The Children, Families and Skills Scrutiny Committee met to discuss corporate parenting, the Lancashire House Project, and the Where Our Children Live programme, and to review the committee's work programme for the coming year. The committee agreed to review the Corporate Parenting Strategy in April 2026, prior to its submission to the cabinet in October 2026, and requested an update on cohort four of the Lancashire House Project in spring 2026. The committee also requested that Lancashire County Council liaise with district councils to reduce the number of private care homes.

Corporate Parenting Strategy

Jennifer Robertshaw, Head of Service Children in Our Care & Care Leavers, presented a report on the council's approach to corporate parenting¹, which refers to the collective duty of the council, its elected members, and partner agencies to ensure that children in care and care leavers are supported, nurtured and empowered to thrive. The Corporate Parenting Strategy 2022–2026 sets out the vision to ensure the children for whom we act as corporate parent have what they need to live the happy and fulfilling life they deserve.

The strategy is underpinned by the seven statutory principles of corporate parenting², including acting in the best interests of children, promoting their health and wellbeing, listening to their voices, and preparing them for adulthood. The strategy identifies four priority areas:

• Achieving Permanence
• Improving Sufficiency of Homes
• Enhancing Health and Wellbeing
• Improving Education, Employment and Training Outcomes

As of August 2025, there were 1,741 children in care in Lancashire, a reduction from 2,127 in March 2019, which Jennifer Robertshaw attributed to the Family Safeguarding Model. There are 1,529 care leavers eligible to receive support from the Leaving Care service, with 1,151 young people currently accessing the service.

The committee agreed to review the Corporate Parenting Strategy in April 2026, prior to its submission to the cabinet in October 2026, and also requested that the cabinet member for children and families consider proposed legislative changes from the Children's Well-Being and Skills Bill³ in the review.

Lancashire House Project

Jennifer Robertshaw also presented a report on the Lancashire House Project, launched in 2022 to support care leavers aged 16–17 in moving to independent living. The Lancashire House Project is a Local House Project and member of the National House Project⁴. The project supports young people in learning skills that enable them to live successful adult lives, based on the National House Project Orchid Framework: Ownership, Responsibility, Community, Home, Interdependence, Direction and Sense of wellbeing. All young people engage in an AQA⁵ registered interdependence and independent living skills programme run by project facilitators through 1:1 and group work sessions. Homes are generally self-contained Registered Social Landlord (RSL) 1-bedroom properties. Young people choose where they want to live within the catchment area of the project and participate in decorating and furnishing their home. Young people can access support from the project up to their 25th birthday, however their home is theirs for as long as they wish to live there.

Lancashire House Project is currently supporting its fourth cohort of young people, and 40 young people in total. 65% of house project young people are engaged in formal education, employment or training and all young people complete the House Project Programme which is certified by the AQA.

Councillor County Mark Clifford asked if the county council had bought any properties themselves to help this, but Jennifer Robertshaw said that they had not. She said that one of the conversations that they've been having with the district councils is whether or not some of their housing stock should be ring fenced to care leavers.

The committee requested an update on cohort four in spring 2026.

Where Our Children Live

Louise Anderson, Director of Children's Social Care, and John Withington, Senior Residential Manager, presented a report on the progress of the Where Our Children Live (WOCL) programme, which aims to increase in-house provision of children's homes to 50% by 2027.

The programme is structured around three major projects:

• Increased Provision Phase 1: Expansion and diversification of in-house services, including specialist homes and equitable distribution across the county.
• Joint Health Home: A partnership with the Integrated Care Board, supported by Department for Education funding, to provide short-term, specialist mental health intervention within a residential setting.
• Increased Provision Phase 2: Establishing 15 new homes, including four 4-bed homes, eleven 2-bed homes, and two solo crisis beds (Pause and Reflect flats).

The Where Our Children Live programme is delivered through six interdependent workstreams: Acquisitions, Remodel, Recruitment, Finance, Digitisation, and Practice.

The committee requested that Lancashire County Council liaise with district councils to reduce the amount of private care homes.

Children, Families and Skills Work Programme 2025/26

The committee noted the work programme for 2025/26, and considered and discussed the key lines of enquiry set out for items due to be presented at the next meeting of the committee on 3 December 2025. Councillor County Fiona Duke asked that members be given time to look through the work programme at meetings, and this was agreed.