Hillingdon Council Cabinet Member and Officer Decisions
Proposal to Standardise Allowance Rates for Regulation 24 Placements
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Non-Key Decision request Form D APPROVAL OF THE PROPOSAL TO STANDARDISE ALLOWANCE RATES FOR REGULATION 24 PLACEMENTS Dear Cabinet Member Attached is a report requesting that a decision be made by you as an individual Cabinet Member. Democratic Services confirm that this is not a key decision, as such the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings and Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2012 notice period does not apply. You should take a decision on or after Thursday 14 October 2021 in order to meet Constitutional requirements about publication of decisions that are to be made. You may wish to discuss the report with the Corporate Director before it is made. Please indicate your decision on the duplicate memo supplied, and return it to me when you have made your decision. I will then arrange for the formal notice of decision to be published. Anisha Teji Democratic Services Officer Title of Report: Approval Of The Proposal To Standardise Allowance Rates For Regulation 24 Placements Decision made: Reasons for your decision: (e.g. as stated in report) Alternatives considered and rejected: (e.g. as stated in report) Signed ………………………………………………………Date…………………….. Leader of the Council / Cabinet Member for Health and Social Care Democratic Services Location: Phase II Ext: 7765 DDI: 01895 277655 Ref: CMD 294 To: COUNCILLOR IAN EDWARDS LEADER OF THE COUNCIL COUNCILLOR JANE PALMER CABINET MEMBER FOR HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE c.c. All Members of Families, Health and Wellbeing Select Committee c.c. Tony Zaman, Corporate Director Social Care and Health c.c. Julie Kelly, Social Care & Health c.c. Poppy Reddy, Social Care & Health c.c. All Ward Councillors c.c. Conservative and Labour Group Offices (inspection copy) Date: 6 October 2021 ____________________________________________________________________________ Cabinet Member Report Page 0 Part I Public - 6 October 2021 APPROVAL OF THE PROPOSAL TO STANDARDISE ALLOWANCE RATES FOR REGULATION 24 PLACEMENTS Cabinet Members Councillor Ian Edwards Councillor Jane Palmer Cabinet Portfolio Leader of the Council Cabinet Member for Health and Social Care Officer Contact Julie Kelly, Social Care & Health Poppy Reddy, Social Care & Health Papers with report None. HEADLINES Summary This report seeks approval to remove a financial differential from the status of how a child is looked after by carers through bringing Regulation 24 payments in line with those for Special Guardianship Orders (SGOs). This approa ch will remove the financial disadvantage of SGOs, which provide greater stability for children. Contribution to our plans and strategies This report supports the following Council objectives of: Our People, Strong financial management Financial Cost This proposal is to reduce the rate for all children placed under Reg 24 by £140.19 per week . The financial benefit based on the level of demand is estimated to be a cost reduction of £134,863. Relevant Select Committee Families, Health & Wellbeing Select Committee Ward(s) affected All RECOMMENDATION That the Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Health and Social Care approve the proposal to standardise allowances given as part of Regulation 24 placements, as detailed in the report, moving to a maintenance only allowance in line with neighbouring boroughs. ____________________________________________________________________________ Cabinet Member Report Page 1 Part I Public - 6 October 2021 Reasons for recommendation 1. The recommendation is aimed at bringing the allowances for Connected Persons/Kinship Placements in line with neighbouring b oroughs in that a maint enance allowance is paid without a further fostering fee pending the assessments and ratification of the final care plan for children and young people. 2. This will address the imbalance of paying the fostering rate for Regulation 24 placements, which do not have the same requirements placed upon them as foster carers. This will ensure that the rates provided for Special Guardians are more comparable to the Regulation 24 rates, which seeks to address the rising issue o f carers continuing with connected persons fostering arrangements rather than SGO’s which offer more stability and legal permanence for the child concerned. 3. The standardisation of this fee approach will provide financial benefit. It is recommended that Reg 24 carers will receive £224.29 (under 12) or £292.41 (over 12) per week for the duration of their approval. The change in policy would be in line with social work practice across neighbouring authorities whilst ensuring carers are financially supported to provide for children in their care. Alternative options considered / risk management No other options considered. Comments from Select Committee None at this stage. SUPPORTING INFORMATION 1. From the point of a placement under Reg 24, the current arrangement in Hillingdon is that carers will be paid in accordance with the fostering rates. Following the assessments and the court ratifying the care plan of Special Guardianship Orders (SGOs), the SGO allowance is then put in place. This is means tested and is lower than the approved fostering rate. SGO carers are entitled to apply for Child Benefits and other benefits that will be applicable. Th e SGO rate is approximately £203.24 - £250.00 per week plus the Child Benefits. 2. The difference in rates offered sets families with expectations, initially receiving a higher amount when they receive the higher fostering rate in the interim stage only for this to be reduced to the SGO rate when the care plan is finalised. As a result, families are increasingly expressing a wish to remain as connected carers as opposed to SGO carers, due to the financial incentive. 3. This means that a young person remains in the care system throughout their minority and will have statutory social work intervention, even if this is not the assessed need. Carers are entitled to a one-off legal advice to consider their options following the conclusion of the assessments and the support plan being completed. Following this meeting, it has become apparent that carers are opting for the Connected person’s route, which may be in relation to legal advice regarding the financial benefits of the fostering rate. 4. Within Hillingdon, there are 2 age based fostering fees paid to carers; (based on mainstream fostering fees) ____________________________________________________________________________ Cabinet Member Report Page 2 Part I Public - 6 October 2021 • 0-11 years @ £364.48 per week, made up of two elements: Maintenance allowance - £224.29 and fostering fee - £140.19 • 12+ years @ £432.60 per week, made up of two elements: Maintenance allowance - £292.41 and Fee - £140.19. 5. These rates appear to have originated over a decade ago, when comparison to neighbouring boroughs and IFAs showed at the time that Hillingdon was “not competitive”. In order to recruit and retain foster carers, the rates were increased accordingly. 6. This rate was also uniformly applied to Kinship Reg 24 carers, however, these carers fulfil a different role. Connected carers are different from foster carers, they are offering to care for a named child, they will not have to undertake the same training, such as skills to foster. Connected persons do not intend to become professional foster carers and there is clear argument why they should not attract a generic fostering fee. It is proposed that Connected carers should receive only the allowance element of the fostering fee. The allowance should cover all the needs of the named child, who is usually a relative. At the time the decision was taken, it was a pragmatic way of dealing with what was then a range of cases in which solutions for children were difficult to resolve; the way of working in partnership with families and carers has significantly changed over this time and the refocusing presented in now an appropriate time to change. 7. From benc hmarking undertaken with London b oroughs, it has been established that other Boroughs give a maintenance allowance only, without the fostering fee in addition. The table below shows the approach and fee structure adopted by neighbouring boroughs for allowances paid for children 12 years old and above: Borough Approach Allowance per week Hounslow Maintenance only £193 Harrow Maintenance only £178 Bromley Maintenance only £193 Ealing Maintenance only £176.74 Hillingdon Combined rate – Maintenance and fostering £432.60 As the table above shows, the allowance in Hillingdon is an outlier both for the approach to the allowance with offering a combined rate and for the value of the allowance. ____________________________________________________________________________ Cabinet Member Report Page 3 Part I Public - 6 October 2021 In addition, the maintenance rates applied by Hillingdon are also above the National and London rate figures as shown in the table below: AGE 0 TO 2 AGE 3 TO 4 AGE 5 TO 10 AGE 11 TO 15 AGE 16 TO 17 London £152 £155 £174 £197 £231 South East £146 £150 £166 £189 £222 Rest of England £132 £135 £149 £170 £198 Proposal to standardise allowances It is proposed that the allowances for Connected Person’s placements are brought in line with neighbouring Boroughs in that a maintenance allowance is paid, without a further fostering fee. The Leader and Cabinet Member is, as per the recommendation in the report is , requested to approve a new Regulation 24 payment of £224.29(under 12) or £292.41(over 12) per week, moving to a maintenance only allowance in line with neighbouring Boroughs. This is to address the imbalance of paying the fostering rate for these placements, which do not have the same requirements placed upon them as foster carers. In addition to this, changing the approach will ensure that the rates provided for SGOs are more comparable to the Regulation 24 rates, which will hopefully address the rising issue of carers continuing with the Reg 24 placements rather than SGOs, which are more beneficial to the child in question. In addition to these wider benefits, t he standardisation of this fee approach will provide financial benefit. Reg 24 carers will receive £224.29 (under 12) or £292.41 (over 12) per week for the duration of their approval. The change in policy would be in line with social work practice across neighbouring authorities whilst ensuring carers are financially supported to provide for children in their care. From the 1 st December 2019 to the 30 th November 2020, 37 Regulation 24 placements were made. Of these 37 children, 9 were over 12 years old, so attracted the higher allowance rate and 28 children were below the age of 12. Based on Court durations of 26 weeks, costs in fostering fees amounted to £366,570 at the current level of allowance. Using this base level of placements, applying the maintenance fee only would equate to a saving of £134,863 on the current cost. In addition, there are potentially further savings which may be realised in cases where Court Proceedings are protracted and is likely to increase the conversion of placements to long term Special Guardianship placements where this is in the child's best interests. Although the maintenance rate within Hillingdon is higher than the other boroughs shown in the table above, it is not proposed to amend it at this time. As the rate is based on fostering fees, any changes to this would be subject to consultation with the current carers and this may risk of ____________________________________________________________________________ Cabinet Member Report Page 4 Part I Public - 6 October 2021 losing applicants who are currently in recruitment. It is important that we remain competitive in attracting mainstream foster carers. The Leader and Cabinet Member is also requested to note that the level of the maintenance fee is not proposed to change at this time but will be evaluated as part of a wider review of fostering allowances to be undertaken over the course of 2021/22 within the wider Social Care transformation programme. Financial Implications The standardisation of this fee approach will provide financial benefit. Reg 24 carers will receive £224.29 (under 12) or £292.41 (over 12) per week for the duration of their approval. The financial benefit will mean a saving of approximately £140.19 per week per child. From the 1 st December 2019 to the 30 th November 2020, 37 Regulation 24 placements were made. Of these 37 children, 9 were over 12 years old, so attracted the higher allowance rate and 28 children were below the age of 12. Based on minimum Court durations of 26 weeks, costs in fostering fees am ounted to £366,570 at the current level of allowance. Using this base level of placements, applying the maintenance fee only would equate to a saving of £134,863 on the current cost. The reduction in cost will be used to offset the increased demand and c osts of Looked After Children placements. RESIDENT BENEFIT & CONSULTATION The benefit or impact upon Hillingdon residents, service users and communities? The Council will continue meet its statutory duty as set out in legislation. Children will be in the care of family members under the legal order that is assessed to meet their needs throughout their minority. Support will be provided to families during the assessment phase in the form of the Regulation 24 maintenance payment. Families will not e xperience a significant change in the allowance received following the conclusion of assessments and proceedings. Consultation Carried Out or Required None. CORPORATE CONSIDERATIONS Legal The report has been considered in line with the relevant statutory guidance and there are no legal ____________________________________________________________________________ Cabinet Member Report Page 5 Part I Public - 6 October 2021 implications arising from the proposal. Corporate Finance Corporate Finance has reviewed this report and concurs with the financial implications set out above, noting that the recommendation to change to allowances under Regulation 24 placements, in line with local benchmarking, will result in an estimated saving of £134k. This saving will offset placement pressures within the Looked After Children budgets. BACKGROUND PAPERS NIL.
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Executive Decision Notice – 15 October 2021 Page 1 This notice is a public document also available to view on the Council's website www.hillingdon.gov.uk OFFICIAL EXECUTIVE DECISION NOTICE PUBLISHED BY DEMOCRATIC SERVICES Notice is hereby given that the following decision(s) have been made today by Cabinet Members at the London Borough of Hillingdon: Title of decision APPROVAL OF THE PROPOSAL TO STANDARDISE ALLOWANCE RATES FOR REGULATION 24 PLACEMENTS Reference No. 294 Date of decision 15 October 2021 Call-in expiry date 5pm, on Friday 22 October 2021 Relevant Select Committee(s) Families, Health & Wellbeing Select Committee Relevant Ward(s) All Decision made Cabinet Members making the decision Councillor Ian Edwards - Leader of the Council Councillor Jane Palmer - Cabinet Member for Health and Social Care DECISION APPROVED That the Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Health and Social Care approve the proposal to standardise allowances given as part of Regulation 24 placements, as detailed in the report, moving to a maintenance only allowance in line with neighbouring boroughs. Reason for decision 1. The decision is aimed at bringing the allowances for Connected Persons /Kinship Placements in line with neighbouring boroughs in that a maint enance allowance is paid without a further fostering fee pending the assessments and ratification of the final care plan for children and young people. 2. This will address the imbalance of paying the fostering rate for Regulation 24 placements, which do not have the same requirements placed upon them as foster carers. This will ensure that the rates provided for Special Guardians are more comparable to the Regulation 24 rates, which seeks to address the rising issue of carers continuing with connected persons fostering arrangements rather than SGO’s which offer more stability and legal permane nce for the child concerned. 3. The standardisation of this fee approach will provide financial Executive Decision Notice – 15 October 2021 Page 2 This notice is a public document also available to view on the Council's website www.hillingdon.gov.uk benefit. It is recommended that Reg 24 carers will receive £224.29 (under 12) or £292.41 (over 12) per week for the duration of their approval. The change in policy would be in line with social work practice across neighbouring authorities whilst ensuring carers are financially supported to provide for children in their care. Alternative options considered and rejected None at this stage. Classification Part 1 - Public Link to associated report here. Relevant Officer contact & Directorate Julie Kelly, Social Care & Health Poppy Reddy, Social Care & Health Any interest declared by the Cabinet Member(s) / dispensation granted N/A Implementation of decision & scrutiny call-in [Internal Use only] When can this decision be implemented by officers? Officers can implement Cabinet Member decision in this notice only from the expiry of the scrutiny call-in period which is: 5pm, on 22 October 2021 However, this is subject to the decision not being called in by Councillors on the relevant Select Committee. Upon receipt of a valid call-in request, Democratic Services will immediately advise the relevant officer(s) and the decision must then be put on hold. Councillor scrutiny call- in of this decision Councillors on the relevant Select Committee shown in this notice may request to call-in this decision. The request must be before the expiry of the scrutiny call-in period above. Councillors should use the Scrutiny Call-in App (link below) on their devices to initiate any call-in request. Further advice can be sought from Democratic Services if required: Scrutiny Call-In - Power Apps (secure) Further information These decisions, where applicable, have been taken under The Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings and Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2012. This is the formal notice by the Council of the above executive decision, including links to the reports where applicable. If you would like more information on this decision, please contact Democratic Services on 01895 250636 or email: democratic@hillingdon.gov.uk. Executive Decision Notice – 15 October 2021 Page 3 This notice is a public document also available to view on the Council's website www.hillingdon.gov.uk Circulation of this decision notice is to a variety of people including Members of the Council, Corporate Directors, Officers, Group Secretariats and the Public. Copies are also placed on the Council’s website. Democratic Services London Borough of Hillingdon Civic Centre High Street Uxbridge UB8 1UW