Council Agrees to Bring Children’s Services Back In-House

COUNCILLORS last night (Jan 28) agreed to bring the operation of Children’s Services in Reading back in-house to be delivered directly by the Council.

The decision, made at a Council meeting yesterday, means work begins immediately to transition Reading’s Children’s Services back in-house, a process which is likely to complete in the autumn. This includes the transfer of around 550 members of Brighter Futures for Children (BFfC) staff back to the Council.

BFfC has delivered Children’s Services - which includes responsibility for children’s social care and education - on behalf of Reading Borough Council since December 2018. With BFfC’s seven-year contract coming to an end in March 2026, the Council last year appointed an independent body, the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA), to undertake a detailed review of options.

CIPFA’s recommendation for the Council to operate its own Children’s Services was made on the basis it:

• Provides the Council with better direct control of Children’s Services
• Removes a layer of governance, leading to more agile decision making and removing duplication of reporting
• Removes the pressure on Council services of maintaining service level agreements
• Improves integration and synergy with other Council services

Councillors representing all parties unanimously agreed with CIPFA’s recommendation at last night’s Council meeting. Recognising that Children’s Services has further to go on its improvement journey, they also agreed to set up an independently chaired Improvement Board to drive forward further service improvements in Children’s Services so that it is able to better meet the needs of Reading’s children and families going forward.

In addition to the transfer of around 550 members of staff, last night’s decision triggers several additional actions. These include the transfer of around 100 contracts and 12 leases from BFfC to the Council, the closure of the Independent Fostering Agency and transition to a Local Authority Fostering Service, and changes to all relevant Ofsted registrations.

The transfer of Children’s Services from BFfC to the Council is estimated to cost £600,000 to implement. However, ongoing savings of between £200,000 and £300,000 to the Children’s Services budget mean it is anticipated initial costs will be fully recovered over a two-to-three-year period.

If the transfer of Children’s Services is successfully completed in autumn 2025, BFfC’s existing contract would be terminated early, with mutual agreement from both BFfC and the Council.

Councillor Liz Terry, Leader of Reading Borough Council, said:

“In the context of the enormous challenges faced by local authorities nationwide in delivering Children’s Services, and BFfC’s initial seven-year contract drawing to an end, now is the right time for the Service to transfer back to the Council. This not only provides the Council with better direct control, but additionally removes a layer of governance and helps to further integrate Children’s Services with other Council services. All of these advantages were spelt out in CIPFA’s independent review.

 “On behalf of Reading, I’d like to express my sincere thanks to everybody at BFfC for the significant progress it has made towards delivering a ‘Good’ Ofsted rating, which was a key ambition of the contract. At the same time, we acknowledge we still have a way to go in order to achieve that.

 “And while last night’s decision brings a chapter to an end, the reality is it is business as usual, both at BFfC over the coming months and at the Council thereafter, to ensure we continue to drive improvement to meet the needs of vulnerable children, young people and families in Reading. While this is a significant change for the staff involved, I know that is something which is always at the forefront of their mind.”

Di Smith, Chair of BFfC, and on behalf of the BFfC Board, said:

 “The Board of Brighter Futures for Children supports the decision to return full responsibility for the delivery of Children’s Services to the Council. We recognise that alternative delivery models in Children’s Services have become less popular in recent years and are now very rarely the preferred option in response to statutory intervention.

“Given the national picture of increased costs and pressures in Children’s Services, it is logical that councils, including Reading Council, would want to have full control of delivery and expenditure at this present moment in time.”

Last night’s decision to bring Children’s Services back in-house follows a previous decision of Policy Committee on 18 December 2024 to recommend the option to Full Council.

The supporting report to Council, which includes CIPFA’s full report, can be found at Item 7: https://democracy.reading.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=136&MId=5482