Agenda item

The Board considered a report of the Strategic Director – Children and Young People seeking endorsement of the revised Children in Care Strategy, which was the Council’s response to the Government’s Care Matters Agenda and Children and Young Persons Bill. The Bill sought to ensure that Children and Young People in Care received high quality care and support, and aimed to enable them to achieve the same aspirations that parents had for their own children.

Within Halton, a multi-agency strategy for Children in Care had been in place since 2005. For the past two years, the task of implementing the Strategy had been undertaken by the Partnership Board of the Children in Care Mini Trust and by the Corporate Parenting Group. A list of achievements were outlined within the report for Members’ consideration.

The Strategy, attached at Appendix 2 to the report, had now been revised to incorporate the provisions of Care Matters and the Children and Young Persons Bill. Importantly, the strategy also reflected some of the consultation that had taken place with children and young people who were, or had been, in care in Halton Borough Council. By having one clear Children in Care strategy, which incorporated all requirements, expectations were clear and the direction was coherent.

The Action Plan would primarily form the business of the Partnership Board of the Children in Care Mini Trust. Many agencies and partners were represented on this Board, a list of which was provided for Members. It was advised that membership of the Partnership Board was regularly reviewed to ensure wide representation and to address areas of priority. If approved, the Partnership Board would develop the Action Plan further to ensure that impact and outcome measures were clearly identified and timescales for achievement were more precise.

In addition, the Board was advised that, in order to achieve the actions required, additional financial resources had been provided by Government. The indicative figures for Halton were outlined. It was noted that initial estimates suggested that the grant funding alone would be insufficient to meet the likely requirements of the Bill, and the total shortfall in funding was estimated at £96,500. Ways to close the shortfall would be examined in future years but it may be necessary for this to be considered as part of the budget process.

The Board noted that:

• in addition to the national figure of Children in Care achieving 5 A* to C grades at GSCE (or equivalent), “value added” for these young people was also evaluated;
• the Authority was working increasingly with the private sector and other partners to provide a range of opportunities around employment for young people Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET);
• as prevention was better than cure, health and wealth had been prioritised at an early age;
• the Authority worked hard to support employers/training establishments, as some young people could, due to their life experiences, present challenging behaviour; and
• Mini Trusts would be requested to put milestones in place to demonstrate achievements.

Reasons for Decision

Endorsement of the multi-agency strategy was sought so that progress could continue on meeting the requirements of Care Matters, the duties of corporate parents and the targets of the Children and Young People Plan.

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected

There were no alternative options to implementing Care Matters and the Children and Young Persons Bill. Consideration had been given to presenting separate strategies in respect of Children in Care, Care Matters and Corporate Parenting, but as these issues were so integral to each other the production of one coherent strategy had been favoured.

Implementation Date

Work on some of the Care Matters issues was already underway but inspection against improved outcomes for Children in Care would commence in 2008. If approved, work on the strategy would commence in April 2008.

RESOLVED: That

1)         the amended strategy for Children in Care be endorsed; and

2)         the potential financial implications be noted pending more detailed information and direction from Government.