Report to:	Governance Committee
Date of meeting:	24 January 2023
By:	Director of Children’s Services
Title:	Adoption Agency Delegation
Purpose:	To seek the Governance Committee’s agreement in relation to the delegation of the powers and duties of Agency Decision Maker

RECOMMENDATIONS

The Governance Committee is recommended to:

Agree to delegate authority to the Head of LAC Services to exercise the powers, functions and duties of the County Council as an Adoption Agency, which includes acting as Agency Decision Maker

1. Background and Supporting information

1.1. The Director of Children’s Services has delegated authority to undertake all the powers and duties of the County Council as an adoption agency having regard to the recommendations of the Adoption Panel and to approve the charge for home-study assessments for inter-country adoptions in accordance with the policy agreed by Cabinet. This includes acting as the Agency Decision Maker in respect of whether a proposed care plan is the right decision for the child.  

1.2. The National Minimum Standards for Adoption (last updated 25 July 2014) require that the person undertaking the role of Agency Decision Maker is a qualified social worker (paragraph 23.17). Authority to exercise these powers and functions has been delegated to the Head of Children’s Safeguards and Quality Assurance, a role which requires a social work qualification.

1.3      To ensure sufficient capacity, it is proposed that authority to exercise these powers and functions is also delegated to the Head of LAC Services (Provider Services), a role which also requires a social work qualification.

2. Recommendations

2.1. The Governance Committee is recommended to agree to delegate authority to the Head of LAC Services (Provider Services) to exercise the powers, functions and duties of the County Council as an Adoption Agency, which includes acting as Agency Decision Maker.

ALISON JEFFERY

Director of Children’s Services

Contact Officer:

Rachel Doran, Legal and Coroner Services Manager

Tel. No. 01273 481292                                          

Email: rachel.doran@eastsussex.gov.uk