Q1 I would like to know how much money has been paid to a number of senior managers and consultants employed by Devon County Council over the past 10 years. Could you clarify if they have been on permanent contracts, paid a publicly disclosed salary, and whether they are taxed at business rates? (names provided)
Salary information for Devon County Council’s Leadership team is published on our website in accordance with our Pay Policy Statement. Pay bandings for senior staff (those earning more than £50,000 per annum) are published on our website in accordance with the Local Government Transparency Code 2015. Details of payments made to the senior managers covered by this request can be viewed separately via the link below for ease of reference.
Q2 Could you confirm how long the Interim Youth Justice Head of Service and Youth Justice CSE Improvement Lead consultant worked for Devon County Council?
The Interim Youth Justice Head of Service was engaged from 23/05/2022 until 31/10/2022
The Youth Justice CSE Improvement Lead consultant was engaged from 23/05/2022 until 30/11/2022
Q3 Please provide the interim Improvement Director’s job description during 2020/2021
The interim Improvement Director was engaged by Jo Olsson (Director of Children’s Services at that time) The improvement director role is not an existing role in the council’s structure and therefore there is not a specific job description. Here is a brief description of the purpose of the interim Improvement Director role.
The task is to oversee the development and delivery of the Children’s Services Improvement Plan. The person has to have substantial Assistant Director Social Care experience and may also have experience as Director of Childrens Services. The candidates need to have done substantial improvement work and have evidence of successful turnaround at pace in other areas. Experience of working with Intervention Teams, Improvement Boards and Commissioner preferred but not essential.
Q4 Could you also clarify who appointed the Early Help consultant and Head of Service Early Help and the Ofsted preparation consultant, and what were their responsibilities while working for the County Council. How long were they employed for?
The Early Help consultant and Head of Service Early Help was engaged from 07/10/2021 until 31/12/2022 as an Early Help consultant and then was appointed on a permanent contract from 30/01/2023 until 07/04/2023 as Head of Service Early Help and Partnerships following a competitive recruitment process.
The purpose of the consultancy role was a need for a review and remodelling of the Devon Early Help offer. The review needed to be undertaken by an experienced practitioner, with a relevant professional qualifications and experience with a proven track record of identifying and delivering the sustainable change needed in this area. They needed to have a proven track record of successful engaging, working closely and maintaining excellent working relationships with multiple partners.
Devon’s DFE Advisor had highlighted concerns about the Devon Early Help system and what needs to change so was supportive of the review that was required.
The Ofsted preparation consultant was engaged from 07/10/2021 until 31/03/2023.The engagement was instructed by Melissa Caslake (Director of Children’s Services at that time).
The purpose of the role is to support the Service with preparation for Ofsted visits. The activity involves re-writing the self-assessment, evaluating, updating, and taking forward our improvement plan in specific areas of practice (in an anticipation of the visit focus) including our front door response to children, our child protection and our children in need planning. Experience from the previous visit had identified there is a need for expertise and additional capacity in this critical area to support our inspection. We needed to engage a consultant who has a proven experience in Ofsted preparation and Inspection criteria.
The job description for the Head of Service Early Help and Partnerships is available via the link below the responsibilities of this role:
Q5 The interim Improvement Director appears to have had a similar role to that of Julian Wooster who is currently employed as Interim Director of Children and Young People’s futures. Your website tells me that Julian is paid £141,000 pa. Could you explain why the interim Improvement Director was paid £264,304 during 2020/21? I would be grateful if you could let me know who authorised those payments?
The interim Improvement Director role was not a substantive role in the council’s structure. It was a temporary requirement that was commissioned to purchase consultancy and deliver project work. The day rates for consultancy are driven by the external market and are not aligned to the council’s pay and grading structure.
The council has financial regulations as part of the council’s code of corporate governance which state that if any professional person is to be engaged as a lead consultant for a major organisational review or to lead a project on behalf of the council then both Cabinet members and the Chief Executive must approve. These approvals were provided at the time of the engagement.