Councillor Laing (Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Children’s Social Care, Culture and Communications) introduced the report, and highlighted the following points:

a)    The report provided an update on financial status and strategic initiatives of PCC’s Children’s Services as of October 2024;

b)    The report followed up on the Quarter One Financial Monitoring Cabinet report which was presented in August 2024, which identified a projected overspend of £4.692 million, related to placement costs of children in Plymouth’s care;

c)    The aim of the report was to inform Cabinet of the current financial pressures, the measures taken to address the challenges and the progress that had been made since the last update;

d)    The report highlighted the significant efforts and achievements in managing placement costs, including successful transitions from children from high cost residential placements to more appropriate and cost effective accommodation;

e)    The report also outlined the ongoing challenges in finding suitable foster care placements and the strategic actions which were implemented to mitigate those issues;

f)     The report discussed the broader implications for the Medium-Term Financial Plan and PCC’s commitment to ensuring the safety and well-being of children in their care;

g)    By providing a comprehensive overview of the current financial landscape, and what proactive steps were being taken, the report aimed to support informed decision making and strategic planning within the council.

Temilola Temilola Salimon (Service Director for Children, Young People and Families) added:

h)    There was a review of children who were exploring long-term family homes twice a week;

i)     There had been a review of the fostering offer to attract more carers.

Councillor Evans (Leader of the Council) added:

j)     There was a large national variation in standards of childcare provision, with PCC having less in-house provision than other councils;

k)    It was important to understand why there was such a variation between local authorities and their ability to attract carers;

l)     It was useful to review factors such a packages and pay conditions and compare them to the best performing councils to learn and improve.

Councillor Laing (Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Children’s Social Care, Culture and Communications) added:

m)  She would be reaching out to her counterparts across councils where the balance for foster carers was in the local authorities favour to understand what PCC might have been missing, and what about their foster care packages was more attractive;

n)    More independent foster carers were showing an interest in becoming local authority carers.

Councillor Lowry (Cabinet Member for Finance) added:

o)    A request that in the next report, the specific actions around providing in-house residential care were included;

p)    The next report should record the actions that were being taken, and the will of PCC, in delivering residential care.

David Haley (Director of Children’s Services) added:

q)    A summit was held in June 2024 which included conversations about both the financial and support packages for foster carers;

r)    Within the Mockingbird programme there were ‘constellations’ which provided children with extended networks of support, preventing the need for respite foster care.

Cabinet agreed to note the report.