We write to request the following information under the FOIA in relation to assessments of, and the provision of support to, families with No Recourse to Public Funds (“NRPF”) seeking access to support under section 17 of the Children Act 1989.

Contact details:

1. Does your local authority have a separate team dealing with requests for support under section 17 Children Act 1989, for example an ‘NRPF team’?
No.

2. If yes, please provide contact details for this team (telephone and email)
Not applicable.

3. If no, please confirm where referrals for such support should be directed to and the contact details (telephone and email)
Duty, Triage and Assessment Team. T: 0118 9088002
Email: Triage@wokingham.gov.uk

4. Please also provide contact details for the relevant legal team supporting children’s services or dedicated NRPF team
Joint Legal Team, Reading Borough Council.

Policies:

5. Do you have any guidance or policy documents or other such written material in respect of undertaking assessments and providing support pursuant to section 17 of the Children Act 1989 to families with no recourse to public funds (including documents specific to this issue, or of more general application but covering this issue)?
Yes.

6. If yes, please provide us with a copy.
We have the following Chapter included in our Children’s Services Procedure Manual: https://www.proceduresonline.com/wokingham/childcare/p_no_recourse_public.html
(Although please note that this chapter is currently under review, and a revised version is likely to be published in April 2021).

The NRPF Network Practice Guidance (http://guidance.nrpfnetwork.org.uk/reader/practice-guidance-families/) for Local Authorities is also likely to be used by practitioners when undertaking assessments.

Subsistence:

7. Do you pay a set rate of financial subsistence to families with no recourse to public funds?
Rate of subsistence is based on individual circumstances of families so not set rate.

If you answered yes in response to Q7 please consider questions 8-14, but ignore questions 15-16. If you answered no, please ignore questions 8-14 and proceed to question 15.

8. If yes, what is paid?
Not applicable.

9. How has that figure been reached? E.g. is it by reference to Child Benefit rates, asylum support (section 4 or section 95 rates)?
Not applicable.

10. When was this level set?
Not applicable.

11. Who took this decision?
Not applicable.

12. Please provide copies of any reports, minutes, decision documents detailing the setting of this rate.
Not applicable.

13. If you do not pay a set rate of financial subsistence to families with no recourse to public funds, do you have any guidelines relating to rates of financial support?
Not applicable.

14. If yes, please provide a copy.
Not applicable.

15. If you do not pay a set rate of financial subsistence to families with no recourse to public funds, in the months April to September 2020, how many families with NRPF were receiving regular financial subsistence support under section 17 (CA 1989) from your local authority?
Two families.

16. Please specify how much financial support each family received per week (or fortnight if subsistence is paid fortnightly rather than weekly) as regular subsistence in each of the months April, May, June, July, August and September 2020. Please provide a breakdown for each of these months and when doing so please provide the following information:
£60 (6 year old) and £80 (2 year old) per week. Both single parents of one child but living in different accommodation types also funded by LA.

a) Specify the composition of the household (i.e. whether it is a two or single-parent household and how many children there are)
b) identify whether the household has any children under 1-year-old and, if so, how many
c) identify whether the household has any children between 1 and 3 years old and, if so, how many;
d) identify whether the household has any children between 4 and 17 years old and, if so, how many
e) identify whether any of the members of the household were pregnant
f) identify whether the household ever received any discretionary payments for individual items from the Council and, if so, how much;
No.
g) identify whether the household ever received additional funds for travel costs, and if so, how much.
Initial travel costs to accommodation.