unregulated accommodation
Case reference FOI2023/00473
Published 18 April 2023
Request
Please could you provide the following information.
Please note there are four parts to my request.
1. How many (i) care experienced children in your local authority aged 16-17 (inclusive) are currently housed in unregulated accommodation and (ii) how many unaccompanied asylum seeking children aged 16-17 (inclusive) are currently housed in unregulated accommodation.
Unregulated accommodation is sometimes known as "independent accommodation" or "semi-independent accommodation".
By care experienced children I mean children who are known to the council and who have been living in foster care or residential accommodation or another form of regulated accommodation as outlined above.
By unregulated accommodation I mean accommodation for care experienced children aged 16 and over, where they can receive support but not care.
It does not include foster homes, residential care, hospital settings, residential school settings.
2. How many care experienced children in your local authority aged 16-17 have gone missing between 18 February 2021 and 1 March 2023?
3. How many unaccompanied asylum seeking children in your local authority aged 16-17 have gone missing between 18 February 2021 and 1 March 2023?
4. Please can you provide information on what mechanisms are in place to ensure that children housed in independent or semi-independent accommodation are properly cared for. Information could be but is not limited to guidance for housing providers or landlords, guidance for social workers, guidance for children and young people.
Response
Please could you provide the following information. Please note there are four parts to my request.
1. How many (i) care experienced children in your local authority aged 16-17 (inclusive) are currently housed in unregulated accommodation and (ii) how many unaccompanied asylum seeking children aged 16-17 (inclusive) are currently housed in unregulated accommodation.
Unregulated accommodation is sometimes known as "independent accommodation" or "semi-independent accommodation".
By care experienced children I mean children who are known to the council and who have been living in foster care or residential accommodation or another form of regulated accommodation as outlined above.
By unregulated accommodation I mean accommodation for care experienced children aged 16 and over, where they can receive support but not care.
It does not include foster homes, residential care, hospital settings, residential school settings.
We currently have 63 children placed with external supported accommodation providers of which 7 are unaccompanied asylum seeking.
2. How many care experienced children in your local authority aged 16-17 have gone missing between 18 February 2021 and 1 March 2023?
When a child goes missing, the step is added to the individual child's file and we are not able to generate a report on those missing episodes for our looked after children.
3. How many unaccompanied asylum seeking children in your local authority aged 16-17 have gone missing between 18 February 2021 and 1 March 2023?
As above
4. Please can you provide information on what mechanisms are in place to ensure that children housed in independent or semi-independent accommodation are properly cared for. Information could be but is not limited to guidance for housing providers or landlords, guidance for social workers, guidance for children and young people.
Home Finding complete quality assurance checks on providers requesting the following information, but not limited to- gas/electric certificates, insurances, location risk assessment, staff training matrix, statement of purpose (reflected in our provider response forms). We also seek feedback on providers from other local authorities, which supports our decisions to place. The social worker will complete Annexe A for the child being referred to a supported accommodation provider, supported accommodation providers also complete the second part of the Annexe A.
Annexe A:
"This annex sets out criteria, which may be useful to a provider of accommodation to young people over the age of 16, to help identify whether the service being proposed or provided is 'supported accommodation' and would therefore not require the provider and manager to register under the Care Standards Act 2000, rather than a children's home, which would require the provider and manager to register."
Documents
This is Herefordshire Council's response to a freedom of information (FOI) or environmental information regulations (EIR) request.
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