Disclosure Log

Request for information relating to Children�s Social Care case management system. (FOI/7847)

Message from Nottinghamshire County Council - 21 May 2026

Dear *********,

 

 

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000 – REQUEST FOR INFORMATION REFERENCE FOI/7847

Thank you for your request for information relating to Request for information relating to Children’s Social Care case management system..

We are now able to provide the following information:

Please provide the following information in relation to your Children’s Social Care case management system, as held by the council at the date of this request:

  1. The name of the case management system used by Children’s Social Care (e.g. Liquidlogic, Mosaic, or any other system). Exempt under Section 31. (See Below)
  2. The supplier/vendor of the system. Exempt under Section 31. (See Below)
  3. The current software version or release number in use. Exempt under Section 31. (See Below)
  4. The date (month and year) of the most recent upgrade or major release implemented. March 2026
Whether the system is provided as software-as-a-service (SaaS) or is on-premise / locally hosted. On premise
  1.  If the council operates more than one system for Children’s Social Care, please provide the information above for each system. Please supply the information in electronic form. N/A

Public Interest Test – Section 31 (Law Enforcement)

Nottinghamshire County Council has considered the request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and has applied Section 31, which relates to the prevention or detection of crime and the protection of public assets and systems.

Public interest factors in favour of disclosure

The Council recognises that there is a general public interest in transparency, openness and accountability. Disclosure of information about Nottinghamshire County Council’s social care systems could:

  • Promote transparency about how public services are delivered and managed
  • Allow greater public scrutiny of decision-making and procurement processes
  • Increase public understanding of how the Council operates its ICT and social care infrastructure

Public interest factors in favour of withholding the information

However, there is a strong public interest in protecting the security and resilience of Nottinghamshire County Council’s ICT systems and infrastructure. Disclosure of the requested information would:

  • Increase the risk of cyber-attacks by revealing details that could be exploited by hackers, scammers or other malicious actors
  • Undermine the effectiveness of the Council’s cyber security arrangements by exposing sensitive system information
  • Potentially compromise systems that support critical services, including social care, which could have significant consequences for vulnerable individuals
  • Reveal operational details such as software, suppliers, systems, policies, or use of external security contractors, particularly where information relates to recent or current arrangements, which could be used to identify vulnerabilities

There is a clear and significant risk that disclosure would prejudice the prevention and detection of crime, including cybercrime, and could lead to unauthorised access to Council systems or data.

Balance of the public interest

While Nottinghamshire County Council acknowledges the importance of openness, it considers that the public interest in safeguarding its systems, protecting sensitive infrastructure, and reducing the risk of cyber threats outweighs the benefits of disclosure.

Conclusion

For these reasons, Nottinghamshire County Council has determined that the public interest lies in withholding the requested information under Section 31 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

 

 

 

 

We trust this now satisfies your request and that you find this information to be helpful, however if you are unhappy with the way in which your request has been handled, then please email us at [email protected] quoting the reference FOI/7847 and we will be happy to review your request

For future reference, Nottinghamshire County Council regularly publishes previous FOI requests and answers on its website, under Disclosure logs, that may provide details relating to your query. (see link) Your privacy: we use your personal information such as name and address so that we can comply with our legal obligations to respond to FOI requests.  For further details about the use of information about you, please see the information handling privacy notice on our website at https://www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/media/4323566/informationgovernanceandinformationrightsprivacynotice.pdf

If you are dissatisfied with the handling of your request, you have the right to ask for an internal review.   Requests should be submitted within 40 working days of the date of receipt of the response to your original request and should be addressed to: Complaints and Information Team, Nottinghamshire County Council, County Hall, Loughborough Road, West Bridgford, NOTTINGHAM, NG2 7QP or [email protected].

Please remember to quote the reference number above in any future communications.

If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision.  The Information Commissioner can be contacted at: Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, WILMSLOW, SK9 5AF or https://www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/global-content/privacy

 

Section 31 only applies to information that does not fall into the categories in section 30. For this reason sections 30 and 31 are sometimes referred to as being mutually exclusive. Section 31 applies where complying with the request would prejudice or would be likely to prejudice various law enforcement purposes (listed in the Act) including preventing crime, administering justice, and collecting tax. It also protects certain other regulatory functions, for example those relating to health and safety and charity administration. Note: Section 31(1)(a)  can protect information on a public authority’s systems which would make it more vulnerable to crime . Can also be used by a public authority with no law enforcement function to protect the work of another.



Both exemptions are qualified by the public interest test.



https://ico.org.uk/media/for-organisations/documents/1207/law-enforcement-foi-section-31.pdf




Disclosure would prejudice one of the following:



(a) the prevention or detection of crime,

(b) the apprehension or prosecution of offenders,

(c) the administration of justice,

(d) the assessment or collection of any tax or duty or of

any imposition of a similar nature,

(e) the operation of immigration controls,

(f) the maintenance of security and good order in prisons or in other institutions where persons are lawfully detained,

(g) the exercise by any public authority of its functions for any of the purposes specified in subsection (2) [the purposes are establishing failure to comply with the law, improper conduct, what regulatory action to take, a person’s fitness or competence, the cause of an accident/protecting charities/securing health and safety at work],

(h) any civil proceedings which are brought by or on behalf of a public authority and arise out of an investigation conducted, for any purposes specified in subsection (2) [see above], by or on behalf of the authority by virtue of Her Majesty’s prerogative or by virtue of powers conferred by or under an enactment, 




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