Council announces plans to launch company to run children's services
Neil Puffett
Friday, July 28, 2017
A council where children's services were rated "inadequate" after inspectors found that children were being left in acute risk for too long has announced plans to establish a company to take over the running of provision.
Reading Council said it intends to create a new council-owned company which will focus solely on the operation of children's services, with the aim of allowing social workers and other staff to concentrate on their core day-to-day activity of helping to keep children safe.
The new entity will have its own independent board and decision-making process, and will operate within its own ring-fenced budget. However, the council will continue to hold the company to account for performance.
Reading Council's children's services were handed Ofsted's lowest rating in August 2016. Last month Ofsted warned that the pace of improvement is not quick enough.
The proposals follow discussions involving council leader Jo Lovelock, chief executive Peter Sloman and Reading's commissioner for children's services Nick Whitfield.
Whitfield is the chief executive of Achieving for Children, a company that was formed in April 2014 to run children's services in the neighbouring London boroughs of Kingston and Richmond.
In September 2016 The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead Council - which neighbours Reading - confirmed that it intends to join the arrangement. Achieving for Children has intends to expand to a total of five council areas by 2022. A Reading Council spokesman said there are no plans for the proposed company to join in the future.
Reading Council said its ambition is that the new company will become a regional centre of excellence for social work training and development, and that it will eventually look to trade these services with other councils, with any revenue raised by the company will go back into further improving council services in Reading.
Jo Lovelock, leader of Reading Borough Council, said that while improvements have been made since services were rated inadequate, it is recognised that the pace of improvement is not quick enough.
"Working with the commissioner [Nick Whitfield], we have looked closely at all the options open to us," she said.
"Transferring children's services to a stand-alone council-owned company will ensure a single and dedicated focus on children's care in Reading, allowing social workers and other staff to concentrate solely on their jobs.
"A number of councils have now followed this route. It means we can build on the improvements made so far and - importantly - it will allow us to ensure those improvements are sustainable in the long-term."
Whitfield said: Whitfield, Children's Services Commissioner for Reading, said: "Since the Ofsted inspection last year the leader of the council has been clear with me that her foremost concern is the quality of the services the council provides for children, young people and families in Reading.
"The lead member and council officers have been fully co-operative with me in exploring options that will allow the improvements in children's services, which all parties want to see.
"We will work together in the coming months to ensure the council's ambitions are fulfilled."
Reading Council said it will work up detailed proposals on how the new company will operate and prepare a bid to central government for start-up costs.
Final proposals will need to be ratified at a later date at a full meeting of the council. The intention is that the new Reading children's services company will be operational by September 2018.
