Directorates
The council consists of the following directorates – Community wellbeing, Children and young people, Economy and environment, as well as the Corporate centre (Governance and Legal services, Resources and assurance, and HR & OD).
Community wellbeing
The community wellbeing directorate brings together a wide range of services supporting communities including many of the most vulnerable individuals in the county.
The directorate has seven main areas of focus:
- Adult social care, including services that deliver the council's obligations under the Care Act such as assessment and commissioning of individual care plans for those found to be eligible following a strength based assessment of need
- Adult social care provision through a range of services including Hillside residential care, Shared Lives and Homefirst reablement services
- Independent living services including telecare, occupational therapy assessment, minor and major adaptations and welfare rights
- Adult safeguarding and other protective services such as the deprivation of liberty safeguards and mental health act assessments
- Housing provision including homelessness outreach and assessment of entitlement of housing for people who are homeless or threatened with homelessness
- All age commissioning - this service area plans, designs, specifies, commissions and contract manages the council's support arrangements for adults and communities and multiple children's and families accommodation contracts
- Talk Community operations which provide library services, museums, archives and information, advice and guidance to the residents of Herefordshire through the Talk Community Directory. This is an online wellbeing and information website, which supports the front door of the council through customer services in Blueschool House, delivers behavioural change support to improve health and wellbeing through Healthy Lifestyle Trainers and works in collaboration and partnership with the voluntary and community sector with resilience planning, funding, community cohesion and liaison with parish councils
Children and young people
The children and young people directorate is responsible for education services, safeguarding and family support. These include:
- Admissions to schools
- Early years, schools and further education support
- Providing high quality education places for children in Herefordshire
- Special educational needs and additional needs services for children
- Education support for vulnerable groups of children including children who are looked after
- Adult learning
- Early help and family support services including advice, guidance, parenting programmes
- Safeguarding and children's social care services including children in need, child protection, children with care experience
- Children with disabilities services
- Adoption and fostering services
Economy and environment
The economy and environment directorate brings together a wide range of services that together make a significant contribution to all of the strategic priorities identified in the council's County Plan.
The directorate has six main areas:
- Highways and transport - including buses, flood response, street cleansing, parks and highway maintenance
- Technical services - including building control, parking, CCTV, property services, bereavements, registrars, coroners, and markets, fairs and street trading
- Regulatory, environment and waste services - including planning and regulatory services (encompassing environmental health, trading standards and licensing) and response to the climate and ecological emergency
- Housing and growth
- Economic development - including the Hereford Enterprise Zone
- Infrastructure delivery - including flood alleviation, cycling, walking and highway improvements and schemes
Corporate centre
The corporate centre provides support services across the council for finance, human resources, legal, communications and strategic transformation and delivery.