To agree the minutes of the previous meeting
as a true and accurate record of proceedings.
Minutes:
The minutes of the previous meeting were
approved as a true and accurate record of proceedings.
15/17
DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
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All Members present are
required to declare, at this point in the meeting or as soon as
possible thereafter
(i)Any disclosable pecuniary interests and /
or
(ii)Other interests arising under the Code of Conduct in
respect of any item(s) of business being considered at this
meeting
NOTES:
·Members are reminded that they must not participate
in any item where they have a disclosable pecuniary
interest
·As well as an interest of the Member, this includes
any interest, of which the Member is aware, that relates to the
Member’s spouse or civil partner (or any person with whom the
Member is living as a spouse or civil partner)
·Members with a significant personal interest may
participate in the discussion and vote on that matter unless that
interest could be reasonably regarded as prejudicial.
Minutes:
There were no declarations of interest
registered.
16/17
QUESTIONS AND PETITIONS
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To receive any questions or
petitions.
Notes:
1. The deadline for Member’s questions is
12.00pm four working days before the meeting (Monday 13
March).
2. The deadline for public
questions is seven days before the meeting (Friday 10
March)
3. The
deadline for petitions was 14 days before the meeting, and no
petitions have been received.
Helen Atkinson, Strategic
Director for Adult Social Care and Public Health
Sian Kenny, Transformation and
Development Manager, Finance
Mel Few,Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care, Wellbeing and
Independence
Tim Evans,Cabinet Associate for Adult Social Care, Wellbeing and
Independence
Declarations of interests:
None
Key
points of discussion:
Officers outlined
that there were a number of future Better Care Fund (BCF)
allocations. The Board was informed that in addition to the BCF and
Improved BCF allocations that a third funding stream had been
announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 8 March 2017. It
was noted that the service was awaiting guidance from central
government regarding the Chancellors announcements.
It was highlighted by
officers that the service was forward planning using existing
funding streams for 2017/18, due to the recent nature of
changes.
Officers noted that
the third workstream was estimated to
contain approximately £7.5 million which was ring-fenced to
fund adult social care (ASC).
It was explained by
officers that existing BCF funding streams were financed partially
by NHS England, under the stipulation that funding from this source
is ring-fenced for ASC. The Improved BCF was a funding stream that
came from the Department for Communities and Local Government
(DCLG). It was noted that planning guidance and policy had not yet
been published for the BCF 2017/18 stream. NHS Clinical
Commissioning Groups (CCGs) and Surrey County Council were in
discussion regarding funding the financial year ahead.
The Cabinet Member
for Adult Social Care, Wellbeing and Independence noted that there
was a significant funding gap present in the Improved BCF and that
this effected all of the Surrey CCGs. It was also noted that the
new funding workstream was also a lower
amount than its statistical neighbours.
The Board questioned
the reasoning for the lower level of funding than its statistical
neighbours. The Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care, Wellbeing and
Independence expressed the view that central government had
determined that Surrey County Council could independently raise
funding for ASC through Council Taxes, rather than requiring
substantial additional funding.
Members questioned
whether the service could provide a breakdown of the funding
allocated through the BCF funding streams per head of those in
receipt of ASC, in order to better clarify the funding issue in the
service.
The Board questioned
whether the service could look into reduction of any non-statutory
provisions that did not provide additional social or economic
value. Officers stressed that there had been work undertaken to
determine the social value of spending and that services had
already been decommissioned or recommissioned based on this analysis. However, it
was highlighted that the service had worked to reduce the majority
of services to their statutory requirements.
Officers noted that
the service had reviewed voluntary sector grants with the aim of
reducing spend. However, Members raised the concern that the social
value of this spend was significant, noting that there was a
potential for high return on this investment. It was also stressed
by Members that significant numbers of ... view
the full minutes text for item 18/17
Linda Kemeny, Cabinet Member
forSchools, Skills and Educational Achievement
Mary Lewis, Cabinet Associate
for Children, Schools and Families
Clare Curran, Cabinet Member forChildren and Families
Wellbeing
Sheila Jones, Head of
Countywide Services
Joanna Lang,Children’s Rights
Manager (Participation)
Sophia Hamilton,
Apprentice (Children’s Rights)
Verrity Omonuwa,
Apprentice (Children’s Rights)
Devon Cox,
Apprentice (Children’s Rights)
Jamie-Leigh
Clark,Children’s Rights Assistant (Participation)
Declarations of interests:
None
Key
points of discussion:
Officers explained to Members that the report was
produced by the Corporate Parenting Board, which was chaired by
theCabinet Memberfor Schools, Skills and
Educational Achievement. It was highlighted that the Lead Member
for Children’s Services held a statutory responsibility under
the Children’s Act 2004 to ensure the provision of services
that provide duty of care through Children’s
Services.
Officers
explained that the service had, in 2016, the largest number of
looked after children in Surrey care on record, with a total of 903
children in the care of Surrey County Council. It was also
explained that the service had noted a significant number of
Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children and those who are moving to
be care leavers and entering the transition period between
childhood and adulthood
It was
highlighted by officers that there had been improvements registered
in key priority areas, particularly relating to Child Sexual
Exploitation (CSE) awareness and response to children who go
missing.
It was noted that
the service was seeking to encourage care leavers to adopt the
“Staying Put” approach of remaining with foster carers
post-18. It was noted that there were significant advantages to the
wellbeing of the child using this approach, but that it limited
carer availability for younger teenagers. It was noted that the
recruitment of sufficient foster carers was also a concern within
the service.
Officers explained that there were a number of
looked after children placed out of county. It was stressed that,
in some cases, this was the optimal course of action, however, the
service was working to reduce this number where feasible and
appropriate. It was noted that Surrey was significantly above the
national average of 14% of out-of-county placements and that it had
not met its own target of reducing these placements below 20%.
Officers acknowledged that more work was required to improve this
and that a new strategy to improve this was in
development.
It was noted by officers that the service was
working to improve educational attainment for looked after
children, an area which had been noted as traditionally weaker in
Surrey.
Officers highlighted improving practice, noting the
Safer Surrey practice guide as a key example and noted that this
was working to positively develop overall outcomes.
Officers stressed that the views of those in care
and care leavers were taken into account within the service.
Children’s Right’s (Participation) apprentices
highlighted the Big Survey sent out to looked after children and
care leavers to gain insight into experiences of being in care.
Officers noted that the return rate for the survey was
approximately one ...
view the full minutes text for item 19/17
Linda Kemeny,Cabinet Member forSchools, Skills and Educational
Achievement
Mary Lewis,Cabinet Associate for Children, Schools and
Families
Clare Curran,Cabinet Member forChildren and
Families Wellbeing
Declarations of interests:
None
Key
points of discussion:
Officers outlined that there had been 51 adoption
orders made during 2015/16.
Officers explained that there were more Special
Guardianship Orders (SGOs) than Adoption orders made in
Surrey.
It was noted by officers that central government had
set ambitious targets relating to the timeliness of care
proceedings and placements for adoption. While it was noted that
Surrey was performing better than the national average with regard
to this, there was more work that needed to be done to meet these
targets..
It was noted that there was a pool of foster carers
available within Surrey, but that this pool had not increased over
the last financial year. It was noted that there had been some use
of agency carers to provide placements for children and to ensure
that placements can be made when needed.
It was highlighted that there were a significant
number of care leavers in foster care arrangements who “stay
put” as set out in central government guidelines, which was a
positive feature for the service. However, it was noted that this
increased pressures on the pool of foster carers, as a result of
foster carers not being available for a longer period of
time.
The Cabinet Associate for Children, Schools and
Families highlighted that there was a need for more foster carers
within Surrey and encouraged the Board to work with the Fostering
Recruitment Teams across Surrey to boost foster carer
uptake.
It was highlighted by officers that the Council was
awarded the Fostering Friendly Employer of the Year 2016 award. The
Board stressed that this was a significant achievement and that
this news should be circulated to all Members as an example of good
practice.
Recommendations:
The Board notes the report and
thanks officers for their input.
Linda Kemeny,Cabinet Member forSchools, Skills and Educational
Achievement
Mary Lewis,Cabinet Associate for Children, Schools and
Families
Clare Curran,Cabinet Member forChildren and
Families Wellbeing
Declarations of interests:
None
Key
points of discussion:
Officers outlined that they were presenting the
January 2017 version of the performance compendium. It was noted
that this edition of the compendium noted a spike in contacts
received in comparison to more recent reports. It also suggested
that re-referral rates had increased. It was suggested by officers
that an audit to investigate the causes of these would be completed
in March 2017.
It was noted that, based on figures received after
January, Child Protection Conference timelines had seen significant
improvement, suggesting a positive improvement
trajectory.
It was noted that there was close management
scrutiny relating to Child Protection visits and that the service
expected to see improvement in this area as a result of
this.
Officers noted that there was a workforce profile in
place to assess caseloads for social workers. It was explained that
these were being examined and reviewed by assessment teams to
ensure effective case management.
TheCabinet Member forChildren and
Families Wellbeing stressed that the service provided a monthly
dataset which was reviewed by Cabinet Members and officers
regularly. It was highlighted that this detailed level of data had
not been available to Members and officers previously and that it
showed significant improvement in the service’s data
gathering skills.
The Board
questioned why 82% of assessments were deemed to be requiring
improvement. Officers noted that the service was targeting areas of
practice that were identified as an issue regularly within audits.
It was also noted that there was a workshop hosted to help resolve
arising issues. It was noted by theCabinet
Member forChildren and Families Wellbeing that the service was
self-aware of its shortcomings and were working to continuously
improve.
Officers highlighted that the workforce strategy and
current cohort of students in the social worker academy were almost
ready to enter active service, which was highlighted as a positive
step towards resolving current workforce vacancies. It was also
noted that there had been a freeze on the recruitment of locum
social workers.
TheCabinet Memberfor Schools,
Skills and Educational Achievement highlighted that Early Help had
a high service spend, but that it provided value for money in the
preventative solutions that it offered, particularly highlighting
the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH), which would offer long
term savings.
Members queried the allocation of resources and if
there were any difficulties in some quadrants of Surrey,
particularly highlighting the South East quadrant. The Cabinet
MemberforChildren and Families Wellbeing noted
that the MASH allowed for a central collation of resource that had
previously not been present, which was working to resolve these
issues, but that this was a relatively new resource which required
the service to undergo a culture change to see maximum
benefit.
Purpose of
report:To engage, inform and seek
endorsement from the Social Care Services Board on the Children,
Schools and Families Commissioning Plan 2017-22.
Garath Symonds, Assistant
Director for Commissioning and Prevention
Linda Kemeny,Cabinet Member forSchools, Skills and Educational
Achievement
Mary Lewis,Cabinet Associate for Children, Schools and
Families
Clare Curran,Cabinet Member forChildren and
Families Wellbeing
Declarations of interests:
None
Key
points of discussion:
Officers offered Members an outline of the Children,
Schools and Families (CSF) Commissioning Plan. It was highlighted
that income for the service had been reduced and that overall unit
costs were increasing for resources. The service, in response to
these challenges was developing a Commissioning Plan to respond to
these pressures and more efficiently target resources to fit need.
It was stressed by officers that this plan was in draft form as of
March 2017.
Members questioned the sustainability of the CSF
Commissioning Plan and whether the planned savings were enough to
maintain the service. Officers stressed that the financial
situation was a complex one, but officers and theCabinet Memberfor Schools, Skills and Educational
Achievementassured Members that savings were
being made within the service and that significant savings
prospects had been identified, but that the service was working to
identify further opportunities.
It was noted after questioning by the Board that the
service was working to present savings data more coherently in
future to ensure transparency.
Officers highlighted that market management was a
key aspect of the CSF Commissioning Plan and that the service was
looking closely at working in partnership with providers to reduce
costs. Members highlighted concerns regarding possible loss of
quality of service, however officers stressed that the service was
looking into working closely with providers to provide a quality
service at a reasonable cost. It was explained that some providers
had expressed the wish to work more closely in this way to help
deliver key services.
It was highlighted by officers that a workstream was
underway with regard to demand management, particularly
highlighting the Early Help “cusp of care” programme as
an example of work undertaken in this area.
Members queried the potential danger of poorer
outcomes for children as a result of the redistribution of
resources. It was stressed by Members that the service needed to
consider the outcomes for children as a primary concern. Officers
highlighted that this was a key aspect of the CSF Commissioning
Plan. It was also noted that the service had a key role in a
child’s wellbeing, in conjunction with parents and
communities.
It was noted that the service was developing a
“Family Hub” model, recommended by the Children’s
Commissioner for England, of integration of services for children
and families. It was highlighted that this scheme would work to
reduce costs, through a net reduction in assets, but provide better
outcomes for children through an improved and integrated
service.
TheCabinet Member forChildren and
Families Wellbeing noted that the service could use the opportunity
presented by the CSF Commissioning Plan to look into developing
stronger ties with the Voluntary, Community and Faith Sector and
provide a more integrated an effective ...
view the full minutes text for item 22/17
The
Board is asked to review its Recommendation Tracker and provide
comment as necessary.This meeting is the
last Social Care Services meeting of the council year. Following
the election, the Board will agree a Forward Work Programme for
2017/18.
The Board noted and
approved the current Recommendations Tracker and responses made to
recommendations. The Chairman particularly noted the response from
the service regarding the MASH and suggested that the relevant
scrutiny Board continue to monitor progress. The Chairman and
Members of the Board expressed appreciation to Members who were
leaving the Board, for their work.
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