Meeting documents

1 THE ISSUE

1.1 The report details the outcome of the Council's audit of services in response to the practice recommendations for social care services of the Victoria Climbie Inquiry Report as submitted to the Social Services Inspectorate by 30 April 2003. The report details the actions that will be taken to effect the required improvements highlighted by this audit

1.2 This report invites members to consider the recommendations and action plan in their capacity as corporate parents.

1.3 The report asks members to note the Social Services Inspectorate's evaluation of the audit and its request that this evaluation is published as a document of public access.

1.4 The report invites members to consider the summary of roles and responsibilities within the Council for safeguarding children.

2 RECOMMENDATIONS

2.1 Instruct the Director of Social Services to ensure that the Action Plan arising from the audit of practice recommendations is implemented, and that progress is reported to the Executive.

2.2 The Council Executive resolves that the Leader of the Council and the Executive Portfolio Holders for Social Services, Education, Resources Planning and Support Services assume the roles and responsibilities for safeguarding children for their individual areas as detailed in Appendix 2.

2.3 The Council Executive resolves that all Councillors note their roles and responsibilities in safeguarding children within the context of their general responsibilities as corporate parents.

3 FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

3.1 The response to the majority of the practice recommendations for social care services will be achieved within existing resources. Provision will need to be made if the following recommendations are implemented:-

(i) the provision of specialist services available to respond to the needs of children and families 24 hours a day, seven days a week (rec:47); (Note: The impact of providing such services could be significant but not possible to quantify at this stage. Further work is required to determine how these services can be best provided and accessed. We will be developing such services with our partner agencies in order to maximize partnership working and use of resources).

(ii) the establishment of a 24 hour free helpline referral number for members of the public who wish to report concerns about a child (rec:33); (Note: To establish and meet the annual running costs of this service will mean minor additional expenditure each year, but there will be implications for staffing costs which will need to be incorporated into the costing of the above and 24hour/7day a week services).

(iii) the establishment of a Committee of Members for Children and Families and the Management Board for Services to Children and Families (recs:6 and 7). (Note: The extent to which this will require fundamental changes or amendments to or existing Avon Child Protection Committee arrangements will be determined by the outcome of The Green Paper: Services to Children at Risk. It is not, therefore, possible to cost at this stage. It is probable that additional input from Democratic Services will be required).

3.2 The Council must ensure that the budget it contributes, along with those from each of the local agencies, in support of vulnerable children and families is identified by the Management Board, so that staff and resources can be used in the most flexible and effective way (rec:9).

3.3 The Council must ensure that it makes budgetary provision for carrying out its responsibilities for children, as set out in the Children Act 1989, particularly those relating to child protection.

4 THE REPORT

4.1 The Council has duties under the Children Act 1989 to provide services to families and children in need, including those in need of protection, and to looked after children. These duties are primarily undertaken by the Social Services who work in partnership with other Council Services, statutory agencies and voluntary organisations to identify, assess, and provide services to children in need in Bath and North East Somerset.

4.2 Local Authorities, in exercising their social services functions, are required to ensure that there is an Area Child Protection Committee (ACPC) covering their area, which brings together representatives of each of the main agencies and professionals responsible for helping to protect children from abuse and neglect. The ACPC is an inter-agency forum for agreeing how the different services and professional groups should co-operate to safeguard children in that area, and for making sure that arrangements work effectively to bring about good outcomes for children. All member agencies of the ACPC are required to implement the Department of Health's Guidance 'Working Together to Safeguard Children'.

4.3 The Quality Protects Programme was launched by the Government in September 1998, and established national objectives for Children's Social Services. The programme emphasised the role and responsibilities of all elected members as corporate parents of the children and young people in their Authority.

4.4 The Climbie Inquiry was established under the Chairmanship of Lord Laming, former Chief Inspector of Social Services, to investigate the circumstances of the death, in February 2000, of Victoria Climbie aged 8. The Inquiry reported to the Secretary of State for Health and Secretary of State for the Home Department, and its report was presented to Parliament on 28 January 2003.

4.5 The Report made 108 recommendations with a range of timescales (3 month, 6 months, 2 years) for implementation. 82 of the 108 are to be implemented within 6 months.

4.6 The recommendations relate to national, regional and local structures, practice issues, training, supervision, management, inter-agency working arrangements - with specific recommendations for social care services, health services and the police.

4.7 In February 2003 each council was required to undertake a self assessment of its services and submit this and an action plan for effecting any required improvements to the Social Services Inspectorate by 30 April 2003.

4.8 The audit was structured to measure performance within seven standards, relating to Referral: Assessment: Allocation, Service provision and closure: Guidance: Training and development: Organisation and Management: Governance.

4.9 Judgements needed to be made about systems and procedural criteria which determined whether they were:

_ Not yet being developed

_ Being developed

_ In place

_ In place and systematically monitored and reviewed.

AND whether resources were:-

_ Seriously inadequate

_ Inadequate in some respects

_ Adequate

_ Wholly adequate

4.10Summaries had to be provided about each standard as a whole and the overall effectiveness of the council, using one of the following

_ Serious concerns

_ Mainly satisfactory but some concerns

_ Satisfactory

_ Very effective

4.11 At the completion of the audit, the following self assessments were submitted for the Children and Families Service:-

_ Referral Very effective

_ Assessment Satisfactory

_ Allocation, Service provision and closure Satisfactory

_ Guidance Very effective

_ Training and development Very effective

_ Organisation and management Very effective

_ Governance Satisfactory

4.12The audit completed by Children and Families Services was submitted to the SSI on 29 April 2003. The SSI will report back to the Secretary of State. The audit framework will be used by the SSI to support future inspections of Children's Services.

4.13 The SSI has reported the outcome of its evaluation of our audit to the Chief Executive. This reports that the Council is serving most children well and that the Council's capacity to improve is promising. This evaluation of the audit should be published as a public document and is therefore attached as Appendix 3.

4.14 The audit has highlighted current strengths and areas for improvement across the Children and Families Services. The Service has compiled an Action Plan to effect these improvements within the designated timescales. This Action Plan is attached as Appendix 1. Progress with its implementation will be monitored by the Children and Families Services Management Group.

4.15 The Council will also need to determine how it will respond to other key recommendations within the Climbie Inquiry Report. Further guidance from the Government, likely to be in the form of a Green Paper now expected in June/July, will give some direction to this in terms of the general recommendations relating to structural/governance issues, but we must make local decisions re:

_ The availability of legal advice 24 hours, 7 days per week.

_ The establishment of a 24 hour free telephone referral number for use by members of the public.

_ The development of specialist services to respond to the needs of children and families 24 hours, 7 days per week.

_ How the Chief Executive and Lead Members will ensure that children's services are explicitly included in their Authority's list of priorities and operational plans.

_ How we identify the budget contributed by each of the local agencies to support vulnerable children and make the most flexible and effective use of resources.

4.16 The Climbie Inquiry Report emphasises the importance of all members of the Council and Council services being aware of, and assuming, their individual and collective responsibilities. The Children and Families Service has compiled a statement outlining the roles and responsibilities within the Council for safeguarding children. This statement has been endorsed by the Directors' Group meeting on 25 June 2003 and is attached as Appendix 2.

5. CONSULTATION

5.1 Staff across the Children and Families Services were involved in the self assessment of services within the Council, and were involved in the compilation of the Action Plan.

5.2 A copy of this report was sent to the Trades Unions on 26 June 2003.