Dear South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust (Northern Ireland),

This request focuses on respite (short break/ support care) provision for foster carers and looked after children in the financial year 2020-21. It also asks for information on various leave entitlements for foster carers. I would like to request the following information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

1. Please can you provide a copy of the Trust’s respite policy and procedures
2. If not stated in your respite policy, please can you tell me the process used by the foster carer for requesting respite.
3. If not stated in your respite policy, please can you provide a copy of the assessment tool used by social work staff to determine if respite is to be approved.
4. If not stated in your respite policy, please can you outline all professionals who are involved in decision making concerning approval and provision of a single instance of respite.
5. Please can you tell me the number of Trust foster carers who have requested respite care in the last year.
a. Please break this down by emergency/ planned/ any other designation used by the trust
b. Please also provide the number foster carers who received respite when requested
c. Please also provide the number of foster carers who were refused respite when this was requested.
For example
Emergency Respite, Number Requested, Number Provided, Number Refused
Planned Respite, Number Requested, Number Provided, Number Refused
Any other respite designation(s), Number Requested, Number Provided, Number Refused

6. If not stated in your respite policy, please can you tell me the annual total number of days respite entitlement that an approved foster carer has within the trust (please also outline any difference between non fee paid/ fee paid foster carers).
7. Please can you tell me the number of foster carers who have received/ not received their annual respite entitlement within in the trust in the last year.
8. If not stated in the respite policy what alternative arrangements are possible for respite other than placement with an approved trust foster carer.
9. Please can you provide a copy of the equality screening for your respite policy.
10. Please outline the total number of days holiday entitlement (annual leave) which foster carers receive.
11. Please confirm if the annual respite entitlement is additional to any annual leave entitlement.
12. Please outline the trusts arrangements for providing sickness leave, compassionate leave to foster carers.
13. Please outline any arrangement where holiday entitlement is paid for in lieu or other comparable arrangement.
14. Please provide a copy of the policy which governs foster carer leave entitlement.
15. Please can you provide a copy of the equality screening for your foster carer leave policy.

If the request is too broad or unclear, please contact me for clarification and advise me how I can make the request clearer.

If any of the information is already in the public domain, please send it to me directly with page references or URLs when necessary.

If the information exceeding the cost of compliance limits identified in Section 12, please provide advice and assistance under the section 16 obligations of the Act, as to how I can refine the request.

I understand that you are required to respond to my request within 20 working days after receiving this request. I would be grateful if you could confirm in writing you have received this request.

Please provide the information as an electronic copy.

I look forward to hearing from you soon,

Yours faithfully,

Alastair Scott-McKinley

Dear Rebecca Manning/ Information Governance,
I was hoping you could provide an update on my request for information
Yours sincerely,
Alastair Scott-McKinley