Children & Families - Budget

LS Palmer made this Freedom of Information request to Durham County Council This request has been closed to new correspondence. Contact us if you think it should be reopened.

The request was successful.

Dear Durham County Council,

In relation to the Budget for Children and Families for the
financial year 1 April 2009 to 1 April 2010 how much has Durham County Council spent on:

1. Supervised contact visits.
2. Respite foster care - for children in need (not on child protection plan)
3. Local Authority employed Foster carers for children subject to a care order (interim or full).
4. Agency Foster carers for children subject to a care order.(interim or full)
5. Barristers for Care Proceedings.
6. Playgrounds for children.
7. Assistance with Child carers becoming Ofsted Registered.
8. Respite Foster Care - not exceeding 28 days for children on a protection plan.
9. Residential Family Assessments.

Yours faithfully,

LS Palmer

Freedom of Information,

Our Ref: 4767783

20-DEC-10

Dear LS Palmer

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT - REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

I acknowledge your request for information received on 20-DEC-2010.

Your request is being considered and if the information requested is held
by the County Council it will be sent to you within the statutory
timescale of 20 working days as defined by the Freedom of Information Act
2000, subject to the information not being exempt or containing a
reference to a third party.

If appropriate, the information will be provided in paper copy, normal
font size. If you require alternative formats, e.g. language, audio,
large print, etc. then please let me know.

For your information, the Act defines a number of exemptions that may
prevent release of the information you have requested. There will be an
assessment and if any of the exemption categories apply then the exempt
information will not be released. You will be informed if this is the
case, including your rights of appeal.

If the information you request contains reference to a third party then
they may be consulted prior to a decision being taken on whether or not to
release the information to you.

There may a fee payable for this information to cover photocopying,
postage and any other production costs. This will be considered and you
will be informed if a fee is payable. In this event the fee must be paid
before the information is processed and released. The 20 working day time
limit for responses is suspended until receipt of the payment.

In line with the Information Commissioner's directive on the disclosure of
information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 your request will
form part of our disclosure log. Therefore, a version of our response
which will protect your anonymity will be posted on Durham County Council
website.

If you have any queries or concerns then please contact:

The Information Management Team

Durham County Council

Assistant Chief Executive's Office

Room 4/140

County Hall

Durham

DH1 5UF

Tel: 0191 372 8371

Email: [1][Durham County Council request email]

Further information is also available from the Information Commissioner
at:

Information Commissioner's Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

Telephone: 01625 545 745

Fax: 01625 524 510

Email: [email address]

www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk

Yours
sincerely

Tracy Millmore

Tracy Millmore

Information Management Assistant

Information Management Team

Room: 4/410

County Hall

Durham DH1 5UF

Tel: 0191 372 8376

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Freedom of Information,

Dear LS Palmer,

Please would you clarify exactly what you mean by playgrounds for
children. e.g. specifically play areas outside, or all play provisions
indoor and/or outside etc.

Regards,

Neale Boswell

Information Management

Durham County Council

From: Freedom of Information
Sent: 20 December 2010 08:30
To: '[FOI #55285 email]'
Subject: Freedom of Information Request 4767783 - Budget questions for
Children's service from April 2009-2010

Our Ref: 4767783

20-DEC-10

Dear LS Palmer

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT - REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

I acknowledge your request for information received on 20-DEC-2010.

Your request is being considered and if the information requested is held
by the County Council it will be sent to you within the statutory
timescale of 20 working days as defined by the Freedom of Information Act
2000, subject to the information not being exempt or containing a
reference to a third party.

If appropriate, the information will be provided in paper copy, normal
font size. If you require alternative formats, e.g. language, audio,
large print, etc. then please let me know.

For your information, the Act defines a number of exemptions that may
prevent release of the information you have requested. There will be an
assessment and if any of the exemption categories apply then the exempt
information will not be released. You will be informed if this is the
case, including your rights of appeal.

If the information you request contains reference to a third party then
they may be consulted prior to a decision being taken on whether or not to
release the information to you.

There may a fee payable for this information to cover photocopying,
postage and any other production costs. This will be considered and you
will be informed if a fee is payable. In this event the fee must be paid
before the information is processed and released. The 20 working day time
limit for responses is suspended until receipt of the payment.

In line with the Information Commissioner's directive on the disclosure of
information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 your request will
form part of our disclosure log. Therefore, a version of our response
which will protect your anonymity will be posted on Durham County Council
website.

If you have any queries or concerns then please contact:

The Information Management Team

Durham County Council

Assistant Chief Executive's Office

Room 4/140

County Hall

Durham

DH1 5UF

Tel: 0191 372 8371

Email: [1][Durham County Council request email]

Further information is also available from the Information Commissioner
at:

Information Commissioner's Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

Telephone: 01625 545 745

Fax: 01625 524 510

Email: [email address]

www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk

Yours
sincerely

Tracy Millmore

Tracy Millmore

Information Management Assistant

Information Management Team

Room: 4/410

County Hall

Durham DH1 5UF

Tel: 0191 372 8376

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Dear Freedom of Information,

I am investigating how much public funds are spent on helping families stay together, compared to how much public funds are spent on ripping families apart. Please therefore provide all information relating to any publicly funded play area and any other service that is publicly funded in you meeting your obligations under s17 if the Children Act.

Yours sincerely,

LS Palmer

Dear Durham County Council,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Durham County Council's handling of my FOI request 'Children & Families - Budget'.

This response is delayed.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address:
http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/ch...

Yours faithfully,

LS Palmer

Freedom of Information,

OUR REF: 4929797 24-JAN-2011

Dear LS Palmer

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT – REQUEST FOR INTERNAL REVIEW OF FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST

I acknowledge your request for an internal review of the handling of your Freedom of Information request 4767783 Children & Families Budget which was received on 24-JAN-2011.

Your request is being considered and the information requested will be sent to you within the statutory timescale of 20 working days as defined by the Freedom of Information Act 2000, subject to the information not being exempt or containing a reference to a third party.

Yours sincerely,

Tracy Millmore
Information Management Assistant

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Freedom of Information,

OUR REF: 4929797 24-JAN-2011

Dear LS Palmer,

We have reviewed the handling of your FOI request on 'Children & Families Budget' and note that as yet you have not received a response to you request.
The deadline for your response in accordance with Freedom of Information Act 2000 was 20th January 2011, however in reviewing your request The Information Management Team requested clarification on the 14 January 2011. At this time the 20 working day deadline was on hold until we received clarification from you inline with Freedom of Information Act section 1 (3)A. Your clarification was received back to the Information Management Team on 18 January. This therefore means the new deadline to provide you with a response to your request is 24 January 2011. We are currently working on your response and will provide you with information in due course.

Yours Sincerely

Tracy Millmore
Information Management Assistant

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Freedom of Information,

Our Ref: 4767783

26-JAN-11

Dear LS Palmer

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT - RESPONSE TO REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

Your request for information on Budget questions for Children's services
from April 2009-2010, received on 20-DEC-2010, has been considered.

Please find enclosed the requested information.

Your Request: In relation to the Budget for Children and Families for the

financial year 1 April 2009 to 1 April 2010 how much has Durham

County Council spent on:

Your Request: 1. Supervised contact visits

Our Response: £473,233

Your Request: 2. Respite foster care - for children in need (not on child

protection plan).

Our Response: Durham County Council provides very little respite foster
care for children in need, largely because needs are met through other
routes, or because children with more critical needs mean that resources
are at full capacity. However, a residential respite care provision for
up to 5 children at any one time is provided. The cost over a year is
£340,000. In addition over 70,000 hours of short break services are
provided to disabled children to give respite to their families. Also in
130 cases parents of disabled children are supported by direct payments,
at varying levels ( dependant on the level of assessed need) which
families choose how to spend on support such as respite care.

Your Request:3. Local Authority employed Foster carers for children
subject to a care order (interim or full).

Our Response: £4,051,944

Your Request:4. Agency Foster carers for children subject to a care
order.(interim or full)

Our Response: £2,620,800

Your Request:5. Barristers for Care Proceedings.

Our Response: £280,583

Your Request: 6. Playgrounds for children.

Our Response: With regards to public funding spent on play areas for
2009/2010 financial year, DCC delivered 11 play areas across County Durham
as part of a central government grant from the former DCSF (Department for
Children Schools and Families) Playbuilder Programme in which £536,000
was from the DCSF and a further £483,000 was matched funding from various
sources therefore totalling £1,019,000 spent on children's play.

Your Request: 7. Assistance with Child carers becoming Ofsted Registered.

Our Response: 66 childminders registered between this period, 7 settings
received LA support totalling £2,100.

Your Request: 8. Respite Foster Care - not exceeding 28 days for children
on a protection plan.

Our Response: Nil

Your Request: 9. Residential Family Assessments

Our Response: Nil

I hope that this information is of assistance; however, if you are
dissatisfied with the handling of your request, please contact:

The Information Management Team

Durham County Council

Assistant Chief Executive's Office

Room 4/140

County Hall

Durham

DH1 5UF

Tel: 0191 372 8371

Email: [1][Durham County Council request email]

After you have exhausted our internal appeals procedure you also have a
right of appeal to the Information Commissioner at:

Information Commissioner's Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

Telephone: 01625 545 745

Fax: 01625 524 510

Email: [email address]

Most of the documents that we provide in response to Freedom of
Information Act requests will be subject to copyright protection. In most
cases the copyright will be owned by Durham County Council. The copyright
in other documents may be owned by another person or organisation, as
indicated on the documents themselves.

You are free to use any documents supplied for your own use, including for
non-commercial research purposes. The documents may also be used for the
purposes of news reporting. However, any other type of re-use, for
example, by publishing the documents or issuing copies to the public will
require the permission of the copyright owner.

For documents where the copyright is owned by Durham County Council,
please contact me for details of the conditions on re-use.

For documents where the copyright is owned by another person or
organisation, you would need to apply to the copyright owner to obtain
their permission.

Yours sincerely

Tracy Millmore

Information Management Assistant

Information Management Team

Room: 4/410

County Hall

Durham DH1 5UF

Tel: 0191 372 8376

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