Thank you for your email. 

We aim to respond to general enquires within two working days. 

If you have submitted a Freedom of Information request, this will be
logged, and you will receive an acknowledgment email including a reference
number shortly. 

Thanks 

 
Save Time Do It Online!
We have made a few key improvements to our site to make our services easy
to access. Now you can do everything from paying your council tax, to
reporting a faulty street light online. Go to: www.northumberland.gov.uk
and click 'pay, apply or report' to access the relevant forms.
This email is intended solely for the individual or individuals to whom it
is addressed, and may contain confidential and/or privileged material. If
you are not the intended recipient you are notified that disclosing,
copying, distributing or taking any action in reliance on the contents of
this email is prohibited. If you receive this email in error, please
contact the sender and delete the email from any computer. All email
communication may be subject to recording and/or monitoring in accordance
with internal policy and relevant legislation.

[1]Northumberland County Council Stay Home

References

Visible links

Our Ref: 11663  

Dear Mr Attia,

INFORMATION REQUEST

Thank you for your request for information which will be dealt with under
the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

In some circumstances a fee may be payable and if that is the case, we
will let you know the likely charges before proceeding.

If you have any queries about this matter please contact us. Please
remember to quote the reference number above in any future communications.

Please note, due to the outbreak of Covid-19, there may be a delay in
responding to your request. We appreciate your patience at this busy
period.

Kind regards,
 
Catherine

Information Governance Office
Northumberland County Council
County Hall
Morpeth
Northumberland
NE61 2EF

Tel: 0345 600 6400
Email: [Northumberland County Council request email]
Web: http://www.northumberland.gov.uk

Our Ref: 11663   

Dear Mr Attia, 
 
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST 
 
I refer to your Freedom of Information request in relation to
Adult/childrens social care packages – brokerage. 
 
This request is being handled under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. 
 
I am writing to ask you to clarify your request. This is because
Children's Services require further details from you in order to identify
and locate the information. 

Q.1 What system(s) are currently used to facilitate social care brokerage
and/or contracting for Children's services?  

Q.2 What is the contract length and end date of the existing contract? 

Please confirm which contract(s) you are referring to. 

 
Please contact me by the above email address if you need assistance with
this. 
 
If we do not receive your clarification within 3 calendar months from
today we will close your request. If after the 3 month period you then
provide clarification, your request will be logged as a new request. 
 
Yours faithfully 
 

Julia 
FOI/EIR Co-ordinator – Central Team 
Information Governance Office 
Northumberland County Council 
County Hall 
Morpeth 
Northumberland 
NE61 2EF 
 
Tel: 0345 600 6400 
Email: [Northumberland County Council request email] 
Web: http://www.northumberland.gov.uk 

Our Ref: 11663   

Dear Mr Attia, 
 
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT REQUEST 
 
I refer to your Freedom of Information request in relation to
Adult/Childrens social care packages – brokerage. 
 
Right of Access 
 
Section 1(1) of the Act provides any person making a request for
information to a public authority is entitled. 
 
(a) to be informed in writing by the public authority whether it holds
information of the description specified in the request (which Section
1(6) of the Act designates as the "duty to confirm or deny"), and 
 
(b) if that is the case, to have that information communicated to him. 
 
The right is to obtain access to the information itself and not to the
document or record which contains it. 
 
The Act creates a general right of access to information held by public
authorities subject to various exemptions. 
 
Northumberland County Council confirms that it holds the information you
have requested, please see the following information in response. 
 
Under FOI please provide the following information relating to the IT
systems the Council uses to broker and contract with providers for the
adult/childrens social care packages it commissions: 
 
Q.1 What system(s) are currently used to facilitate social care brokerage
and/or contracting for Children's services? 
A.1 Children's Social Care do not utilise a system to facilitate social
care brokerage. The Council currently uses the NEPO Procurement Portal
([1]https://procontract.due-north.com/) to advertise all contracts that it
is required by law to do so. 

 
Q.2 What is the contract length and end date of the existing contract? 
A.2 N/A 

 
Q.3 What is the total contract value for the solution(s)? Please break
this down where possible into any up-front costs including one-off
payments and implementation costs; subsequent annual licensing fees and,
any associated costs including hosting, support and maintenance. 
A.3 N/A 

 
Q.4 What system(s) are currently used to facilitate social care brokerage
and/or contracting for Adult services? 

A.4 We manage brokerage activity using a combination of our main client
information system, which is Swift, and some locally written software
linked to Swift. 

 
Q.5 What is the contract length and end date of the existing contract? 
A.5 The current contract end date for Swift is 2025 

 
Q.6 What is the total contract value for the solution(s)? Please break
this down where possible into any up-front costs including one-off
payments and implementation costs; subsequent annual licensing fees and,
any associated costs including hosting, support and maintenance. 

A.6 The overall cost of Swift is £86K/year; there is no separate element
within that contract for the cost of its use for brokerage. Specific
functionality to support brokerage activity is largely supplied by the
software written in-house. 

 
Complaints 
 
If you are unhappy with the way your request for information has been
handled, you can request an internal review by writing within 2 months
from the date of this response to the Information Governance Office: 
 
Information Governance Office, Northumberland County Council, County Hall,
Morpeth, NE61 2EF 
Email: [email address] 
 
Information Commissioner 
 
If you remain dissatisfied with the handling of your request, you have a
right by Section 50 of the Act to apply to the Information Commissioner
for a decision as to whether your request has been dealt with in
accordance with the requirements of the Act at: 
 
The Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane,
Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF 
Tel: 0303 123 1113, Email: [email address] 
 
There is no charge for making an appeal. 
 

Yours sincerely, 

Julia 

 
FOI Coordinator – Central Team 

Information Governance Office 
Northumberland County Council 
County Hall 
Morpeth 
Northumberland 
NE61 2EF 
 
Tel: 0345 600 6400 
Email: [email address] 
Web: http://www.northumberland.gov.uk

 
Save Time Do It Online!
We have made a few key improvements to our site to make our services easy
to access. Now you can do everything from paying your council tax, to
reporting a faulty street light online. Go to: www.northumberland.gov.uk
and click 'pay, apply or report' to access the relevant forms.
This email is intended solely for the individual or individuals to whom it
is addressed, and may contain confidential and/or privileged material. If
you are not the intended recipient you are notified that disclosing,
copying, distributing or taking any action in reliance on the contents of
this email is prohibited. If you receive this email in error, please
contact the sender and delete the email from any computer. All email
communication may be subject to recording and/or monitoring in accordance
with internal policy and relevant legislation.

[2]Northumberland County Council Stay Home

References

Visible links
1. https://gbr01.safelinks.protection.outlo...