The savings come against plans to spend on staffing in some areas, however. This includes:
The creation of a quality assurance officer post (£40,000)
BFC could fork out on a portion of a £330,000 cost for three staff supporting the Family Safeguarding Model, but “continuation of funding for relevant posts will need careful consideration if an agreement in resourcing is not achieved with partners”). These changes were revealed as part of draft budget proposals published in December. The papers showed Bracknell Forest Council bosses are planning to spend £89.4 million on their revenue budget in the 2021/2022 financial year. With £83.2 million in income expected for this period, the authority revealed a potential funding gap of £6.2 million.
Rachael Wardell (Picture credit: Phil Adams)
Rachael Wardell is taking over as the new executive director of children’s services at Surrey County Council this month following the tragic death of Dave Hill. Here she shares some first thoughts about the challenges.
“Dave and I were very different characters, but I liked him enormously. We both felt very fiercely about the same things in children’s services.”
Rachael Wardell still remembers the shock and sadness she felt when she heard of Dave Hill’s sudden death earlier this year. They had been colleagues over a number of years at the Association of Directors of Children’s Services.