Issue - meetings

Further to Minute 96 (16 March 2021), the Cabinet Member for Children’s Social Care and Disabilities presented a report on the proposal to continue the shared Children’s Out-of-Hours Emergency Duty service that covered the four London Boroughs of Barking and Dagenham, Havering, Redbridge and Waltham Forest.

The Cabinet Member advised that since 2014, the London Borough of Redbridge had led the delivery of the service on behalf of the Boroughs.  Significant development and improvements to the shared service had occurred since its inception and the service had been recognised by Ofsted as being highly effective, with an audit showing 100% compliance in responding to out-of-hours referrals within 30 minutes.  The service also proved to be extremely robust during the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Cabinet resolved to:

(i)  Agree that the Council enters into a new three-year partnership agreement with the London Boroughs of Redbridge, Havering and Waltham Forest for the provision of a Children’s Out-of-Hours Emergency Duty service for the period 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2026, in accordance with the strategy set out in the report; and

(ii)  Delegate authority to the Strategic Director, Children and Adults, in consultation with the Chief Legal Officer, to enter into the necessary contract and any other agreements to affect the proposals.