Dear Merton Borough Council,

1. Can you please explain your commissioning processes for providers of accommodation and/or support in respect to looked after children in residential care/looked after children in semi-independent placements/care leavers/uasc. Do you spot purchase, have framework agreements or have block contracts in each of these categories?

2. If you have framework agreements and/or block contracts for accommodation and/or support in respect tolooked after children in residential care/looked after children in semi-independent placements/care leavers/uasc, please specify when each of these are due to be re-tendered.

3. Do organisations need to go through a pre-registration process to accommodate looked after children in residential care/looked after children in semi-independent placements/care leavers/uasc on a spot purchase basis?

4. Do you have local authority run provisions for looked after children in residential care/looked after children in semi-independent placements/care leavers/uasc? If so, how many of each category are currently accommodated in these facilities?

5. Please specify the number of looked after children in residential care/looked after children in semi-independent placements/care leavers/uasc accommodated currently via:

a. spot purchase

b. framework agreements

c. block contracts

6. How many care leavers/uasc aged 16-17 years old and specified in the answer to question 4 are are accommodated in residential children's homes?

7. What is the 2017/18 average weekly cost of placing a looked after child aged under 16 year in a private residential children's home?

8. What is the 2017/18 average weekly cost of placing a care leavers/uasc child aged 16-17 in a private residential children's home?

9. What is the 2017/18 average weekly cost of placing a care leavers/uasc child aged 16-17 in a 24/7 supervised semi-independent provision?

10. What is the 2017/18 average weekly cost of placing a care leavers/uasc child aged 16-17 in an unsupervised semi-independent provision? Please include the cost of floating support. Please advise if you do not place 16-17 year olds in an unsupervised semi-independent provision.

11. What is the 2017/18 average weekly cost of placing a care leavers/uasc aged 18-24 in a 24/7 supervised semi-independent provision? Please advise if you do not place 18-24 year olds in a supervised semi-independent provision.

12. What is the 2017/18 average weekly cost of placing care leavers/uasc 18-24 year olds in an unsupervised semi-independent provision? Please include the cost of floating support.

13. Who should be approached within the council to discuss spot purchase commissioning, service provision, rates and referrals for accommodating looked after children in residential children's homes? Who is the specific named point of contact?

14. Who should be approached within the council to discuss spot purchase commissioning, service provision, rates and referrals for accommodating and/or supporting care leavers/uasc aged 16-17 years old? Who is the specific named point of contact?

15. Who should be approached within the council to discuss spot purchase commissioning, service provision, rates and referrals for accommodating and/or supporting care leavers/uasc aged 18-24 years old? Who is the specific named point of contact?

16. Who should be approached within the council to discuss framework agreement/block purchase commissioning for accommodating looked after children in residential care/looked after children in semi-independent placements/care leavers/uasc? Who is the specific named point of contact?

17. Please can you provide me with a list of all of your current suppliers signed up to framework agreements/block purchase contracts for accommodating looked after children in residential care/looked after children in semi-independent placements/care leavers/uasc?

Yours faithfully,

nilesh bhalani