Private Fostering
Hello,
I hope whoever is reading this is keeping well.
I am writing in connection to the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
Please could you endeavour to answer the following questions within 20 working days, as specified under its clauses:
Please can you break down the below information for the following calendar years: 2019 and 2020. Can you also please provide me the information for the period between 1 January 2021 and 28 February 2021.
Q1) Over the stated period, on how many separate occasions did a member of the public contact your council to inform you they suspected that a child was living in a private fostering arrangement (that hadn't been reported)? In order to report such a suspected private fostering arrangement, people are often directed to a council's children safeguarding board/children's services team (or similar) or encouraged to fill out a form (such as via a Multi-agency Safeguarding Hub) on the local authority's website. Please can you break down Q1 in terms of what type of person reported the private fostering arrangement (for example, but not limited to: school/teacher, neighbour)
1a) How many of the children living under such private fostering arrangements were found to have a disability (please specify what kind- such as autism, down syndrome- if that information, indeed, is recorded and retrievable under the constraints of the act)
1b) Following the subsequent completion of the Private Fostering Assessment (or similarly titled) form, how many placements were found to be prohibited?
1c) How many of the private foster carers had convictions recorded on their DBS disclosure form? Could you please breakdown all the above information in a table and on a case to case basis over the requested period.
I would like to receive this information in an electronic format. If you feel that a substantive response to this request is not possible within a reasonable time frame, or the request is too broad, I would be grateful if you could please contact me by email ([email address]) and provide assistance as to how I could refine the request.
Yours faithfully,
Yohannes Lowe
Please accept this response as acknowledgement that your request has been
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Dear Yohannes Lowe
Many thanks for your request to Northampton Borough Council however I need to make you aware that this Council will cease to exist at midnight on 31st March 2021. A new Unitary Council is being formed for the West Northamptonshire region. At this point in time it’s structure, and particularly it’s staffing, has not yet been finalised. In addition the central building for the purposes of written communication has not yet been announced, however I am pleased to be able to advise you that from 1st April 2021 the new website address has been publicly announced and will be www.westnorthants.gov.uk
The Council does not therefore hold any information under FOI s1(1)(a) relating to your request. This is not a refusal notice as there is no information held to enable this Council to respond to your request positively. We are also unable to transfer your request to another Council as no one Council is leading on the unitary project.
Peter Matthews | Data Governance Officer
01604 838529
Chief Finance Officer | Northampton Borough Council,
The Guildhall, St Giles Square, Northampton NN1 1DE | 0300 330 7000
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