Dear Jade Harrison,

Request for Information RFI-9385-24 Re: supported accommodation young
people

Thank you for your request for information relating to supported
accommodation young people which was received on 21 June 2024.

In accordance with the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000
the council will respond to your request within 20 working days, saying
whether we have the information that you want, and if there will be any
charges. 

If, for any reason, we cannot provide you with the information, we will
tell you why.

If we need to clarify your request, we will contact you again.

In the meantime, if you need to contact me about your request, please do
so quoting the above reference number.

Yours sincerely,

Naiyar Sultana

Assistant Assurance Officer

Walsall Council 

0800 0856018

[1]www.walsall.gov.uk 

[2]Walsall Council, Proud of our past, our present and for our future 

Disclaimer: The information in this message should be regarded as
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sent or received from Walsall Council may the subject of a request under
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Dear Miss Harrison,

Request for Information RFI-9385-24 Re: supported accommodation young
people

Further to your request for information supported accommodation young
people , received on 21 June 2024, I am writing to ask for some further
clarification of some aspects of your request.

In order for us to process your request as fully as possible could you
please provide the following information:

What age is referring to 'young people/person' ?

The Freedom of information Act 2000 allows the council 20 working days in
which to respond to requests.  However, this “clock” stops should we need
to seek clarification in order to locate or identify relevant
information. 

As such, your request is now on hold until we receive the clarification
requested.

If you wish to proceed with this request please send your clarification to
us, quoting the above reference number.

Please note that if we have not received your clarification within 15
working days we will close your request.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Yours sincerely

Fahmida Maknun

 Assurance Officer

Walsall Council 

0800 0856018

[1]www.walsall.gov.uk 

[2]Walsall Council, Proud of our past, our present and for our future 

Disclaimer: The information in this message should be regarded as
confidential and is intended for the addressee only unless explicitly
stated. If you have received this message in error it must be deleted and
the sender notified. The views expressed in this message are personal and
not necessarily those of Walsall Council unless explicitly stated. Emails
sent or received from Walsall Council may the subject of a request under
data protection, freedom of information or environmental information
legislation and therefore could be disclosed to third parties. We strongly
advise you not to email any information, which if disclosed to unrelated
third parties would be likely to cause harm or distress. If you have an
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the council data protection pages on our website

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Hi, 

Is it CYP post 16 years old only?  Or including any CYP aged 16 years old
as well?

Many thanks,

Fahmida Maknun

  Assurance Officer

 Walsall Council

 0800 0856018

From: Home Finding
Sent: Tuesday, July 9, 2024 2:00 PM
To: InformationRights
Subject: Re: RFI-9385-24 FOI Request Clarification Required

[You don't often get email from
[FOI #1141149 email]. Learn why this is important
at [1]https://aka.ms/LearnAboutSenderIdentific... ]

CAUTION: STOP and THINK - This email originated from outside of the
council. If it looks suspicious it probably is and YOU SHOULD NEVER enter
your council username and password into an external link or open files
attached to a suspicious email.

Dear Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council,

Apologises that this is not clear.

16+ year olds

Yours faithfully,

Home Finding

show quoted sections

Dear Miss Harrison,

Request for Information RFI-9385-24 Re: supported accommodation young
people

Further to your request for information supported accommodation young
people , received on 21 June 2024, I am writing to ask for some
further clarification of some aspects of your request.

In order for us to process your request as fully as possible could you
please provide the following information:

Is it CYP post 16 years old only?  Or including any CYP aged 16 years old
as well?

The Freedom of information Act 2000 allows the council 20 working days in
which to respond to requests.  However, this “clock” stops should we need
to seek clarification in order to locate or identify relevant
information. 

As such, your request is now on hold until we receive the clarification
requested.

If you wish to proceed with this request please send your clarification
to us, quoting the above reference number.

Please note that if we have not received your clarification within 15
working days from 9th July 2024, we will close your request.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Yours sincerely

Fahmida Maknun

 Assurance Officer

Walsall Council 

0800 0856018

[1]www.walsall.gov.uk 

[2]Walsall Council, Proud of our past, our present and for our future 

Disclaimer: The information in this message should be regarded as
confidential and is intended for the addressee only unless explicitly
stated. If you have received this message in error it must be deleted and
the sender notified. The views expressed in this message are personal and
not necessarily those of Walsall Council unless explicitly stated. Emails
sent or received from Walsall Council may the subject of a request under
data protection, freedom of information or environmental information
legislation and therefore could be disclosed to third parties. We strongly
advise you not to email any information, which if disclosed to unrelated
third parties would be likely to cause harm or distress. If you have an
enquiry related to your confidentiality or data protection, please visit
the council data protection pages on our website

From: [email address]
Sent: Tuesday, July 9, 2024 4:16 PM
To: Home Finding; InformationRights
Subject: Re: RFI-9385-24 FOI Request Clarification Required

Hi, 

Is it CYP post 16 years old only?  Or including any CYP aged 16 years old
as well?

Many thanks,

Fahmida Maknun

  Assurance Officer

 Walsall Council

 0800 0856018

From: Home Finding
Sent: Tuesday, July 9, 2024 2:00 PM
To: InformationRights
Subject: Re: RFI-9385-24 FOI Request Clarification Required

[You don't often get email from
[FOI #1141149 email]. Learn why this is important
at [3]https://aka.ms/LearnAboutSenderIdentific... ]

CAUTION: STOP and THINK - This email originated from outside of the
council. If it looks suspicious it probably is and YOU SHOULD NEVER enter
your council username and password into an external link or open files
attached to a suspicious email.

Dear Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council,

Apologises that this is not clear.

16+ year olds

Yours faithfully,

Home Finding

show quoted sections

Dear Miss Harrison,

Request for Information RFI-9385-24 Re: supported accommodation young
people

I write to acknowledge and apologise for the delay in responding to your
request relating to supported accommodation young people. As you know, the
council is required to respond to all requests for information under the
Freedom of Information Act within 20 working days, unless a ‘qualified
exception’ applies that requires the consideration of the Public Interest.

Walsall Council takes its obligations under this legislation extremely
seriously and I am sorry that in this case we have not met this timescale.

I would like to take this opportunity to assure you of our best
intentions in this regard. I can confirm that a full reply to your request
will be sent to you on or before 29th July 2024.

If you have any queries in regard to this process, please do not hesitate
to contact us.

Yours sincerely,

Fahmida Maknun

Assurance Officer

Walsall Council 

0800 0856018

[1]www.walsall.gov.uk 

[2]Walsall Council, Proud of our past, our present and for our future 

Disclaimer: The information in this message should be regarded as
confidential and is intended for the addressee only unless explicitly
stated. If you have received this message in error it must be deleted and
the sender notified. The views expressed in this message are personal and
not necessarily those of Walsall Council unless explicitly stated. Emails
sent or received from Walsall Council may the subject of a request under
data protection, freedom of information or environmental information
legislation and therefore could be disclosed to third parties. We strongly
advise you not to email any information, which if disclosed to unrelated
third parties would be likely to cause harm or distress. If you have an
enquiry related to your confidentiality or data protection, please visit
the council data protection pages on our website

References

Visible links
1. http://www.walsall.gov.uk/

Dear Miss Harrison,

Request for Information RFI-9385-24 Re: supported accommodation young
people

Please accept my sincerest apologies for the delay you have experienced in
receiving a response to your Freedom of Information Request. As you know,
the council is required to respond to all requests for information under
the Freedom of Information Act within 20 working days, unless a ‘qualified
exception’ applies.

I am however happy to provide the information you requested below. I hope
this information is still of use to you. Please note that the information
given in this response is as at the date of your request.

If you do have any queries or additional questions regarding the
information that has been provided please do not hesitate to contact me
direct on the details at the bottom of this email.

Further to your request for information about supported accommodation
young people, I can tell you the following:

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┬─────┐
│1. Could you please provide the current number of young people │ │
│(16-17 years old) placed in supported accommodation by your │  │
│authority? │ │
├──────────┬───────────────────┬─────────────────┬──────┬───┬┬┬┬┬┬┬┼─────┤
│50 │ │ │ │ ││││││││  │
├──────────┼───────────────────┼─────────────────┼──────┼───┼┼┼┼┼┼┼┼─────┤
│ │ │ │ │ ││││││││  │
├──────────┴───────────────────┴─────────────────┴──────┴───┴┴┴┴┴┴┴┴─────┤
│2. Of these young people, how many are placed in supported accommodation│
│directly managed by your authority or through block contract, compared │
│to those placed in supported accommodations provided through spot │
│purchase arrangements? │
├───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┬───┬┬┬┬┬┬┬┬─────┤
│30 Framework vs 20 Spot Purchased │ ││││││││  │
├──────────┬───────────────────┬─────────────────┬──────┼───┼┼┼┼┼┼┼┼─────┤
│ │ │ │ │ ││││││││  │
├──────────┴───────────────────┴─────────────────┴──────┴───┴┴┴┴┴┴┴┴──┬──┤
│3. Are referrals to supported accommodation managed through a │ │
│specific framework? If yes, could you please specify the name of this│  │
│framework and detail when it is open to tender? │ │
├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┬──┴──┤
│West Midlands Supported Accommodation Flexible Framework │  │
│Agreement, from 1 Feb 2022 to 31 Jan 2026 plus a 2-year extension.│ │
├──────────┬───────────────────┬─────────────────┬──────┬───┬┬┬┬┬┬┬┼─────┤
│ │ │ │ │ ││││││││  │
├──────────┴───────────────────┴─────────────────┴──────┴───┴┴┴┴┴┴┼┼─────┤
│4. What is the average weekly fee for placing a young person in ││  │
│supported accommodation during the current financial year? ││ │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┴┼─────┤
│Weekly costs for Supported Accommodation (SA) Placements are not │ │
│only dependent the ages of the children or young people but also │ │
│dependent on the needs and complexities they may bring. Fees paid │ │
│for supported Accommodation care services for children and young │  │
│people by those providers based on the identified services │ │
│delivered for each placement. Walsall Council (WMBC) can tell you │ │
│the average weekly fee is £1652. │ │
├──────────┬───────────────────┬─────────────────┬──────┬───┬┬┬┬┬┬┬┼─────┤
│ │ │ │ │ ││││││││  │
├──────────┴───────────────────┴─────────────────┴──────┴───┴┴┴┴┴┴┴┴───┬─┤
│5. Could you provide the contact details, including telephone number, │ │
│email address, and postal address, of the department or individuals │ │
│responsible for the placement of young people in supported │ │
│accommodation? │ │
├──────────┬───────────────────┬─────────────────┬──────┬───┬┬┬┬┬┬┬┬───┴─┤
│ │ │ │ │ ││││││││  │
├──────────┼───────────────────┴─────────────────┴──────┼───┼┼┼┼┼┼┼┼─────┤
│ │Children's Commissioning Team │ ││││││││  │
├──────────┼─────────────────────────────────────┬──────┼───┼┼┼┼┼┼┼┼─────┤
│ │Walsall Council  │ │ ││││││││  │
├──────────┼─────────────────────────────────────┴──────┴───┼┼┼┼┼┼┼┼─────┤
│ │[1][email address] ││││││││  │
├──────────┼───────────────────┬─────────────────┬──────┬───┼┼┼┼┼┼┼┼─────┤
│ │ │ │ │ ││││││││  │
├──────────┼───────────────────┼─────────────────┼──────┼───┼┼┼┼┼┼┼┼─────┤
│ │ │ │ │ ││││││││  │
├──────────┴───────────────────┴─────────────────┴──────┴───┴┴┴┴┴┴┴┴─────┤
│6. Who are the team managers or key decision-makers involved in the │
│process for admitting a young person into supported accommodation, and │
│may we have their contact details, including telephone number, email │
│address, and postal address? │
├──────────┬───────────────────┬─────────────────┬──────┬───┬┬┬┬┬┬┬┬─────┤
│ │ │ │ │ ││││││││  │
├──────────┼───────────────────┴─────────────────┴──────┼───┼┼┼┼┼┼┼┼─────┤
│ │Children's Commissioning Team │ ││││││││  │
├──────────┼─────────────────────────────────────┬──────┼───┼┼┼┼┼┼┼┼─────┤
│ │Walsall Council  │ │ ││││││││  │
├──────────┼─────────────────────────────────────┴──────┴───┼┼┼┼┼┼┼┼─────┤
│ │[2][email address] ││││││││  │
├──────────┼───────────────────┬─────────────────┬──────┬───┼┼┼┼┼┼┼┼─────┤
│ │ │ │ │ ││││││││  │
├──────────┴───────────────────┴─────────────────┴──────┴───┴┴┴┴┴┴┼┼─────┤
│7. Is there a current or anticipated need for additional ││ │
│supported accommodation providers/provision within your ││  │
│authority? ││ │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┴┼─────┤
│The demand for supported accommodation placements is mostly met │ │
│within the Council commissioned SA Service with WM Regional SA │ │
│Framework; we welcome new SA provision if there is a need for a │  │
│spot purchase placement then a referral will be shared with SA's │ │
│provider list through our Home Finding process. │ │
├──────────┬───────────────────┬─────────────────┬──────┬───┬┬┬┬┬┬┬┼─────┤
│ │ │ │ │ ││││││││  │
├──────────┴───────────────────┴─────────────────┴──────┴───┴┴┴┴┴┴┴┴─┬───┤
│8. Are there specific demographics of young people for whom │ │
│placement proves to be particularly challenging? If so, could you │  │
│elaborate on these demographics? │ │
├───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┬┬┬┬┬┬┬┬─┴───┤
│This is varied depend on need and market availability ││││││││  │
├──────────┬───────────────────┬─────────────────┬──────┬───┼┼┼┼┼┼┼┼─────┤
│ │ │ │ │ ││││││││  │
├──────────┴───────────────────┴─────────────────┴──────┴───┴┴┴┴┴┴┴┴┬────┤
│9. Is there a dedicated team overseeing contracts and/or quality │ │
│related to supported accommodation? If yes, could you provide the │  │
│team's contact information? │ │
├──────────┬────────────────────────────────────────────┬───┬┬┬┬┬┬┬┬┴────┤
│ │Children's Commissioning Team │ ││││││││  │
├──────────┼─────────────────────────────────────┬──────┼───┼┼┼┼┼┼┼┼─────┤
│ │Walsall Council  │ │ ││││││││  │
├──────────┼─────────────────────────────────────┴──────┴───┼┼┼┼┼┼┼┼─────┤
│ │[3][email address] ││││││││  │
├──────────┼───────────────────┬─────────────────┬──────┬───┼┼┼┼┼┼┼┼─────┤
│ │ │ │ │ ││││││││  │
├──────────┴───────────────────┴─────────────────┴──────┴───┴┴┴┴┴┴┼┼─────┤
│10. Who should be contacted for discussions about establishing a ││  │
│new supported accommodation within your authority? ││ │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┬┬┬┬┼┼─────┤
│Please refer to question 5 who will direct you to the ││││││  │
│relevant officer. ││││││ │
├──────────┬───────────────────┬─────────────────┬──────┬───┬┬┼┼┼┼┼┼─────┤
│ │ │ │ │ ││││││││  │
├──────────┴───────────────────┴─────────────────┴──────┴───┴┴┴┴┴┼┼┼─────┤
│11. Could you please provide the current number of children who │││  │
│are classified as looked after by your authority? │││ │
├────────────────────────────────────────────────┬──────┬───┬┬┬┬┬┼┼┼─────┤
│640 as of 15th July 2024 │ │ ││││││││  │
├──────────┬───────────────────┬─────────────────┼──────┼───┼┼┼┼┼┼┼┼─────┤
│ │ │ │ │ ││││││││  │
├──────────┴───────────────────┴─────────────────┴──────┴───┴┴┴┴┴┴┴┼─────┤
│12. Based on your data or assessments, do you expect the number of│ │
│children becoming looked after to increase in the over the next │  │
│12-18 months? │ │
├──────────┬───────────────────┬─────────────────┬──────┬───┬┬┬┬┬┬┬┼─────┤
│Yes │ │ │ │ ││││││││  │
└──────────┴───────────────────┴─────────────────┴──────┴───┴┴┴┴┴┴┴┴─────┘

Most of the information that we provide in response to Freedom of
Information Act 2000 requests will be subject to copyright protection.  In
most cases the copyright will be owned by Walsall Council. The copyright
in respect of other information may be owned by another person or
organisation, as indicated.

You are free to use any information supplied to you in response to this
request for your own non-commercial research or private study purposes.
The information may also be used for any other purpose allowed by a
limitation or exception in copyright law, such as news reporting.
 However, any other type of re-use, for example by publishing the
information in analogue or digital form, including on the internet, will
require the permission of the copyright owner.

I hope that the information provided is useful to you. However, if you are
dissatisfied, you should set out in writing your grounds for complaint and
send to: Lead Assurance Officer, Business Change, Civic Centre, Darwall
Street, Walsall, WS1 1TP.

If you are not content with the outcome of your complaint, you may apply
directly to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) for a decision.
Please remember that, generally, the ICO cannot make a decision unless you
have first exhausted the complaints procedure provided by the council. The
Information Commissioner can be contacted at: The Information
Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9
5AF.

Again I would like to offer my apologies for any inconvenience the delay
to your request may have caused you

Yours sincerely,

Fahmida Maknun

Assurance Officer

Walsall Council 

0800 0856018

[4]www.walsall.gov.uk 

[5]Walsall Council, Proud of our past, our present and for our future 

Disclaimer: The information in this message should be regarded as
confidential and is intended for the addressee only unless explicitly
stated. If you have received this message in error it must be deleted and
the sender notified. The views expressed in this message are personal and
not necessarily those of Walsall Council unless explicitly stated. Emails
sent or received from Walsall Council may the subject of a request under
data protection, freedom of information or environmental information
legislation and therefore could be disclosed to third parties. We strongly
advise you not to email any information, which if disclosed to unrelated
third parties would be likely to cause harm or distress. If you have an
enquiry related to your confidentiality or data protection, please visit
the council data protection pages on our website

References

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