Decision details

Cabinet received the annual safeguarding report of the Director of Children’s Services.

The report was introduced and it was highlighted that the demand for safeguarding was increasing as part of a national trend and the response in Hampshire to this had been robust and timely. It was explained that the increases were as a result of higher numbers of initial contacts and raised awareness of potential issues. It was confirmed that the threshold for intervention had not changed.

With the agreement of the Chairman, Councillor Jackie Porter addressed Cabinet. Councillor Porter expressed her congratulations on the consistently high level of regard for children’s safeguarding in the County Council. She raised the issue of the closure of an app run by the police to allow people to report concerns and also felt improvements could be made to the accessibility of contact information on the County Council’s mobile website. Councillor Porter also asked that consideration be given to supporting pre-schools in being able to report concerns about children.

Councillor Porter was thanked for her comments. It was confirmed that there were known issues with the website that were being addressed and that her concerns about the closure of the app would be fed back to colleagues in the Police.

Cabinet noted the increasing number of unaccompanied asylum seekers within the care system in Hampshire and it was confirmed that these were a combination of children entering the County directly and those moved into Hampshire as part of a national distribution scheme.

With regard to the report, the concept of neglect was discussed. It was explained that amongst care professionals there was a growing awareness of the impact of a neglectful environment and of the forms of neglect.

The recommendations in the report were considered and agreed. The decision record is attached.