s47 reports by Social Services
Dear Bexley Borough Council,
1. Taken from an extract from an article, link below, please can you tell me the rules and procedures to compile a s47 report
2. Please can you tell me over the last year how many s47 reports your council has completed acting without outside agencies such as police
3. Please can you tell me how many s47 reports have been falsified or conducted illegally or maliciously
"Except in dire emergencies, a Section 47 inquiry can only legally be ordered after a screening inquiry to eliminate groundless complaints, and an initial assessment with interviews. There must be evidence giving reasonable cause to fear significant harm, and a multi-agency strategy meeting involving police, health and education, should agree it. But Haringey acted completely alone."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/l...
Yours faithfully,
Ms Stella Forjustice
Information request
Our reference: 175836
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Stella
Thank you for your request received on 10 April 2013. Unfortunately, we
are unable to deal with your request as we believe that "Forjustice"
is a pseudonym which makes your application invalid.
Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, a public authority is entitled
to treat as invalid a request where the real name of the applicant
(whether individual or a corporate) has not been used. I would advise that
you provide the council with your real name so that this request can be
considered and processed.
Regards,
Ola Sunmonu
Complaints and Freedom of Information Support Officer
Civic Offices, Broadway, Bexleyheath, Kent, DA6 7LB
Tel: 0203 045 4333
Email: [email address]
www.bexley.gov.uk
Dear Ola Sunmonu,
I understand that we are allowed to use pseudonym's and this was addressed by the ICO
Yours sincerely,
Ms Stella Forjustice
Dear Stella Forjustice
Please see below an extract from the ICO Guidance titled "Valid request -
name and address for correspondence".
Therefore, we are of the view that it was the intention of the legislation
that an applicant should provide their real name so that the request can
be processed in accordance with the requirements of the FOIA.
The definition of “applicant” in section 84 of the FOIA adds weight to
this as the phrase in section 8(1)(b) should be read as “ the name of the
person making the request”. This also suggests that the use of a false or
fictitious name is not acceptable. Therefore, where a public authority
receives a request from a person using an obvious pseudonym, there is no
obligation to comply with the request; nor would it fall within the
jurisdiction of the Information Commissioner. If a public authority
chooses not to comply with the request it should, in keeping with its duty
under section 16, advise the applicant that the FOIA requires their real
name to be provided.
To make this request a valid one, the Council would require you real name.
Yours sincerely,
Ola Sunmonu
We work to defend the right to FOI for everyone
Help us protect your right to hold public authorities to account. Donate and support our work.
Donate Now