Issue - meetings

         Report by Terence Herbert, Corporate Director

Councillor Laura Mayes presented the report which outlined the proposal to ensure a sustainable, future proof and secure service across Families and Children’s Services, requesting that Cabinet approve is an additional £1.2m annual investment in Families and Children’s Services.

Matters highlighted in the course of the presentation and discussion included: the need to invest in additional capacity to meet increased demand; that reducing individual case-loads improves staff retention; the increase numbers of looked after children and care leavers; the support given to unaccompanied asylum seekers; and the increased emphasis on early intervention; that the increase in budget would form part of the base budget going forward and that the funding required would be managed through the normal budgeting processes.

Resolved

To approve an additional £1.2m annual investment in Families and Children’s Services.

Reason for Decision:

We need ensure sustainable, future proof and secure service across Families and Children’s Services. This will only be achieved by increasing the number of social workers and associated posts to ensure we can manage the current predicted increase in service demand and offer both achievable, and where required, protected levels of caseloads. The proposals will also ensure we have sufficient managerial oversight in this important and high-risk area of the council’s delivery. This proposal essentially ensures the Local Authority have the requisite capacity within core work groups to deliver on these principles.