Agenda item

The report sets out what B&NES has purchased for our Children Looked After and the needs in the coming years.  

The Cabinet Member for Children’s Services introduced the report and said that it was important that the Council attempts to improve the lives of all children and young people, especially those within its care.

The Senior Commissioning Manager for Complex Care & Targeted Support addressed the Panel and gave a presentation, a summary of which is set out below.

The Sufficiency Duty: Requires Local Authorities to have ‘sufficient’ accommodation in terms of the number of beds provided, to secure a range of accommodation through several providers and have accommodation that meets the needs of its Children Looked After.

Pressures in the marketplace

• Increased overall numbers of children in care locally, regionally and nationally which adds pressure.
• Decrease in the number of fostering households.
• ‘Staying Put’ legislation, allowing young people to stay in their foster placements until the age of 24.
• UASC children, who are predominately 16 -17year-old males.

Needs

• Foster placements in central Bath and within a reasonable travelling distance of B&NES schools.
• Foster placements for children aged 14 – 17 years with complex and challenging needs, including mental health and self-harm.
• Residential step-down placements
• Residential children’s homes closer to B&NES
• Appropriate placements for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC)
• Solo/specialist foster and residential placements for our most complex children.
• Parent and baby foster placements

Numbers

Number of Children Looked After as at 31st March.

·  2017: 163

·  2023: 231

Number of Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking children as at 31st March.

·  2018/19: 8

·  2022/23: 43

·   

Number of Children Placed with Independent Foster Agencies (IFA’s) (Annual total).

·  2016/17: 90

·  2022/23: 105

Number of Children Placed in Residential Children’s Homes (Annual total).

·  2016/17: 4

·  2022/23: 31

Number of Children Placed in 16+ Accommodation and Support (Annual total).

·  2016/17: 8

·  2022/23: 14

16 + Accommodation and Support: This type of placement involves support and accommodation, but no care element.  Care entails ‘doing for’ rather than supporting.  e.g. cooking and administering medication.  This is a significantly different type of support from residential children’s homes.  Support can range from a few hours a week to 24/7; fees can therefore vary dramatically. This has been unregulated until very recently.

Moving Forward

·  Continue to provide a core service in supporting social care teams; searching for placements, appraising offers made, negotiating costs and monitoring contracts.

·  Tendering for new 16+ accommodation and support DPS

·  Continue to chair the Southwest Children’s Services ‘Placements, Contracts and Commissioning Group’ to increase our range of placements from external providers and opportunities to develop the provider markets.

·  Work with South West Sufficiency Project

·  Work with Regional Care Co-operatives to improve sufficiency if selected.

Councillor Robin Moss said that he had seen the pressures involved in this work area from taking part in the Council’s Fostering Panel. He added that the Council needs to look at the offer it is providing for foster caring families in comparison to its neighbouring Local Authorities as well as the private sector providers.

The Senior Commissioning Manager for Complex Care & Targeted Support replied that Independent Fostering Agencies began working in the market around 15-20 years ago when it was identified that a cohort of young people with challenging and difficult behaviour were not able to find the appropriate type of provision from foster carers within the Local Authority. He added that the Independent Fostering Agencies were able to pay their carers more and provide them with training.

He explained to the Panel that generally there remained a defined split between the age groups of those children placed with the Local Authority (0-12) and those with Independent Agencies (13-17).

Councillor Paul Crossley asked if the amount of money that the Council pays its carers is the main issue in potentially increasing our numbers, and if so, what steps can be taken to address this.

The Senior Commissioning Manager for Complex Care & Targeted Support replied that this was a question he could not answer directly and would refer it back to the Family Placement Team to provide an answer in due course.

Kevin Burnett asked if whether the report could be seen as a good news story in any way or was there a real struggle to provide enough placements.

The Senior Commissioning Manager for Complex Care & Targeted Support replied that he did not think that it was a good news story. He added that the reality is now is that if an offer to provide a placement is received it needs to be acted upon quickly by the team otherwise it will be taken by another Local Authority. He said that historically they could receive seven or more offers of care for a child, but that was simply not the case now and that this was a national problem, not just a local one.

Kevin Burnett asked if the prompt acceptance of care offers could lead to future breakdowns of the placement.

The Senior Commissioning Manager for Complex Care & Targeted Support replied that it was possible that this could lead to breakdowns but was not always the case. He added that it was his opinion that the foster care demographic was an ageing one and the more experienced carers were therefore reducing, and the newer carers were finding it difficult in some cases to cope with some of the younger people now coming into care.

Kevin Burnett asked if he was responsible for the training provided to new foster carers.

The Senior Commissioning Manager for Complex Care & Targeted Support replied that the majority of the training is statutory and that a national minimum standard needs to be achieved by the carers. He added that he was not directly involved in this area. He said that most independent agencies would ask their carers to take part in further advanced training.

Councillor Liz Hardman referred to section 14.1 of the report which stated that the Council offers an extended duty to approximately 90 care leavers aged 21-25 who have previously stepped down from having their Personal Advisor. She asked what level of responsibility do we have for this group of young people.

The Senior Commissioning Manager for Complex Care & Targeted Support replied that this issue was not within the remit of his role.

Councillor Liz Hardman suggested that the Panel receives an expanded report on this matter that considers this subject matter in a wider context.

The Panel RESOLVED to note the report for information.