Care leaver SARs completion rate
Case reference FOI2024/01295
Received 29 July 2024
Published 9 August 2024
Request
1)a) What is the percentage completion rate for Children's Records for SAR applications made from children previously in LA care which are completed within the extended three-month deadline as provided by the ICO? Please provide percentages for the last five years.
1)b) What percentage are completed within three months, and what percentage are not? This applies only where the request for former LAC or CIC requests full disclosure of all historical child records, for example where the child has been in LA care for 10/20 years maybe, the local authority would have to disclose all electronic and archived records pertaining to that individual for that whole period and are disclosed and redacted if necessary.
2) How many staff are allocated to this role at any one time? If you do not disclose such records due to their volume and would insist on providing only a selection please say this is what you do.
Response
1)a) What is the percentage completion rate for Children's Records for SAR applications made from children previously in LA care which are completed within the extended three-month deadline as provided by the ICO? Please provide percentages for the last five years.
1)b) What percentage are completed within three months, and what percentage are not?
This applies only where the request for former LAC or CIC requests full disclosure of all historical child records, for example where the child has been in LA care for 10/20 years maybe, the local authority would have to disclose all electronic and archived records pertaining to that individual for that whole period and are disclosed and redacted if necessary.
2) How many staff are allocated to this role at any one time?
If you do not disclose such records due to their volume and would insist on providing only a selection please say this is what you do.
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.
SAR requests are recorded on a spreadsheet by data subject name and the service area the requests relate to. During the last 5 years there have been 428 requests for information held by Children’s Services. To ascertain the information you have requested we would have to manually check the spreadsheet to see whether the response deadline was 3 months or 1. If it was 3 months we would then have to manually check the subject access request file and read the request received to see whether the request was from a former Looked After Child or Child in Care asking for full disclosure of their records, or whether the request was in relation to something else. If it was, we would then have to check whether the response had been sent out within 3 months or if it was late. Once all the relevant records had been checked in this way we would be able to calculate the % requested. It is estimated it would take an average 5 minutes to check each request.
This would at a conservative estimate take at least 35.6 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.
To take it under the limit the Service Area have advised that you could narrow down your request by reducing the number of years e.g. requests received in the last year.
Regarding Question 2, it is not clear whether you require staff numbers currently, or at any time during the last 5 years? The Service Area could provide the current figure within 18 hours. However, it should be noted that these staff undertake all aspects of Information Governance work e.g. training, investigating data breaches, assessing DPIA’s, processing police and other organisation requests, writing Information Governance policies, data protection advice and guidance for schools, etc. not just processing subject access requests. Please let me know if this information would be of use.
Documents
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