Agenda and minutes

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the Meeting.

Apologies were received from Councillors Alastair Adams, Brandon Clayton, Richard Udall, Shirley Webb, Tim Reid (Church Representative) and Mark Hughes (Parent Governor Representative).

Item 5  - Worcestershire Response to Invasion of Ukraine.

Cllr Rouse declared that he was a trustee of Support Redditch Emergency Network which was a charity involved with providing support to Ukraine.

Members of the public wishing to take part should notify the Assistant Director for Legal and Governance in writing or by e-mail indicating both the nature and content of their proposed participation no later than 9.00am on the working day before the meeting (in this case 22 March 2022).  Further details are available on the Council's website.  Enquiries can also be made through the telephone number/e-mail address listed in this agenda and on the website.

None.

(previously circulated)

The Minutes of the Meeting held on 26 January 2022 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

(Indicative timing 10:05-11:00am)

The Board was asked to consider the 24 March 2022 Cabinet report in respect of Worcestershire’s Response to the invasion of Ukraine and provide comments to the Leader for consideration at Cabinet and determine whether it would wish to carry out any further Scrutiny.

The Leader introduced the Cabinet Report and made the following main points:

·       The situation in Ukraine was devasting, a situation not seen in Europe for many decades.  In Worcestershire, it had been agreed that there would be a ‘One Worcestershire’ approach to providing support to Ukraine with the County Council and the six District Councils working together to provide a co-ordinated response (including communication and signposting to the Councils’ website).

·       There were 2 Government Schemes which Worcestershire would participate in – the Ukraine Family Scheme and the Local Sponsorship Scheme.

·       130 families in Worcestershire had been identified as part of the Ukraine Family Scheme (allowing applicants to join their families in the UK).  No applicants had yet been identified for the Local Sponsorship Scheme.

·       The Here2Help Scheme would become the conduit to co-ordinate the County Council’s approach to providing support.

·       Any communications issued would be agreed in a ‘One Worcestershire’ format with the County and District Councils using the same wording to give a consistent message.

·       How best to provide support for language, skills and employment were areas currently being considered.

·       Regular meetings were taking place between the Council and District Leaders and Chief Executives to discuss the progress of the One Worcestershire response.

The Chief Executive explained that:

·       The situation was constantly evolving and detailed guidance was awaited from Government. Councils were expected to provide Ukrainian refugees accepted on both schemes with access to all services. Initially, it was expected that the refugees would be mainly, women, children and older men arriving in the UK (as men between 18-60 years of age were expected to stay in Ukraine to support the war effort).

·       Any sponsors that came forward must be able to provide suitable accommodation for 6 months and people arriving under the schemes would be able to live and work in the UK for up to three years and access healthcare, benefits, employment support, education, and English language tuition.

·       The Government would provide £10.500 per person per local authority to help with costs. For One Worcestershire this money would be pooled into a central budget.

·       Disclosure Barring Service (DBS) checks were needed for prospective sponsors which may cause delays, however quickening up the process was currently being reviewed.

During the opportunity for questions, the following main points were noted from Members of the Board:

·       The capacity of Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) was currently being identified by contacting known organisations to check what support could be provided and this would be combined with any new VCS organisations coming forward to offer support.

·       In response to a Member suggestion that the information on the Council’s website should be prominent, so that it can be quickly found by search engines, the Chief Executive provided reassurance that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 1238.

(indicative timing 11:00am-11:30am)

The Report was deferred to the next meeting.

(Indicative timing 11:30am-12:00 noon)

Noted.

(indicative timing 12 noon – 12.15pm)

The Democratic, Governance and Scrutiny Manager reported that all Scrutiny meetings could be webcast with effect from 1 May 2022.

The Board unanimously agreed that all public Scrutiny Meetings would be webcast with effect from 1 May 2022 and that a press release to that effect would be requested.

(indicative timing 12:15pm – 12:45pm)

Children and Families Overview and Scrutiny Panel (Cllr Kyle Daisley)

At its February meeting, the Children’s Panel discussed the Ofsted and Care Quality Commission (CQC) Joint Area Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities Revisit in Worcestershire and the Worcestershire Children First  Independent Fostering Service Ofsted Inspection.  There were a number of public speakers at the meeting as well as public and media attendance. The Panel had concerns about both areas discussed as detailed in the minutes of that meeting.

Arising from the Ofsted/CQC discussion about the Special Education Needs, it was agreed by the Children and Families Overview and Scrutiny Panel that given the public concern around Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) including the backlog, timeliness and quality, the EHCP process would be a priority for further scrutiny.  Accordingly, a draft proposal was tabled for consideration, comment and approval by OSPB.

Following a discussion, it was agreed that a Scrutiny Task Group would be set up to scrutinise the process for issuing an Educational, Health and Care Plan in Worcestershire (to include timeliness, quality assurance and lawfulness). The Task Group would be led by Cllr Daisley.

The Board then discussed how the Task Group could be resourced given that Scrutiny support for Task Groups was at full capacity.  It was agreed that the alternative options available to Scrutiny to resource the EHCP Task Group would be considered and agreed between the Lead Members of the Developer-funded Highways Infrastructure & Section 278 Technical Approval and the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services.

Corporate and Communities Overview and Scrutiny Panel (Cllr Mike Rouse)

At its March meeting, the Panel considered the Customer Experience which included an explanation about the range of customers, the Council’s customer touch points, headlines from the Viewpoint Survey, corporate complaints, and the Customer Experience Programme.  The Panel would look at further detail at future meetings.

The Panel Chairman advised at the next few meetings there would be more of a communities focus.  

Child and Adolescent Mental Health (CAMH’s) Task Group

Cllr Daisley updated the Board on the Task Group’s progress.

Work Programme

Noted.