Can you please provide the following information with regards to contact arrangements for adopted children who are placed by yourselves:
1. The number of adopted children with active letterbox contact arrangements (i.e. where there are one or more letters due to be sent during the year). An arrangement would still be considered active even if the scheduled letters are not being sent for any reason (e.g. the birth relative is unresponsive).
1,102
2. The number of active, unique letterbox contact arrangements (e.g. an adopted child with separate arrangements for two birth relatives would be considered to be two unique arrangements).
Devon County Council do not hold a central record of this information. To obtain this information would require an individual review of the 1,102 arrangements we have referred to in response to question 1. Allowing for, say, 10 minutes per file, this would take a total of 184 hours. This is in excess of the appropriate limit of 18 hours and this information is therefore exempt from disclosure pursuant to s. 12 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
3. How long an archived copy of letters are held on record for by yourselves.
100 years
4. A breakdown of the number of arrangements which are reviewed by yourselves in order to ensure that they are appropriate and approved/rejected before being sent on to the recipient versus those which aren’t reviewed and are just forwarded on irrespective of the content.
This is applicable to all of the arrangements referred to in our response to question 1.
5. The methods used for delivering the letters to the recipients (e.g letters posted or delivered via courier, letter collected from your offices, letters viewed at your office but not taken away, letters sent via email, letters viewed online in a self service electronic system).
Some recorded delivery, mainly general post, some email and some office visits by birth family
6. The number of adopted children with active direct contact arrangements with a birth relative.
107
7. The number of active, unique direct contact arrangements.
This is applicable to all of the arrangements referred to in our response to question 6.
8. A breakdown of the number of direct contact arrangements which are facilitated by yourselves (e.g. arranging a time/date, place etc.) versus those which are arranged directly between the parties (if known).
57
9. A breakdown of the number of direct contact arrangements which are supervised by yourselves versus those which are unsupervised.
49