Philip J Measures Ref: FOI1490

Date: 3 December 2010

Contact: Esther Williams Tel: (01978) 318976

Email:

Request for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000

Dear Mr Measures

I am writing about your request made to Wrexham County Borough Council requesting information on:

“Can you please advise if you record on Children's Services computer

records all reported details of Domestic Violence / Domestic Abuse

on the following SEPARATE records:

a) the name of the child

b) the names of all other children in that household

c) the name of the (alleged) perpetrator

d) the name of the (alleged) victim

and, if not, how you track Offenders especially when they may move

addresses and how children in new households are Safeguarded.

If the details are only held on the child's record would you accept

that this is a failing which needs to be rectified urgently and, if

so, what actions you will be taking?”

Firstly, may I say that the Act provides a right of access only to recorded information (eg paper or electronic records) held by public authorities at the time a request is made. It does not require authorities to respond to questions raised, unless recorded information already held by the authority answers those questions. Therefore, in order to respond to your request, I can confirm that Wrexham County Borough Council holds some recorded information which relates to your questions as follows:

Child protection, (including protection of children where there is alleged domestic violence/abuse) is achieved through close multi-agency working in accordance with the All Wales Child Protection Procedures. These can be found on the internet at the following URL: http://www.awcpp.org.uk/areasofwork/safeguardingchildren/awcpprg/index.html

I enclose a copy of Wrexham County Borough Council’s Safeguarding and Support Department’s policy and procedure in relation to referrals and related flow chart.

I enclose the policy and procedure and flow chart in relation to child protection.

Please note that where information is subject to copyright belonging to the Council, you will need to obtain the permission of the Council to re-use it for purposes other than private study or non-commercial research. The Council may charge for re-use. Where third party copyright material is disclosed, you must obtain permission to re-use from the copyright holders concerned.

Complaints

If you are unhappy with the way the Council has handled your request, you may ask for an internal review. Please contact the Council’s Corporate Complaints Officer on 01978 292201 if you require an internal review of your case.

If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at – Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AS, telephone 01625 545700, www.ico.gov.uk.

Yours sincerely


Alan Watkin

Chief Leisure, Libraries & Culture Officer