Agenda item

Cabinet noted the report and agreed that:

1.            The management of Havering YOS should be brought back into the Children Adults and Housing Directorate

2.            The YOS should be located within the Troubled Families and Early Help service

3.            A new post of manager for the YOS and Early Help (over 12’s) be established and advertised externally with a view to appointment in the late Autumn 2014 and

4.            Issues concerning certain elements in the management of YOS be referred to the relevant Overview and Scrutiny Committee for its consideration.

Councillor Meg Davis, Cabinet Member for Children & Learning, introduced the report

In 2012 Cabinet agreed that the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham (LBBD) Youth Offending Service should manage Havering’s Youth Offending Service (YOS) on a contract basis.  This arrangement had been very successful to date.  Since that time, however, changes to the structure in Children’s Services in Havering, together with the implementation of the Troubled Families programme had created the opportunity to bring the service management fully back into the borough and achieve a budget saving.  It was proposed that the currently vacant PO6 post in the Early Help structure should be used to establish a new post to manage the YOS and targeted youth support.

The LBBD management charge for 2013-14 was £138,000.  This included £30,000 additional temporary staffing costs during the restructure of the Havering YOS, so the savings envisaged in this proposal were based on the basic £108,000 management fee agreed with LBBD.

There would be some additional administrative work arising from returning the service to the borough as LBBD had provided the infrastructure for reporting to the Youth Justice Board, collation of performance information and management of the joint YOS Chief Officer Group as well as providing the management of the service. This work, however, could now be undertaken by the Children’s Performance team within Business and Performance.

During questions, concern was raised about the quality of performance delivery whilst LBBD managed the process and the view was expressed that this was an appropriate area for Overview and Scrutiny to undertake a review.  Cabinet endorsed this observation and added it to its decision.

Reasons for the decision:

To establish a more seamless service for young people and their families by building on the existing strong links between Havering’s Troubled Families programme and the Youth Offending Service.

To make a full-year saving in the region of £100,000 which would become a recurring saving from 2015 onwards?  The savings were a combination of management costs and the ability to merge and deliver other services from the new position within Early Help.  It was envisaged that further areas of the youth justice work would be delivered in partnership with Early Help existing posts, freeing up currently vacant or agency roles.

Other options considered:

1.            To integrate further with LBBD to establish a fully joint service. This had been considered but there would be no obvious efficiencies to be gained.  This option would also not assist greater integration across services for vulnerable adolescents in Havering.

2.            To continue with the current arrangement.  Although this had worked well, changes within CYPS mean there was now an opportunity to bring back the service under LB Havering management to provide a more seamless service for young people and to make a saving for the Council.

Cabinet noted the report and agreed that:

1.            The management of Havering YOS should be brought back into the Children Adults and Housing Directorate

2.            The YOS should be located within the Troubled Families and Early Help service

3.            A new post of manager for the YOS and Early Help (over 12’s) be established and advertised externally with a view to appointment in the late Autumn 2014 and

4.            Issues concerning certain elements in the management of YOS be referred to the relevant Overview and Scrutiny Committee for its consideration.