A wholly-owned company (WOC) is the ‘best option’ for Birmingham’s Children’s Trust, a cabinet report says after the council’s children’s services were branded a ‘national disgrace’.

Birmingham City Council announced last May their children’s services would be run by a voluntary trust after receiving ‘inadequate’ ratings from Ofsted six years in a row.

The high-profile deaths of children, including two-year-old Keanu Williams and seven-year-old Khyra Ishaq, also increased scrutiny of the services and prompted inspectors to brand them a ‘disgrace’.

The council today published a cabinet report which recommends the trust be run as a WOC.

‘It has been recommended that on balance a wholly-owned company is the best model for our trust as it provides more flexibility and a low risk; there will be far less potential for disruption to our on-going improvement than with other options,’ said cabinet member for children, families and schools,' Cllr Brigid Jones

‘It is also recommended that it is created as a community interest company, which is really important as it makes clear the Trust exists to deliver real and tangible benefits to the community it serves, and not for private gain.’

Under this arrangement, the trust will have its own board and management team to ensure operational independence and a single focus on children’s care, Cllr Jones said.

She also said the council would look to ‘build in strong staff engagement’, including a role in governance arrangement.

If the council agrees on the report’s recommendations, a shadow trust would start running from April to ensure everything works before the full trust begins work.

‘There is a long way still to go, but this is a really important step for us,’ Cllr Jones said.

‘Ultimately, it is about creating conditions that allow our best social workers, with our partners, children and families, to do great work.’

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