Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence received.

Apologies were given by Cllr Briggs and Cllr Warwick was in attendance as the Conservative Group Deputy.

All Members who believe they have a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest in any matter to be considered at the meeting must declare that interest and, having regard to the circumstances described in Part 3 Paragraph 1.5 of the County Council's Members' Code of Conduct, leave the meeting while the matter is discussed, save for exercising any right to speak in accordance with Paragraph 1.6 of the Code. Furthermore all Members with a Non-Pecuniary interest in a matter being considered at the meeting should consider whether such interest should be declared, and having regard to Part 5, Paragraph 2 of the Code, consider whether it is appropriate to leave the meeting while the matter is discussed, save for exercising any right to speak in accordance with the Code.

Members were mindful that where they believed they had a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest in any matter considered at the meeting they must declare that interest at the time of the relevant debate and, having regard to the circumstances described in Part 3, Paragraph 1.5 of the County Council's Members' Code of Conduct, leave the meeting while the matter was discussed, save for exercising any right to speak in accordance with Paragraph 1.6 of the Code. Furthermore Members were mindful that where they believed they had a Non-Pecuniary interest in a matter being considered at the meeting they considered whether such interest should be declared, and having regard to Part 5, Paragraph 2 of the Code, considered whether it was appropriate to leave the meeting whilst the matter was discussed, save for exercising any right to speak in accordance with the Code.

Cllr Porter disclosed at interest in relation to Item 8 as she is a Chair of a Pre-School within Hampshire.

To confirm the minutes of the previous meeting.

The minutes of the last meeting were agreed and the Chairman signed the Minute Book.

To receive any deputations notified under Standing Order 12.

There were no Deputations received.

To receive any announcements the Chairman may wish to make.

The Chairman asked if any members had made any visits to any Children’s Home’s or to the Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH). Cllr Wade noted that he had visited the new Children’s Home in Dibden Purlieu and it was the first time he had been able to speak to a Young Person at a Hampshire Home. Cllr Wade noted that it was very well run and felt like a home rather than an institution and that he went away thinking that Hampshire achieved what it aimed to in this regard.

The Panel received a report from the Director of Children’s Services which provided an update of the Hampshire Supporting Families Programme. It was noted that the programme has recently opted to drop the word ‘Troubled’ from its title locally in order to help remove some of the stigma and hopefully increase participation.

The Panel heard that the list of criteria used to select families to work with has been extended and that Mental Health was the most common reason for involvement, although this is frequently based on professional opinion rather then a diagnosis. The programme is currently reaching around 1,100 families a year.

The Panel also noted that the University of Portsmouth had conducted an independent assessment of the programme and found potential avoided costs of £2.4million in Phase One. Southampton Solent are currently preparing a similar assessment, due in Feb/Mar 2018 and this will inform the future shape of the programme in the context of Government funding that lasts until March 2020.

In response to questions members heard that;

·         Families that are at risk of financial hardship or in receipt of certain benefits are considered for the programme.

·         There is work to be done in relation to engagement with professionals who work with adult offenders in order to identify these individuals to better support them.

·         There is a continuing effort to make sure professionals are aware of the Programme and referring is quick and simple.

·         Other agencies seem to have been able to rise to the challenge of increased involvement due to the programme.

Resolved:That the Children and Families Advisory Panel;

a)    Note the continuing work of the Supporting Families Programme.

b)    Consider the positive outcomes being achieved through the programme for families in Hampshire in need of support.

c)    Note the future direction and next steps.

The Panel received a report from the Director of Children’s Services which provided an update of the Partners in Practise (PIP) initiative.

The Panel heard that Hampshire was one of seven Local Authorities with PIP status and that allowed Hampshire to look at methods to improve outcomes for Young People in innovative ways.

The Panel noted that Hampshire’s Children’s Services was working alongside the University of Winchester to develop a resiliency based approach. This has resulted in the CAST model (Child Assessment & Safeguarding Teams). This model involves less teams and therefore less transfers for Children and Families while they are engaged with Children’s Services, allowing for more opportunity for a relationship to develop with one Social Worker. The new CAST teams are also multidisciplinary teams which means that there is more experience and knowledge within the team and less need to rely on external agencies.

In response to questions members heard that;

·         This approach brings other agencies such as CAMHS into the service and allows for partnership working and more control.

·         This may also allow for influence on partners with how they deploy their staff and can enable a more flexible and agile approach.

Resolved:That the Children and Families Advisory Panel note the work undertaken in

relation to the Partners in Practise programme.

The Panel received a report from the Director of Children’s Services which provided the annual report of the Hampshire Safeguarding Children Board (HSCB), a partnership of all agencies in Hampshire that work to Safeguard Children.

The Panel were introduced to the board’s five strategic priorities and achievements in relation to these; a Neglect Strategy for Multiagency Professionals, the Trigger Trio, Key Safeguarding Issues, Quality Assurance & Stakeholder Engagement.  

In response to questions members heard that;

·         Domestic Violence programmes are working and good feedback has been received.

·         There is a lower number of Disabled Children subject to Child Protection than average. It was noted that although many families will need support to care for these young people, on balance the numbers should be higher and this is a national issue.

·         Referrals from the voluntary sector are low as usually CSD is already involved. However there is an event organised to help voluntary organisations understand how the process works.

·         NHS England commission Secure beds for Children and there are few resources available. Bluebird House is in Totton and is national resource, however there are discussions in relation to the delivery of education.

·         Usually, families move down levels in the support system and rarely have their support end suddenly. Where this is the case it is planned, however one tension is that level 3 intervention can be refused.

Resolved:The Children and Families Advisory Panel is asked to:

·         Note that the child protection partnership is working effectively across

Hampshire but there are pressure points in relation to the volume of

activity in the system.

·         Ensure that learning from Serious Case Review’s is embedded in respective agencies and leads to effective information sharing between organisations.

And that;

·         The Chairman writes to Damian Hinds MP, Secretary of State for Education, to express concern on behalf of the Children & Families Advisory Panel on the issue of Home Education.

·         A report to inform the Panel of the reasons for the increase of Home Education and the increase it could have on Child Protection is brought to a future meeting of CFAP.

The Panel received a report from the Director of Children’s Services which provided an overview of the Care Leaver Service and Extended Duties in relation to the Children and Social Work Act 2017.

The Panel heard that the Children and Social Work Act 2017 is intended to improve support for children in care and care leavers and heard the seven new corporate parenting principles introduced alongside the five key outcomes that need to be ensured for care leavers.

The Panel noted that the Government is providing ‘new burden funding’ due to the increase of the top age for provision for Care Leavers to 25 years old, however it is currently not clear how much this will be. The Panel heard that Hampshire currently has 535 Young People in the Care Leavers Service and 34.9% of these are categorised as NEET, with 72.8% not in suitable accommodation.

In response to questions members heard that;

·         Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children normally want to be in care and go to independent foster families due to their specific skills and cultural needs.

·         There is a statutory duty for Care Leaver’s Personal Assistants to visit bi-monthly and that other communication take place on an agreed timescale

·         Personal Assistants don’t need to be qualified Social Workers and there will be consideration for options to increase capacity.

Resolved: That the Children and Families Advisory Panel note the contents of this

report.