(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.

                                                                        (Sheila Farnhill – 01274 432268)

There were no disclosures of interest in matters under consideration.

Recommended –

That the minutes of the meetings held on 9 November 2016 and 11 January 2017 be signed as a correct record (previously circulated).

(Sheila Farnhill – 01274 432268)

Resolved –

That the minutes of the meetings held on 9 November 2016 and 11 January 2017 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. 

(Sheila Farnhill - 01274 432268)

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

The Deputy Director (Children’s Social Care) will present a report   (Document “L”) in relation to the award of £3.2 million further to Bradford’s successful bid to the Department for Education Re-thinking Social Care Innovation Fund and links with the existing ‘Journey to Excellence’ Programme, a key aim of which is to reduce the number of Looked After Children in the Bradford district.

The funding covers a two year period and is expected to facilitate the Authority in reinventing its care provision for adolescent Looked After Children. The programme is planned to begin on 1 April 2017.

Members are asked to consider whether they require an update to be submitted to the Panel once the programme has been fully established.

Recommended –

That the award of £3.2 million from the Department for Education’s Re-thinking Social Care Innovation Fund be noted.

(Jim Hopkinson – 01274 432904)

The Deputy Director (Children’s Social Care) presented a report     (Document “L”) in relation to the award of £3.2 million for the district, further to a successful bid to the Department for Education’s ‘Re-thinking Social Care Innovation Fund’.  The report explained that the resultant programme of work would link with the existing ‘Journey to Excellence’ Programme, a key aim of which was to reduce the number of Looked After Children (LAC) in the Bradford district.

The funding would cover a two year period and was expected to facilitate the Authority in reinventing its care provision for adolescent LAC. The programme was planned to begin on 1 April 2017.

In presenting the report the following points were highlighted:

·         The focus of the programme was to establish how innovative ways of working might provide a better experience for children in care, reduce the length of time spent in care and prevent children entering care, with a particular focus on adolescents.

·         A name was needed for the programme and any suggestions were welcomed. The decision on the name would be made in consultation with the Children in Care Council the following week.

·         The outcomes for young people who entered care later in life were not as positive as for those who had done so when they were very young.

·         The work would include an evidence based programme to support foster carers to work with adolescents.  This was based on an established model called the Mockingbird Project which provided specialist training and the provision of peer support for participants.  This would be undertaken on a voluntary basis and additional payments would be available.  A more therapeutic regime would also be introduced within the residential homes for those adolescents with complex needs or who may have experienced trauma or distress.  Three homes had been nominated and consideration was being given to use of the PACE (Playfulness Acceptance Curiosity Empathy) model, which was already in use in some homes, and DDP (Dyadic Developmental Practice)

·         A large proportion of the funding was to be focussed on the development of a programme to address the issues associated with adolescents who were deemed to be on the ‘edge of care’ as entering care at this age could cause difficulties for the young person, have a number of negative impacts and was intensive in terms of resources. The aim was to assist in those cases where a family may have more complex needs or be less resilient to the conflict that most adolescents had with their parents.  This work sought to replicate the success of a project that had operated in North Yorkshire – ‘No Wrong Door’ which had involved input from clinical psychologists, speech and language therapists and the Police. Using this approach, if a young person did enter a residential home this was termed as being for respite or assessment and full parental involvement would be retained.

·         An Evaluation Partner would be appointed by the Department for Education in order to undertake a cost benefit analysis  ...  view the full minutes text for item 27.

A report will be submitted by the Deputy Director (Children’s Social Care) (Document “M”) in relation to a review of the support for young people in care/care leavers undertaken by members of Bradford Council’s Future Leaders Programme 2016.

A document which sets out the findings and recommendations arising from the review is appended to the report for Members’ consideration.

The views of the Panel are requested.

Recommended –

That the findings and recommendations set out in the document ‘Improving the Support for Young People in Care/Care Leavers’ (Appendix to Document “M”) be adopted.

(Mustansir Butt – 01274 432574)

(Tina Butler – 01274 437963)

A report was submitted by the Deputy Director (Children’s Social Care) (Document “M”) in relation to a review of the support for young people in care/care leavers undertaken by members of Bradford Council’s Future Leaders Programme (FLP) 2016.

A document which set out the findings and recommendations arising from the review was appended to the report for Members’ consideration and was presented to the Panel by representatives of the FLP.

Members commented that:

·         The report and recommendations were welcomed and it was now important to ensure that this work continued and recommendations were implemented.

·         There was a need for clearer communication throughout the Council in respect of responsibility for the corporate parenting role.

In response to Member’s questions the FLP representatives and the Deputy Director (Children’s Social Care) explained that:

·         The brief for this review had been to look at the wider offer to young people in care other than relating to academic attainment. It was recognised that academic attainment was a hugely important issue but this was being addressed by Social Workers, the Virtual School and the Education Department.

·         The review had adopted the approach of ‘what would we do for our own child/children’, for example by assisting in gaining work experience or accessing an apprenticeship.

·         The focus of the work had been guided by the Children in Care Council (CICC). 

·         The report was intended to be the start of a process rather than a stand- alone document and it was hoped that it would form the basis of a conversation of how to move forward.

·         The former apprentice with the Leaving Care Service had now secured a permanent post and the apprenticeship opportunity was to be advertised.

·         It was considered that access to apprenticeships was an issue that should be further explored.

·         In terms of Key Finding 7 it was believed that there was some lack of consistency in terms of communication with those young people who were leaving care. This had resulted from discussion with young people who felt that there were key gaps in the information provided to them, for example about what support was available to them, and there was a need for simple and accessible practical guidance to assist in navigating the wider world.

Members and Co-opted Members commented that:

·         A certain level of academic attainment was needed in order to access an apprenticeship and it was very important to address the gaps in achievement.  In order to access many facilities a young person would also have to have the requisite confidence and skills.

·         The report was welcomed and how the recommendations would be progressed needed to be considered. It was felt that a number of the issues should be considered by the Head of Service who chaired the Care Strategy Group.

·         Having observed an initiative in a local primary school whereby a list of former pupils was displayed for staff to see their destinations upon leaving school, it was considered that this could be inspiring and would be something that could  ...  view the full minutes text for item 28.

The Panel’s Work Plan for 2016/17 is submitted for consideration   (Document “N”).

(Jim Hopkinson – 01274 432904)

The Panel’s Work Plan for 2016/17 was submitted for consideration (Document “N”).

Resolved –

That the following items be added to the Work Plan:

·         Progress report in relation to the Re-thinking Social Care Innovation Fund bid (September 2017).

·         Progress report on the implementation of the recommendations contained within the ‘Improving the Support for Young People in Care/Care Leavers’ report (September 2017).