Members considered the outline business case to secure the Royal Borough as a shareholder in Achieving for Children.

The Lead Member explained that the report set out a recommendation to transfer children’s services and services for young adults with a learning disability up to 25 years of age, to Achieving for Children.  Achieving for Children was a community interest company delivering all children’s services functions across the London Boroughs of Richmond upon Thames and Kingston upon Thames.

She recognised that this was a big decision for the council to make but also a hugely exciting and positive opportunity for the residents of the borough and the workforce.  There were a number of benefits to be derived from the partnership, including back office efficiencies, workforce development, workforce recruitment and retention, creating income streams and scope for more integrated, cross-organisational delivery of services for residents.

The Lead Member provided some examples of where children would benefit:

Achieving for Children was a community interest company and therefore had the freedoms to set up its own schools or pupil referral units.  This meant that a free school could be set up in the borough focused on specific needs that had been identified and the council could wrap all services around that child, rather than having to place that child out of the borough.

Achieving for Children would have a combined FTE workforce of 1,000.  With a bigger workforce, there would be more opportunities for promotion and career development.  The council expected, therefore, that staff would stay with the council rather than leaving to go to other authorities which meant that children would experience less turnover of social care workers and greater continuity.

In terms of educational attainment, Richmond was currently ahead of the borough and Kingston was below the borough in the attainment tables.  There would be more opportunities for schools to work together to drive up standards meaning that children would benefit from improved teaching and learning.

The proposal was not just about the borough benefiting from joining Achieving for Children.  The council would also be taking a lot of good practice into Achieving for Children.  The borough was a solid ‘Requires Improvement’ authority and Ofsted recognised that it was on a clear trajectory of improvement.  The council also brought innovation for example on 31 October 2016, health visitors would transfer into the Royal Borough which would improve the delivery of integrated services to families in the borough.  Richmond and Kingston currently did not have health visitors within Achieving for Children and they were keen to learn from what the borough was doing.

During the first quarter of 2016, the Royal Borough undertook an options appraisal and business case.  The two reports concluded that transferring children’s services into a community interest company was a sensible way forward and Cabinet approved the proposal to enter into an exercise of due diligence with Achieving for Children. The due diligence had been completed and the conclusion on the part of the three councils was that there were no barriers to entering into a partnership.  Richmond and Kingston saw a partnership with the borough as a positive step forward in line with their growth strategy. 

The report made it clear that the council wished to enter into the partnership as an owner and equal shareholder which would underline the accountability for the services which were retained. The council was looking to transfer around 278 FTE and a gross budget of £92m, which was inclusive of Dedicated Schools Grant.  This covered all of children’s services statutory and discretionary frontline functions, with the transfer taking place on 1 April 2017. 

The fundamental issue underpinning the transfer was that the services residents currently received would remain local, accessible and of high quality.  She was confident that elected members, residents and the workforce would have a key role to play in shaping and further improving services through Achieving for Children in the future.

The Lead Member confirmed that the terms and conditions of staff moving to Achieving for Children would be protected.

The Chairman commented that the presentations given to staff had highlighted that:

·         If no savings were achieved, the transfer was the right thing to do

·         The proposal would provide better services through a more resilient organisation

·         The proposal would only have been considered if it were beneficial to staff to improve retention

The Deputy Lead Member for Ascot Regeneration commented that he could see many benefits of joining as a partner, including greater resilience and areas of specialism. Communication and consultation with residents would be very important.

The Managing Director commented that the proposal was an enormously exciting opportunity to improve services, provide opportunities for the workforce and open the council up to more creative solutions to meet resident needs. As Director, she was assured of the safety of the services including the timescales for transition.

The Lead Member for Finance commented that he had no aspirations for the project to generate cost savings. It was difficult to imagine, despite the many critical services the council provided, anything more important than the way the council supported and enabled the safeguarding and welfare of children and young people. It was clearly the right path to collaborate formally anf operationally whilst also retaining a significant level of influence.

The Chairman thanked the Lead Member, the Managing Director and her team and the Leaders of the London Boroughs of Kingston and Richmond.

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY: That Cabinet:

i.       Approves the transfer of children’s services and services for young adults with a learning disability under 25 years of age to Achieving for Children, effective 1 April 2017, in line with the business case at appendix 2, on the basis that the Royal Borough becomes an owner and equal shareholder in Achieving for Children.

ii.      Approves officers to negotiate an Inter-Authority and Members’ Agreement, including reserved matters, with Achieving for Children, London Borough of Richmond-upon-Thames and the Royal Borough of Kingston-upon-Thames, for approval by Cabinet in December 2016.

iii.    Notes the two options in respect of pension liability, see point 4.8, and agrees to adopt the same principle used for the transfer of leisure services.

vi.   Notes the requirement for transition funding of around £164K which will be met from existing children’s services’ budgets and the continued use of the £200K allocation from the Development Fund to support this project.

v.    Confirms that the current Strategic Director of Adult, Children and Health Services will continue to deliver the statutory function of Director of Children’s Services, see point 5.2, in order to oversee the transfer of services for the transition year, 2017-2018, with the function then transferring to Achieving for Children.

vi.   Approves the Lead Member for Finance and the Strategic Director Adult, Children and Health Services to agree the level of resource required for support functions.