1. SUMMARY/PURPOSE
1.1 That the Cabinet be recommended to
approve the governance arrangements for the Isle of Wight Children and Young
People’s Trust as set out in the attached appendix, in particular, the proposed
role of Council members.
2. CONFIDENTIAL/EXEMPT ITEMS
2.1 This report and appendix do not disclose
confidential or exempt information.
3. BACKGROUND
THE NATIONAL CONTEXT:
3.1 The Children Act 2004 established an
expectation that the different agencies involved in providing services to
children and young people will come together into a formal partnership by April
2008. This partnership should be
sufficiently robust to manage a shared Children and Young People’s Plan and to
commission services jointly so that services to children and young people are
joined up in good multi-agency practice which delivers high quality outcomes.
THE LOCAL CONTEXT:
3.2 The development of Children’s Trust
arrangements needs to take account of parallel developments in the creation of
the single NHS organization, any future integration of adult care and health
services; and in Island governance through the Isle of Wight Partnership and
its Public Service Board. The formal
arrangements will, if approved, be launched to the public at the Big Day Out on
Sunday 8th October 2006 at Ventnor Botanic Gardens.
4. STRATEGIC CONTEXT
4.1 The Children and Young People’s Trust
arrangements will govern the strategy of all services for children and young
people, notably through its Children and Young People’s Plan. Additionally,
they will be a vital element in achieving the Council’s Corporate Objectives of
Improving Health and Well-Being of Island Communities, Creating Safer and
Stronger Communities and Improving Outcomes for Children and Young People and
those within the Local Area Agreement. There is also a strong link with the
five headings contained within Every Child Matters – Being Healthy; Staying
Safe; Enjoying and Achieving; Making a Positive Contribution and Economic
Well-Being.
4.2 OPERATIONAL:
The
Children and Young People’s Trust arrangements will coordinate the operational
delivery of services for children and young people, and the day-to-day delivery
of the Children and Young People’s Plan.
5. CONSULTATION
5.1 The proposals for the Children and Young
People’s Trust arrangements have been discussed extensively by the various
Boards of the current Children and Young People’s Strategic Partnership, and by
Health partners, through the Transition Steering Group and Transition Steering
Board.
5.2 In taking evidence of the issues
involved, the Policy Commission considered that there was a need to have
consistency with the governance arrangements for the Trust as for those the
Local Strategic Partnership, Public Service Board and the new single NHS
organisation.
5.3 The Commission believed that the Trust
Board should comprise of non-paid executive members and a balance was required
to ensure that all appropriate bodies and agencies were represented at the
right level within the arrangements.
5.4 In considering the Council’s
representation on the Board the Policy Commission believed that the Chair
should be the Cabinet member with responsibility for children. Additionally,
the Commission wished to see that the two other Council members on the Board be
selected on the basis of the skills and knowledge that they would bring to the
Trust Board rather than being appointed solely on a party political basis.
5.5 The engagement of young people in the
Trust was also an important element. To enable such representatives to be fully
effective there would be a need to provide appropriate mentoring support. This
would be through robust links to existing networks and other opportunities of
representation, such as the Youth Council, those within social care, the
voluntary and community sector networks and the young people’s local management
committee of Connexions.
6. FINANCIAL/BUDGET
IMPLICATIONS
6.1 The Children and Young People’s Trust
arrangements need to be sufficiently robust for joint commissioning and the
pooling of budgets to be possible. The
Isle of Wight Council has allocated Ł150,000.00 for 2006-2007 and 2007-2008 for
the purpose of developing and delivering the Isle of Wight Children and Young
People’s Trust. Partner organisations are in a position to contribute in terms
of in kind costs and other resources; and in future with the NHS by potential
budgets through Section 31 agreements as part of the 1999 Health Act where
deemed appropriate, feasible and
realistic.
7. LEGAL
IMPLICATIONS
7.1 The Children and Young People’s Trust
arrangements formalise the partnership between those agencies that already work
with and deliver services to children and young people, in line with the
provisions and requirements set out for Local Authorities and partners in the
Children Act 2004.
8. OPTIONS
8.1 The alternative options to the terms of
reference proposed considered by the Policy Commission were:
a) A tighter legal entity, which at a time when the
health trusts are being reconstituted would be more complicated than is
necessary; or
b) A looser partnership, which might find it
difficult to do business when joint commissioning becomes more commonplace.
8.2 It should be noted that all partners have
agreed to the framework as contained within the attached appendix. Any
amendment to this would require further consultation to be undertaken with all
partners including adhering to the Local Compact requirements, thereby delaying
the planned launch at the Big Day Out on 8th October 2006.
9. EVALUATION/RISK MANAGEMENT
9.1 The preferred option is to formalise the
Children’s Trust arrangements on
the Isle of Wight as an unincorporated association comprising membership from
the public and voluntary sectors to be known as the Isle of Wight Children and
Young People’s Trust. This option will ensure the Isle of Wight
Council, as the designated Children’s Services Authority, will meet the
statutory obligations set out in the Children Act 2004 and the subsequent Aim
High Strategy and Isle of Wight Children and Young People’s Plan.
9.2 This option will also provide the necessary
flexibility to respond to the developments of the new single NHS organisation
and the developing relationship with
the Public Service Board. In particular, this option will ensure the most
appropriate degree of governance and probity on behalf of Council members in
fulfilling their stated Manifesto and corporate priorities to provide and
scrutinise the most cost effective services that will improve outcomes for
children and young people.
9.3 Risk management is an essential
component of evaluation and recommendation. The risks associated with this preferred option include:
(a)
The chance of something happening (internally or
externally) which prevents the intended objective being achieved. The
developments and as yet unknown ramifications of a single new NHS organisation
from 1st October 2006 along with the Public Service Board on the
commissioning and delivery of services to improve outcomes for children and
young people provides an option for the formalised Children and Young People’s
Trust arrangements that strikes a balance between flexibility and Council
member accountability, governance and probity.
(b)
The risk that the objective being sought may be
counter productive to another objective or policy. The Children and Young
People’s Trust is charged with the delivery the Children and Young People’s
Plan 2006 to 2009 (C&YPP), along with addressing the recommendations from
the Joint Area Review 2006. By its very nature many of the priorities and
targets relating to children and young people are found across the C&YPP,
the Aim High Strategy and the Local Area Agreement 2006 to 2009, including the
Local Public Service Agreements Round 2 2006 to 2009. This option ensures the
Council along with partners as part of the Island Strategic Partnership can
adequately maintain an oversight of all services for children and young people
whilst minimising the risk that the developments are not counter productive to
another objective or policy.
(c)
The preferred option will ensure that the risk that
the objective being pursued, or the method being proposed to achieve will not
involve the Council in unlawfully infringing the rights of others or acting
outside of its own powers, budget or insurance cover.
9.4 This section must identify (and if
possible quantify) risks, demonstrate how risk will be monitored and minimised.
The
successful operation of the Children and Young People’s Trust, and the
subsequent delivery of the Children and Young People’s Plan to improve outcomes
for children and young people, will remain a focus for scrutiny both by the
Council and through the Joint Area Review and the Corporate Performance
Assessment. The preferred option ensures that Council members ,including the
Lead Member for Children, the Cabinet Member for Children, the Member Champion
for children and young people and the Chair of the Policy Commission for
Children and School Results, are all able to play a central role in how
resources are deployed to achieve outcomes for children and young people.
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RECOMMENDATIONS
That the
Cabinet be recommended to approve the governance arrangements for the Isle of
Wight Children and Young People’s Trust as set out in the attached appendix,
in particular, the proposed role of Council members.
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BACKGROUND PAPERS
- The Isle of Wight Children and Young
People’s Plan 2006 to 2009 approved by the Cabinet and published on 1st
April 2006 available on www.iwight.com/childrensservices
- Papers for meetings of the Policy
Commission for Children and School Results held on 1 March 2006, 5
April and 7 June 2006
- Original
scoping document approved by the Policy Commission for Children and School
Results on 6 July 2005.
- Notes of
an informal meeting of the Policy Commission for Children and School
Results held on 4 January 2006.
APPENDICES
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
There
is no additional information.
Contact
Point: Mr Ian Sandbrook, Interim
Strategic Director for Children’s Services 01983 823500, [email protected]
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COUNCILLOR PATRICK
JOYCE
Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Education,
Skills and Learning
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COUNCILLOR DAWN COUSINS
Lead Member for Children and Cabinet Member for
Island Health, Housing and Community Wellbeing
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IAN
SANDBROOK
Interim
Strategic Director for Children’s Services
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