Agenda item

Purpose of the report:

To apprise the Select Committee of the Cabinet Response to the Report of the No Wrong Door Task Group and provide opportunity for the Select Committee to make further recommendations.

Witnesses:

Mary Lewis, Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Families

Tina Benjamin, Director – Corporate Parenting

Key points raised during the discussion:

1. The Chairman invited Councillor Lesley Steeds, Chairman of the former No Wrong Door (NWD) Task Group, to introduce the Report. The Chairman of the Task Group was pleased to report that the Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Families had accepted six of the Task Group recommendations outright and accepted the essence of the remaining three. The Chairman of the Task Group supported the Cabinet Member’s decision to maintain the name No Wrong Door for the Service. The Chairman of the Task Group was assured by the Cabinet Member’s representation that the accreditation of Surrey’s NWD by North Yorkshire County Council would not prevent further development of the service to meet local need. The Chairman of the Task Group recommended that the Select Committee agree that the assurances provided satisfactorily addressed the concerns underlying recommendations 1, 2 and 8.

2. A Member asked for an update on the progress of the NWD project. The Director – Corporate Parenting informed the Select Committee that the Service was scheduling key training which was crucial for the rollout of the NWD and ensuring that staff understood the model and engaged with partners. An operational group of staff members was established, and roles and job descriptions were being developed. The Service was also considering what the NWD would look like for foster carers who wanted to work within the model, identifying the eligibility and pathways for young people, and exploring the future working relationship with colleagues in social care and other agencies. The NWD was on course to commence in shadow form in late January/February 2021.

3. A Member asked if there were any risks of implementing the NWD Service. The Cabinet Member stated that failing to introduce a new service for teenagers at risk of becoming looked after was the greatest risk and thanked the Task Group for its work and supporting the introduction of the NWD policy.

4. A Member asked whether the locations for future NWD hubs were confirmed and for the reasons behind any decisions made. The Director informed the Select Committee that the first confirmed location was Walton-on-Thames, in Northeast Surrey. This site fulfilled much of the criteria for children’s development and hub work. The Service had looked at where in Surrey most teenagers entered into care to help decide in which quadrant the hubs were best located. The Director hoped that the hubs would be spread across the county as much as possible and commented that, ideally, the second hub would be in the southeast of the county, but this was not yet confirmed. The service was deliverable without dedicated NWD hubs, by using the council’s existing residential estate.

5. The Chairman noted that Cabinet agreed a refreshed Organisational Strategy on 29 September 2020 and asked how the NWD supported the council’s new priorities. The Cabinet Member explained that outcomes for teenagers who entered care were generally poor thus the NWD supported the priority that nobody is left behind, by reducing care episodes and improving outcomes for service users.  Children from ethnic minority backgrounds were more likely to be referred to children’s social care but would be supported differently and more effectively with the NWD approach, thus supporting the council’s priority to tackle inequality. The NWD model also prevented young people from being placed out of county, and resilient and connected communities were built when communities supported their young people.

6. AMember asked if, hypothetically, North Yorkshire County Council did not hold the intellectual property rights in respect of the name ‘No Wrong Door’ and the model’s ten distinguishing features, but had still offered to accredit the council’s No Wrong Door service, the council would have still opted for accreditation and, if so, why. The Director stated that the council would have still wanted to work with North Yorkshire County Council if there was no accreditation, as learning from a well-established system is helpful when introducing a new policy. The Director added that the name ‘No Wrong Door was widely understood by social workers but would not necessarily be known to service users – the hubs could be given any name, and young people would be consulted in this respect.  

7. The Cabinet Member for Children stated that the number of families living in poverty in Surrey was projected to increase over the following years due to COVID-19 and suggested that the Select Committee look at how families were being supported through economic pressures at a future meeting. 

Recommendations:

                      I.        The assurances provided by the Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Familiesin respect of recommendations 1, 2 and 8 of the Report of the No Wrong Door Task Group satisfactorily address the concerns underlying those recommendations.

                    II.        The Children, Families, Lifelong Learning and Culture Select Committee endorses the decisions of the Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Families to proceed with the accreditation of Surrey County Council’s No Wrong Door service by North Yorkshire County Council and to maintain the name ‘No Wrong Door’ for the service.