To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting of the Corporate Parenting Panel held on 2 December 2013 (copy attached).

The minutes of the meeting of the Corporate Parenting Panel held on 2 December 2013 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

To receive from Members any declarations of interest.

Councillor Mrs A Barker declared an interest as a member of the Council’s Adoption Panel.

Councillor A L Dodwell declared an interest as a member of the Council’s Fostering Panel.

To receive any announcements from the Chairman and any matters of communication.

The Chairman welcomed Mr Edward Wong, the newly appointed Head of Corporate Parenting, to his first meeting of the Panel and reminded the meeting of the work that this officer had previously undertaken in relation to health assessments for Looked After Children.  The Panel noted that the current Interim Head of Service for Adoption and Fostering would continue to remain in post for a temporary period.

The Chairman advised the meeting that Mrs H Phillips, a co-opted foster carer representative on the Panel, had received an MBE in the New Year’s Honours List for her work as a carer.  The Panel expressed its congratulations on receiving this news.

To receive a presentation by members of the Children in Care Council.

The Panel received a presentation from the Children in Care Council (CiCC) representatives which set out the results of the work carried out in relation to the inquiry on entitlements being undertaken by the All Parliamentary Group for Looked After Children and Care Leavers

A copy of the slide pack is attached at Appendix A to these minutes.

In addition an action plan was circulated at the meeting setting out, in table format, the key findings and recommendations arising from the national inquiry.  The table also contained local actions which had been devised by the Senior Management Team (SMT) in response to the recommendations.

A copy of the action plan is attached at Appendix B to these minutes.

The CiCC representatives then introduced their presentation.  When asked what local entitlement issue required improvement they indicated that they thought some social workers lacked an understanding of what entitlements Looked After Children and young people could receive.  The Assistant Director Children’s Services Operations explained that this matter had been considered by SMT and action was scheduled within the action plan.  The Assistant Director added that the recommendations in the action plan would be audited and an update report submitted to the Panel in six months.  The Head of Corporate Parenting stated that the audit would cover compliance, meeting expectations and increasing social worker knowledge.  At the suggestion of the Director of Social Care, Heath and Housing the Assistant Director undertook to amend the action plan by including relevant dates and times.

In response to a query on the CiCC a representative of that body explained that it met once a month at various venues.  A new chairman was elected at each meeting and minutes taken, typed up and submitted to the following meeting to ensure that decisions had been implemented.

A Member raised a number of queries regarding the composition of the CiCC, including the length of time in which individual CiCC members had been in care and participation by disabled young people, and how the viewpoints of the different age ranges were represented.  In response, and with regard to the participation of disabled children in the CiCC, the Assistant Director Children’s Services Operations stated that both he and the CiCC acknowledged that improvement was required in this area.  The CiCC intended to recruit disabled young people and the Head of Services for Disabled People had been tasked with taking this forward.  On the matter of representation of the views of different age ranges a CiCC representative stated that the older Looked After Children did monitor the younger children and sought their views so they could be reported to the Panel.

In response to a query by the Vice-Chairman regarding the assistance offered to young people when claiming entitlements, the Head of Corporate Parenting advised that officers assisted young people to complete forms.  The Team Manager – 13+ Transition and Leaving Care added that personal advisers would sit with young people and establish what entitlements they could receive and then assist them  ...  view the full minutes text for item 37.

To receive a presentation by the Assistant Director Housing Services.

The Panel received a presentation from the Assistant Director Housing Services and the Team Manager – 13+ Transition & Leaving Care entitled ‘Suitable Accommodation for Looked After Children and Care Leavers’.

A copy of the slide pack is attached at Appendix C to these minutes.

The Assistant Director Housing Services and Team Manager introduced their presentation and expanded on the issues contained within it as they went.  During the introduction the Assistant Director explained that, under the legacy authorities, supported housing provision had largely been centred in the towns of Luton and Bedford.  The local authority reorganisation had therefore lead to gaps in service provision within Central Bedfordshire and the resources that were available tended to be used in an uncoordinated way.  In addition the matching of suitable support with the accommodation provided was an on-going challenge.  The Assistant Director added that the lack of sufficient supported housing provision gave rise to a risk of social disconnection and exclusion amongst some young people.  He also stressed the need to ensure that accommodation was not just be affordable but met the needs of client groups.

A Member suggested the provision of accommodation within walking distance of a young person’s job or college as this would reduce or remove travel costs.  She suggested discussions take place with businesses in towns regarding this point.

Another Member commented that the Council’s design guide did not support the future provision of one bedroom accommodation and this could generate shortages.  The Assistant Director Housing Services acknowledged this point but explained that this type of accommodation was largely used by older people for whom it was regarded as unsuitable.  As a result it was proposed that older people should be encouraged to relocate to more suitable housing stock and the existing one bedroom properties be offered to young people.  However, he also indicated that he was aware of the possibility of social isolation arising and that, as a possible alternative, the use of three bedroomed properties by suitable young people was under consideration.  He acknowledged that various management issues relating to the use of three bedroomed properties for this purpose remained outstanding.

A CiCC representative informed the meeting of the problems which could arise for young persons who, having succeeded in gaining a tenancy at 16, lost their personal support on reaching 18 and then found they were unable to cope independently due to a lack of life skills training.  In response the Assistant Director Housing Services acknowledged the need to work with individuals to ensure that they were taught the right skills to be able to live independently.  Discussion took place on the robustness of the Council’s procedures in both recognising that a problem existed and then remedying it.  The CiCC representative also referred to other matters, such as mental health issues, which prevented a successful move to independent living by some young people and stated that these sometimes remained unrecognised.  In response the Head of Corporate Parenting referred to the role of the new Support for  ...  view the full minutes text for item 38.

To receive a presentation by the Designated Nurse for Looked After Children (NHS Bedfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group).

The Panel received a slide pack from the Designated Nurse for Looked After Children (Bedfordshire and Luton Clinical Commissioning Groups) which provided Members with the six monthly health update for Looked After Children.

A copy of the slide pack is attached at Appendix D to these minutes.

The Designated Nurse then introduced the slide pack which covered the following matters:

·         Numbers of Looked After Children

·         Performance Data

·         Achievements

·         Leaving Care Health Service

·         Out of Area LAC and Young People (including the difficulties experienced and the actions taken to mitigate risks.

Arising from the increasing numbers of Looked After Children in Central Bedfordshire, the Designated Nurse advised the meeting that her workload was to be divided between two posts, one of which would be responsible for Luton and the other for the remainder of Bedfordshire, from 1 April 2014.  She advised the meeting that she had been appointed to the post covering Bedfordshire.

The meeting then considered the comparative performance data for the periods April – September 2013 and April – December 2013 and the improvements that had been achieved.  Reference was made in particular to the data which had been forthcoming from the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ).  The Designated Nurse stressed the positive contribution played by the performance data in the health assessments of Looked After Children and in informing their requirements.  In response to query from the Chairman regarding the inclusion of data on the immunisation of Looked After Children the Designated Nurse explained the historical reasons for its absence from her report and the measures she was taking to draw the data together in a spread sheet format.  She added that she was unable to express full confidence regarding the accuracy of the data because of the manner in which it was stored and extracted.

Further discussion followed as Members sought clarification on various issues including the possible duplication of the initial health assessment work undertaken for Looked After Children.  In response the Designated Nurse stated that the Bedfordshire and Luton Clinical Commissioning Groups were aware of the need to review the health assessment procedure and the Commissioning Manager was currently examining what improvements were required.

Following a request by the Panel the Designated Nurse undertook to ensure that future reports contained a full explanation of the acronyms used.

NOTED

the content of the six monthly update on the health of Looked After Children for the period April to September 2013.

To consider a report outlining activity in the fostering service during Quarter Three, with a comparison to previous quarters.

The Panel received a report by the Deputy Chief Executive/Director of Children’s Services which outlined activity in the Fostering Service during Quarter Three (October to December 2013) with a comparison to previous quarters.

The report contained updates on the following areas:

·         Background

·         Recruitment of Foster Carers

·         Training for Foster Carers

·         Key Events and Advertising

·         Ending of the Shared Service Arrangement

The Assistant Director Children’s Services Operations informed the meeting that, following the end of the joint service arrangement on 31 December, the report covered the final period during which the Fostering Service was a shared service with Bedford Borough Council.  Members noted that the disaggregation process itself had been successful with the related staff moves and reallocation of foster carers being carried out without loss of service provision.

The Assistant Director Children’s Services Operations stated that, as a result of the disaggregation and in view of the volume of fostering cases to be heard, Central Bedfordshire and Bedford Borough Councils had introduced their own, separate, Fostering Panels.  However, because of the lower overall number of adoption cases the Councils had retained a single, ‘shared’, Adoption Panel.

In response to Member’s query on what, if any seasonal impact took place on foster carer recruitment the Interim Head of Service for Adoption and Fostering stated that family orientated times of year, such as Christmas and the summer holidays, generated a larger number of initial inquiries.  However, the level of follow through from enquiries at Christmas was low.  He added that the general level of response for the remainder of the year was unpredictable.

Further discussion then took place on the recruitment of foster carers.  The foster carer representative present stressed the need to target the recruitment of younger people to become carers and referred to the perceived association of foster caring with older people.  In response the Assistant Director Children’s Services Operations acknowledged the need to increase the number of younger foster carers and stated that he had taken note of the comments made.

NOTED

the content of the Quarter Three report on the Fostering Service for the period October to December 2013.