Dear Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council,

Please provide answers to the following questions under the FOI Act.

1a) For each of the years listed, please specify how many interim managers at Assistant Director level or above has the council employed in Children’s Services (directly or via an agency) : 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 (to 1 March)

1b) Please also specify how many interim managers at Assistant Director level or above has the council employed in Children’s Services (directly or via an agency) in total between the years 2017- 1 March 2022 inclusive?

2) For each of the years listed, please specify how much the council has spent on interim managers at Assistant Director Level or above in Children’s services (directly or via an agency): In 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 (to 1 March)

3) In total, how much has the council been ordered to pay out in awards for human rights’ breaches to children, their parents, family members and carers who have been involved in family court proceedings in each of the following calendar years (not financial years): 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 (to 1 March)

4) How many removals of newborns from their birth parents, within the first two weeks of birth, has the local authority done in each of the following calendar years: 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 (to 1 March)

For all the above questions please provide the data in an CSV table laid out in the following format. Questions down the left hand side, and Years along the top row. with answers in the corresponding cells. I have explained further below:

CELL A1: BLANK

COLUMN A, CELLS A2-A6 lists each question (a new row for each question)
ie.
- CELL A2 says question 1a
- CELL A3 says question 1b
- CELL A4 says question 2
- CELL A5 says question 3
- CELL A6 says question 4

ROW 1, CELLS B1-L1 list the years in order from 2012 through to 2022 inclusive (a new column for each year)
- CELL B1 has 2012
- CELL C1 has 2013
- CELL D1 has 2014
etc through to
- CELL L1 has 2022 (as of March 1)
- CELL M1 says 2017-2022 inclusive

Please insert the answers to each question in each Row under the corresponding year
- The answers to Question 1a will be inserted in the CELLS G2-L2.
- The answers to Question 1b can be inserted in CELL M3
- The answers to Question 2 will be inserted in the CELLS G4-L4.
- The answers to Question 3 will be inserted in the CELLS G5-L5
- The answers to Question 4 will be inserted in the CELLS B6-L6.

If you have any queries about the questions or the format to provide the answers in then please let me know before the 20 working day timeframe so that I can clarify. Alternatively if you have any issues with the format you can answer in any format you think most appropriate.

Yours faithfully,

Anna Davis