The Portfolio Holder for Children’s Services will consider a report by the Director of Children’s Services.

Contact: Karen Bradshaw – 01743 254201

Note: Portfolio Holder Decision Making Sessions are not open to the public.  However members of the public are welcome to submit a request to address or ask a question of the Member making the portfolio decision.  Any request should be submitted in writing to the Chief Executive at The Shirehall, Abbey Foregate, Shrewsbury, SY2 6ND.  This is to ensure that the individual member has sufficient time to decide whether or not to hear such persons and if so the arrangements to be made. If you would like further details please telephone 01743 252729 or email penny.chamberlain@shropshire.gov.uk

The Portfolio Holder agrees to Enable and the Joint Training Service not to be externalised as part of Learning, Employment & Training Services, and subsequently to be managed within Adult Services.

Reasons for decision:

The soft market testing phase, as part of the externalisation process of LETS, has provided the opportunity for wider consideration of where, as discreet services, both Enable and Joint Training might be placed in order to maximise their impact and effectiveness.

Enable delivers specialist disability and employment support to Adult Social Care and Mental Health service users. The team develops a wide range of support pathways for people with learning disabilities and have an excellent understanding of employment for people with disabilities.

Joint Training – provides workforce development planning and training across the public, private, health and independent sector in the Adult Social Care sector. An extensive training programme is delivered which has received national recognition securing Skills for Care Innovation Fund Awards to develop new areas of learning.

As part of the transformation plans within Adult Services, it is recognised how important these services are in order to maximise people’s independence and to ensure that (across the wider health and social care economy) we have a safe, skilled workforce, capable of delivering appropriate and progressive care and support.

There are obvious, existing synergies between the work of these teams and Adult Services.  Current developments within Adult Services can be better supported if these services were managed internally.

As Adult Services move from provider to commissioner, in order to continuously improve the quality of services that are delivered, it is essential to influence, and where possible, positively manage elements of provision. As Joint Training delivers workforce development planning and training across sectors; this provides an ideal vehicle for this.

It is envisaged that workforce training and development will become a key area of collaborative working across the wider health and social care economy (this includes public services, private providers and the voluntary and community sector).

This decision to transfer to Adult Services is the first step in creating a progressive and sustainable solution to workforce training and development across the sector. Through closer working with providers and other partners, the aim is to reduce overall costs, and drive continuous improvement in the quality of service delivery.

In order to ensure successful implementation of the Care Act in April 2015, we must ensure consistency of interpretation and understanding, and the obligations that the Act places on all organisations involved in the assessment and delivery of Adult Social Care. Again Joint Training provides the ideal vehicle for this.

Following the initial transfer to Adult Services, as part of the continuing development of Joint Training, further consideration will be needed as to where, (with who) and within what structure or format this service is best placed in the future. Part of these considerations will be an all options appraisal looking at potential including business models being part of the Council, with an independent (private) provider, a charitable or not-for profit  ...  view the full decision text for item 1.