Regional partnership for Solihull Council children’s services agreed by minister

The Minister for Children, Families and Wellbeing, Claire Coutinho MP, has agreed plans for Solihull Council to work with Birmingham Children’s Trust as its Regional Partner to provide support and guidance to help with Solihull’s Children’s Services Improvement Plan.

This follows a recommendation made by the Children’s Commissioner, Sir Alan Wood in his report to the Secretary of State dated 17 March 2023 and will be for a period of three-years, with a review at the end of the second year.

A report will now be presented to Solihull Council’s Cabinet on Thursday 15 June for their approval. If agreed, it is expected that the partnership will formally commence on 1 July.  

The report will be available to view from Thursday 8 June here on the Solihull Council website.

Councillor Ian Courts, Leader of Solihull Council, said: 
“We have worked constructively with the Children’s Commissioner since his appointment last November and I am pleased that he has recognised our commitment to improve.

“This partnership has advantages in that we both share a number of key partners in the child welfare system including the Integrated Care Board, West Midlands Police and the family courts. We now look forward to working with our colleagues in Birmingham Children’s Trust on our improvement plan.”

Andy Couldrick, Birmingham Children’s Trust Chief Executive, said: 
“We are delighted to have been asked by the Commissioner for Solihull, the Department for Education and Solihull Council to act as Solihull’s Regional Partner, supporting them in their improvement journey following their Ofsted inspection last year.

“We think there are many things we have learned about improving children’s services that we can share with Solihull. This is recognition of the progress we have made in Birmingham, and the contribution we can make to support the improvement in services for Solihull’s children, young people and families.”