Agenda and minutes

Venue: Committee Room 1 - Wallasey Town Hall. View directions

Contact: Patrick Sebastian  0151 691 8424

Items
No. Item

11.

Apologies for Absence

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors B Kenny, M McLaughlin, J Stapleton and A Sykes;and Ms J Johnson (co-opted member).

12.

Order of Business

Minutes:

The Chair proposed, and it was unanimously agreed that item 11 on the agenda (Scrutiny and Wirral Safeguarding Children Board Workshop - Feedback) be considered immediately after item 6 on the agenda (Children and Social Work Act – Implications for the Wirral Safeguarding Children Board) given the synergies and overlapping nature of the information under report.

13.

Members' Code of Conduct - Declarations of Interest / Party Whip

Members are asked to consider whether they have any disclosable pecuniary interests and/or any other relevant interest in connection with any item(s) on this agenda and, if so, to declare them and state the nature of the interest.

 

Members are reminded that they should also declare whether they are subject to a party whip in connection with any item(s) to be considered and, if so, to declare it and state the nature of the whipping arrangement.

Minutes:

Members were asked to consider whether they had any disclosable pecuniary interests and/or any other relevant interest in connection with any item(s) on this agenda and, if so, to declare them and state the nature of the interest.

 

Members were reminded that they should also declare whether they were subject to a party whip in connection with any item(s) to be considered and, if so, to declare it and state the nature of the whipping arrangement. The following declarations were made:

 

Name

Nature of Declaration

Councillor

Tom Usher

 

Personal – by virtue of his employment as a Supported Living Support Worker.

Councillor

Chris Meaden

 

Personal – by virtue of her daughter's employment within the CYPD.

Councillor

Wendy Clements

 

Personal – by virtue of her being a school governor at two schools in the borough.

 

14.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 111 KB

To approve the accuracy of the minutes of the meeting held on 20 June 2017.

Minutes:

Resolved – That the minutes of the meeting of the committee held on 20 June 2017, be confirmed as a correct record.

15.

Merseyside Police - Role in Safeguarding Procedures

Presentation.

Minutes:

Chief Superintendent Ian Hassall introduced his presentation on the role of the police in effective safeguarding of children and young people, the effectiveness of the partnership arrangements (relevant to safeguarding) and the impact of the establishment of the Safer Wirral Hub on Member’s role in terms of safeguarding. The Chief Superintendent provided an overview of the structure of policing on the Wirral and collaboration planning that informed decision making and actions in the use of intelligence in the delivery of criminal justice and custody as part of the Force Intelligence Bureau (FIB).

 

Chief Superintendent Hassall informed of the functioning of the ‘Local Policing Area’ level of service and how research and analysis information gathered was used as part of a weekly Threat Harm Risk (THR) meeting, and its importance when dealing with vulnerable missing persons (Misper). He further informed on the ‘Force level’ analysis and case studies, using local information and intelligence, information such as registered sexual offenders (RSOs) and prison releases – all of which helped in identifying gangs (young people) committing offences, but may be being exploited by older males.

 

The Children and Families Overview and Scrutiny Committee were also apprised of the move away from policing along County Lines and the use of anti-social behaviour legislation in dealing with public nuisance.

 

Members noted the Merseyside Police Force’s approach to crime i.e. the 4P’s – prepare, pursue, prevent, protect and that between September 2016 and May 2017 an increased number of young people were presenting at Arrowe Park Hospital with effects of the drug MDMA. As part of the trend identification, all 6 Forces in the North West had seconded staff into the Regional Organised Crime Unit – TITAN. This resulted in Operation Manhattan, the outcome of which had been:

 

  • A raid on a Pill factory in Birkenhead – producing 5000 Ecstasy pills per hour;

 

  • 17 addresses had been raided by TITAN on Thursday 21 September; resulting in

 

  • 14 people having been charged with a variety of offences, related to drugs supply of Ecstasy, Cocaine and Amphetamine.

 

Chief Superintendent Hassall informed the links between the Mersey Police Force and the Safer Wirral Hub launch, MASH demand, Early Help Foundation and the involvement of PCSOs. He added that information provided via the Crime Stoppers helpline 0800 555 111 was pivotal in gathering evidence, sharing of data that helped with safeguarding of vulnerable young people and the partnership’s aims of early intervention.

 

Members asked a number of questions of Chief Superintendent Hassall regarding some of the issues relating to the availability of drugs, grooming and how schools and Birkenhead HIVE were communicating with young people about the issues. Members also commented on the Safer Wirral Hub and Common Assessment Framework that helped enable team interventions.

 

The Chair thanked Chief Superintendent Hassall for his presentation.

 

Resolved – That the presentation be noted.

16.

Improvement Plan - Update plus Position Statement

Presentation.

Minutes:

Ms Deborah Gornik, the Interim Director of Children’s Services introduced her presentation that provided Members with an update on the Council’s Improvement Plan and a number of actions that had been taken since her last report to the Committee in June. These included:

 

·  The appointment of a new Director of Children’s Services - Mr Paul Boyce, currently Executive Director for Children and Knowsley, had been appointed and would be taking up the role early December;

 

·  The Council Budget Setting process had begun, looking at 3 year budget cycle, with continued pressures for the Children and Young People’s (CYP) services;

 

·  Overview and Scrutiny - a successful Joint Workshop had been held with the Wirral Safeguarding Children Board on 23 August, with the new work programme very much aligned to the improvement journey; and

 

·  Elected Member training - CSE training had taken place and a full member training programme was currently being developed.

 

The Interim Director of Children’s Services informed the Committee that the revised improvement plan focussed on the connectivity between the required improvement and transformation and how a number of the blockages in the system could be removed to enable practice improvement to flourish. She informed that some areas would require a quick, agile response (Sprint), with others requiring a much more committed project approach.

 

Ms Gornik explained how, by keeping an eye on the now and the future CYP services would continue to strive to achieve the most effective improvements through sustained activity and will ‘circle the cause’ until officers felt the solution had delivered the most effective long term improvements - using the Sprint methodology to drive the identification of the action and the delivery of the solution. Ms Gornik further explained that the Tracker that had been developed would capture detail against each action so that the service can track, and demonstrate, how improvement was being managed and implemented. This information was to be reported back to the Wirral Safeguarding Children Board (WSCB) each month.

 

The Interim Director of Children’s Services also informed that, working with the Council’s Digital Service it had been agreed that a mobile working trial using Windows 10 functionality would be supported and a team of social workers and support staff to trial the kit over a 1 month period from Sept-Oct had been identified. During the trial they would capture their thoughts and feedback into a diary. At the end of the month the feedback would be collated and assessed. This would determine whether the trial had been a success and consideration would be given as to whether a rollout across the wider department would be actioned. Ms Gornik reported that the staff who have received the training have provided positive feedback already and were excited to be able to use the kit to help them be more flexible in the day to day work.

 

The Interim Director of Children’s Services concluded her report with information on sickness absence statistics for the August period – informing that long terms  ...  view the full minutes text for item 16.

17.

Children and Social Work Act - Implications for the Wirral Safeguarding Children Board pdf icon PDF 110 KB

Minutes:

The Chair informed that a workshop to discuss the future relationship between scrutiny and the Wirral Safeguarding Children Board (WSCB) had been held on 23 August and that possible long term changes to the framework under which local safeguarding children boards operate were raised. He informed that the report of the WSCB included in the agenda pack provided further detail regarding the long-term plans which had been requested during the workshop.

 

Mr David Robbins, WSCB Manager introduced the report that set out the background to the foundations of the Children and Social Work Act, insofar as it applied to Local Safeguarding Children Boards, based on the Wood Review of LSCBs. The aim of the review had been to:

 

‘lead a fundamental review of the role and functions of Local Safeguarding Children Boards (LSCBs) within the context of local strategic multi-agency working. To include the child death review process, and consideration of how the intended centralisation of serious case reviews (SCRs) will work effectively at local level’.

 

The report further informed of background to the Children and Social Work Act, Looked After Children, Implications for the WSCB, Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panels and Local Arrangements for Safeguarding and Promoting the Welfare of Children.

 

Mr Robbins informed that guidance on the Act was still awaited, but the changes contained within the Act signalled the end of the current LSCB structure. He advised the Committee of the report recommendations that had been identified for consideration / action by the WSCB and the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, namely:

 

For the WSCB:

·  to ensure early conversations begin between the LA, CCG and Police about the shaping of safeguarding arrangements in the future, including funding, resourcing and governance arrangements;

·  to consider whether arrangements will exist at the current single LA footprint level or whether a wider footprint area was preferred (and how Merseyside CDOP might continue); and

·  for the WSCB to participate in the consultation.

 

For the Overview and Scrutiny Committee:

·  to be aware of the planned changes and the implications for the WSCB and oversight of safeguarding; and

·  to participate in the consultation to help shape future local arrangements.

 

The Chair thanked the Manager, Wirral Safeguarding Children Board for his report.

 

The Chair advised the Committee that it was difficult for local areas to move forward at present until more detailed guidance on the changes had been provided. He informed that a consultation on the subject had been scheduled for November, to coincide with the release of the statutory guidance in the Autumn, and it was hoped that this might assist in allaying concerns.

 

Resolved – That

 

(1)  the report and recommendations contained therein, be noted; and

 

(2)  a further report be brought back to the Committee once arrangements for LSCBs were clearer.

18.

Workshop regarding the relationship between scrutiny and the WSCB - Feedback pdf icon PDF 88 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Following on from the previous item, the Chair reported on the workshop that had been held by, and for, Members of the Children and Families Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 23 August 2017 - the purpose of which had been to discuss the future relationship between scrutiny and the Wirral Safeguarding Children Board (WSCB). 

 

The report informed that a number of members had attended a safeguarding training event provided by the Centre for Public Scrutiny in January 2017. A key message for the scrutiny of safeguarding arrangements was the establishment of strong relationships with key partner bodies and organisations. The Local Safeguarding Children Board (LSCB) was clearly a key partner. Therefore, a workshop had been arranged for 23 August 2017 at which Committee members were better able to understand the key links between scrutiny and the Board and to recommend ways in which those links could be improved. All members of the Children and Families Overview and Scrutiny Committee had been invited to the session.

 

The report informed that a session commenced with a presentation delivered by the Chair of Wirral’s Safeguarding Children Board, Professor Maggie Atkinson followed by a wide-ranging discussion with Members and key officers. The presentation included the role of the Local Safeguarding Children Board; the relationship between the LSCB and the host Local Authority; and current challenges for the Board. Members note: Chair of the WSCB, Professor Maggie Atkinson is not an Officer of the Council.

 

 

The Chair informed that the Executive, and the WSCB had each recently endorsed the outcomes of the workshop, namely:

 

  • It would be positive to develop a complimentary relationship between Wirral’s Safeguarding Children Board and the Children and Families Overview & Scrutiny Committee via a protocol to enhance the working relationship between the two bodies (a draft version of the protocol was attached as Appendix 2 to the report).

 

  • Based upon Wood Review investigation into the future role of LSCBs and recommendations to review the role of LSCBs, it was agreed that a report on the future of LSCBs should be presented to the September meeting of the Children and Families Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

 

  • The work programme of the Children and Families Overview and Scrutiny Committee be amended to include updates on the work taking place at the HIVE and the employment prospects for care leavers.

 

 

Resolved – That

 

(1)  the report be noted;

 

(2)  the draft protocol regarding the future working relationship between Wirral Safeguarding Children Board and the Children and Families Overview and Scrutiny Committee be approved; and

 

(3)  the proposed additions to the Committee’s Work Programme relating to the Youth HIVE and the employment prospects for care leavers be agreed.

19.

Summary of Standards – Provisional Outcomes for Early Years, Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 August 2017 pdf icon PDF 81 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Mrs Sue Talbot, Lead Commissioner Schools introduced the report of the Director of Children’s Services that provided a summary and detailed analysis for the pupil outcomes at the age of 5 (Good level of development), the age of 7 (Key Stage 1 SATs) and at the age of 11 (Key Stage 2 SATs).

 

The report informed that comparisons have been made with the results nationally wherever possible. However many of the national results had not yet been published. When the statistical first releases were published at the end of September the report would be amended. At the time of writing the report, the following summary applied:

 

·  Early Years – The percentage of children attaining a good level of development (69.4%) is similar to last year.

·  Year 1 – Fewer children achieved the national standard in phonics.

·  Year 2 – More children at the age of 7 attained the standard this year in reading and writing and mathematics (RWM). Writing showed the biggest improvement.

·  Year 6 - More children at the age of 11 attained the standard this year in reading and writing and mathematics (RWM). Mathematics saw the biggest improvement.

 

This report provided a detailed analysis of pupil outcomes which can be used to measure the impact of work undertaken in the following pledges: Children are ready for school, Young people are ready for work and adulthood, and Vulnerable children reach their full potential.

 

This report provided the Children and Families Overview and Scrutiny Committee with a very detailed analysis of outcomes for all pupil groups at the end of each key stage in the primary phase of education. The analysis of outcomes has also been provided by locality (Birkenhead, South Wirral, Wallasey and West Wirral).

 

Mrs Talbot informed that the report had been shared with Primary Head Teachers just prior to consideration by Members. Members were apprised of a number of key statistics as detailed in the report executive summary relating to:

 

  • Early Years - The percentage of children attaining a good level of development (GLD) at the age of 5 has remained static for the last 3 years (69.4%).

 

  • Year One - Fewer children achieved the standard in phonics (76%). Less children in the Birkenhead locality met the standard. The largest decrease from last year was in the Wallasey locality (-7.2%). There were some real anomalies this year, for example one school’s results plummeted from 88.2% to 28.6%.

 

  • Key Stage One - More children at the age of 7 attained the expected standard this year (an improvement of 4%) for attainment in reading and writing and mathematics combined (RWM). Attainment remains below the national average but the gap is narrowing. Fewer children looked after met the expected standard this year.

 

  • Key Stage Two - More children at the age of 11 attained the expected standard in reading and writing and mathematics (RWM) than last year – an increase of 8% (49% to 57%). However attainment remains below the national average by 4%.

 

Members of the Committee asked a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 19.

20.

Financial Monitoring Report Quarter 1 2017/18 pdf icon PDF 139 KB

Minutes:

Mr Andrew Roberts, Senior Manager Financial Management introduced the regular report of the Assistant Director: Finance and Section 151 Officer that set out the projected revenue and capital monitoring position for 2017/18 as at the close of quarter 1 (30 June 2017).

 

The report summarised information that had been drawn from the relevant sections of the most recent Cabinet revenue and capital monitoring reports and combined with additional relevant service information to produce a bespoke report for the Children and Families Overview and Scrutiny Committee that included the following:

 

  • Performance against the revenue budget (including savings, income and debt); and
  • Performance against the capital budget

 

The Senior Manager Financial Management provided Members with a summary presentation that further informed that there were a number of in-year cost pressures forecast for 2017/18 as follows:

 

Pressures

£m

Offset by

£m

Improvement

10.0

Transformation

10.0

Care Costs

6.0

Contingency

5.0

Staffing – agency

1.4

One Offs

0.9

Disability

0.8

Total

15.9

Specialist Transport

0.3

 

 

Youth and Hive

0.5

 

 

Youth Offending

0.1

 

 

Total

19.1

Shortfall

3.2

 

Members noted a breakdown summary for the planned improvements to the service that included the following key points:

 

 

Posts

£m

Social Care 

108

7.4

Safeguarding 

17

0.8

Early Help

12

0.8

Disability

5

0.2

Commissioning /Performance /

Improvement 

13

0.5

Support and IT 

4

0.5

Total 

159

10.2

 

Resolved – That

 

(1)  the quarter 1 revenue forecast overspend of £3.2 million be noted; and

 

(2)  the performance of the capital projects within this area be noted.

21.

2017/18 Quarter 1 Wirral Plan Performance pdf icon PDF 124 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Ms Deborah Gornik, the Interim Director of Children’s Services introduced her report that provided the 2017/18 Quarter 1 (April – June 2017) performance report for the Wirral Plan pledges under the remit of the Children and Families Overview and Scrutiny Committee.  The report provided a description of the progress in Quarter 1 as well as providing available data in relation to a range of outcome indicators and supporting measures.

 

The Interim Director’s report informed the Committee that:

 

·  The take-up of the two year old offer by eligible families had continued to improve with 92.6% at quarter one, compared to 88.1% in 2016-17.

 

·  Challenging targets had been set for women accessing maternity services with the target not achieved at quarter 1.

 

·  Targets had also not been achieved for the three health check and health visitor reviews, although two of the measures linked to Health Visitor reviews show improved performance compared to the previous year. Analysis indicated that take up of reviews in the community pilot areas was lower than overall take up and additional focus was now in place for these areas.

 

·  School Ofsted inspections had highlighted attendance in a number of schools to be in the lowest 10% nationally. Attendance needed to be a relentless focus for all schools.

 

·  Continuous focus on vulnerable children was in place in response to the 2016 Ofsted Inspection. Both the children in need and children subject to a child protection plan rates had increased at Quarter 1. Work continued on developing joint approaches based on the needs of children such as the Strengthening Families Enhancing Futures programme.

 

·  Work was on track towards the creation of an All Age Disability and Mental Health Service in Wirral.  This project was part of the Council’s Transformation Programme and would seek to develop better integration across the disability and mental health pathways. This will lead to improved quality and consistency of service provision and reduce service barriers related to age and eligibility.

 

·  The Safer Wirral Hub had now been established and this was leading to developing improved ways of working across the partnership.  This new, integrated service delivery model was creating opportunities for all agencies to work more closely and share insight to better problem solve, plan and target services more effectively.

 

·  Reporting at quarter one 2017-18 illustrated the complex picture of Domestic Abuse in Wirral. Agencies were working to ensure victims have confidence to report crimes, and reporting had increased in number of cases per adult female and children and young people experiencing domestic abuse. However repeat incidents and high risk referrals to the Family Safety Unit had also increased. New initiatives through the Safer Wirral Hub were being put in place.

 

·  A new Peer Mentor Coordinator had been appointed to support and develop the work of the Domestic Abuse Community Champions.  This will focus on the hotspot areas of Birkenhead, Seacombe and Wallasey.  A new focus for this work will target Children’s Centres to identify young parents and families that may be at risk of abuse.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 21.

22.

Policy Inform pdf icon PDF 1017 KB

Minutes:

The Children and Families Overview and Scrutiny Committee considered the September 2017 Policy Inform Briefing Paper that included an overview of ongoing and recent national legislation, potential implications for the Council, and emerging policies.

 

The Policy Inform Briefing Paper outlined the key features of the policies and legislation that had emerged from the Queen’s Speech 2017 and provided an update on the developments of recent legislation and highlights any emerging implications. The Policy Inform briefing also alluded to any potential implications for Wirral Council.

 

Resolved - That the contents of the September 2017 Policy Briefing papers be noted.

23.

Feedback from Joint Workshop on All-age Disabilities and Mental Health Transformation Project pdf icon PDF 112 KB

Minutes:

Councillor Usher introduced the joint report of the Chairs of the Adult Care and Health OSC (Cllr Julie McManus) and the Children and Families OSC that informed of the joint workshop involving members of the two Overview and Scrutiny Committees.

 

The report informed that as part of their work programme, members had previously agreed to scrutinise proposals arising from the Council’s Transformation Programme. This form of pre-decision scrutiny gave non-Cabinet members the opportunity to influence developing proposals. It was, therefore, agreed to hold a workshop to provide members the opportunity to review the proposals being developed by the All Age Disability and Mental Health Service Transformation Project. The report summarised the findings of the workshop, which was held on Wednesday 2 August 2017.

 

The workshop enabled a review of the outline business case that formed part of Wirral Council’s Strategic Transformation Programme. The business case related to the All Age Disability and Mental Health Service Transformation Project. As the scope of the project had potential implications for recipients of both children and adult services, all members of the Adult Care and Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee and the Children and Families Overview and Scrutiny Committee were invited to attend. Eleven committee members attended the session. The Director of Health and Care and the Assistant Director of Health and Care Outcomes led a presentation to explain the details of the outline business case, followed by a question and answer session to give members the opportunity to comment on the proposals. 

The report informed that full details of the proposals for change were available in the outline business case for the All Age Disability and Mental Health Service Transformation Project. The Outline Business Case set out a proposal to transform the Council’s Mental Health Service and the Disability Teams across Children’s and Adult Services to develop integrated pathways to work more closely with key partners to drive forward integration and service efficiencies. Members noted that National policy for ‘All Age Disability Integration’ and ‘Health and Social Care Integration’ provided the national direction for change as a key driver for local transformation across services.

 

Resolved – That

 

(1)  the report be noted;

 

(2)  the report be referred to a future meeting of Cabinet; and

 

(3)  the Full Business Case is developed to ensure that the key points made by Elected Members, detailed in the report, are addressed.

24.

Reality Check visit to the Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) - Feedback pdf icon PDF 97 KB

Minutes:

The Chair introduced his report that provided feedback on the recommendation of the Children and Families Overview and Scrutiny Committee regarding the principle of undertaking a series of Reality Check visits by small groups of members to enable those members to engage directly with frontline staff. He informed that the first of these visits had taken place to the Integrated Front Door / Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) at Moreton on Thursday 7 September 2017. 

 

The Chair informed that visiting Members were impressed by the warm welcome which was received during the visit and the willingness of all organisations to participate in discussion.  He added that considerable partner agency buy-in was evidenced by the number of organisations actively engaged within the Integrated Front Door / MASH environment and that the deployment and increase in the number of social workers within the MASH on a permanent basis appeared to have created a more stable working environment and enabled the application of more consistent processes / thresholds. 

 

Resolved – That

 

(1)  the report be noted; and

 

(2)  a further visit to the Integrated Front Door / MASH to the Reality Check be included into the Committee Work Programme once the service has transferred to the new location at Solar Campus. 

25.

Children & Families OSC - Work programme update report pdf icon PDF 81 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chair introduced his report that set out the process of developing and managing the scrutiny work programme for the Municipal Year. The report informed the Children and Families Overview and Scrutiny Committee, in cooperation with the other three Overview and Scrutiny Committees, was responsible for proposing and delivering an annual scrutiny work programme.

 

The Chair highlighted a number of key points pertinent to his report, namely:

 

  • the value of reality check visits – the Chair expressed a view that a similar visit be scheduled for a group of 5-6 Members of the Committee meet with the ‘leaving care’ team; and

 

  • a Member training session was being planned for later in the year; and that

 

  • during scrutiny of the 2017 / 18 budget proposals, former members of the People Overview and Scrutiny Committee had requested further updates regarding future proposals to re-model the Specialist Transport service. As any proposals would impact on service delivery for both children and adults, it was suggested that a joint workshop will be held and members of both the Children and Families OSC and the Adult Care and Health OSC be invited to attend. It was currently envisaged that the session would be held before the end of 2017.

.

Resolved – That the proposed Children and Families Overview and Scrutiny Committee Work Programme for 2017/18 be approved.