Issue - meetings

 Report by Carolyn Godfrey.

Councillor Laura Mayes presented the report which sought approval for proposals for the establishment of the Adoption West Regional Adoption Agency (RAA) as outlined in the report; and recommended that Cabinet delegate authority for approving the detailed implementation plans, including financial, contractual and legal agreements to the Carolyn Godfrey subject to council policies and procedures.

Issues highlighted in the course of the presentation and discussion included: the legislative driver behind the move to a regional model; that there would be three geographic hubs, with one in Wiltshire; how the good standards of the Wiltshire agency would be maintained in the regional model, and the opportunities for learning from best practice across the region; how performance would be managed, and the importance of scrutiny; the financial implications of the move, and how s151 officers had been involved in the development of the model.

In response to a question raised by the Leader, officers responded that the ambition of Wiltshire Council to find families for even the harder to place children would be maintained.

Resolved

1.     To approve proposals for the establishment of the Adoption West Regional Adoption Agency (RAA) as outlined in this report.

2.     To delegate authority for approving the detailed implementation plans, including financial, contractual and legal agreements, to the Corporate Director, subject to council policies and procedures and in consultation with the Monitoring Officer, the s151 Officer and the relevant Cabinet Member responsible for Children’s Services.

3.     That the Corporate Director be asked to work with partners to address the request that Overview & Scrutiny should form part of the governance arrangements of the Regional Adoption Agency.

Reason for Decision:

The development of Regional Adoption Agency proposals is part of the national regionalising adoption agenda as set out in ‘Regionalising Adoption’ (July 2015), and further developed in ‘Adoption; A Vision for Change’ (March 2016).

Proposals are also informed by the Education and Adoption Act 2016, as outlined in the ‘legal implications’ section of this report. Wiltshire Council is a partner in developing Adoption West RAA along with five other Councils and four voluntary adoption agencies. The intention is to transfer a range of Wiltshire Council’s current adoption service functions to Adoption West by April 2018