For Connected Communities Scrutiny Committee to consider the

To agree an extension to the contract for the temporary Corporate Director, Children and Young People.

To agree the committee's work programme.

To provide an overview of the services Herefordshire Council and its partners provide for its looked after children who are leaving care.

To provide scrutiny committee with the opportunity to comment on Building Strong Connected Communities, Talk Community Strategy, 2024 - 2027.

To enable scrutiny members to comment on Building Strong Connected Communities, Talk Community Strategy, 2024 - 2027.

To consider the committee’s work programme.

To update the Committee on progress to revise the Risk Management Strategy

To approve the 2023/24 Statement of Accounts and associated letter of representation from Grant Thornton, the external auditors.

To seek the view of the committee as to whether the Annual Governance Statement (AGS) for 2023/24 properly reflects the internal control environment the council is operating in and the appropriateness of actions identified to improve.

To consider the external audit findings report for the year ended 31 March 2024.

To brief the Children and Young Scrutiny on the Quality Assurance Framework for Herefordshire Children’s Services, including the values and principles underpinning this. Also to describe the means by which quality assurance activity is undertaken, the outcomes from quality assurance activity in the last year and the impact of the quality assurance activity in the Herefordshire Children’s Services improvement journey.

To inform the committee of performance in the areas of complaints, data incidents and requests for information made to the council over the municipal year 2023/24.

To brief the Committee on the Children's Social Care Quality Assurance Framework, the process for undertaking quality assurance activity and the outcomes and impact of our quality assurance activity.

To present to the Audit and Governance Committee the External Auditor’s Annual Report 2023/24 for
information and discussion.

To scrutinise the Herefordshire Children’s Services and Partnership Improvement Plan Phase 2

To provide the committee with the work programmes of Herefordshire Council's scrutiny committees.