The Chair informed that the Local Children’s Safeguarding Board was standing down and the Council had to agree new multi- agency safeguarding arrangements.  Consequently, he invited Chief Superintendent Ian Hassall to make a presentation to the Committee on the Development of new Multi-Agency Safeguarding Arrangements (MASA).  Members noted that the Children and Social Work Act 2017 replaced Local Safeguarding Children Boards (LSCBs) with new local safeguarding arrangements, led by the three statutory safeguarding partners:

•  Wirral Council

•  Merseyside Police

•  Wirral Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG)

It also placed a duty on child death review partners (LA and CCG) to review the deaths of children normally resident in the local area (previously an LSCB function).

Chief Superintendent Hassall informed that the three safeguarding partners must set out how they would work together and with any relevant agencies to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. The Committee was informed that the partners must also set out how their arrangements would receive independent scrutiny. Once agreed, the safeguarding partners must publish the arrangements. All schools must be included in the arrangements. The partners must also set out how their arrangements would receive independent scrutiny. Once agreed, the safeguarding partners must publish the arrangements.

The Committee noted that the purpose of the new local arrangements which were still under development was to support and enable local agencies to work together in a system where:

•  excellent practice is the norm;

•  partner agencies hold one another to account effectively;

•  there was early identification of ‘new’ safeguarding issues;

•  learning was promoted and embedded;

•  information was shared effectively; and

•  the public could feel confident that children are protected from harm.

Chief Superintendent Hassall also informed that there were three parts to the Model:

•  Governance – arrangements developed last to ensure they reflected how the Model would to work.

•  Services – strong partnership arrangements were crucial to the success of the Model.  This included how services were arranged to ensure positive outcomes for children.

•  Practice – developing excellent practice was the basis of the Model.  Supporting Families Enhancing Futures (SFEF) approach would sit at the centre of the approach and include shared values and behaviours.

Members noted that the Model would include an ‘intelligence function’ to support an evaluation of the effectiveness of safeguarding.  This would include data analysis, auditing, reviews and peer reviews, feedback from children and families, views of frontline professionals, regular learning events, inspection results and ‘what works’ from research.

The local MASA Model would include approaches to:

•  arrangements to ensure children received the right help at the right time – including publication of thresholds;

•  a Model and methodology for undertaking local reviews;

•  continued development and evaluation of SFEF;

•  arrangements for monitoring, scrutiny and challenge;

•  arrangements for embedding and testing of learning;

•  arrangements for multi-agency training; and

•  local governance arrangements including relationships with other bodies and the mechanisms for independent scrutiny and annual reporting.

Opportunities for local and regional collaboration would be pursued where it was beneficial.

Chief Superintendent Hassall provided the Committee with an overview of the draft Model, detailed its key features and set out the next steps along with a timeline. It was expected that the Model would be in place in shadow form by April 2019 and fully in place by September 2019. The Committee noted the opportunity to have a say on the design of the Council’s safeguarding arrangements so that it could be held to account.

Members then asked a number of questions that were answered as appropriate by the Chief Superintendent and the Corporate Director for Children’s Services.  Issues explored included the following:

•  C100 forms - Applying for a court order to make arrangements for a child or resolve a dispute about their upbringing and the procedure if it was broken.

•  How to avoid grooming issues.  There had been some recently on the Wirral.  Would the new arrangements ensure there was no further grooming within certain communities?

•  The closeness of the working arrangements between the partners who worked together on cases and across county lines.  The joint investigations that could help mitigate risks.

•  Multi-agency training.

•  Local strategies would reflect best practice from outside Wirral.  The dynamics that existed on Wirral did not exist in the rest of the Liverpool City Region.

•  If all of the partners who scrutinise each other were part of the Children’s Safeguarding Board, how would the independent element be guaranteed?

•  The external audit processes in place.

•  Future arrangements could be to retain the current independent Chair of the Children’s Safeguarding Board, reciprocal arrangements with another Council or electing a different Chair each year. A preference would need to be formulated for Members to consider at some stage.

RESOLVED:

(1)  Chief Superintendent Ian Hassall be thanked for his informative presentation; and

(2)  a Workshop/Spot Light Session be held for Members of this Committee on the progress being made with the development of the new multi- agency safeguarding arrangements, early in the new year.