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Thank you for contacting Reading Borough Council regarding a Freedom of
Information Request. If this is the first time you have contacted us with
this request, we will log and pass this on for a response to be prepared
for you. If you are requesting an update regarding a request you have sent
in previously that our team is dealing with, we will reply to your e-mail
shortly.

Kind Regards

Customer Relations Team

0118 937 2905

Dear Mr Olaleye

Please take this e-mail as an acknowledgement of your request for information under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act (2000), received by Reading Borough Council on 10 August 20. This has now been passed to the appropriate officer for a response.
In accordance with the Act, you can expect to receive a formal response to your enquiry by the 8 September 2020.

We may contact you prior to this date if we require further information from you or if we require longer than 20 working days in order to respond to you.

Yours sincerely

Mr N Bullough
Customer Relations Officer
Customer Relations Team| Directorate of Resources
Civic Office
Bridge Street
Reading Borough Council
RG1 2LU
0118 937 2726 (Internal ext 72726)
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show quoted sections

Dear Mr Olaleye

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST

Thank you for your recent request received in this office on 10 August
2020.

You have requested the following information under the provisions of the
Freedom of Information Act 2000:

I am in the process of registering as a provider for semi-independent
living for Care Leavers 16+ in the borough of Reading and have a few
questions as below:

1)What are the mandatory documents that would be needed to be submitted
when registering as a provider?

We require a contract to be in place as well as the following due
diligence:

Organisation/Service Provider  
Company Registration Number
Details of Membership of Professional Bodies                           
Insurance certificates - Public Liability, Employers Liability,
Professional Indemnity                 
Section 11 audit tool                  
Recommendations of local authorities/agencies/ parents/carers           
Staff DBS conformation                 
Named Safeguarding Lead & contact details              
Equality impact assessment             
Code of Practice               
Location risk assessment                       
Service cost breakdown                 
Organisational Policies                
Behaviour management policy                    
CSE risk policy                
Medication management policy                   
Physical restraint policy              
Return home interviews and missing episode policy                      
Safeguarding policy                    
SEND policy                    
Substance (mis)use                     
Complaints policy                      
Equal Opportunity/Diversity policy                     
Health & Safety policy                 
Lone working policy                    
Modern day slavery policy                      
Whistle Blowing procedure                      
Information sharing policy     
Data protection policy         
Confidentiality policy         
Fire alarms testing checks             
Gas safety certificate         
Hot water/scolding risk assessment             
Electrical testing certificate (every 5 years)         
               
2)Once all mandatory documents have been submitted and verified, how long
is it before a new provider starts getting referrals?

We have a framework in place and all referrals are sent to framework
providers in the first instance. If a framework placement is not
available, we then refer to non framework providers. Our framework is not
currently open to new providers.
3)What is the referral process?

We have our own referral form generated by our in house system that is
sent securely to providers by email

4)Does the Council this type of living situation as Houses in multiple
occupation (HMO)?

Yes

5)Would the Council require a change of use?

Yes
6) Can you advise on the Council's expected/required property standards
for a property that will house up to 16+ care leavers?

As per above due diligence check list

7) Does the Local authority/ Children's Trust carry out an inspection of
the property before placements commence?

Yes except in exceptional circumstances eg emergency placement in which
case the inspection will follow as an unannounced visit after placement is
made.
8) What is the waiting period for an inspection to take place?

Visits take place prior to placing in the case of framework providers,
then revisits are twice yearly as a minimum. Non framework initial
placement visits take place on a case by case basis as these placements
are not our preferred option.
9)What is the waiting period between inspection and approval (with the
assumption that there are no improvements needed)?

Immediate on the basis of inspection outcome

10) What is the waiting period between approval and referrals?

Immediate for framework, not measured for non framework as referrals are
less likely.
11) Do you hold provider meetings? If so how can one arrange to attend one
of these?

We held a market place event prior to framework opening.

12) How often does the local authority/ children's trust make payments to
providers for services provided?

Monthly
13) What is the basic weekly or monthly payment to provide
semi-independent living for 16+?

£400 per week not including support

14) Please supply list of standard policies & procedures the Local
authority/Children's' Trust expects from providers?

Please see due diligence above
15)At what stage do providers have access to the placement portal?

We do not have a placement portal

16)Apart from the placement portal, are there any other ways of getting
16+ Care leaver placements?

N/A
17)How many 16-18 year olds were placed via spot purchase/ off framework 
in the past year (2019/2020)?

As a snap shot for year end (this is the data our system allows) there
were 13  16-18 year olds placed via non framework providers.
18)How many 16-18 year olds undocumented asylum seekers were placed  off
framework in the past year (2019/2020)?

As a snap shot for year end (this is the data our system allows) there
were 7 UASC non framework placements.

You are free to use any information supplied to you for your own personal
purposes or for non-commercial research, private study or news reporting.
However, you do not have the right to re-use the information in a way
which infringes copyright, for example, by distributing, making copies of
or publishing the information, without the permission of the copyright
holder, which in most cases will be Reading Borough Council. If you wish
to obtain permission for such use, please contact Mr M Graham, Assistant
Director of Legal and Democratic Services, at Reading Borough Council.

Please note that your request may itself be the subject of a FOI request
and will be disclosed in that event.

If you are unhappy with this response to your request for information
under the Freedom of Information Act then you may ask for an internal
review. Please make a request in writing to Mr M Graham, Assistant
Director of Legal and Democratic Services, at Reading Borough Council.  If
you request such a review and are not content with its outcome, then you
have a right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a
decision.  The Information Commissioner can be contacted at:

Information Commissioner’s Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

Yours sincerely

Mr N Bullough

Customer Relations Officer

Customer Relations Team| Directorate of Resources

Civic Office

Bridge Street

Reading Borough Council

RG1 2LU

0118 937 2726 (Internal ext 72726)

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The information in this e-mail is confidential to the intended recipient to whom it has been addressed and may be covered by legal professional privilege and protected by law. Reading Borough Council does not accept responsibility for any unauthorised amendment made to the contents of this e-mail following its dispatch. If received in error, you must not retain the message or disclose its contents to anyone. Please notify us immediately quoting the name of the sender and the addressee and then delete the e-mail. Reading Borough Council has scanned for viruses. However, it is your responsibility to scan the e-mail and attachments (if any) for viruses. Reading Borough Council also operates to the Protective Document Marking Standard as defined for the Public Sector. Recipients should ensure protectively marked emails and documents are handled in accordance with this standard (Re: Cabinet Office - Government Security Classification).

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