(Members Code of Conduct – Part 4A of the Constitution)

To receive disclosures of interests from members and co-opted members on matters to be considered at the meeting. The disclosure must include the nature of the interest.

An interest must also be disclosed in the meeting when it becomes apparent to the member during the meeting.

Notes:

(1)       Members must consider their interests, and act according to the following:

(2)       Disclosable pecuniary interests relate to the Member concerned or their spouse/partner.

(3)       Members in arrears of Council Tax by more than two months must not vote in decisions on, or which might affect, budget calculations, and must disclose at the meeting that this restriction applies to them.  A failure to comply with these requirements is a criminal offence under section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992. 

(4)       Officers must disclose interests in accordance with Council Standing Order 44.

In the interests of transparency, the following declaration of interests were received:

(1)  Councillor Geoff Winnard is an unpaid Trustee and Chair of Airedale and Wharfdale Autism Resource (AWARE) a charity supporting families affected by autism - that has received funding from both Bradford Council and the local NHS. AWARE was mentioned in the report on the Children’s Strategy.

(2)  Councillor Ralph Berry’s wife worked for A Better Start Bradford 

ACTION: Director of Legal and Governance

(Access to Information Procedure Rules – Part 3B of the Constitution)

Reports and background papers for agenda items may be inspected by contacting the person shown after each agenda item.  Certain reports and background papers may be restricted. 

Any request to remove the restriction on a report or background paper should be made to the relevant Strategic Director or Assistant Director whose name is shown on the front page of the report. 

If that request is refused, there is a right of appeal to this meeting. 

Please contact the officer shown below in advance of the meeting if you wish to appeal. 

(Jill Bell/Kanwal Amrez – 07970 413716/07929 070228)

No requests were received to inspect any restricted documents.

There were no referrals made to the committee.

The Director of Children’s Services will submit a report (Document “X”) which provides an update on the Bradford Sufficiency Strategy

Recommended -

That Members to review and consider the report and progress update.

(picklu.roychoudhury@bradford.gov.uk)

The Director of Children’s Services presented a report (Document “X”) which provided an update on the Bradford Sufficiency Strategy.

Last year in March the Sufficiency Strategy and an action plan was shared with Children Service’s and Overview Scrutiny Committee, it was agreed at that meeting that officers would return a year later with an update of progress.

The Officer reported that progress has generally been good and there were important areas of work where the Sufficiency Strategy Action Plan had underpinned real improvements in the care of children looked after, such as the improvements to the Council’s residential care and better support for family members looking after children under Special Guardianship Orders.

A revised Placement and Sufficiency Strategy 2022-2025 was provided in Appendix A of the report. This was approved and an action plan had been developed to map and track progress against key areas of delivery within the Strategy, details of which were provided in Appendix B of the report.

Members of the Committee sought further clarification on point 2.6.1 on page 2 of the report in relation to the number of foster carers.

In response to this, the officer reported that they had invested in the Fostering Team and had recruited new managers with a successful track record including in recruitment and retention. The team were now working on a range of projects to improve recruitment. The team had done well with managing to recruit more foster carers and has spent more time re launching the fostering service. There was now a clearer pathway with foster carers, where more experienced carers were paired with children with more complex needs. There had been a development to improve support and a pathway for training and development for ‘Level 4’ Foster Carers who worked with children with additional needs.

A Member of the Committee asked if foster carers were offered a reduction on their council tax. In response the Officer reported that they were proposing for this to transpire.

Members of the Committee questioned how many children in the care system had exited the system. The Officer responded that 22 children had exited the system.

Members were keen to understand the current capacity at children’s residential homes and how a placement was made for a child/young person. In response the Officer reported that each child’s needs were matched to a residential home that could meet those needs and had availability but matching homes could sometimes present issues. It was further reported that all of the aspects relating to the child were taken into account in their care plan, such as background, culture, religion etc.

Members of the Committee wanted assurance that all children in care were in safe and secure accommodation’s. In response the Officer assured Members that all children in care were placed in safe and secure placements that were the best match for their needs.

A Member of the Committee asked if there had been any work done with other local authorities to create partnerships and work  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

The Strategic Director for Children presents a report (Document “Y”) which provides an update on the development of a new Children and Young People’s Plan (CYP Plan) for Bradford District, building on the themes within the interim plan (published in 2021). The draft Children and Young People’s Plan is contained in the appendix.

Recommended –

That Members consider the Draft Plan and feedback comment to Officers.

(Kate Welsh - 07811 503285)

The Strategic Director for Children’s Services presented a report (Document “Y”) which provided an update on the development of a new Children and Young People’s Plan (CYP Plan) for Bradford District, building on the themes within the interim plan (published in 2021).

Members of the Committee sought further clarification on engagement with various agencies. In response the Officer reported that exhaustive process was carried with partners/agencies as themes had to be agreed. A broad and in depth approach had been taken with partners through working groups, active engagement and extensive involvement after which all views and ideas were taken into consideration. A working group composed of partners’ representatives from across the partnerships had worked together on the development of a new child-friendly, co-produced, partnership led plan for the District. The work was closely linked to the commitment to Child-Friendly Bradford as well as the need for improved partnership-led governance and accountability arrangements for children, young people and families across Bradford District.

Members were keen to understand how Bradford Council would be held accountable for Children and Young People’s Plan. In response the Officer reported that Bradford Improvement Board had been set up, which would oversee the delivery of the Plan.

Members of the Committee were concerned that social landlords were not included in the plan, as they housed a large number of young people it would have been helpful if they were also on board. In response the Officer reported that all listed partners were ones that were willing to engage and participate.

Members of the Committee sought further clarification regarding inequality on page 57 of the agenda.

The Officer in response reported that inequalities could start early in a child’s life, in terms of the economic and social environment that children were born into. They could be exacerbated by varying levels of access and attendance in education, health-care, community and service settings. The Officer further reported that to effectively close the health and attainment gap, a multi-faceted, determined and collective effort was required. Early interventions and prevention of poor health during childhood would be key, as will more focused support for the children, families, communities and groups who have experienced the most inequality and marginalisation.

A Member of the Committee raised concerns on low school attendance in Bradford and how there needed to me more resources that would allow more care for the whole family to address attendance issues, as there may be various elements that could be preventing the child from having good attendance.

The Officer reported that if support is provided in a timely manner it was more effective, therefore the Children and Young Peoples Plan was drafted with partners after listening to children. The Officer added that the point about intergenerational impact on children would be noted.

Members of the Committee were keen to see young people attend the committee meetings to ensure they were heard and more involved. In response the Officer advised that some young people may want to attend committee meetings  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

The report of the Chair of the Children’s Services Overview and

Scrutiny Committee (Document “Z”) includes the Children’s Services

Overview and Scrutiny Committee work programme for 2022/23.

Recommended –

1. That Members consider and comment on areas of work included in the work programme.

    ii.        That Members consider any detailed scrutiny reviews that they may wish to conduct.

                                                                        (Mustansir Butt - 01274 432574)

The report of the Chair of the Children’s Services Overview & Scrutiny Committee (Document “Z”) included the Children’s Service Overview and Scrutiny Committee work programme for 2022/23.

Resolved –

Members discussed and amended the work programme.

ACTION:  Overview and Scrutiny Lead

                                                            (Mustansir Butt – 07582 101597)