Agenda item

Report of the Director of Children and Young People’s Futures (CS/23/07) seeking approval to approve the Staying Close implementation plan, attached.

An impact Assessment is also attached for the attention of Members at the meeting and is available on the web at - Published Impact Assessments.  

RESOLVED

(a) that the securing of £1.14 million of funding from the Department for Education for the Wave 3 Staying Close initiative be noted; and

(b) that the Staying Close implementation plan be approved.

(Councillors Biederman, Brazil, Dewhirst and Whitton attended in accordance with Standing Order 25(2) and spoke to this item).

The Cabinet considered the Report of the Director of Children and Young People’s Futures (CS/23/07) which sought approval for the Staying Close implementation plan, circulated prior to the meeting in accordance with regulation 7(4) of the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings and Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2012.

The Report provided a summary of the matter which included that the Council had been awarded a revenue grant of £1.147 million in May 2023 from the Department for Education (DfE) to pilot Staying Close in Devon. This was a national initiative which provided an enhanced support package for young people leaving care. It was designed to be a comparable offer to the option of Staying Put (for young people who wished to remain with their foster carers following their 18th birthday).

Staying Close provided an offer of move-on accommodation, alongside a package of practical and emotional support, provided by someone who they knew and trusted. The bespoke packages of support help develop confidence and skills for independent living, as well as emotional health and wellbeing.

The grant would cover the cost of employing Accommodation Support Workers, and other commissioned support services for young people leaving care in properties funded separately by rent and/or benefits that the young people were entitled to. Any posts funded by the grant would be 100% externally funded for the 2-year pilot and did not require additional financial contribution from the Council. The Report set out that the bid had outlined how the Council would use up to 6 buildings to accommodate a minimum of 24 care experienced young people aged 18+ in high and medium needs provision.

The Sufficiency Strategy was the mechanism by which Children’s Services sought to anticipate the need for a range of different accommodation for looked after children and care leavers. Devon currently had a number of young people who were unable to leave high-cost care placements due to a lack of alternative provision for young people age 18+ which could meet their support needs.

£203,000 could be needed to be funded from existing council budgets within the pilot period. The estimated potential savings over the lifetime of the project from providing a suitable alternative for the young people was £2.167 million, with the potential for an ongoing saving of £746,000 per year after the DfE funding ended.

The Council’s Staying Close sustainability plan after 2025 would in part depend on DfE’s decision to fund Staying Close, however the model was more financially sustainable compared to the arrangements currently in use.

Developing such a ‘Staying Close’ offer in Devon using DfE funding would support the objectives of the Council’s Sufficiency Strategy, Corporate Parenting Strategy and recommendations made in the Independent Social Care Review.

The Council would be required to provide quarterly returns to the DFE on the progress and expenditure associated with the grant. There was also an expectation that services would commence between October 2023 and January 2024.

The Cabinet noted that the business case and proposal had been presented to the Children’s Scrutiny meeting in June 2023 who RESOLVED that “the Committee welcomes the sufficiency initiatives outlined in the Report and recommends the programme to Cabinet when it considers the Report”.

They further noted there would be two main categories of supported accommodation provided, being Higher Level Support (12 young people): and Medium Level Support (12 young people).

Work was ongoing with housing providers and District Councils to identify properties that would be suitable for the Staying Close programme. This could include DCC buildings which could be supported by District Councils with expertise in property management. As soon as a suitable property was identified, the relevant Local Members would be consulted.

Employment, education, and training were key components of the initiative.

Whilst the Council did have some contracts in place for young people aged 16-18, and care experienced young people aged 18+, these did not meet the needs of all care experienced young people aged 18+.

The staffing implications were outlined in section 3.15 of the Report and the Consultations Engagement at section 5 onwards, including feedback from care experienced young people on housing and support and with District Councils and other Partners. The timescale for the submission of the bid did not allow for formal consultation.

The submitted budget for the Staying Close programme for 2023/24 – 2024/25 was outlined at 7.1 of the Report, showing the total revenue cost £1.147m. Paragraph 7.6 onwards highlighted the forecast saving based on 80% occupancy of 12 Staying Close places.

In conclusion, the Staying Close initiative provided an opportunity for the Council to secure accommodation for 24 care experienced young people aged 18+ with medium to higher needs. This would enable a move on from high cost supported accommodation for 16–17-year-olds and residential care homes. This would be appropriate accommodation when leaving care where they could get emotional and practical support to improve their outcomes as they transitioned to independent living.

An impact Assessment had been prepared for Members at the meeting and was available on the web at - Published Impact Assessments. This highlighted the initiative would result in improved access to supported accommodation for care experienced young people who were not yet ready to live independently.

The matter having been debated and the options and alternatives and other relevant factors (e.g. financial, sustainability and carbon impact), risk management, equality and legal considerations and alignment with the Council’s Strategic Plan) set out in the Director’s Report having been considered:

it was MOVED by Councillor Leadbetter, SECONDED by Councillor Hart, and

RESOLVED

(a) that the securing of £1.14 million of funding from the Department for Education for the Wave 3 Staying Close initiative be noted; and

(b) that the Staying Close implementation plan be approved.