Foster carer utilisation

The request was successful.

Dear Wiltshire Council,

Please could you provide the following information
1. How many registered foster carers you have working directly for yourselves as self -employed persons
2. How many foster carers you have working as employed persons under a form of employment contract
3. How many agency carers you presently employ via third party/independent agencies
4. What is the present employment profile ( compared with registered capability) of each of these groups e.g no placements, 1 out of 2 placements etc
5. How many of your directly registered foster carers being self employed, are presently working for either agencies or other local authorities, if the response is none please could you provide any detail for this e.g preventative arrangements. Non sharing agreements you have in place
6. How many of your directly registered foster carers have received continuous payments from yourselves for the following periods 6 , 12, 18 months over the last 2 years
7. Although self- employed what are your guidelines for the number of hours each of your registered carers work each week , or could you provide details of the monitored reconciliation periods or hours of required availability.

Many thanks for your assistance in this matter .

Yours faithfully,

james knoll

FOI, Wiltshire Council

2 Attachments

Request for Information – reference RFI - ENQ05709-REQ001
 
Thank you for your request for information received on Friday, 08 July
2016
 
Your request is being considered and if the information is held you will
receive the information requested within the statutory timescale of 20
working days of receipt of your request as defined by the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 and Environmental Information Regulations 2004.
 
I may contact you during that time if the request needs to be clarified;
this is to ensure that we provide you with the information you require.
 
Please note that some information you have requested may not be provided
to you; this will only be information that can be withheld by law. If we
find it necessary to withhold any information we will explain our reasons
for doing so at the same time as we provide you with your copy of any
information that can be released to you.  
 
Yours sincerely
 
 
Information GovernanceTeam
Corporate Office
Wiltshire Council
Bythesea Road
Trowbridge
BA14 8JN
 
[Wiltshire Council request email]
Web: [1]www.wiltshire.gov.uk
 
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FOI, Wiltshire Council

2 Attachments

Request for Information – reference RFI - ENQ05709-REQ001
 
Thank you for your request for information received on Friday, 08 July
2016.
 
Officers are processing your request but need clarification regarding Q6:
 
6.    How many of your directly registered foster carers have received
continuous payments from yourselves for the following periods 6 , 12, 18 
months over the last 2 years
 
Need to clarify if this question relates to the “directly registered 
foster carers  being self employed” group.
 
Once we have this clarification we can continue to process your request.
 
Regards
 
 
Information GovernanceTeam
Corporate Office
Wiltshire Council
Bythesea Road
Trowbridge
BA14 8JN
 
[Wiltshire Council request email]
Web: [1]www.wiltshire.gov.uk
 
Follow Wiltshire Council
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_____________________________________________

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Evans, Sharron, Wiltshire Council

3 Attachments

Request for Information – reference RFI - ENQ05709-REQ001
 
Thank you for your request for information received on Friday, 08 July
2016.
 
In response to your request officers have provided the following:
 

 1. How many  registered foster carers you have working directly for
yourselves as self -employed persons

None

 2. How many foster carers you have working as employed persons under  a
form of employment contract

Three households (SEND Specialist Carers)

 3. How many agency carers you presently employ via third
party/independent agencies

None

 4. What is the present employment profile ( compared with registered
capability) of each of these groups e.g  no placements, 1 out of 2
placements etc

4 children
   5.    How many of your directly registered  foster carers  being self
employed, are presently working  for either agencies or other local
authorities, if the response is     none please could you provide any
detail for this e.g  preventative arrangements. Non sharing agreements you
have in place
N/A
   6.    How many of your directly registered foster carers have received
continuous payments from yourselves for the following periods 6 , 12, 18 
months over the last 2       years
        We need clarification on the question before we can respond, we
contacted you on 25 July. Does this relate to the “directly registered 
foster carers  being self        employed” group?
   7.    Although  self- employed what are your guidelines  for the number
of hours  each of your registered carers work each week , or could you
provide details of the         monitored reconciliation periods or hours
of required availability.
N/A
 
 
Wiltshire Council has not withheld any information in relation to this
request under the exemptions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
 
If you are unhappy with this result, you can raise a complaint under the
council’s [1]Review Procedure for Information Requests (enclosed) within
40 days of receiving the information. When you have exhausted the
council’s procedure you can contact the Information Commissioner’s Office
at Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF,
[2]www.ico.gov.uk or 01625 545745. If you would like to discuss any of the
information provided to you or would like further information on the
review procedure, please contact me.
Information supplied under the Freedom of Information Act and/or
Environmental Information Regulations will be subject to copyright
protection under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. Information
can be re-used for the purposes of research for non-commercial purposes,
for private study or for news reporting and reviews, without requiring
formal consent. However, if you wish to re-use the information for
commercial purposes, including publishing, you are required to seek the
permission of the copyright owner. Permission to re-use Wiltshire
Council’s copyright information is granted in the form of a licence.
Authorisation to re-use copyright material not owned by Wiltshire Council
should be sought from the copyright holders concerned.
 
Yours sincerely
 
 
Sharron Evans LLM
Principal Information Officer
Information GovernanceTeam
Corporate Office
Wiltshire Council
Bythesea Road
Trowbridge
BA14 8JN
01225 713643
[email address]
Web: [3]www.wiltshire.gov.uk
 
Follow Wiltshire Council
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_____________________________________________

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Dear Evans, Sharron,

Thank you for your response thus far, please find an appended response and some clarification to your response under question 6.

1. How many registered foster carers you have working directly for
yourselves as self -employed persons

None ?

HRMC indicate that all registered foster carers be registered as self employed persons for tax deceleration as does you foster carer handbook , is this response correct ?

2. How many foster carers you have working as employed persons under a
form of employment contract

Three households (SEND Specialist Carers)

3. How many agency carers you presently employ via third
party/independent agencies

None

To clarify the council has no children placed with agency carers ?

4. What is the present employment profile ( compared with registered
capability) of each of these groups e.g no placements, 1 out of 2
placements etc

4 children

Wiltshire has only a total of 4 young persons "iooked after" within there care ?

5. How many of your directly registered foster carers being self
employed, are presently working for either agencies or other local
authorities, if the response is none please could you provide any
detail for this e.g preventative arrangements. Non sharing agreements you
have in place
N/A

Is this none, or do you have preventive arrangements in place ? e.g requirement to deregister prior to registering for a an independent agency/provider ?

6. How many of your directly registered foster carers have received
continuous payments from yourselves for the following periods 6 , 12, 18
months over the last 2 years
We need clarification on the question before we can respond, we
contacted you on 25 July. Does this relate to the “directly registered
foster carers being self employed” group?

Any person or persons receiving any form of monetary allowance/payment from yourselves for looking after a young person within your care ?

7. Although self- employed what are your guidelines for the number
of hours each of your registered carers work each week , or could you
provide details of the monitored reconciliation periods or hours
of required availability.
N/A

You indicate you have 3 SEND households, paid directly under a form of contract, are these not covered by employment Law ?

I hope this clarifies your request, i look forward to your response

Yours sincerely,

james knoll

Evans, Sharron, Wiltshire Council

Thank you for your email. I am out of the office, but due to return on 02
August 2016.

Please redirect your email to [Wiltshire Council request email] or
[email address].

Any email not redirected will not be dealt with until my return.

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FOI, Wiltshire Council

1 Attachment

Dear Mr. Knoll,
 
Request for information – reference RFI - ENQ05709-REQ001
 
Thank you for your request for information received on Monday, 11 July
2016. In response to your request officers have provided the following:
 

 1. How many registered foster carers you have working directly for
yourselves as self-employed persons

None
 

 2. How many foster carers you have working as employed persons under a
form of employment contract

Three households (SEND Specialist Carers) - Apologies for incorrect data
previously supplied.
 
On checking the SEND specialist carers terms and conditions it is apparent
they are not employees covered by employment law.
 

 3. How many agency carers you presently employ via third
party/independent agencies

None
 

 4. What is the present employment profile ( compared with registered
capability) of each of these groups e.g no placements, 1 out of 2
placements etc

N/A – no carers are self-employed or employed under employment contract
 

 5. How many of your directly registered foster carers being
self-employed, are presently working for either agencies or other
local authorities, if the response is none please could you provide
any detail for this e.g preventative arrangements. Non sharing
agreements you have in place

None - Foster Carers approved by the local authority are volunteers paid
by fees and allowances.
 
Foster carers are not permitted to be approved by more than one foster
agency at a time. Therefore any Wiltshire approved carers cannot foster
with another agency.
 

 6. How many of your directly registered foster carers have received
continuous payments from yourselves for the following periods 6, 12,
18 months over the last 2 years?

need to clarify if this question relates to the “directly registered
foster carers being self-employed” group:
 
Applicant response: Any person or persons receiving any form of monetary
allowance/payment from yourselves for looking after a young person within
your care
 

* 115 carers paid 18 months during the time period 2014/15, 2015/16 and
2016/17 year to date
* 139 carers paid 12 months during the time period 2014/15, 2015/16 and
2016/17 year to date
* 171 carers paid 6 months during the time period 2014/15, 2015/16 and
2016/17 year to date

Note : Each carer who was included in the largest time period is also
included in the shorter time period.
 
eg: If Joe Smith fostered for 18 months, he is also counted in the 12
month & 6 month cohorts. 
 
These payments only include the payments relating to fostering fees /
allowances and not any additional support payments.
 

 7. Although self- employed what are your guidelines for the number of
hours each of your registered carers work each week , or could you
provide details of the monitored reconciliation periods or hours of
required availability.
 8.  

Three households (SEND Specialist Carers) Apologies for incorrect data. 
On checking the specialist carers terms and conditions it is apparent they
are not employees covered by employment law.
 
There is no guideline about how many hours each carer works a week.
 
Wiltshire Council has not withheld any information in relation to this
request under the exemptions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
 
If you are unhappy with this result, you can raise a complaint under the
council’s [1]Review Procedure for Information Requests (enclosed) within
40 days of receiving the information. When you have exhausted the
council’s procedure you can contact the Information Commissioner’s Office
at Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF,
[2]www.ico.org.uk or 0303 123 1113. If you would like to discuss any of
the information provided to you or would like further information on the
review procedure, please contact me.
 
Information supplied under the Freedom of Information Act and/or
Environmental Information Regulations will be subject to copyright
protection under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. Information
can be re-used for the purposes of research for non-commercial purposes,
for private study or for news reporting and reviews, without requiring
formal consent. However, if you wish to re-use the information for
commercial purposes, including publishing, you are required to seek the
permission of the copyright owner. Permission to re-use Wiltshire
Council’s copyright information is granted in the form of a licence.
Authorisation to re-use copyright material not owned by Wiltshire Council
should be sought from the copyright holders concerned.
 
Yours sincerely
 
Sarah Davis-Solan
Information Governance Officer
 
Int: 13665
Tel: 01226 713665
Corporate Office | County Hall | Trowbridge | Wiltshire | BA14 8JN
 
 
_____________________________________________

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