To provide an update to cabinet on the children's improvement plan.

The cabinet member children and families introduced the report. She welcomed the input from stakeholders on the new version of the improvement plan and noted ongoing conversations with strategic partners. The cabinet member also highlighted the publication of the final report from the independent review of children’s social care. The government would be responding to this by the end of the year, and the council would take account of any changes in guidance and practice in future updates to the improvement plan.

The corporate director children and young people reminded cabinet members of the background to the improvement plan and key points of the revised document. The next update in July would include details of the additional funding allocation to support the transformation of the service. An inspection of the service by Ofsted was anticipated at some point in the current year. The appointment of new permanent service directors was confirmed and the reduction in caseloads for social workers and more frequent supervision was welcomed. The council continued to work with external partners including the local government association to identify progress and areas for further improvement.

The deputy leader of the council made a statement on the recently broadcast BBC Panorama programme and other media coverage on the council’s children’s services. She acknowledged the concerns raised by residents and councillors and thanked those who had raised specific concerns about their own experiences. The council had invested in the additional staff and resources needed to improve services and was one year into a three-year plan. Supporting families and protecting vulnerable children continued to be the number one priority for the council and the cabinet.

Cabinet members thanked staff for their work on the revised plan and were pleased to see increased focus on outcomes and the progress made to date. The skill, commitment and compassion of staff was recognised.

The chairperson of the children and young people scrutiny committee explained that progress on the improvement plan would be considered at the next scrutiny committee meeting on 21 June. He noted the greater focus on specific metrics and direction of travel, which addressed points raised previously by the committee.

Group leaders and representatives gave the comments and queries from their groups. The new performance reporting was welcomed as it gave a clearer picture of progress and the statistics reported were encouraging. It was noted that:

·       It was important to work with and support families as a key mechanism to protect children;

·       It was important that decision making was checked to give assurance that good decisions were being made and to give confidence to the workforce;

·       Rebuilding trust would take time but the change of culture within the service should start to show in the evidence;

·       The multi-agency early help offer needed further development;

·       It was important to pick up issues in families that lived or accessed services outside Herefordshire, working with neighbouring authorities to ensure good consultation and dialogue.

It was resolved that the cabinet:

a)             Reflect on the progress and impact of improvement activity; and

b)             note the development of version two of the Improvement Plan.