Monitoring of calls to Essex County Council Social Care

The request was refused by Essex County Council.

Dear Essex County Council FoI Department,

I would be grateful if you would ask the appropriate department:

Are people OBLIGED to PHONE in to Essex County Council Social Care (is there a postal address or email instead?)

If only carried out via the phone - why?

Are calls to Adult Social Care monitored?

If not - why?

If they are monitored:

I would like to know EXACTLY what happens ROUTINELY (and the related facts and figures) when someone with autism / Asperger's syndrome or their parent / carer, phones in for a Care Act Assessment.

Are the call handlers at first point of contact autism and disability issues aware?

Do they know the situation regarding people with autism in Essex and their Carers? I.e. NO support at all.

Do they know that if they refuse to put the person through, there is no help from mental health teams either in Essex? (Local Resource Centre - no preventative support, no emergency support (only A&E) and e.g.: put on a TWO YEAR WAITING LIST for South Essex Autism Service.

DITTO questions regarding if the person is put through to a Social Care Team. For example Do they realise that if they refuse to assess under the Care Act and push the person to mental health "services" there is NO SUPPORT at ALL? They are condemning the person to NO SUPPORT anywhere.

Are the call handlers and Social Care Team call responders aware of the terms and requirements of the Care Act? The Autism Act? The Disability Discrimination Act?

I note that you have something called 'Privacy Notices'. There seems to be no need for this at all when someone with autism or their carer rings in to Adult Social Care - they are so readily turned away, and their details are not wanted. Essex Social Care either is totally autism-unaware or doesn't want to know at all.

Please send me a copy of your phone monitoring stats for people with autism or with suspected autism, or their carers / parents, for the last year, for initial call handlers and for when they are put through to a team. Lets see EXACTLY what is happening to people with autism and their carers / parents.

Also: I note this address on your website:

"Adult Social Care Commercial Team
Commercial Team,
Ely House,
Ely Way,
Basildon, Essex,
SS14 2BQ
[email address]
Health and Social Care
22 February 2016
Welcome to the Health and Social Care page. Here you can find information about: [.....] "

Why is it called a COMMERCIAL Team? What is the thinking behind this? Please provide any related information.

I also note that at FULL council on 12th July, the assembled council was in receipt of an Executive Statement (please see below):

Why is paying for "superfast broadband" in Essex more of a priority than helping people with autism, broadband is seemingly much more important than vulnerable people who are suicidal?

We have all heard the same justification from the Conservatives:
"So we know (NO WE DON'T - WHO SAYS THIS? SOME OF US DO NOT AGREE) that we will need (NO WE DON'T - IT'S CALLED "AUSTERITY", and is ideological) to continue taking difficult decisions (FOR WHOM - at the expense of VULNERABLE PEOPLE? to live within our means ("OUR" MEANS - does this mean that Essex C Council executive officers and councillors are taking a pay / expenses cut?) and ensure economic prosperity (ECONOMIC PROSPERITY for WHOM, and at the expense of VULNERABLE PEOPLE?) for Essex (NO,judging by the total lack of support for people in need, it is not ALL of Essex, just the chosen few).
THIS IS PURE UNADULTERATED PROPAGANDA.

Now that Essex CC has to save a million quid a week, and the failure of austerity polices, and the effects of Conservative Government massive cuts are becoming clear, Essex still sticks to it's tired propaganda mantras like a comfort blanket, while Essex people are suffering.

You are only still in office because the local press have been bought, are inert, horizontal, looking at a squirrel up a tree instead of investigating and analysing, and only report road accidents, burglaries and fun days.

Thank you,

Kind regards,

P. Smith.

http://cmis.essexcc.gov.uk/EssexCMIS5/Do...

EXECUTIVE STATEMENT to full council 12th July 2016

"We have a long standing track record of supporting business in Essex:

 Rolling out superfast broadband to 65,000 businesses and homes across the county

[....]

 And 58.4% of our external spend is with local Essex businesses

[....]

As a council, our finances will continue to be under pressure. We need to save more than
£1m a week, every week, for the next four years.

So we know that we will need to continue taking difficult decisions to live within our means
and ensure economic prosperity for Essex."

Your Right To Know, Essex County Council

Dear Sir/Madam,

Thank you for your recent request for information which has been received by Essex County Council.

Your request is covered by the Freedom of Information Act, under which we must respond within 20 working days.

We will determine and let you know whether we hold the information you have requested and consider whether we are able to release the information or if it is exempt from disclosure.

ECC does not usually charge for providing information to its requestors as the provision of electronic copies is negligible, however under certain circumstances we may have to do so if providing the information costs more than £450. We will let you know before we do any work that would incur a charge.

Please note that the response and data released to you as part of this request will be published on the Essex County Council website. The website address is http://www.essex.gov.uk/Your-Council/You.... All requests will be anonymised and no personal information including contact details will be disclosed as part of this process.

Please contact me if you would like further advice or assistance about your request, or your right to access information held by Essex County Council.

Yours sincerely,

Your Right To Know
Transparency Team
Essex County Council
T: 033301 38989
E: [email address]
W: www.essex.gov.uk

show quoted sections

Your Right To Know, Essex County Council

1 Attachment

Dear Sir/Madam,

Thank you for your request for information. Please find our response to
your request on the accompanying document(s).

I trust that this information satisfies your request. However, should you
require anything further, please contact me and I will endeavour to assist
you further.

if you are not satisfied with your response, please contact me so I can
try to resolve the issue. Alternatively, if you wish to make a complaint,
you can find the details at
[1]http://www.essex.gov.uk/Pages/Complaints...   

 

If, after following our complaints procedure, you are still not satisfied,
you are entitled to ask the Information Commissioner to review our
decision. You can contact the Information Commissioner at Wycliffe House,
Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF; Telephone 0303 123 1113.

 

Please note that the response and data released to you as part of this
request will be published on the Essex County Council website. The website
address is
[2]http://www.essex.gov.uk/Your-Council/You....
All requests will be anonymised and no personal information including
contact details will be disclosed as part of this process.

 

Yours sincerely,

Your Right To Know

Information Services

Essex County Council

T: 033301 38989

E: [email address]

W: www.essex.gov.uk

 

This email (including any attachments) is intended only for the
recipient(s) named above. It may contain confidential or privileged
information and should not be read, copied or otherwise used by any other
person unless express permission is given. If you are not a named
recipient, please contact the sender and delete the email from your
system. It is the recipient's responsibility to ensure that appropriate
measures are in place to check for software viruses.

References

Visible links
1. http://www.essex.gov.uk/Pages/Complaints...
2. http://www.essex.gov.uk/Your-Council/You...

Dear Your Right To Know,

Thank you for your response:-

Monitoring of calls to Essex County Council Social Care

"Freedom of Information Act / Environmental Information Regulations Request
Reference: ECC0751705 08 16
Response: 18 August 2016

Question 1 - Are people obliged to phone in to Essex County Council social care (is there a postal address or email instead?)
If only carried out via the phone - why?

I can confirm that Essex County Council does hold this information. Customers can contact Adult Social Care by Telephone, Email or Post. The addresses & phone numbers of each are below

Essex County Council
Adult Social Care
Customer Service Centre
200 the Crescent
Colchester Business Park
Colchester
Essex County Council Co4 9YQ

Adult Social Care 0345 603 7630
[email address]
[email address]
[email address]

Question 2 - Are calls to adult social care monitored?
If not - why?

I can confirm that Essex County Council does hold this information. Telephone Calls to the Adult Social Care team within the Customer Service Centre are recorded, and held for three months.

Question 3 - If they are monitored I would like to know exactly what happens routinely (and the related facts and figures) when someone with autism / Asperger's syndrome or their parent / carer, phones in for a care act assessment.

I can confirm that Essex County Council does hold this information, however from our preliminary assessment; we estimate that compliance with your request would exceed the appropriate costs limit under section 12 of the Freedom of information Act 2000. This is currently £450. This limit is calculated 18 hours of work at a cost of £25 per hour. The information you have requested is not available because the Adult Social Care Team within the Customer Service Centre does not hold detailed reporting information on people with Autism/ Asperger’ Syndrome. This detail would be within the written assessment. Total contacts for Apr 15 to Mar 16 was 33,474, taking at least a minute to view each would exceed the limit. Therefore we will not be complying with this part of your request. In accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000, this letter acts as a Refusal Notice in respect of this part of your request.

Under section 16 of the Act, our duty to assist those requesting information, I have supplied the below information which I hope will be of help you.

Of the Assessments completed where it is identifiable from the recording on the social care case management system during the first quarter of this financial year the following breakdown of outcomes have occurred.

Assessments Completed 2016-17 First Quarter
April
May
June
Carer Assessment
1
1
No Further Action
4
2
2
Progress to other work (Services/Review)
16
12
27
Progress to Financial Assessment
1
3
7
Progress to an OT Assessment
1
1
1
Other
3
5
11
Grand Total
26
23
49

Review Activity Completed 2016-17 First Quarter
April
May
June
Carer Assessment
1
No Further Action
4
4
4
Progress to other work (Services/Review)
50
38
75
Progress to Financial Assessment
1
3
Progress to an OT Assessment
1
Other
13
10
30
Grand Total
67
53
114

The numbers above will not be exclusively those that have been completed on persons with autism / Asperger's syndrome; however these are those where the Social worker has recorded this information on the service user’s record.

Question 4 - Are the call handlers at first point of contact autism and disability issues aware?

I can confirm that Essex County Council does hold this information. The Advisors within the Customer Service Centre front office team are trained in Customer Service and can give basic advice and information, they will transfer calls through to the Adult Social Care team with Customer Service Centre as required. The Adult Social Care Connects Team are trained to a high level in line with the Care Act, and are supported by Social Work & Occupational Health Practitioners.

Question 5 - Do they know the situation regarding people with autism in Essex and their carers? I.e. no support at all.
Question 6 - Do they know that if they refuse to put the person through, there is no help from mental health teams either in Essex? (local resource centre - no preventative support, no emergency support (only A&E) and e.g.: put on a two year waiting list for south Essex autism service.
Question 7 - Ditto questions regarding if the person is put through to a social care team. For example do they realise that if they refuse to assess under the care act and push the person to mental health "services" there is no support at all? They are condemning the person to no support anywhere.

Unfortunately, this is not a valid Freedom of Information request. I refer you to guidance from the Information Commissioner where he explains that the information available under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 is as follows:

You have the right to request any information held by public authorities. The Act allows access to recorded information, such as emails, meeting minutes, research or reports, held by public authorities in England, Northern Ireland and Wales and some authorities located in Scotland. Scottish public authorities are subject to the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002. https://ico.org.uk/for-the-public/offici...

The information you have requested is not recorded information.

Question 8 - Are the call handlers and social care team call responders aware of the terms and requirements of the care act? The autism act? The disability discrimination act?

I can confirm that Essex County Council does hold this information. The Adult Social Care Connects Team of advisors are trained to a high level in line with the Care Act, and are supported by Social Work & Occupational Health Practitioners

Question 9 - Please send me a copy of your phone monitoring stats for people with autism or with suspected autism, or their carers / parents, for the last year, for initial call handlers and for when they are put through to a team.

I can confirm that Essex County Council does hold this information, however from our preliminary assessment, we estimate that compliance with your request would exceed the appropriate costs limit under section 12 of the Freedom of information Act 2000. This is currently £450. This limit is calculated 18 hours of work at a cost of £25 per hour. The information you have requested is not available because total contacts for Apr 15 to Mar 16 was 33,474, taking at least a minute to view each would exceed the limit. Therefore we will not be complying with this part of your request. In accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000, this letter acts as a Refusal Notice in respect of this part of your request.

Question 10 - I note this address on your website:
Adult social care commercial team
Commercial team,
Ely house,
Ely way,
Basildon, essex,
Ss14 2bq
[email address]

Why is it called a commercial team? What is the thinking behind this? Please provide any related information.

I can confirm that Essex County Council does hold this information. They are called a commercial team because they are involved or engage in commerce and/or in the procurement of commercial business and working with service providers under many different commercial agreements.

Question 7 - I also note that at full council on 12th July, the assembled council was in receipt of an executive statement (please see below):
Why is paying for "superfast broadband" in Essex more of a priority than helping people with autism, broadband is seemingly much more important than vulnerable people who are suicidal?

Unfortunately, this is not a valid Freedom of Information request. I refer you to guidance from the Information Commissioner where he explains that the information available under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 is as follows:

You have the right to request any information held by public authorities. The Act allows access to recorded information, such as emails, meeting minutes, research or reports, held by public authorities in England, Northern Ireland and Wales and some authorities located in Scotland. Scottish public authorities are subject to the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002. https://ico.org.uk/for-the-public/offici...

The information you have requested is not recorded information.

Your Right to Know
Information Services
Essex County Council
Telephone: 08457 430430
Email: [email address] | www.essex.gov.uk "

It's a shame for many people with Asperger's syndrome and autism and their carers in Essex that some major parts of my request are too expensive for you to reply to.

If this is so, and it is an URGENT PRIORITY that needs addressing:-
Please can you inform Essex Social Care Teams that they should NEVER assume that someone with autism / Asperger's syndrome in absolute MH crisis that they turn down flat for any help and refer instead to MH, will get ANY help at all from NHS / ECC local MH "services". They get NOTHING.

Yours sincerely,

P. Smith

Your Right To Know, Essex County Council

Dear Ms Smith,

Thank you for your email, your comments have been forwarded to our Social Care Teams.

Kind Regards

Your Right To Know
Information Services
Essex County Council
T: 033301 38989
E: [email address]
W: www.essex.gov.uk

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Dear Essex County Council,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Essex County Council's handling of my FOI request 'Monitoring of calls to Essex County Council Social Care'.

Major parts of my request were refused on the grounds of cost.

I fear that many vulnerable people with autism / Asperger's syndrome or their stressed parents / carers will be put off at first point of contact when they are desperate for support, by people who are not autism trained or too ready to refer them to mental health teams WHO CANNOT HELP THEM. There is no other support for them.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/m...

Yours faithfully,

P. Smith

Dear Your Right To Know,

What does "progress" in "Progress to other work (Services/Review)"
actually mean?

What actually happens? Is this a word to cover the situation when a vulnerable person with autism / Asperger's syndrome / their stressed carer / parent is told at first point of contact by a non-autism trained person, no that's a case for Mental Health?

Yours sincerely,

P. Smith

Dear Your Right To Know,

Is it true that the ECC social care teams have to PAY their own ECC solicitors for legal advice that might help progress a case?

Is the COST of this a barrier to gaining support / appropriate help?

Please supply any related documents that might explain why this policy is used.

Yours sincerely,

P. Smith

Your Right To Know, Essex County Council

Dear Sir or Madam,

Your Review Request:

Thank you for your request for to review our handling of your recent request for information reference ECC0751705 08 16, which was received by Essex County Council on 14/09/2016.

Your request is covered by our Review Procedure and we endeavour to respond within 20 working days.

We will review the handling of your request and respond with our formal decision on the aspects you have asked us to address.

Please contact me if you would like further advice or assistance about your request, review or your right to access information held by Essex County Council.

With reference to your query What does "progress" in "Progress to other work (Services/Review)" actually mean? It refers to next actions arising from the Contact or Telephone Assessment that is made to the Customer Service Centre or a Hospital Team. We hope this is of help, but should you require further information on this matter please let us know what questions you would like to ask and we will log these as a new request.

Can we ask that when responding to emails our reference is used in the subject bar (as above) to enable us to locate the request as efficiently as possible as we will be processing a new request and an internal review on this email address. This will help ensure that the correspondence it logged to the correct record on our system.

Yours sincerely

Your Right To Know
Information Services
Essex County Council
T: 033301 38989
E: [email address]
W: www.essex.gov.uk

show quoted sections

Your Right To Know, Essex County Council

Dear  Sir/Madam,

Thank you for your recent request for information which has been received
by Essex County Council.

Your request is covered by the Freedom of Information Act, under which we
must respond within 20 working days.

We will determine and let you know whether we hold the information you
have requested and consider whether we are able to release the information
or if it is exempt from disclosure.

 

ECC does not usually charge for providing information to its requestors as
the provision of electronic copies is negligible, however under certain
circumstances we may have to do so if providing the information costs more
than £450. We will let you know before we do any work that would incur a
charge.

Please note that the response and data released to you as part of this
request will be published on the Essex County Council website. The website
address is
[1]http://www.essex.gov.uk/Your-Council/You....
All requests will be anonymised and no personal information including
contact details will be disclosed as part of this process.

 

Can we ask that when responding to emails our reference is used in the
subject bar (as above) to enable us to locate the request as efficiently
as possible as we will be processing a new request and an internal review
on this email address. This will help ensure that the correspondence it
logged to the correct record on our system.

Please contact me if you would like further advice or assistance about
your request, or your right to access information held by Essex County
Council.

Yours sincerely,

Your Right To Know

Information Services

Essex County Council

T: 033301 38989

E: [email address]

W: www.essex.gov.uk

 

show quoted sections

Your Right To Know, Essex County Council

1 Attachment

Dear Sir/Madam,

Thank you for your request for information. Please find our response to
your request on the accompanying document(s).

I trust that this information satisfies your request. However, should you
require anything further, please contact me and I will endeavour to assist
you further.

if you are not satisfied with your response, please contact me so I can
try to resolve the issue. Alternatively, if you wish to make a complaint,
you can find the details at
[1]http://www.essex.gov.uk/Pages/Complaints...   

 

If, after following our complaints procedure, you are still not satisfied,
you are entitled to ask the Information Commissioner to review our
decision. You can contact the Information Commissioner at Wycliffe House,
Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF; Telephone 0303 123 1113.

 

Please note that the response and data released to you as part of this
request will be published on the Essex County Council website. The website
address is
[2]http://www.essex.gov.uk/Your-Council/You....
All requests will be anonymised and no personal information including
contact details will be disclosed as part of this process.

 

Yours sincerely,

Your Right To Know

Information Services

Essex County Council

T: 033301 38989

E: [email address]

W: www.essex.gov.uk

 

This email (including any attachments) is intended only for the
recipient(s) named above. It may contain confidential or privileged
information and should not be read, copied or otherwise used by any other
person unless express permission is given. If you are not a named
recipient, please contact the sender and delete the email from your
system. It is the recipient's responsibility to ensure that appropriate
measures are in place to check for software viruses.

References

Visible links
1. http://www.essex.gov.uk/Pages/Complaints...
2. http://www.essex.gov.uk/Your-Council/You...

Dear Your Right To Know,

Please supply a copy of the latest review, as mentioned in your response.

Please send a copy of review of the situation from five years ago.

Thank you,

Yours sincerely,

P. Smith

Your Right To Know, Essex County Council

Dear Sir/Madam,

Thank you for your recent request for information which has been received by Essex County Council.

Your request is covered by the Freedom of Information Act, under which we must respond within 20 working days.

We will determine and let you know whether we hold the information you have requested and consider whether we are able to release the information or if it is exempt from disclosure.

ECC does not usually charge for providing information to its requestors as the provision of electronic copies is negligible, however under certain circumstances we may have to do so if providing the information costs more than £450. We will let you know before we do any work that would incur a charge.

Please note that the response and data released to you as part of this request will be published on the Essex County Council website. The website address is http://www.essex.gov.uk/Your-Council/You.... All requests will be anonymised and no personal information including contact details will be disclosed as part of this process.

Please contact me if you would like further advice or assistance about your request, or your right to access information held by Essex County Council.

Yours sincerely,

Your Right To Know
Information Services
Essex County Council
T: 033301 38989
E: [email address]
W: www.essex.gov.uk

show quoted sections

Your Right To Know, Essex County Council

1 Attachment

Dear Sir/Madam,

Thank you for your request for an Internal Review. Please find our
response to your request on the accompanying document(s).

If you are not satisfied with this response and wish to make a complaint,
you can find the details at
[1]http://www.essex.gov.uk/Pages/Complaints...   

 

If, after following our complaints procedure, you are still not satisfied,
you are entitled to ask the Information Commissioner to review our
decision. You can contact the Information Commissioner at Wycliffe House,
Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF; Telephone 0303 123 1113.

 

Yours sincerely,

Your Right to Know

Information Services

Essex County Council

Telephone: 08457 430430

E-mail: [email address]

 

This email (including any attachments) is intended only for the
recipient(s) named above. It may contain confidential or privileged
information and should not be read, copied or otherwise used by any other
person unless express permission is given. If you are not a named
recipient, please contact the sender and delete the email from your
system. It is the recipient's responsibility to ensure that appropriate
measures are in place to check for software viruses.

References

Visible links
1. http://www.essex.gov.uk/Pages/Complaints...

Your Right To Know, Essex County Council

1 Attachment

Dear Sir/Madam,

Thank you for your request for information. Please find our response to
your request on the accompanying document(s).

I trust that this information satisfies your request. However, should you
require anything further, please contact me and I will endeavour to assist
you further.

If you are not satisfied with your response, please contact me so I can
try to resolve the issue. Alternatively, if you wish to make a complaint,
you can find the details at
[1]http://www.essex.gov.uk/Pages/Complaints...   

 

If, after following our complaints procedure, you are still not satisfied,
you are entitled to ask the Information Commissioner to review our
decision. You can contact the Information Commissioner at Wycliffe House,
Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF; Telephone 0303 123 1113.

 

Please note that the response and data released to you as part of this
request will be published on the Essex County Council website. The website
address is
[2]http://www.essex.gov.uk/Your-Council/You....
All requests will be anonymised and no personal information including
contact details will be disclosed as part of this process.

 

If you would like to take a short customer satisfaction survey please use
the link below

[3]http://surveys.essexinsight.org.uk/TakeS...
 

 

Yours sincerely,

Your Right to Know

Information Services

Essex County Council

Telephone: 08457 430430

E-mail: [email address]

 

 

This email (including any attachments) is intended only for the
recipient(s) named above. It may contain confidential or privileged
information and should not be read, copied or otherwise used by any other
person unless express permission is given. If you are not a named
recipient, please contact the sender and delete the email from your
system. It is the recipient's responsibility to ensure that appropriate
measures are in place to check for software viruses.

References

Visible links
1. http://www.essex.gov.uk/Pages/Complaints...
2. http://www.essex.gov.uk/Your-Council/You...
3. http://surveys.essexinsight.org.uk/TakeS...

Dear Your Right To Know,

Surely when you are using the statistics you anonymously categorise them, according to presenting problem / topic of / type of call etc.? There is no need to give me any names.

You are avoiding answering my question, by putting up barriers.

Yours sincerely,

P. Smith

Your Right To Know, Essex County Council

Dear P Smith,

We acknowledge receipt of your email. This appears to be in reference to your request reference ECC0751705 08 16, as we have processed an internal review of your original request, reference ECC1006014 09 16, we are unable to assist any further. If you wish to make a complaint, you can find the details at http://www.essex.gov.uk/Pages/Complaints...

If, after following our complaints procedure, you are still not satisfied, you are entitled to ask the Information Commissioner to review our decision. You can contact the Information Commissioner at Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF; Telephone 0303 123 1113.

Kind Regards

Your Right To Know
Information Services
Essex County Council
T: 033301 38989
E: [email address]
W: www.essex.gov.uk

show quoted sections