The Chairperson welcomed all those present to the meeting and updated the committee on its membership. Since the last meeting Mrs Fisher the education co-optee and parent governor representative for the primary sector had resigned from the committee. A letter would be sent to outline the gratitude of the committee for the work Mrs Fisher had undertaken. The Chairperson also announced that the current meeting was Mr Sell’s last meeting as an education co-optee and representative of the Diocese of Hereford. Mr Sell was thanked for the work he had undertaken on the committee and previously with the General Scrutiny Committee.

To receive any declarations of interest from members in respect of items on the agenda.

There were no declarations of interest.

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting held on 14 May 2018.

The Chairperson proposed a change to the minutes of the previous meeting. The proposed change concerned recommendation (f) under the Learning Disability Strategy to clarify the intent of the committee and ensure that the recommendation was accepted by the executive for action. The committee agreed that the recommendation was changed to the wording below:

‘f. asks the executive and the CCG to investigate methods of joint working with GP surgeries to assist those with learning disabilities to more easily obtain bus passes’

RESOLVED: that subject to the change outlined above the committee approves the minutes of the meeting on 14 May 2018.

To receive any written questions from members of the public.

Deadline for receipt of questions is 5:00pm on Tuesday 10 July 2018.

Accepted questions and answers will be published as a supplement prior to the meeting. Please submit questions to: councillorservices@herefordshire.gov.uk. 

There were no questions from members of the public.

To receive any written questions from members of the council.

Deadline for receipt of questions is 5:00pm on Tuesday 10 July 2018.

Accepted questions and answers will be published as a supplement prior to the meeting. Please submit questions to: councillorservices@herefordshire.gov.uk. 

There were no questions from members of the Council.

To receive the annual reports from the fostering and adoption services and consider any outcomes and recommendations. To make recommendations to the cabinet member on the operation of the services during 2018/19.

The committee received a report concerning the fostering and adoption service reports for 2017/18. The Director Children’s Wellbeing (DCWB) introduced the report and explained that the two reports provided an annual review of the previous year and recommendations for the services for the current year.

The committee raised those comments in the discussion which followed:

Adoption report

·         It was noted that there was an income target of £74k for the adoption service and it was queried how challenging this target was to achieve in the context of the overspent budgets in 2017/18 of the fostering service budget and external fostering budget. The DCWB explained that the fostering and adoption services had overspent in order to meet the needs of children and families. The overspent budgets had been taken into account during the budget setting process for 2018/19. There were local, regional and national pressures upon budgets to support looked after children and those moving to adoption in the current year. The income target was affected by the move to regional adoption agencies, which was a national requirement. The Council had been able to apply to a central government fund to recoup some costs involved in the purchase of placements.

·         It was queried whether the recent funding allocated to Children’s Wellbeing would be allocated to address the overspends. The DCWB explained that the £1.6m  funding was dedicated to projects identified as priorities in the service to address capacity issues, including trying to recruit more social workers, family support workers and business support to reduce caseload pressures on social work staff and to enable there to be more capacity to support managers to manage.

·         There was concern expressed at the length of time it had taken to join a regional adoption agency (RAA). The committee requested an update on progress made to join an RAA. The Childrens Social Work Manager - Adoption (CSWMA) advised the committee that Adoption Central England (ACE) had accepted an application but a more detailed case had yet to be presented to the Executive Board of ACE. A date was not yet known when the Council would join the agency but it was hoped that this would occur later in the year. The move to regional adoption agencies was a priority for the government and ACE was now required to determine the membership of the Council. The timing had been affected by national government and periods of elections and purdah.

·         It was queried whether the training provided by the Council for carers was consistent with the standards of ACE and an explanation of the budgetary impacts on the Council of remaining outside of the RAA was requested? The CSWMA explained that ACE had adopted the training framework of the Council and the financial impacts consisted of greater spending on placements. 

·         The Committee commended the adoption service on placements achieved during the year in particular those sibling groups placed together where possible.

·         It was noted that the report referred to gaps in research of a child’s birth family  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

To consider the draft Children and Young People’s Plan 2018 - 2023, for pre decision scrutiny, ahead of its presentation to full Council.

The committee considered a report which set out the draft Children and Young People Plan 2018 – 2023 ahead of its presentation to Cabinet and full Council. The Childrens Commissioning and Contracts Lead (CCCL) introduced the report and explained that the plan was outcome focused, based on priorities for children across Herefordshire which had been drawn up through engagement with partners. The Plan contained four key priorities which would be subject to a consultation to be undertaken over summer 2018. The Plan was a high level documents; a detailed delivery plan would be developed in due course to implement the priorities.

The committee raised the issues below in the discussion that followed:

·         There was concern locally about delays of access to services provided by CAMHS and the potential impact on school attendance which could result in penalties imposed on parents. The CCCL confirmed that mental health needs were a significant element throughout the Plan and in particular of the Be Healthy priority.

·         It was felt that the Plan required a greater emphasis on the impact of economic wellbeing on children and young people. The impact of poverty on the lives of children and young people was significant and the Plan should refer to poverty reduction strategies. The CCCL confirmed that poverty was not mentioned explicitly in the Plan but it was recognised in areas concerning barriers and challenges to the success of children. This was evident in detail in the Plan concerned with the raising of attainment of children eligible for Free School Meals.

·         The committee explained that it was important that there was context in the Plan regarding areas across Herefordshire of relative deprivation. The CCCL explained that the next stage of the consultation would look to draw together local information and intelligence.

·         The committee welcomed the Plan and felt it was a coherent and focused document.

·         Members felt that the Plan should make reference to refugee and migrant families in the County.

·         The Plan was also felt to require mention of net migration into the County particularly in light of the new university and young people coming to Hereford to access higher education.

·         The gap between the proportion of children with SEN nationally and those in Herefordshire was raised and what explanation there could be for the high level recorded in the county. The DCWB explained that work was being undertaken to look into this issue.

·         It was felt that the Plan should refer to the issue of County lines which was an issue that was not fully recognised in Herefordshire as a rural area.

RESOLVED: that the Committee recommends that the Plan includes reference to:

a)    the impact of poverty and deprivation on children and young people;

b)    refugee and migrant children and families; and

c)    the issue of County lines under the be safe from harm priority.  

The meeting adjourned at 3.16 p.m. and reconvened at 3.21 p.m.

To receive an update on action taken to reduce the child protection plan numbers following an increase in November, December 2017 and January 2018. To make recommendations on the approach and outcome of the action plan.

The committee received a report relating to the number of children subject to child protection arrangements and work undertaken to address an increase in numbers over Winter 2017/18. The ADSFS introduced the report and explained that following a sharp increase in the number of child protection cases an action plan had been developed which had decreased the number of children to a current number of 169. This had been achieved by stepping down cases to early help and other support services. An assessment of the appropriateness of thresholds to put children on child protection plans had been undertaken.

The Committee made the comments below in the discussion that followed:

·         The reduction in the number of children was very welcome and it was recognised that there had been a significant reduction. The thresholds were queried and whether the guidance followed at Herefordshire Council was national, regional or local? The ADSFS confirmed that the threshold guidance was local to Herefordshire but it did not differ significantly from guidance in other areas;

·         The committee queried when reviews of the thresholds occurred and whether there was consideration of the interpretation of government guidance during such reviews. Clarification regarding the thresholds was requested and whether level 1 was universal across all children in Herefordshire. The ADSFS explained that level 1 of the threshold represented the universal position that children who required no additional support occupied. Some children faced challenges through childhood and would need to be escalated or stepped-down across the levels;

·         The committee highlighted the importance of early intervention to address issues before additional support was required and there was escalation to the higher threshold levels. It was noted that children could move into level 2 where the need for early intervention had not been recognised; the importance of identifying the need for support from evidence such as missing routine health checks was emphasised. The ADSFS explained that the service sought to work with families to address issues at an early stage. Health visitors were trained to identify issues and make referrals to the MASH where appropriate.

·         The committee supported the work with families and asked about consistency of practice which had been criticised previously. The ADSFS reported that Ofsted had assessed the ‘front door’ as robust; but it was acknowledged that occasionally there was a tendency to see issues as more serious than they actually were;

·         The committee commended the action plan and was pleased with the progress made to address the number of children in child protection arrangements.

RESOLVED: that the committee notes the report and the progress made against the action plan.   

To consider and agree the attached work programme for 2018/19, including proposals for two task and finish groups and a spotlight review.

The committee considered a report concerning its work programme. The committee was asked to agree: its latest schedule of business for 2018/19; two scopes for task and finish groups and the appointment of chairpersons; a spotlight review concerning dental health and childhood obesity; and an additional meeting in October, at a date to be finalised by the chairperson.

It was proposed that the task and finish group concerning Special Education Needs provision be chaired by Councillor FM Norman and Mr James agreed to sit on the group. It was proposed that Councillor MT McEvilly chair the PRU Referrals task and finish group and Councillor ACR Chappell agreed to sit on the group. It was confirmed that requests to join the membership of the groups would be sent to the group leaders.  

RESOLVED: that the committee:

(a)    approves an additional meeting in October (to be finalised by the chairperson following the meeting) and the  work programme as set out at appendix a, subject to any amendments the committee wishes to make;

(b)   approves the terms of reference in appendix b for two task and finish groups – i) Special Education Needs (SEN) Provision; and ii) PRU (Pupil Referral Unit) Referrals – and agrees the appointment of Councillors Norman and McEvilly as respective chairpersons for the two groups;

(c)    agrees the undertaking of a spotlight review on the afternoon of 17 September relating to dental health and childhood obesity; and

(d)   notes the recommendation tracker in appendix c.

The next meeting of the children and young people scrutiny committee will be held on Monday 17 September 2018 at 10.15 a.m.

The next meeting of the committee would be held on 17 September at 10.15 a.m.