Dear Ms Gleich

Request for Information RFI-6857-23 Re: Modern Slavery NRM referrals for
criminal exploitation

Thank you for your request for information relating to Modern Slavery NRM
referrals for criminal exploitation which was received on 06 July 2023.

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,

Julie Noble

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
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

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Dear Louise Gleich,

Request for Information RFI-6857-23 Re:Modern Slavery NRM referrals for
criminal exploitation

I write to acknowledge and apologise for the delay in responding to your
request relating to Modern Slavery NRM referrals for criminal
exploitation. 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 we aim for a full reply to
your request to be sent to you on or before 16/08/2023.

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

Yours sincerely,

Denise Gold

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 Louise Gleich,

Request for Information RFI-6857-23 Re: Modern Slavery NRM referrals for
criminal exploitation

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 now able to provide a response 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 Modern Slavery NRM referrals
for criminal exploitation, I can tell you the following:

In relation to the victims of forced criminality known as ‘criminal
exploitation’.

For the six month period January to June 2023 please provide the following
information:

The number of NRM referrals made by your local authority as First
Responder relating to reported ‘criminal exploitation’ broken down by age,
gender and nationality of the potential victim.

Criminal Exploitation only - total 29

Age under 18 – 26

Age over 18 – Below 5

23 were male, 6 were female

British – 22

Afghan – Below 5

German – Below 5

Iraqi – Below 5

Slovak – Below 5

Sudanese - Below 5

The number of NRM referrals made by your local authority flagged as
‘county lines’

9.

For the NRM referrals for criminal exploitation for children under 18
years old how many were (i) in mainstream school, (ii) in alternative
provision at the time of referral For the NRM referrals for criminal
exploitation for children under 18 years old how many had been (i)
persistently absent from school or (ii) severely absent from school in the
12 months prior to referral.

This information is not held by the council and as such is exempt from
disclosure under FOI Act s1, information not held. 

For the NRM referrals for criminal exploitation for children under 18
years old how many were (i) a ‘looked after’ child or (ii) a child in need
prior to referral.

Every child of the 26 had to be opened to children’s social care before an
NRM was applied for by social care. These plans range from child looked
after, CIN or CP.

For the NRM referrals for criminal exploitation for adults aged 18 years
and above, how many have (i) had their care and support needs assessed and
(ii) been provided with support under a support plan under the Care Act
2014.

Below 5.

Please note where the answer is below 5 the actual figure is exempt from
disclosure under the FOI Act, s40 personal data.  This is because the
actual number if combined with other information being disclosed could
mean identification of an individual which would be in breach of data
protection.

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
in responding to your request may have caused you.

Yours sincerely,

Denise Gold

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/