Councillors green-light residential shake-up

A radical redesign of young people’s residential care has been narrowly approved by councillors.

The shake-up, which sparked concerns that vulnerable youngsters could be placed around 80 miles away from their communities, was agreed in a move which will curb rising costs.

Young people experiencing a period of trouble in their lives and requiring emergency support, but not receiving care, will no longer automatically be placed in residential beds at Almondbank House in Perth.

Instead a new hub model, designed to cut the spiralling costs of providing the residential provision, and better meet the needs of vulnerable young people, will be introduced under the council proposals.

It also aims to ensure that young people have the chance to restore and return to relationships with their families and communities through other methods of intervention with the family and individuals.

Councillors were given four options on redesigning the arrangement, which in 201516 cost £2.75m in external residential placements as well as £825,000 annually for its in-house residential care places. Between 2011 and 2016 the spend in these two areas exceeded £17m.

The option agreed by councillors follows a format used in North Yorkshire. It will see traditional council-run residential care with external providers by providing the hub model, complete with a small number of skilled foster carers.

The model is set to reduce costs by removing beds at The Cottages at Almondbank House, leaving children who need residential care to be sent to other local authorities or extended family members, which council officials believe has the potential to halve the number of external placements over five years.

After five years, it is projected that there will be an underspend of £201,000 in the external residential budget.

SNP Strathmore ward councillor Fiona Sarwar raised the concern that this could see vulnerable children placed as far away as Paisley, but council officials insisted that they would always attempt to keep children as close to Perth and Kinross as possible.

Cllr Dave Doogan proposed an amendment to consider the report at a later date, which was echoed by elected member for the Strathtay Ward councillor Grant Laing, who was at pains to stress the need to make the correct call regarding the matter.

Cllr Laing said: “Knowledge is everything here and we need to all walk out of here knowing we’ve done the right thing.”

The council voted in favour of the motion by 22 votes to 16.