Recommended –

That the minutes of the meeting held on 12 October 2016 be signed as a correct record (previously circulated).

(Fatima Butt – 01274 432227)

At the meeting of the Committee held on 6 September 2016  Angela Sinfield (Keighley mother who had campaigned for a public inquiry into how grooming had been tackled in the past) asked a number of questions of the authority and the following responses from the Deputy Director (Children’s Social Care) were circulated at this meeting:

(1)  When did Bradford Council Staff become aware that cohorts of children were being abused?

Bradford Council does not recognise the term cohort in this context.  The Council and its partners clearly understand sign of vulnerability in children but always responds to children at risk of harm as individuals requiring individualised assessments of need and personalised responses.  Bradford has had longstanding arrangements  and procedures to respond to children identified  as being at risk of  CSE.  The  Children Act 1989 strengthened our arrangements for the reporting, investigation and assessment of children identified as being at  risk of significant harm. In 1991, Working Together Under the Children Act was published which further cemented the duty of agencies including the Local Authority, Police, Health, Probation and other partners to protect children. These reporting arrangements have been at the forefront of identifying children in need of protection.

(2)  What did the Authority do?

In 1995, Bradford Council provided premises and support for the Barnardos Streets and Lanes project. In 1999 the Authority, under the then nationally used terminology, established SCIP (Safeguarding Children Involved in Prostitution) as a subgroup of the Area Child Protection Committee. In 2005, provisions of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 started to come into force which reframed this type of abuse as CSE and enabled the Police and Authority to work more closely together to tackle CSE. The Bradford Safeguarding Childrens Board was established in 2006 and immediately appointed a CSE Co-ordinator. The BSCB oversaw various operations, procedural developments and  challenge panels culminating in the establishment of the multi-agency CSE hub in 2012. In 2013, the CSE subgroup of the BSCB produced a 7 point plan (later to become a 9 point plan) as a strategic response to CSE in the district.  The CSE play “Somebody’s Sister, Somebody’s Daughter was commissioned to tour all secondary schools. In 2015, monthly meeting were established with the Leader of the Council, the Chief Executive and Strategic Director of Children’s Services to provide assurances around social care practice and performance issues.

 (3)       What contact was made with other Councils like Rotherham?

Children’s Social Care, BSCB, Director of Children’s Services, Lead Members and others are always in contact with other Councils as part of a continuous process of learning, developing and delivering the best evidence based practice. This has included consideration of the issues raised through the Jay report and in December 2014 BSCB agreed a 9 Point Strategic Response to CSE which replaced the previous 7 point plan.

(4)  What advice and support had been given by the Home Office to prosecute perpetrators.

BSCB have worked closely with West Yorkshire Police  who lead on investigations into alleged perpetrators and make prosecution decisions in line with advice they receive from the Crown Prosecution Service. The CPS review all the evidence for a case by applying the Code for Crown Prosecutors, a document issued by the Director of Public Prosecutions. They must be satisfied that there is enough evidence to prove any offences and that it is also in the public interest to prosecute.