Our Ref: 8116  

Dear Enquirer,

INFORMATION REQUEST

Thank you for your request for information which will be dealt with under
the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 / Environmental
Information Regulations 2004.

In some circumstances a fee may be payable and if that is the case, we
will let you know the likely charges before proceeding.

If you have any queries about this matter please contact us. Please
remember to quote the reference number above in any future communications.

Please note, that due to the recent outbreak of Covid-19, there may be a
delay in responding to your request. We appreciate your patience at this
busy period.

Kind regards

Information Governance Office
Northumberland County Council
County Hall
Morpeth
Northumberland
NE61 2EF

Tel: 0345 600 6400
Email: [Northumberland County Council request email]
Web: http://www.northumberland.gov.uk

Our Ref: 8116   

Dear Enquirer,

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST
I refer to your Freedom of Information request in relation to forced
adoptions.

This request is being handled under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

I am writing to ask you to clarify your request. This is because we are
not certain that we have understood your request correctly.

Therefore I should be grateful if you would clarify your definition of
'forced adoptions' please.

Please contact me by the above email address if you need assistance with
this.

If we do not receive your clarification within 3 calendar months from
today we will close your request. If after the 3 month period you then
provide clarification, your request will be logged as a new request.

Yours faithfully

FOI/EIR Co-ordinator -
Information Governance Office
Northumberland County Council
County Hall
Morpeth
Northumberland
NE61 2EF

Tel: 0345 600 6400
Email: [Northumberland County Council request email]
Web: http://www.northumberland.gov.uk

Our Ref: 8116   

Dear Enquirer,

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT REQUEST

I refer to your Freedom of Information request in relation to parents who
have died within 5 years of losing their children to forced adoption.

Right of Access

Section 1(1) of the Act provides any person making a request for
information to a public authority is entitled.

(a) to be informed in writing by the public authority whether it holds
information of the description specified in the request (which Section
1(6) of the Act designates as the "duty to confirm or deny"), and

(b) if that is the case, to have that information communicated to him.

The right is to obtain access to the information itself and not to the
document or record which contains it.

The Act creates a general right of access to information held by public
authorities subject to various exemptions.

Northumberland County Council confirms that it holds the information you
have requested, please see the following information in response.

Q.1 How many parents have died within 5 years of losing their children to
forced adoption,
Less than 5 birth parents have died following the court process that has
concluded with the making of a placement order - see exemption Section 40
(2) below.

Q.2 Can you please provide a breakdown of deaths ie suicide, murder,
accident, illness etc. 
Less than 5 birth parents have died following the court process that has
concluded with the making of a placement order due, for example, to
suicide, accident, illness - see exemption Section 40 (2) below.

Q.3 How many adoptions were voluntary and how many were classed as forced
adoptions.  
Number of adoption orders made, in relation to all cases that have been
through a court process, during the last 5 years is 145.

Q.4 How and when are the children informed of their real parents deaths.
This information is shared with the child in an appropriate, timely and
level of understanding to the individual child.  It will also be part of
the life story book given to the child following the making of an adoption
order.
 

Duty to confirm or deny  

Northumberland County Council confirm that we hold certain information
relating to your request.    

Information held and any responses not within the exemption are shown
below. 

Exemptions  

The Freedom of Information Act sets out various exemptions to the right of
access.  

In the present case the County Council takes the view that some
information is exempt under section 40, on the basis that it is personal
information. In this case the Authority relies on sections 40(2) and
(3a).  

Section 40 - Personal information .  

(1)Any information to which a request for information relates is exempt
information if it constitutes personal data of which the applicant is the
data subject.  

(2)Any information to which a request for information relates is also
exempt information if- (a)it constitutes personal data which do not fall
within subsection (1), and (b)either the first or the second condition
below is satisfied.  

(3)The first condition is- (a) in a case where the information falls
within any of paragraphs (a) to (d) of the definition of "data" in section
1(1) of the Data Protection Act 1998, that the disclosure of the
information to a member of the public otherwise than under this Act would
contravene- (i) any of the data protection principles, or (ii) section 10
of that Act (right to prevent processing likely to cause damage or
distress), and (b) in any other case, that the disclosure of the
information to a member of the public otherwise than under this Act would
contravene any of the data protection principles if the exemptions in
section 33A(1) of the Data Protection Act 1998 (which relate to manual
data held by public authorities) were disregarded.  

(4)The second condition is that by virtue of any provision of Part IV of
the Data Protection Act 1998 the information is exempt from section
7(1)(c) of that Act (data subject's right of access to personal data).  

(5)The duty to confirm or deny- (a) does not arise in relation to
information which is (or if it were held by the public authority would be)
exempt information by virtue of subsection (1), and (b) does not arise in
relation to other information if or to the extent that either- (i)the
giving to a member of the public of the confirmation or denial that would
have to be given to comply with section 1(1)(a) would (apart from this
Act) contravene any of the data protection principles or section 10 of the
Data Protection Act 1998 or would do so if the exemptions in section
33A(1) of that Act were disregarded, or (ii) by virtue of any provision of
Part IV of the Data Protection Act 1998 the information is exempt from
section 7(1)(a) of that Act (data subject's right to be informed whether
personal data being processed).  

(6)In determining for the purposes of this section whether anything done
before 24th October 2007 would contravene any of the data protection
principles, the exemptions in Part III of Schedule 8 to the Data
Protection Act 1998 shall be disregarded.  

(7)In this section-  

"the data protection principles" means the principles set out in Part I of
Schedule 1 to the Data Protection Act 1998, as read subject to Part II of
that Schedule and section 27(1) of that Act;  

"data subject" has the same meaning as in section 1(1) of that Act;  

"personal data" has the same meaning as in section 1(1) of that Act.  

Public Interest Test Considerations  

Section 40(2) is a qualified exemption which means that the information
falling within the exemption still has to be released unless the public
interest in disclosure is outweighed by the public interest in maintaining
the exemption.  

The reason why the public interest favours withholding the information (OR
declining to confirm or deny that it is held) is that any data less than 5
could identify individuals. 

Complaints

If you are unhappy with the way your request for information has been
handled, you can request an internal review by writing within 2 months
from the date of this response to the Information Governance Office:

Information Governance Office
Northumberland County Council
County Hall
Morpeth
NE61 2EF

Email: [Northumberland County Council request email]

Information Commissioner

If you remain dissatisfied with the handling of your request, you have a
right by Section 50 of the Act to apply to the Information Commissioner
for a decision as to whether your request has been dealt with in
accordance with the requirements of the Act at:

The Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

Tel: 0303 123 1113
Email: [email address]

There is no charge for making an appeal.

Yours faithfully

FOI Coordinator -
Information Governance Office
Northumberland County Council
County Hall
Morpeth
Northumberland
NE61 2EF

Tel: 0345 600 6400
Email: [Northumberland County Council request email]
Web: http://www.northumberland.gov.uk