1. How many looked-after children have been placed into semi-independent living accommodation not subject to children’s homes regulations in each of the last three financial years (2017,2018,2019). Of those children how many:
2017 – 32
2018 – 34
2019 – 49
a. were placed into accommodation in the authority area
2017 – 24
2018 – 10
2019 – 24
b. were placed into accommodation outside of the authority area
2017 – 8
2018 – 24
2019 – 25
2. How many looked-after children have been placed into unregistered children’s homes in each of the last three financial years (2017,2018,2019). Of those children how many:
a. were placed into accommodation in the authority area
b. were placed into accommodation outside of the authority area
None
3. What was the average annual cost for each of these placement types in each year, broken down by a) placement type and b) provider (if private which company). Please also say the most expensive of each placement type in these years, the cost of it and to which provider it was paid.
We hold this information but consider that disclosure may provide competitive advantage to third parties and may prejudice the commercial interests of existing and other future providers, and to the council. High cost placements are subject to market averages, but may fall be outside of what is considered to be normal and therefore disclosure will impact our ability to achieve best value for money; even though the provider market will not have the detail of the specific package they will understand the expectant range. Because of the above we are exempting the information requested from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 – Section 43( 2) Commercial Interests. As this is a qualified exemption we are required to carry out a public interest test. We accept there is a public interest in openness and transparency, however, there is also a strong public interest in ensuring that we obtain value for money from our commissioned services to support the provision of care for children and young people. Therefore, for this reason we believe that the balance of public interest lies in applying exemption 43(2).