To receive any apologies for absence.

The meeting noted that the cabinet member contracts, procurement and assets would be absent for the first part of the meeting.

To receive declarations of interests in respect of Schedule 1, Schedule 2 or Other Interests from members of the committee in respect of items on the agenda.

None.

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting held on 24 September 2020.

Resolved:       That the minutes of the meeting held on 24 September 2020 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairperson.

To receive questions from members of the public.

Questions received and responses given are attached as appendix 1 to the minutes.

To receive questions from councillors.

There were no questions from councillors.

To review the Adoption and Fostering services performance report and approve related documents.

Deferred from 24 September 2020.

The cabinet member children and families introduced the item. She noted that it was national adoption week and echoed the points made at a national level encouraging potential adopters to come forward.

The head of looked after children highlighted the key points of the annual reports:

·        the reports covered work in 2019/20;

·        the transition to working as part of ACE had gone smoothly;

·        development of the early permanency hub had been effective;

·        slight increase in number of children being placed in foster to adopt placements;

·        priorities for the adoption service in 20/21 were to continue the focus on pre-birth planning and improve the timeliness of children being placed for adoption;

·        eliminating the backlog in producing life story books and later life letters had also been identified as a priority and this had already been achieved;

·        there was an increase in the number of children placed with in house foster carers against a backdrop of a small reduction in the number of foster carers;

·        increased number of children left care through a special guardianship order;

·        the training offer to foster carers had been improved and the use of a suite of online training had been valuable during the coronavirus epidemic;

·        priorities for the fostering service in 20/21 were to focus on increasing the number of carers and the number of placements in house across all types of foster care, to continue to increase the number of children long term matched with their foster  carers and to increase the number of children leaving care through special guardianship orders.

In discussion of the report cabinet members noted that:

·        The coronavirus epidemic had caused some difficulties but overall these had been managed well, some foster carers had not been able to take children as they were isolating or shielding which caused some pressure;

·        Information would be provided after the meeting on the latest numbers of carers by type and the targets for 2020/21;

·        The impact of the approach to reducing numbers of looked after children was showing results;

·        The turnover of staff had been higher than usual in 2019/20 but most of the staff who had left had been promoted or left for other positive reasons, all but one post was now filled permanently;

·        New carers had a dedicated family support worker who provided continuity even if there was a turnover in social workers, children also had their own social worker separate from the workers supporting the carers;

·        A new Facebook site had been in place since January 2020 which had attracted significant attention and was more dynamic than the council website but the translation of enquiries into applications was currently very low, feedback from applications was being considered to see what could be learned to improve conversion rates;

·        It was a struggle to recruit carers from BAME or mixed backgrounds;

·        The HIPPS service had a small number of carers able to foster multiple children but it had been difficult to replace those that had left, an offer of additional support and payments to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

That Cabinet approves the endorsement of the Herefordshire Cultural Strategy 2019-2029.

The cabinet member commissioning, procurement and assets introduced the report and explained that although the strategy had been launched in 2019, Herefordshire Council had not formally endorsed it. There had been significant cuts to the cultural sector in the previous 10 years and endorsing the strategy would show the council’s commitment to culture, guide work with cultural partners in the future and boost efforts to secure external funding.

The museum libraries and archives manager highlighted that there had been a council representative on the cultural partnership for several years and that a wide range of partners were represented. There were in the region of 500 small businesses involved in creative industries in Herefordshire. Endorsing the strategy did not commit the council to any financial support but as a statement of the council’s backing would be helpful in future bids by culture, arts and heritage organisations in the county. By way of example a recent grant to develop a cultural compact in Herefordshire was successful in part due to the council’s support.

In discussing the report cabinet members noted that:

·        Savings that had been scheduled for cultural services had been found elsewhere and while funds were still limited it was hoped that endorsing the strategy would help in finding innovative and creative ways to support cultural organisations and maximise the funding from other sources;

·        Culture provided support for people of all ages and backgrounds;

·        The partnership working was seen positively;

·        Supporting the strategy aligned with commitments in the county plan;

·        The strategy covered the whole county and investments in culture paid back in terms of quality of life and for the wider economy.

Group leaders and representatives were asked for their views and queries. The strategy was commended and it was noted that:

·        The strategy would promote Herefordshire generally and it was hoped that it would support future bids;

·        It was important that the whole county was involved;

·        It was particularly important to show support as cultural organisations were struggling during the coronavirus epidemic;

·        Investment in the cultural sector would generate additional money;

·        Joined up working was important both within the council and with partners.

The next steps were discussed. The museum libraries and archives manager explained that he met monthly with the cultural partnership and that a lot of work was already in train. The role that the council could play as an enabler and supporter had become clearer in the previous year or two and endorsing the strategy confirmed that council’s support. There would be further opportunities for joint working in the future.

It was agreed that:

Cabinet agrees to endorse the Herefordshire Cultural Strategy 2019-2029 to inform and support its work with the arts, cultural and heritage sectors in the county.

The leader of the council stressed that while the county was thankfully doing much better than other areas of the country it was important not to become complacent and to continue to be careful if we were to keep Herefordshire open for business. He expressed thanks to all key workers and everyone keeping Herefordshire going during the current difficult times.