Local democracy

Agenda item

PROTECTING CHILDREN AND VULNERABLE ADULTS AT RISK OF EXPLOITATION

The report of the Chief Executive Office (Document “AJ”) provides an update to and builds on the report presented to the District Area Committees previously regarding the issue of Child Exploitation (CE). It focuses on the Strategic Response to all forms of exploitation in Children and Adults and how partners from the Working Together to Safeguard Children.  It also outlines the emergence of other complex safeguarding themes and outlines how partners are effectively collaborating and focussing upon the protection of vulnerable Children and Adults.

 

Recommended –

 

1)         That The Area Committee is invited to consider the contents of this report and how members can support local activity.

 

2)         That The Area Committee shall receive a further update on the progress of the response to exploitation in 12 months’ time.

 

3)         That partners will seek further funding opportunities from Government funding streams to enable to continuation of service provision as outlined in this report.

 

(Darren Minton – 01274 434361)

 

 

Minutes:

The report of the Chief Executive’s Office (Document “AJ”) was presented to the Committee to provide and update to the report previously presented to the Area Committee regarding the issue of Child Exploitation.  The Bradford partnership (TBP) scrutinised the District responses to this and provided professional challenge to those responses.

 

The report also focused on the strategic response to all forms of exploitation to children and adults and how partners were contributing to improve service provision across the District.  Through collaborative working, awareness and understanding had been improved to enable professionals to recognise and respond to wider types of exploitation. 

 

TBP partners have recognised the emergence of wider safeguarding themes within TBP Strategic Plan 2019/20 and the Risk and Vulnerabilities in Complex Safeguarding sub group have agreed on a district strategic response to exploitation under the following six headings.

 

(1)   Identify and understand the nature and scale of the themes involved.
(2)  Prevention, Education and Awareness
(3)  Safeguarding vulnerable people, groups and communities
(4)  Effective leadership and governance
(5)  Disrupt and Prosecute.
(6)  Communication, Engagement and Empowerment

 

Officers advised that partners finalised a strategic response to CE and to Risk and Vulnerabilities in Complex Safeguarding, publishing an Exploitation Protocol and a Risk Assessment tool.  Front door arrangements within Children’s Social Care were extended to address wider exploitation utilising new multi-agency processes.  Training was continually provided by the Bradford district Police Cyber Team and other partners relating to exploitation and online safety.

 

The report provided details of the partner organisations involved and how changes in legislation affected and guided Governance and Infrastructure.  It also details the various categories of exploitation and how the partnership was working to tackle the issues raised.  The report contained links to guidance documents and to real life accounts of abuse plus a summary of the position in terms of Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) and Child Criminal Exploitation (CCE) within the District, how they were categorised and what they entailed.

 

Officers stated that there was a consistent multi-agency approach with daily risk assessment meetings taking place.  The processes in place were robust and had been checked by external organisations such as Ofsted.  Funding was being sought to develop exploitation hubs to provide a service 24/7.

 

Members were then given the opportunity to make comments and ask questions, the details of which and the responses given are as below:

 

·         Young people had been affected by the preceding difficult twelve months, the response to which going forward would be unknown.  What potential was there for a time bomb?

·      In response, officers advised that there would be individual scrutiny with a degree of collaboration between agencies.  The children missing from home figure was down, due to better protocols and missing from school roll numbers were being well managed.  Parents who chose to educate at home was still a concern as support from schools would not continue.  However, the situation around vulnerability of these children was being checked with a very small number of considerable concern.  Schools did so much more than just provide education.  Exploitation had continued despite the pandemic, having adapted.  Steps were being taken to try to prevent progression of anti-social behaviour into more serious organized crime

 

·         Elective home education figures had doubled which was concerning, Were Officers and agencies looking at those families who had recently switched to home-schooling?  Were we asking or waiting for families to come back?

·      Officers advised that it was a difficult area as the law permits parents to decide not to send children to school and the focus was purely around the curriculum and not welfare.  It was considered that only a tiny minority were at risk.  Funding had been secured to look at barriers for young people on the fringes of education

 

·         Did parents/carers have to apply to the council to withdraw a child?

·      Children could simply disappear.  Bradford Council did make contact but had no control over the situation.  Analysis was needed to find out the reasons for parents/carers withdrawing their child.  Places were kept open to allow children to return for six months

 

·         Were parents/carers aware of the six-month option to allow them to opt back in?

·      Officers advised that the Safeguarding Team worked proactively to provide this type of information

 

Resolved -

 

1)           That The Area Committee, in its deliberations, considers how it can help to support local activity.

 

2)         That The Area Committee shall receive a further update on the progress of the response to exploitation in 12 months’ time.

 

3)         That partners will seek further funding opportunities from Government funding streams to enable to continuation of service provision as outlined in this report.

 

Action: Chief Executive

 

Supporting documents: