Agenda and minutes

To receive apologies for absence from those Members who are unable to attend the meeting.

To note the change to the membership in that Councillor Eric Firth has replaced Cllr Anwar on the Panel. 

Apologies were received from Councillor Moore and Councillor Dockrat.

The Panel noted the change to the membership of the Children’s Scrutiny Panel and welcomed Cllr Eric Firth to the Panel.

To approve the Minutes of the meeting of the Panel held on the 22^nd September 2023 and 1^st December 2023.

That the minutes of the meetings held on the 22^nd September 2023 and 1^st December 2023 be approved as a correct record.

Members will be asked to say if there are any items on the Agenda in which they have any disclosable pecuniary interests or any other interests, which may prevent them from participating in any discussion of the items or participating in any vote upon the items.

No interests were declared.

Most agenda items take place in public. This only changes where there is a need to consider exempt information, as contained at Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972. You will be informed at this point which items are to be recommended for exclusion and to be resolved by the Committee.

All items were considered in public session.

The Panel will receive any petitions and/or deputations from members of the public. A deputation is where up to five people can attend the meeting and make a presentation on some particular issue of concern. A member of the public can also submit a petition at the meeting relating to a matter on which the body has powers and responsibilities.

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 10, Members of the Public must submit a deputation in writing, at least three clear working days in advance of the meeting and shall subsequently be notified if the deputation shall be heard. A maximum of four deputations shall be heard at any one meeting.

No deputations or petitions were received.

To receive any public questions.

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 11, the period for the asking and answering of public questions shall not exceed 15 minutes.

Any questions must be submitted in writing at least three clear working days in advance of the meeting.

No questions were received from members of the public.

The Panel will consider a report on Working Together to Safeguard Children advising that in December 2023, the Department for Education published new statutory guidance on multi-agency working to help, protect and promote the welfare of children.

Contact:         Tom Brailsford, Director of Children and Families

                        Jo-Anne Sanders, Service Director

The Panel considered a report on Working Together to Safeguard Children which advised that in December 2023, the Department for Education published new statutory guidance on multi-agency working to help protect and promote the welfare of children.  Kieran Lord, Service Director for Resources, Improvements and Partnerships, presented the report.

Kieran Lord highlighted the following key points from a presentation entitled “Working Together to Safeguard Children” –

·         The full published document could be viewed at Working together to safeguard children 2023: statutory guidance (publishing.service.gov.uk)

·         A £47,300 grant had been issued which needed spending/offset by 31^st March 2024 to support Local Safeguarding Children Partnerships (LSCPs) with implementing the new guidance;

·         Practitioners working with parents and carers should show effective partnerships and build strong, positive, trusting and co-operative relationships; respectful, clear and inclusive verbal and non-verbal communication; and empower parents and carers to participate in decision making;

·         The Head of each statutory safeguarding partner would be referred to as the Lead Safeguarding Partner (LSP);

·         Local Education and childcare providers would be included in local arrangements and the LSCPs would include voluntary, charity, social enterprise organisations, childcare settings and sports clubs in their arrangements;

·         Professionals should assess whether a child who was experiencing, or was at risk of experiencing, harm outside the home was in need under section 17 or 47 of the Children Act 1989;

·         The Children’s Service within Kirklees was in a strong position to work towards the new arrangements outlined within the guidance, as planning had already taken place before it was published;

·         The Kirklees Safeguarding Children’s Partnership (KSCP) would have to publish an updated Multi-Agency Safeguarding Arrangements (MASA) document by December 2024 and KSCP would publish an Annual Report providing an update on this work within the coming months.

In response from the Panel to a question asking if the new guidance was being implemented by all Local Authorities and Practitioners in the country, Kieran Lord advised that the guidance had come about on the back of a review carried out by Josh McAllister (the Chief Executive of Frontline) a few years ago, which suggested a number of these changes and Kirklees had been waiting for the government response.  The Panel was informed that a number of Local Authorities across the country, including Kirklees, had been working up these changes in anticipation and in some places changes had already been made.

The Panel asked if the Independent Scrutineer, Julie Sykes, could come to a future meeting to discuss how Kirklees was dealing with the new arrangements, Kieran Lord advised that Julie Sykes (who was a former Senior Police Officer) had been working with Kirklees since 2011 and that she would be happy to come to the Panel and discuss the reflections on the changes and how Kirklees had acted as a multi-agency safeguarding partnership.  Kieran Lord explained that Julie Sykes’ scrutiny had been valued by partners. 

Jo-Anne Sanders advised the Panel that an Annual Report was produced by the Safeguarding Partnership and that it would be useful to share  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

The Panel will consider a verbal update on the performance highlights from the latest Children’s Services data report covering period ending 30^th November 2023.

Contact:         Jo-Anne Sanders, Service Director

                       Kieran Lord, Service Director

                        Vicky Metheringham, Service Director

The Panel received a verbal update on performance data for period ending November 2023, which was provided by Kieran Lord, Service Director for Resources, Improvements and Partnerships in Children’s Services.

Kieran Lord highlighted the following key points for Family Support and Child Protection on behalf of Vicky Metheringham (Service Director):-

·         Rates of referrals were significantly lower in Kirklees than England;

·         Contacts receiving a decision within one working day had increased to 69.8% which was where it was this time last year;

·         Re-referrals remained stable at 19.9% and the 12 month average was 19.2%;

·         Timeliness of risk assessments had improved, 17 remained overdue as a result of enhanced oversight;

·         Looked after children (LAC) reviews held on time was 97%; numbers of children in care had stabilised; 90% of visits to children had been made in line with practice standards; numbers of children in an Independent Fostering Agency (IFA) had reduced from last month to 168 and this time last year this figure was 165;

·         99% of care leavers had a pathway plan, with 93% of these being up to date, 95% in touch and 91% were in suitable accommodation;

·         Numbers of children with a Child Protection Plan had increased again to 475 which now exceeded the England average;

·         A small number of children were in unregulated settings, however, oversight was robust and numbers were reducing;

·         The numbers of children with an adoption plan was half that of statistical neighbours, but conversations were ongoing with neighbouring partners with regard to adoption support;

·         Seeking to improve the quality of pathway plans for care leavers and improving the opportunities for education and training;

·         Working with partners regarding care leavers working in the community and following a visit from Mark Riddell (National Implementation Advisor for Care Leavers from the DfE) the service were working through the suggestions and recommendations from his report.

The Panel asked about caseload management and fluctuation of the numbers, how this was being managed and what measures had been put in place to keep this stable, Kieran Lord advised that there were a number of vacancies in a competitive market for social work staff but the Service were still not seeking agency support which provided stability.  The Panel was informed that all of the Social Worker vacancies had been filled as of yesterday and the Service was very proud of the progress made on the plan of action which did not include agency workers.  The Panel was informed that the Children’s Service had a retention and recruitment working group in place to ensure that the Service was able to moderate some of higher and fluctuating caseload averages.  Kieran Lord explained that there was also a Recruitment and Retention Strategy in place which focussed on succession planning and making sure that the Service was retaining and maximising the skills.  The Panel was informed that due to the success of recruitment, renewed focus was now being given to the retention practice going forward, which would hopefully ensure greater stability for staff. The Panel  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

The Panel will consider any potential areas of pre-decision scrutiny in accordance with any cabinet decisions relating to children and young people which are on the horizon and receive updates from Senior Officers in Children’s Services.

Contact:         Service Directors (Children’s Services)

No items of pre-decision scrutiny on forthcoming Cabinet decisions were reported. 

Panel Members who attend the Corporate Parenting Board, will feedback on key areas of focus considered by the Board, which will be of interest to the Panel.

The Panel noted that there had been some duplication of areas discussed at the meeting today, that had also been considered previously at the Corporate Parenting Board, however, agreed that slight overlaps were sometimes necessary and welcomed to ensure the right level of scrutiny took place.

Kieran Lord advised that Joel Hanna, Head of Corporate Parenting, would appreciate the fact that the Panel were discussing matters more broadly and that there would be a refresh of the Corporate Parenting Strategy, which would include engagement with Members this year, so the overlap by Scrutiny was welcomed to focus on the vulnerable groups of children and young people.  The Panel noted that further discussions could take place in the future if required, to avoid any unnecessary duplication at the relevant forums. 

The Panel noted that all Councillors were corporate parents and Kieran Lord and Cllr Kendrick confirmed that there was a planned piece of work to reinforce this during future discussions at each political group.  The Panel was informed that Joel Hanna would shortly be contacting the Group Business Managers of each political group to set up these discussions and that this work would be incorporated into the refreshed Corporate Parenting Strategy.

The Chair of the Panel, Cllr Cooper, advised that the new Lead of the Local Government Association (LGA) had asked every Local Authority Policy Board to consider what they might do to help Councillors in their corporate parenting role and that it was reassuring to note that this was being considered at a national level.

RESOLVED –

The Panel noted the updates from the Corporate Parenting Board and thanked the Cabinet Member for Children and Kieran Lord for their contributions.

The Panel will consider the proposed areas of focus and activity for the 2023/24 municipal year and discuss the method and means to be used to continue the Panel’s work going forward.

Contact:         Helen Kilroy, Assistant Democracy Manager

The Panel considered the work programme and agenda plan for the 2023-24 municipal year.

The Panel noted that the report on Post 16 Home to School Travel had been deferred for consideration by the Panel on the 26^th March 2024.

RESOLVED –

1.    That the Work Programme and Agenda Plan for 2023/24 be noted.

2.    That a report on Post 16 Home to School Travel would be considered by the Panel in March 2024.