Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Nyear Nazir and Beverley Downing.

The minutes of the previous meeting held on 5 October 2022 were agreed to be a correct record of the meeting and would be signed by the Chairman.

Daniela Carson, Group Manager, Social Care Services gave an update on the complex health needs national review via a PowerPoint presentation. The slides to be circulated to the panel after the meeting.

Following the presentation various queries from Board Members were

clarified:

·         Each local authority must have a Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO).

·         Protocols regarding medication were followed looking at what medication was given, the amount, the time for dosage and any changes in symptoms would be reviewed. Paperwork was checked and medication stored correctly in safe boxes/cabinets.

·         Social Workers advised on any behavioural incidents or changes.

Alice Gillett, Group Manager, Through Care Services gave a presentation of the Family Time Service, slides were circulated with the agenda papers.

In discussions following the presentation the following issues were addressed:

• The Chairman of the Board had asked if anything had been learnt following the protocol during the Covid pandemic of on-line contact. The Board was advised that some children had a good connection on-line, but not all children preferred that way of communication.
• The Board were assured that an independent view was provided through Advocacy which was there for all children. The children’s views were listened to in reviews and through social workers and it was emphasised that all children’s needs were respected,
• Contact for older children was available outside of school hours, including on Saturdays, and it was confirmed the contact team was large enough to accommodate this contact
• Children were taken to locations where required and help was available for relatives to travel either by public transport or with Social Workers, as this support was part of the legal Duty. 
• Family contact by older children of 18 years old depended on the wishes of the young person. If there were no concerns, contact would be unsupervised as it was a priority that contact was kept as naturalistic as possible. Safety was also a priority and contact was kept under review. Contact between young people and their family was informal and ad hoc as required.
• Contact was not restricted by the relationship to the young person, they were never forced to have contact and this was facilitated by the carers.

Councillor Rob Adams advised that Wychavon District Council offices could be utilised for daytime contact appointments if required.  The Chairman of the Board thanked Councillor Rob Adams and welcomed the offer.

Adam Johnston, Director of Child Protection and Through Care gave a presentation on illegal placements and confirmed that, in some extreme cases where emergency accommodation was necessary, illegal placements could be in the best interest of the child.

The Board heard of accommodation that had been closed by OFSTED but had reopened and was an example of an unregistered home of multiple occupation where the Police had become involved. There had been numerous complaints by neighbours regarding behaviour at this location and it was felt by some members of the Board that the legislation did not go far enough.

It was not possible for OFSTED to visit every provider but by encouraging providers to register with OFSTED problems should be filtered out. 

With regard to the discussed complaints of behaviour at the accommodation which impacted on residents, the Chairman of the Board suggested complaints were forwarded to OFSTED.

The Board heard there have been 11 young people in unregistered accommodation since April 21, the majority for around a week in duration before they were moved on to registered provisions. The circumstances for unregistered provisions to necessarily be utilised were explained and a case example illustrating the issue helped to provide context.

Properties were encouraged to become registered with OFSTED and it was agreed that this avenue should be explored further. Worcestershire Children First did try to identify a legal placement in the first instance, but it depended on the context of the situation, such as a need for emergency accommodation.  The Board agreed there was no perfect answer, but unregistered providers were vulnerable under the current legislation.

The Chairman of the Board felt this was a grey area and, with legal obligations of the Director of Children’s Services, suggested this matter returned to the Corporate Parenting Board Easter 2023 to look at legislation for 16+ young people and any proposed changes to the legislation.

The impact assessments in reports are not being completed. Specific examples had been found in Children and Young People’s Plan. The impact assessments were standard multiple choice and no boxes had been ticked, this was found to be inadequate.

Further discussions would be required regarding protected characteristics where bullying led to mental health issues.

The Chairman of the Board agreed to take the issue of protected characteristics to the WCF Executive Board to ask about the implications for LACs and discuss issues around transitioning young people, how EIAs can be done, what support is available for the different protected characteristics and the need for baseline data.

Adam Johnstone introduced Matthew Styles, Virtual Head who was welcomed by the Board.

The following District Champions gave updates to the Board:

·         Councillor Rob Adams – The Lost Toy Trail in Evesham started 21 November and would run until January 2023. The Board Member requested the information that had been forwarded previously should be circulated to the Panel.

·         Councillor Fran Oborski – Suggested 100% discretionary relief from Council Tax for care leavers. District Councils are responding but the Panel Member felt a co-ordinated response was required and suggested this matter was taken up at County Council level.

The Chairman of the Board was concerned about the worrying trends in the national data indicating more children were coming into care and asked for headlines and bullet points be brought to the next meeting on placement costs, unaccompanied asylum seekers and future trend.

The Board was asked to forward any points or issues they had with the data to Adam Johnston.

Dates 2023

• Tuesday 31 January 2023
• Thursday 11 May 2023
• Tuesday 11 July 2023
• Wednesday 4 October 2023
• Wednesday 29 November 2023

Dates accepted as set out on the agenda.