Issue - meetings

Report of the Deputy Chief Executive (People)

The Cabinet considered a report of the Deputy Chief Executive (People) that sought agreement for the City Council to become part of a Regional Adoption Agency through a shared service arrangement with Solihull Metropolitan Council, Warwickshire County Council and Worcestershire County Council. The new Regional Adoption Agency to be known as Adoption Central England (ACE).

ACE would deliver the adoption agency functions of the four local authorities including the assessment, training and approval of adopters, the identification of prospective adopters for children who were in need of a new adoptive family and adoption support to adoptive families and some Special Guardianship support services.

Warwickshire County Council would become the host authority to facilitate the operational delivery of the shared service, however governance arrangements would ensure that all four authorities retained strategic responsibility for performance delivery and outcomes.

The matter had also been discussed at the Education and Childrens Services Scrutiny Board (2) at their meeting on 31^st October 2017 (their minute 22/17 referred) and the outcome of their consideration, which recommended that Cabinet accept the approach to a regional adoption agency, was set out in a Briefing Note appended to the report.

RESOLVED that the Cabinet:

1)  Agrees the recommendation from the Education and Childrens Services Scrutiny Board (2), that the approach to a regional adoption agency be accepted.

2)  Notes the outcomes of the engagement and consultation and the resulting equality impact assessment.

3)  Delegates authority to the Deputy Chief Executive (Place) (Legal Services) to finalise, and approve the Partnership and Hosting Agreement.

4)  Subject to recommendation 2 above, delegates authority to the Director of Children’s Services to sign on behalf of the City Council a partnership arrangement alongside Solihull Metropolitan Council, Warwickshire County Council and Worcestershire County Council for ACE to undertake the delivery of the City Council’s adoption service.

5)  Subject to recommendation 2 above, delegates authority to the Director of Children’s Services to sign on behalf of the City Council a partnership arrangement alongside Solihull Metropolitan Council, Warwickshire County Council and Worcestershire County Council for ACE to undertake the delivery of some of the City Council’s Special Guardianship services.

6)  Approves Warwickshire County Council becoming the host authority to facilitate the operational delivery of the adoption service and some Special Guardianship support services on behalf of Coventry City Council.

7)  Agrees the provisional financial proposals as outlined in the financial considerations section of the report below (paragraph 1.12 refers) to fund ACE (as agreed by the ACE Executive Board); and to delegate authority to the Section 151 Officer in consultation with the Director of Children’s Services to agree the final value of the total cash limit.

8)  Delegates authority to Deputy Chief Executive (People) (Human Resources) to progress staffing secondments to Warwickshire County Council as the host authority and to review the status of those agreements within the first twelve months.