Agenda item

This report sets out for the Panel the work of the Local Safeguarding Children Board during 2016-17 and the priorities for 2017-18 work programme along with further areas to be actioned during 2018 - 19.

The Chair wished to thank all parties concerned with the production of the report especially Reg Pengelly, Independent Chair and Dami Howard, Safeguarding Children Boards Business Support Manager. She commented that the content of the report was quite large and asked if there was any way in which it could be reduced.

Reg Pengelly replied that the content is largely prescribed by Ofsted, but they were looking at ways it could be reduced and for the Executive Summary to be expanded.

The Chair asked if in the future editions a glossary could be included.

Reg Pengelly replied that he was sure that one exists and that they could look for this to be included in future editions.

Councillor Liz Hardman gave her congratulations to the LSCB for their part in the recent Ofsted inspection. She asked what is the anticipated impact on our LSCB in light of the review of governance and safeguarding assurance arrangements as the Children and Social Work Act 2017 abolishes the requirement for Local Authorities to establish LSCBs in their current form.

Reg Pengelly replied that a Government review of LSCBs and Serious Case Reviews had been carried out and the recommendations that were made had been accepted. He added that the two main components of the review were Scrutiny and Co-ordination.

He explained that statutory guidance was due possibly towards the end of the year, but more likely in the Spring of 2018 and that on receipt of this there would be a huge amount of work to do.

He thanked Councillor Hardman for her praise in relation to Ofsted and said that he believed that they had made a fair judgement. He also wished to praise the quality of the partnership bodies across the local area and all of the officers who are willing to work to the upmost of their ability.

Councillor Michelle O’Doherty commented that the number of Children in Need had risen from 580 to 684.  She asked why had this figure increased so dramatically and what extra resources are needed to deal with this.

The Divisional Director for Safeguarding & Social Care replied that demand had increased across the country for young people in need of Child Protection Plans or Fostering. He added that at this stage there was no indication for a need to request further resources as the figure locally was projected to normally be 650 – 700.

Councillor Matt Cochrane asked where and when is it planned to put together an action plan to address the three Ofsted recommendations.

Reg Pengelly replied that the LSCB were already aware of the issues raised by Ofsted and were carrying out a thorough process in relation to child sexual exploitation and training for licensed premises. He added that in terms of data this was an area of frustration and the Board were looking to address this within the next 12 months. He said that the inclusion of further information within the Annual Report was recognised, and had been added within the 2016-17 Report and that in particular the issue of Private Fostering was known.

The Safeguarding Children Boards Business Support Manager added that all the recommendations were being taken forward through the LSCB business plan which was monitored quarterly and available to view on their website.

The Divisional Director for Safeguarding & Social Care assured the Panel that work on these matters was underway prior to the inspection.

The Safeguarding Children Boards Business Support Manager said that all schools had taken part in the Annual Safeguarding Audit and the Council’s Private Fostering Lead had contacted all schools who were unsure about the numbers of children they had privately fostered. The Council and LSCB have developed a Private Fostering Action Plan and a lot of work to clarify understanding of this area has since taken place.

Councillor Peter Turner noted that the LSCB says it will monitor the impact of changes on the welfare of children and young people as a result of the contract with Virgin Care. He asked if any changes were anticipated.

Reg Pengelly replied that the LSCB were alert to possible risks and had invited a Virgin Care representative onto the Board.

Councillor Peter Turner asked if the transfer of staff from Sirona had been successful.

The Divisional Director for Safeguarding & Social Care replied that it had.

Councillor Lizzie Gladwin commented that it was welcome that the eviction of two vulnerable families had been successfully averted as a result of partnership work, but asked how many other vulnerable families have been evicted.

The Divisional Director for Safeguarding & Social Care replied that no vulnerable families have been evicted. He added that homelessness is an increasing issue to be aware of and said that the Council works well with Curo on this issue.

Reg Pengelly added that the relationship between Curo and the Connecting Families Team has strengthened.

The Chair asked if the priorities for the CSE and Missing sub group fully address the recommendations of the Ofsted report.

Reg Pengelly reminded the Panel that the LSCB Annual report predated the Ofsted inspection and so the actions within the Report do not include those relating to the Ofsted Report, however as discussed these are being acted upon.

The Divisional Director for Safeguarding & Social Care replied that a new, slightly smaller contract had recently been undertaken by Barnado’s and they would provide expertise to officers on this matter.

The Chair asked would this work interact with that of Willow.

The Divisional Director for Safeguarding & Social Care replied that there are several tiers to this area of work with Willow focussing on early intervention, whereas Barnado’s through BASE (Barnado’s Against Sexual Exploitation) work with young adults that have been abused.

The Safeguarding Children Boards Business Support Manager added that the LSCB were currently funding the CSE Lead Officer post.

The Chair asked the Cabinet Member to note the Panel’s concern that the transfer to Universal Credit and subsequent potential six week delay in receiving money creates a potential child safeguarding risk and ask that he raise the matter with the local MPs and Government.

Councillor Sally Davis asked to what extent do professionals now have a better understanding of the complexities of domestic abuse, poor parental mental health and alcohol/drug misuse so that children are not being taken off a Child Protection Plan only to go back on again.

The Divisional Director for Safeguarding & Social Care replied that he believed that there is a better understanding of these particular issues now and that training and awareness has increased alongside the improvement of available data.

Councillor Sally Davis commented that the Council has now agreed to investigate exempting Foster Carers from Council Tax and asked what other measures might be needed to encourage more foster carers so that we can place children within B&NES close to their schools and family networks.

The Divisional Director for Safeguarding & Social Care replied that this is indeed a good challenge to make and that it would be better to have more carers available locally. He added that the Council has improved its use of Facebook and Twitter to highlight this work and as such had seen a 40% increase of interest in this role.

The Chair asked how many applications to become a foster carer were successful.

The Divisional Director for Safeguarding & Social Care replied that it was around 50% and was not always determined by the assessment of the applicants, it could be decided by the size and safety of the property concerned.

The Chair said that she was aware of one children’s home within B&NES but that it has no B&NES children living in it.

The Divisional Director for Safeguarding & Social Care replied that this was a privately run facility that the Council has no involvement over who can live there. He added that it would be inspected by Ofsted independently.

Councillor Matt Cochrane asked what the Council were doing about accommodating B&NES children with SEND in B&NES schools given that we have the fastest growing population of SEND in the South West outside Torbay. He also asked why we are accommodating non B&NES children in B&NES special schools when we don’t have enough space for B&NES children and would the plan for a specialist ASD SEMH free school help to address the over-capacity in B&NES schools.

Councillor Paul May replied that aside to the disruption that this scenario can cause families there are major budgets involved. He said that he would look to activate more local provision as this would be welcomed by a range of parties. He added that the facilities and services for SEND locally are very good.

The Divisional Director for Safeguarding & Social Care added that as the schools in question were Academies they would administer the admissions.

Councillor Paul May said that the route for Free School Funding was still open and that the Council was preparing a case at the present time. He said that he would share this with the Panel as soon as he could.

The Chair asked how the Directors within Children’s Services would respond if a Social Worker approached them to say they had too many cases.

The Divisional Director for Safeguarding & Social Care said that he was sure that the response would be sympathetic and that they would then discuss if there was anything different that could be done to help the situation. He added that the Duty Team had recently been restructured.

Councillor Liz Hardman said it was surprising to read about the risk of children with autism presenting a risk of sexual harm to other children. She asked what improvements are expected in ensuring that children are protected from the risk presented by other children.

The Divisional Director for Safeguarding & Social Care replied that the figures concerned were low and that training and awareness were taking place.

Councillor Liz Hardman asked how are we ensuring that the 37% of young people leaving care and not in employment, education or training are having their needs safeguarded.

The Divisional Director for Safeguarding & Social Care replied that officers are prepared to challenge themselves further on this figure and have taken steps to redesign their template for this work.

The Chair asked if the LSCB has received an analysis of the number of the children who repeatedly go missing and the action being taken to reduce this.

The Divisional Director for Safeguarding & Social Care replied that the data available now has improved from 12 – 18 months ago. He said that there was a duty to carry out a return to home interview to see if risks can be reduced. He stated that long term engagement was key to improving relationships.

Councillor Liz Hardman asked to what extent is there evidence that looked after children who are repeatedly missing is linked to CSE.

The Divisional Director for Safeguarding & Social Care replied that it was not as strong a link as may have been previously thought.

Councillor Peter Turner asked why the LSCB’s budget appears to be so underspent with regard to the SWCPP Manual.

Reg Pengelly replied in terms of the SWCPP Manual that B&NES acts as a brokerage for the South West and receives money in from 12 other Local Authorities.

The Chair asked if the Panel could see the Board’s risk register.

The Safeguarding Children Boards Business Support Manager said that she would send the latest version to the Democratic Services Officer.

Reg Pengelly added that the register related to risks against the Board, not children.

The Panel RESOLVED to note the Annual Report, Executive Summary and Business Plan.

The Chair again offered thanks on behalf of the Panel to all involved within the work of the LSCB, especially Reg Pengelly.