LAC 16-18 Year Olds

The request was successful.

Dear Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council,

Please could you let me know the following information.

1. How many Looked After Children (Also known as Children in Care) does the council currently have?

2. How many of these Looked After Children are between the ages of 12 and 15?

3. How many Looked After Children aged 16-17 does the council currently have?

4. Of these Looked After Children aged 16-17, how many are living in semi independent accomodation provided by unregulated private providers.

5. Please provide the names of the unregulated private providers of accomodation to 16-17 year olds that the council uses and the average cost per child per week to the council?

6. Of the Looked After Children aged 16-17, how many are living in accomodation provided by regulated providers.

7. Please provide a list of which regulated providers of accomodation to 16-17 year olds that the council uses and the average cost per child per week to the council?

8. How many Care Leavers does the council currently accomodate in accomodation provided by unregulated private providers?

9. Please provide the names of the unregulated private companies that currently provide accomodation to your Care Leavers and the average cost per service user per week to the council.

10. How many Care Leavers does the council currently accomodate in accomodation provided by regulated providers?

11. Please provide the names of the regulated companies that currently provide accomodation to your Care Leavers and the average cost per service user per week to the council.

Yours faithfully,

James Steele

BCP Council Enquiries, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council

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Vangie Parker, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council

Dear Mr Steele

Request: Freedom of Information Act

I would like to apologise for the delay in providing the requested information regarding Looked After Children.

We are currently faced with challenges caused by the unprecedented coronavirus Covid19 pandemic.

We will send the information as soon as possible.

Thank you for your patience and kind understanding.

Yours sincerely

Compliance Team
Quality & Commissioning
Children’s Services
Please bear with us if we take longer than usual to respond to your email, this is due to the challenges of the unprecedented coronavirus COVID-19 crisis.

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Vangie Parker, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council

Dear Mr Steele

Information Request – Freedom of Information Act

I would like to apologise for the delay in providing the information requested on 03 June 2020 please see below response provided by Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council.

1. How many Looked After Children (Also known as Children in Care) does the council currently have?
Response = 501

2. How many of these Looked After Children are between the ages of 12 and 15?
Response = 138

3. How many Looked After Children aged 16-17 does the council currently have?
Response = 158

4. Of these Looked After Children aged 16-17, how many are living in semi-independent accommodation provided by unregulated private providers.
Response = 31

5. Please provide the names of the unregulated private providers of accommodation to 16-17 year olds that the council uses and the average cost per child per week to the council?
Response = Bournemouth Churches Housing Association (BCHA), Budwood, Phoenix Independent, CCP, Progression Care, Alabare, Next Steps, Recovery Homes, Back on Track. Information related to costs per week is exempt from disclosure under Section 43 of the Freedom of Information Act.

Public Interest Test (PIT) - Exemption relied on Section 43(2) Commercial Interests

Arguments AGAINST disclosure

•Disclosure will prejudice Council’s negotiations for preferential rates for Looked After Children (LAC) whose individual needs vary.
•Would undermine the confidence and trust we have built with our providers.
•Potential negotiations with providers would be adversely affected if their individual rates were disclosed.
•Disclosure of amounts paid would adversely affect negotiations with other providers as each LAC’s needs vary as some providers are more specialised for example a provided for a LAC with Special Educational Needs.
•It is possible that disclosure of this information could cause resentment from other providers as the rates vary.

Arguments FOR disclosure of rates
•Disclosure would promote openness, transparency and accountability.
•Council to be held accountable for the spending of public money.

6. Of the Looked After Children aged 16-17, how many are living in accommodation provided by regulated providers.
Response = 144

7. Please provide a list of which regulated providers of accommodation to 16-17 year olds that the council uses and the average cost per child per week to the council? Response = in-house foster carers, IFAs on the South Central Framework, and residential providers as on the South Central Framework and is exempt from disclosure under Section 43 of the Freedom of Information Act, see above.

8. How many Care Leavers does the council currently accommodate in accommodation provided by unregulated private providers? Response = 49

9. Please provide the names of the unregulated private companies that currently provide accommodation to your Care Leavers and the average cost per service user per week to the council. Response = See providers listed above.

10. How many Care Leavers does the council currently accommodate in accommodation provided by regulated providers? Response = One

11. Please provide the names of the regulated companies that currently provide accommodation to your Care Leavers and the average cost per service user per week to the council. Response: As there is one Care Leaver accommodated by a regulated provider. Disclosing the name of the provider could identify this Looked After Child therefore this information is exempt from disclosure under Section 40(2) of the FOI Act.

Section 40(2) is an absolute exemption therefore, there is no requirement to determine the public interest in disclosure. Disclosure of information.
Information relating to cost is exempt under Section 43 of the FOI Act, see above.

I hope that this deals with your request satisfactorily.

If you are dissatisfied with this response you can ask for an internal review. The purpose of an internal review is to assess how your Freedom of Information request was handled in the first instance and to determine whether the original response provided met with the requirements of the legislation. You can request an internal review by email to BCP Council Enquiries [email address]. You should make a review request within 40 working days of this response.

If you are dissatisfied with the outcome of the Council’s review you have the right to refer the matter to the Information Commissioner’s Office. Contact details for the Information Commissioner can be found at: https://ico.org.uk/

Yours sincerely

Compliance Team
Quality & Commissioning
Children’s Services
Please bear with us if we take longer than usual to respond to your email, this is due to the challenges of the unprecedented coronavirus COVID-19 crisis.

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