To scrutinise the activity of the Private Fostering Service between 1 April 2014 and 31 March 2015 and pass comment to the Corporate Parenting Panel on the statutory report.

The Executive Member for Social Care and Housing introduced a report outlined the Private Fostering Service and activity in 2014-15.  The report formed part of the governance arrangements of the Private Fostering provision required by regulation. 

In light of the report Members raised the following:

·         What steps could be taken to ensure the Committee considered the Annual Report sooner.  The Assistant Director, Children’s Services Operations advised that reporting followed a similar pattern in other Authorities, however, the timing and scheduling of the suite of Annual Reports would be reconsidered.  The Executive Member for Social Care and Housing advised she would look into the issue with the cycle of meetings which had caused delays in reporting.

·         That the report did not address outcomes for Children in the Private, Fostering and Adoption Annual Reports.  In response the Assistant Director agreed to include this information in future reports. The 5-Year plan would give Members the opportunity to recommend new KPI’s that would support their scrutiny of this area.

·         The current number of private fostering arrangements known to the directorate for which Members support in raising awareness within their Wards was welcomed. 

RECOMMENDED

1.    That the timetabling of the Private Fostering Annual Report be reviewed to enable early submission to Committee.

2.    That performance measures and outcomes be outlined in future reports.

3.    That the role of the Children’s Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee and Corporate Parenting Panel to Scrutinise Private Fostering, Fostering and Adoption be examined to avoid duplication of roles.

4.    That cover-sheets of future annual reports include the month, review date and published date.