Fostering Data
Case reference FOI2023/00988
Published 3 July 2023
Request
1. How many individual children (not placements) were placed into mainstream foster care by the LA over the past 12 months (or the most recent 12-month period that you're able to process)?
2. Of those, please confirm how many individual children (not placements) were placed with foster carers of independent fostering agencies.
3. What is the minimum, maximum and average agency fee you have given to IFAs for individual children (not placements) placed as 'standard' placements?
4. What is the minimum, maximum and average agency fee you have given to IFAs for individual children (not placements) placed as 'enhanced' placements (including step-down, remand and children with disabilities)?
5. What is the minimum, maximum and average agency fee you have given to IFAs for parent and child placements (placement fee, not for individuals)?
6. Of all individual children (not placements) placed in the 12-month period, please break down the numbers by ethnicity (categories you record)
7. And also by religion
Response
1. How many individual children (not placements) were placed into mainstream foster care by the LA over the past 12 months (or the most recent 12-month period that you're able to process)?
2. Of those, please confirm how many individual children (not placements) were placed with foster carers of independent fostering agencies.
3. What is the minimum, maximum and average agency fee you have given to IFAs for individual children (not placements) placed as 'standard' placements?
4. What is the minimum, maximum and average agency fee you have given to IFAs for individual children (not placements) placed as 'enhanced' placements (including step-down, remand and children with disabilities)?
5. What is the minimum, maximum and average agency fee you have given to IFAs for parent and child placements (placement fee, not for individuals)?
6. Of all individual children (not placements) placed in the 12-month period, please break down the numbers by ethnicity (categories you record)
7. And also by religion
This information is not held in a form that would enable it to be located, retrieved and extracted within the Appropriate Time Limit which equates to 18 hours as defined by the Freedom of Information and Data Protection (Appropriate Limits and Fees) Regulations 2004.
Our electronic reporting systems are unable to run a report for this information. To ascertain the data requested officers would need to manually check the placement register for this information. An initial search has shown that 199 files would need to be checked for this information, and it is estimated that it would take 10 minutes to check each file.
This would at a conservative estimate take at least 33 hours to complete. Where the Limit is exceeded Public Authorities are not obliged to supply the information requested by virtue of S12 of the Act. Please take this letter as a refusal notice under S17 of the Act.
It would be possible to provide the minimum, maximum and average IFA placement cost per week within the limit, so if you would like this information please let me know and I will log this as a new request.
Documents
This is Herefordshire Council's response to a freedom of information (FOI) or environmental information regulations (EIR) request.
You can browse our other responses or make a new FOI request.