To receive apologies for absence

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors JA Hyde and A Seldon and co-optee members Mr Burbidge, Mrs Fisher and Mr Sell.

To receive details of members nominated to attend the meeting in place of a member of the committee.

Councillor D Summers attended as a substitute for Councillor A Seldon.

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

Councillor FN Norman declared a non-pecuniary interest in agenda item 7 – Children and Young People Mental Health Partnership and agenda item 8 – Children’s wellbeing self-assessment 2017 – update as a member of the Corporate Parenting Panel.

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting on 2 October 2017.

The committee noted a correction to the minutes. Hazel Braund’s title in the minutes required amendment to state she represented Herefordshire Clinical Commissioning Group.

RESOLVED: That, subject to the correction above, the minutes of the meeting on 2 October 2017 are agreed as a correct record.

To receive any written questions from members of the council.

Deadline for receipt of questions is 5:00pm on Wednesday 29 November.

Accepted questions will be published as a supplement prior to the meeting.

Please submit questions to: councillorservices@herefordshire.gov.uk. 

A copy of the Member questions and written answers is attached to the minutes at Appendix 1.

To receive any written questions from members of the public.

Deadline for receipt of questions is 5:00pm on Wednesday 29 November.

Accepted questions will be published as a supplement prior to the meeting.

Please submit questions to: councillorservices@herefordshire.gov.uk. 

A copy of the public questions and written answers is attached to the minutes at Appendix 2.

To receive a presentation from the Clinical Commissioning Group’s children and young people mental health partnership including a response to the recommendations arising from the task and finish group on Mental Health Services for Children and Young People. 

The committee received a report and presentation from Herefordshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) concerning the updated Herefordshire Children and Young People Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing Transformation Plan 2015 – 2020 and the response of the CCG to the recommendations arising from the task and finish group on Mental Health Services for Children and Young People. Jade Brooks, Deputy Director of Operations, Herefordshire CCG provided the presentation with Katherine Smith, Service Delivery Manage, Hereford CAMHS, 2gether NHS Foundation Trust. The work of the partnership was outlined and the refresh of the transformation plan. With respect to the recommendations of the task and finish group it was confirmed that they had been accepted and implemented in the action plan to the transformation plan.

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

·         The incorporation of the recommendations of the task and finish group was welcomed and it was noted that further work was required to develop plans around perinatal care.

·         The question was posed as to where the perceived weaknesses existed in the partnership. Jade Brooks responded to explain that maintaining the energy of the agencies involved in the partnership was a challenge and ensuring the successful recruitment and retention of staff within our workforce. Furthermore, the resources of the NHS were currently directed towards addressing the highest levels of need but it was hoped that funding could be released to focus on early intervention and prevention programmes. A particular challenge concerned the ability to secure mental health inpatient admissions and she reminded the committee that there were no inpatient children’s beds locally and securing beds in the West Midlands placed a pressure upon the operation of the service.

·         The committee queried transition between the Children and Young People Mental Health Partnership and adult mental health forums. Katherine Smith explained that the current national NHS programme, Commissioning for Quality and Innovation (CQUIN), included a focus on transition arrangements. It was confirmed that very few children transferred from CAMHS to adult mental health service.

·         The focus of the partnership on children and young people was recognised and understood. A query was raised regarding what account was taken of the impact on families and whether services were in place to address the wider impact of mental health disorders. Katherine Smith explained that time-limited support groups had been established by CAMHS to provide support to parents with children suffering mental health conditions.

·         The training sessions provided to schools regarding mental health conditions were raised and the importance of securing a budget for the continuation of the training. Jade Brooks confirmed that the national offer of training had been provided to secondary schools and a provider had been appointed to conduct the training. It was important that the messages communicated during the training were fed into other local bodies and agencies concerned with children’s mental health. It was hoped that there would be further clarity around the provision of the training in the recently announced green paper.

·         The statistics in the report concerning  ...  view the full minutes text for item 27.

To consider if the children's wellbeing self-assessment provides the necessary assurance for the committee. In addition to make any comments and recommendations to enable the self-assessment to be developed further.

The committee received a report concerning the updated Children’s Wellbeing Self-Assessment, copy appended to the minutes. The Director of Children’s Wellbeing introduced the report and advised the Committee that the document had been updated since it was presented at the September meeting. The document had been used in the West Midlands Association of Directors of Children’s Services self-assessment and peer challenge work in November 2017. Feedback had been received which informed the council’s improvement work and would inform the next iteration. The self-assessment provided a comprehensive overview of children’s services at the council outlining the current improvement journey, positive outcomes for children and elements which required attention.

In consideration of the self-assessment the committee raised the comments below in the discussion that followed:

·         A recurring theme within the document concerned difficulties encountered with the software Mosaic. The Assistant Director Safeguarding and Early Help confirmed that Mosaic had been introduced to replace Frameworki. As with any new system there was a period of adjustment where challenges were encountered however the introduction of Mosaic was a positive step as clarity had been brought to the element of the system concerning Looked After Children (LAC);

·         There were concerns that the recruitment of experienced social workers was a challenge. The Assistant Director Safeguarding and Early Help explained that a new HR Business Partner had recently been investigating recruitment strategies including greater use of social media. The Director of Children’s Wellbeing explained that a regional grouping of children’s services was exploring ways of improving recruitment and retention of social workers and this would be complemented by a localised approached that was being developed by the HR Business Partner.

·         The self-assessment had highlighted the need for a cultural change in respect of safeguarding; it was queried how this would be achieved. The Assistant Director Safeguarding and Early Help advised the committee that the Safeguarding and Review Team were responsible for overseeing how services were delivered to LAC and also provided a quality assurance function. The team would focus on how to ensure consistency in its operations and define its role. The positive work of the team would be developed and embedded across the council.

·         Detail had not been provided in the self-assessment as to how the high rate of reoffending would be addressed. It was explained that the recent consideration of the Youth Justice Plan at Full Council had included detail of the strategies to address reoffending rates.

·         The report referred to the poor physical environment for CAMHS but there was no detail regarding potential improvements. The Assistant Director Safeguarding and Early Help explained that the new CAMHS offer would address this and there was an intention to move away from a permanent location for the service to place an emphasis on meeting where services users preferred.

The Director of Children’s Wellbeing provided some feedback on the self-assessment which had been received from the West Midlands regional group. This included: confirmation that improvements in education and care had occurred; challenges persisted around LAC but there  ...  view the full minutes text for item 28.

To review the attached work programme for 2017/18.

The committee considered the latest version of the work programme, copy appended to the minutes. The chairman introduced updates to the work programme which included the following:

·         the LGA training session on 11 December had been rescheduled to 2.00 p.m.; and

·         the next meeting of the committee would take place on Monday 5 February at 2.00 p.m. This meeting date had been rescheduled from the original date of Monday 22 January.

To note the date of the next meeting on Monday 5 February at 2.00 p.m. This is a rearranged meeting date from the original meeting date of 22 January.

The date of the next meeting was Monday 5 February at 2.00 p.m.