Decision details

The Council’s Revenue budget was approved at the Full Council meeting on 1st March 2021. The Council’s MTFS included £2,975,000 for additional Social Care Support grant, which was announced in the Spending Review. This funding will be allocated in 2021/22 only, to provide for additional Children Social Care pressures that are not
provided in the MTFS. The service demand pressures include over 60% more referrals in July and September compared to the previous year leading to higher numbers of Children In Need, on average 18% higher for the period September to November, greater numbers of Children with a Child Protection Plan, circa. 28% increase for the same period, and Children in Care. Although the estimated impact on the majority of the budget areas in 2021/22 is detailed in Appendix B of the Council’s Revenue Budget report, there are further areas which will be met from the £2,975,000 funding allocation, which is delegated to the Director of Learning, Opportunities and Skills and Assistant Director of Finance (Section 151) in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Children, Young People and Skills.
The funding of £2,975,000 will be allocated as follows:
- £1,200,000 to Doncaster Children’s Services Trust (DCST) to offset the ending of funding from the Department of Education (DfE) following the revocation of the Statutory Direction for Doncaster on 31st January 2021. This will be paid to DCST as part of the normal contract payment commencing in April 2021.
- £54,000 to Doncaster Children’s Services Trust (DCST) for additional budget required to implement new Social Worker pay grades to help appoint new staff and retain existing staff as current pay grades were below neighbouring authorities, therefore the new grades make Doncaster more competitive. The additional budget required for the new Social Worker pay grades totals £198,000 but DCST will fund £144,000 of this from savings to be delivered from reducing the number of agency workers that will be required as more Social Workers are appointed and retained due to the new pay grades. This will be paid to DCST as part of the normal contract payment commencing in April 2021. Monitoring the delivery of the workforce strategy will include targets for reducing agency workers in accordance with the assumptions included in the budget. This will be monitored via the contract management meetings with DCST.
- £286,000 to Doncaster Children’s Services Trust (DCST) to invest in a Social Worker Academy. DCST are implementing plans to grow their own experienced Social Workers; two initial cohorts (6 from April 2021 for step up students and either May or June 2021 for an additional 6), and a further cohort of 12 in August 2021. The academy should deliver future year savings as the number of agency Social Workers required will reduce as the newly qualified workers caseloads increase as their experience grows. Please see appendix A Social Work Academy business case for further detail. The Director of Learning,
Opportunities and Skills will approve the release and payment of funds to DCST as required based on the information provided regarding the number of appointments made. This will be monitored via the contract management meetings with DCST.
- Up to £795,000 to Doncaster Children’s Services Trust (DCST) for additional Social Workers during 2021/22. The caseloads are monitored closely for average/maximum values and the majority of workers were carrying high caseloads due to the increased demand. Based on the estimated caseloads for 2021/22 and the recommended level per worker, it is estimated that an additional 18 Social Workers will be required to maintain caseloads at a maximum level per worker. The strategic aim is to achieve an average caseload not exceeding a range of 18 - 20 children or young people across Children’s Social Care to enable Social Workers and other practitioners to provide a high standard of practice to the children and families they work with. Please see Appendix B DSCT Case Loads Policy for further detail. This funding
will be released and paid to DCST, following agreement on the planned
recruitment to reduce the caseloads based on the latest caseload information available, taking into account the availability of social workers. The Director of Learning, Opportunities and Skills will approve the release and payment of funds as required based on the information provided. This will be monitored via the contract management meetings with DCST.
- £640,000 to be used as in year Social Care costs contingency for service reviews and any in year demand pressures on the Care Ladder. The service reviews and Care Ladder will be monitored through the contract management meetings with DCST, and the use of the Social Care costs contingency will be approved and monitored in the Council’s quarterly Finance

To approve the 2021/22 planned spend of £2,975,000 Social Care Support Grant delegated to the Director of Learning, Opportunities and Skills and Assistant Director of Finance (Section 151) in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Children, Young People and Skills.

ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS CONSIDERED