To receive apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors DG Harlow, A Seldon and D Summers, and Mr M Samuels, director, adults and wellbeing.

To receive details of any Members nominated to attend the meeting in place of a Member of the Committee.

Councillor CR Butler attended as a substitute member for Councillor DG Harlow, Councillor EPJ Harvey for Councillor A Seldon and Councillor JLV Kenyon for Councillor D Summers.

To receive any declarations of interest by Members in respect of items on the Agenda.

During the meeting, a pecuniary interest was declared by Councillor JLV Kenyon as a parent who had accessed the service.

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting held on 17 November 2015.

RESOLVED

That the minutes of the meeting held on 17 November 2015 be agreed as a correct record.

To consider suggestions from members of the public on issues the Committee could scrutinise in the future.

(There will be no discussion of the issue at the time when the matter is raised.  Consideration will be given to whether it should form part of the Committee’s work programme when compared with other competing priorities.)

No suggestions from the public were received.

To note questions received from the public and the items to which they relate.

(Questions are welcomed for consideration at a Scrutiny Committee meeting so long as the question is directly related to an item listed on the agenda.  If you have a question you would like to ask then please submit it no later than two working days before the meeting to the Committee Officer.  This will help to ensure that an answer can be provided at the meeting). 

No questions from the public were received.

To consider the findings of the scrutiny task and finish group and to recommend the report to the executive for consideration.

The monitoring officer clarified that in relation to the item for consideration today there was the threat of separate legal action but that did not affect the ability of the committee to receive the report. She reminded all present to observe confidentiality for service users and to focus on the service rather than on individuals. 

The chairman thanked the vice-chairman for his work on the matter in hand. 

The vice-chairman presented the report of the task and finish group, making the following introductory remarks:

•           the task and finish group was set up as a direct result of concerns raised by the parents of service users about short term provision and the possibility of the closure of No. 1 Ledbury Road;

•           thanks given to members and officers from the council, Wye Valley Trust and the Clinical Commissioning Group for all the work they have carried out for the task and finish group and for those, especially parents of service users, who informed the work;

•           the recommendations contained in the task and finish group’s report were unanimously agreed by the task and finish group;

•           face to face interviews were carried out and the group visited 1 Ledbury Road, for which staff were thanked;

•           the group identified a number of key questions, detailed in the report, which provided a focus for the review;

•           members were asked to note that a number of sentences in the report were in italics, which emphasised their importance;

•           the group had set out the statutory basis for the council and other partners to provide short breaks and respite services;

•           as stated in the recommendations, corporate parenting was a responsibility for the council and for all elected members;

•           a consistent feature of the work was the criticism from parents of the children who attend 1 Ledbury Road regarding the lack of information and explanation about the future plans for the facility. The task and finish group found it unacceptable that parents did not find out about the possibility of the closure of 1, Ledbury Road until July 2015 although discussions had been going on about its future for some time;

•           the task and finish group acknowledged that regular meetings with all the different parties were now taking place but there was concern that the uncertainty and confusion of recent months should be ended as soon as possible;

•           there should be proper provision available for all the families who currently access 1 Ledbury Road and the task and finish group was not satisfied that this was in place;

•           the proposed fostering service seemed at an early stage and attention was drawn to  sections 5.18 and 5.19 in particular in the report where it was noted that “The Group felt that No. 1 Ledbury Road offered security as well as peace of mind for service users and parents that a foster carer would be unable to.” Foster parents would need special training to look after children with complex needs.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 48.