Adoption and fostering service privacy notice

The Fostering and Permanence teams are responsible for managing the applications of potential foster carers, adopters, and special guardians. There are three main parts to this:

• the application and assessment process
• the Fostering and Adoption Panel
• foster carer payments.

The panel will make recommendations on the suitability of applications, matching of long term foster placements, adoption matches, differences in approval categories, annual reviews, and re-registration/deregistration of foster carers and adopters.

Why do we need your information and how do we use it?

For applications and fostering and adoption panel:

• To start the fostering recruitment process and assess the potential applicant's suitability to be an in-house foster carer. The Fostering Services (England) Regulations 2011
• This information is needed to comply with Adoption & Children Act 2002 and The Fostering Services Regulations 2011. Disclosure of Adoption Information (Post- Commencement Adoptions) Regulations 2005 section 6.

For payment:

• Your information will be required to allow for payments to be made to the Foster Carer for services provided to the London Borough of Waltham Forest for looked after children and children accessing a short break
• HMRC Compliance Handbook Manual CH15400 and The National Minimum Standards for Fostering Services (England 2011) or The Fostering Service Regulations (England 2011).

• Public task
   
  • Children Act 2002|Section 24 of the Adoption and Children Act 2002|Section 25 of the Adoption and Children Act 2002|Section 26 of the Adoption and Children Act 2002|Section 27 of the Adoption and Children Act 2002|Section 31 of the Adoption and Children Act 2002
     
• Legitimate interest

For applications and fostering and adoption panel:

• Personal sensitive information relating to suitability to either be a foster carer or being matched long term (fostering), as an adopter (adoption), then matched to a named child, or as a special guardian assessed to care for a specific children
• Personal sensitive information is collected on an assessment form called a Form F, Form C, Prospective Adopters Report, or a Regulation 21 report. The forms are in two stages, Stage 1 background checks including Criminal Records Checks. Stage 2 is a more personal process looking at applicants’ suitability to be a foster carer, adopter, or special guardian
• Information will include name, date of birth, marital status, and occupation.

For payment

• Financial information to facilitate payments, including name and bank account details, national insurance number, tax code and payment due.

For applications

Internally

• your information will be shared with colleagues in the duty placement team so that foster carers can receive placements. In addition, your personal information will be shared with colleagues in the Looked after Children’s Teams as they will be managing the children that foster carers, adopters and special guardians look after
• information will also be shared with representatives at the Fostering and Adoption Panel who will review your initial application to be a foster carer, or adopter and subsequent reviews.

Externally

• Information will be shared with colleagues in the Council’s Revenue and Benefits Team so that the Council Tax exemption for Waltham Forest Foster Carers can be applied each year
• Information may be provided to the Inland Revenue as part of the verification process of foster carers’ placements if requested
• Information may also be provided to the Independent Review Mechanism (IRM) if there is an application to de-register a foster carer/adopter or a foster carer/adopter challenges a Qualifying Determination made by the Agency Decision Maker
• Children’s Social Workers in other Local Authorities where adopters are considering a ‘match’ with a child outside of the Borough.

For the fostering and adoption panel:

Organisations we will share information, when necessary, or by law, with:

• members of the fostering panel
• external fostering and adoption agencies
• other local authorities
• Ofsted
• health agencies.

For payment:

• Financial information to facilitate payments, including name and bank account details. Other information will include National Insurance number, tax code and payment amount.

For applications:

We are required under Fostering Services Regulations 2002 to keep your information for a minimum of 75 years from our last contact with the successful foster carer, after which time it will be destroyed

For fostering and adoption panel

We are required under the Disclosure of Adoption Information (Post- Commencement Adoptions) Regulations 2005 section 6 to keep your information for a minimum of 100 years after the date of adoption after which time it will be destroyed.

For payments

We are required under HMRC - Compliance Handbook Manual CH15400, to keep your information for a minimum of 6 years from the date the record was created, after which time it will be destroyed.

Our Data Protection Officer

Our Data Protection Officer is Mark Hynes, you contact him by email at data.protectionofficer@walthamforest.gov.uk

Protecting your information

Please see the relevant section of the Corporate Privacy Notice.

Your information choice and rights

Please see the relevant section of the Corporate Privacy Notice.

Complaints and contact details

These are included in the relevant section of the Corporate Privacy Notice.

Information Commissioner’s Office

If we’re unable to resolve your complaint to your satisfaction, you can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO)