FOI Request - Residential Family Centres Scotland
Request 101003673170
Under the Freedom of Information Act I would like to request the following information regarding court orders for placements in residential family centres. Please provide answers on the attached and accompanying spreadsheet.
Definitions:
• Residential family centre: The Scottish Care Inspectorate (CIS) defines residential family centres as any establishment that provides residential services for parents and their children in order to monitor and assess the parents’ ability to respond to their children’s needs and to safeguard and promote their children’s 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.
• Child Protection Orders (CPOs): a Child Protection Order is issued under the Children’s Hearings (Scotland) Act 2011 when there is an immediate need to remove a child from danger or place them under supervision. This may result in the child being placed in a residential setting (including family assessment centres) or with foster carers. While CPOs don’t specifically mandate a family assessment centre, they initiate protective action that may involve assessments of parenting capacity.
• Supervision Requirement: Order made by the Children’s Hearing System to place a family in an assessment centre or other supervised setting to evaluate the child’s welfare. The Children’s Hearings System is the primary legal mechanism for making decisions about children who may be at risk. The Children’s Hearing is a legal tribunal that can decide whether a child should be placed in a residential family assessment centre or under supervision in their home.
• Compulsory Supervision Orders (CSO): A Compulsory Supervision Order (CSO) can be made under the Children’s Hearings System, placing a child under the supervision of a local authority. This may require the family to stay in a residential family assessment centre or another supervised environment while an assessment of the parents’ capacity to care for the child is undertaken. The CSO allows local authorities to monitor and assess the family, often through regular reports and assessments by professionals at family assessment centres.
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 child protection orders, supervision orders or compulsory supervision orders received by the local authority each year
3. Of these, please provide the total number of orders that order or recommend placement into a residential family centre each year
4. Of these, please provide the total number of orders that order or recommend placement into a residential family centre that actually resulted 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