Issue - meetings

The Cabinet Member for Social Care and Health Integration presented proposals for the Council to establish a Social Impact Bond, building on an existing pan-London Care Impact Partnership with five other London boroughs, to deliver Edge of Care services in Barking and Dagenham.

The Cabinet Member explained that Edge of Care services were aimed at preventing children and young people from entering the care system through a range of innovative, social investment services. The service was already operating successfully in the other five London Boroughs and had been designed so that payments to the contractor were directly linked to the achievement of successful outcomes for the individual. 

The Cabinet Member commented that, as an early intervention programme, the new service was expected to offer a real opportunity to improve outcomes for children and young people.  The Council could also expect to achieve long-term savings over the five-year contract period through avoiding the considerable costs associated with placing a child into care.  With regard to the projected savings and the potential risks identified within the financial comments in the report, the Cabinet Member acknowledged the importance of identifying the correct cohort of children and young people for inclusion in the new service.

The Cabinet resolved to:

(i)  Agree that the Council enters into a contract with the Positive Families Partnerships, via the Pan London Care Impact Partnership Framework Agreement, for the provision of Edge of Care Services via a Social Impact Bond, in accordance with the Council’s Contract Rules and the strategy set out in the report;

(ii)  Delegate authority to the Strategic Director for Service Development and Integration, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Social Care and Health Integration, the Chief Operating Officer and the Director of Law and Governance, to enter into the contract and all other necessary or ancillary agreements in accordance with the strategy set out in the report; and

(iii)  Delegated authority to the Strategic Director for Service Development and Integration to enter into all necessary agreements to enable the Council to become a new member of the Pan London Care Impact Partnership.