Issue - meetings

                 Report by Chief Executive Officer – People – Terence Herbert

Cllr Pauline Church, Cabinet Member for Children, Education and Skills introduced the report seeking approval for Wiltshire to participate in the South-Central consortium for the purchase of Independent Fostering Agency (IFA) placements for Looked After Children and Young People, from April 2021.

Cllr Church explained that Wiltshire Council currently procures IFA placements through a Framework Agreement competitively awarded in 2017, led by Bath and North East Somerset Council (BANES), and known as the South-West Framework and includes 7 local authorities. The South-Central Framework is led by Southampton and Bournemouth Councils and currently includes 19 Local Authorities across South-East and South-West England. Both Framework Agreements expire in March 2021

The Cabinet noted that the South-Central Framework offers access to the same providers at a similar price to the South-West contract. However, the South-Central consortium is more developed, offering higher levels of provider engagement and greater regional capacity for partnership working between Local Authorities.

Cllr Hubbard reported that he appreciated the briefing given on the proposed changes to the Fostering Framework and it seemed to him that the proposed changes are entirely appropriate and will enhance the options available to the Council.

In response to a question from Cllr Carole King about the foster carers recruitment process, Cllr Church confirmed that where possible, foster carers were recruited from within Wiltshire, in addition the advertising and promotional material was designed for the Local Authority area.

Resolved:

1. That the Cabinet approves Wiltshire Council joining the South-Central consortium for the purchase of IFA placements for Looked After Children, from April 2021.

2. That the decision to execute any contracts that may arise as a result of the tender exercise (including the associated partnership agreements) be delegated to the Director of Commissioning, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Children, Education and Skills.

Reason for Decision:

The proposal represents the best available option to ensure on-going compliance with the Local Authority’s duty to quality assure providers of IFA placements.

Participating in the South-Central consortium enables Wiltshire to:

·       speak with greater authority to local market providers as part of a much larger group of Local Authorities compared to the South-West consortium (20 rather than 6).

·       benefit from centralised contract management and access to much richer data about the quality of carers available regionally (not available through the South-West approach).

·       Focus commissioning capacity on strategic relationship building and market shaping, which offers the greatest opportunities to drive up quality of care for children and deliver financial savings.

Choosing not to engage in a consortium approach could result in all external IFA placements being made on a spot-purchase basis, with fewer quality safeguards and potential for uncontrolled spend.

Therefore, this recommendation supports the Council’s key strategic aim of delivering more high-quality, local options for our looked after children, at the best possible value.