Commentary on Sections Local authority administration Section 17: Children and Young People’s Plans
95.Section 17 imposes a new duty on children’s services authorities to plan for the provision of services for children. It is linked to the duty to co-operate which is the subject of section 10. As a consequence of the new duty, a number of other planning obligations falling on local authorities are being dispensed with. These are the Education Development Plan, the Early Years Development and Childcare Plan, the School Organisation Plan, the Behaviour Support Plan, the Class Sizes Plan, the Children’s Services Plan and the Local Authority Adoption Services Plan.
96.Subsection (1) provides for regulations to require children’s services authorities to prepare and publish a Children and Young People’s Plan (CYPP) which will set out their strategy for services for children and relevant young people.
97.Subsection (2) states that regulations may make provision for the content, timescale, publication and review of the plan and what consultation should be undertaken in its preparation. We intend the CYPP to be based on the five outcomes for children and to contain a statement of local vision for children and young people, key outcomes, a strategic analysis, actions (with timescales), references to joint planning with key partners, performance management and review of children’s services, and to outline the consultation undertaken in its preparation. The intention is that regulations will provide for the CYPP to relate to successive periods of three years. The authority will have to publish the CYPP and to review it annually.
98.Subsection (3) provides for the content of the plan to include arrangements made under section 10 (duty to co-operate) and the strategy of key partners with whom there is co-operation for children’s services. Therefore, the CYPP will be consistent with plans for services for children and young people prepared by other organisations in respect of the local authority’s area, e.g. concerning children’s health services, youth justice and services provided by the voluntary and community sector.
99.Relevant young people are defined according to section 10(9).