Brent Council - INFORMATION REQUEST

Our Reference: 1075734
====================================================

Dear Sir/Madam

Thank you for your request for information received on 16 July 2012. We
aim to respond to your request within 20 working days. If for any reason
we are unable to meet this deadline we will keep you fully informed of the
reasons for this and let you know how long the delay will be. If there is
a fee to be paid before the information can be sent to you we will write
and tell you at the earliest opportunity what the fee will be.

Yours faithfully

Adrian Hobbs,
Freedom of Information and Systems Support Officer
Phone: 020 8937 4979
[email address]
 

--
The use of Brent Council's e-mail system may be monitored and
communications read in order to secure effective operation of the system
and other lawful purposes.

Brent Council - INFORMATION REQUEST

Our Reference: 1084974
====================================================

Dear Sir/Madam

Thank you for your request for information received on 19 July 2012. We
aim to respond to your request within 20 working days. If for any reason
we are unable to meet this deadline we will keep you fully informed of the
reasons for this and let you know how long the delay will be. If there is
a fee to be paid before the information can be sent to you we will write
and tell you at the earliest opportunity what the fee will be.

Yours faithfully

Adrian Hobbs,
Freedom of Information and Systems Support Officer
Phone: 020 8937 4979
[email address]
 

--
The use of Brent Council's e-mail system may be monitored and
communications read in order to secure effective operation of the system
and other lawful purposes.

Brent Council - INFORMATION REQUEST

Our Reference: 1075734
====================================================

Dear Sir/Madam,

Your request for information has now been considered and the information
requested is enclosed.
 
Dear Brent Borough Council,
    
     Request for information about numbers of and support for asylum
     seeking, refugee and appeal rights exhausted young people including
     leaving care policies and services.
    
     Background
    
     Tower Hamlets Law Centre, which was established over 30 years ago,
     provides legal advice and representation, mainly to people who work
     and live in the borough, but also through a number of London wide
     and regional services. We focus on work that helps people deal with
     the causes and symptoms of poverty. This includes Housing, Welfare
     Benefits, Immigration and Asylum, Education, Employment, Debt, and
     Community Care law.
    
     We work alongside other law centres across the city to deliver
     London Council’s youth homelessness advice project, which has
     developed our expertise in advising young people at risk of
     homelessness. We specialise in advising young people who have both
     immigration/asylum and housing needs, including assisting young
     people to access support from social services when they are leaving
     care.
    
     We are researching variations between the leaving care services
     that different London Local Authorities are providing for refugees,
     asylum seekers and appeal rights exhausted young people (aged 18-21
     years, or up to 25 years if in full time education). We hope to
     identify examples of good and bad practice and to generate a better
     understanding of leaving care services for this group of young
     people, with a view to improving the provision.
    
     We would be grateful if you could provide us with responses to the
     following questions:
    
     1. Statistics on young people
    
     • How many looked after children and care leavers are the
     responsibility of this local authority?      617 (348 LAC and 269 LC)
     • How many unaccompanied asylum seeking children (UASC) is this
     local authority responsible for?   27
     • How many UASC are placed in this borough by other local
     authorities?    The Council does not hold these figures
     • How many former UASC are receiving leaving care services in this
     local authority and of these how many are appeal rights exhausted?
    41 – 7 are ARE
     • What percentage of UASC and former UASC have additional needs
     (e.g. related to disability) and how many of these former UASC are   
 None
     getting support to meet these needs under adult social care
     legislation?
    
     2. Support for UASC and refugee and asylum seeking care leavers
    
     • Are UASC supported through universal or targeted services (i.e.
     is there a dedicated Unaccompanied Minors team or are UASC’s social
     workers working within universal teams)?     Universal teams
     • Are refugee and asylum seeking care leavers supported by social
     workers and personal advisors in universal or specialised teams?
  Universal teams
    
     3. Support for Appeal Rights Exhausted young people
    
     • In the last financial year 2011-2012, how many appeal rights
     exhausted asylum seeking care leavers were supported by the Local
     Authority?   7
    
     • In the last financial year 2011-2012, how many appeal rights
     exhausted asylum seeking care leavers were discharged from Local
     Authority services and what were the reasons for this?    3 -
    1 assessed to be 18+ and not eligible
    1 21 years and not in education
    1 not engaging with social care
    
     • How many human rights assessments of such appeal rights exhausted
     care leavers were conducted and, following these assessments what
     proportion of those care leavers continued to receive services from
     the LA?   6
    
     4. Request for Policies and Reports
    
     Please provide copies of the following reports and policies for
     your Local Authority (as set out in The Children Act 1989 Guidance
     and Regulations Volume 3: Appendix F):
    
     a) Provision for the allocation of leaving care support to young
     people who are relevant or former relevant children and the review
     of pathway plans for these young people See attached
     b) Leaving Care Financial Policy  See attached
     c) Setting up home allowance policy Contained within Care Planning
and Children in Care Leaving Care Procedures
     d) Human Rights assessment procedure and criteria Contained in the
UASC Policy on the Intranet See attached
     e) Complaints report  See attached Complaints Annual report Appendix
A
    
     Yours faithfully,
    
     Rosalind Evans
 

Please note that the information provided may be subject to copyright and
you may require further permission from the Council to re-use it. If you
require further guidance please write to the IT Standards Manager (contact
details below).

If you are dissatisfied with the response or how the Council has handled
your request you can complain to the Council by writing to the following
address: IT Standards Manager at Brent Council,Floor 5, 349-357 High Road,
Wembley HA9 6BZ, telephone 020 8937 1402, e-mail [Brent Borough Council request email]. It is
the Council's policy to ensure that, where practicable, your complaint is
dealt with by someone who was not involved in the original decision.

You also have a right of appeal about our decision to the Information
Commissioner, however, the Information Commissioner will not normally
consider an appeal until you have exhausted your rights of redress and
complaint to the Council. The Information Commissioner can be contacted as
follows:
Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow,
Cheshire SK9 5AF; Telephone: 01625 545 700,
www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk
As part of our commitment to improve our service to our customers we would
welcome any feedback on the way that we have dealt with your request.

Yours faithfully

Adrian Hobbs,
Freedom of Information and Systems Support Officer

Phone: 020 8937 4979
[email address]
 

--
The use of Brent Council's e-mail system may be monitored and
communications read in order to secure effective operation of the system
and other lawful purposes.

Brent Council - INFORMATION REQUEST

Our Reference: 1084974
====================================================

Dear Sir/Madam,

Your request for information has now been considered and the information
requested is enclosed.
 
Dear Brent Borough Council,
    
     Request for information about numbers of and support for asylum
     seeking, refugee and appeal rights exhausted young people including
     leaving care policies and services.
    
     Background
    
     Tower Hamlets Law Centre, which was established over 30 years ago,
     provides legal advice and representation, mainly to people who work
     and live in the borough, but also through a number of London wide
     and regional services. We focus on work that helps people deal with
     the causes and symptoms of poverty. This includes Housing, Welfare
     Benefits, Immigration and Asylum, Education, Employment, Debt, and
     Community Care law.
    
     We work alongside other law centres across the city to deliver
     London Council’s youth homelessness advice project, which has
     developed our expertise in advising young people at risk of
     homelessness. We specialise in advising young people who have both
     immigration/asylum and housing needs, including assisting young
     people to access support from social services when they are leaving
     care.
    
     We are researching variations between the leaving care services
     that different London Local Authorities are providing for refugees,
     asylum seekers and appeal rights exhausted young people (aged 18-21
     years, or up to 25 years if in full time education). We hope to
     identify examples of good and bad practice and to generate a better
     understanding of leaving care services for this group of young
     people, with a view to improving the provision.
    
     We would be grateful if you could provide us with responses to the
     following questions:
    
     1. Statistics on young people
    
     • How many looked after children and care leavers are the
     responsibility of this local authority?      617 (348 LAC and 269 LC)
     • How many unaccompanied asylum seeking children (UASC) is this
     local authority responsible for?   27
     • How many UASC are placed in this borough by other local
     authorities?    The Council does not hold these figures
     • How many former UASC are receiving leaving care services in this
     local authority and of these how many are appeal rights exhausted?
    41 – 7 are ARE
     • What percentage of UASC and former UASC have additional needs
     (e.g. related to disability) and how many of these former UASC are   
 None
     getting support to meet these needs under adult social care
     legislation?
    
     2. Support for UASC and refugee and asylum seeking care leavers
    
     • Are UASC supported through universal or targeted services (i.e.
     is there a dedicated Unaccompanied Minors team or are UASC’s social
     workers working within universal teams)?     Universal teams
     • Are refugee and asylum seeking care leavers supported by social
     workers and personal advisors in universal or specialised teams?
  Universal teams
    
     3. Support for Appeal Rights Exhausted young people
    
     • In the last financial year 2011-2012, how many appeal rights
     exhausted asylum seeking care leavers were supported by the Local
     Authority?   7
    
     • In the last financial year 2011-2012, how many appeal rights
     exhausted asylum seeking care leavers were discharged from Local
     Authority services and what were the reasons for this?    3 -
    1 assessed to be 18+ and not eligible
    1 21 years and not in education
    1 not engaging with social care
    
     • How many human rights assessments of such appeal rights exhausted
     care leavers were conducted and, following these assessments what
     proportion of those care leavers continued to receive services from
     the LA?   6
    
     4. Request for Policies and Reports
    
     Please provide copies of the following reports and policies for
     your Local Authority (as set out in The Children Act 1989 Guidance
     and Regulations Volume 3: Appendix F):
    
     a) Provision for the allocation of leaving care support to young
     people who are relevant or former relevant children and the review
     of pathway plans for these young people See attached
     b) Leaving Care Financial Policy  See attached
     c) Setting up home allowance policy Contained within Care Planning
and Children in Care Leaving Care Procedures
     d) Human Rights assessment procedure and criteria Contained in the
UASC Policy on the Intranet See attached
     e) Complaints report  See attached Complaints Annual report Appendix
A
    
     Yours faithfully,
    
     Rosalind Evans
 

Please note that the information provided may be subject to copyright and
you may require further permission from the Council to re-use it. If you
require further guidance please write to the IT Standards Manager (contact
details below).

If you are dissatisfied with the response or how the Council has handled
your request you can complain to the Council by writing to the following
address: IT Standards Manager at Brent Council,Floor 5, 349-357 High Road,
Wembley HA9 6BZ, telephone 020 8937 1402, e-mail [Brent Borough Council request email]. It is
the Council's policy to ensure that, where practicable, your complaint is
dealt with by someone who was not involved in the original decision.

You also have a right of appeal about our decision to the Information
Commissioner, however, the Information Commissioner will not normally
consider an appeal until you have exhausted your rights of redress and
complaint to the Council. The Information Commissioner can be contacted as
follows:
Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow,
Cheshire SK9 5AF; Telephone: 01625 545 700,
www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk
As part of our commitment to improve our service to our customers we would
welcome any feedback on the way that we have dealt with your request.

Yours faithfully

Adrian Hobbs,
Freedom of Information and Systems Support Officer

Phone: 020 8937 4979
[email address]
 

--
The use of Brent Council's e-mail system may be monitored and
communications read in order to secure effective operation of the system
and other lawful purposes.