NO
LES LAWRENCE, chair, children and young people's board, Local Government Association
Local authorities provide the democratic, strategic and operational accountability for all aspects of children's services. The suggestion that a social enterprise organisation can undertake this role undermines the very nature of local democracy, that you can hold to account and remove those with the overall responsibility.
The complexity and need for inter-agency provision indicates that no one organisation can of itself provide every aspect of the services required. However, social enterprises have a significant role to play in being commissioned to provide specific elements of children's services together with parts of the third sector.
YES
DEBBIE JONES, chair, resources and sustainability policy committee, Association of Directors of Children's Services
Success in providing children's services must be measured by outcomes for children, not by any dogmatic approach to delivery systems. Social enterprises have a lot to offer in terms of their enthusiasm and expertise and could play an important role in providing a wide range of services.
However, one of the key elements of Every Child Matters is strong lines of accountability from the frontline to the director of children's services, and commissioning arrangements for a local authority must reflect this if responsibility is to be transferred to a social enterprise.
YES
KEVIN WILLIAMS, chief executive, The Adolescent and Children's Trust (Tact)
Tact's social enterprise model provides a focus for all our work. I believe it epitomises all that's best about both the private and not-for-profit sectors. We are dependent on income generation, rather than council tax funding, so must run efficient and effective services to compete. Social enterprises are creative in service design and delivery. A high focus on meeting specialist need and service user involvement gives Tact high inspection scores.
Social enterprises working in partnership with the public sector bring value and better outcomes for children's services.
YES
JON O'CONNOR, freelance education consultant
There is some real potential for social enterprises rooted in local communities to become involved in service delivery - and there are also many outstanding pieces of work to support Every Child Matters being developed by national charities in the children's sector.
However, any move to social enterprises as providers of services should not simply be a means of devolving current local authority responsibilities, as recent events have shown the risks of disjointed and dangerous practice. This should be about more locally responsive services, with genuine safety nets for the vulnerable.
