Gove U-turn over Doncaster Council plans

In a letter sent to Doncaster mayor Ros Jones on Thursday, Gove said he would allow the struggling Yorkshire council to retain statutory responsibility for children’s social care, rather than hand it to the Secretary of State for Education, as originally proposed.

He wrote: “I am now content to agree in principle to the establishment of the Doncaster Children’s Trust without the requirement to remove Doncaster’s children’s services functions entirely."

The surprise move is in contrast to Gove’s announcement in July that children’s services should be run by an independent trust commissioned outside of the authority's control. This was one of the key recommendations put forward by London School of Economics’ Professor Julian Le Grand, who was commissioned by Gove to evaluate Doncaster children’s services after years of high-profile child protection failings.

These proposals came under fire from Jones in August, who claimed they were “high-risk” and “unclear”. She called for “significant modification” to be made to the proposals, which she said muddied the lines of accountability between the children’s commissioner and the council as to who is responsible for children’s services.

Jones instead put forward counter proposals that called for the council to be made responsible for commissioning the independent trust, working alongside the Department for Education. She said the trust should also be given powers to commission services other than just children’s social care.

That trust – Doncaster Children’s Trust – has now been approved by Gove, who says it should run for a decade and be reviewed in five years’ time. It will be designed and commissioned by the council and the new children’s social care commissioner, Alan Wood, director of children’s services in Hackney.

Jones has welcomed the “common-sense” decision to allow the council to remain accountable for the service.

She said: “We put forward a compelling and well-thought-out case as to why this was the correct approach for transforming how children’s services are delivered across the borough. The model is based on what is right for Doncaster, our residents and, most importantly, our children and young people.

“We are strong advocates for the borough and were determined to put forward the strongest case, which the Secretary has listened to and has now agreed to support.

“We look forward to working closely with the government to finalise details of the trust and set about bringing the rapid and sustained improvement of children’s services we are all determined to achieve.”

Despite backing the plans, Gove has emphasised that he retains the power to “remove children’s services functions from Doncaster in future if it proves necessary to secure swifter improvement”.

Gove's compromise was welcomed by Andrew Webb, president of the Association of Directors of Children’s Services.

He said: "We are pleased that the Secretary of State and the mayor of Doncaster have reached an in-principle agreement on the establishment of an independent trust to provide services for children in Doncaster.

"There is no quick fix to the issues facing children's services in Doncaster and intervention must ensure that improvement is consistent and sustainable. As such, we hope the establishment of a trust will support Doncaster in improving its services to ensure that outcomes for children, young people and their families are constantly improved."