(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 may remain in the meeting and take part fully in discussion and voting unless the interest is a disclosable pecuniary interest or an interest which the Member feels would call into question their compliance with the wider principles set out in the Code of Conduct.  Disclosable pecuniary interests relate to the Member concerned or their spouse/partner.

(2)       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. 

(3)       Members are also welcome to disclose interests which are not disclosable pecuniary interests but which they consider should be made in the interest of clarity.

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

                                                                        (Jill Bell – 01274 434580)

No disclosures of interest in matters under consideration were received.

Recommended –

That the minutes of the meeting held on 7 September 2020 be signed as a correct record (previously published).

(Jill Bell – 01274 434580)

Resolved –

That the minutes of the meeting held on 7 September 2020 be signed as a correct record.

ACTION: City Solicitor

(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 - 01274 434580)

There were no appeals submitted by the public to review decisions to restrict documents.

The report of the Strategic Director of Children’s Services (Document “N”) provides an overview of the Safeguarding and Reviewing Unit performance from October 2019 to end of September 2020.

Recommended –

(1)          To identify further areas of work as actions for the service to focus on over the next 12 months.

(2)          For the Safeguarding and Reviewing Unit to ensure that the voice of the child is central to the work that is undertaken and captured as part of the Quality Assurance arrangements.

                                                                        (Amandip Johal – 07773 248040)

The report of the Strategic Director of Children’s Services (Document “N”) provided an overview of the Safeguarding and Reviewing Unit performance from October 2019 to end of September 2020.  The main points were highlighted and responses given to members questions as follows:

·         The additional Independent Reviewing Manager, Child Protection Co-ordinators Manager and Service Manager were all substantive posts.

·         No Child Protection Plan would be stepped down unless there were satisfactory arrangements in place for the child. 

·         With regard to Child Protection conferences, a breakdown would be provided in a future report to the Panel where the ethnicity was recorded as unknown.

·         The desirable national caseload for Independent Reviewing Officers was 70% and it was noted that the average caseload in the district was higher.  Children in the system were being looked at to see where they could be prioritised to move through the system and stepped down to more appropriate levels of support.

·         With reference to the statement “Actions of social workers focused predominantly  on process rather than quality”  it was noted that quality was not an issue but rather the recording that was an issue.

·         The new templates for plans had been launched in September and October and practice guidance introduced.  A review would be undertaken on their use in practice.

·         Mandatory induction training had been improved and would apply to all ages.

·         In developing a thematic work stream it had become evident that different services were engaging with children in different ways and using different tools which could be cascaded and shared throughout the service.

·         The response of staff to the changes had been positive and very positive relationships had been built with Child Protection Co-ordinators, Independent Reviewing Officers and locality services.

·         All Child Protection Co-ordinators had Webex accounts, new laptops were being rolled out and they were being provided with tablets in the interim.

Resolved –

(1)          That the Safeguarding and Reviewing Unit ensure that the voice of the child is central to the work that is undertaken and captured as part of the Quality Assurance arrangements.

(2)          That a further report be presented to the Panel in 12 months time.

ACTION: Strategic Director of Children’s Services

The Department of Corporate Resources provides support and activities for Looked After Children and young people across a wide range of services. The report of the Director of Corporate Resources (Document “O”)provides information on this work to inform panel members.

Recommended -

That the views of Panel Members are sought on the range of activities and actions outlined in Paragraph 2 of Document “O” and on areas for further development.

                                                                        (Joanne Hyde - 01274 432131)

The Department of Corporate Resources provided support and activities for Looked After Children and young people across a wide range of services. The report of the Director of Corporate Resources (Document “O”)provided information on this work to inform panel members.

In response to a member question the Director of Human Resources agreed to provide members of the Panel with figures regarding grant funding in respect of “B” Positive Pathways programme, Social Work Teaching Partnership.

It was noted that a commitment had been made that unless Wi-Fi connectivity was provided, placements for over 16 year olds would not be commissioned.  This was in the action plan for the placement co-ordination team.

Resolved –

That the Panel note the range of activities and actions outlined in paragraph 2 of Document “O” and the areas for further development.

ACTION: Strategic Director Corporate Resources

The report of the Joint Mental Health Commissioner NHS  (Document “P”) provides an update on progress to improve mental health support for children and young people since the last report in February 2020.

The Panel is asked to note the outcomes of the system wide review and subsequent work undertaken to improve mental health support in Bradford.

Recommendation

The panel is asked to note the action plan, highlight areas for consideration and attention and  support the System Review currently underway.

                                                                                    (Sasha Bhat - 01274 737537)

The report of the Joint Mental Health Commissioner NHS  (Document “P”) provided an update on progress to improve mental health support for children and young people since the last report in February 2020.

The Panel was asked to note the outcomes of the system wide review and subsequent work undertaken to improve mental health support in Bradford.

The Joint Mental Health Commissioner NHS summarised the main points of the report.

The Children and Families Portfolio Holder expressed concern that young people’s mental health provision in the district was too fragmented in terms of partners and providers and stressed the importance of early intervention which was crucial to achieve successful outcomes for young people.  He emphasised  that a significant amount of work was required.  He was concerned about the impact on the mental health of young people of the Covid19 pandemic and referred to young people being out of school and facing challenges in their families.  He emphasised the need to take control of the issue of young people’s mental health and move forward stressing that early intervention was the key to preventing more complex issues over time and investing to save in the future.

In response the Joint Mental Health Commissioner NHS noted that support for young people’s mental health was provided by a number of services such as Children’s Social Care, CAMHS, schools and hospitals that were all working better together to provide support for young people.

Answers were given to members questions as follows:

·         A multi pronged approach had been adopted to reach children during the Covid19 pandemic such as bulletins from the Deputy Director of Education’s team, through Trailblazers and getting information out into communities.

·         It was highlighted that at £48 the spend per head in the district for children and young people’s mental health was significantly below the national average of £59.  In response it was noted that the Health and Wellbeing Board had identified that spend on children and young people’s mental health was £1.8 short of what it should be and were looking at how the money was being released into the system to ensure that it was coming to children and young people’s mental health services.

·         None of the BAME young people asked said home would be the best place to receive support with their mental health and this may be to do with stigma around mental health, that they lived in households where privacy and accessing appropriate support tools was difficult.  Looking to provide more support and working within the council and care trust to ensure that the ethnicity of staff was more reflective of communities.

·         The issue that 72% of parents responded that accessing support in a mental health crisis was very difficult or difficult needed to be addressed urgently.

·         There was a work stream looking into the figure that 32% of appointments were being cancelled by Bradford District Care Trust and whether referrals were being made to the right service.

·         Feedback received from parents and young people had  ...  view the full minutes text for item 63.

The Corporate Parenting Panel Work Plan 2020/21 is submitted for consideration by the Panel (Document “Q”)

Resolved –

That the members be provided with an update on Citizenship and Passport  Brexit planning with particular emphasis on applications for Settled Status, either outside the formal Committee process or at the March/April 2021 meeting to be agreed by the Chair.

ACTION: Strategic Director of Children’s Services

                Chair of the Corporate Parenting Panel