1.Please could you supply the name, job title, email address and telephone number of the commissioner with responsibility for Looked After Children and/or placements in children’s care homes.
Nick Scribbins, Senior Commissioning Officer, nick.scribbins@devon.gov.uk, 01392 383000 – ask for Nick Scribbins when prompted
For questions 2 through 5, please supply the following information as a snapshot at the end of the year for financial years 2014/15 to 2018/19.
2. How many Looked After Children in the local authority have; (a) an ASD (primary type of need) and (b) SEMH (primary type of need)?
For questions 2- 5 the primary types of need listed are not recorded as they are not required by the Department for Education (dfe) therefore we do not hold the information in an easily reportable format. To identify, locate and collate any information held in case records themselves would require a manual review of hundreds of records, the total time needed would exceed 18 hours and therefore the information would be exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 Section 12 – Cost of Compliance.
3. Of the Looked After Children with ASD (primary type of need) and SEMH (primary type of need) (Q2), how many are funded by the local authority in children’s homes (excluding secure units and hostels)?
4. Of the Looked After Children with ASD (primary type of need) and SEMH (primary type of need) funded by the local authority in children’s homes (Q3), how many are in; (a) in-house/local authority children’s homes and (b) independent children’s homes?
5. Of the Looked After Children with ASD (primary type of need) and SEMH (primary type of need) in children’s homes (all, in-house/local authority and independent) (Q3 & 4), how many are in out of area placements?
6. What is the local authority’s total expenditure on children’s home placements (all, in-house/local authority and independent) for Looked After Children with ASD (primary type of need) and SEMH (primary type of need) for each of the financial years 2014/15 to 2018/19?
Expenditure on placements is not categorised and recorded according to the child’s need and to identify, locate and collate the information requested would mean a manual review of approximately sixty placements for each of the years listed to confirm which had an ASD or an SEMH.