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Auditing MOUs, MSPs or agency contracts

Auditing memorandums of understanding (MOUs), managed service providers (MSPs) or agency contracts will help you meet the statutory guidance.

From 31 October 2024, statutory guidance for local authorities on the use of agency child and family social workers came into effect in England. Local authorities (LAs) have a responsibility to ensure their agency supply contracts comply with the statutory guidance.

LAs are also responsible for working with their regional improvement and innovation alliance (RIIA) through a mutual agreement to work together collaboratively on shared priorities.

The majority of RIIAs have an agency social work MOU in place which sets out their agreed framework for working together on the agency workforce. Regularly reviewing this with each other will strengthen collaborative working and encourage shared responsibility.

Reviewing your agreement now will ensure that your agreement aligns with the statutory guidance. Reviews help ensure that each part of the agreement is working well.

You might plan to review an MOU:

  • annually as part of a regular review
  • when policy or legislation changes impact on how you work together
  • when parts of the MOU or contract are not working well

When you have updated your regional MOU upload the new version to the Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS).

Using the MOU and contract audit tool

If you have a contract with a managed service provider (MSP), or equivalent, for the supply of agency child and family social workers, use this audit tool to assess whether the MSP contract supports compliance with the statutory guidance.

If you do not have a MSP or agency contract in place, this audit tool can be used to help you assess whether your agency contracts support compliance with the statutory guidance. Your MSP or agency contract should include details about how the local authority and the MSP or agency will work together.

This usually includes:

  • the names of important contacts in the MSP or agency and the local authority
  • the level of contact and the purpose of the activity you are working on together
  • how you will share responsibilities
  • the details of what you are trying to achieve together
  • how you will measure each other’s performance

Your MSP or agency can support you to meet the agency rules by:

  • providing you with information, such as data about pay rates
  • setting up processes that evidence compliance, such as asking the agency supply chain to provide evidence that they are supplying candidates who meet the requirements
  • adhering to the statutory guidance, for example, by agreeing a process with you about referencing

Next page: MOU and contract audit tool

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The resources have been developed by Research in Practice in collaboration with DfE.
Published: 04 June 2025
Last updated: 04 June 2025