Purpose

In 2024 The Department for Education (DfE)
released a capital investment bid opportunity to develop provisions
for children with complex mental health needs and challenging
behaviour either with a Deprivation of Liberty (DOLs) order or at
risk of a DOLs. The proposal outlined in the bid must be for new
provision with specific adaptations to increase the number of beds
for children within this cohort. LCC submitted and was successful
in their bid in 2025.
LCC’s bid submission requested a funding
value of £1.4m and in line with the criteria of the bid, LCC
is also required to match this funding of £1.4m, totalling a
maximum of up to £2.8m potential spend. The bid has agreement
of joint funding of the staffing team with the ICB.
This provision can deliver savings for the
Council by preventing escalation and reducing the need for high
cost external residential placements that do not effectively meet
need.
Additionally, a capital business case has been
discussed and agreed to develop an additional Meaningful
Occupational Space on the site to support delivery of care, health
and education at the residential provision.
We request three decisions be made as part of
this process:
 
1.  To accept the DfE
capital funding as per their grant Offer Letter received December
2025 valued at £1.4m and subsequent drawing down and spending
of that funding in the ways outlined in the successful bid.
2.  To match the DfE
capital funding with £1.4m of capital programme funding
already identified in the proposed 2026/2027 fiscal year budget -
upon approval of that budget at Full Council February 2026 - and
subsequent draw down and spend in the ways outlined in the
successful bid.
3.  To Inject the
additional capital funding for C&F fiscal year 2025/26 of
£836k to create the Meaningful Occupational Space and
subsequent drawing down and spend.

Content

Please see attached report.