Children’s Services and Local Government Reorganisation (LGR): Significant Challenges in Changing times

In this article, Emmet Regan, COO at Mutual Ventures, explores the profound challenges local government reorganisation poses for children’s services at a time of major national reform. He argues that as structures change and national reform accelerates, success will depend on strong leadership, clear accountability and the ability to adapt at pace.

The landscape of local government in England is shifting at a pace not seen for decades.

As councils grapple with financial pressures, political changes, and rising demand, the reorganisation of local authorities has become a key goal for this government and a growing pre-occupation for public service leaders who will oversee the changes. The recent announcements in March of the tranche two areas have potentially foreshadowed the outcomes for the remaining areas due to be announced in the summer. The March announcements have sought to create multi-unitary councils across previous single county footprints thus increasing the number of new local authorities significantly.

The scale of this change is especially important for children’s services, where the stakes could not be higher. To add to these shifting sands, at a national level, there are a series of wide-ranging reforms to commissioning, fostering, early help and family justice. The imminent decisions on the creation of new authorities could create significant and immediate demand for new leadership of children’s services, require the use of new models for the delivery of front-line services and necessitate that regulation keep pace with these changing arrangements. LGR will have the biggest impact on the delivery of children’s services since the Independent Review of Children’s Social care in 2022.

Amid this challenging backdrop, policy makers, elected members, officers and regulators must confront an array of pressing questions: how do we maintain safe and effective children’s services while implementing national reforms and in many cases going through LGR at the same time? How can we adapt to delivering children’s services across new or existing organisational boundaries?

While reading this you may be in an area that is not going through LGR and therefore feel, if not immune to the change, at least insulated from it. Nothing could be further from the truth. The sudden increase in demand for new directors and wider leaders will have to come from the existing leadership pool or wider senior leadership teams across the country. This is a finite group and that group will need to fill the increased demand. New authorities will come under pressure to secure new leadership as soon as is possible prior to vesting day. Therefore, LGR creates a systemic challenge for the whole of local government not just individual local authorities.

Regulating a shifting system

Ofsted’s role in regulating Children’s Services is both to safeguard and to challenge. Its inspections provide essential oversight, shining a light on areas where services excel and where improvements are required. Yet, Ofsted may be asked to move at an uncomfortable pace to keep up with the creation of new authorities and potential new shared arrangements being created at a similar pace. This sudden requirement for additional inspection capacity will be a shared national challenge and a new pressure.

Retaining and attracting talent

The recruitment and retention of experienced Directors of Children’s Services (DCS) have been a systemic risk for several years, but LGR runs the risk of exacerbating this. From conversations, I have had up and down the country, there are two current specific and interrelated challenges. Firstly, LGR is likely to significantly increase demand for DCS colleagues in newly created authorities while existing DCS colleagues may see LGR as a natural break point in their career either to retirement or to a new challenge. Either way, it heaps further pressure on a scarce group of talented individuals who take on challenging and stressful roles on behalf of all of us.

Delivering differently

Given the challenges, one potential option for newly emerging authorities is to make use of innovative models to work across new boundaries and provide services in partnership or across a wider footprint. These models are not a panacea to the challenges outlined already.  Achieving for Children, a community interest company established by Kingston and Richmond councils, is perhaps the most high-profile example. By pooling resources and expertise, such models aim to deliver better outcomes for children while achieving efficiencies that would be difficult for individual councils. Of course, what works in one area of the country is not wholly applicable to everywhere.  In some areas, the transition to new models has been marred by unclear accountability, staff turnover, and confusion among service users. The lesson is clear: structure alone does not guarantee success; culture, leadership, and clarity of purpose are equally vital.

At a national level, resources should be ringfenced to support leadership development across children’s services. Government departments should work hand in glove to ensure their decisions on the future of services are joined up across local government, health and police. Any use of alternative delivery models must be underpinned by robust governance and clear accountability; and work with Ofsted to develop frameworks that encourage innovation as well as compliance. The road ahead will not be easy, but with the right leadership, vision, and commitment, it can be travelled successfully.

Please contact Emmet.Regan@mutualventures.co.uk if you'd like to discuss any of the themes in this article.

This article was originally published in www.themj.co.uk