Agenda item

RESOLVED:

1.         The Surrey Safeguarding Children Board (SSCB) Annual Report be noted and be conscious of the time period of the report which is 2015 -2016.

2.         The appointment of a new independent chairman, who is a member of the Council’s Improvement Board, be noted.

Reasons for Decisions:

The Cabinet has a responsibility to ensure the safety and wellbeing of children and young people in Surrey.

The SSCB Annual report provides Cabinet with an opportunity to reflect on what is going well and what areas require improvement in Surrey.

The Cabinet Member for Schools, Skills and Educational Achievement began her introduction of this report by stating that keeping children safe was a key priority for the County Council. She said that the Surrey Safeguarding Children Board (SSCB) was a statutory, multi agency board, chaired by an independent chairman.  In the year 2015-2016 the SSCB had two chairmen: Mrs Alex Walters from April to August 2015 and Elaine Coleridge Smith from September 2015 – March 2016, and that she continued to chair the Board.

The Annual Report for 2015-2016 detailed the progress made against the four SSCB priorities and how partners were held to account to deliver improvements.

Working Together to Safeguard Children 2015, issued by the HM Government covering the legislative requirements and expectations on individual services to promote and safeguard the welfare of children and which provided a clear framework in which to monitor the effectiveness of local services, requires that the Annual Report covers the preceding financial year and should be submitted to the Chief Executive, Leader of the Council, the local Police and Crime Commissioner and the Chairman of the Health and Wellbeing Board.

She drew attention to the foreward of the report and said that the County Council’s Improvement Board, SSCB, SCC, Police and partners had worked hard to improve their understanding of the needs of vulnerable children and professionals in Surrey. She also considered that the ‘building blocks’ for continued improvement were in place and anticipated that the 2016/17 Annual report would show evidence of improved services for children in Surrey.

Within the report, she highlighted the SSCB Membership, which she considered worked well, the breakdown of the financial arrangements of which SCC contributed 46.52% of the total budget of £635,500 and the summary of the SSCB key areas of scrutiny 2016/17.

Finally, she referred to the Addendum to the Surrey Safeguarding Children Board report which set out progress in Surrey.

Other Cabinet Members made the following points:

·         Acknowledgement that whilst the ‘building blocks’ were in place, there was still work to be done

·         Safeguarding of children must be taken seriously

·         All Members share responsibility for corporate parenting

·         The importance of recognising that this Board was independent of SCC

·         Improved relationships with partners

·         This was an important document

·         That a great deal of work had been achieved since the establishment of SCC’s Improvement Board and the publication of an improvement plan in September 2015

·         Referring to the attendance record of some of the partners, the Leader of the Council requested that the Cabinet Member for Schools, Skills and Educational Achievement write to them to remind them of the role that they have to play in this area.

RESOLVED:

1.         The Surrey Safeguarding Children Board (SSCB) Annual Report be noted and be conscious of the time period of the report which is 2015 -2016.

2.         The appointment of a new independent chairman, who is a member of the Council’s Improvement Board, be noted.

Reasons for Decisions:

The Cabinet has a responsibility to ensure the safety and wellbeing of children and young people in Surrey.

The SSCB Annual report provides Cabinet with an opportunity to reflect on what is going well and what areas require improvement in Surrey.