Issue - meetings

Cabinet Member: Children, Education & Families

Forward Plan Ref: 2016/029

Contact: Lucy Butler, Deputy Director for Children’s Social Care Tel: (01865) 815165

Report by Director for Children’s Services (CA6).

The County Council budget for 2016/17 made a number of significant financial changes to the Children, Education and Families Directorate. Included in this was the decision to amend the original proposal to remove £2 million from the Early Intervention/Children’s Centres budget lines (known as CEF 12).  How the retained £2 million is to be targeted requires further clarity.

This report sets out proposals to spend the £2 million in direct response to issues raised by the public consultation, namely concerns around the loss of preventative support and the accessibility of the new service. 

The retained money will increase the early help and preventative work within the new service, and increase the number of locations from which outreach is delivered.  It is proposed to allocate it across three areas of the new service as follows:

a.         £1 million into the Locality and Community Support Service to increase staffing,  including new community co-ordinator posts which will work closely with outreach centres and work with local community groups to support the development of universal provision;

b.         £900,000 into the Family Support Service to increase staffing in early help teams; these extra workers can provide direct work to children and families from the outreach centres;

c.         £100,000 for building costs towards the development of two new 'shared locality bases'

If these proposals are agreed it will spread the geographical reach of the service from 8 to 18 centres. 

Cabinet is RECOMMENDED:

(a)  to develop eight outreach centres and two shared locality bases, in addition to eight Children and Family Centres;

(b)to agree that the Locality and Community Support Service is expanded to enhance its preventative elements and enable it to support universal provision within the eight outreach centres, and other centres that remain open through community support;

(c)  to agree that the Family Support Service is enhanced, enabling the delivery of casework and evidence based group programmes from the eight outreach centres; and

(d)to ask officers to commence a staff consultation on the staffing structure for the new Service.

Recommendations agreed.

The County Council budget for 2016/17 made a number of significant financial changes to the Children, Education and Families Directorate. Included in this was the decision to amend the original proposal to remove £2 million from the Early Intervention/Children’s Centres budget lines (known as CEF 12).  How the retained £2 million is to be targeted requires further clarity.

Cabinet had before them a report that set out proposals to spend the £2 million in direct response to issues raised by the public consultation, namely concerns around the loss of preventative support and the accessibility of the new service. 

The retained money will increase the early help and preventative work within the new service, and increase the number of locations from which outreach is delivered.  The report proposed to allocate it across three areas of the new service.

RESOLVED:             to:

(a)  to develop eight outreach centres and two shared locality bases, in addition to eight Children and Family Centres;

(b)  to agree that the Locality and Community Support Service is expanded to enhance its preventative elements and enable it to support universal provision within the eight outreach centres, and other centres that remain open through community support;

(c)  to agree that the Family Support Service is enhanced, enabling the delivery of casework and evidence based group programmes from the eight outreach centres; and

(d)  to ask officers to commence a staff consultation on the staffing structure for the new Service.