To inform Cabinet of progress made towards the implementation of the Children and Adults Safeguarding Boards Annual Reports

The interim manager of the safeguarding boards’ business unit provided an overview of the annual reports produced by the two boards.

In relation to the report of the safeguarding children’s board, and in response to questions by members of cabinet the following points were noted:

·         Engagement of partners at a high level in the partnership was good; focus needed to be maintained to ensure continued engagement of partners at an operational level to ensure improvements in practice

·         It would be important to be clear about priorities and planned activity aligned to the community safety partnership to provide clear guidance on funding priorities to the incoming police and crime commissioner.

In response to queries by members in attendance the following points were made:

·         The forecast drop in the number of under-fives was based on the expected family profile of those moving into additional planned housing.

·         The age profile of looked after children and those under child protection arrangements did not remain static, but varied over time

·         It was confirmed that an internal audit report in relation to safe employment practices found no concerns in relation to employment of agency staff in the children’s directorate although some areas of improvement had been identified in relation to use of volunteers

·         Increases in court proceedings case rates reflected a national trend but actions were being taken to reduce this locally which included ensuring an effective multi-agency early help offer and intervention including a focus on areas such as the prevention of homelessness amongst the 16/18 age group.

·         The board had recently undertaken work to improve engagement with the third sector and this improvement would be reflected in the next annual report.

·         The chairman of the health and social care overview and scrutiny committee drew attention to the need to maintain focus on the support required from partners to deliver improvement following the recent CQC report on Wye Valley Trust.

Resolved that:

(a)         the content of the annual reports and the safeguarding arrangements for children, young people and adults in Herefordshire as assessed by the boards be noted;

(b)         the strategic priorities identified by the board be used to inform future decision making by the council.