(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)

No disclosures of interest in matters under consideration were received.

Recommended –

That the minutes of the meeting held on 22 July 2019 be signed as a correct record (previously circulated).

(Yusuf Patel – 01274 434579)

Resolved –

That the minutes of the meeting held on 22 July 2019 be signed as a correct record.

(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. 

(Yusuf Patel - 01274 434579)

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

Resolved –

That it be recommended to the Regulatory and Appeals Committee that the appointment of the following Non-Voting Co-opted Member to the Corporate Parenting Panel for the remainder of the 2019/20 Municipal Year be confirmed:

Sue Lowndes – Education

ACTION: City Solicitor

The Department of Place provides support and activities for Looked After Children and young people across a wide range of services.  The report of the Strategic Director of Place (Document “E”) provides information on this work and seeks feedback from Panel members on areas for further development.

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

(Steve Hartley – 01274 431131)

The Department of Place provides support and activities for Looked After Children and young people across a wide range of services.  The report of the Strategic Director of Place (Document “E”) provided information on this work and sought feedback from Panel Members on areas for further development.

The Strategic Director Place together with the Assistant Director Sports and Leisure gave an overview of the activities they undertook as a service to support children, with particular reference to Looked After Children.

In the area of Economic Development and Housing, joint working arrangements were in place with Children’s Services to ensure young people pathways were clear.

The Youth Service provided targeted and universal open access provision to support young people, and LAC had been actively involved in a number of projects.

In the area of Sport and Culture free gym membership was available to Looked After Children.

Within Planning, Transport and Highways there was a concerted effort to encourage care leavers and young people to take up apprenticeships.

Following the overview, the Strategic Director invited feedback from the young people and Members and suggestions on how the service can improve provision for LAC.

The Community Resource Worker stated that he had had discussions with the young people prior to this meeting about the issues set out in the report.  The Young People asked the following questions and made a number of suggestions around improving sport and leisure provision and access for LAC:

A number of young people commented on the cost of gym membership and that concessions should be more generous for care leavers as they already struggled with day to day expenses.  A similar issue was raised in relation to the affordability of Bingley Live, given the cost of tickets.

The cost of using public transport was also raised and it was stressed that even after applying the concessionary rate, for a lot of care leavers the fares were excessive, and this further inhibited young people from accessing a whole host of leisure activities.

In response to the issues raised, the Strategic Director Place stated that as a Council there was a subsidy provided to assist with concessionary fares.  On the whole public transport was run by private operators, however, representations could be made on this issue via the West Yorkshire Combined Authority. 

The Chair stated that Social Workers could probably do more to alert young people to the concessions that were available across the district as well as in the area of public transport.  The Community Resource Worker acknowledged more information could be made available through the Leaving Care Service.

He also added that a number of young people in care were unable to swim and this was an area that needed addressing, as learning to swim was an essential life skill. The Assistant Director Sport and Leisure added that subsidised swimming lessons were available to young people.

In relation to the cost of public transport, Members suggested that an approach could be made to our Council representatives  ...  view the full minutes text for item 12.

On the 10^th July an event was held with the Children in Care Council to celebrate the work that has been taking place and to start to think about how participation work with children Looked After might develop over the next year.  The report of the Strategic Director of Children’s Services (Document “F”) provides feedback on the event.

Recommended -

That work continues with the Children in Care Council to agree the actions and to put these in place.

(Mick Nolan – 01274 436760)

On the 10^th July an event was held with the Children in Care Council to celebrate the work that has been taking place and to start to think about how participation work with children Looked After might develop over the next year.  The report of the Strategic Director of Children’s Services (Document “F”) provided feedback on the event.

The Community Resource Worker stated that the event had been a huge success and the feedback of LAC was welcomed. He added that compared to other Local Authorities regionally and nationally we had a well functioning Children in Care Council.

The development and use of social media had vastly improved communications as well as the development work undertaken with the University and Foster Carers, and it was therefore necessary that the use of social media was exploited further.

The Young People had talked to trainee social workers about the realities of being in care and what made a good social worker;

Feedback was also received on Apprenticeships as well as how to gauge the opinions of young people in care.

There was also a recognition that the voice of young people on the Care Council should be stronger, as their voice was critical to the process.

There was also a need to capture the experience of Children in Care better, but at the same time there was an imperative to maintain confidentiality and respect the wishes of the young person.

Resolved -

(1)       That work continues with the Children in Care Council to agree             the actions and to put these in place.

(2)       That all those involved in the event be commended for their hard          work and that the Assistant Director Performance,            Commissioning and Partnerships develop this work further, with a             view to producing a newsletter.

ACTION:       Assistant Director Performance, Commissioning and                                Partnerships

The Panel’s Work Plan for 2019/20 is submitted for Member’s consideration (Document “G”).

The Panel’s Work Plan for 2019/20 was submitted for Member’s consideration (Document “G”).

Resolved -

That the Panel’s Work Plan for 2019/20 (Document “G”) be noted and that items for the November meeting be looked at, with a view to moving some of the items to a later date.

ACTION:       Assistant Director Performance, Commissioning and                                Partnerships