Local Authority's Sufficiency Duty - Accommodation for Looked After Children

1. What is the Sufficiency Duty?

Each Local Authority providing children's services must now take steps that secure, so far as reasonably practicable, sufficient accommodation within its area to meet the needs of children that it is looking after and children whose circumstances are such that it would be consistent with their welfare for them to be provided with accommodation in the local authority area. This is referred to as 'the sufficiency duty'.

The sufficiency duty, therefore, applies in respect of all children who are looked after. However, it also applies to children in need who are at risk of care or custody (sometimes referred to as children 'on the edge of care'). This acknowledges the importance - both for improving outcomes for children and in having sufficient accommodation to meet their needs - of taking earlier, preventive action to support children and families so that fewer children become Looked After.

From April 2010, local authorities had to include in relevant commissioning strategies their plans for meeting the sufficiency duty.

From April 2011, working with their Children's Trust partners, local authorities must be in a position to carry out the sufficiency duty.

2. The Most Appropriate Placement

Children should not be moved from out of authority placements for the sole purpose of meeting the sufficiency duty if their needs are being met by the existing range of services.

The overriding factor is that the placement must be the most appropriate placement available. Next, preference must be given to a placement with a friend, relative or other person connected with the child and who is a local authority foster carer. Failing that, a placement must be found, so far as reasonably practicable in all circumstances, that:

• Is near the child's home;
• Does not disrupt their education or training;
• Enables the child to live with an accommodated sibling;
• Where the child is disabled/or has multiple needs, does it meet the needs of that child (please see information in 2.1 below); and
• Is within the local authority's area, unless that is not reasonably practicable.

There is no order of priority within the categories listed in the bullet points above. All of these are factors that have to be taken into account. For example, if placing a child within their area conflicted with placing them near home or with a sibling, or which disrupted their education, the local authority could justify placing the child out of area if this met their needs more effectively than a placement within the area.

For the majority of Looked After children, the 'most appropriate placement' will be within the local authority area. For those children who require highly specialist services, or children for whom there is a safeguarding issue, it may be more appropriate for them to be placed in a neighbouring local authority area.

When making decisions about the most appropriate placements for children requiring more specialised provision, the issue of proximity to the home area must be considered, alongside the other factors set above. Wherever possible, children requiring such provision should be placed as close to their existing family networks and support systems as is possible and appropriate.

If challenged by a child, family, social worker, children's guardian, independent reviewing officer (IRO) or other advocate, a local authority should be in a position to demonstrate how, working with its Children Trust partners, it has done all that is reasonably practicable to secure sufficiency. Plans should be documented and published, within the commissioning strategy or the Children and Young People's Plan, to allow scrutiny and challenge.

2.1 Additional Considerations Where a Child Has Multiple Needs

How Local Authorities and Children’s Homes Can Achieve Stability and Permanence for Children with Complex Needs (Ofsted) defines children with complex needs as children who have multiple needs of different types and require care and support from a multi-agency team. These are typically children with severe mental health issues or those children who present with behaviours that challenge or put others at risk. The national picture shows that these children are often not placed in suitable placements for example without any therapy, often placed a long way from their families, waiting too long for placements or living alone in homes which can leave them isolated and vulnerable.

The following good practice guidance was identified which looks at the following;

• What are the child’s needs and preferences such as how the move will take place, timeframes, who will support with this;
• Staff should have appropriate skills to meet the child’s needs;
• Providing consistency, through relationships, education and other activities such as continuing at their school, working with the virtual school head, maintaining contact and support from family;
• Getting children access to the right services and placements such as specialist services; and
• Facilitating a sense of belonging for the child, through helping them understand that staff will not give up on them and that this is their long-term home;
• Capturing and implementing children’s views on their care.

Consideration needs to be given to the number of staff needed for that child and how the multi-agency team interact and support the child for example direct or indirect contact, who is the coordinator.

It is also important to take a long- term view and address issues of dependency due to the number of adults in the child’s life and how independence and moving forward can be addressed. Consideration should also be given to whether having a child living alone in placement meets their needs or are we restricting opportunities for them socially and in terms of their future development.

Please note that taking children with complex needs in children’s homes does not affect their Ofsted inspection outcomes.

3. How can 'Reasonably Practicable' be Assessed?

The sufficiency duty is a general duty that applies to strategic arrangements rather than to the provision of accommodation for a particular, individual child. Local authorities must be able to show that - at strategic level - they are taking steps to meet the sufficiency duty, so far as is 'reasonably practicable'.

It should not be assumed that it is 'not reasonably practicable' to secure appropriate accommodation simply because it is difficult to do so or because the authority does not have the resources to do so. Any constraining factors should not be taken as permanent constraints on the local authority's requirements to comply with the sufficiency duty.

In assessing whether they are doing all that is 'reasonably practicable' to secure sufficiency, there are a number of factors which local authorities, working with their Children's Trust partners, may wish to take into account, for example:

• Current progress within an effective, phased programme to meet the sufficiency duty;
• The number of children for whom a local placement is not consistent with their needs and welfare;
• The extent to which local universal services meet needs;
• The state of the local market for accommodation, including the level of demand in a particular locality and the amount and type of supply that currently exists;
• The degree to which they are actively managing this market;
• The resources available to, and capabilities of, accommodation providers (where 'resources' means not just the available funding but also staff and premises, and 'capabilities' includes experience and expertise); and
• The Children's Trust's resources, capabilities and overall budget priorities.