30 December 2022
Your request
1. Please could you supply the name, job title, email address and telephone number of the commissioner with responsibility for Looked After Children and/or placements in children’s care homes.
For questions 2 through 6, please supply the following information for the financial years 2018/19 to 2021/22, and where possible, the budget or most up to date snapshot available for 2022/23.
2. Please provide the total number of children looked after by the local authority (please include all placements at any point throughout the financial year).
3. Please provide the local authority’s total expenditure on placements for looked after children (this is the total spend on all looked after children and should exclude expenses related to travel, social work visits etc).
Clarity: requesting for accommodation and wrap around costs and confirmed just looking at children 17 and under, excluding costs relating to leaving care
4. Of the total number of children looked after by the local authority (q.2) please provide the number of placements in children’s homes (not including unregulated children’s homes, secure units or hostels)
5. Of the total number of children looked after by the local authority in regulated children’s homes (q.4) please provide the number placed inside the local authority boundary (in area) and the number placed outside the local authority boundary (out of area). Please exclude unregulated children’s homes.
6. Of the number of children looked after by the local authority in regulated children’s homes, please provide the number of children looked after by the local authority in:
· In placements inside the local authority boundary, in ‘own provision’ (operated by the local authority)
· In placements outside the local authority boundary, in ‘own provision’ (operated by the local authority)
· In placements inside the local authority boundary, in ‘private provision’ (operated by the independent sector)
· In placements outside the local authority boundary, in ‘private provision’ (operated by the independent sector)
7. Please provide the highest, average (mean), and lowest weekly fee currently paid for LAC in a regulated children’s home (please include all placements in regulated children’s homes, including those in and outside of the local authority boundary, as well as those operated by the local authority, the independent sector, and others).
Clarity: only for this FY 22-23
Our response
- Lambeth Council can provide details at the Strategic Level only; this information is available on the Lambeth website below.
How Lambeth Council is organised | Lambeth Council
The email address follows the Lambeth standard logic of initialfirstnamelastname@lambeth.gov.uk
We are unable to give out individual phone numbers.
I can confirm that we have reviewed this part of your request and consider disclosure would breach the Data Protection Act 2018 and therefore engage Section 40(2): Personal Data to this request.
The definition of personal data is set out in provision 3 of the Data Protection Act 2018 as follows:-
(2)“Personal data” means any information relating to an identified or identifiable living individual
(3)“Identifiable living individual” means a living individual who can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to—
(a)an identifier such as a name, an identification number, location data or an online identifier, or
(b)one or more factors specific to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity of the individual.
We note this request asks for information which would allow an individual(s) to be identified.
I have considered whether it would be fair to disclose the information including whether disclosure would cause any unnecessary or unjustified damage or distress to the individual concerned; the individual’s reasonable expectations of what would happen to their information; and balancing the rights and freedoms of the data subject with legitimate interests.
In this case, I can confirm that it would not be fair to the individuals to disclose information about their names and emails as it could cause distress to the individuals.
I do not consider that the individuals would expect the Council to disclose any information which may allow them to be identified. Although I acknowledge the legitimate interest in disclosing general information relating to this request, I do not consider the legitimate interest overrides the rights and freedoms of the individual on this occasion.
In accordance with Section 17 FOIA this letter represents a Refusal Notice for this part of the request
2.
|
18/19 |
19/20 |
20/21 |
21/22 |
|
352 |
358 |
371 |
409 |
3. Please see attached spreadsheet
4.
|
Children in Residential Placements |
No. Residential Placements for FY (will include movement of placement in year) |
|
|
2018/19 |
42 |
50 |
|
2019/20 |
38 |
45 |
|
2020/21 |
34 |
37 |
|
2021/22 |
32 |
36 |
|
2022/23 |
30 |
32 |
5. Under FOI Section 1(1) 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 (b) if that is the case, to have that information communicated to them.
I am advised by my colleagues that Lambeth Council does not hold any such information because Lambeth Council is unable to indicate inside or outside of the authority. Consequently, the answer to Section 1(1)(a) is no and thus our further duty under 1(1)(b) does not arise on this occasion.
6. Lambeth Council is unable to indicate inside or outside of the authority, however can provide the below information:
|
Public |
Private |
Voluntary |
Health |
Not specified |
|
|
2018/19 |
2 |
39 |
6 |
1 |
2 |
|
2019/20 |
0 |
36 |
7 |
1 |
1 |
|
2020/21 |
0 |
26 |
10 |
0 |
1 |
|
2021/22 |
1 |
27 |
8 |
0 |
0 |
|
2022/23 |
0 |
31 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
7. Please refer to the attached spreadsheet