Questions Submitted Under Council Procedure Rule 10
Following up on the debate regarding provision for Children Looked After, at the last meeting of this full Council, can you please report back on your deliberations?
By Councillor Temperton to Councillor Bettison OBE, Leader of the Council
In order to achieve value for money for residents, how does the Council assess the quality of work delivered versus the cost of contractors and ensure it is in line with the expectations guaranteed throughout the tender process?
How is the work evaluated and the contract reviewed following feedback from customers/residents?
Minutes:
Councillor L Gibson asked Councillor Dr Barnard, Executive Member for Children, Young People and Learning the following published question:
Following up on the debate regarding provision for Children Looked After, at the last meeting of this full Council, can you please report back on your deliberations?
Councillor Dr Barnard responded that he had sought guidance from officers regarding the proposal to establish a children’s home in order to keep children in the area and attending their local school. He stated that Bracknell Forest was not seeking to provide a Children’s Home as discussed because of the resources required to commission such a facility, the unknown outcomes for children homed there and the diverse range of children requiring differing support. He reported that it may have a detrimental effect on the Council’s ability to support individual children. He reiterated that the most important thing for children entering the Looked After system was the provision of a nurturing environment within a family home. He advised that recruitment of foster carers was the focus for the Council. He confirmed that the key requirement of providing education for any children that needed to move school place were able to attend a good or outstanding school within the borough. He reported that a residential joint project with Public Health was looking to provide a family setting for two young people with very specific yet significant needs who were currently placed outside of Bracknell Forest. He concluded that the Council was committed to a foster first approach and encouraged more foster carers to come forward to work with the Council.
Councillor Temperton asked Councillor Bettison OBE, Leader of the Council the following published question:
In order to achieve value for money for residents, how does the Council assess the quality of work delivered versus the cost of contractors and ensure it is in line with the expectations guaranteed throughout the tender process?
How is the work evaluated and the contract reviewed following feedback from customers/residents?
Councillor Bettison OBE replied that the Council ensured value for money for its residents by inspecting specific items of work when delivered and, on longer term contracts, officers regularly monitored the results of work, met with contractors and took feedback from residents and councillors. He stated that the Council was conscious that whenever it commissioned work or a service it was being delivered on the council’s behalf.
Councillor Temperton requested, as a supplementary question, that a statement explaining in detail the monitoring of contracts and standard of work be added to the website so that councillors could reassure their residents of the value for money provided and signpost residents to it. Councillor Bettison responded that feedback from customers was welcomed and anything that could be done to help them know how to provide it would be done. He expanded that what was required would vary between different services, but he concluded that he was confident that those responsible for the website content would be able to signpost residents as appropriate.