Agenda item

Recommendations

1)    That the Executive endorses the Homes for Children in Care Sufficiency Strategy 2026–2029 as the strategic framework for strengthening sufficiency for children in care and care leavers in North Yorkshire, recognising the Council’s statutory and corporate parenting responsibility to ensure sufficient, safe, stable and appropriate homes for children in its care.

2)    That the Executive supports the phased implementation approach set out in the strategy, including the priority areas of fostering, residential care, supported accommodation, short breaks, crisis capacity, data and market shaping.

3)    That the Executive supports the proposed governance, quarterly review and annual refresh arrangements to ensure ongoing oversight of delivery, impact and changing sufficiency needs.

4)    That the Executive supports the recommendation to earmark £20m within Council reserves to support delivery of the strategy, with any future drawdown subject to the development of robust business cases for individual proposals and approval by the Executive.

5)    That the Executive notes that new national guidance on children’s social care sufficiency and the prioritisation of children’s home registration applications was received on 2 July 2026, after the strategy had been prepared, and agrees that any minor consequential amendments required following review are delegated to the Corporate Director – Children and Young People’s Service, in consultation with the Executive Member for Children and Families.

Considered – A report of the Corporate Director Children and Young People’s Service seeking endorsement of the Homes for Children in Care Sufficiency Strategy 2026–2029.   Executive were asked to approve the strategic approach set out in the strategy and support the phased three-year programme of action to strengthen local provision and improve placement stability. The Executive was also asked to agree the earmarking of £20 million from within Council reserves and to note the receipt of new national guidance on 2 July 2026 relating to children’s social care sufficiency.

In introducing the report, the Executive Member for Children and Families, Councillor Janet Sanderson, explained that increasing numbers of children entering care, together with a shortage of suitable placements, had created significant challenges nationally and locally. Members were advised that some children with complex needs were placed outside North Yorkshire at substantial cost and that fostering capacity remained under considerable pressure. The strategy sought to move the Council towards a more planned and evidence-based approach to accommodation provision, reducing reliance on crisis placements and increasing the availability of local options for children and young people.  The Executive Member highlighted the importance of supporting children to remain close to their communities wherever possible and outlined proposals to increase specialist fostering provision, residential care, supported accommodation, short breaks and emergency capacity. The strategy also proposed a phased implementation programme supported by earmarking up to £20 million of reserves, which will only be accessed following consideration and Executive approval of future business cases.

Members acknowledged the importance of protecting the most vulnerable residents and expressed strong support for directing resources towards vulnerable children and young people. It was agreed that investment in local provision represented both a moral responsibility and a prudent financial approach, reducing reliance on expensive external placements whilst improving outcomes for children.

Resolved (unanimously)

That Executive

i)      Endorses the Homes for Children in Care Sufficiency Strategy 2026–2029 as the strategic framework for strengthening sufficiency for children in care and care leavers in North Yorkshire, recognising the Council’s statutory and corporate parenting responsibility to ensure sufficient, safe, stable and appropriate homes for children in its care.

ii)     Supports the phased implementation approach set out in the strategy, including the priority areas of fostering, residential care, supported accommodation, short breaks, crisis capacity, data and market shaping.

iii)    Supports the proposed governance, quarterly review and annual refresh arrangements to ensure ongoing oversight of delivery, impact and changing sufficiency needs.

iv)    Supports the recommendation to earmark £20m within Council reserves to support delivery of the strategy, with any future drawdown subject to the development of robust business cases for individual proposals and approval by the Executive.

v)     Notes that new national guidance on children’s social care sufficiency and the prioritisation of children’s home registration applications was received on 2 July 2026, after the strategy had been prepared, and agrees that any minor consequential amendments required following review are delegated to the Corporate Director Children and Young People’s Service, in consultation with the Executive Member for Children and Families.

Reasons for recommendations

The recommendations are made to ensure that North Yorkshire Council has a clear and evidence-led strategic framework for meeting its sufficiency duty, responding to rising demand and complexity, reducing reliance on emergency or distant provision, strengthening local and specialist capacity, and improving the lived experience and outcomes of children in care and care leavers.

Alternative options considered

Consideration has been given to alternative approaches in responding to sufficiency pressures. However, it is not possible to adopt a position that does not include a planned approach to sufficiency, as the Council has a statutory duty under Section 22G of the Children Act 1989 to secure sufficient accommodation for children in care. A strategy is therefore required to ensure this duty is met in a structured, effective and sustainable way.

One alternative approach would be to maintain the current position and respond to placement need on a reactive basis, relying on spot purchasing and external provision.  This approach has been considered and discounted, as it would not adequately address rising demand, increasing complexity of need, geographic challenges or existing market pressures. It would also be likely to result in increased use of high-cost, distant or unplanned placements, with associated impacts on placement stability and outcomes for children and young people.

The preferred approach set out within the strategy represents a deliberate and balanced model. It builds on North Yorkshire’s existing strengths in in-house fostering and local provision, whilst also strengthening specialist provision, supported accommodation, short breaks, crisis capacity and market shaping. This whole-system approach has been selected as it provides the most effective means of improving sufficiency, reducing reliance on reactive arrangements and ensuring that children are placed in the right homes, in the right places, with the right support.