Information Team Croydon
Digital Services
Assistant Chief Executive Directorate
Bernard Wetherill House
7th Floor, Zone B
Croydon
CR0 1EA

Contact: Information Team
[email address]

NOTE: Please do not edit the subject line when replying to this email. If
you have a processing request, please ensure you quote that reference in
your emails to us.

DEAR Nandini Naira Archer

Freedom of information request - FOI/8133

Subject: Council spending for young adults leaving care

Your request is being considered and you will receive a response within
the statutory timescale of 20 working days, subject to the application of
any exemptions. Where consideration is being given to exemptions the 20
working day timescale may be extended to a period considered reasonable
depending on the nature and circumstances of your request. In such cases
you will be notified and, where possible, a revised time-scale will be
indicated. In all cases we shall attempt to deal with your request at the
earliest opportunity.

If we are unable to provide you with the information requested we will
notify you of this together with the reason(s) why, and details of how you
may appeal.

Please note that the directorate team may contact you for further
information where we believe that the request is not significantly clear
for us to respond fully. 

Kind Regard

Information Management Team

Croydon Digital Services

Assistant Chief Executive Directorate

7th Floor, Zone B

Bernard Weatherill House

8 Mint Walk

Croydon CR0 1EA

Information Team Croydon
Digital Services
Assistant Chief Executive Directorate
Bernard Wetherill House
7th Floor, Zone B
Croydon
CR0 1EA

Contact: Information Team
[email address]

Dear Nandini Naira Archer

Request FOI/8133

Freedom of Information Request

Your request has been considered under the provisions of the Freedom of
Information Act. Please accept our apologies for the lengthy delay in
responding to you. Specifically, you have requested the following
information:

1) What was the maximum amount the council budget allowed to be paid out
in the form of a ‘leaving care grant' (sometimes also called a setting up
home allowance) in the 2022-2023 financial year?

£2000 per care experienced adult which they can access as required until
they turn 25.

2) How many young people left the care of your council on or after their
16th birthday in the 2022-2023 financial year?

150 (SSDA903 Data Return 2022/23).

3) How many of these young people received a leaving care grant?

We consider that the specific level of data you requested cannot be
retrieved by way of a reasonable search in the relevant electronic
databases.  In order to provide this information the Council would need to
undertake a specific piece of work to conduct a file review on each care
leaver to confirm this which would exceed the appropriate limit.  The
Freedom of Information (Fees and Appropriate Limit) Regulations 2004
specifies an “appropriate limit” for the amount of time the council needs
to spend undertaking that search.  If the council estimates that the time
taken to locate, retrieve and extract the information requested will
exceed the appropriate limit, then under Section 12 of the Act, it is not
obliged to comply with that request.

The appropriate limit currently specified by the Regulations for local
authorities is £450. This represents the estimated cost of one person
spending two and a half working days in locating, retrieving and
extracting the information from where it is stored.  We estimate that the
cumulative time it would take officers to retrieve the complete records
you are seeking would exceed the appropriate limit. Therefore, we are
unable to disclose the information you are seeking.

4) What was the average amount (both mean and median) paid out to care
leavers in a leaving care grant in the 2022-2023 financial year?

The average/mean is £478.54 and the median is £330.00.

5) What was the lowest amount paid out to a care leaver in a leaving care
grant in the 2022-2023 financial year?

The lowest was to purchase of a fan for £20.00 however the leaving care
grant is accessible to young people until they turn 25, so they may access
it as and when needed throughout their time as a care experienced adult.

6) What was the highest amount paid out to a care leaver in a ‘leaving
care grant’ in the 2022-2023 financial year?

The highest paid was £2000.00.

The Council publishes Access to Information requests and responses on its
online Disclosure Log. (Any request included within this log will be
anonymised appropriately)

To view the Council’s Disclosure Log, please visit our website available
here:

[1]The Freedom of Information (FOI) Act | Croydon Council
(disclosure-log.co.uk)

If you are dissatisfied with the way the Council has handled your request
under the Freedom of Information Act you may ask for an internal review. 
This should be submitted to us within 40 working days of this response. 
You can do this by outlining the details of your complaint by:

Email:        [email address]

Writing:     Information Team

London Borough of Croydon
Bernard Weatherill House
7^th Floor - Zone B
8 Mint Walk
Croydon CR0 1EA

Any requests received after the 40 working day time limit will be
considered only at the discretion of the council.

If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have
the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a
decision. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at:

Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire   SK9 5AF

Yours sincerely 

Croydon Council

References

Visible links
1. https://croydon.disclosure-log.co.uk/