Children's Commissioning Panel: Terms of Reference

• To challenge and scrutinise external expenditure, along with expected outcomes, on social care funded foster care and residential placements;
• To ensure the use of external foster care and residential placements is responsive to the assessed needs of the child/young person, and that placements are outcome focussed. This should include all identified health and education needs;
• To take, or recommend, appropriate actions to ensure external agencies maintain and develop standards of care to ensure maximum benefits for all children and young people and/or prevent unnecessary breakdown of such placements;
• To have an overview of and regularly review of all external social care funded foster care and residential placements placements.

The membership of the panel will be:

• If a member is unable to attend the meeting they should endeavour to send a substitute;
• A minimum of 3 members, one being from Children and Young People Support and Safeguarding Service area, must be present for the Panel to go ahead;
• If the meeting is held without the Service Manager - Children’s Social Care then recommendations can only be made in principle and will require the endorsement of the service manager.

• The Panel will meet on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of each month and will be scheduled for 90 minutes;
• Additional meetings, if required, may be convened with the agreement of the members.

• Children’s Commissioning and Quality Monitoring Team will be responsible for all aspects of facilitating Commissioning Panel meetings;
• All relevant Panel papers will be circulated electronically 3 working days in advance by CCQMT and members will be responsible for ensuring they having sight of these at Panel meetings.

• If the cost of a recommendation made exceeds £30,000 (weekly fee x length of approval of placement) then the endorsement of the Head of Service, Children & Young People’s Support & Safeguarding Services is required.

• It is intended that this document will reviewed annually in March each year.