Freedom of information response

1. Who, within the local authority, has commissioning responsibility for Fostering placements for Looked After Children? Please provide the following:

a. Name – Unable to provide this information under S40.

b. Job title - Head of Transformation and Commissioning , Adult Social Care and Community Development    

c. Telephone no – Unable to provide this information under S40.

e. Email address - [email protected]

2.     How many approved foster carer households are registered with the Local Authority as at 31st Mar-22, 30th Jun-22, 30th Sep-22, 31st Dec-22, 31st Mar-23, 30th Jun-23, 30th Sep-23, and 31st Dec-23 (if unavailable please provide the most recent data available - please give date)?

Note: We are referring to in-house LA foster carer households excluding kinship carer households.

3.     How many Looked After Children (LAC) has the Local Authority funded in foster care placements, with in-house foster carers, with Independent Fostering Agency (IFA) carers, with Kinship (family and friends) foster carers and in IFA therapeutic fostering placements, as at 31st Mar-22, 30th Jun-22, 30th Sep-22, 31st Dec-22, 31st Mar-23, 30th Jun-23 and 30th Sep-23 and 31st Dec-23 (if unavailable please provide the most recent data available - please give date)?

Note: Therapeutic foster care is also known as therapy foster care, multidimensional treatment foster care, specialist foster care, treatment foster (family) care and family-based treatment. It is designed for young people who cannot live at home, usually due to behavioural problems including chronic delinquency.

4.     What are the average weekly fees that the local authority would pay to foster care providers (in-house, IFAs and IFA therapeutic fostering placements) for the following age groups in 2021/22, 2022/23 and year to date in 2023/24?

Note: By average weekly fee we mean skill fee element only, excluding agency fee etc, and the fee paid to foster carers per week, not the fostering allowance.

      a. 0 to 4

      b. 5 to 10

      c. 11 to 15

      e. 16 to 18

We do not know what the fee is to the carer with an IFA. Only what we pay the agency so cannot provide this data.

In house – Our skills fee element is not linked to the age. It is the same for all children. It is linked to skills – core and core plus.

5.     Please provide a list of Independent Fostering Agencies used by the Council. Please provide data for the last financial year 2022/23 (if available); if not, the most recent data available – please give date.

a.     Please provide the total number of placements with each agency.

b.     Please provide total expenditure with each agency.

Some of the detail in this request has been deemed commercially sensitive information as the contact will be going to tender in the next year and information could be used to unfair competitive advantage. We have provided a list of all agencies used in the last year but not the individual number of placements or spend.

6.     What is the gross total expenditure (excluding fostering staff team costs) on fostering services for Looked After Children? Please provide actual figures for financial years 2019/20 to 2022/23, as well as budgeted expenditure for 2023/24.

Unfortunately we are unable to provide in full the information you have requested.  We do hold the information but an absolute exemption applies.  Personal Information (Section 40,2) 

Personal data of any other person (third party data) is exempt under section 40(2) if disclosure would breach one of the data protection principles. This aspect of Section 40 is an Absolute Exemption and is therefore not subject to the Public Interest Test. 

The names of officers working for the Council is personal data specific to them. It is therefore subject to the provisions of the Data Protection Act. Information can be withheld if its disclosure would be likely to breach one or more of the Principles of the Data Protection Act. There is no prior expectation on the part of team Managers (or other officers working below the level of Director) that their names and job titles / positions would be published into the wider public domain under FOI. A disclosure made under FOI constitutes a publication to the world at large. We believe that to disclose this would be likely to breach the first Principle of the Data Protection Act by unfairly contravening their right to privacy and confidentiality in the work place.  

However, in the interests of transparency we are able to share details relating to senior officers (Director  level and above). For these officers, there is already a greater expectation of openness about their role given their level of accountability for service provision and budgetary decision making.  

For your information please see the following link which outlines staff details of Director and above: https://www.thurrock.gov.uk/chief-executive-directors-and-services