Northern Ireland Care Review - Health Minister pledged to act on interim recommendations

Yesterday Professor Ray Jones published his interim recommendations at the half-way stage of the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care in Northern Ireland. You can read them here.  

Health Minister Robin Swann has pledged to act on the two interim recommendations. The first involves a package of measures to address the ongoing workforce challenges within children’s social care services. Minister Swann has accepted this recommendation. 

The second is to establish a new regional Arms-Length Body (ALB) of the Department of Health with sole responsibility for children’s services to replace the current model of delivery through the five health and social care trusts. It would have its own chief executive, local delivery bodies and a singular focus on children’s social care services. Minister Swann has asked officials to prepare options over the next three to four months for how this might be delivered, to be shared with a functioning executive once it is in place. 

Kathleen Toner, director of The Fostering Network in Northern Ireland, says: ‘The Fostering Network has been pleased to support Professor Jones to meet foster carers and families and we know he has listened carefully to what they have to say.  

‘We warmly welcome steps to address vacancies within the workforce. As well as social work vacancies, this work stream must look at the recruitment and retention of foster carers as a matter of urgency.  

‘We look forward to learning more about the detail behind the interim recommendations of this important report and we will be consulting our members on those recommendations in order to share their views with Professor Jones to inform the next stage of the review.’ 

-ENDS- 

Notes to Editors 

The review was announced in February 2022 and is expected to take 16 months to complete. Led by Professor Ray Jones, the review is engaging with parents, children and young people and those working within and alongside children’s social care services, including foster and kinship foster carers. The chair is being assisted by an advisory panel consisting of Her Honour, Judge Patricia Smyth, Professor Pat Dolan and Marie Roulston, OBE, a former director of children’s services in Northern Ireland. 

The Fostering Network has had several meetings with Professor Jones and has supported him to meet foster carers and fostering services. Our briefing for the review team can be found here. 

The Department of Health's statement can be found here.