Allegations and Complaints made in respect of Foster Carers BHSCT
Dear Belfast Health and Social Care Trust (Northern Ireland),
I am writing to make a request for the following information which I am entitled to under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
This request relates to the complaints and allegations concerning foster carers under the operation of the Regional Policy and Procedure for Managing Allegations and Complaints made in respect of Foster Carers in Northern Ireland (April 2015)
The Regional Policy and Procedure for Managing Allegations and Complaints (April 2015) states “A record of all allegations and complaints must be kept by the Trust and reported annually via the Delegated Statutory Functions (DSF) reporting mechanism.”
Also, the UK Minimum Standards for Foster Care (1999) state “Management Systems are in place to collate and evaluate information on the circumstances, number, and outcome of all allegations of neglect or abuse of a child in foster care.”
In addition, Department of Health Circular (OSS) 4/2015: Statutory functions/professional oversight states “ensuring the appropriate collection, maintenance and analysis of data to monitor service provision, including the discharge of DSF, and sharing such information with the HSCB;”
Please provide a copy of the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust's annual report concerning foster carers of all allegations and complaints under the Regional Policy and Procedure for Managing Allegations and Complaints (April 2015) for each of the last five years (2020-21, 2019-20, 2018-19, 2017-18, 2016-17)
I would like the above information to be provided to me as an electronic copy.
If the request is too broad or unclear, I would be grateful if you could contact me as I understand under the Act you are required to advise and assist requesters. If any of the information is already in the public domain, please send it to me directly with page references or URLs when necessary.
If it is not possible to provide the information requested due to the information exceeding the cost of compliance limits identified in Section 12, please provide advice and assistance under the section 16 obligations of the Act, as to how I can refine the request.
I understand that you are required to respond to my request within 20 working days after receiving this request. I would be grateful if you could confirm in writing you have received this request.
Yours faithfully,
Alastair Scott-McKinley
Thank you for your email to Belfast Trust Public Liaison Service. Due to
the significant impact of the Coronavirus situation, Trust staff are
working to prioritise their duties as front line health and social care
workers and regrettably there may be a delay in responding to your email
at this time. Please note however, that any urgent queries will be
forwarded to the relevant service for their attention. Thank you for your
understanding and patience at this difficult time.
Good morning Alastair,
Thank you for your request for information received on 29 January 2022,
which we are dealing with under the terms of the Freedom of Information
Act 2000.
Further clarification may be required to ensure your request is dealt with
appropriately and if this is the case we will contact you again.
Under Freedom of Information guidelines a response should be provided by
25 February 2022.
For more information about the legislation and our procedures for dealing
with requests for information please refer to our website:
www.belfasttrust.hscni.net.
If you have any queries about this email, please contact me and remember
to quote the reference number above in any future communications.
FOI RESPONSES DISCLOSURE LOG
The information you require may already be available on our Trust website.
We have published responses to previous requests for information on our
FOI responses disclosure log which can be accessed via link below:
[1]https://belfasttrust.hscni.net/about/acc...
Please let us know if you find the information here and no longer require
us to provide you with an individual reply.
Thanks,
Hayley
Hayley Kerr
Public Liaison Officer, Public Liaison Service, Belfast Health and Social
Care Trust
Tel: 028 9504 9597
[2]Belfasttrust.hscni.net | [3]Facebook.com/BelfastTrust |
[4]Twitter.com/BelfastTrust | [5]Instagram.com/BelfastTrust
| [6]YouTube.com/BelfastTrust
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Good afternoon Alastair,
We are continuing to collate the response to your enquiry.
As a Trust, our staff are prioritising their duties as front line health
and social care workers. Other duties within their role, such as
investigating and responding to FOI requests, may be delayed due to the
need to prioritise professional caring duties and respond to the health
crisis.
During this Covid-19 Pandemic, Health & Social Care is experiencing
unprecedented pressures. Thank you for your patience and understanding at
this difficult time.
Regards,
Hayley
Hayley Kerr
Public Liaison Officer, Public Liaison Service, Belfast Health and Social
Care Trust
Tel: 028 9504 9597
[1]Belfasttrust.hscni.net | [2]Facebook.com/BelfastTrust |
[3]Twitter.com/BelfastTrust | [4]Instagram.com/BelfastTrust
| [5]YouTube.com/BelfastTrust
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From: Kerr, Hayley On Behalf Of PublicLiaison-SM
Sent: 31 January 2022 10:41
To: Alastair Scott-McKinley <[FOI #828368 email]>
Subject: Our Ref: FOI/26530 - Freedom of Information request - Allegations
and Complaints made in respect of Foster Carers BHSCT
Good morning Alastair,
Thank you for your request for information received on 29 January 2022,
which we are dealing with under the terms of the Freedom of Information
Act 2000.
Further clarification may be required to ensure your request is dealt with
appropriately and if this is the case we will contact you again.
Under Freedom of Information guidelines a response should be provided by
25 February 2022.
For more information about the legislation and our procedures for dealing
with requests for information please refer to our website:
[8]www.belfasttrust.hscni.net.
If you have any queries about this email, please contact me and remember
to quote the reference number above in any future communications.
FOI RESPONSES DISCLOSURE LOG
The information you require may already be available on our Trust website.
We have published responses to previous requests for information on our
FOI responses disclosure log which can be accessed via link below:
[9]https://belfasttrust.hscni.net/about/acc...
Please let us know if you find the information here and no longer require
us to provide you with an individual reply.
Thanks,
Hayley
Hayley Kerr
Public Liaison Officer, Public Liaison Service, Belfast Health and Social
Care Trust
Tel: 028 9504 9597
[10]Belfasttrust.hscni.net | [11]Facebook.com/BelfastTrust
| [12]Twitter.com/BelfastTrust |
[13]Instagram.com/BelfastTrust | [14]YouTube.com/BelfastTrust
[15]HSC core values FINAL logo (all 4 CMYK) vector
[16]4 simple steps thin banner
Good morning Alastair,
I refer to your Freedom of Information (FOI) request received on 29
January 2022.
Our response is now attached for your information. Please accept our
apologies for the delay in providing this information and thank you for
your patience and understanding at this difficult time for the Health
Service.
If you are dissatisfied with the way in which your Freedom of Information
(FOI) request has been handled you may wish to complain. You should
contact Public Liaison Services, Nore Villa, Knockbracken Health Care
Park, Saintfield Road, Belfast BT8 8BH or alternatively e-mail:
[1][email address] within two months of the date of
this response and your complaint will be considered and a response
provided usually within 20 working days of receipt.
Should you still be dissatisfied with the outcome, you can proceed to the
second review stage by contacting the Information Commissioner, The
Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow,
SK9 5AF who will undertake an independent review. It is important to note
that if you refer any matter to the Information Commissioner, you will
need to show evidence of having gone through the Trust’s review process to
try to resolve the matter with the Trust in the first instance.
If you require any further information or wish to discuss, please do not
hesitate to contact me.
Many thanks,
Hayley
Hayley Kerr
Public Liaison Officer, Public Liaison Service, Belfast Health and Social
Care Trust
Tel: 028 9504 9597
[2]Belfasttrust.hscni.net | [3]Facebook.com/BelfastTrust |
[4]Twitter.com/BelfastTrust | [5]Instagram.com/BelfastTrust
| [6]YouTube.com/BelfastTrust
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