FOI: Temp Accommodation for children under 2, cots access
Hello,
I'd like to make a request under the Freedom of Information Act, please.
According to two clauses added to the “Homelessness code of guidance for local authorities” by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (under its old name of the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities) in February 2024, "accommodation will not be suitable for a household with children under the age of 2 if there is not adequate space for a cot for each child aged under 2", and "where households with babies and young children under 2 do not have access to a cot when placed in temporary accommodation, housing authorities should consider what support is available for the provision of a cot."
Link: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/homelessness....
With this in mind, please tell me:
How many temporary accommodation is the council using as of today’s date to accommodate households with at least one child under the age of two?
Of these units, as of today’s date:
How many have been assessed as having adequate space for a cot?
How many have been assessed as NOT having adequate space for a cot?
How many have not been assessed for whether or not there is space for a cot?
How many families with children aged under two at the time of placement have been placed in temporary accommodation since February 2024?
Of these, how many families did not have their own cots and what provisions was the council able to make for them? (This information can be supplied as totals — for instance, X number of households had a cot provided, Y number of households were given guidance on how to obtain a cot, etc.)
I look forward to hearing from you.
All the best,
Weronika
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Weronika Strzyżyńska
Reporter - Hyphen
+44 7359 795768
Dear Weronika Strzyzynska
Thank you for your information request submitted under the Freedom of
Information Act 2000.
Please be advised that your request is being dealt with and you will
receive a response within 20 working days, which will be 10^th January
2025.
Regards
Kate Butcher
Customer Care Officer
Freedom of Information and Deputy Data Protection Officer
Mole Valley District Council
01306 885001
[1]www.molevalley.gov.uk
Dear Weronika Strzyýyñska
Thank you for your information request submitted under the Freedom of
Information Act 2000.
Please be advised that the answers to your request are listed below.
With regard to one of your questions, indicated below, the information
requested is held by Mole Valley District Council, however Section 12 of
the Freedom of Information Act 2000 makes provision for public authorities
to refuse requests for information where the cost of dealing with them
would exceed the appropriate limit, which for this authority is set at
£450.
In order to provide you with the information that you have requested would
require a manual check of all historic placements and then a further check
of each file to establish the children’s ages in February 2024.
We estimate that it will take us in excess of the applicable time limit to
determine the appropriate material and locate, retrieve and extract the
information in reference to your request.
You may wish to refine your request by narrowing its scope by being more
specific about what information you particularly wish to obtain, including
any dates or period of time relevant to the information required.
If you are dissatisfied with the handling of your request, you have the
right to ask for an internal review. Internal review requests should be
submitted within 40 working days of the date of receipt of the response to
your original letter and should be addressed to: Louise Bircher, Mole
Valley District Council, Pippbrook, Dorking, Surrey, RH4 1SJ.
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 Or by calling 0303 123 1113 (local rate) Monday to Friday 9am – 5pm.
Kind Regards
Kate Butcher
Customer Care Officer
Freedom of Information and Deputy Data Protection Officer
Mole Valley District Council
01306 885001
[1]www.molevalley.gov.uk
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