GIRFEC concerns

The authority would like to / has responded by postal mail to this request.

Dear City of Edinburgh Council,

According to your web-site, GIRFEC has been in use since 2009 and in 2013 Edinburgh adopted a single assessment and planning framework for GIRFEC.

1) Can I ask if the Council has read and understood the Supreme Court ruling (2016)?

In relation to your - Wellbeing Concern Form

2) You mention wellbeing concerns forms can be completed by anyone who has identified a concern about a child’s wellbeing. Taking into account the Supreme Court ruling, consent should NOT be sought but freely given. Can you confirm that wellbeing concerns forms are not being completed or processed without ‘Freely given consent’. Which must also be evidenced.
In other words the child/young person or parent has come forward requesting wellbeing support.

3) The wellbeing form states the completed forms should always be passed onto the Named Person. This would be unlawful processing in the absence of freely given consent. Can you confirm that no forms are passed onto Named Persons in the absence of freely given consent of the child/young person/parent?

4) The wellbeing form states the Named Person will then decide on appropriate next steps.
Can you confirm that this is only the case after freely given consent is given and evidenced.

5) Can you confirm that any feedback is passed on to parents who will decide if further assistance is required and wanted.

6) Can you confirm that wellbeing forms will be updated to reflect the Supreme Court Ruling?

In relation to your - Information Sharing Flowchart - GIRFEC/GDPR

6) Can you confirm that Named Persons are not amassing information related to wellbeing in the absence of freely given consent?

7) Can you amend your flow chart from ‘Risk of Harm’ to ‘Risk of Significant Harm’ which is the lawful threshold when considering sharing of information without consent?

8) Can you update your flowchart to include ‘MONITOR AND RECORD YOUR CONCERNS AS WELLBEING MATTERS and MONITOR AND RECORD CHILD’S PROGRESS OR RISK OF ONGOING HARM, to include if freely given consent has been obtained?

9) Can you confirm that you have made it clear to Practitioners that a single point of access to services is legitimate and benign, and that in the absence of freely given consent GIRFEC policy has no lawful basis?

Yours faithfully,

Morag Walker

City of Edinburgh Council

Morag Walker

Our ref: 30363

Dear Morag Walker

Acknowledgement of Request

Subject: GIRFEC concerns

Thank you for your request for information which was received on 30/11/2020. In your request you asked for the following;

According to your web-site, GIRFEC has been in use since 2009 and in 2013 Edinburgh adopted a single assessment and planning framework for GIRFEC.

1) Can I ask if the Council has read and understood the Supreme Court ruling (2016)?

In relation to your - Wellbeing Concern Form

2) You mention wellbeing concerns forms can be completed by anyone who has identified a concern about a child’s wellbeing. Taking into account the Supreme Court ruling, consent should NOT be sought but freely given. Can you confirm that wellbeing concerns forms are not being completed or processed without ‘Freely given consent’. Which must also be evidenced.

In other words the child/young person or parent has come forward requesting wellbeing support.

3) The wellbeing form states the completed forms should always be passed onto the Named Person. This would be unlawful processing in the absence of freely given consent. Can you confirm that no forms are passed onto Named Persons in the absence of freely given consent of the child/young person/parent?

4) The wellbeing form states the Named Person will then decide on appropriate next steps.

Can you confirm that this is only the case after freely given consent is given and evidenced.

5) Can you confirm that any feedback is passed on to parents who will decide if further assistance is required and wanted.

6) Can you confirm that wellbeing forms will be updated to reflect the Supreme Court Ruling?

In relation to your - Information Sharing Flowchart - GIRFEC/GDPR

6) Can you confirm that Named Persons are not amassing information related to wellbeing in the absence of freely given consent?

7) Can you amend your flow chart from ‘Risk of Harm’ to ‘Risk of Significant Harm’ which is the lawful threshold when considering sharing of information without consent?

8) Can you update your flowchart to include ‘MONITOR AND RECORD YOUR CONCERNS AS WELLBEING MATTERS and MONITOR AND RECORD CHILD’S PROGRESS OR RISK OF ONGOING HARM, to include if freely given consent has been obtained?

9) Can you confirm that you have made it clear to Practitioners that a single point of access to services is legitimate and benign, and that in the absence of freely given consent GIRFEC policy has no lawful basis?

I can confirm that your request will be processed under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, Environmental Information Regulations (Scotland) 2004, or the INSPIRE (Scotland) Regulations 2009.

You will receive the information requested within 20 working days unless the Council does not hold the information, or there is a reason for it to be withheld. We will write to you in any event. This means we have until 31/12/2020 to respond to your request.

In some circumstances a fee may be payable and if that is the case we will let you know.

If you have any requirements regarding the format any information should be supplied in, e.g. the language to be used, audio, large print and so on, then please let me know.

If you have any queries or concerns, do not hesitate to get in touch. Please quote the reference number above in any future communications.

To promote transparency and accountability, please note it is the Council’s policy to publish all request details and responses made under the freedom of information legislation. This information will be made available through the Council’s website and will not include your personal details. The disclosure log is available at the following link: http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/homepage/175....

Further information about your rights and accessing information is available on our website at: www.edinburgh.gov.uk

Yours sincerely,

Information Governance Unit
Level 2:1, Waverley Court, Edinburgh EH8 8BG Tel 0131 200 2340
[Edinburgh City Council request email] www.edinburgh.gov.uk

City of Edinburgh Council

Morag Walker

[FOI #709628 email]

Our ref: 30363

Dear Morag Walker

Request for Clarification

Subject: GIRFEC concerns

Thank you for your request for information of 30/11/2020 in which you asked the following:

According to your web-site, GIRFEC has been in use since 2009 and in 2013 Edinburgh adopted a single assessment and planning framework for GIRFEC.

1) Can I ask if the Council has read and understood the Supreme Court ruling (2016)?

In relation to your - Wellbeing Concern Form

2) You mention wellbeing concerns forms can be completed by anyone who has identified a concern about a child’s wellbeing. Taking into account the Supreme Court ruling, consent should NOT be sought but freely given. Can you confirm that wellbeing concerns forms are not being completed or processed without ‘Freely given consent’. Which must also be evidenced.

In other words the child/young person or parent has come forward requesting wellbeing support.

3) The wellbeing form states the completed forms should always be passed onto the Named Person. This would be unlawful processing in the absence of freely given consent. Can you confirm that no forms are passed onto Named Persons in the absence of freely given consent of the child/young person/parent?

4) The wellbeing form states the Named Person will then decide on appropriate next steps.

Can you confirm that this is only the case after freely given consent is given and evidenced.

5) Can you confirm that any feedback is passed on to parents who will decide if further assistance is required and wanted.

6) Can you confirm that wellbeing forms will be updated to reflect the Supreme Court Ruling?

In relation to your - Information Sharing Flowchart - GIRFEC/GDPR

6) Can you confirm that Named Persons are not amassing information related to wellbeing in the absence of freely given consent?

7) Can you amend your flow chart from ‘Risk of Harm’ to ‘Risk of Significant Harm’ which is the lawful threshold when considering sharing of information without consent?

8) Can you update your flowchart to include ‘MONITOR AND RECORD YOUR CONCERNS AS WELLBEING MATTERS and MONITOR AND RECORD CHILD’S PROGRESS OR RISK OF ONGOING HARM, to include if freely given consent has been obtained?

9) Can you confirm that you have made it clear to Practitioners that a single point of access to services is legitimate and benign, and that in the absence of freely given consent GIRFEC policy has no lawful basis?

Under the legislation, you can ask for any kind of "recorded" information from a Scottish public authority, you cannot ask for someone's opinion that has not been put on record. Details of what you can ask for and how can be found on the Scottish Information Commissioner's website: http://www.itspublicknowledge.info/YourR....

In addition, the whatdotheyknow website offers some very useful tips on making requests. This can be viewed at the following link: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/requ...

You are asking if we can confirm information and this may not held in a recorded format. Can you please rephrase your request to assist us to respond with information that we hold?

On receipt of these further details, we will respond to your request within 20 working days. Please note that the statutory 20 working day deadline for responding to your request does not start until we receive the requested clarification from you.

If we do not hear from you within 40 working days, we will assume that you are no longer seeking the information you have requested and we will take no further action.

If you wish to discuss further, please get in touch. Please quote the reference number above in any future communications.

Further information about your rights and accessing information is available on our website at: www.edinburgh.gov.uk

Yours sincerely,

Sue Brown
Information Rights Officer

Information Governance Unit
Level 2:1, Waverley Court, Edinburgh EH8 8BG Tel 0131 200 2340
[Edinburgh City Council request email] www.edinburgh.gov.uk

Dear City of Edinburgh Council,

According to your web-site, GIRFEC has been in use since 2009 and in 2013 Edinburgh adopted a single assessment and planning framework for GIRFEC.

1. Please provide me with details or meeting minutes of the Supreme Court ruling of Named Person being read and understood by Council officials, and any further discussions recorded.
2. Please provide me with 2a). your lawful basis for processing wellbeing concern forms in the absence of freely given consent and 2b) if consent has been given, how you demonstrate ‘freely given’ consent.
3. a). Please provide me with your process for passing on wellbeing concerns to/from Named Person in the absence of freely given consent. 3b) How many wellbeing forms have been processed by Named Persons since August 2016 without subject’s freely given consent.
4. a). Please provide me with your process for Named Persons taking next steps, in the absence of freely given consent. 4b) the number of individual ‘next steps’ which have been taken by Named Person without subject’s freely given consent since August 2016 and 4c). The lawful basis you have applied for taking next steps since August 2016.
5. Please provide me with your process once feedback has been passed back to parents. How will you ensure that any further assistance is demonstrably requested by parents rather than enforced?

6a). Please provide me with all of your updated wellbeing forms, (Information Sharing Flowchart, GiRFEC/GDPR) post-August 2016 to reflect the Supreme Court Ruling on human rights, thresholds, wellbeing and data protection legislation. 6b) Please provide me with the processes/training/guidance whereby Named Persons are gathering, (or not as the case may be,) wellbeing information in the absence of freely given consent?

7) Please provide me with updates to your flow chart ‘Risk of Harm’ to comply with Supreme Court ruling, human rights and data protection of ‘Risk of Significant Harm’ which is the lawful threshold when considering sharing of information without consent.

8) Please provide me with an updated and lawfully compliant version of your flowchart ‘MONITOR AND RECORD YOUR CONCERNS AS WELLBEING MATTERS and MONITOR AND RECORD CHILD’S PROGRESS OR RISK OF ONGOING HARM, demonstrating your understanding that ‘harm’ must be significant or serious detriment to the child.

9) Please provide me with 9a) your updated guidance to Practitioners that a single point of access to services is legitimate and benign only if requested by parents, and 9b) that in the absence of freely given consent GIRFEC policy has no lawful basis.

Yours faithfully,

Morag Walker

City of Edinburgh Council

Morag Walker

[FOI #709628 email]

Our ref: 30363

Dear Morag Walker

Request for Clarification - Receipt

Subject: GIRFEC concerns

Thank you for revising your request for information of 30/11/2020. We will respond to your request within 20 working days. Please note that the statutory 20 working day deadline for responding to your request starts upon receipt of clarification. This means we have until 31/12/2020 to respond to your request.

To promote transparency and accountability, please note it is the Council’s policy to publish all request details and responses made under freedom of information legislation. This information will be made available through the Council’s website and will not include your personal details.

Further information about your rights and accessing information is available on our website at: www.edinburgh.gov.uk

Yours sincerely

Sue Brown
Information Rights Officer

Information Governance Unit
Level 2:1, Waverley Court, Edinburgh EH8 8BG Tel 0131 200 2340
[Edinburgh City Council request email] www.edinburgh.gov.uk

Information Rights Officer 2, City of Edinburgh Council

Link: [1]File-List

Morag  Walker

 

[FOI #709628 email]

 

Our ref: 30363

 

Dear Morag  Walker

 

Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 - Release of Information

 

Subject: GIRFEC concerns

 

Thank you for your request for information of 30/11/2020 where you asked a
number of questions regarding the use of GIRFEC.

 

Your request has been processed and considered under the Freedom of
Information (Scotland) Act 2002 and the information is provided below.

 

1. Please provide me with details or meeting minutes of the Supreme Court
ruling of Named Person being read and understood by Council officials, and
any further discussions recorded.

 

This information is available on the public-facing CEC Councillors and
Committees page, at
[2]https://democracy.edinburgh.gov.uk/uuCov...

 

Additional information regarding Edinburgh’s implementation of GIRFEC is
available at [3]https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/girfec

 

There is a range of reports available where this information will be
available.

 

2. Please provide me with 2a). your lawful basis for processing wellbeing
concern forms in the absence of freely given consent and 2b) if consent
has been given, how you demonstrate ‘freely given’ consent.

 

The training provided signposts employees to the information at the
Scottish Government website at [4]https://www.gov.scot/policies/girfec  

 

3a) Please provide me with your process for passing on wellbeing concerns
to/from Named Person in the absence of freely given consent.

 

We follow the guidelines as per the information at the Scottish Government
website at [5]https://www.gov.scot/policies/girfec and the CEC Website at
[6]https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/childprotec...  

 

The training for school staff explains the GIRFEC process in terms of
school responsibilities. This training clearly identifies Risk of Harm as
being the trigger for Child Protection. The action then is to refer to
Social Care Direct.

 

3b) How many wellbeing forms have been processed by Named Persons since
August 2016 without subject’s freely given consent.

 

Unfortunately, we are unable to provide you with the information you have
requested as the cost to the Council of locating, retrieving and providing
you with the information exceeds the statutory maximum of £600.

 

This information is not held centrally and would be held on an
individual’s record. For education alone, there are approximately 55,000
pupils in 123 schools. In order to provide this information, each pupil
record will need to be reviewed to ascertain if a wellbeing form has been
generated.

 

Allowing 30 minutes per record, it would take the Council 27,500 hours to
locate, retrieve and provide you with the information you requested.

 

A local authority is allowed to charge a maximum of £15 per hour of staff
time and, based on this rate, the total cost of complying with your
request is £412,500.

 

Section 12 (1) of the Act does not oblige a Scottish public authority to
comply with a request for information if the authority estimates that the
cost of complying with the request would exceed the statutory limit.

 

The Council appreciates that you may not have been aware of the size and
scope of the information that you requested the Council provide you with
as a result of your request. It may be possible to provide you with a
portion of the information that you are seeking. If you wish to discuss
this option further, or have any other queries, please do not hesitate to
contact me. Please remember to quote the reference number above in any
future communications.

 

4a). Please provide me with your process for Named Persons taking next
steps, in the absence of freely given consent.

 

We operate in line with the policies which are published on our website
and the Scottish Governments website.

 

[7]https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/childprotec...  

[8]https://www.gov.scot/policies/girfec/  

 

4b) the number of individual ‘next steps’ which have been taken by Named
Person without subject’s freely given consent since August 2016

 

For the reasons given in answer to question 3b) above, we are unable to
provide you with the information you have requested as the cost to the
Council of locating, retrieving and providing you with the information
exceeds the statutory maximum of £600.

 

4c). The lawful basis you have applied for taking next steps since August
2016.

 

We operate in line with ‘Inter-agency Child Protection Procedures
Edinburgh and the Lothians’ which can be found on our website at the
following link:
[9]https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/childprotec... and the
Scottish Government website at [10]https://www.gov.scot/policies/girfec/  

 

5. Please provide me with your process once feedback has been passed back
to parents. How will you ensure that any further assistance is
demonstrably requested by parents rather than enforced?

 

Your question implies that all support is either requested or enforced.
Professional discussion can involve a third option of sharing or making
suggestions of what is available. This still leaves control with the
parents but, without providing information, we could be failing in our
responsibilities.

 

We follow the guidelines as per the information at the Scottish Government
website at [11]https://www.gov.scot/policies/girfec and the CEC Website at
[12]https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/childprotec...  

 

6a). Please provide me with all of your updated wellbeing forms,
(Information Sharing Flowchart, GiRFEC/GDPR) post-August 2016 to reflect
the Supreme Court Ruling on human rights, thresholds, wellbeing and data
protection legislation.

This information is available at [13]https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/girfec

 

6b) Please provide me with the processes/training/guidance whereby Named
Persons are gathering, (or not as the case may be,) wellbeing information
in the absence of freely given consent?

 

We follow the guidelines as per the information at the Scottish Government
website at [14]https://www.gov.scot/policies/girfec and the CEC Website at
[15]https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/childprotec....  

 

7) Please provide me with updates to your flow chart ‘Risk of Harm’ to
comply with Supreme Court ruling, human rights and data protection of
‘Risk of Significant Harm’ which is the lawful threshold when considering
sharing of information without consent.

 

This information is available in the ‘Inter-agency Child Protection
Procedures Edinburgh and the Lothians’ at the link provided above

 

8) Please provide me with an updated and lawfully compliant version of
your flowchart ‘MONITOR AND RECORD YOUR CONCERNS AS WELLBEING MATTERS and
MONITOR AND RECORD CHILD’S PROGRESS OR RISK OF ONGOING HARM, demonstrating
your understanding that ‘harm’ must be significant or serious detriment to
the child.

 

This information is available in the ‘Inter-agency Child Protection
Procedures Edinburgh and the Lothians’ at the link provided above

 

9) Please provide me with

9a) your updated guidance to Practitioners that a single point of access
to services is legitimate and benign only if requested by parents

9b) that in the absence of freely given consent GIRFEC policy has no
lawful basis.

 

Information regarding Edinburgh’s implementation of GIRFEC is available at
[16]https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/girfec

 

To promote transparency and accountability, please note it is the
Council’s policy to publish all request details and responses made under
the freedom of information legislation. This information is normally
available through the Council’s website and will not include personal
details. Unfortunately, at the moment, the disclosure log is only partly
available. We hope to have this issue resolved in the near future, after
which time, the full response will be accessible via the following link:
https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/homepage/10....

 

Your right to seek a review

 

If you are unhappy with the way we have dealt with your request, you can
ask us to review our actions and decisions by writing to the:

 

Information Compliance Team

The City of Edinburgh Council

Waverley Court Business Centre 2:1

4, East Market Street

Edinburgh

EH8 8BG or,

Email: [email address]

 

Please note that your request must be in a recordable format (email,
letter, audio tape etc.), and that you have 40 working days upon receipt
of this letter to ask for a review. You will receive a full response to
your review request within 20 working days of its receipt. Please quote
the reference number above in any future communications.

 

If you are not content with the outcome of the review, you can ask the
Scottish Information Commissioner to review our decision. You must submit
your complaint to the Commissioner within 6 months of receiving our review
response. The Commissioner can be contacted at:

 

The Office of the Scottish Information Commissioner

Kinburn Castle

Doubledykes Road

St Andrews

Fife

KY16 9DS

Telephone: 01334 464610

Fax: 01334 464611

Website: www.itspublicknowledge.info/Appeal

Email: [email address]

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Sue Brown

Information Rights Officer

 

 

Information Governance Unit

Level 2:1, Waverley Court, Edinburgh EH8 8BG Tel 0131 200 2340

[Edinburgh City Council request email]  www.edinburgh.gov.uk

 

 

show quoted sections

References

Visible links
1. file:///tmp/cid:filelist.xml@01D6DF75.D5F18030
2. https://democracy.edinburgh.gov.uk/uuCov...
3. https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/girfec
4. https://www.gov.scot/policies/girfec
5. https://www.gov.scot/policies/girfec
6. https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/childprotec...
7. https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/childprotec...
8. https://www.gov.scot/policies/girfec/
9. https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/childprotec...
10. https://www.gov.scot/policies/girfec/
11. https://www.gov.scot/policies/girfec
12. https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/childprotec...
13. https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/girfec
14. https://www.gov.scot/policies/girfec
15. https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/childprotec...
16. https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/girfec

Dear Information Rights Officer 2,

Sue Brown
Information Rights Officer

Dear Ms. Brown,

As you have mostly provided links to websites in response to my Freedom of Information request, which contain a mixture of information which is not all in line with Supreme Court ruling, I would like to clarify a few points with you.

Q1 - Please provide me with details or meetings of the Supreme Court ruling of Named Person being read and understood by Council officials, and any further discussions recorded.

R - This information is available on the public-facing CEC Councillors and Committees page at (2)https://democracy.Edinburgh.gov.uk/uuCov...

This does not answer my request. For reassurance, please provide me with your current training, evidencing that the General Data Protection Regulations are being read down to comply with the Supreme Court Ruling to include Human Right Article 8 when Council officials and practitioners are considering processing (which includes creation of) information without subject’s and/or 3rd party’s freely given consent and that you have made practitioners aware that this is what is required by law.

Q2 - Please provide me with 2a) your lawful basis for processing wellbeing concern forms in the absence of freely given consent and 2b) if consent has been given, how you demonstrate ‘freely given’ consent.

R - The training provided signposts employees to the information at the Scottish Government website (4) https://www.gov.scot/policies/girfec

Your response does not provide the legal basis requested, nor how you demonstrate ‘freely given’ consent. The information you provided is outdated. The website you list still retains information that is being repealed.
There is no Children and Young People (Information Sharing)(Scotland) Bill.
Parts 4&5 of the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 is being repealed, along with Named Persons.
Please provide me with the evidence demonstrating that you have made all of your employees aware of these changes so that wellbeing information, without freely given consent, is not continuing to be processed, (processing includes initial creation of, any sharing, storing etc.) below the lawful threshold of risk of significant harm as ruled by the Supreme Court and in compliance with GDPR lawful bases, ‘necessity’, the right to object prior to processing, and balance of other rights including human rights, specifically confidentiality duties, Article 8 and UNCRC Article 16.
For reassurance, please provide me with the evidence that demonstrates your practitioners are no longer using parts 4 & 5 of the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014.

Q3a - Please provide me with your process for passing on wellbeing concerns to/from Named Person in the absence of freely given consent.

R - We follow the guidelines as per the information at the Scottish Government website at (5) https://www.gov.scot/policies/Girfec and the CEC Website at (6)https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/childprotec...

R - The training for school staff explains the GIRFEC process in terms of school responsibilities. This training clearly identifies Risk of Harm as being the trigger for Child Protection. The action then is to refer to Social Care Direct.

The Edinburgh Child protection policy lists ‘Risk of Harm’ throughout as the lawful threshold in which to intervene in child protection cases. The lawful threshold is ‘risk of significant harm’ as ruled by the Supreme Court.
Please provide me with any updates removing these discrepancies in your policy and confirm that practitioners are only acting in cases of ‘risk of significant harm’ in relation to child protection cases. In addition, GiRFEC holds no legal responsibilities for schools.

1.2 Status of procedures - your policy states..
‘These procedures direct professionals in their responsibilities and action(s) in dealing with concerns about the safety and wellbeing of children.’

Wellbeing is subjective and is not a lawful threshold in which to raise concerns with regards to child protection. Can you provide me with evidence (updated training?) demonstrating that practitioners are not acting on wellbeing concerns without lawful process?

The policy states...
‘Where there is a reasonable cause to suspect or believe that a child may be at risk of harm, this will always override a professional or agency requirement to keep information confidential.’

Practitioners must only act without consent in cases of risk of significant harm.
Please provide me with evidence that Practitioners have been made aware of the lawful threshold and are acting accordingly?
Please provide me with all updated training to reflect the Supreme Court ruling.

5.5 Information Sharing. Your policy states.
The wellbeing of a child is of central importance when making decisions to share information with or about them.

Practitioners cannot lawfully act without ‘freely given’ consent in personal wellbeing.
Can you tell me if the Council has any plans to alter the wording to ‘Welfare’ in place of wellbeing which would bring the sentence in line with the Supreme Court ruling?
Please provide me with updated training demonstrating that practitioners are not acting on wellbeing concerns without freely given consent.

Safety and wellbeing is used throughout the policy and should read safety and welfare, in order to be lawful.
Please provide me with Edinburgh Council’s plans to update the policy so that it reflects the Supreme Court Ruling.

Inter-agency Referral Discussion (IRD)

Again the threshold should read ‘risk of significant harm’, when referring to the processing (including creation) of information. Can you confirm that the policy will be updated to reflect the Supreme Court ruling?

Q4a - Please provide me with your process for Named Persons taking next steps, in the absence of freely given consent.

R - We operate in line with the policies which are published on our website and the Scottish Government website.

This does not address my question, especially seeing as the information contained in polices does not reflect the Supreme Court ruling, therefore practitioners may or may not be applying lawful thresholds to practice. Could you please review and respond to Q4a and Q4c?

Q5 - Please provide me with your process once feedback has been passed back to parents. How will you ensure that any further assistance is demonstrably requested by parents rather than enforced?

R - Your question implies that all support is either requested or enforced. Professional discussion can involve a third option of sharing or making suggestions of what is available. This still leaves control with the parents but, without providing information, we could be failing in our responsibilities.

We follow the guidance as per the information at the Scottish Government website at (11)https://www.gov.scot/policies/girfec and the CE Website at (12)https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/childprotec...

Your response fails to address my question. Once feedback has been passed back to parents, i.e. your ‘third option’, how would you demonstrate freely given consent, and what do you mean by failing in your responsibilities? What responsibilities are you referring to that would be failed?

Q6a - Please provide me with all of your updated wellbeing forms, (Information Sharing Flowchart, GIRFEC/GDPR post-August 2016 to reflect the Supreme Court Ruling on human rights, thresholds, wellbeing and data protection legislation.

R - This information is available at (13)https://www.Edinburgh.gov.uk/girfec

The flowchart on your website does not reflect the Supreme Court ruling and would leave Edinburgh Council/practitioners open to ‘class action’. Please provide me with your intentions to update this flowchart in order that it will comply with the law.

Q7 - Please provide me with updates to your flow chart ‘Risk of Harm’ to comply with the Supreme Court ruling, human rights and data protection of ‘Risk of Significant Harm’ which is the lawful threshold when considering sharing of information without consent.

R - This information is available in the ‘Inter-agency Child Protection Procedures Edinburgh and the Lothians’ at the link provided above.

The Flowchart lists ‘Risk of Harm’ as a threshold for intervention which is not compliant with the Supreme Court ruling. Cases involving sharing of data without consent should not reach the Inter-agency Child Protection Team unless the threshold of demonstrable risk of significant harm has been reached.
Please provide me with your updated flowchart which must comply with the lawful threshold.

Q8 - Please provide me with an updated and lawfully compliant version of your flowchart ‘MONITOR AND RECORD YOUR CONCERNS AS WELLBEING MATTERS and MONITOR AND RECORD CHILD’S PROGRESS OR RISK OF ONGOING HARM, demonstrating your understanding that ‘harm’ must be significant or serious detriment to the child.

R - This information is available in the ‘Inter-agency Child ProtectionProcedures Edinburgh and the Lothians’ at the link provided above.

Please confirm if this flowchart is still in use.

Q9 - Please provide me with -

Q9a - your updated guidance to Practitioners that a single point of access to services is legitimate and benign only if requested by parents.

Q9b - that in the absence of freely given consent GIRFEC policy has no lawful basis.

R- Information regarding Edinburgh’s implementation of GIRFEC is available at (16)https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/girfec

The link you provide does not address my questions. Girfec has been used in Edinburgh since 2009, however, it has been used at unlawful levels based on sharing information without freely given consent and contains information and links that are no longer relevant.
Your approach for GIRFEC states ‘...aims to support and promote children and young people’s wellbeing by making sure they have access to the right support when they need it.’
This sentence should read ‘when they want it’ as the Supreme Court ruled the voluntary nature must be ensured.
Do you intend to update this information, changing the wording from need to want?
Shanarri indicators are also mentioned. It is important to note the Supreme Court stated that the more tenuous the link between shanarri and article 8(2), the more difficult to justify interference.

Please provide me with the evidence that Edinburgh Council is complying with the Supreme Court ruling 2016, human rights and GDPR in relation to GiRFEC.
Yours sincerely,

Morag Walker

Information Rights Officer 2, City of Edinburgh Council

Please raise this a request for a review.

Kind regards

Sue

Sue Brown | Information Rights Officer | Information Governance Unit | Strategy and Communications | Chief Executive | Tel 0131 529 7855 (currently diverting to my mobile) | Ext 37855 | [email address] | [email address]

show quoted sections

Dear Information Rights Officer 2,

The response to my request is overdue. Could you please give me an indication as to when I might expect a response?

Yours sincerely,

Morag Walker

Information Rights Officer 2, City of Edinburgh Council

Dear Ms Walker

I have asked the Review Officer to update you. Under the legislation, the Council has up to 20 working days to respond and the noted due date is 08/02/21.

Kind regards

Sue

Sue Brown | Information Rights Officer | Information Governance Unit | Strategy and Communications | Chief Executive | Tel DD: 0131 529 7855 Main: 0131 200 2340 | [email address]

show quoted sections

Fiona Smyth, City of Edinburgh Council

1 Attachment

Dear Ms Walker

 

Please see attached letter which details the outcome of my review of your
recent FOI request and offers advice about how your dissatisfaction with
the current policy documents can be progressed.  Please do not hesitate to
contact me if I can be of any further assistance in these matters.

 

Kind regards

Fiona

 

Fiona Smyth| Information Compliance Officer | Information Governance Unit|
Strategy & Communications | Chief Executive  | The City of Edinburgh
Council | Business Centre 2:1, Waverley Court, 4, East Market Street,
Edinburgh, EH8 8BG | Tel: 0131 529 4270 (Ext: 34270)| Email:
[1][email address] |Website: [2]www.edinburgh.gov.uk

 

show quoted sections

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/

Dear Fiona Smyth,

Thank you for your response to my FOI request.
I would be grateful if you could take this further as indicated in your response regarding a complaint to Edinburgh Council regarding their current practice and to progress a new information request for further information.
Can you provide me with the e.mail address I should use in order to contact you so that I will be able to provide you with my personal e.mail address?

Yours sincerely,

Morag Walker

Fiona Smyth, City of Edinburgh Council

Good afternoon Ms Walker

Please e-mail our Information Compliance e-mail address with your direct contact e-mail address and we will arrange for both your complaint to be forwarded to the Council's Community & Families Service for review and for your new Information Request to be logged.

The e-mail address is: [email address]

Kind regards
Fiona

Fiona Smyth| Information Compliance Officer | Information Governance Unit| Strategy & Communications | Chief Executive | The City of Edinburgh Council | Business Centre 2:1, Waverley Court, 4, East Market Street, Edinburgh, EH8 8BG | Tel: 0131 529 4270 (Ext: 34270)| Email: [email address] |Website: www.edinburgh.gov.uk

show quoted sections