Council reshuffles must show clear accountability for children

As we enter the new financial year, local authorities are responding to shrunken budgets and changed government priorities by reconfiguring how they deliver and commission services for children and young people. Town halls are finalising plans and so the national picture is still emerging. But what is clear is that a significant minority of councils are calling time on departments led by directors of children's services. The DCS role was of course created by the 2004 Children Act to ensure a clear, single line of accountability for children and young people.

Some authorities, like Solihull, have opted to combine children's and adult services under a director of people. That is the direction that Stockport also appears to be taking. Merging services under one such directorate brings back-office efficiencies in things such as human resources and IT. In terms of service delivery, it can also ease the transition to adulthood and prevent support for young people from dropping off the cliff after their 18th birthday. A single directorate also encourages services to focus on whole families so that the needs of vulnerable children are not viewed in isolation from their parents or carers. The proverbial "team around the child" thus makes way for the team around the family.