See answers to previous information requests

Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 I would like to request the following information regarding Family Court orders for placements in residential family centres.

Definitions:
• Residential family centre: Ofsted defines residential family centres as any establishment that provides residential services for parents and their children to monitor and assess the parents' ability to respond to their children's needs and to safeguard and promote their welfare. This definition excludes hospitals, independent clinics, hostels or domestic violence refuges, and accommodation where the fact that children are with the adults is incidental to meeting the adults' needs. Residential family centres must be registered with Ofsted
• Supervision order: order made by the Family Court under Section 31 of the Children Act 1989 when a child is thought to be at risk of harm, but the court believes the child can still live with their family if they are supervised by a local authority. In this case, the local authority may choose to place the family in a residential family centre to assess the parenting capacity under the supervision of professionals
• Assessment order: order made by the Family Court under Section 38 of the Children Act 1989 if the local authority or the court needs further information to determine what the best course of action is for a child's welfare. These orders are typically made when an Interim Care Order is granted, and the local authority believes a residential family centre is necessary to evaluate the parents' ability to care for their child

Please supply this information for 2019/20, 2020/21, 2021/22, 2022/23, 2023/24 and the most up to date figures for 2024/25.

1. Who within the Local Authority has the commissioning responsibility for residential family centre placements. Please provide their:
a) Name
b) Job Title
c) Telephone number
d) Email address

2. Please provide the total number of Family Court orders for local authority supervision or assessment received by the local authority each year

3. Please provide the total number of Family Court supervision or assessment orders received by the local authority that order or recommend placement into a residential family centre each year

4. Please provide the total number of Family Court supervision or assessment orders received by the local authority resulting in a residential family centre placement each year

5. Please provide the total number of residential family centre placements made with independent providers (i.e. non local authority provision) each year, including both court and non-court mandated placements