To receive an update on the proposal for Torbay Council to join the Fostering South West End-to-End Regional Fostering Hub.

The Cabinet Member for Children’s Services – Councillor Bye and the Director of Children’s Services – Nancy Meehan provided an overview of the submitted report regarding the Fostering South West – End-to-End Regional Fostering Hub and responded to questions.  Key points included:

·      Torbay Council will join the Fostering South West End-to-End Regional Fostering Hub in March 2027 as part of the second phase of implementation;

·      the regional model aims to increase foster carer recruitment and retention while maintaining strong local relationships and support for carers;

·      the proposal forms part of wider national fostering and social care reforms and builds on the existing regional fostering enquiry hub; and

·      six local authorities will go live with the new arrangements on 1 September 2026, with progress reviewed monthly to inform future roll-out.

Members asked questions in respect of the following:

·      which South West authorities would be included within the regional fostering hub and how would Local Government Reorganisation affect the arrangements;

·      whether funding and budgets would transfer to the hub;

·      how the regional arrangements would protect the strong fostering practice already established by Torbay Council, where the hub would be based, and whether support would be focussed on existing foster carers or recruitment activity;

·      whether participation in the end-to-end hub was optional;

·      what level of influence Torbay Council would have over the future model and the sharing of best practice;

·      whether there would be a standardised package of support and benefits for foster carers across the region;

·      what the key benefits of joining the regional hub would be;

·      whether Torbay's strong fostering performance indicated that other authorities were performing less well;

·      whether foster carers would remain with Torbay Council or transfer to the hub and how relationships with foster carers would be maintained;

·      how the proposed Room Makers initiative would operate;

·      the extent to which foster carers, children and young people had been involved in developing the proposals and what support would be provided during implementation;

·      the potential impact on existing fostering staff and whether local fostering promotion activities would continue;

·      whether there would be an opportunity to withdraw from the arrangements if they did not prove successful during the trial;

·      whether there was any flexibility around the conditions and provisos contained within the recommendations to Cabinet; and

·      how the financial arrangements would operate and whether funding would transfer to support the new model.

The following responses were received:

·      the proposed hub would include all 15 South West local authorities, although the impact of Local Government Reorganisation was not yet known;

·      concerns had been raised across a number of authorities regarding the transfer of budgets into the regional hub arrangements;

·      support arrangements for social workers would form part of the transfer arrangements;

·      the direction of travel nationally was towards regionalisation, with the South West region being asked to identify additional fostering households. Consideration was being given to how a centralised model could continue to meet local needs and priorities;

·      Wiltshire Council was leading the development work and had been involved in preparations for the first phase of implementation, which had been in development for approximately four months;

·      local authorities currently offered different support packages to foster carers.  Work was underway to review and refresh Torbay's offer and contribute towards a more consistent regional approach. Increasing the number of local foster carers could improve outcomes for children and reduce placement costs;

·      the regional model would provide greater flexibility, economies of scale, enhanced marketing opportunities, access to specialist expertise and a wider reach for recruitment activity;

·      Torbay was currently one of the strongest performing authorities in the region in converting enquiries into approved foster households.  The regional model would provide access to a wider audience, although Torbay continued to experience challenges in retaining foster carers;

·      it was understood that the hub would operate as an Independent Fostering Agency, with local authorities retaining responsibilities through service level agreements and statutory arrangements.  Foster carers would become part of the hub arrangements and be allocated to local authorities as required;

·      the Room Makers initiative would provide access to funding to enable foster carers to adapt or extend their homes where additional accommodation was required;

·      there was limited information available regarding national consultation with foster carers and families.  Feedback from Torbay foster carers had emphasised the importance of maintaining relationship-based practice and ensuring carers continued to feel valued and supported;

·      to mitigate concerns regarding local promotion and engagement activities, fostering awareness and communications would be embedded more widely across the Council, supported by the Communications Team and the Council's corporate parenting responsibilities;

·      no formal agreements had been entered into and no funding had been committed.  The current position represented an agreement in principle and provided an opportunity to review learning from other authorities before final decisions were made;

·      the report would not be presented to Cabinet until later in the year, allowing further consideration of the recommendations in light of learning from authorities already participating in the pilot programme; and

·      financial arrangements remained a significant consideration, including concerns around pooled budgets and the methodology used to determine financial contributions.

Resolved (unanimously):

That the Director of Children’s Services, present to the Children and Young People’s Overview and Scrutiny Sub-Board in January 2027, a feedback report on the process and progress of the first six authorities transferring to the South West – End-to-End Regional Fostering Hub.