Local democracy

Agenda, decisions and minutes

Venue: Committee Room 1 - City Hall, Bradford. View directions

Contact: Sheila Farnhill 

Items
No. Item

24.

DISCLOSURES OF INTEREST

(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)

Minutes:

No disclosures of interest in matters under consideration were received.

25.

MINUTES

Recommended –

 

That the minutes of the meetings held on 13 September and 8 November 2017 be signed as a correct record (previously circulated).

 

(Sheila Farnhill – 01274 432268)

Minutes:

Resolved –

 

That the minutes of the meetings held on 13 September and 8 November 2017 be signed as a correct record.

 

ACTION:       City Solicitor

 

 

 

26.

INSPECTION OF REPORTS AND BACKGROUND PAPERS

(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)

 

Minutes:

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

 

NO ACTION

27.

INDEPENDENT REVIEWING OFFICERS' ANNUAL REPORT pdf icon PDF 165 KB

A report will be presented by the Deputy Director (Children’s Social Care) (Document “O”) in relation to the work of the Independent Reviewing Officer (IRO) Service and its Annual Report, the production of which is a requirement of the IRO Regulations.

 

Recommended –

 

(1)       That the key priorities for the Independent Reviewing Officer Service, as set out in Appendix 1 to Document “O”, be endorsed.

 

(2)       That future Independent Reviewing Officer Annual Reports be presented to the September meeting of the Panel.

 

                                                                        (Imran Cheema – 01274 434530)

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

A report was submitted by the Deputy Director (Children’s Social Care) (Document “O”) in relation to the work of the Independent Reviewing Officer (IRO) Service and presenting its Annual Report for the period 1 April 2016 to 31 March 2017; the production of which is a requirement of the IRO Regulations.

 

The IRO Manager highlighted the points below:

 

·         There had been an increase in the numbers of Looked After Children (CLA) to 927 (as at 31 March 2017); this increase reflected the overall national trend.

·         Care Proceedings were taking longer than the 26 week limit as a result of delays in respect of the Court and assessments.

·         There had been a reduction in the number of Section 20 Agreements (Childrens Act 1989) and the Authority had a robust Legal Gateway Panel reviewing cases.

·         The numbers of Placement Orders and Adoption Orders had decreased.  Adoption was no longer seen as the preferred permanency plan and there was more emphasis on finding solutions within family and friends networks.

·         The numbers of family and friend placements had increased with 45 placements being outside the district.  The Authority was committed to keeping children within their family network where this was safe and possible.

·         The balance between the numbers of those entering care and those leaving had changed with more entering care than leaving.

·         Bradford had one of the largest populations of young people in the country, if not the largest.

·         The Courts no longer favoured Special Guardianship Orders if a placement was untested.

·         The IRO’s caseloads were approximately 20 children above the guidance level  in the IRO’s Handbook.

·         The Team was proud of the results achieved in respect of CLA reviews, with 98% being on time despite an increase in numbers, and the best performance to date in respect of participation by CLA of 97%.

·         All Care Plans that were deemed to ‘require improvement’ were presented to the Deputy Director’s Performance Clinic for consideration.

·         In terms of the Quality Assurance (QA) Audits, a reduction in the percentage of Care Plans classed as ‘outstanding’ was believed to be due to adjustments to the thresholds and the increased familiarity of IROs with the definitions of each classification. The actions deemed necessary to bring about improvement were detailed in each case.

·         78 QA challenges had been issued with resolution being achieved for over 90% and 44 acknowledgements of good practice had been shared; a practice that had been welcomed by staff.

·         IROs from Bradford had attended the Regional Annual IRO Conference.

·         An update was given in respect of the information/figures since April 2017.

·         The key priorities for the Service for 2017/18.

·         A new Missing Co-ordinator been appointed and IROs had attended workshops on this issue.

 

The IRO Manager answered Members’ questions:

 

·         Although adoption was an option for consideration the current emphasis was on placing children with people that were known to them and the judiciary was keen to know what options had been considered within a child’s family network. It was seen as a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 27.

28.

INDEPENDENT MONITORING OF CHILDREN'S' HOMES AND INSPECTION OUTCOMES pdf icon PDF 281 KB

The Deputy Director (Children's Social Care) will submit a report in relation to independent monitoring of the Authority’s Children’s Homes and the outcome of statutory Ofsted inspections for 2017-18 (Document “P”).

 

Recommended –

 

That Document “P” be noted.

 

                                                            (Suzanne Lythgow – 07582 100936)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Deputy Director (Children's Social Care) submitted a report in relation to the independent monitoring of the Authority’s Children’s Homes and the outcome of statutory Ofsted inspections for 2017-18 (Document “P”).

 

The Quality Standard Manager (QSM) highlighted the following key points:

 

·         There were currently ten children’s homes offering a range of long term and short term/respite care.

·         She aimed to promote good practice in addition to identifying necessary actions and making recommendations for improvement

·         The reports she produced were sent to Ofsted and were used to inform inspections.

·         Elected Members were able to bring a different perspective and insight to visits and also gave the benefit of additional scrutiny.  Their input was also considered by Ofsted.

·         An initiative to identify a schedule of visits to increase participation had not been particularly successful.

·         She met with fellow Regulation 44 officers, from other authorities, on a regular basis to share experiences and good practice and to drive forward improvement.

·         A robust Regulation 44 inspection regime brought valuable challenge to the homes and allowed responses to be made to issues as they occurred; it also led to more positive outcomes in terms of inspections.

 

Members made the following comments:

 

·         The reports produced by the QSM were thorough and showed an in-depth knowledge of the homes and the young people.

·         The visits were considered to be both interesting and worthwhile.

·         Elected Members must support the QSM in this role.

·         An issue raised, further to a visit, in respect of there being a lack of books being available for the young people had resulted in a project across all the homes to promote literacy; this was an excellent example of the value of this process and the contribution that could be made by Elected Members.

 

Resolved –

 

(1)       That Document “P” be noted.

 

(2)       That the Quality Assurance Manager (Regulation 44) be thanked for the report and that all Elected Members on the Corporate Parenting Panel be urged to make every effort to take part in monitoring visits to the Authority’s residential and respite homes.

 

 ACTION:      Deputy Director (Children's Social Care)

 

29.

WORK PLAN 2017/18 pdf icon PDF 264 KB

The Panel’s Work Plan for 2017/18 is submitted (Document “Q”) for Member’s consideration.

 

(Jim Hopkinson – 01274 432904)

 

Minutes:

The Panel’s Work Plan for 2017/18 was submitted (Document “Q”) for Member’s consideration.

 

In respect of issues discussed at previous meetings of the Panel the Portfolio Holder reported that the Executive had agreed that as from April 2018 looked after children who had left care would not have to pay Council Tax until they were 21 and that any foster carers who were part of the ‘staying put’ scheme would not lose entitlement to single person benefit where this was applicable.

 

It was noted that the issue of bullying in schools was being considered by the Children’s Trust Board and the Children’s Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee; if there was a specific issue in respect of looked after children then that would be brought to this Panel.

 

The Chair confirmed that the Children in Care Council were consulted, on a regular basis, in respect of any matters that they might wish to be considered by the Panel.

 

Resolved –

 

That an item be added to the Panel’s Work Plan for 2018/19 in respect of issues affecting looked after children in respect of citizenship and obtaining passports.

 

ACTION:       Deputy Director (Children's Social Care)