Appendix A
Hertfordshire
Sufficiency Statement
For the accommodation of
Children & Young People in
Care
January 2014
1
Contents
1.
Executive summary
2.
Local & National Context
3.
Under 25’s Population
4.
Analysis of Children in Care population
5.
Current service provision






Fostering
Adoption
Special Guardianship Orders
Residential- social care and schools
16+ semi-independent
Secure facility
6. Children and Young Person’s Voice
7. Summary and Key Priorities 2014/15
2
Section 1: Executive summary
Local authorities are required to take steps to secure so far as reasonably
practicable, sufficient accommodation for those children and young people in their
care within their local areas.
This Statement provides the current position in 2014 and identifies future needs in
Hertfordshire according to type of provision, and availability of a particular setting in
relation to demand for that type of provision.
As of January 2014:

There are 1016 children in care in Hertfordshire, of which 573 are male and
443 are female

The number of children aged 1 to 9 being received into care are increasing,
whereas 10 to 15 year olds in Hertfordshire are becoming less likely to enter
the care system.

The number of young people in care aged 16+ is 277. This number is
predicted to continue to decline over the next three years, based on current
trend of children in care continuing.
The intention across Children’s services is to co-ordinate the range of support
available with a clear focus on supporting families to stay together wherever it is safe
to do so, thus minimising the need for children & young people to come into care,
and supporting their timely return within their extended families.
1.1
Analysis Methodology
We have produced our Sufficiency Statement using a range of information sources:

Statistical analysis of current demands on services for LAC

Analysis of trends and projected demand

Analysis of the current revenue budget
Commissioning officers will review the statement data annually, and update based on
changes to service provision and indicated support needs.
1.2
Key priorities for 2014-2016
From the data collated the following commissioning objectives have been identified
for 2014/16:

The reduction in number of out of county placements year on year

The increase of specialist fostering availability within HCC foster carer
placements in Hertfordshire

Targeted commissioning of local service provision for children and young
people with complex care needs and behaviour that challenges

Further development of the shared care scheme to prevent disabled
children coming into care
3

Increase in number of emergency beds and range of supported
accommodation for 16+
New medium to long term placements with Independent Fostering Agencies and the
private residential sector will only be commissioned when the specific needs of the
child or young person require a specialist placement that cannot be achieved from
within the authority’s own provision.
Young people leaving care will be offered the opportunity to remain in their foster
home or children’s home until they reach 18 and, in the case of children in foster care
beyond 18, if that is their wish through a ‘Staying Put’ policy.
1.3
Challenges
There are significant numbers (nearly 60%) of Hertfordshire children and young
people in care currently living outside of the county.
Where there is an identified demand for particular types of provision, the Children &
Young People’s Commissioning service will therefore work with the local market to
ensure that resources are developed to increase capacity within Hertfordshire. The
impact of this strategy will be closely monitored over the next 2 years.
This sufficiency position statement will be refreshed on an annual basis to measure
impact and continued relevance of the priority commissioning activity areas.
4
Section 2: Local Context
Hertfordshire is located in the east of England region to the north of London. It has
easy access to London through good public transport links and is crossed by the A1
(M), M1 and the M25, as well as being serviced, by three major airports; Heathrow,
Luton and Stansted.
Hertfordshire has a population of over one million people. The 2011 National Census
recorded 343,546 children and young people aged 25 and under as residents of
Hertfordshire Projected population growth figures suggest that the overall population
will rise by 18.4 per cent from 2006-2031.
2.1
National and local drivers
The Children Act 1989 requires local authorities to take steps that secure, so far as
reasonably practicable, sufficient accommodation within the authority’s area
boundaries which meets the needs of children that the local authority are looking
after, and whose circumstances are such that it would be consistent with their welfare
for them to be provided with accommodation that is in the local authority’s area (‘the
Sufficiency duty’).
In 2010, statutory guidance for this duty was issued which required Local authorities
to act strategically to address gaps in provision by ensuring that they include in
relevant commissioning strategies, plans for meeting the statutory duty.
When assessing ‘Sufficiency’, Hertfordshire County Council will take into account:

the state of the local market, including the level of demand for specific types of
providers in a particular locality and the amount and type of supply that
currently exists

the development capacity of local providers

the resources, capabilities and overall budget priorities of the council.
The 2007, White Paper, Care Matters: Time for Change also set out a series of
ambitious aims to improve outcomes for all children and young people in the care
system. It covered six themes:

Corporate parenting

Family and parenting support

Care Placements

First Class Education

Promoting health and well being

Transition to adulthood
The White Paper contained a significant focus on improving the support for children
preparing for adulthood including a pilot programme entitled ‘Staying Put’ enabling
5
young people to remain with their foster carers beyond the age of eighteen. To meet
the commitments in the White Paper and the new duties towards care leavers in the
Children and Young Persons Act 2008, new guidance and regulations relating to care
leavers emphasise a more graduated approach to planning transition to adulthood.
2.2
Hertfordshire’s ‘Other Arrangements’ Policy
This policy sets out the framework and requirements to be taken into consideration
when placing children looked after and care leavers aged 16 and over, where
Children’s Services are commissioning and paying for accommodation but which is
not registered under the Care Standards Act 2000 and are therefore not inspected by
Ofsted.
The Care Planning process for the individual child must conclude that the child’s
needs are best met by a placement in ‘Other Arrangements’ i.e. they are deemed
sufficiently able and competent to benefit from a semi-independent type of placement
that meets their assessed support need.
6
Section 3: Population demographics for 0-25 year olds in
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a large county containing ten district/borough councils. The district
councils of Stevenage and Watford are relatively densely populated urban areas.
East and North Herts are largely rural and sparsely populated. The remaining district
council areas are a mix of urban and rural areas.
The 2011 census indicated that 30% of the total county population is aged under 25
years old. From Public Health data the above table indicates a projected sharp
increase in the 0-19 population until 2025, reaching a plateau in 2030 at 320,000.
The majority of our children and young people thrive and achieve their full potential,
with 84.9 per cent of young people in Hertfordshire achieve at least five GCSEs (A*C) compared to 81.8 per cent nationally
3.1
0-25 age population by District (ONS – Census 2011)
Area
Broxbourne
Dacorum
East Hertfordshire
Hertsmere
North Hertfordshire
St Albans
Stevenage
Three Rivers
Watford
Welwyn Hatfield
Hertfordshire
Aged
<1
1266
2028
1746
1318
1599
2013
1247
1081
1460
1376
15134
Aged 1 to
4
4909
7690
6553
5389
6428
8283
4659
4352
5270
5399
58932
ONS - Census 2011
Aged 5 to
9
Aged 10 to 15
5550
7034
8408
10738
8257
10992
5969
7514
7401
9298
9082
10696
4971
6214
5249
6816
5436
6442
6033
7358
66356
83102
Aged 16 to 20
5713
8181
7760
5771
6812
7192
5465
4904
4997
9942
66737
Aged 21 to 25
5761
8256
6797
6133
6525
6824
5660
4514
6316
10037
66823
7
0-25 age population by District (ONS – Mid Year Estimate 2012)
Area
Broxbourne
Dacorum
East Hertfordshire
Hertsmere
North Hertfordshire
St Albans
Stevenage
Three Rivers
Watford
Welwyn Hatfield
Hertfordshire
Aged
<1
1304
1900
1673
1366
1652
2029
1234
1073
1505
1419
15155
ONS - Mid-Year Estimates 2012
Aged 1 to
Aged 5 to
4
9
Aged 10 to 15
5006
5729
7008
8192
8637
10520
6919
8400
10760
5551
6208
7392
6693
7619
9092
8513
9546
10622
4820
5204
5956
4561
5476
6771
5569
5725
6430
5581
6271
7339
61405
68815
81890
Aged 16 to 20
5493
8185
7907
5680
6701
7036
5336
4802
4958
9861
65959
Aged 21 to 25
5811
8502
6915
6174
6508
6780
5622
4735
6001
10011
67059
The census data by district indicates that the largest under 5 years population is in St
Albans, that children of school age 5-16 have relatively similar high numbers in
Dacorum, East Herts and St Albans, whereas the largest grouping of 16-25 year olds
is in Welwyn Hatfield district.
3.2
Ethnicity
School aged children and young people from minority ethnic groups account for
21.1% of the total population, compared with 25.4% in the country a s a whole. 2011
Census information shows that the largest minority ethnic groups in Hertfordshire are
Asian (6.5%) , Black African and Black Caribbean (2.8%) and a notable Eastern
European population (1.3%).The proportion of pupils with English as an additional
language (11.6%) is below the national average of 15.9% with the main languages
other than English being Urdu, Polish and Gujerati.
The following table illustrates the number Black and Minority Ethnic young people in
the age group 0 – 25 years within each district. Watford has the most significant
proportion of BME population, followed by Welwyn-Hatfield and Dacorum.
Hertfordshire BME Population aged 0-25
Area
Broxbourne
Dacorum
East Hertfordshire
Hertsmere
North Hertfordshire
St Albans
Stevenage
Three Rivers
Watford
Welwyn Hatfield
Hertfordshire
0-25
Population
0-25 BME
0-25 BME as
% of 0-25
Population
29,078
43,622
40,701
30,874
36,593
42,618
27016
26011
28477
38556
343546
3,714
5,542
2,681
5,892
5,366
7,066
4462
4469
10491
9010
58693
12.77%
12.70%
6.59%
19.08%
14.66%
16.58%
16.52%
17.18%
36.84%
23.37%
17.08%
8
3.3
Child Poverty
Poverty in Hertfordshire is not immediately apparent. Often there are hidden pockets
of deprivation within our communities, where individuals and families live alongside
more affluent neighbours. This leads to a perception that many of our communities
are seen to be living in relative comfort, masking the real needs of many families
living there. Therefore there is often a misconception that poverty does not exist in
Hertfordshire.
The reality is:
 33,880 (13.2%) children are living in low income families in
Hertfordshire.

27 wards in Hertfordshire have a level of child poverty equal to or
above the UK average of 20 %

The highest percentage of child poverty at ward level is 32.6 per cent,
compared with the lowest at just 1.2 per cent, showing the huge
inequalities within Hertfordshire
9
Section 4: Children in Care population
The downward trend in the numbers of Children coming into Care has continued, and
there was an overall 2.4% reduction between March 2012 and March 2013. There
was a slight increase in numbers between April - June 2013, but the overall
population is reducing again, and currently the number of CLA in Hertfordshire is
1016.
The number of children becoming looked after (April 2012 – Dec 2013)
60
52
52
51
50
50
50
48
45
43
42
40
37
37
36
34
38
38
34
33
32
31
30
31
28
20
10
0
Apr12
May12
Jun12
Jul12
Aug12
Sep12
Oct12
Nov12
Dec12
Jan13
Feb13
Mar13
Apr13
May13
Jun13
Jul13
Aug13
Sep13
Oct13
Nov13
Dec13
Average Number of new CIC each month by age 2012-2013 and April 2013 –
December 2013
8.00
7.00
6.00
5.00
4.00
3.00
2.00
1.00
0.00
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
Age
2012/13
2013/14 YTD
The overall number of under 5s entering care remain relatively stable although as the
graph above shows there has been a noticeable reduction in the under1 age group.
10
This is believed to be as a result that it has been proving more difficult to obtain court
orders for very young children.
These reductions are against a backdrop of a continued increase nationally of 1.5%
in the CLA population, as well as increases in seven of Hertfordshire’s benchmarking
group.
% change in number of CLA 11/12 to 12/13
-20.0
-10.0
0.0
10.0
20.0
England, 1.5
Bracknell Forest, 5.0
Buckinghamshire, 6.7
Cambridgeshire, 0.0
Central Bedfordshire, 16.7
Cheshire East, -14.8
Hampshire, 2.3
Hertfordshire, -2.4
Oxfordshire, -7.8
Surrey, 3.1
Trafford, 5.5
West Berkshire, 16.0
4.1
Children in Care by District of origin
Age and Primary Address when first entered care
Area
Broxbourne
Dacorum
East Hertfordshire
Hertsmere
North Hertfordshire
St Albans
Stevenage
Three Rivers
Watford
Welwyn Hatfield
Unknown Postcode
Subtotal
Outside Herts
Grand Total
Aged <1
2
3
5
2
5
3
5
5
3
7
6
46
2
48
Aged 1 to 4
12
20
13
5
17
13
31
8
13
20
5
157
1
158
Aged 5 to 9
15
23
15
9
17
8
34
10
29
21
2
183
2
185
Aged 10 to
15
29
50
23
21
40
32
49
19
31
43
8
345
6
351
Aged 16+
18
34
13
16
33
35
37
22
31
32
17
288
9
297
11
Total
76
130
69
53
112
91
156
64
107
123
38
1019
20
1039
4.2
Numbers of Children in Care by Placement Type
The pie chart below identifies the types of placement in relation to children looked
after, and captures where the child was placed as of January 2014. For the 1016
children and young people in care, the highest categories of placement were 66%
fostered with other carers, 11% were accommodated in residential placements and
almost 10% fostered with a relative or friend
4.3
‘Looked after Children Stability Measures’ data against comparator
authorities
NI62: Stability of placements of Children in Care - % who had 3 or more
placements in the year
Hertfordshire
Statistical Neighbour
2011/2012
12.4%
8.9%
2012/2013
13.3%
9.5%
NI63: Stability of placements of Children in Care - % who had been looked after
for at least 2.5 years and had been in the same placement for at least 2 years
Hertfordshire
Statistical Neighbour
2011/2012
68.8%
68.5%
2012/2013
67.4%
65.6%
NI147: Number and % of Care Leavers in Suitable Accommodation
2012/2013
Hertfordshire
Number in suitable
accommodation
160
Percentage in suitable
accommodation
91%
12
The position at present is that Hertfordshire has a higher % proportion than
neighbouring comparator authorities of children having multiple placements in a
single year. This therefore may impact on the young person’s education, ability to
form social networks, retain contact with family and friends.
4.4
Legal Status on Entering Care
Total
Other
Police
Protectio
n
Emergen
cy
Protectio
n Order
Section
20
Accomm
odation
Interim
Care
Order
Full Care
Order
Approximately 57% of children coming into local authority care during April-Sept
2013 were accommodated under s20 i.e. through voluntary arrangements with
parents/carers. This represents a slight reduction from 2012/13 (62%) which appears
to correlate with the increase in the number entering care through police protection.
238
201314
(April Sept)
201213
42
17.6%
87
18.6%
5
2.1%
15
3.2%
45
18.9%
65
12.9%
6
2.5%
7
1.5%
135
56.7%
291
62.2%
5
2.1%
3
0.6%
468
There are considerable differences between age groups; for example around 38%
under 1s entered care via s20 compared to almost 86% of 16+. Further analysis
evidenced that the number of children subject to Section 20 decreased as the length
of time in care progressed from entry, through three months to six months.
Legal Status when Entering Care by Age
40
35
30
Other
25
s20
EPO
20
PP
FCO
15
ICO
10
5
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
Key: Interim Care Order (ICO), Full Care Order (FCO), Police Protection (PP), Emergency
Protection Order (EPO), Section 20 Accommodation (s20)
13
4.5
Young people in Youth Offending services
An additional factor since 2013 is the requirement to consider those young people on
remand as Children in Care.
There is a need to further analyse the projected figures for young people within the
youth offending system to identify the impact on placement demand, and to feed into
monitoring and review of service delivery
4.6
Equalities Profiles of Children in care
4.6.1. Age profile
Year
Under 1
1 to 4
5 to 9
10 to 15
16 and over
Total CIC
2009
40
130
150
455
215
995
2010
55
145
140
460
340
1140
2011
55
175
145
410
315
1095
2012
55
175
180
370
275
1055
2013
60
169
184
359
265
1037
The above table shows the numbers of Children and Young People who were in
Care on 31st March each year, broken down by age bands.
It indicates that the largest proportion in 2013 (60%) in Hertfordshire were over the
age of 10.
4.6.2 Gender Profile
Year
2013
2012
2011
2010
Male
197
240
240
295
Female
141
210
195
255
Gender of CLA on Entering Care
100%
90%
% of CLA Entering Care
80%
141
195
210
255
70%
60%
Female
50%
Male
40%
30%
197
240
240
295
2012
2011
2010
20%
10%
0%
2013
Year
14
The tables show a slight variation in the gender composition of children coming into
Care. The National percentage of males and females in care has remained stable, with
a slight majority of males within the CIC population.
This trend is reflected in Hertfordshire, where 53.64% of CLA starters were male in
2010, 53.33% in 2011, 55.17% in 2012, and 58.28% in 2013. In 2013, 197 males
entered care compared to 141 females in Hertfordshire
4.6.3 Ethnic Profile
Other (not
specified or
obtained)
Other Ethnic
Groups
Year
White
Mixed
Asian
Black
Total CLA
2010
890
100
55
50
45
-
1140
2011
855
105
60
50
25
0
1095
2012
810
120
55
50
-
-
1055
2013
814
122
38
42
17
4
1037
2014
790
106
39
55
23
3
1016
Table 3 indicates that the ethnic make up of children in care has remained
proportionately stable to the size of the CLA population over the past four years.
Hertfordshire BME 0-18 years population
Hertfordshire
0-18 BME
Population
BME LookedAfter
0-18 BME Looked-After as
% of 0-18 BME Population
43527
226
0.52%
However 0.52% (or 5.2 per 1,000) young people aged 0-18 from Black and Minority
Ethnic communities are in care in Hertfordshire, compared to 0.38% (or 3.8 per
1,000) of population of white or European young people aged 0-18 being in care in
Hertfordshire.
4.6.4 Other Protected Characteristics
Data recording does not currently capture profile data on children in care in relation
to other equality characteristics such as disability and sexuality. Monitoring
procedures will therefore be modified to capture data for future sufficiency analysis
and in order to inform commissioning decisions within children’s services.
7. Care Leavers
The table below outlines the numbers of Children leaving care within the last financial
year, which peaked in July 2013 with 39, but is currently 26 for January 2014.
15
Around 22.8% of children leaving care returned home between April to September
2013 compared to 30.7% in 2012/13. The average duration spent in care increased
slightly last year from average of 1121 days in 2012/13,rising to 1140 by Sept 2013
with marked increases in the average time spend in care by the under 1, 8 and 14
year old populations.
16
Section 5: Current Provision
A. Fostering
A1: Market Capacity
HCC foster carers
Number of foster carers as of March 2013
Team
East
North
South
West
Specialist
Total (inc short
break/respite)
March 2011
104
112
95
110
13
434
March 2012
102
94
93
111
16
416
March 2013
105
101
94
114
20
434
Independent provider market (within Hertfordshire )
As at 31st October 2013 there were 790 CYP in foster placements, 206 of these
(29%) were in IFA placements. Of those in IFA placements, 75 (35%) had been in
IFA for less than one year, while 24 (12%) has been in IFA for 6 years or more. As of
23rd January 2014, there were 159 Hertfordshire Children and young people in IFA
(Independent Fostering Agency) Placements
A2: Placement Trends
Month
March 2011
March 2012
March 2013
With
Friends
and
Family
164
132
115
HCC in
house
Foster
Carers
545
527
559
Independent
Fostering
Provision
138
138
169
Other
Provision
(other
LA)
1
4
1
Total
Demand
821
814
810
Movement and duration of placements
 Year data (between 31/10/2012 and 30/09/2013) indicates there is a higher
number of cases going from in-house to IFA (26) than coming back in-house from
IFA (20) (Data source: ICS data taken 5th November 2013).

Data from ICS indicates that there proportionally more long term in-house
placements than IFA.
17
A3: Cost Analysis
Average
March
March
March
Weekly Cost
2011
2012
2013
foster
placements
In house
£328
£329
£315
Provision*
Independent
£870
£873
£829
Provision
(social care)
Independent
£1,067
£1,012
£1,093
Provision
(disability)
*excludes infrastructure and management costs
October
2013
Budgeted
2014/15
£350
£315
£831
£829
£1,076
£1,093

As part of the Improvement Programme ‘Good to Great’, there has been a
recruitment drive in partnership with iMPOWER to increase the numbers of inhouse foster carers by a further 45 by the end of the financial year 2013/14.

Despite the recruitment progamme, the numbers going to IFA have been
increasing since January 2012. The main reasons for independent placements
being required is:


mothers and babies requiring placement together

black and ethnic minority children requiring same culture placement

those with complex or specialist care needs requiring individual support

large sibling groups needing placement together
The Fostering Team have set a target for the reduction in number of IFA
placements to be reduced to 109 to within 2014.
18
In-house and IFA placements (as at 31st October 2013)
3, 0%
206, 29%
In house
IFA
Other LA
500, 71%
B: ADOPTION
There are currently 49 children and young people are in adopted placements, which
is 4.82% of total placement arrangements in Hertfordshire.
B1: Market capacity
The table below identifies both the number of applications and the number of
approvals to become adopters
Financial Year
No of Applications during
year
No of Approvals to
become adopters during
year
10/11
11/12
12/13
50
38
66
35
54
49
B2: Placement trends
The current availability of approved adopters is currently reflective of level of need ,
given that the recruitment of adoptive families is related to individual needs.
Month
March 2011
March 2012
March 2013
January 2014
Number of Children Adopted
37
38
68
49
It should be noted that Courts are increasingly using the SGO as a disposal for care
proceedings as a way of ending a child’s looked after status, and giving them
permanence within their wider family network. Activity levels have increased
19
significantly over the last 3 years with 95 SGOs having been granted over the 5 years
to March 2011, to 65 being issued in the first 6 months of 2012/13.
B3: Cost Analysis
Average Annual March 2011
Cost
Adoption
£5,928
Allowances/SGO/
Residence
Orders
March 2012
March 2013
£6,448
£6,812
The above is a calculation based on the average weekly costs of placements x 52
weeks to give full year projected costs per child.
Whilst SGOs result in children no longer being looked after, the County Council
retains an on-going financial commitment.
C: RESIDENTIAL PROVISION
C1: Market capacity
In-House
No of
beds
21
3
6
4
Length of
Stay
Medium –
Long Term
Emergency
MediumLong Term
Short Term
Need
Gender
Complex and
Challenging Needs
Complex and
Challenging Needs
Children with a
Disability
Respite
Mixed
Age
Range
12-18
Mixed
11-18
Mixed
11-18
Mixed
Up to
11
Independent Provider – spot purchase arrangements
No of
beds
3
4
Length of
Stay
Short,
Medium
and Long
Term
Medium Long Term
Need
Gender
Emotional and
Behavioural
Difficulties
Male &
Female
Emotional and
Behavioural
Difficulties
Male &
Female
Age
Range
11-18
11-18
Independent Provider block contract arrangement
Hertfordshire have proactively been seeking to develop capacity locally within the
independent sector. Hertfordshire are currently part of a block contract arrangement
with 5 other Local Authorities to provide 20 residential placements with education,
increasing to 30 placements over the lifetime of the contract.The contracts
commenced on 1st January 2011 and will end on 1st January 2016. .
20
The contract provides for 3 bed spaces for Hertfordshire placements with the option
for an additional 2 bed spaces as and when required.
C2: Placement Trends
Total Number of Placements (including children with a disability)
Month
March 2011
March 2012
March 2013
HCC Residential
Provision
29
32
30
Independent
Placement Provision
34
40
41
Total Demand
64*
73*
72*
*Please note that 1 placement was provided by Voluntary/Third Sector Provision and
so the total does not match.
The above tables indicate stability in the capacity of in-house provision over the past
3 years, which is a trend which is likely to continue in the short term as there is a
strategic decision not to grow this section of the market.
However the growth in independent provision will need to continue, but with a revised
focus on the commissioning of local service provision within Hertfordshire
The table below outlines the number of children and young people with complex or
specialist support needs by age from March 2011 – March 2013.
Key: ASD – Autistic Spectrum Disorder, BESD – Behavioural Emotional Social
Difficulties, MLD – Moderate Learning Difficulties, PMLD – Profound and
Multiple Learning Difficulties, SLD – Severe Learning Difficulties
21
C3: Cost Analysis
Residential Home Placements
Average weekly Cost
current placements
In house
Independent
Independent
(disability)
March 2011
March 2012
March 2013
£2,892
£2,823
£3,212
£2,640
£2,729
£2,292
£2,706
£2,872
£2,204
October
2013
£3,148
£3,029
£2,217
Residential School Placements
Average Unit
Cost per week
Independent
Provision
(social care)
Independent
Provision
(disability)
March
2011
£2,614
March 2012
March 2013
£2,400
October
2013
£2,030
Budgeted
13/14
£2,400
£1,941
£2,676
£2,433
£2,395
£2,325
£2,395
D: 16+ SEMI-INDEPENDENT
D1: Market capacity
Registered Social Landlord Supported Accommodation
Hertfordshire currently has 235 registered landlord supported accommodation
spaces that can be accessed by young people aged 16 to 24. A further 305 bed
spaces can be accessed by people aged 18 to 24 including two YMCA’s
Ten places are currently block contracted specifically for Children Looked After and
Care Leavers aged 16 & 17. These are within wo block contracts with two registered
providers, 8 beds with Aldwyck Housing Association and 2 beds with East Herts
YMCA. Both provide supported accommodation with 24 hour support.
Where RSL providers accept Children Looked After and Care Leavers aged 16 & 17,
the young person can continue to reside in the same provision after their 18th
birthday where they have a continued need for support.
The majority of 16 & 17 year olds (Children Looked After and Care Leavers) placed
in semi-independent accommodation have been placed in private provider
accommodation.
The tables below outline the supported provision with RSL providers by district.
Districts
All districts*
Dacorum and Watford
Welwyn Hatfield
East Herts
Hertsmere
Age Range
16-25 years
16-19 years
16-24 years
16-17 years
16-17 years
Number of Bed Spaces
131
42
42
20
18
235
22
Districts
Welwyn Hatfield
East Herts
Watford
Hertsmere
Age Range
18+
18+
18+
18+
Number of Bed Spaces
116
27
150
12
305
D2: Placement trends
Numbers of Children Looked After and Care Leavers aged 16 & 17
2010
357
31 March Actual
2011
2012
339
291
2013
272
2014
239
Estimated Projections
2015
2016
209
178
Based on the SSDA903 return, the number of Children Looked After and Care
Leavers aged 16 & 17 has declined from a peak of 357 on the 31 st March 2010 to
339 on the 31st March 2011 to 291 on the 31st March 2012 and has reduced further
still to 272 on 31st March 2013. If this trend continues, this number of 272 as of the
31st March 2013 is projected to decline further for 2014 to 239, 209 in April 2015 and
178 in 2016. The projections must be viewed as estimated as it is impossible to
predict the future ages of children coming into care. The above projections are based
on the assumption that the trend seen in the previous four years (2010-13) will
remain constant. However as of the time of this report (January 2014) there are 277
young people in care aged 16+.
Private Providers
The majority of semi-independent placements made within the private sector have
consisted of a bedsit or a one-bedroom flat with visiting/floating support ranging in
quantity from one hour of support per week to twenty-four hours of support per day
for specific high need young people.
Whist an increasing number of semi-independent placements in the private sector
have been made into shared accommodation these units vary in terms of their quality
and cost. Historically, these provisions have ranged from three bedroom units with
visiting support to twelve bedded units with twenty-four hour onsite support; the
majority of the units with twenty-four hour support also provide placements to other
local authorities besides Hertfordshire. Matching the level of need of young people
has proved difficult where units only provide placements for Hertfordshire young
people; where units provide placements to a range of local authorities, additional
concerns have been raised about provider’s ability to consistently match young
people’s needs and not increase individual young people’s vulnerability
Private Providers – Asylum Seekers
The majority of placements and accommodation for Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking
Children who become Looked After at the age of 16 & 17 has historically been
sourced through a limited number of small scale landlords. These landlords continue
to provide a reduced amount of shared accommodation for both Children Looked
After and who are also asylum seekers aged 16 & 17, and failed asylum seekers
aged 18 to 21. The quality and cost of the accommodation and support has been
very variable and requires particular attention for the following reasons:
23




Whist the landlords have been risk assessed and all comply with health and
safety standards they were not recruited through any form of procurement
process or service specifications;
There is no formal support (on-site or floating support) attached to the
accommodation;
The number of failed asylum seekers aged 18 to 21 is projected to rise
significantly;
The recent Barking and Dagenham Judgement has clarified that the responsibility
for financial and practical support and accommodation for All Rights Exhausted
(ARE) asylum seekers rests with the local authority due to the young people
being deemed former relevant children.
Supported Lodgings
Supported lodgings provide a particularly valuable option for young people who have
not managed to sustain independent living and benefit from returning to a supported
family type setting. The service is a value for money placement costing less than
£250 per week for 16/17 year olds.
The supported lodgings scheme which is jointly funded by Children’s Services and
Supporting People (Accommodation Solutions team) has been operating within the
Council for five years. The service budget for 16 & 17 year olds provides
approximately 17 full time placements. However, it has rarely reached capacity for
this age range. In addition the service was funded to provide a further 20 placements
for 18-21 year olds.
During 2012/13, the service provided only 9,499 bed nights which equates to 26 full
time. places. The service therefore has capacity to increase by a further 11 places
per year.
Floating Support
Floating support is currently provided in two main ways:

Private sector accommodation and support providers allocate a floating
support worker based on a number of contracted hours

Whilst the majority of floating support is allocated to children looked after and
care leavers aged 16 & 17 living in independent flats, those living in shared
supported accommodation may also receive a variable amount of
floating/visiting support.
Private provider floating support ranges from £23.00 to £33.00 per hour and is
extremely variable in quality. Registered social landlord floating support is charged
at £25.00 per hour.
24
D3: Cost Analysis
Table of Comparative Costs of Private Providers and Registered Providers
Example of Comparative Costs
Private Provider - Shared Accommodation 24
Support (Sleeping Nights)
Private Provider - Shared Accommodation 24
Support (Sleeping Nights)
Registered Provider - Shared Accommodation
24 Support (Sleeping Nights, with Waking
Security Staff)
Registered Provider - Shared Accommodation
24 Support (Sleeping Nights)
Registered Provider - Shared Accommodation
24 Support (Waking Nights)
Example Unit
Cost
£760.00 per week
Average
Unit Cost
£778.00
£795.00 per week
£270.00 per week
£314.00
£411.00 per Week
£262.00 per Week
Based on an analysis of the current arrangements the commissioning objectives
need to focus on:

Ensure a continuum of placement/accommodation and support options that are
able to meet the range of housing and support needs of young people and are
flexible and responsive to the changing and emerging needs of young people.
This will include family based options such as supported lodgings and staying-put
with foster carers as well as hostel based shared living.

Increase access to the Registered Social Landlord Sector;
a) Increase the percentage of general access RSL bed spaces from existing
capacity allocated to Children Looked After and Care Leavers aged 16 &
17;
b) Increase the quantity of block purchased bed spaces dedicated to Children
Looked After and Care Leavers aged 16 and 17
 Develop Emergency Accommodation Provision for Looked After Children and
Care Leavers aged 16/17 with 24 hour support
E: Secure Accommodation
The definition of secure accommodation is either Criminal Secure or Welfare
Secure.

HCC pay for Criminal Secure where young people are on remand. Once
sentenced the young person becomes the financial responsibility of the Youth
Justice Service. HCC therefore does not source these placements as they are
decided by the courts, and the local authority receives a devolved budget for
these young people remanded to secure establishments. Current costs are
£680 per night. . 17 year olds who are not deemed vulnerable are placed in a
Youth Offender Institution with unit costs £169 currently per bed night.
25

For Welfare Secure, HCC will source placements in order to safeguard the
young people. Typically this is set-up through high cost residential placement
There is currently no secure provision within Hertfordshire, and given the low level of
demand it is not economically viable to develop such.
F: Shared Care and Short Breaks
Shared Care
Shared care is a scheme which provides family based care for children and young
people under 18 years, who have a learning and/or physical disability. The scheme
recruits, trains and supports people who are willing to become shared carers to
support families of children with disabilities.
Visits can be anything from a few hours a week after school, to a day at the
weekends or in the school holidays, to even a regular weekend stay, depending upon
the needs of the child.
F1: Market capacity
In total there are 79 registered shared carers, and 13 carers who offer a sitting
service, bringing the total to 92 carers.
F2: Placement trends
As of December 2013, there was a waiting list of 12 young people for shared care,
and 1 for the sitting service.
F3:Cost analysis
Category
Per hour
Overnight
Waking
overnight
Shared
Care XTRA
Number of
hours
Variable
12 hrs
Total
Price
4.05
22.87
12 hrs
35.74
7.59
Short Breaks
Short breaks form part of a continuum of services which support disabled children
and their families in universal and specialist services. For the purpose of this
sufficiency document, the placement information relates to residential rather than
community short break provision in Hertfordshire.
26
Providers
District
East Herts
Three Rivers
Welwyn Hatfield
Dacorum
Contract
Price
(12-13)
£526,034
£567,283
£518,000
£61,000
Total
Hours
delivered
12-13
26,424
32762
31674
3819
Unit
Price
(hour)
2012-13
£19.91
£17.32
£16.35
£15.97
North Herts (HCC)
£690,000
36686
£2,362,317
131,365
£18.81
Average
unit
price
(hour) =
£17.67
Unit Price
bednight) 2012-13
£467.98
£406.91
£384.23
£375.36
£441.99
Average unit price (bednight) = £415
The only HCC residential short breaks service in Hertfordshire, closed in September
2013.
27
Section 6: Children and Young People’s Voice
Amplify, the Children’s Commissioner’s advisory group of children and young people,
released research defined what is important to children and young people, and what
support will help them realise their ambitions.
The key recommendations of the report are that national and local strategies should
include:

The value children and young people place on family and other positive
relationships with friends, carers and professionals;

Ensure access to good quality and relevant education;

The prioritisation of good health, including mental health provision;
 The value of support and advice services.
The Joint Children and Young People’s Commissioning Service will be working with
the Hertfordshire Children in Care Council to ensure that the views of children and
young people are fully considered in all aspects of the development and monitoring
of accommodation related services for 2014 onwards.
28
Section 7: Summary and Key Priorities
This data alongside the JSNA will assist in informing commissioning priorities across
health and social care to:

support and maintain the diversity of local services to better meet the
needs of looked after children including the provision of preventive and
early intervention services such as short breaks to reduce the need for care
proceedings;

maintain children and young people within their local area where reasonably
practicable and where this is consistent with a child’s needs and welfare;

support the provider market to develop to meet demand locally;

ensure accessible housing stock to increase family accommodation for
children with disabilities

have consistent mechanisms for commissioning appropriate, high quality
placements and services outside of their local area as a last resort, or where it
is not consistent with a child’s welfare or reasonably practicable for him/her to
be placed within the local area; and

have in place a strategic commissioning strategy for addressing future supply
issues and reducing constraints over the next 3 years i.e. building local
capacity and expertise

create a range of provision to meet the needs of care leavers including
arrangements for young people to remain with their foster carers or move to
other supported accommodation when not ready for full independence
Accommodation should be sufficient, not only in relation to the numbers of beds
provided, but also in respect of the diversity and quality of provision available.
7.1
Projected demand 2014
A.
Fostering
The number of fostering placements with friends and family or with in house foster
carers has declined over the last three years, whilst the number of fostering
placements with independent fostering agencies has increased.
Action:
During 2014, work will be undertaken to consider the need for non HCC fostering,
and consider how in-house provision can be developed to ensure that local provision
is a better fit with need.
B.
Adoption/Special Guardianship Orders
An increasing number of CYP are exiting the care system as a result of adoption or
SGOs. Capacity will be continue to be developed based on individual demand.
29
C.

Residential
a) Children’s Homes
The in house and independent market provision within Hertfordshire has
current capacity for 42% of projected placement demand.

The increasing percentage of placements (currently 58%)being made outside
of Hertfordshire results in Children and young people becoming disengaged
with family ,education and social networks

Majority of out of authority placements are for CYP with complex needs or
behaviour that challenges
Action:
Development of more capacity and range of provision within Hertfordshire needs to
be a priority for 2014, to reverse the trend of CYP in care living outside Hertfordshire
b) SPECIAL SCHOOLS
Limited residential special school provision exists within Hertfordshire. The current
provision is:
Capacity
(beds)
12
20
25
25
84 (26
residential)
Length of Stay
Need
Gender
Weekdays Term
Time
Weekdays Term
Time
Weekdays and
Term Time
Normally
Monday to
Thursday but
can be flexible.
2 groups
Monday to
Tuesday and
Wednesday to
Thursday
EBD
Male
Age
Range
11-16
EBD with
SEN
Deaf
Male
11-16
Mixed
2-16
EBD
Mixed
Primary
physical and
neurological
impairments
Mixed
11-18
Action
HCC is currently reviewing all HCC residential special school provision.
D.
16+ SEMI INDEPENDENT PROVISION
There are 253 local Registered Social Landlords within Hertfordshire who can
provide accommodation for 16+. This market is currently under utilised and the 16+
accommodation Strategy aims to increase bed spaces with the RSL market reducing
the dependency on the private provider market.
Action:
 Providing a choice of accommodation to support young people in their
transition from foster care or residential care to greater independence is a
challenge. Additional local capacity for emergency bed/crash pad provision
30
and for accommodating asylum seeking young people is also required. These
areas of development need will be prioritised.

To ensure that there is adequate supervised accommodation for care leavers
who need 24/7 transitional support.

To provide time limited floating support for young people settling into their own
accommodation
31