6. At political level, the Council will be
expected to appoint a portfolio holder for children, a role that will mean
changes to the existing portfolio holder arrangements within the
Executive. Changes will also be
required at Select Committee level.
7. The greatest challenges are concerned
with service integration. The expectation is that the key services to be within
the Children’s Trust, for which the Strategic Director of Children’s Services
will be responsible, are –
·
All education
functions, including the Education Welfare Services, Youth Services, Special Educational Needs, Educational
Psychology, Inclusion and Access Services, Child Care and Early Years Education
and School Improvement and Education Planning and Resources.
·
Children’s
Social Services, including assessment
and services of Children in Need, such as Family Support, Fostering and
Residential Care, Adoption Services, Child Care, Advocacy Services and Child
Protection and services for Care Leavers.
·
Elements of
Community and Acute Health Services, which could include Community Paediatrics,
services commissioned by Drug Action Teams, Teenage Pregnancy
Co-ordinators, Child and Adolescent
Mental Health Services and homelessness services and Speech and Language
Services.
·
Arrangements
can also be made with Primary Care Trusts to delegate and align functions into
the Children’s Trusts, together with Youth Offending Teams and Connexions
Services, Housing Services and those in adult sectors.
·
Workforce
planning is integral to the creation of a successful integrated Children’s
Service. This will require an
appropriate professional development strategy to sustain and enhance different
professional disciplines.
8. The challenge of integrating services across these areas
will be a significant one. Work has
begun already on the project dealing with identification, referral and tracking
and the Local Preventative Strategy.
Discussions around the GAGS initiative are clearly helpful but much work
will be required by the relevant professional heads of service to deliver service
integration.
STRATEGIC
CONTEXT
9. The “Statement of Intent” agreed
between the Council, the Healthcare Trust and the Primary Care Trust made a
clear declaration that the Council wished to see integration across all
relevant services, regardless of organisational
boundaries. In the light of that
Statement of Intent, it is consistent for the Council to make early decisions
on these matters, so that detailed work can get underway as quickly as
possible. That process will be helped
by an early decision by the Council that it wishes to establish a Strategic
Director of Children’s Services to cover the areas of professional
responsibility identified above.
This would give a clear
indication of the direction the Council intends to take. This would authorise
the Strategic Directors of Education and Community Development and Social
Services and Housing to work with their colleagues both within the Council and
with partner agencies to deliver the service integration that will be required.
10. If
the Council makes such a clear and early statement, then it should be possible
for other decisions on consequential structural changes elsewhere within the
Council to be agreed by April
2004. That would enable the Council to
implement the new changes at managerial and political level.
11. Children
and family services have a prominence in a number of strategic policies and
documents specifically:-
Ø Community Plan
Ø Corporate Plan
Ø Children’s Service Plan
Ø Education Development Plan
Ø Early Years and Childcare Development Plan
CONSULTATION
12. The
government is leading on the initial consultation on the Green Paper “Every
Child Matters” and the Council has responded as a consultee. Further consultation on specific local
proposals will take place in the Spring and Summer of 2004.
FINANCIAL/BUDGET
IMPLICATIONS
13. It
is predicted that following the Laming recommendations and the Green Paper that
there will be a pressing need to invest further in services for children and
families. Current estimates from
officers are detailed in the relevant service plans and the Council’s response
to the formal consultation highlighted this to central government.
LEGAL IMPLICATIONS
14. In
the Queen’s Speech, the Government has signalled its intention to legislate in
respect of the key recommendations of the Green Paper at the earliest
opportunity. The implications of any
legislative changes will be incorporated in future papers to the Executive.
15. Substantial
preliminary steps, up to and including the making of appointments, can be taken
under existing legislation.
16. The
contractual rights of individual post
holders will be the subject of individual consultation.
17. OPTIONS
1. The Council agree to establish the post of Strategic
Director of Children’s Services with effect from April 2004 to have
accountability for relevant Education and Social Services functions undertaken
by the Council.
2. The Chief Executive Officer be requested to bring back
formal proposals on the structural changes to the Council that will be required
as a consequence, with a view to those proposals being agreed by April 2004 and
then fully implemented by 2005.
3. The report from the Chief Executive Officer
should, at the same time, identify recommended changes to portfolios and select
committee arrangements with a view to those changes being implemented by April
2004.
4. The two Strategic Directors be requested to work
with colleagues both within the Council and with partner organisations to
deliver service integration across Children’s Services at the earliest possible
date in line with the Local Preventative Strategy.
5. The two Strategic Directors and portfolio holders ensure the development of proposals with stakeholders for the establishment of a Children’s Trust.
EVALUATION/RISK MANAGEMENT
18. The Council must take cognisance of the key recommendations within the Green Paper and subsequent legislation. Failure to do so may have an adverse effect on service provision and impact upon future inspection and performance ratings.
RECOMMENDATIONS
19. That the Executive
agree Options 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5.
20. BACKGROUND PAPERS
·
“Every Child
Matters” Green Paper September 2003
·
Social
Services and Housing Select Committee Report 8 October 2003
·
“Green Paper”
Report to the Executive 19 November 2003
·
“Green Paper”
Report to the full Council 26 November 2003
·
Children and
Young Persons’ Committee Report (Joint Meeting) 5 November 2003
·
Local
Preventative Strategy (Draft)
CONTACT DETAILS - Mike
Fisher, Chief Executive Officer, Tel. 823102
|
G
GARROD Strategic
Director Social
Services and Housing |
G
KENDALL Portfolio
Holder for
Social Services and Housing |
|
D
PETTITT Strategic
Director Education
and Community Development |
J
WAREHAM Portfolio
Holder for Education and Community Development |