Purpose

Proposed
Decision:
Cabinet Member for Integrated
Children’s Services to:
 
 APPROVE, subject to review and assessment of any
terms and conditions associated with the funding), the acceptance
of the Year 4 Family Hub grant award; and the deployment of the
grant funding in accordance with the grant conditions and the
adopted service model..
 
Reason for the
Decision:
 
Within the Autumn Budget the Chancellor of the
Exchequer announced a further year of funding for existing Family
Hub authorities. A series of Key Decisions by the Cabinet Member
for Integrated Children’s Services accepted
the original transformation grant funding for FAMILY Hubs and
adopted our new Family Hub service model.
 
The existing Key Decisions do not extend
beyond the initial transformation period which end on 31 Mach 2025.
Therefore, a new Key Decision is required to accept the additional
year of grant funding and to utilise that funding in line with the
service model adopted under the Family Hub Model Key Decision.
 
 
Background
 
In October 2022 the Cabinet
Member for  Integrated Children’s
Services took
decision 22/00094 and Kent County
Council (KCC) signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the
Department for Education (DfE) which accepted the initial 3-year
transformation grant funding. This decision set out the requirement
for the development of detailed proposals, public consultation and
appropriate governance ahead of a further Key Decision on the
Family Hub model.
 
In November 2023, after the
development of detailed proposals, public consultation and
appropriate governance, KCC Cabinet took decision
23/00092 to implement the Family Hub model across the
county.
 
 
Options (other
options considered but discarded)
The option to not take accept the grant money
has been considered. If the announcement related to the specific
amount of money to be allocated to each Local Authority and the
conditions on how the grant is to be used is made in quarter 4 of
financial year 2024/25 (i.e. in February 2025) it will likely
impact on the Local Authority’s ability to mobilise resources
to implement additional service requirements or procure services.
This in turn, will pose a risk to the delivery of services and
cause a reputational risk for Kent County Council.
 
While understanding the risks associated with
a late announcement we have discounted the option of not accepting
the additional funding in recognition that children, families and
communities in Kent will benefit from additional support.
 
Final determination of whether the funding can
and should be accepted would be dependent on the terms and
conditions associated with the funding – these will be
reviewed at the point of decision.
 
 

Decision

As Cabinet Member for Integrated
Children’s Services, in consultation with the Cabinet Member
for Adult Care and Public Health (subject to receiving confirmation
from the DfE), I agree to:
 
a) APPROVE, the acceptance of the Year
4 Family Hub Grant Award and the deployment of the grant funding in
accordance with the grant conditions and the adopted service
model;
 
(b) DELEGATE authority to the Director
of Operational Integrated Children’s Services and Director of
Public Health, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for
Integrated Children’s Services and the Cabinet Member for
Adult Social Care and Public Health to agree the terms and
conditions to enter into the necessary grant agreements; 
 
(c) DELEGATE authority to the Director
of Operational Integrated Children’s Services and Director of
Public Health to deliver the requirements of the grant; 
 
(d) DELEGATE authority of required
expenditure to the Director of Operational Integrated
Children’s Services and Director of Public Health, in
consultation with the Cabinet Member for Integrated
Children’s Services and the Cabinet Member for Adult Social
Care and Public Health, to be managed in line with Council
procurement rules; 
 
(e) DELEGATE authority to the Director
of Operational Integrated Children’s Services and Director of
Public Health, to take other necessary actions, including but not
limited to entering into contracts or other legal agreements, as
required to implement the decision.