Agenda item

This report is an update to the South London Commissioning Programme.

The Head of Commissioning and Procurement introduced the report to the Panel and summarised that the focus of commissioning had always been around the young person. The South London Commissioning Programme (SLCP) was comprised of twelve boroughs. Croydon had been privileged to host two active projects that looked at placements for children with special needs including value for money, and secondly, the quality assurance of how providers ensured a consistent service. In addition to the projects, there was also joint commissioning for residential placements and fostering agency.

The Panel heard that the highlights of the SLCP included the increased placements that were provided for looked after children. This was a result of good planning and better sufficiency. Officers had been transparent in what the borough needed and what they wanted in partnership going forward as they worked closely with their providers.

Officers informed that the Light Joint Commissioning Framework was to be launched in March 2020, and with the collective spend in the region this would make a huge difference to Croydon. 

At 6:44pm Councillor Janet Campbell attended the meeting

The service was focusing on Looked After Children having heard the ‘voice of a child’. There was now a PAN London Commission group where the SLCP would be developed and it was agreed for this programme to run further for another year.

The Chair acknowledged the service’s great work, which was evidenced.

With questions from the Panel relating to the achievements of the SLCP to date and how the investment was quantified, officers informed that the programme started with SEND funding, and the £1.7 million grant funding from Education was given for growth.

With questions from the Panel relating to the concerns of moving a child mid-placement, officers informed that a social worker’s decision of where a child should be placed would have oversight from Children’s Services. To add, officers highlighted that the SLCP underwent a review looking at a cohort of thirty-seven (4%) of looked after children in placements, and saw that the children were all in the right placements. Therefore, the decision-making would always be based around the child’s need and how the service could assess their need. Further, the Panel heard that there was an internal mechanism should there be a need for a child to move placements mid-placement, and a discussion to establish whether the move was required would take place. The Panel learned that the decision-making would always remain within Children’s Social Care. Key performance indicators highlighted how settled and stable children were in placements and the service found that they needed to improve stability.

With further questions from the Panel relating to residential placements and the difference between in-house and the commissioning service, officers confirmed that all residential placements were made through independent fostering agencies. Officers informed that providing placements from in-house was a lot cheaper than using the commissioning service but it was not always a cheaper option. Finding placements through the commissioning service often had social workers not knowing who the details of the third party. Finding placements in-house was always a first port of call before the service extended their search using the commissioning service that provided residential placements elsewhere and out of borough. For children with multiple complex needs, the service was fortunate to have a different number of other placements to cater for all. Officers informed Panel Members that their number one priority would be to place Croydon’s looked after children with the borough’s foster carers. As part of the community and working in partnership, it was for exceptional circumstances that a child would be placed outside of the borough.

The advantages of joint commissioning were that local authorities would be able to share concerns very quickly regarding any provider or residential home Having the information-sharing forum was seen as a positive development.

The funding element within the report set out the Croydon spend and the collective spend over the twelve boroughs. The aim was to reduce current spending.

The Panel RESOLVED to note the progress that had been made so far in relation to the South London Commissioning Programme.