Agenda item

[This item is being considered as pre-decision scrutiny and will therefore not be available for Call-in once a decision has been made by the Executive].

[Rachel King, Head of Service, and Steven Larking, Commissioning Manager, to present report]

The Chair invited Rachel King, Service Manager, to present the report to the panel. 

The Service Manager advised the panel that the presentation will give an overview of the work done to develop options to create a new restorative practice, multi-agency children homes in Wolverhampton. The proposals will be presented to Cabinet Resources Panel on 23 February 2022 for discussion and approval of the draft recommendations. 

The Service Manager outlined the background to the proposals. A residential review started in July 2021 led by the Children’s Commissioning Team to initially look at the sufficiency of residential placements for children and young people with complex care needs.  

The Service Manager added that there is a small cohort of vulnerable young people with very complex needs who the Council have not always been able to find suitable placements. The Council has a statutory duty to ensure that are enough residential places to meet the needs of such young people. The service aims wherever possible to make sure that children are placed either with foster care or with connected family members before this option is considered. Residential placements in children’s homes are regulated through the Ofsted inspection framework.

The Service Manager advised the panel that the number of children needing specialist support has reduced every year.  The Service Manager added that in response to concerns about the findings from national reviews about the growth of private residential care home providers, the quality and cost of provision and the barriers to the new providers entering the market the Council decided to look at different options for meeting the needs of young people needing a residential placement.

The Service Manager advised the panel that a Residential Review Project Group was set up to develop the options detailed in the report. 

The Service Manager outlined the merits of the different options proposed by the group as detailed in the report. 

The group recommended that Option 5 (to continue using spot purchases and framework placements alongside the establishment of a new restorative practice, multi-agency home within the City.) was the preferred option. The Service Manager commented that this option would help to build strong working relationships with key providers of external provision and support some internal provision.

The Service Manager advised the panel that the report will be presented to Cabinet Resources Panel on 23 February 2022 to approve the recommended option and the allocation of £35,000 to develop an overall business case. A further report would be presented to Cabinet Resources Panel in June 2022 for consideration and approval.

The panel were invited comment on the report and the proposal to recommend supporting Option 5 as detailed in the main report.

The panel thanked the presenter for the report and welcomed the focus on offering restorative practice to young people to help break the cycle of behaviour, which is often generational. The panel support combining Option 1 and Option 4 into Option 5 as it will maintain flexibility and provide a long-term solution to the issues highlighted in the report.

The Service Manager agreed that Option 5 will provide the flexibility needed and the blended approach was supported by the project group. The Service Manager added that several young people in care have experienced significant levels of trauma and a restorative approach can help to repair this damage and provide a good level of care.

The panel welcomed the comments from the Service Manager about the importance of building strong relationships with care providers. The panel highlighted the importance of offering a consistent level of quality of provision to a young person, regardless of where a young person is placed that meets their needs. The panel suggested it would be helpful to review progress of the preferred option, if supported, to see if the Council is achieving the best outcomes for children wherever they are placed.

The panel suggested that it would be helpful to see the detail of the business case for the proposal at a future date. 

The panel queried if the timescale for the expected completion in June 2023 was realistic and expressed concern about the possible delays arising from the planning application process. The Service Manager confirmed that the aim is to have the scheme in operation within the 12 months while accepting that there was a risk of delay for reason given. The proposed feasibility study will provide more details about the options which will help inform the timetable for implementation. The Service Manager commented that the time taken to complete will be longer if a build option rather than leasing option for an existing building is agreed.

The panel queried the financial viability of a residential care home supporting only a maximum of two children and asked for more details about why the costs would be higher in this situation, also why this would still be economical. The Service Manager advised the panel that a key challenge in meeting the needs of young people with complex needs, is safely managing the level of risk with the home. 

The Council is governed by the regulator Ofsted who want to make sure that when young people are being placed together in a setting together it can be done safely with the right staffing ratio. The Service Manager added that a larger facility with more beds will make it harder to run the home safely because of the risk of placing too many young people together who may not be compatible or a home that does not meet their needs. 

The home will provide specialist support to young people who have experienced a significant amount of trauma and the focus will be on trauma recovery.

The Service Manager added that the preferred option while not the cheapest is the safest way for meeting the complex needs of young people in a multi-agency supported children’s home setting within the City with the appropriate level of staffing.

The panel commented on the importance of consulting with local communities about the plan to develop a new residential home and the need for early engagement with them and respond to any concerns about the proposed location of a children’s residential home. The panel highlighted the difficulties in the past where plans for children’s residential homes has been proposed but not supported by residents. The panel commented that based on recent experience many of the concerns of residents were unfounded after some time. However, the public reaction may be different when a new build home is being proposed rather than a conversion to an existing building, which may attract more attention.

The Service Manager reassured the panel that residents will be consulted about the plans and the issue would be reviewed as part of one of workstreams for the agreed option.

The panel welcomed the report and endorsed the preference for Option5 (to continue using spot purchases and framework placements alongside the establishment of a new restorative practice, multi-agency home within the City).

 Resolved:

1.    The panel support Option 5 and the development of a full feasibility business case to create multi-agency children home(s) in the City.

2.    Cabinet Resources to consider the comments of the panel on the options being considered to meet the needs of young people with complex care and support needs at the meeting on 23 February 2022.

3.    The panel agreed to receive updates from the Service Manager on progress of the project after a full business case is submitted in June 2022 to Cabinet.

4.    The Service Manager to share a copy of the final business case with the panel when published.