Doncaster Council has received strong sector backing for alternative plans sent to ministers this week, that would see the authority preserve a strong link between children's services and other council functions.

The support follows the publication last month of a Whitehall commissioned report by Professor Julian Le Grand, which called for Doncaster to be entirely stripped of responsibility for running children's services, in the wake of notable incidents.  His report called for the children's commissioner to establish an independent children's trust.

However, under a counter-proposal sent by Doncaster's directly-elected mayor Ros Jones to education secretary Michael Gove this week, it is recommended that the direction be changed so that the council appoints an independent trust – which could be given wider powers over time.

Mayor Jones' alternative course also suggests the council and the commissioners should jointly appoint a director of children's services – who would serve as the chief executive of the trust.

Andrew Webb, president of the Association of Directors of Children's Services (ADCS) said the professional body strongly believed local government, should be expected to lead and drive its own improvement.

‘ADCS acknowledges and shares Doncaster's analysis of the complexities of the legal issues created by the recommendations in Prof LeGrand's report of the review he led alongside Alan Wood and Dame Moira Gibb  – these raise serious question of accountability and need to be addressed head-on before any further action is taken,' Mr Webb added.

Mr Webb's comments were echoed by Solihull MBC chief executive Mark Rogers, who is the lead on children's services for the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives and Senior Managers (SOLACE).

The Solihull chief said the under the leadership of the new mayor and chief executive, Jo Miller, there should be confidence that the proposed Doncaster trust would deliver sustainable improvement.

‘By developing the proposed model into a locally accountable independent trust, it will significantly diminish the legal, budgetary, partnership and accountability complexities inherent in the Le Grand proposal,' Mr Rogers added.

He added that local managers should be building upon the ‘promising' council partnership with specialists iMPOWER and not be diverted in establishing new governance structures imposed externally.

‘Repeated central interventions serve only to damage local accountability, destabilise improvement plans and undermine the very progress they intends to galvanise,' Mr Rogers said.

‘This model brings independent oversight but does not tear up the improvement plans which are already seeing successes locally.'