Councillor Sean Gaul, Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, agreed to extend the South Central Independent Fostering Agency Framework for another year, ensuring continued services for vulnerable young people. The meeting also covered declarations of interest, questions from councillors, petitions and public addresses, and the minutes from the previous meeting.

South Central Independent Fostering Agency Framework Extension

Councillor Sean Gaul approved the extension of the South Central Independent Fostering Agency (SC-IFA) Framework for one year, from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027.

The SC-IFA Framework¹ includes 16 local authorities and facilitates the procurement of Independent Fostering Agency (IFA) placements in the region. The framework is divided into four categories:

• Standard placements
• Disability placements
• Parent & Child placements
• Enhanced placements

Management of the framework transferred to Southampton City Council on 1 January 2024, following changes in management at Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council, the previous managers, and a joint decision by partner authorities. According to the report by Lisa Lyons, Director of Children's Services, Southampton City Council requested the extension while discussions continue with the Southeast Regional Care Co-operative about long-term framework management.

The report noted that continuing with the framework would:

maintain service continuity, market stability, and placement quality and sufficiency for vulnerable young people.

Each local authority pays an annual management fee of £1095, plus quarterly costs reflecting proportional usage and core costs, typically ranging from £4,000 to £5,000 per quarter. The framework includes a list of compliant providers with fixed placement prices, ensuring price stability. Placements are purchased on a call-off basis, rather than through a block contract arrangement.

The Start Well Commissioning Team's priorities align with the council's Corporate Plan², including increasing the number of children placed in the county and improving access to services to reduce inequality. The council's Oxfordshire Children and Young People's Plan (2018-2023) outlines a vision to make Oxfordshire a great place for children and young people to grow up in and to have the opportunity to become everything they want to be'.

A revenue budget has been established for Independent Fostering purchases, detailing expenditure related to both the South-Central Framework and SPOT providers³. Data analysis showed regular use and benefits of finding placements via the framework. However, a slight decline in usage was observed in Year 3 and the beginning of Year 4, primarily because several providers withdrew from the contract due to the uplift clause not applying to existing placements.

According to Jonathan Pool, Solicitor (contracts), the extension of the framework agreement will permit the council to continue to lawfully purchase fostering services under call-off contracts, provided suppliers are selected in accordance with the procedures set out in the framework agreement.

The report also noted that Independent Fostering Agency Providers commit to providing inclusive and equal services to a diverse range of children and young people, and to promote equality and diversity as part of their recruitment and employment practices.

Young People's Supported Accommodation (YPSA) Contract Extensions

At a previous meeting on 19 August 2025, Councillor Sean Gaul delegated authority to the Director of Children's Services, in consultation with the Deputy Monitoring Officer and Head of Legal and Governance, to extend the YPSA contracts for 18 months, from 1 October 2025 to 30 April 2027. Councillor Sean Gaul noted his lived experience of these schemes and the importance of getting the details right. The Director of Children's Services confirmed that this was an interim position within a transition phase, as the contracts were due to expire.

Other Business

The agenda for the meeting also included:

• Declarations of Interest
• Questions from County Councillors
• Petitions and Public Address
• Minutes of the Previous Meeting