PAPER C

 

                                                                                                                Purpose : for Decision

                        REPORT TO THE EXECUTIVE

 

Date :              2 APRIL 2004

 

Title :               ORGANISATIONAL CHANGES ARISING FROM THE CREATION OF A CHILDREN’S SERVICES DIRECTORATE

                       

JOINT REPORT OF THE PORTFOLIO HOLDER FOR EDUCATION AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND THE PORTFOLIO HOLDER FOR SOCIAL SERVICES AND HOUSING

 

IMPLEMENTATION DATE : 14 April 2004


 

SUMMARY/PURPOSE

 

1.                  This report is to brief the Executive on the implications of creating a Children’s Services Directorate and on the consequential impact on other Council Directorates.

 

BACKGROUND

 

2.                  On 17 December 2003 the Executive received a report in connection with the Green Paper on Children’s Services “Every Child Matters”.  Arising from the discussion by the Executive, decisions were made that the Council proceed to establish the post of Strategic Director of Children’s Services with effect from April 2004, that post to have accountability for relevant Education and Social Services functions undertaken by the Council.  The Chief Executive Officer was requested to bring back formal proposals before the end of March 2004 on the structural changes to the Council’s organisation that would be required as a consequence.  His report was also to identify recommended changes at portfolio holder and Select Committee level with a view to those changes being implemented from the Annual Meeting in April 2004.

 

3.                  The Government have now published the Children Bill which, if enacted, will make it a requirement that every Local Authority with Social Services and Education responsibilities appoints a Director of Children’s Services by 2008 and a lead member for those services.  The Bill enables but does not require a single Children’s Services Department.

 

4.                  The Council’s decision at the end of last year anticipated such legislation and is a move that has been warmly welcomed by bodies such as Social Services Inspectorate when undertaking a recent inspection of Children’s Services within the Council.

 

5.                  The Full Council have established an Appointment Panel to conclude the appointment of the Director post.  That process is currently underway.  Subject to a successful appointment, early steps can proceed to establish a Children’s Service Directorate with the broad objective that that is fully operational by 1 April 2005.

 

6.                  This report will consider in turn the proposed changes at Directorate, portfolio and Select Committee level.

 

MANAGEMENT ARRANGEMENTS

 

7.                  The creation of a Children’s Service Directorate will combine all the Children related Services within the Council within one Directorate.  As progress is made in implementing the Statement of Intent and an integrated Health and Social Care agenda, discussions have begun to take place with the Primary Care Trust and the Healthcare Trust with a view to combining all Children related Services provided on the Island in one area. 

 

8.                  The creation of the Children’s Service Directorate has a significant effect on the existing Education and Community Development Directorate and on the Social Services and Housing Directorate. As these changes have been considered, the Directors have also looked at some other parts of the Council’s existing management arrangements with a view to ensuring there is sufficient capacity particularly at Head of Service and Service Manager level and, in some cases, to build on particular strengths of individual Directors.

 

9.                  In producing the proposals which follow, the assumption has been made that the Council should retain a 5 Directorate structure. 

 

CHILDREN’S SERVICES DIRECTORATE

 

10.             The core parts of this Directorate will be those existing areas of the Education and Community Development Directorate,  which focus directly on services to children,  together with the Children’s Services section currently located in the Directorate of Social Services and Housing. 

 

11.             When the Education and Community Development Directorate was brought together some two years ago, two key areas of service, Leisure and Tourism, were moved in to the Directorate in the expectation that both would be externalised from the Council within a foreseeable period of time.  For a variety of reasons, that has not happened.  In view of the need to ensure there is sufficient focus on children within the new Directorate, it is recommended that over a period of time, and consistent with the timetable for the creation of a Children’s Services Directorate, both areas are moved elsewhere and proposals in respect of both areas of services appear later in this paper.

 

12.             Other key parts of the Community Development remit within that Directorate embraces Libraries and Museums and Sport and Arts Development and Parks, Gardens and Beaches.  In view of the strong focus on environmental protection and improvement within the Environment Services Directorate, there is a strong argument that Parks, Gardens and Beaches should be transferred to that Directorate. 

 

13.             The arguments in respect of Libraries and Museums, Sport and Arts Development are less clear.  A strong case can be made that those areas should remain linked with educational provision through the broader Children’s Service Directorate although an equally strong case can be made that they should fit within the Adult and Community Services Directorate (see below). On balance, it is recommended that they should be located in the new Children Service Directorate so as to retain the existing strong professional links that have been established in recent years with the education service.

 

ADULT AND COMMUNITY SERVICES

 

14.             The existing Social Services and Housing Directorate comprises Adult Services, Children Services and Housing Services.  Children Services will move to the newly created Children Service Directorate but the other two core Services will remain in the new Directorate which will have a clear focus on developing healthy communities within the Island. 

 

15.             One of the areas of the Council’s performance that requires particular attention is in relation to crosscutting work, work which will increasingly feature in external assessments of the Council’s performance.  For this reason, it is proposed that the Strategic Director for Adult and Community Services should take lead responsibility for three key crosscutting areas facing the Council, Safer Communities, Social Inclusion and Diversity.  Safer Communities entails the formal merger of the Crime and Disorder Team and the Drug Action Team, a merger being required by the Home Office as Funding Agency and already approved by the Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership and the Drug Action Team. 

 

ENVIRONMENT SERVICES

 

16.             The existing Directorate is made up of four areas of service of Property, Planning, Engineering and Consumer Protection.  Arising from recommendations earlier in this report, it is proposed that Parks, Gardens and Beaches should be transferred in to the Directorate so as to compliment some of the existing areas of Service provided. 

 

17.             Reference was made earlier in this report to Tourism Services. It is recommended that Tourism Services should be located in the Environment Services Directorate with the objective of providing a clearer link between those areas of services and other parts of the Directorate and also to build on the strengths and experience of the existing Strategic Director. 

 

18.             For historical reasons, activity in relation to Economic Development (principally liaison with the Isle of Wight Economic Partnership), Regional and European issues and Agenda 21 have all been handled within the Corporate Policy Unit within the Corporate Services Directorate.  There are strong arguments for linking all of these issues within the Environment Services Directorate and it is recommended that they be transferred there.

 

CORPORATE SERVICES DIRECTORATE

 

19.             This Directorate is largely unchanged except insofar as a number of discreet areas of Service – Crime and Disorder, Economic Development and Agenda 21 – are relocated as recommended elsewhere.  Modern record management (as distinct from Archives, which would remain with the Children’s Services Directorate) would be attached to the Head of Legal and Democratic Services to link with the work being undertaken in relation to the Freedom of Information legislation.

 

20.             The existing Best Value Unit is currently managed through Select Committee support, but it is proposed that this team transfer to the Corporate Policy and Communications Unit to form a new "Corporate Projects Team."  The need to undertake systematic best value reviews of all Council services has now ended - although the general duty to promote best value in service delivery remains, the focus of the Government's modernisation agenda is now led by the CPA assessment process.

 

21.             Whilst the Council is making good progress in responding to the change and improvement priorities highlighted by the CPA assessment, there is a clear need for additional staff resources to support the change and improvement programme.  The Audit Commission drew specific attention to this in the Audit and Inspection Annual Letter for 2003 which was reported to Executive in January 2004.  One of the greatest challenges posed during the CPA assessment was the need to better prioritise our activities - enhancing support for the change and improvement agenda is one such priority.

  

22.             As well as continuing with specific reviews on transport and homelessness, the new "Corporate Projects Team" will have a specific remit to provide support for the Priority Improvement Area (PIA) programme; to support service improvements in other under- performing areas (the 370 of Performance Indicators which are showing no improvement and the 21% of Indicators which have remained in the bottom quartile of worst performing areas); and to provide direct support to service departments for key change initiatives eg establishment of the new Children's Services and Adult and Community Services Directorates, the review of Leisure Services, support for staff development and other aspects of the People Management Strategy.

 

23.             Whilst delivery of the change and improvement agenda is a responsibility of the Executive, close liaison with Select Committees will enhance the process and regular dialogue will take place with the Chair of the Resources Select Committee (on behalf of the Co-ordinating Committee) to ensure the resource is used to best advantage.

 

24.             One additional change which is recommended is in respect of the name of the Directorate which is headed up by the Chief Executive Officer.  Confusion has arisen between whether the Department is a Corporate Services Directorate or the Chief Executive’s Directorate and, to avoid such confusion, it is recommended that in future this be re titled as The Chief Executive’s Directorate.

 

FIRE AND RESCUE DIRECTORATE

 

25.             This Directorate made up of Fire and Rescue Services and Emergency Planning will remain unchanged by the proposed changes. 

 

LEISURE SERVICES

 

26.             In view of the need for a strong focus on Children’s Services, it is recommended that Leisure Services should be located in a different Directorate from at present.  However, whilst the current review by the Executive is underway, it is recommended that Leisure Services should be retained in its current Directorate, but with the expectation that it will transfer elsewhere as part of that review.  In order that some time line is set, it is recommended that a decision on transfer is taken as quickly as possible as part of that review process and to be implemented by no later than 30 September 2004.  In the meantime, the review process will be supported by the Head of Community Development and, at Director level, by the Strategic Director of Social Services and Housing.  That review should be completed within a maximum of 12 months, thus fitting in well with the transfer in of Children’s Services so that the new Directorate can be operative by April 2005.

 

SUMMARY

 

27.             Attached at Appendix A are the individual blocks of service which it is proposed will make up each of the five Directorates. 

 

CHANGES AT PORTFOLIO HOLDER LEVEL


 

28.             To reflect the establishment of a Children Services Directorate, it is recommended that changes are made to existing portfolio holder responsibilities to reflect this and other changes. 

 

29.             It is accordingly recommended that instead of the existing portfolio holder for Education and Lifelong Learning (with a remit for all matters relating to Education and Lifelong Learning) and the portfolio holder for Social Services and Housing (with a remit for all matters relating to Social Services, Housing and the Voluntary Sector) that instead the two portfolio holders should be known as:

 

(a)               The portfolio holder for Children Services with a remit for all matters relating to Children Services;

 

(b)               The portfolio holder for Adult and Community Services with a remit for all matters relating to Adult Services, Housing Services and Community Services

 

CHANGES AT SELECT COMMITTEE LEVEL

 

30.             It is recommended that changes be made to the terms of reference of the two relevant Select Committees so as to reflect the changes at portfolio holder level. The Education Select Committee will thus become the Children’s Services Select Committee and the Social Services and Housing Select Committee will become the Adult and Community Services Select Committee.

 

31.             Until such time as the new Children’s Services Directorate has been established, it is recommended that the Children and Young Persons Committee should be retained as at present.

 

STRATEGIC CONTEXT

 

32.             Children and Family Services have a prominence in a number of policies and documents including:

 

              Community Plan;

              Corporate Plan;

              Children Services Plan;

              Education Development Plan; and the

              Early Years and Childcare Development plan.

 

Implementation of the recommendations within this report would constitute a positive response by the Council to the clear recommendations in the Green Paper “Every Child Matters” and the Children Bill recently published.

 

CONSULTATION AND WIGHT LEISURE VIEWS

 

33.             Consultation has taken place with all staff groups affected by the proposals in this report.  Consultation has also taken place with the Social Services Inspectorate, the Healthcare Trust and the Primary Care Trust as the Council and the two Trusts seek to implement the Statement of Intent agreed in July 2003. 

 

34.             Consultation has also taken place with the Select Committee chairs in respect of the role of the Best Value Unit.  Their view is that they would wish the Unit to remain attached to Select Committee Support to enable the Unit to support their scrutiny work.

 

FINANCIAL/BUDGET IMPLICATIONS

 

35.             There are no direct financial implications arising from the recommendations in this report.  In time, there may well be additional financial implications arising from the creation of a Children Services Directorate and the Adult and Community Services Directorate but the relevant Strategic Directors will report back to the Executive on those if they cannot be met from existing resources. 

 

LEGAL IMPLICATIONS

 

36.             Until such time as the Children Bill receives Royal Assent, there remains a requirement for the Council to have a named Director of Social Services and Director of Education.  There will be a need to adjust delegations as the transition to the new Directorate takes place and it is therefore, recommended that this issue is delegated to the Monitoring Officer to agree in conjunction with the two existing Directors.

 

OPTIONS

 

37.             Whilst there is no requirement for the Council to appoint a Children’s Services Director at the present time, it is highly likely that this will be a requirement by 2008.  The proposals in this paper recommend ways in which the Council could best achieve an integration of children’s services consequent upon the appointment of the Director.  This development fits well with the work underway to integrate Health and Social Care Services across the Island.

 

38.             There are a range of options for achieving satisfactory management arrangements for the delivery of Children’s Services and other services within the Council.  These different options are canvassed at the different stages within the report with clear recommendations being made in respect of each.

 

EVALUATION/RISK MANAGEMENT

 

39.             The creation of the new Directorate carries significant risk at service and financial level. The Directorate will become responsible for all children related issues currently considered by the existing two directorates and in service terms all issues relating to children carry significant risks.

 

40.             At a financial level, the Directorate will be by some way the largest Directorate in the Council bearing responsibility for around 80%.

 

41.             As the Council moves towards the creation of the new Directorate, steps will need to be taken to ensure careful project management and corporate capacity to deliver the change. The wide agenda affecting this new Directorate will be significant and a key task for the Director once appointed will be to report to the Executive on the proposed make up of the Directorate and, in particular, the senior level capacity that is needed to deliver the agenda.

 

RECOMMENDATIONS

 

42.             That the Council proceed to create a Directorate for Children’s Services by April 2005 in accordance with the recommendations set out in the report

 

43.             That the other consequential changes to the Council’s management structure as set out in the report and as shown in Appendix A be approved and be implemented with effect from 1 April 2004 or within a reasonable period thereafter.

 

44.             That the Monitoring Officer be given Delegated Authority to amend the existing schemes of delegations as necessary insofar as this is required to achieve the new Children’s Services Directorate.

 

45.             That with effect from the Annual Meeting the changes in portfolio holder and Select Committee arrangements as set out in the report be effected.

 

BACKGROUND PAPERS

 

46.             Previous report to Executive

 

 

Contact Point :           Mike Fisher, Chief Executive Officer

 

 

 

M J A FISHER

Chief Executive Officer

J WAREHAM

Portfolio Holder for Education and Community Development

G KENDALL

Portfolio Holder for Social Services and Housing

 

 

 


APPENDIX A

 

 

PROPOSED DIRECTORATE STRUCTURE

 

 


Children Services

 

Education Effectiveness

 

Planning and Resources

 

Children Services

 

Youth Services/Connections/Lifelong Learning

 

Libraries and Museums

 

Leisure Services (until completion of review)

 

 

Adult and Community Services

 

Adult Services

 
Housing and Community Services

 

Safer Communities (Crime and Disorder plus Drug Action Team)

 

Social Inclusion

 

Diversity

 

 

Environment Services

 

Property

 

Planning

 

Engineering

 

Consumer Protection

 

Tourism

 

Parks, Gardens and Beaches

 

Economic Development and Regional and European Issues

 

Agenda 21

 


Chief Executive Officer

 

Human Resources

 

Legal and Democratic Services

 

Financial Services

 

Organisational Development

 

Policy and Communications

 

Select Committee Support

 

 

Fire and Rescue Services

 

Fire and Rescue

 

Emergency Planning