Forces summary hearing, whilst denied any legal advice. The implications of criminal convictions are very serious indeed, and are likely (in Birmingham at least) prevent adoption of fostering of children.

Yours faithfully,

[first name of requester removed] [last name of requester removed]

Birmingham City Council

I will be out of the office starting 15/11/2012 and will not return until
20/11/2012.

I will respond to your message when I return. Any problems contact or Liz
Triance (if urgent) 464 0087 or Steve Cullen for anything to do with FOI
and DP requests
Any letters of complaint need to be forwarded to Liz Triance and cc to me

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