FOI request (FOIR-867273063)

I am writing to request information under the the Freedom of Information Act 2000. I would be grateful if you could provide responses to the following questions regarding residential care provision for children within your Looked After Children (LAC) Service:

1. How many children U18 are currently looked after on either a section 20 voluntary agreement, a full care order, a interim care order or any other agreement? And of these children in care, a) how many are in children's homes in borough and b) out of borough? 

2. How many registered residential children’s homes are currently operating within your local authority boundary?

3. What is the current requirement for the number of children awaiting/ requiting a placement in borough?

4. Is there a shortage of care homes in your borough?

5. What is the council's pay per child/placement to residential children's homes?

A) the average weekly cost

B) the highest weekly cost 

C) the lowest weekly cost 

6. What is the number of planning applications received by your authority between 1 January 2023 and 30 June 2026 relating to residential care homes, specifically involving a change of use from Use Class C3 (dwelling houses) to Use Class C2 (residential institutions). If possible, please provide this information broken down by year. For clarity, residential care homes typically fall under Use Class C2, and a material change of use from C3 to C2 generally requires planning permission. If it is easier, a summary table would be appreciated.

7. Can you provide the email address and phone number of the Children's Placements/ Commissioning Team (often called the Brokerage Team or Home Finding Team or similar names.)

The names and email address of:

A) the commissioning team inbox

B) the Head of Children's Commissioning 

C) all Commissioning Managers for Looked After Children.    

8. What tendering/ brokerage platform does the local authority use, and is this open to applications throughout the year?