To approve a decision that Herefordshire join Adoption Central England (ACE) regional adoption agency (RAA) jointly with Warwickshire, Solihull, Coventry and Worcestershire local authorities in accordance with central government expectation that all local authorities are part of a RAA by 2020.

The cabinet member children and families introduced the item. She noted that the council was required to join a regional adoption agency (RAA) by 2020 and Herefordshire Council proposed to join Adoption Central England (ACE). The practical implications were being worked through but the advantages of joining the regional agency included sharing of resources and the ability to place children across a wider geographical area, which would reduce the need to purchase costly independent placements.

In discussion of the report it was noted that:

·         Herefordshire adoption service was judged to be working well and would take its strengths to the RAA as current staff would transfer;

·         Herefordshire Council would retain accountability for the provision of adoption services to children in the county and it is expected would continue to be subject to Ofsted inspections of those services;

·         An implementation group had been established to oversee the transition of staff into the RAA, staff would be seconded to begin with and a TUPE process initiated subsequently;

·         There was no indication that there would be a requirement for staff to travel across the whole region covered by ACE but opportunities might exist for staff who lived close to the border with Worcestershire;

·         ACE was a standalone agency, governed by a board which Herefordshire would be entitled to join as a member of the RAA, Warwickshire County Council acted as the host authority;

·         A sub-hub may be set up in Worcester, staff who worked in Herefordshire would have opportunities to work in offices in Herefordshire;

·         Wales operated under a different legal framework so joint working with welsh authorities had been discounted;

·         Shropshire Council was part of a regional agency with Telford and Wrekin, Stoke and Staffordshire Councils which formed a large area and was not felt to be as good a match for Herefordshire;

·         Herefordshire Council had a long-standing relationship with Worcestershire adoption service and joining ACE would build on that relationship;

·         It was important that the transition happened as smoothly as possible.

The chair of the children’s wellbeing scrutiny committee commented that the proposal had been coming forward for some time. Joining ACE should make adoption quicker for children and provide better matches with potential adopters. A government evaluation of RAAs in November 2018 noted some challenges but it was felt that ACE was the correct agency for Herefordshire to join.

Group leaders were invited to express the views of their group. There was cautious support for the proposal to join ACE but concerns were expressed that the current good service in Herefordshire should be protected and that the regional setup could make the service feel further away from Herefordshire.

It was agreed that:

a)    Herefordshire adoption service joins Adoption Central England (ACE) regional adoption agency with effect from 1 July 2019; and

b)    the Director of Children and Families be authorised to take all operational decisions necessary to complete the partnership and hosting legal agreements with ACE.