Agenda and minutes

Venue: Virtual Meeting - Zoom - Public Access via YouTube https://www.youtube.com/bathnescouncil. View directions

Contact: Mark Durnford  Email: mark_durnford@bathnes.gov.uk, 01225 394458

Items
No. Item

42.

WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS

Minutes:

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting.

 

43.

APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE AND SUBSTITUTIONS

Minutes:

Councillor Paul May gave his apologies as he said that he would have to leave the meeting at 12.00pm.

44.

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

At this point in the meeting declarations of interest are received from Members in any of the agenda items under consideration at the meeting. Members are asked to indicate:

(a) The agenda item number in which they have an interest to declare.

(b) The nature of their interest.

(c) Whether their interest is a disclosable pecuniary interest or an other interest,  (as defined in Part 2, A and B of the Code of Conduct and Rules for Registration of Interests)

Any Member who needs to clarify any matters relating to the declaration of interests is recommended to seek advice from the Council’s Monitoring Officer or a member of his staff before the meeting to expedite dealing with the item during the meeting.

Minutes:

There were none.

45.

TO ANNOUNCE ANY URGENT BUSINESS AGREED BY THE CHAIRMAN

Minutes:

There was none.

46.

ITEMS FROM THE PUBLIC OR COUNCILLORS - TO RECEIVE DEPUTATIONS, STATEMENTS, PETITIONS OR QUESTIONS RELATING TO THE BUSINESS OF THIS MEETING

At the time of publication no notifications had been received.

 

Minutes:

There were none.

47.

Youth Forum / In Care Council Update

The Panel will receive a presentation on this item from representatives of the Youth Forum.

Minutes:

Lily Blackmore, Off The Record and Jasmin Miller, In Care Council addressed the Panel and gave a presentation, a summary of which is set out below and a copy of it will be attached as an online appendix to these minutes.

 

Covid-19

 

·  It has changed how we live our lives

·  More than ever, it is important to think about new ways to connect

·  We have been focusing our efforts on how best to connect and collaborate to support ALL young people.

 

In Care Council

 

·  A group of young people who are in care in BANES

·  This group enables young people to guide development and delivery of services to their peers, get their voice heard and create their own projects to make change. They meet regularly with professionals and decision makers to share their views and experiences.

·  Jasmin has been appointed as a Young Ambassador to the Council to help shape Children’s Care Services across Bath and North East Somerset, ensuring the voices of children and young people are heard.

 

Junior In Care Council (JICC)

 

·  This group of 7-11 year olds meets 4 times a year for fun activities and consultation.

·  Consultation on the new Looked After Children (LAC) pack from the IRO (Independent Reviewing Officer) service

·  Halloween bowling & Pizza event held in October

 

Senior In Care Council (SICC)

 

Our recent work includes:

 

·  Podcast

·  Connecting with the JICC through activity videos

·  Training for Foster Carers & ACE Team

·  LAC Nurse interviews

·  Glossary for LAC information pack

·  Foster Carer video – first 48 hours

 

 

Care Leavers

 

·  Starting a group of young people who have left care

·  Celebrating Care Leaver’s week in partnership with Social services

·  Consulted with Care Leavers about activities they would like to see and improvements to the info they receive

 

·  Held a Movie Night, Bake Off and Tour of Bath in response to these suggestions and feedback

 

Youth Forum

 

Last Year the Forum worked on:

 

·  Make Your Mark

·  Night Stop

·  Youth Parliament Elections

 

During Lockdown the Forum has worked on building an Activity Website.

 

·  We have researched and created a website for young people in BANES.

·  It will provide activities and support for young people.

·  It is currently going into consultation with other young people.

 

Participating & Representing Young People

 

Consultation

 

·  Transport Delivery Action Plan

·  Survey for the Council about lockdown

 

Spoken for young people at various events, conferences and webinars:

 

·  UK Youth Parliament: Annual Conference (MYP voted on key issues for YP)

·  British Youth Council South West Summit

·  IMPACT 20: A roundtable event across the South West from the Cabinet office for the Inclusive Economic Partnership – looking at the economic recovery post Covid-19 and getting young people’s views.

·  MYP contributed to the Covid-19 19 and Black Lives Matter webinars for BANES.

 

Moving forward with our Campaigns

 

Protect the Environment:

·  Promote reusable masks in schools

·  Educate young people about the ecological emergency and how they can make a change

 

Respect (Consent & healthy relationships)

·  Learning more about respect through training and research

·  Encouraging respect through speaking out for causes we care  ...  view the full minutes text for item 47.

Participation Service Off The Record Update Nov 2020 pdf icon PDF 1 MB

48.

Cabinet Member Update

The Cabinet Member(s) will update the Panel on any relevant issues. Panel members may ask questions on the update provided.

 

Minutes:

Councillor Rob Appleyard, Cabinet Member for Adult Services addressed the Panel, a summary of his update is set out below and will be attached as an online appendix to these minutes.

 

He commented that he recognised the growing need for further resources regarding Mental Health services.

 

He said that the Community Resource Centre and Extra Care facilities successfully transferred to the Council on the 1st October and that this had gone smoothly. He added that since transfer, Council teams have been working closely with the Services to support transition into the different ways of working and building key operational relationships. He said that the transition period was likely to continue throughout November in parallel with planning for and implementation of next phase of the project. He added that work is now in progress to look at the configuration of the Service in relation to local need.

 

He stated the new round of infection prevention and control funding is being managed by Council officers to ensure providers, including those in the voluntary and community sector have access. He added that the Council welcomes the second wave of this funding and the expansion of the scheme to support local provider.

 

He informed the Panel that a new Advocacy Provider had now started to operate in B&NES.  PoHWER (People of Hertfordshire Want Equal Rights) is a renowned national group.  He explained that they started out as two people with lived experience and have grown to be one the most respected advocacy providers in the country.  He added that the Council would like to extend our gratitude to the advocacy providers such as SWAN, YourSay and The Care Forum who provided the people of Bath and North East Somerset with an excellent service over the last 5 years or so.

 

Councillor Andy Wait asked if the funding received for infection control was enough.

 

Councillor Appleyard replied that they would always welcome more and that the funding would be targeted to where it is needed most.

 

Councillor Ruth Malloy asked if the funding would help to enable family members to visit relatives in Care Homes.

 

Councillor Appleyard replied that whilst mindful of the emotional effects, the care of individuals, staff and visitors was paramount. He said that in a recent video call with a resident that they were happy that measures were in place to keep everyone safe.

 

Councillor Kevin Guy, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services addressed the Panel, a summary of his update is set out below and will be attached as an online appendix to these minutes.

 

Covid-19 Update:

He informed the Panel that we have had cases in 12 individual schools in B&NES so far and that this number remains relatively low in comparison with national data. He added that the Local Authority Public Health team and LA Education staff have worked effectively to support schools when a case of CV19 has been confirmed in one of our schools.

 

He explained that whilst schools initially access support from a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 48.

Cabinet Members Briefing (Cllr Guy) Nov 2020 pdf icon PDF 118 KB

Additional documents:

49.

BSW CCG Update

The Panel will receive an update from the B&NES, Swindon & Wiltshire Clinical Commissioning Group (BSW CCG) on current issues.

Minutes:

Dr Bryn Bird, B&NES Locality Clinical Chair addressed the Panel. A copy of the update can be found as an online appendix to these minutes, a summary of the update is set out below.

 

Health and Wellbeing Board development

 

Members of the Council’s Cabinet and senior officers, together with senior executives and clinical leaders of the BSW CCG, met recently to discuss a number of issues including current operational and financial challenges.

Attendees at the meeting discussed an agreement to develop the children and young person’s report and safeguarding report to ensure that all stakeholders are aware of matters included in the reports and engaged at an early point.

The group is keen to address issues related to health inequalities and resolved make better use of existing health data about our local populations to do this.

 

Advice and guidance for outpatient development.

 

BSW CCG’s professional leadership network is continuing to manage the challenges around waiting times and referrals in our local hospitals caused by the ongoing restrictions in place because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

There is a particular focus on better management across advice and guidance lines and how they can be used more effectively.

We also have a particular focus on diagnostic, how capacity is being developed and how we can better manage with the current restrictions placed on services.

This extends to managing waiting lists and using an analytics approach to assist with risk stratification. 

 

Covid remote monitoring

 

We are developing a working group for local implementation of a Covid remote monitoring system which would allow clinicians to track the progress and recovery of Covid patients remotely, without having to see them face to face. 

This would help with infection control measures, but also significantly allow patients with potentially debilitating symptoms of Covid access to health services sooner and therefore have much better health outcomes.

 

Funding to upgrade specialist dementia mental health units

 

Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership (AWP) NHS Trust has secured almost £3m worth of new funding to upgrade facilities at Hill View Lodge, the mental health inpatient unit based at the Royal United Hospital.

 

The update to existing facilities will enable AWP to relocate Ward 4, its 12-bedded specialist dementia unit, which is currently located at nearby St Martin’s Hospital.

 

Ward 4 is the Trust’s only remaining dormitory-style ward and due to the age of the building and its existing layout is not suitable to be reconfigured to comply with the ‘Delivering Single Sex Accommodation’ regulatory requirements.

 

The funding will ensure patients can be cared for in high quality accommodation more suited to the needs of those with dementia.

 

The funding has been announced as part of the Government’s £400 million commitment over the next four years to eradicate dormitory style accommodation from mental health facilities across the country to improve the safety, privacy and dignity of patients with mental health difficulties.

 

Work to transform part of the Hill View Lodge site and the relocation of Ward 4 is expected to get  ...  view the full minutes text for item 49.

CCG Update Nov 2020 pdf icon PDF 97 KB

50.

Education Updates - School Performance / Narrowing the Gap / SACRE pdf icon PDF 146 KB

This report provides the Panel with a wide range of requested education updates.

Minutes:

The Director for Education, Inclusion & Children’s Safeguarding introduced this report to the Panel, a summary is set out below.

 

Primary School performance

 

Due to the CV19 pandemic and the lockdown, no formal tests were sat within

primary schools and as a result neither the DFE nor the LA requested data from

any primary setting. During lockdown all primary schools in B&NES were asked to facilitate home learning for all pupils. This was often delivered via information sent directly from class teachers and tutors to family homes, or in some cases via online lessons. To ensure that all families were able to access education, schools prepared and delivered home learning packs.

 

All primary schools in B&NES remained open during lockdown to provide face to face educational support to children of keyworkers and vulnerable children. The local authority monitored the school offer to these children and offered additional support to vulnerable families to ensure that children were able to access education. The attendance rates of vulnerable children in B&NES schools was good and in line with the south-west average and above the national average.

 

This school term all primary schools in B&NES are assessing children to see if the lockdown has impacted upon the educational progress that children could have been expected to make. This information will be used as a baseline and justification for any curriculum adaptations and planned expenditure of the Covid Catch-Up money provided to all schools via the DFE.

 

Secondary School Performance

 

Formal examinations for Key stage 4 and 5 were cancelled during the lockdown. Instead, secondary schools were asked to allocate grades at KS4 and KS5. The methodology for doing this was a challenging process with changes to the system used. These challenges were widely reported in the national media and did cause disruption. However, all children, due to finish their education in KS4 & KS5, were allocated school assessed grades to enable them to go on to the next stages of their education, training or employment.

 

In the spring of 2020, the DFE formally announced that it would not be collecting

any educational performance data from schools and has stated that it does not

expect any school to be judged or compared in any way by this year's formal

examination results. Schools were advised that if they wished to publish their

results, they could do, but that this was a decision for each school.

 

The LA did ask for some basic results information from each school; in particular, the LA was keen to understand any implications for vulnerable and disadvantaged pupils. However, the information we received was limited and not submitted by all schools. In line with the DFE request, we have not pursued this any further. In BANES outcomes for pupils were amongst the best in the region in 2019 and there is no reason to believe that this would not continue to be the case in 2020.

 

Virtual School

 

The virtual school operated very effectively during lockdown to support carers and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 50.

51.

Independent Reviewing Service Annual Report pdf icon PDF 127 KB

The Panel review the annual report so as to ensure members are appraised on the care provided to children for whom the Local Authority are responsible.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Deputy Lead for Safeguarding and Quality Assurance (Children

and Young People) introduced this report to the Panel, a summary is set out below.

 

The report is produced in order to provide the Director for Children’s

Services, the Lead Member for Children and the Corporate Parenting Board with information pertaining to the work of the Independent Reviewing Service (IRS) which is responsible for monitoring and reviewing the care provided to children and young people for whom the Local Authority are corporate parents.

 

Following a re-structure at Director Level, the IRO service now sits under the

Director for Education, Inclusion and Children’s Safeguarding. The change in

Directorate has not caused any disruption to the work of the IRO’s and has

preserved the high level of independence that IRO’s in Bath and North East

Somerset have.

 

The IRO service has been fortunate to gain some additional administrative

support this year, this has enabled the service to review some of its processes,

consider alternative ways of communicating with carers of children in care and

provides much needed support to the IRO’s in terms of their work.

 

All full-time members of the team receive monthly supervision with part-time staff receiving supervision on a six-weekly rotation. Supervision allows opportunity for reflection, consideration of the needs of the children placed in the care of the Local Authority, review of performance, statutory compliance and areas for development / learning.

 

The numbers of children and young people in care in this reporting period is fairly static from the previous year, with more children leaving care in the last 12 months than entering which is the first instance in which this has occurred for the last five years.

 

The appointment of an IRO when a child or young person comes into care is the responsibility of the IRO Service Manager. Allocation will be determined by the existing workload of the IRO, whether the child is already known to an IRO or Independent Chair, the number of children in the family, the location of the

child’s placement and the complexity of the child’s needs and level of care

planning required. It is important that IRO’s have a workload that is reflective of

their capacity and expertise.

 

The IRO Service chaired a total of 528 child in care review meetings in 2019-

2020, an increase of 74 from the previous year when the number of children and young people in care was higher. An increase in the number of child in care

reviews can raise question as to placement stability, however the stability rate for children in Bath and North East Somerset remains fairly static.

 

Between the 1st April 2019 and the 31st March 2020 there were only 19 reviews

that could not be held in timescale and as such this means that on average

across the year 96% of the reviews held were within the appropriate timeframe.

This is a significant improvement and is beyond the 87% target set for the service.

 

In Bath and North East Somerset, the gender  ...  view the full minutes text for item 51.

52.

Youth Justice Plan 2020-21 pdf icon PDF 78 KB

The Local Authority has a statutory duty, in consultation with named legal partners Health, Police and Probation, to publish an annual Youth Justice Plan. The Plan sets out agreed actions to help prevent youth offending and re-offending across Bath and North East Somerset.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Director for Children & Young People introduced this report to the Panel.

 

She informed them that the Local Authority has a statutory duty, in consultation with named legal partners Health, Police and Probation, to publish an annual Youth Justice Plan. She added that the Plan sets out agreed actions to help prevent youth offending and reoffending across Bath and North East Somerset.

 

She explained that due to the current pandemic, the Youth Justice Board for England and Wales has advised there is no requirement to submit the Plan to them this year and therefore no national framework for completion. She stated that the Youth Offending Service Management Board has agreed to preparation of a shorter Plan in light of this.

 

She stated that the Council is the lead partner in the multi-agency arrangements to prevent youth offending, working closely with Police, Probation and Health Services and that all partners have statutory responsibilities to participate in the resourcing of the Youth Offending Service and are maintaining their current level of support.

 

She said that as the implications of the pandemic became clear the key challenge was to maintain a statutory service whilst ensuring that young people and staff were kept safe from Covid-19.

 

She said that the Service took early steps to ‘RAG’-rate its statutory and voluntary caseloads in order to identify young people with the greatest likelihood of offending and/or with welfare or safeguarding need. She added that in practice, the most vulnerable young people known have continued to receive a consistent and responsive service.

 

She added that for most in this vulnerable group, weekly face to face appointments continued, supplemented by telephone contacts and this has meant practitioners have been able to assess and respond to the emerging needs of young people and their families as lockdown continued.

 

She said that the offending rate within B&NES was low, but that a number of the young people concerned have complex needs that need to be considered.

 

The Director for Children & Young People replied to some questions from Councillor Liz Hardman that had been submitted in advance.

 

Q: Referring to paragraph 7.1 of the report - Would it be possible to talk in more detail about disproportionality so we can have a better understanding of it, please and how it manifests itself within the youth justice system?

 

A: There is an over-representation of young people from dual/mixed heritage backgrounds and this has been a long-standing issue and our exploration of this is ongoing. Sally Churchyard is a member of the LCJB Lammy Sub-Group which reports in the new year and there will be specific actions recommended for all criminal justice agencies and others, focused on young people’s experience and on the staffing as we are not a diverse staff group.

 

Q: Referring to Page 13 of the Plan, a table at the bottom of the page states that ‘Improvement is required in Transitions’.  Please could you explain what is meant here by Transitions and how it is going to be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 52.

53.

Director's Briefing

The Panel will receive a verbal update on this item.

Minutes:

 

The Director of Adult Social Care, Complex and Specialist Commissioning addressed the Panel, a summary of her briefing is set out below and will be attached as an online appendix to these minutes.

 

  • New Infection, Prevention and Control Fund has been allocated to each LA. There are revised conditions with increased monitoring and reporting requirements. Round 2 funding is made up of 80% Care homes and CQC registered community care providers (ie domiciliary care, extra care and supported living providers) and the other 20% to support non-CQC registered providers and wider workforce resilience. Our aim is to use this to support the 3rd sector and other providers in the community.

 

Like Round 1, the funding is paid out in two tranches and the first tranche has already been received by the Council and passported to all our providers who have returned their signed IPC contracts.

 

  • The Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government issued new guidance for shielding on 13th October 2020, which sets out a framework of support that local authorities are expected to offer to its Clinically Extremely Vulnerable (CEV) population, if re-instated.

 

The guidance has been updated to support CEVs in protecting themselves from exposure to the virus, based on the level of risk in the local area. The guidance is linked to the Local COVID Alert Levels and provides advice at each Alert Level (Medium, High, Very High and if ‘Shielding’ were reintroduced). Shielding measures specifically may be introduced in the very highest risk areas, based on clinical advice and only for a limited period of time. Note, if an area is designated at the Very High Local Covid Alert Level this does not automatically mean shielding is reintroduced.

 

They will be less restrictive than the original shielding guidance. No areas in the South West have yet been asked to reintroduce shielding and Directors of Public Health would be involved before such a decision is taken. It has been made clear that the reintroduction of shielding is regarded as a ‘last resort option’ and it is currently not being viewed as an option at this time in the South West. 

 

  • There are amendments to the Mental Health Act (MHA) Treatment Regulations which have been prompted by the pandemic.  The new arrangements make provision for the electronic signing and receiving of detention papers which will bring the MHA into the electronic era and hopefully reduce the issues with ensuring that hospitals receive the paperwork in a proper and timely manner.

 

 

  • Winter Plan – the Council have been drafting its response to the Governments Adult Social Care Winter Plan which it published on the 18th September. We are in the process of discussing the draft plan with local provider forums and people with lived experience.

 

·  Local services are seeing a rise in the number of both young people and adults presenting to secondary mental health services (AWP and CAMHS) with more complex needs such as eating disorders along with an unusually high numbers of young  ...  view the full minutes text for item 53.

Adult Services Director Update Nov 2020 pdf icon PDF 100 KB

Additional documents:

54.

Panel Workplan pdf icon PDF 134 KB

This report presents the latest workplan for the Panel. Any suggestions for further items or amendments to the current programme will be logged and scheduled in consultation with the Panel’s Chair and supporting officers.

 

Minutes:

The Chair introduced this item to the Panel.

 

Kevin Burnett suggested whether as part of the Mental Health Strategy report scheduled for January 2021 the Youth Forum could add any comment on the mental health guidance that is given to schools.

 

He also proposed that as part of the Corporate Parenting report scheduled for March 2021 that the challenges of recruiting Foster Carers are addressed alongside feedback on the Looked After Children (LAC) pack and post-18 support.

 

He commented that it would be good to receive updates on the work of the St Johns Foundation and Schools Standards Board through the updates provided by the Directors / Cabinet Members.

 

Councillor Liz Hardman said that she felt the Panel should receive a review of the issues raised in education performance report in May 2021 and would also welcome feedback on the Youth Justice Plan from the Directors / Cabinet Members.

 

The Chair thanked them both for their comments and said they would be discussed at the next agenda planning meeting.