London Care Services
London Councils is a joint committee established by the London Boroughs and City Councils under section 101 to 105 of the Local Government Act 1972. It is a cross party organisation that works on behalf of 32 London Boroughs and the City of London. London Councils runs a number of services on behalf of member authorities, including London Care Services (LCS), Freedom Pass and Taxicard.
London Councils is authorised by the participating authorities to act as their agent in respect of LCS. The work of LCS is overseen by the Association of London Directors of Children's Services (ALDCS), which London Councils hosts.
LCS negotiates prices of residential and foster care services for looked after children on behalf of 19 Local Authorities (18 London boroughs and one partner authority; Milton Keynes). The services also:
- Carries out quality and due diligence checks on providers
- Shares information on services and prices with member authorities through the LCS portal
- Draws up and manages the LCS Model Contract, which member authorities use to make placements with approved providers
Discover the partnership of Local Authorities already part of the LCS arrangement