Freedom of information response

1. The total number of looked after children the council currently (as of, or around, today's date) has Corporate Parenting responsibility for, who are currently placed in residential children's homes (excluding fostering placements, secure children's homes, residential special schools registered as children's homes, children's homes that provide respite care or short breaks only, and unregulated settings). Please note this definition of children's homes is the same used by the Department for Education in collating children's homes data in the Children's Homes Data Pack.
   
   1. As of the 11th April 2023 there are 19 children placed in Children’s Homes as per the request
2. A breakdown of this total showing the number of placements within the local authority, and the number outside

We are unable to provide an exact number for question 2 above as:

• There is a low number involved.
• The release of this information could identify individuals which would constitute their personal data under the Data Protection Act
• There is no prior expectation on the part of these individuals that their personal information would be published in the wider public domain under the FOI Act
• Personal data of any other person is exempt under section 40 (2) of the Data Protection Act.

However in the interests of transparency we are able to provide this information to you categorised as fewer than 5 to give you an indication of the figures

You are free to use any information supplied to you for your own use, including non-commercial research purposes. However, any other type of re-use, for example, by publishing the information or issuing copies to the public will require the permission of the copyright owner.

Where the copyright is owned by Thurrock Council, you must apply to the Council to re-use the information. Please email information.matters@thurrock.gov.uk if you wish to re-use the information you have been supplied. For information where the copyright is owned by another person or organisation, you must apply to the copyright owner to obtain their permission.

If you are dissatisfied with the way in which the council have managed your FOI request you can pursue an Internal Review by contacting us using the above email address. An internal review must be submitted within 40 working days of your original reply. Your request will be considered by a senior member of the Information Management Team who will update you with the outcome of the review.

If you remain unhappy following the outcome of your Internal Review you may wish to refer your case to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and details of this organisation can be found at www.ico.org.uk . Please be advised that the ICO will not consider your case until they have confirmation that you have already been through the Internal Review stage with the council.