Direct payments and personal budgets

The request was successful.

Dear Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council,
1. Please provide a copy of your policy regarding the trialling of SEN Direct Payments and personal budgets.

2. Please confirm whether all parents/carers issued with a new or amended statement since January 2012 have been informed about their right to apply for a Direct Payment for SEN provision under the Special Educational Needs (Direct Payments) (Pilot Scheme) Order 2012. How has this information been provided? Please provide a copy of any standard leaflet or letter issued together with confirmation of date of issue.

3. Please confirm the number of parents/carers who are receiving SEN Direct Payments and what those Direct Payments relate to.

4. Please confirm whether any of these SEN Direct Payments could be provided outside the Pathfinder project, e.g. payments under Part 6 of a statement for transport.

5. Please provide a copy of your policy for considering requests for direct payments for SEN provision. If you do not have a policy, please confirm whether there are any limits placed on direct payments applications, e.g. they will not be provided if the LA has a block contract or there is a financial limit. Please confirm whether these criteria are communicated to parents and provide a copy of that document .

6. Please confirm your arrangements for reviewing appeals against a refusal of a request for SEN Direct Payments. Please provide a copy of any policy and any leaflet/letter issued to parents explaining this.

7. Please confirm what information is provided to parents/carers about the trialling of personal budgets. Please provide a copy of any leaflet or letter issued.

8. Please confirm how many parents/carers are receiving a personal budget within the auspices of the Pathfinder project?

9. Please confirm how parents/carers in receipt of SEN Direct Payments/ personal budgets obtained the information to make an application. For example, were they:

(a) sent the information with a new or amended statement
(b) recruited as part of a specific pilot
(c) neither (a )or (b), the family approached the LA having heard about SEN Direct Payments/personal budgets from other sources

10. Please provide a copy of your local offer.

Yours faithfully,

Measure Up!

Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council

 

Please quote ID 4756 on all correspondence/emails/faxes

 

 

Dear Sir/Madam

I am emailing to confirm the receipt of your recent FOI request to Wigan
Council.

We will respond as soon as possible and in any case no later than 5th
August 2013, which is 20 working days after the receipt of your request.

If you have any comments or questions in the meantime, please direct them
to [Wigan Council request email], or at Wigan Council, Town Hall, Library
Street, Wigan WN1 1YN.

Your contact is Sharon Crippin.

Regards

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Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council

1 Attachment

I am writing to respond to your freedom of information request which we
received on the 8th July 2013. This request has been handled under the
Freedom of Information Act 2000.

The response to your request is detailed below.

1. Please provide a copy of your policy regarding the trialling of SEN
Direct Payments and personal budgets.
We do not have a policy yet. Guidance is provided with Pathfinder single
plan document (attached)
2. Please confirm whether all parents/carers issued with a new or amended
statement since January 2012 have been informed about their right to apply
for a Direct Payment for SEN provision under the Special Educational Needs
(Direct Payments) (Pilot Scheme) Order 2012. How has this information been
provided? Please provide a copy of any standard leaflet or letter issued
together with confirmation of date of issue.
Only "Pilot Families" have been offered a direct payment
3. Please confirm the number of parents/carers who are receiving SEN
Direct Payments and what those Direct Payments relate to.
No parents are receiving a direct payment for education provision
5 parents are receivingdirect payments for health /social care packages
4. Please confirm whether any of these SEN Direct Payments could be
provided outside the Pathfinder project, e.g. payments under Part 6 of a
statement for transport.
This could be considered
5. Please provide a copy of your policy for considering requests for
direct payments for SEN provision. If you do not have a policy, please
confirm whether there are any limits placed on direct payments
applications, e.g. they will not be provided if the LA has a block
contract or there is a financial limit. Please confirm whether these
criteria are communicated to parents and provide a copy of that document .
See Sinlge Plan Document
6. Please confirm your arrangements for reviewing appeals against a
refusal of a request for SEN Direct Payments. Please provide a copy of any
policy and any leaflet/letter issued to parents explaining this.
Not applicable at this time
7. Please confirm what information is provided to parents/carers about the
trialling of personal budgets. Please provide a copy of any leaflet or
letter issued.
See Single Plan Document
8. Please confirm how many parents/carers are receiving a personal budget
within the auspices of the Pathfinder project?
5
9. Please confirm how parents/carers in receipt of SEN Direct Payments/
personal budgets obtained the information to make an application. For
example, were they:
(a) sent the information with a new or amended statement
(b) recruited as part of a specific pilot
(c) neither (a )or (b), the family approached the LA having heard about
SEN Direct Payments/personal budgets from other sources
10. Please provide a copy of your local offer.
[1]http://www.wigan.gov.uk/Resident/Educati...
If you are unhappy with any aspect of this response, an independent senior
officer will review this decision. Please let me know if you would like to
arrange this.
You can also complain to the Information Commissioner, who is the
regulator for Freedom of Information. His website is
[2]www.informationcommisioner.gov.uk and his helpline number is 0303
1231113.
His staff may ask you to exhaust our internal complaints procedure if you
choose to complain to his office now.
May I take this opportunity to apologise for the delay in responding to
your request, this is due to the high volumes currently being received.
 
Yours Sincerely
 
 
Sharon Crippin
Data Protection and Freedom of Information Officer
Resources Directorate
Legal & Risk
Wigan Council
Town Hall
Wigan
WN1 1YN
Tel: (01942) 827002    Internal: 2002
email:  [email address]
[3]www.wigan.gov.uk
 
 
>>Corporate Disclaimer<<
This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and
intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom
they are addressed. If you have received this email in error please
notify the system manager.

Email may be automatically logged, monitored and/or recorded
for legal purposes.

As a public body, the Council may be required to disclose this
email or any response to it under the Freedom of Information
Act 2000 unless the information in it is covered by one of the
exemptions in the Act.

This footnote also confirms that this email has been swept for
the presence of computer viruses.

References

Visible links
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2. http://www.informationcommisioner.gov.uk/
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Fiona Nicholson left an annotation ()

I'm logging responses nationwide here http://snafu2.org.uk/