IL0
/ Our Ref: / 1-293357563Your Ref:
Matter being dealt with by / Nicola Plant
Telephone: / 0845 352 7515
Date: / 6 March 2013
Dear Mr Taylor,
I am writing in response to your recent Freedom of Information request. Please accept my apologies for the delay in issuing my response. The specific responses to each question are provided below:
Adults
Who is your main contact for Commissioning Services for Adult Social Care?
David Stevens, Director for Adult Social Care
Do you currently use an IT system to support your contract management? If yes, please name the system and suppliers?
We do not use an IT system to support contract management.
How much does this IT system cost, when did you sign up for the contract and how long was the contract?
N/A
Once service users are assessed, what is the split between self-funders and people reliant on the local authority to pay for their care (full or part)?
Between the period April 2012 and December 2012 4% of assessed individuals were required to self fund.
Do you provide brokerage services for self/part funders?
The Council does provide brokerage services.
Do you use/plan to use micro-procurement/commissioning?
The council currently uses micro-procurement/commissioning.
Do private brokers operate in your area?
Yes, private brokers operate in Sandwell.
How do you currently procure your services, please provide information of the split between the following methods? e.g. via commissioning teams, social workers do it themselves, panels for expensive care packages, micro-procurement/commissioning,
personalisation/self-directed support
The Council uses all of the methods listed above however it is not possible to provide a split between the methods. In order to provide you with the information you have requested in this question would require undertaking an extensive exercise to gather the information from across the Council. Section 12 of the Act makes provision for public authorities to refuse requests for information where the cost of dealing with them would exceed the appropriate limit, which for local government is set at £450. This represents the estimated cost of one person spending 18 hours in determining whether the Council holds the information, locating, retrieving and extracting the information.
We estimate that it will take us in excess of 18 hours to determine appropriate material and locate, retrieve and extract the information in reference to your request. Therefore, your request will not be processed further.
What is the proportion of the above? Please provide me with an estimated split between all of your service types
In order to provide you with the information you have requested in this question would require undertaking an extensive exercise to gather the information from across the Council. Section 12 of the Act makes provision for public authorities to refuse requests for information where the cost of dealing with them would exceed the appropriate limit, which for local government is set at £450. This represents the estimated cost of one person spending 18 hours in determining whether the Council holds the information, locating, retrieving and extracting the information.
We estimate that it will take us in excess of 18 hours to determine appropriate material and locate, retrieve and extract the information in reference to your request. Therefore, your request will not be processed further.
How many providers do you contract with and are they internal/external?
The Council currently holds contracts with 443 providers. The Council does not contract for internally provided services.
How many contracts and of what type does your councils manage in the commissioning of adult social care services? e.g. is it referrals to in-house services, predominantly spot purchasing, purchasing under framework contracts/agreements, block contracts or cost and volume contracts
The Council currently holds 612 contracts for adult social care: 557 of these are Spot Contracts and 55 are block contracts
Do you have a performance management framework for monitoring the
performance of providers? If so then would it be possible to forward or provide a link to it.
No we don’t have a single performance management framework
Children’s
Who is your main contact for Commissioning Services for Children’s Services?
The Director for Children’s Services, Simon White
Do you currently use an IT system to support your contract management? If Yes please name the system?
We do not use an IT system to support contract management.
How much does this IT system cost, when did you sign up for the contract and how long was the contract?
N/A
How do you currently procure your services for Children’s Social Care, please provide information of the split between the following methods e.g. via commissioning teams, social workers do it themselves, panels for expensive care packages, micro-procurement/commissioning
The Council uses all of the approaches identified above however in order to provide you with the information you have requested in this question would require undertaking an extensive exercise to gather the information from across the Council. Section 12 of the Act makes provision for public authorities to refuse requests for information where the cost of dealing with them would exceed the appropriate limit, which for local government is set at £450. This represents the estimated cost of one person spending 18 hours in determining whether the Council holds the information, locating, retrieving and extracting the information.
We estimate that it will take us in excess of 18 hours to determine appropriate material and locate, retrieve and extract the information in reference to your request. Therefore, your request will not be processed further.
What is the proportion of the above?
Section 12 of the Act makes provision for public authorities to refuse requests for information where the cost of dealing with them would exceed the appropriate limit, which for local government is set at £450. This represents the estimated cost of one person spending 18 hours in determining whether the Council holds the information, locating, retrieving and extracting the information.
We estimate that it will take us in excess of 18 hours to determine appropriate material and locate, retrieve and extract the information in reference to your request. Therefore, your request will not be processed further.
Do you use/plan to use micro-procurement/commissioning?
The council uses micro-procurement/commissioning.
How many providers do you contract with and are they internal/external?
The Council currently contracts with 146 providers. The Council does not contract for internally provided services.
How many contracts and of what type does your councils manage in the commissioning of Children’s social care services? e.g. is it referrals to in-house services, predominantly spot purchasing, purchasing under framework contracts/agreements, block contracts or cost and volume contracts
The council operates framework agreements for children's residential care (121 Providers), fostering (42 providers) and supported accommodation (61 Providers). The council also has 1 block contract for the provision of residential care, 8 contracts for spot purchase and inter-authority agreements with 4 other councils.
Do you have a performance management framework for monitoring the
performance of providers? If so then would it be possible to forward a copy or provide a link to it.
No we do not have a single performance management framework.
If you are dissatisfied with the handling of your request, you have the right to ask for an internal review. Internal review requests should be submitted within two months of the date of receipt of the response to your request, and should be addressed to:
Information Management Unit
Oldbury Council House
Freeth Street
Oldbury
West Midlands
B69 3DE
Email –
If you are not content with the outcome of an internal review, you have the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at:
Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire SK9 5AF
Please remember to quote your reference number above in any future communications.
Yours sincerely,
Nicola Plant
Divisional Manager
Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council
P.O. Box 2374, Sandwell Council House
Oldbury, West Midlands, B69 3DE
(Post Code for SAT NAV B69 3DB)
Email:
Web:
David Stevens, Director of Adult Social Care