Health Minister outlines support for Children & Families arm’s-length body

Date published: 27 November 2024

The ALB was one of a series of recommendations contained within the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care Services led by Professor Ray Jones. It would bring together services currently provided by a number of Departments.

The Minister said he believes that an ALB has the potential to deliver more and better for children, families and staff, but cautioned that such a proposal can only be taken forward with the agreement and approval of other Ministers.

“I am supportive of the recommendation to establish a Children and Families ALB,” the Minister said.

“However, I consider that a step in this direction has to be capable of delivering additional benefits both now and in the future and have the potential to evolve and grow over time.

“A new ALB has to be more than the drawing together of children’s social care from five Trusts.”

The Minister was speaking at the Foundations for the Future conference, which was organised to review the essential groundwork achieved in the first 18 months since the Review's publication, and how this work will support sustained progress and tangible outcomes in the future.

Attendees and speakers at the half-day gathering included young people, parents, carers, and representatives from statutory, community and voluntary sectors, as well as Prof Jones and Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People, Chris Quinn.

The Minister said he remained committed to acting on the Review’s recommendations, and outlined work underway, including:

• Workforce - Eliminated the use of recruitment agencies for social work, with more than 400 newly-qualified social workers joining Health Trusts over the last two years. Significant progress made on developing safer staffing guidance for social work in children’s services, and work beginning on the development of career pathways.
• Foster carers – work ongoing in connection with the recruitment, retention and support of foster carers, subject to funding. New Fostering Regulations are nearing completion and work on new Fostering Standards is well advanced. Work to develop a new model of family support for Northern Ireland is also underway.
• Residential care – work underway to enhance capacity in the immediate term.
• Transitions - Developed a regional protocol for transitions to be piloted across Trusts in the new year
• Continuing to put in place a bespoke integrated care framework for care-experienced children in Northern Ireland.
• Waiting lists - Plans in place to introduce a new Children and Families Support Officer role, as part of a strand of work targeting waiting lists in children’s social care services.

The Minister also launched at the conference a number of digital learning resources by the Northern Ireland Social Care Council (NISCC). They are designed to support social workers and social work students in their work with children and families.

“I am under no illusion that much remains to be done and that delivering much needed reform in the current circumstances will continue to be an uphill battle,” the Minister added.

“All of us owe it to the children and parents across Northern Ireland to deliver much needed change, to make children’s social care in Northern Ireland as good as it can be.”