Agenda and minutes

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting.

The Chair will draw attention to the emergency evacuation procedure as set out under Note 5.

The Chair drew attention to the emergency evacuation procedure.

Apologies were received from Councillor Michael Auton (substituted by Councillor George Leach), Councillor Onkar Saini and Councillor Paul May (Cabinet Member for Children’s Services), Councillor Manda Rigby was present as his substitute.

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 4.4 Appendix 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 Officeror a member of his staff before the meeting to expedite dealing with the item during the meeting.

There were none.

The Panel confirmed the minutes of the previous meeting as a true record and they were duly signed by the Chair.

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

Councillor Manda Rigby (Cabinet Member for Communications and Community) addressed the Panel in the absence of Councillor Paul May (Cabinet Member for Children’s Services) and provided updates on the items.

Cabinet Member Update and SEND Capital Funding Announcement

She explained that the government have made a significant announcement regarding high needs capital funding for special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). The government has committed at least £3 billion nationally over four years, expected to create at least 50,000 new SEND places in England. She added that locally, this supports plans for two new free schools — Green Ways Academy (special school) and Sulis Academy (alternative provision) — to be delivered on the former Culverhay site in Bath. The funding will also enable further exploration of SEND capacity within existing schools and aligns with the council’s “Safety Valve” programme commitments.

She stated that the council thanks the Department for Education for its continued support and looks forward to improving SEND provision in our community.

Councillor Liz Hardman queried the status of free school projects, referencing reports of a national pause.

Councillor Rigby confirmed that the recent government letter explicitly allows the release of funds for these projects, ending the previous pause.

Councillor David Harding asked about reducing delays in completing Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs).

The Director of Education & Safeguarding explained that increased team capacity and training should improve timeliness but said that quality would not be sacrificed for speed. He added that interim support is being provided where possible.

Kevin Burnett raised concerns about the certainty of funding and asked if the council had considered “invest to save” options should government funding fall through.

Councillor Rigby confirmed confidence in the funding but noted that detailed implications were still being worked through.

Councillor Lesley Mansell asked about preparations for the upcoming SEND inspection, evidence gathering and workforce sustainability.

The Director of Education & Safeguarding replied that the Local Area Inclusion Partnership’s self-evaluation has been carried out and that it was known where progress is needed to be made. He added that regular performance monitoring is carried out and there has been success in stabilizing SEND team staffing.

Councillor Joanna Wright questioned the effectiveness of communication with SEND families and spoke of the impact of EHCP delays.

The Director of Children’s Services & Education acknowledged communication challenges and outlined plans to improve transparency and accessibility, including joint work with the Parent & Carer Forum and articles within their newsletters. She added that advice lines are available for those needing more immediate support.

She stated that there is a national challenge regarding EHCP delivery, not just within B&NES and reiterated the importance of the quality of the plans.

The Director of Education & Safeguarding said that future general information regarding SEND for parents and carers could be shared with the Panel.

The Chair asked for an update on EHCPs to be provided at the March Panel meeting.

Councillor Wright asked if figures could be provided to the Panel for the numbers of pupils that have  ...  view the full minutes text for item 69.

The Head of Service, Children’s Quality Assurance and Safeguarding presented the IRO Annual Report to the Panel, outlining statutory duties, service performance, and areas for development. Key points included:

·  Disruption to service due to structure changes, impacting review timeliness.

·  220 children in care at year-end, with a majority in the 10–15 age bracket.

·  Focus on placement stability, family reunification, and advocacy for children with disabilities.

·  Introduction of midway reviews and strengthened dispute resolution protocols.

·  Internal audit rated the service “substantial assurance” (level 4/5).

Councillor David Harding asked if increased foster carer allowances would improve the number of available placements and placement stability.

The Head of Service, Children’s Quality Assurance and Safeguarding replied that while financial incentives might help, the quality of support is so crucial.

The Director of Children’s Services & Education added that a plan to find additional carers was incoming as part of the work from the South-West Fostering Hub.

Kevin Burnett queried the IRO’s role in the adoption process and involvement if placements breakdown.

The Head of Service, Children’s Quality Assurance and Safeguarding replied that IROs provide a robust oversight that includes visits to prospective adopters, instigation of a 20-day review and that if a placement should break down an IRO would be allocated to analyse if all services were in place.

She added that she had no concerns with the timescales for the adoption process and that they work in close collaboration with Adoption West.

Councillor Liz Hardman questioned the delays in social work reports prior to a review taking place.

The Head of Service, Children’s Quality Assurance and Safeguarding said that she was confident improvements will be made and that there were ongoing efforts to strengthen practice and oversight. She added that all Social Workers know their children very well.

Councillor Hardman commented that she was also concerned about arrangements for young people post 18, placement stability and visits to children in care.

The Head of Service, Children’s Quality Assurance and Safeguarding replied that she was aware placement stability issues and that IROs will discuss any concerns raised with carers. She added that levels of concern over these areas had reduced since the summer.

Councillor Joanna Wright asked about out-of-area placements and local children’s home provision.

The Assistant Director for Children and Young People Services explained that there is no in-house provision currently and said that ongoing sufficiency planning was being undertaken.

The Director of Children’s Services & Education added that the Council were considering whether it would be possible for them to develop their own children's homes.

Councillor Hardman asked if any further comment could be made on the recently released budget proposals – savings of £390,000 through reunifications and £75,000 through optimizing commissioned contracts.

The Director of Children’s Services & Education replied that the intention is that the savings will be delivered by an increase in family reunifications and step downs from residential placements. She added that officers would look at whether any contracts can be varied and that a review of individual care packages will  ...  view the full minutes text for item 70.

The Interim Assistant Director for Children’s Transformation provided an update on the Families First Partnership, a national reform programme focused on early family support, integration of early help and statutory services, and development of multi-agency child protection teams.

She explained that the Council has received transformation funding from the DfE and is progressing with service redesign, with implementation planned for July 2026.

Kevin Burnett asked about referral pathways, step-down arrangements, and outcome measures.

The Assistant Director Children and Young People Services replied that the main sources of referrals were through health and educational settings. She said there was an opportunity to strengthen step down arrangements and described demand modelling, plans for seamless support, and key performance indicators (e.g., reduction in children in care, child protection plans, and re-referral rates).

Councillor Liz Hardman stated that she was much in favour of this work but asked if its implementation would affect ‘business as usual’.

The Director of Children’s Services & Education replied that 2026/27 would be an imbedding year and that some of the funding received has been used to project manage the programme to minimise risk to ‘business as usual’.

The Interim Assistant Director for Children’s Transformation added that a well-resourced team was now in place for the programme, including a communications and engagement officer role.

Councillor Joanna Wright raised the importance of housing and play provision and asked what the Council was doing to support these elements.

The Interim Assistant Director for Children’s Transformation confirmed that housing would be a considered factor and included in new family help assessment frameworks. She added that she would discuss the matter of play provision with colleagues in respect of community assets, early years settings and schools.

Councillor Lesley Mansell commented that she would expect to see an Equalities Impact Assessment relating to the programme in the new year that sets out the risks and mitigations. She added that she welcomed the inclusion of cultural sensitivity and stated the need for appropriate staff training.

The Interim Assistant Director for Children’s Transformation confirmed that staff training would take place on the matters raised.

Councillor Paul Crossley called for the wording within the equalities section of the report to be stronger in its tone.

The Panel RESOLVED to note the national requirements and local response to the Families First Programme and provided comment on the proposed approach to service design and engagement.

The Panel will receive an update from the B&NES, Swindon & Wiltshire Integrated Care Board (BSW ICB) on current issues.

As this item began the Chair took the opportunity to thank Laura Ambler for her work with the Panel as this was to be her last meeting in her role as the Executive Director of Place for Bath and North East Somerset, BSW ICB.

Laura thanked the Panel and said it had been a pleasure to work alongside them. She provided updates on vaccination uptake, pharmacy campaigns, and digital interoperability.

Flu vaccine among health and care workers

Statistics from NHS England show that vaccination rates for health and care workers in each of the region’s three localities of Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire are above the national average, which currently stands at 39.9 per cent.

Staff at all three acute trusts are continually encouraged to come forward for their vaccine, with regular clinics being held both on-site and in locations across the community.

Patients and public reminded to only order what they need

In the run-up to Christmas, the ICB is raising awareness of medicine wastage and encouraging people to only order what they need.

The NHS spends an estimated £300 million on unused medicines each year, with wastage happening when too much medication is order that isn’t needed, items are stockpiled at home or prescriptions aren’t checked before leaving the pharmacy.

People are now being reminded of how important it is to check what medicines they have at home before placing their repeat prescription order.

Councillor Paul Crossley stated that he remained staggered at the numbers of health and care workers that have not had a flu vaccination and said that there was a need to understand the reluctance.

Laura Ambler replied that they are trying to understand any concerns, including cultural and accessibility, and have asked staff to complete a survey relating to the matter. She added that targeted clinics have been put in place and staff reminded that the vaccinations are free for them.

Councillor Lesley Mansell said she would be interested to hear about any follow up information relating to the medicine wastage campaign.

Laura Ambler replied that she would relay this to colleagues.

Kevin Burnett asked if treatment provided through Pharmacy First would form part of a patient’s digital record.

Laura Ambler replied that SystmOne is the computer system used in the NHS that creates a single, shared Electronic Health Record (EHR) for patients, linking data across various care settings. She said she would ask colleagues within the digital team if this was yet linked to Pharmacy First.

Councillor Joanna Wright asked if an update on dental buses was available.

Laura Ambler replied that her colleague Victoria Stanley was aware of the need / ambition to have such a service and said that it was being looked into.

Councillor Wright raised the issue of personal data being held by HCRG and asked if there was confidence in their ability to protect this and not share it without permission.

Laura Ambler replied that HCRG have strict data processes in place and that they  ...  view the full minutes text for item 72.

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.

The Panel RESOLVED to note their current workplan.