Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence.

No apologies were received.

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 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 Personal Interest in a matter being considered at the meeting should consider, having regard to Part 5, Paragraph 4 of the Code, whether such interest should be declared, and having regard to Part 5, Paragraph 5 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.

To confirm the minutes of the previous meeting.

The minutes of the meeting held on 26 March 2018 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

To receive any deputations notified under Standing Order 12.

There were no deputations.

To receive any announcements the Chairman may wish to make.

There were no announcements.

To hear feedback from members of the Board following their recent meeting with children in care and to consider any recommendations arising from this.

The Board discussed a recent, informal meeting which had been arranged to meet with young people in care. As part of the discussion and feedback, it was confirmed that:

·         All Board members had been available to meet the group of young people and to discuss their experiences from within the care system environment. Members had met with eight individuals, ranging in age between 12 and 17 years. Officers had also been present on the day to facilitate the discussion and to make introductions.

·         All Members felt that the meeting had been extremely beneficial and they had valued the discussions with the young people and the feedback that they had received.

·         It was noted that the meeting had helped Members to understand how the transition through the care system had worked for each individual and Members were keen to learn more and to speak further with other young people to understand the experience from their perspectives.

·         Discussion was held regarding the importance of an individual’s initial experience of being placed in care and how this could be better supported, particularly when this is in an emergency. Furthermore, it was noted that leaving a care placement for an alternative placement was also an important time. Specific suggestions were proposed, such as creating a leaflet with relevant information for children entering into the care system, the possibility of video conferencing with future foster parents and producing welcome/leavers packs.

Arising from the meeting with young people, it had been agreed that:

·         A second, informal meeting for Members would be arranged with the same group of young people.

·         The Chairman would write to the young people to thank them and to provide an update on how their ideas and suggestions had informed future work.

·         Another informal meeting with an alternative group of young people and an informal meeting with foster carers would be arranged to enable Members to gain further insight and understanding.

RESOLVED:

That the Board were grateful for the opportunity to meet with the young people and highly valued the constructive feedback that had been gained from the discussion.

Board Members to consider themes to cover at future meetings of the Panel and ways in which to take this forward.

The Board considered future agenda items. Two items were proposed as outlined below:

• A detailed update on foster placements – incorporating the number of placements across Hampshire and some background information to provide members with information about how placements are sought and allocated

• An update on the ongoing strategy for the recruitment of foster carers

RESOLVED:

The Board agreed that these items be added to the agenda for the next meeting.