One of the two bodies testing the regional commissioning of care for children has become a not-for-profit company.
The South East regional care co-operative (RCC) has rebranded itself as Home and Future and is now a public service mutual.
The government defines this type of body as "an organisation which was in the public sector, continues to deliver public services, and has a significant degree of employee control".
Make-up of regional care co-operative
In the case of Home and Future, its members are the local authorities on whose behalf it is working to commission care for children across the region.
Fifteen of the 19 regional local authorities are currently members, with Isle of Wight Council set to join in April this year. Hampshire, Kent and Slough are not part of the co-operative.
Members have an equal stake in Home and Future and are responsible for appointing the chief executive - currently Lucy Butler, the former director of children's services at West Sussex County Council - though the mutual's legal agreements with councils are being finalised.
Its governance arrangements are also in the process of being established, though a six-strong board has been appointed, headed by chair Matt Dunkley, former director of children's services at Kent and Norfolk councils.
Setting up not-for-profit 'provides agility and clarity'
Following the establishment of the mutual, Dunkley said: "Establishing Home and Future as an independent not-for-profit organisation, gives us the agility and clarity needed to develop stronger partnerships and better meet the needs of children and young people.”
The members have all provided funding for Home and Future in line with their size, to supplement £5m to fund new placements and £1.95m in initial set-up costs from the DfE.
About regional care co-operatives
RCCs were first proposed by now children's minister Josh MacAlister, in his 2021-22 Independent Review of Children's Social Care, as a solution to the problem of there being insufficient appropriate placements in the right places for children in care.
By vesting commissioning responsibility at a regional level, RCCs are supposed to have the clout to be able shape provision in their areas and ensure sufficiency.
Though the two pathfinders testing the model - Home and Future and the Greater Manchester co-operative - are at a relatively early stage of development, MacAlister said recently that he intended for RCCs to take responsibility for placements across England in future.
The Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill gives the government the power to direct two or more local authorities to form co-operatives in their areas, enabling it to roll out RCCs.
Placement challenges in South East
The company said its objectives were to manage regional commissioning of care, working with health and youth justice agencies where appropriate, work with care experienced young people to enhance their engagement in service design and develop a high-quality workforce.
Its work so far has included establishing a regional workforce academy, designed to improve recruitment, training and retention across residential care, and producing a report on sufficiency in the region.
This found that the South East was facing a number of challenges in relation to care placements:
- Rising demand for care and growing complexity, including from a growing population of older children.
- Uneven demand across regions, meaning a one-size-fits-all approach to commissioning would not work.
- Competition within the region and nationally for placements, particularly for specialist care.
- Pressures on the workforce, with the need for a stable, skilled and supported workforce to respond to the increased demand.
- The need to shape the market to provide the right mix of placements, not just the right volume.
Call to invest in workforce
In response, the statement recommended increased investment in the workforce, across fostering, children's homes and supported accommodation, and expansion and diversification in the range of placements available, particularly for older children and those with complex needs.
Home and Future is also working to establish regional commissioning frameworks with shared contracts and quality standards to ensure consistent purchasing and fair pricing across local authorities.
About the Greater Manchester co-operative
The Greater Manchester has been set up within the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), the strategic body that includes the region's mayor, Andy Burnham, and its 10 local authorities.
Its 2025-26 delivery plan includes work to create a regional platform to model demand for placements and assess sufficiency, develop a tool to assess the most appropriate setting for a child and improve the value for money secured from providers.
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