CS015 - Proposal to Reduce the Budget for the Contact Service

Overview

Outline of Proposal

It is proposed through improved social work assessment and the implementation of the new contact guidance that the current demand on the contact service can be reduced and savings made through the reduction of contact officers employed within the service.

General Impact

• Reduction in contact demand is not achieved in the timeframe anticipated

• A child’s allocated Social Worker may have increased responsibility for the management and promotion of the contact between a child looked after by Rochdale MBC. 

• The contact needs of a child looked after by Rochdale MBC will be informed by an assessment and who is best placed to meet their needs.  This may require carers/residential taking a greater responsibility.

Impact on Service Users

It is not expected that there will be a detrimental impact on service users.  It is proposed that each looked after child will have an individual contact plan which will be subject to regular review as part of the statutory review process.

Savings Total:
£100,000 on-going saving in 2015/16
£50,000 on-going saving in 2016/17

The Council is assessing the potential equality impact which the proposals may have and are undertaking full Equality Impact Assessments (EIAs) where this is appropriate.The EIAs are draft working documents which are to be developed over time.

This means that as further detail becomes available through the consultation process the EIAs will be updated and finalised before a final decision is reached.

You can find the full proposal document, which includes the Equality Impact Assessment, below in the related documents section.