Dear Ms Da Silva,

Thank you for your request dated 24 February 2025, asking for information that we hold as follows. I apologise for the delay in response, please see our responses below in blue:

Children’s Safeguarding & Housing Relocation

  1. What internal policies does Barnet Homes follow when determining whether a housing offer is suitable for a child with safeguarding concerns, disabilities, or special medical needs?

All households will be holistically assessed in line with the Barnet Housing Allocations Scheme which is attached – details of how suitability is assessed is detailed in Annex 5. The Temporary Accommodation Placement Policy will assist in determining the suitability of an offer of temporary accommodation

  1. How does Barnet Homes ensure compliance with the Children Acts 1989 & 2004 when assessing whether relocation is in a child’s best interest?

All households will be holistically assessed in line with the Barnet Allocations Scheme with due regard for the Children’s Act responsibilities.  Annex 5 of the Housing Allocation scheme sets out how suitability takes account of our responsibilities under the Children Act 2004.

  1. What specific safeguarding risk assessments are conducted before relocating a child to a new borough, where they will lose access to their established education, medical, and emotional support networks?

Whist a specific safeguarding risk assessment is not conducted all households will be holistically assessed and in line with Barnets Allocations Scheme. This assessment has a strong focus on the suitability requirements for the household. All temporary accommodation placements will be in line with The Temporary Accommodation Placements Policy

  1. If an applicant provides evidence from a GP, therapist, or school confirming that relocation would negatively impact a child’s mental health or education, how does Barnet Homes assess this?

All information is holistically assessed which is in-line with the allocations scheme. Any decision to place a family outside of the Barnet will be based on the holistic assessment and any recommendations by the in-house Medical Team. In the last 12 months 783 families with children were placed in temporary accommodation, and around 70% were placed in temporary accommodation out of the borough.

  1. How does Barnet Homes consider research that links housing instability to increased rates of childhood anxiety, depression, and developmental challenges when making housing decisions?

All officers are required to holistically assess customers that approach the service and implement statutory homelessness legislation. Officers also routinely follow the code of guidance when making decisions and also consider any relevant legislation. The Housing Allocation scheme is a statutory document developed with reference to the relevant legislation and the regulations listed at 1.1.6 in the Housing Allocation scheme.

  1. How does Barnet Homes ensure that housing relocations do not expose children to increased safeguarding risks?

All households are holistically assessed when approaching Barnet Homes for assistance. Barnet Homes takes safeguarding incredibly seriously and works with key partners like Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH), Children’s Disability team and Onwards and Upward to ensure our safeguarding responsibilities are upheld. The Temporary Accommodation Placement policy was developed with reference to relevant housing and social care legislation listed at point 8 in the Temporary Accommodation Placements policy.

Data on Housing Relocation & Child Welfare

  1. How many cases in the past three years have been reassessed due to concerns that relocation would negatively impact a child’s safeguarding, medical needs, or mental health?

Refusal Notice

s12 (cost of compliance exceeds appropriate limit)

The data you have requested is substantial and unfortunately, we do not hold this information in a reportable format – we do not collect this data on the Jigsaw database so are unable to report it.

In the homelessness module, we undertook a ‘keyword’ search, and we have 2941 cases with the word MASH, 1706 with the word Safeguarding; please note this may refer either to a concern being identified by an officer and/or a referral being made to Social Services and the MASH.

We would have to manually inspect 2941 cases and even if we said that would conservatively take 5 minutes each, this would take over 245 hours to gather this data. We therefore would reasonably estimate that this exercise would take in excess of 245 hours to complete for one member of staff and are refusing it on that basis.

  1. How many applicants in the past five years have been granted Band 1 priority or classified as an exceptional case due to risks to a child’s well-being, health, or special educational needs?

Refusal Notice

s12 (cost of compliance exceeds appropriate limit)

The data you have requested is substantial and unfortunately, we do not hold this information in a reportable format – we do not collect the reason on the Jigsaw database why an application has been placed in Band 1.

As at the end of February 2025 there were 220 applications in Band 1. We would have to manually inspect 220 cases and even if we said that would conservatively take 5 minutes each, this would take over 18 hours to gather this data. We therefore would reasonably estimate that this exercise would take in excess of 18 hours to complete for one member of staff and are refusing it on that basis.

 

Your Rights

If you are unhappy with the way your request for information has been handled, you can request a review by emailing Talk2Us@barnethomes.org and marking it as an appeal for the attention of the Data Controller. There is no charge for making an appeal.

After this, if you remain dissatisfied with the handling of your request or complaint, you have the right to appeal to the Information Commissioner:

Kind regards

Carly Williamson

Complaints and Information Manager