The Director of Law, HR and Asset Management reported upon the additional capacity required within Legal Services to deliver improved outcomes for children in need, at risk of significant harm or who had experienced significant harm. The major drivers were the findings of careful scrutiny of Legal Services following the death of Baby P; and the Council’s Corporate Plan and objectives. His report had been prepared in consultation with the Director of Children’s Services and sought approval to fund the additional capacity by a transfer from Children’s Services and the Efficiency Investment Budget. He commented that proceedings to protect children had to be instigated in a timely manner and sometimes on an emergency basis and there therefore needed to be a sufficient number of lawyers within the Council’s Legal Services Section with appropriate experience to give advice, draft legal documents and to attend court in order to ensure that applications for orders to protect children were made appropriately and as expeditiously as possible. Ensuring that sufficient numbers of lawyers were available to undertake child protection work would assist the authority in managing and reducing risk to vulnerable children and young people and would assist in safely reducing the number of looked after children.

He outlined the present structure of the Legal Services Child Care Team and commented that the increased requirements upon front line Child Care Solicitors and their capacity to provide good quality advice in complex situations had been starkly highlighted through the case of Baby P. He therefore proposed a new post of Senior Child Care Solicitor. He proposed also the creation of the two new legal assistant posts that would create additional capacity in the most cost effective way, to alleviate pressures within the team by allowing the solicitors to concentrate on the more complex legal tasks and advocacy.

Resolved –

(1) That the additional posts of a Senior Child Care Solicitor and two posts of Legal Assistant in Legal Services be agreed and funded from (a) a transfer from Children’s Services of £30,000 and (b) £92,461 from the Efficiency Investment Budget.

(2) That the establishment of the new posts is referred to the Employment and Appointments Committee.