Decision

1. That a procurement to select Ofsted registered and suitably experienced children's home providers be approved and that the Cabinet agreed to proceed on the basis of:

a)  Lot 1 – a provider to work with Torbay Council to deliver two 2-bedded children’s homes. The buildings would be purchased by the Council and leased to the provider, who would register and operate the home. The provider would partner with Torbay Council to select the most suitable properties and design the service to meet Torbay Council’s needs; and

b) Lot 2 – A provider or provider(s) to deliver two 2-bedded children’s homes, with the buildings sourced and the home operated by the provider.

For both Lots the Council will seek to involve children and young people in the procurement process and design of the homes following the procurement, to make sure the Council considers their views.

1. Both Lots would be block contracted for a period of 3+2 years to enable homes to be secured for Torbay children and to give the commissioned providers the opportunity to create high quality, stable local services, working in partnership with Torbay Council’s social workers and support services.

Reasons for the decision

Torbay Council has a statutory responsibility to ensure there is a sufficient range of safe, stable and high-quality accommodation for children and young people in its care.

The development of local residential children's homes would provide opportunities for children and young people to remain closer to their families, friends, schools, health services and local support networks where this was in their best interests. The proposal would also support the Council's ambition to reduce reliance on unregistered placements, strengthen local sufficiency, improve outcomes for children and young people and assist in managing increasing residential placement costs.

Alternative options considered

The option of taking no action was considered and discounted as it would have continued the Council's reliance on an increasingly pressured external market, perpetuated the shortage of local residential placements and limited the Council's ability to meet its sufficiency duty and shape the local market to meet the needs of Torbay children and young people.

The option of developing Council-run children's homes was also considered. Whilst this would have provided direct control over service delivery, it was rejected because the Council no longer had experience of operating residential children's homes and recognised that specialist external providers possessed the expertise necessary to register, establish and manage such provision successfully.