Agenda item

Purpose

This report will provide information about the development of the Regional Care Co-operative (RCC) Pathfinder.  This is a Department for Education (DfE) funded project to encourage local authorities (LAs) to work together more closely on the commissioning and procurement of placements for children we care for.

Sarah Daly, Director of Children's Services, introduced the report and informed members thatthe government had published Stable Homes, Built on Love in February 2023.  In Portsmouth we do an excellent job in supporting children we care for and the local authority has committed to a successful regional bid and are working with 18 other authorities to design and build our Regional Care Co-operative (RCC).  RCCs offer the opportunity for a radical shift in the case system and are part of a broader package of measure to transform placements for children we care for.  In some areas, placements may cost up to £60,000 per week for a child with significant needs.

This is why the RCC is so important as it will play a key role in shaping future delivery of children’s services and aims to provide four new children's homes across the area.  This will increase sufficiency and, by pooling budgets and working together, authorities within the RCC will be able to better plan, commission and deliver places in foster care, children's homes and secure children's homes. 

The Director of Children's Services added that the RCC represents the best prospect of developing new and innovative ways to secure the placements needed for looked after children.  However, she also advised that the funding for the programme is time limited and due to end in June 2025.

Members' questions

In response to members' questions, the Director of Children's Services and Mark Jowett, the Head of Children We Care For, clarified that:

·       Compared to other areas, relatively few Portsmouth children are placed outside the city and only 12% are placed more than 20 miles away.

·       In many cases children are placed outside the city to ensure that the child is in a placement well matched to meet their specific needs. 

·       There are however a very small number who are not in the right placement and there are some children with very complex needs who move around more than is desirable.  

·       The RCC is working on a business case for additional children's homes, and the business cases for these will be signed off by the DfE, although they are within the provision of the project. 

·       Foster care, supported by the Mockingbird Project, in Portsmouth is excellent and will be further supported by outcomes arising from the RCC.

·       There are 6-7 children who would really benefit from the places offered by the new children's homes.

·       The overall effect of the RCC will benefit all children we care for as it will increase local placement choice and availability.

Members' comments

The Cabinet Member noted that she was proud that Portsmouth would be playing a key role in shaping the future delivery of this important part of children's services.  However, she expressed concerns about the 'cliff edge' facing the authorities within the RCC when the project concludes in June 2025, and she encouraged officers to lobby the new government at the earliest opportunity.  She noted further that investing in children's services always takes a long time to show results.

The report, which was for information, was noted.