Timpson moves to calm outsourcing fears

Speaking at the annual conference of the British Association of Social Workers (BASW) in London, Timpson acknowledged that a number of organisations have come out in opposition to the idea following a consultation on the proposals.

Timpson said: "I'm aware concerns have been raised and we will consider them seriously. We will look carefully to see what we can do to address concerns.”

He added that he does not want people to think he is forcing the idea through simply because outsourcing has been pursued by the government in other areas such as probation and health.

"I'm not blindly going down a path as people might assume is the case,” he said.

Under the plans, councils would be able to outsource child protection services as well as duties in relation to children’s trust boards and implementing children and young people’s plans.

The only area of children’s services that would be excluded from outsourcing would be delegating the functions of independent reviewing officers.

The College of Social Work has flagged up a number of concerns and called for the consultation period to be extended while Children England and Unison are among other organisations to have expressed doubts.

But Timpson said the idea has the backing of the Local Government Association, as well as Solace, and "to a large extent" by the Association of Directors of Children's Services (ADCS), pointing out that those organisations are not "free market radicals".

He said the idea is part of attempts, which include the Department for Education's £30m innovation programme, to free social workers from “traditional structures” that government believes “holds them back”.

"I want you to innovate – not just when things are going wrong, but when things are going right,” Timpson said.

"This isn't about privatisation. The legislation [to do that] already exists. If we wanted to do that we could. The fact is we have never done it."

Timpson said he wants to see partnerships with the third sector and possibly the private sector that are driven by social workers and councils.

"This is not something being imposed from the top. The frontline needs to be in the driving seat.

"This isn't about privatisation, nor is it about centralisation. It is not about government letting giant contracts to big companies and losing sight of who really needs help – children. My hope is we can work together to do this."

The proposals, the consultation for which ended on 31 May, have received mixed responses from the sector, with a number of organisations saying they will only support them if those delivering services cannot make a profit.