Decision details

The Committee considered a report which provided an update on the Supported Accommodation project established in response to ILACS improvement plan recommendations. The report provided details of the planned recommissioning activity and co-production with the stakeholders to shape the future service offer. It also detailed the work completed to date, including the current service pressures and proposed future pathway.

As this item also cut across the Adults and Health Committee, officers had provided those members with a briefing and shared the report with them to enable them to provide comments and feedback.

There were currently only 29 commissioned beds for 16–17-year-olds in the borough:

·       21 beds with the YMCA in Crewe

·       8 beds with P3 in Macclesfield

·       81 of the 155 young people in care were migrant young people representing a significant increase

·       In addition, following the ILACS inspection, 3 new contracted beds were sought, and the council was working with Apollo Buckingham based at the former MMU campus in Crewe to utilise one of their blocks of accommodation to house 6 young migrant people.

·       Spot-purchased placements cost approximately £1,500 per week, compared to contracted rates of £400 (YMCA) and £800 (P3).

The proposal of work would see an increase in capacity of commissioned beds for each cohort, with the number of beds scaling up across the life of the contract as young people transitioned into them.

The Committee supported the proposals and raised questions and comments in respect of

·       Why wasn’t the block contract model adopted earlier?

·       What was the timeline for securing additional beds?

·       Were there plans to extend the project manager’s contract?

·       Could planning colleagues assist with accommodation for young people?

In response officers stated that

·       Consideration was being given to review the former Children’s Commissioning Team function, and it was acknowledged that the project manager role had been pivotal to driving the programme forward

·       Timescales included: - April 2026 an increase to 66 block beds and 80 spot purchased, 92 block beds and 54 secured by spot purchase in 2026/27 and by 2028/29 to secure all 126 set out in proposal and 20 via spot purchase.

·       There was a Strategic housing policy group which included the head of service for integrated commissioning and the programme lead.

RESOLVED (Unanimously)

That the Children and Families Committee

1. Review and approve in principle the new service model and pathway for supported accommodation.

2. Delegate authority to the Executive Director of Children’s Service’s in consultation with the Monitoring Officer and Section 151 Officer to procure and award the Supported Accommodation contracts for 16–25-year-old Children in Care and Care Leavers Service.