Councillor Laing (Cabinet Member for Children and Young People), Alison Botham (Director for Children’s Services) and Emma Crowther (Strategic Commissioning Manager) presented the report which highlighted that Plymouth City Council had a statutory duty under Section 22G of the Children Act 1989 to ensure there were sufficient placements in the local area to meet the needs of children and young people in care.

These placement needed to cover a broad range of provision, including children’s homes, residential special schools and foster care. This also included supported accommodation for young people aged 16 and 17 and some young people as they leave care and step into independent living.

This type of provision was not currently required to be regulated by Ofsted or the CQC, as it offered support rather than care. The DfE was currently considering the introduction of some national quality standards for this type of provision and this was welcomed in further driving up quality.

This business case described the current contractual arrangement for supported accommodation for young people aged 16 and 17 and some young people as they leave care. It sets out the proposal for a new arrangement via a procurement. It also described the longer term ambitions for a more integrated system for young people in care aged 16 plus and care leavers.  This approach related to existing revenue on spend for placements and proposed some adjustments to how this funding was used to support value for money (it did not request additional funding or describe any reduction in service).

The Cabinet agreed to –