Consultancy boss voices concerns on government's Doncaster blueprint
Neil Puffett
Tuesday, September 3, 2013
Government plans to strip Doncaster Council of responsibility for children's services risk affecting the quality of services, the head of a private consulting company has said.
Martin Cresswell, chief executive of Impower, which was brought in by Doncaster in June to help improve its children's services, told CYP Now that proposals to create an independent trust to run the department by April 2014 pose a number of problems.
“I think the timetable outlined is far too tight,” he said.
“And I’m personally not convinced that the model suggested will not make partner relationships more difficult and therefore make it more difficult for a divorced organisation to deliver high quality support to children.
“I think staff will be concerned about what the transfer means. Therefore there will always be an underlying uncertainty while this process goes on.”
Cresswell admitted it is unclear how the government’s decision will affect Impower’s contract, which was due to run for two-years, until June 2015.
“I would hope by the time any new arrangements are agreed and in place, there is already evidence of sustainable improvement and therefore I would hope we would be allowed to see our role through,” he said.
“I think it would be a shame for us to finish half way through.”
Under the government plans for Doncaster, children’s services will be transferred from the council to an independent trust for a period of up to 10 years, with a review after five years.
Doncaster Council had previously warned that government-endorsed proposals, which were outlined in the Le Grand report, are “high-risk” and “unclear”.
Last month, the Mayor of Doncaster, Ros Jones, proposed a number of “modifications” including making the council responsible for commissioning the independent trust, working alongside the Department for Education.
Gove has said he will consider her suggestions.
Meanwhile, Impower has teamed up with the Fostering Network to work on behalf of the Welsh government to help fostering services with their recruitment and retention strategies.
The partners have said they will survey all foster carers in Wales to discover what motivates and drives them, analysing the results to improve how fostering services target, attract and recruit new people into fostering.
To read the full interview with Martin Cresswell see the new issue of CYP Now or click here
