Expansion of regional care co-operatives: Legal comment

Following two pathfinder sites in the South East and Greater Manchester, the Department for Education is expanding the Regional Care Co-operative (RCC) programme to six more regions.  

RCCs are set to become the basis on which looked after children are cared for and supported in accommodation, taking on responsibility for sufficiency, stability and quality of accommodation across multiple local authority footprints.  

An invitation has been published by DfE today for organisations to apply to be part of the next wave of RCC roll-out, with applications open until 22 May 2026 and decisions in July.  

For regions selected, the staged delivery plans are expected to see delivery over 18 to 21 months. Funding of up £1.7m per RCC is available for delivery, with the funding period running to 31 March 2028.  

Organisations applying must be able to satisfy key criteria and are expected to have a clear vision as to the RCC to be delivered. This includes:  

• Identification of a leadlocalauthorityfor delivery of the RCCand consortium membership. Proposed members must have senior buy-in to be part of the consortium. 

• A sound understanding of the existing regional pictureincluding need, sufficiency, and market,and alsoalignment with other key footprints such as ICBs and strategicauthorities.

• Details of past collaborations between proposed member organisations, such as regional fostering or recruitment, shared commissioningarrangementsand regional partnerships.

• Planned operating models, governance, senior leadership,staffingandfunctions.

• Delivery and strategic plans, based on foundation and developmentstages, withemerging strategies on fostering, integration, marketand data, and clear understanding of benefitsanticipated.

• Robust financial planning and value for money (with finding,value for moneyand outcomes attracting 30% of the score).

Regional care co-operatives offer opportunities for collaborative local authorities 

James Arrowsmith, Partner specialising in social care at UK and Ireland law firm Browne Jacobson, said: “RCCs have been a key talking point since Josh MacAlistair completed his review of children’s social care, and it is clear that pathfinders have allowed thinking around the RCC model to be rapidly evolved towards the phased roll out which starts with this process.  

“The programme will be seen as an opportunity for many authorities that have been working hard to develop collaboration arrangements and partnerships across regions, to improve outcomes for children. For those with developed or emerging regional strategies, there is an opportunity to accelerate progress, with welcome funding to achieve this.  

“However, there are a range of levels of maturity in regional working, and tensions will exist in some areas (which are being seen through LGR) as to what geographies are best for delivering improvement between the local authority and national level.  

How local authorities can prepare 

“While authorities considering an application will need to work quickly, an effective response to the applications process is going to require crystal clear focus on what is strong in regions and priority outcomes in order to develop a clear and compelling proposal.  

“It will be important to recognise that the process aims to take regions through the foundation and development phases of their journey only. This will create a platform for further work, as we are seeing in the established pathfinder regions that are now welcoming new members and exploring new initiatives to build on their established RCCs.  

“It is likely that successful applications will also reflect a string understanding of the direction of travel in children’s social care strategy, and current priorities. Fostering receives significant attention in the documents, which reflects the recognition of its benefits, and the need for more good quality placements.  

“The guidance includes requirements that will involve some careful legal analysis, such as choice of operating model, data sharing, provider transitioning, workforce and collaborations with health, police and others.” 

Browne Jacobson has extensive experience of working with clients in relation to these matters, including in relation to the RCC transition and the ICS transition, and can support organisations in considering application and the wider RCC journey. For more information, contact James Arrowsmith.