Changes to short breaks services for children with a learning disability

The request was partially successful.

Dear Gloucestershire County Council,

Under the Freedom of Information Act, I kindly request the following information in relation to short breaks services for children with a learning disability in your local authority:

1) How many children aged 0-18 with a learning disability were known to social services in a) 2009/10, b) 2010/11 and c) 2011/12?

2) How many children aged 0-18 with a learning disability attended short breaks services, as set out in paragraph 4 (‘Types of services which must be provided’) of the ‘Breaks for Carers of Disabled Children Regulations 2011’, in:

i. 2009/10
ii. 2010/11
iii. 2011/12;

and what is your projection for short breaks service use in 2012/13?

3) Do you have a short breaks services statement in accordance with paragraph 5 (‘Short breaks services statement’) of the ‘Breaks for Carers of Disabled Children Regulations 2011’?

4) If you have published a short breaks services statement in accordance with paragraph 5 (‘Short breaks services statement’) of the ‘Breaks for Carers of Disabled Children Regulations 2011’:

i. when was it published?
ii. please provide details of your latest statement

5) How many short breaks services, as set out in paragraph 4 (‘Types of services which must be provided’) of the ‘Breaks for Carers of Disabled Children Regulations 2011’, closed in:

i. 2009/10
ii. 2010/11
iii. 2011/12;

and are you planning to close any short breaks services in 2012/13?

6) If there have been short breaks service closures within the local authority, have any alternative services been put in place for those who attended the short breaks service?

Yours faithfully,

Clare Lucas

WILMSHURST, Teresa, Gloucestershire County Council

Dear Ms Lucas

 

Request for Information (Reference 12/FOI/5080)

 

Thank you for your request for information for short breaks services for
children with a learning disability in your local authority, received on 7
August 2012.

 

Your request is being considered and you will receive a response as soon
as possible, and within the statutory timescale of 20 working days as
defined by the Freedom of Information Act (FoIA) 2000; that date is 5
September 2012.

 

Gloucestershire County Council is committed to the principles of FoIA and
will, wherever possible, provide all information requested unless
constrained by another statute or by an exemption within the FoIA. Please
note some information you have requested may not be provided to you; this
will only be information that can be withheld by law, and the reason will
be explained to you when we send out any information that can be released.

 

We may need to contact you if the request needs to be clarified; this is
to ensure we provide you with the information you require.

 

If the information you have requested is held by another public authority,
we will transfer the request to them. If you have any objections to this,
please contact us as soon as possible so we know not to transfer the
request, and we will provide you with the relevant contact details
instead.

 

Yours sincerely

 

Information Management Service

 

Gloucestershire County Council

Shire Hall

Westgate Street

Gloucester

GL1 2TG

 

Go to [1]www.gloucestershire.gov.uk to find information on any County
Council service. It couldn’t be easier to find information instantly and
in some cases apply for services online.

 

For Freedom of Information (FOI) requests please email
[2][Gloucestershire County Council request email]

 

 

 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Think before you print - only print this email if absolutely necessary.

This email and any attachments are strictly confidential and intended for the addressee only.  
If you are not the named addressee you must not disclose, copy or take any action in 
reliance of this transmission and you should notify us as soon as possible.

This email and any attachments are believed to be free from viruses but it is your 
responsibility to carry out all necessary virus checks and Gloucestershire County Council 
accepts no liability in connection therewith. 

References

Visible links
1. http://www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/
2. mailto:[Gloucestershire County Council request email]

Freedom of Information questions/information requests, Gloucestershire County Council

Dear Ms Lucas,

Request for Information (Reference: 12/FOI/5080)

 

I am writing in response to your request for information received
concerning short break services. Your request has been carefully
considered and I am pleased to confirm that Gloucestershire County Council
does hold most of the information requested.

Gloucestershire County Council does hold the majority of information you
require.

You requested the information below, our responses follow:

 

1) How many children aged 0-18 with a learning disability were known to
social services in a) 2009/10, b) 2010/11 and c) 2011/12?

 

Year
Nature of disability 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12
Learning 103 131 160

    

2) How many children aged 0-18 with a learning disability attended short
breaks services, as set out in paragraph 4 (‘Types of services which must
be provided’) of the ‘Breaks for Carers of Disabled Children Regulations
2011’, in:

    

     i. 2009/10

     ii. 2010/11

     iii. 2011/12;

    

     and what is your projection for short breaks service use in

     2012/13?

 

I have given this part of your request careful consideration; however in
its present form, the request is refused under Section 12 of the Freedom
of Information Act. This is because I have concluded that the cost of
complying with your request will exceed the ‘appropriate limit’ of £450
(18 hours @ £25 per hour) which is laid down by the Act and associated
Regulations[1][1] .
[1] SI 3244 2004 Freedom of Information and Data Protection (Appropriate
Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004

The Local Authority does not report separately on those children and young
people who attended short break services with a learning disability from
those who have a physical disability.

The Local Authority knows that 448 under 19’s either had a learning
disability or physical disability.  To extract this information would
require each record to be reviewed individually, taking an estimated 5
minutes per record, totalling 37.3 hours of work (not allowing for other
work undertaken concerning the request), which exceeds the appropriate
limit for a local authority.   

 

This E-Mail therefore acts, in part, as a refusal notice under Section 17
of the FoIA as the information requested in Question 2 is considered to be
exempt from disclosure.

   

3) Do you have a short breaks services statement in accordance with
paragraph 5 (‘Short breaks services statement’) of the ‘Breaks for Carers
of Disabled Children Regulations 2011’?

 

Yes, please see attached word document 12-FOI-5080.

    

4) If you have published a short breaks services statement in accordance
with paragraph 5 (‘Short breaks services statement’) of the ‘Breaks for
Carers of Disabled Children Regulations 2011’:

    

i.              when was it published?

 

September 2011.

 

ii.            please provide details of your latest statement

 

Please see attached word document 12-FOI-5080.

    

5) How many short breaks services, as set out in paragraph 4 (‘Types of
services which must be provided’) of the ‘Breaks for Carers of Disabled
Children Regulations 2011’, closed in:

    

              I.        2009/10

            II.        2010/11

           III.        2011/12

 

and are you planning to close any short breaks services in 2012/13?

 

Please see response to Qs 6.

    

6) If there have been short breaks service closures within the local
authority, have any alternative services been put in place for those who
attended the short breaks service?

    

Gloucestershire has reduced the number of residential children’s homes in
the period 2009/10 to 2011/12 managed by the Local Authority from 4 to 3
but are still providing overnight residential short breaks as needed for
the same young people, both at the 3 GCC homes and some individually
commissioned from external providers.  We have not closed any other
services.  We have increased our short break provision by increasing the
number of family carers and commissioning a range of community provision
(child care and activity) to provide short breaks directly to families
without the need for an assessment.

 

 

Gloucestershire County Council has not withheld any information in
relation to this request under the exemptions of the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 (FoIA).

 

I hope the information received is what you were expecting. If you feel
that we have failed to comply with the FoIA in relation to this request,
you can make a complaint or request an internal review by writing back
within 40 working days of the date of receipt of this email, and sending
us any evidence you think supports your complaint. 

 

A copy of the Information Compliance Complaints Procedure is on our
website at
[2]http://www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/CHttpH..., and
there would be no charge for dealing with your complaint. Please address
your complaint or request for an internal review to the Information
Management Service at:

Gloucestershire County Council
Ground Floor, Block 2/3
Shire Hall, Westgate Street
GLOUCESTER
GL1 2TG

 

Or by email to [3][Gloucestershire County Council request email] 

To help us understand our users and improve our service, we would
appreciate your feedback on the quality of service and response you have
received in relation to your recent request for information. If you would
like to provide feedback, please use our online form at
[4]http://gloucestershire.firmstep.com/defa....

I will now close your request as of this date.

Yours sincerely,

 

 

 

Gloucestershire County Council

[5]Information Management Service

Gloucestershire County Council

Shire Hall

Westgate Street

Gloucester

GL1 2TG

 

Email: [6][Gloucestershire County Council request email]

 

Go to [7]www.gloucestershire.gov.uk to find information on any County
Council service.
It couldn’t be easier to find information instantly and in some cases
apply for services online.

 

For Freedom of Information (FOI) requests please email
[8][Gloucestershire County Council request email]

show quoted sections

Freedom of Information questions/information requests, Gloucestershire County Council

1 Attachment

Dear Ms Lucas,

Request for Information (Reference: 12/FOI/5080)

 

I am writing in response to your request for information received
concerning short break services. Your request has been carefully
considered and I am pleased to confirm that Gloucestershire County Council
does hold most of the information requested.

Gloucestershire County Council does hold the majority of information you
require.

You requested the information below, our responses follow:

 

1) How many children aged 0-18 with a learning disability were known to
social services in a) 2009/10, b) 2010/11 and c) 2011/12?

 

Year
Nature of disability 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12
Learning 103 131 160

    

2) How many children aged 0-18 with a learning disability attended short
breaks services, as set out in paragraph 4 (‘Types of services which must
be provided’) of the ‘Breaks for Carers of Disabled Children Regulations
2011’, in:

    

     i. 2009/10

     ii. 2010/11

     iii. 2011/12;

    

     and what is your projection for short breaks service use in

     2012/13?

 

I have given this part of your request careful consideration; however in
its present form, the request is refused under Section 12 of the Freedom
of Information Act. This is because I have concluded that the cost of
complying with your request will exceed the ‘appropriate limit’ of £450
(18 hours @ £25 per hour) which is laid down by the Act and associated
Regulations[1][1] .
[1] SI 3244 2004 Freedom of Information and Data Protection (Appropriate
Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004

The Local Authority does not report separately on those children and young
people who attended short break services with a learning disability from
those who have a physical disability.

The Local Authority knows that 448 under 19’s either had a learning
disability or physical disability.  To extract this information would
require each record to be reviewed individually, taking an estimated 5
minutes per record, totalling 37.3 hours of work (not allowing for other
work undertaken concerning the request), which exceeds the appropriate
limit for a local authority.   

 

This E-Mail therefore acts, in part, as a refusal notice under Section 17
of the FoIA as the information requested in Question 2 is considered to be
exempt from disclosure.

   

3) Do you have a short breaks services statement in accordance with
paragraph 5 (‘Short breaks services statement’) of the ‘Breaks for Carers
of Disabled Children Regulations 2011’?

 

Yes, please see attached word document 12-FOI-5080.

    

4) If you have published a short breaks services statement in accordance
with paragraph 5 (‘Short breaks services statement’) of the ‘Breaks for
Carers of Disabled Children Regulations 2011’:

    

i.              when was it published?

 

September 2011.

 

ii.            please provide details of your latest statement

 

Please see attached word document 12-FOI-5080.

    

5) How many short breaks services, as set out in paragraph 4 (‘Types of
services which must be provided’) of the ‘Breaks for Carers of Disabled
Children Regulations 2011’, closed in:

    

              I.        2009/10

            II.        2010/11

           III.        2011/12

 

and are you planning to close any short breaks services in 2012/13?

 

Please see response to Qs 6.

    

6) If there have been short breaks service closures within the local
authority, have any alternative services been put in place for those who
attended the short breaks service?

    

Gloucestershire has reduced the number of residential children’s homes in
the period 2009/10 to 2011/12 managed by the Local Authority from 4 to 3
but are still providing overnight residential short breaks as needed for
the same young people, both at the 3 GCC homes and some individually
commissioned from external providers.  We have not closed any other
services.  We have increased our short break provision by increasing the
number of family carers and commissioning a range of community provision
(child care and activity) to provide short breaks directly to families
without the need for an assessment.

 

 

Gloucestershire County Council has not withheld any information in
relation to this request under the exemptions of the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 (FoIA).

 

I hope the information received is what you were expecting. If you feel
that we have failed to comply with the FoIA in relation to this request,
you can make a complaint or request an internal review by writing back
within 40 working days of the date of receipt of this email, and sending
us any evidence you think supports your complaint. 

 

A copy of the Information Compliance Complaints Procedure is on our
website at
[2]http://www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/CHttpH..., and
there would be no charge for dealing with your complaint. Please address
your complaint or request for an internal review to the Information
Management Service at:

Gloucestershire County Council
Ground Floor, Block 2/3
Shire Hall, Westgate Street
GLOUCESTER
GL1 2TG

 

Or by email to [3][Gloucestershire County Council request email] 

To help us understand our users and improve our service, we would
appreciate your feedback on the quality of service and response you have
received in relation to your recent request for information. If you would
like to provide feedback, please use our online form at
[4]http://gloucestershire.firmstep.com/defa....

I will now close your request as of this date.

Yours sincerely,

 

 

 

Gloucestershire County Council

[5]Information Management Service

Gloucestershire County Council

Shire Hall

Westgate Street

Gloucester

GL1 2TG

 

Email: [6][Gloucestershire County Council request email]

 

Go to [7]www.gloucestershire.gov.uk to find information on any County
Council service.
It couldn’t be easier to find information instantly and in some cases
apply for services online.

 

For Freedom of Information (FOI) requests please email
[8][Gloucestershire County Council request email]

show quoted sections