Agenda item

The attached report seeks permission, in principle, for Croydon Council to join Pan-London Vehicle (PLV) (a non-profit company set up and contributed to by London Local Authorities,, the remit of which will be pan-London commissioning arrangements that will improve the lives of London’s children and young people) at the developmental stage, acknowledging limited liability to the Council for any debts incurred by the PLV to a maximum of £1 and to delegate a decision about the financial aspect to the interim Corporate Director for Children, Young People and Education.

There is also a Part B (exempt-not for publication) report, which contains the confidential legal advice and options appraisal referred to in Part A – provided by Anthony Collins solicitors on behalf of London Councils.

The Executive Mayor in Cabinet is recommended to agree that the council:

1.     Becomes a member of a not-for-profit company, limited by guarantee, provisionally to be known as the Pan London Vehicle, to:

·       develop and then oversee the running of London’s secure children’s home provision for a five-year period from 1st April 2023 to 31st March 2028, with a break-point after three years once the refreshed business case has been developed to include service pricing structure, commissioning approach, practice model and location. Once the provision has launched – which will be after the break-point – membership will be at a fixed annual cost of £20,000 (subject to inflation adjustment), unless an alternative model for funding the PLV is agreed by members during the development phase and

·       collaborate with other PLV members on future joint commissioning programmes

2.     Delegate authority to the interim Corporate Director Children, Young People & Education, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Education, the S151 Officer & Corporate Director of Resources and the Director of Legal Services & Monitoring Officer to:

·       finalise the legal documents required to set up, join and run the PLV alongside the other London boroughs;

·       approve any operational arrangements

·       decide whether or not to exercise the break option at year 3 of the Council’s membership of the PLV, following completion of the revised SCH business case; and

·       Approve the appointment of the Interim Corporate Director of Children, Young People & Education as:

i.                 the Council’s Member Representative of the PLV; and

ii.               the Director of the PLV on a rotation basis for a period of 5 years, when required

3.     Note that a decision on whether to continue the PLV Membership at the third-year break point, and all subsequent forthcoming break points, will be reported back to the Executive Mayor unless otherwise delegated.

4.    Note that the Croydon Companies Supervision & Monitoring Panel (CCSMP) has been consulted on this proposal and the Council’s group company supervision arrangements will apply to the PLV.

Cabinet considered a report (Part A – open for inspection), which was being presented to all Councils in London in some form and which sought permission, in principle, for Croydon Council to join the PLV at the developmental stage, acknowledging limited liability to the Council for any debts incurred by the PLV to a maximum of £1 and to delegate a decision about the financial aspect to the interim Corporate Director for Children, Young People and Education.

It was noted that Part B (exempt – not for publication) to this report contained confidential legal advice and the options appraisal referred to in Part A.

The Executive Mayor said that the use of facilities like this was always a last resort and despite the Council’s usage of secure homes currently being low, he recognised the benefits that provision could provide to a small number of the Borough’s young people.

He said that through the Council’s membership of the Pan-London Commissioning Vehicle, it would be better positioned to influence future decisions that could impact its residents and as such, he agreed the recommendations in the Part A report. 

The Executive Mayor, in Cabinet, RESOLVED that:

1.            The Council becomes a member of a not-for-profit company, limited by guarantee, provisionally to be known as the Pan London Vehicle, to:

•        develop and then oversee the running of London’s secure children’s home provision for a five-year period from 1st April 2023 to 31st March 2028, with a breakpoint after three years once the refreshed business case had been developed to include service pricing structure, commissioning approach, practice model and location. Once the provision had launched – which would be after the breakpoint – membership would be at a fixed annual cost of £20,000 (subject to inflation adjustment), unless an alternative model for funding the PLV was agreed by members during the development phase, and

•        collaborate with other PLV members on future joint commissioning programmes.

2.            The Interim Corporate Director for Children, Young People and Education, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Education, the S151 Officer and Corporate Director of Resources and the Director of Legal Services and Monitoring Officer, be authorised to:

a)        finalise the legal documents required to set up, join and run the PLV alongside the other London boroughs.

b)        approve any operational arrangements.

c)         decide whether or not to exercise the break option at year three of the Council’s membership of the PLV, following completion of the revised SCH business case.

d)        Approve the appointment of the Interim Corporate Director of Children, Young People and Education as:

i)             the Council’s Member Representative of the PLV.

ii)            the Director of the PLV on a rotation basis for a period of five years, when required.

3.            It be noted that a decision on whether to continue the PLV Membership at the third-year break point, and all subsequent forthcoming break points, would be reported back to the Executive Mayor unless otherwise delegated.

4.            It be noted that the Croydon Companies Supervision and Monitoring Panel (CCSMP) had been consulted on this proposal and the Council’s group company supervision arrangements would apply to the PLV.