Agenda item
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 Paul May, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services addressed the Panel and highlighted the points below from his update report. A copy of the report will be attached as an online appendix to these minutes.
Youth Justice Plan 2024- 2026
He said he was pleased to be able to present the Youth Justice Plan to the Panel and would discuss this further later in the meeting. He added that he would be willing to provide any feedback from this Panel to the Council meeting that takes place later this week.
Ofsted / CQC Thematic Review of Preparing for Adulthood
B&NES Local Authority and ICS were notified of an Ofsted /CQC thematic review of Preparing for Adulthood on June 10th 2024.
Colleagues across Children’s Services, Public Health, Adult Social Care, the ICS (health colleagues) with support from a whole range of council services completed the significant submission requirements.
3 Inspections – 1 Health, 2 Ofsted, (1 Education and 1 Social Care lead) were on site in the Civic Centre from Monday June 24th – June 27th: there was a full timetable of meetings over the 4 days involving a whole range of staff.
He informed the Panel that he attended the feedback session on June 27th 2024 and was impressed at the positive feedback to Children’s Services. The work of the SEND team and the improvements underway were noted as was the quality of social work practice.
The Local Authority and the ICS will receive a letter following the thematic visit, not a graded judgement. He said that the letter can be shared with the members of the Panel when received.
The Local Area Inclusion Partnership (LAIP), co-chaired by the LA and ICS will progress an action plan in response to the visit/letter.
Kevin Burnett asked if there were to be any resource implications for clearing the Culverhay site prior to commencing work on the building of the Special and AP Free Schools.
Councillor May replied that the site was a corporate site and that the Cabinet had taken a decision to be able to free up the land for these new provisions to be built. He said that there would be costs associated with the clearing the site, but these were contained within the Council’s already agreed budget.
Kevin Burnett asked if the Ofsted Annual Conversation was a desktop exercise and how much work was required from officers to take part in it.
Councillor May replied that this was not a Member led meeting, but one that takes place annually and a lot of work is required from officers for them to submit information to Ofsted. He added that he felt that this was a positive process to be a part of.
Kevin Burnett asked for further information regarding the review of support to Children with Complex Needs and was this looking at who pays for what type of support.
Laura Ambler, Director of Place B&NES, BSW ICB replied that this was a joint review to attempt to understand the needs of our most vulnerable children. She added that the review would involve an assessment of our top 20 most expensive cases and seek to analyse if we are meeting their needs in the most appropriate way. She said that the outcomes of the review would be shared with the Panel.
Kevin Burnett said that he welcomed the feedback from the recent meeting of the Health & Wellbeing Board, but asked if future updates could include a little more detail on his thoughts following the discussion on the reports.
Councillor May replied that this particular meeting of the Board took place after the deadline to submit his update report. He added that Panel members were more than welcome to attend the meeting themselves.
Kevin Burnett asked if the ICB’s SEND representative was involved in the review of support to Children with Complex Needs.
Laura Ambler replied that Gill May, Chief Nurse has been working alongside the directors within Children’s Services as part of the review. She added that she and colleagues within her Learning Disabilities and Autism team were also involved.
Councillor May added that it was important that the Council and the ICB work together on this issue to be in the best position to help our most vulnerable residents.
Councillor Liz Hardman asked if the PINS project was connected to the Complex Needs review.
Laura Ambler replied that PINS has potential as a project to help meet some needs, but it was a pilot project and separate to the review taking place.
Councillor Joanna Wright referred to the update on Safety Valve and asked if the acronym ISOS could be explained and if more information about their role could be shared in future updates.
The Director of Education & Safeguarding replied that he did not know the meaning behind the name ISOS and would seek an answer for the Panel. He added that they were an organisation that includes people who used to work in local authorities and for the Department for Education and were now working as consultants in education, specifically for SEN funding and processes for local authorities. He said that they have successfully worked with them previously on a review of the first Safety Valve plan submission and subsequent second plan.
The Chair commented that it would be useful to have an answer to this question prior to the Panel meeting in September.
Councillor Liz Hardman asked if there were plans to help with the relocation of the Hindu Temple that is currently situated on part of the Culverhay site.
Councillor May replied that the current lease for the temple runs year on year and that officers were working with representatives of the temple to seek another site for it or if it can be accommodated as part of the ongoing site.
The Chair referred to the current leisure provision on the site and asked what the process was for potentially retaining that to assist with positive public health outcomes for local residents.
Councillor May replied that the Cabinet decision regarding the site was taken with a focus on education provision and that other site uses were left open within the resolution. He added that subject to further agreement with the DfE it was hoped that any leisure provision included as part of the development of the Special and AP Free Schools would be able to be used by the public outside of school hours.
The Chair asked if officers from Public Health could address this point when they attend the September meeting of the Panel in terms of access to and proximity of leisure provision.
Councillor Lesley Mansell asked to be sent a copy of the Equalities Impact Assessment (EIA) with regard to the Youth Justice Plan. She praised the work of the Youth Hub in Radstock for its work in upskilling young people and said that she hoped that funding for it would continue. She added that she was aware that a lot of young people have been adversely affected by the Covid pandemic.
Councillor May replied that he would ask officers to circulate the EIA to the Panel. He added that addressing Social, Emotional and Mental Health issues for our young people was a main point for the Council and that they were working on suitable solutions. He informed the Panel that demand for such services has more than doubled.
The Chair asked if it was known yet how supportive the new Labour Government was of the Safety Valve programme and whether there is any contingency within the budget for any additional work planned as part of that programme.
Councillor May replied that any work involving the Safety Valve programme is intended to improve the services that are provided without cutting the costs. He said that should Safety Valve be stopped it would have serious implications for many Children’s Services across the country and that they would struggle severely.
He added that it was important work alongside Parent & Carer Forums to make sure the right measures are in place and said that the pressure on the service is immense.
He stated that the new Secretary of State had indicated that she is keen to work effectively with the Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS) regarding Safety Valve and associated funding.
The Chair added that she expected the Local Government Association (LGA) to also share their view on the next steps of the programme.
The Chair asked why elected members were not part of the review carried out by Ofsted and the CQC.
The Director of Children's Services & Education replied that at the beginning of the Preparing for Adulthood review officers did ask if elected members could take part and were informed that it was to be an officer only review. She added that a subsequent request was made for the Cabinet Member to be allowed to attend the feedback meeting and this was allowed.
She said that she felt that the review had been a positive experience to have undertaken in advance of future inspections.
The Chair, on behalf of the Panel, thanked the Cabinet Member for his update.