Agenda and minutes

To approve the record of the meeting held on 14 January 2015.

To receive apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Craven and Purdy and from Alex Tear (Church of England Diocese representative) and Lauraine McManus (Teacher representative). 

The attached report, prepared by the two Medway Youth Parliament (MYP) representatives from the Children and Young People Overview and Scrutiny Committee, provides the committee with the findings and outcomes from the MYP Annual Conference held in October 2014, which was entitled ‘In the Shadows: The Truth About Exploitation’.

Discussion:

The two Medway Youth Parliament (MYP) representatives introduced the report, which provided the Committee with the findings and outcomes from the MYP Annual Conference held in October 2014.  They summarised their report, drawing Members’ attention to the key themes of the conference, which were the topics of three workshops and included; human trafficking, female genital mutilation and domestic abuse.  They explained that the MYP had planned to take the outcomes to schools to check whether awareness of these issues had been improved and had also worked with partners such as the Medway Soroptimists and the Medway Safeguarding Children Board to develop further the work from the conference.

Committee Members welcomed the report and supported the innovative methods of interaction which were used at the conference and some of those that had attended the conference commended the event.  It was also suggested that this item become an annual report to this Committee.  Members then asked the MYP representatives questions which included: -

• Feedback from schools on action they have taken following the conference.  The representatives confirmed that no feedback had yet been received directly from schools but this would be sought and reported back on in the future.  They added that feedback via MYP members had been positive and found the event informative.

• How much opportunity was there in schools to engage in debate?  The representatives explained that there was disparity amongst schools in the levels of opportunity, particularly in schools, which did not have citizenship within their curriculum.  However, their view was that young people were interested in politics and it was important for them to have an opportunity to voice their opinions and MYP provided that opportunity.

Decision:

The Committee noted the report and thanked the Medway Youth Parliament for their detailed presentation. 

This report updates the Committee on the work of the Medway Safeguarding Children Board (MSCB). The report follows an update made to the Committee in July 2014.

The report by the Independent Chair of MSCB will enable Members to scrutinise the performance and plans of the Board.

Discussion:

The Independent Chair of the Medway Safeguarding Children Board (MSCB) introduced the report, which updated the Committee on the work of the board.  He drew Members’ attention to particular sections in the report such as; child sexual exploitation awareness, ensuring the voice of children and young people is heard, arrangements for scrutiny and challenge and MSCB performance dataset.  He also highlighted the section of the report on the LGA Peer Review and explained that the pace of change referred to in the review had been slow but there had been good reasons for this, for example, a permanent Business Manager had only recently been appointed.

The Independent Chair then answered questions from Members, which included: -

• Vacancy rates of social work staff.  In response, the Independent Chair explained that improvements had been made in recruiting permanent staff and that this had been demonstrated as being a Council wide priority.

• Financial contributions from agencies. A Member asked if these were statutory.  The Independent Chair explained that some organisations used set formulae to determine their contribution but others did not.  There were currently investigations into some contributions being made by agencies to ensure there was proportionality.

• How MSCB can identify and measure its outcomes and impact.  The Independent Chair explained that the current Action Plan was too long and needed to be more focused to drive forward the work of the Board, therefore, the MSCB would be working on refreshing the Action Plan and adapting it to make it more business orientated and user friendly.

Decision:

The Committee noted the report. 

This is an information report providing Committee members with an update on Medway’s Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) since the last update report made on 15 July 2014.

Discussion:

The Mental Health Social Care Commissioning Manager introduced the report, which updated the Committee since its previous report on 15 July 2014.   He specifically drew Members’ attention to; the developments of a Tier 2 service, the specification of which had been agreed with the Sussex Partnership Trust (the provider of the CAMHS Service); the establishment of a CAMHS service for Medway Looked After Children; transition arrangements from CAMHS to adult services and the development of an Emotional and Mental Health Wellbeing Strategy for Children and Young People.  Officers also confirmed that this report would be presented to the Corporate Parenting Board.

Officers then answered questions from Members, which included: -

• Waiting times for Tier 3 services.  A Member asked why this remained higher in Medway than other Kent localities.  In response officers confirmed that this was a concern that they shared and that although waiting times had reduced they remained too high and this was being taken up through existing contractual arrangements and with the provider directly.  Another Member asked how the reduction in waiting times would be achieved and officers explained that this would be through contractual arrangements.

• Transition arrangements.  A Member expressed a view that this remained an area of concern.  Officers explained that lots of work on this had been undertaken with both the providers of CAMHS (Sussex Partnership Trust - SPT) and adult mental health services (Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust - KMPT).  A more rounded approach was now being taken to transition issues so that, where young people did not meet the threshold for adult services, more thought was being given to ensure other services, for example primary care, were involved to ensure support is continued for that young person.  It was added that the Carers Act 2014 requires that all young people who may have used CAMHS services are assessed for social care as they reach their eighteenth birthday if it is considered there is a “significant benefit” to the person in doing so.  Furthermore, it was reported that there were more referrals being made from SPT to KMPT (which could take place six months ahead of a young person turning 18) and more of these referrals were being accepted.  In addition, young people referred from CAMHS are treated as a priority group.  These referrals are not added to the waiting lists at KMPT, but assessed and, where appropriate, allocated to a treatment pathway.

• Waiting times for assessment to treatment. The Healthwatch Medway representative raised concerns on behalf of a number of parents about waiting times from assessment to treatment.  Officers stated that this had been raised separately via Healthwatch with Public Health colleagues and these issues were being investigated.  It was confirmed that the average waiting time should be 12 weeks and this was the experience for approximately 60% of patients currently.

• Capacity of schools to provide emotional wellbeing support.  The Headteacher representative raised concern about the ability of schools to continue providing services  ...  view the full minutes text for item 878.

This report asks Members to consider the final report of the in-depth review that has considered support for care leavers in Medway. The Committee is recommended to agree the findings and recommendations of the Task Group for referral to the Cabinet on 14 April 2015.

Discussion:

The Chairman, on behalf of the Members of the Support for Care Leavers Task Group, introduced the final report attached at Annex A to the report, which included a completed Diversity Impact Assessment as an appendix.  He thanked the officers that had supported the review and thanked all the internal and external representatives that had contributed to the work.  He also referred the Committee to some new statutory guidance which had been issued in March for Local Authorities, Clinical Commissioning Groups and NHS England on promoting health and wellbeing of looked after children. The guidance supported some of the Task Group‘s recommendations and requested that this be reflected in the final review document, which would be presented to the Cabinet on 14 April 2015.  He added that an update on progress of the recommendations would be presented to the Committee in 6-12 months time and would also be monitored via the Corporate Parenting Board.

His comments were supported by other Members of the Task Group who made particular reference to the visit to Hampshire County Council, detailed in the report, which had been useful in gaining ideas of best practice.

The Head of Service for Looked After Children and Proceedings reported that she had met with some care leavers to discuss the draft report and the work of the Task Group and stated how pleased the care leavers had been to learn of this work that had been undertaken.

Decision:

The Committee endorsed the report, subject to the recent statutory guidance on promoting the health and wellbeing of looked after children being referenced, and recommended it to the Cabinet, and the Health and Wellbeing Board in relation to recommendation 1, for approval. 

The Medway Sufficiency Report sets out how Medway Council will meet the placement needs of our current and future Children in Care and Care Leavers and improve their outcomes in light of our understanding of their needs and current provision.  This is an updated version of the 2014-2015 report.

Discussion:

The Assistant Director, Partnership Commissioning introduced the report, which had been updated from the previous year’s report.  She added that a replacement copy of page 153 of the agenda had been tabled owing to a printing error on the agenda, which had not displayed a graph.  She added that the Council had entered a tendering process in relation to accommodation for young people aged 16+ which was focussed on improving standards and there had been good interest from the market in this.

Following a question from a Member it was confirmed that on page 171 of the agenda, the age range for homeless should read 16-25, not 65 which was a typographical error.

Decision:

The Committee recommended the sufficiency report 2015-16, as attached at Appendix A, to the Cabinet for approval, subject to the typographical error being corrected. 

This report is an update on the work to ensure that the multi-agency, whole system early help offer for Medway is as effective as possible and is designed to meet the needs of children, families and young people. It is the Council’s role to enable, facilitate and stimulate early help, which is provided by a wide range of organisations and services and not just the Council. This paper describes the work to date to strengthen the system for supporting multi agency interventions and simplifying the system.

Discussion:

The Assistant Director, Partnership Commissioning introduced the report which updated the Committee on the work being undertaken to ensure that the multi-agency, whole system early help offer for Medway was as effective as possible and was designed to meet the needs of children, families and young people.  She drew Members’ attention specifically to the first phase of the early help strategy, attached at Appendix 1 to the report, and to the four priority areas agreed by the Medway Children’s Action Network (CAN) which were: emotional health and wellbeing; domestic abuse; language and discourse and raising aspirations

In responding to comments from Members officers confirmed that the previously named ‘Early Help’ Service had been renamed the ‘Integrated Family Support Service’.  Part of this service provides targeted support for families with complex needs. The Director of Children and Adult Services drew Members’ attention to the diagram on page 186 of the agenda. This shows the continuing of support from universal to specialist services.

Decision:

The Committee noted the report.

This report advises the Committee of a proposal under consideration by NHS Medway Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) to develop an integrated Children’s Community Nursing Service (CCNS) for Medway and Swale.  In the view of NHS Medway CCG this is a substantial service reconfiguration.

This Committee is asked to note the contents of the report and support the continued development of the proposal.

Discussion:

The Partnership Commissioning Lead for Children and Families introduced the report which advised the Committee of a proposal to develop an integrated Children’s Community Nursing Service (CCNS) for Medway and Swale.  He explained that the current service was providing good care but had been developed over time by the provider and therefore would benefit from a review and re-specification..  The aim was to extend operating hours of the service and to extend the age range of children and young people able to access to service.  The Committee was requested to decide whether they considered the proposals to be a substantial service reconfiguration.  The report outlined that the Medway Clinical Commissioning Group did consider the developments substantial.

In response to a question about the consultation itself, the Partnership Commissioning Lead explained that a workshop had recently been run to re-engage with partners on possible options.  Most work had so far been with colleagues in the NHS and local authority but once formal consultation commenced this would be in-depth with families and users of the service to test the model in order to make an informed decision.

Decision:

The Committee agreed that the proposals were a substantial service reconfiguration and would therefore receive a further report at a future meeting of the Committee.

This report sets out the performance summary for Quarter 3 2014/15 against the Council priority relevant for this committee: Children and young people have the best start in life in Medway. 

Discussion:

The Director of Children and Adult Services introduced the report which updated the Committee on the performance for the third quarter of 2014/15 of the Council’s key measures of success, as set out in the Council Plan 2013/15.  The drew Members’ attention specifically to the indicators that were below target, in particular: -

• A1 – the average time between a child entering care and moving in with adoptive family
• N15 – timeliness of initial Child Protection Conferences
• N23 – Vacancy rate of social workers

The Director then responded to questions and comments from Members, which included: -

• PH8 (Percentage of children and young people achieving a lifestyle improvement as a result of completing a young people weight management service) – A Member suggested that this target was not challenging enough as the target was set at 50% but the actual achievement had been over 60%.  The Director undertook to report this back to her colleagues in Public Health.

Decision:

The Committee noted the report. 

Discussion:

The Democratic Services Officer introduced the report and explained that she would liaise with officers with regard to scheduling the item on Children’s Community nursing Service to a future meeting of the Committee.

Decision:

The Committee noted the report.