Issue - meetings

Ms Skinner (Interim Head of Regional Adoption Agency) was in attendance for this item

Officers responded to comments and questions from Members, including the following: -

(a)  Ms Skinner confirmed that the plans for a Regional Adoption Agency (RAA) is to form a legal partnership between Bexley, Kent and Medway, in which staff remain employed by their own local authority and will be committed to their local authority’s terms and conditions. She added that the legal workstream had started and lead solicitors from all three of the authorities were in the process of drafting the legal agreement.

(b)  Ms Skinner explained that the aim was for the RAA to function as a single service.

(c)  Ms Skinner referred to the work that had been undertaken with Human Resources in respect of the comprehensive HR workstream and said that the HR Leads from each of the three local authorities had met and included in their discussion was the identification of differences in relation to terms and conditions.

(d)  Ms Skinner emphasised the importance of making best use of resources and deploying resources across the borders, if required.

(e)  Ms Skinner stated that there did not appear to be significant variations in relation to social workers’ terms and conditions.

(f)   Ms Skinner referred to the future performance monitoring arrangements in relation to the RAA and confirmed that within the governance arrangements, the Executive Board would transform into a Partnership Board to monitor the RAA’s performance.

(g)  Mr Dunkley and Mrs Chandler (Cabinet Member for Integrated Children’s Services) suggested that the Children’s, Young People and Education Cabinet Committee reported on the progress of the RAA, once established, bi-annually in 2020 and then reviewed future monitoring arrangements to ensure that Members’ received the appropriate and relevant information in relation to the RAA.

(1)        RESOLVED that the report be noted.