Browse

Agenda and minutes

Venue: Online Meeting

Contact: Kieran Elliott  Email: kieran.elliott@wiltshire.gov.uk

Media

Items
No. Item

13.

Apologies

To receive any apologies or substitutions for the meeting.

Minutes:

Apologies were received from Councillors Christopher Devine and Hayley Illman. Councillor Illman was substituted by Councillor Pat Aves.

14.

Minutes of the Previous Meeting

To approve and sign the minutes of the previous meeting held on 19 January 2021.

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

The minutes of the meeting held on 19 January 2021 were presented for consideration, and it was,

 

Resolved:

 

To approve and sign the minutes as a true and correct record.

15.

Declarations of Interest

To receive any declarations of disclosable interests or dispensations granted by the Standards Committee.

 

Minutes:

There were no declarations.

16.

Chairman's Announcements

To receive any announcements through the Chairman, including:

 

·       Covid-19 update

 

The latest update provided to Cabinet on 2 February 2021 (and also considered by Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee on 26 January 2021) can be accessed here.

 

The Covid-19 update was the topic of the committee’s briefing session, which took place just before this meeting. Furthermore, members of the committee were invited to submit questions in advance to ensure that comprehensive responses could be provided. The questions and responses will be circulated with the minutes for this meeting.

 

·       Corporate Parenting Panel update

 

The attached document provides an update on the activities that have taken place since Corporate Parenting Panel’s last full update to Council (October 2020).

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

Through the Chair there were the following announcements:

 

The latest Covid-19 update to Cabinet was received on 2 February 2021, with the next update at the meeting on 16 March 2021. The Committee received a briefing prior to the meeting on the latest position in respect of the impact of Covid-19 on children and young people, including preparations for the reopening of schools to all pupils.

 

An update was provided in respect of the Corporate Parenting Panel. The Chairman welcomed the inclusion of some data sets within the update and noted that it would be recommended that the Committee continue to receive updates on the Panel after the May 2021 elections.

 

The Chairman and Vice-Chairman received a briefing on 26 February 2021 on the School Capital Programme, ahead of consideration by Cabinet on 16 March 2021.

 

To ensure that there would be adequate time to consider all items on the agenda for this meeting, members of the committee had been invited to submit questions in advance of the meeting. These questions, and answers, are included with these minutes.

17.

Public Participation

The Council welcomes contributions from members of the public.

 

Statements

If you would like to make a statement at this meeting on any item on this agenda, please register to do so by 5pm on 26 February 2021.

 

Questions

To receive any questions from members of the public or members of the Council received in accordance with the constitution.

 

Those wishing to ask questions are required to give notice of any such questions in writing to the officer named on the front of this agenda no later than 5pm on Tuesday 23 February 2021 in order to be guaranteed of a written response. In order to receive a verbal response questions must be submitted no later than 5pm on Thursday 25 February 2021. Please contact the officer named on the front of this agenda for further advice. Questions may be asked without notice if the Chairman decides that the matter is urgent.

 

Details of any questions received will be circulated to Committee members prior to the meeting and made available at the meeting and on the Council’s website.

Minutes:

There were no questions or statements submitted.

18.

FACT (families and children's transformation) programme update

Following consideration of an update at its meeting on 10 March 2020, the committee had requested a further update on the FACT (families and children’s transformation) programme at its March 2021 meeting, to be informed of:

·       improved outcome for young people;

·       figures on savings / costs avoided to demonstrate the impact of the FACT programme;

·       achievements such as number of Five to Thrive champions trained, outcome / learning from the Multi-Agency Use of CMS, outcome of performance reviews, etc.

Minutes:

At its meeting on 10 March 2020 the Committee had requested a further update on the FACT (Families and Children’s Transformation) programme at its March 2021 meeting, to be informed of improved outcomes for young people, details of savings and costs, and achievements of the programme such as outcomes of performance reviews.

 

Simon Thomas, FACT Programme Lead delivered a presentation updating the Committee on development of the FACT programme in the last year, along with Martin Davis, Director of Families and Children.

 

It was acknowledged that as a result of the impact of Covid-19 some planned projects had not been able to be progressed, but that the FACT programme encompassed a wide range and many had been delivered or developed further, including the launch of the Support and Safeguarding Service, delivery of the Multi-agency Early Support Hub and a new Early Support Assessment in place of the common assessment framework, and delivery of Five to Thrive: Attachment, trauma and resilience training. The Stronger Families multi agency approach to supporting young people on the edge of Care to remain home with their parents, return home after a placement or maintain placement stability was considered.

 

It was stated the priorities during and following Covid-19 were emotional health, integrated family support, and narrowing the gap for disadvantaged families. A full review was being undertaken of FACT projects to identify key priority projects, with a monitoring framework established for previous projects.


The Committee received the update and that the ongoing FACT work should form part of further scrutiny following the May 2021 elections.

 

Resolved:

 

To note the update provided today and recommend that FACT remains an item for further scrutiny as listed in the review of the Committee’s work 2017-21.

 

19.

Youth Voice Update

Following the brief update provided at its meeting on 19 January 2021, the committee requested a further update to include:

·       impact (both positive and negative) of this current (third) lockdown;

·       impact from the implementation of the new Youth Voice team (including team structure and roles);

·       the Youth Voice team’s action plan;

·       evaluation of the impact of the youth consultant role.

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

At its meeting on 19 January 2021 the Committee received an update on the Youth Voice Team, and requested further information on the impacts of recent national lockdowns, the development of the new team, and actions planned for the future work of the team.

 

Sara James, Service Manager, Quality Outcomes, was in attendance. It was stated that the Youth Voice Team was expected to be fully operational by April 2021, and would begin consultation with young people and groups in the Spring. It was intended to support young people working with decision makers and assist with research projects, and details were provided of champion, consultant and ambassador roles that were planned.

 

The Committee expressed disappointment that a detailed action plan including milestones had not been provided, and requested that this be circulated to committee members as soon as possible, given previous plans to improve youth engagement had not been as successful as hoped. Further information was also requested regarding the impact of the youth consultant position which had been previously contracted. It was suggested that the views of young people should be given greater prominence for council decisions generally.

 

It was,

 

Resolved:

 

To note this update and recommend that updates on Youth Voice remain a standing agenda item for the next Children’s Select Committee and that the action plan for the Youth Voice team is presented to a future meeting.

 

To link the work of the proposed youth provision and youth service funding task group with work undertaken by the Youth Team.

 

20.

Adoption West Joint Scrutiny Panel - Draft annual report (2020-2021)

To consider the draft annual report (2020-21) of the Adoption West Joint Scrutiny Panel.

As this is the first annual report produced by the scrutiny panel, it would welcome comments and suggestions on contents and format to ensure that future years reports provide the Children’s Select Committee with the information it requires, in an accessible format.

 

This report, once finalised, will be presented to the Children’s Select Committee in May (or nearest meeting to May) to coincide with the committee also considering the Adoption West’s six-monthly report and Wiltshire Council’s report on its own performance relating to adoption (permanency planning).

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

The draft annual report of the Adoption West Joint Scrutiny Panel was presented by Councillor Suzanne Wickham, the Wiltshire Council representative on the panel. As this was the first annual report of panel feedback was sought on its contents and format. The report, once finalised, would then be reported to the Committee after the May 2021 elections along with the six-monthly report from Adoption West and the council’s own report on adoption performance.

 

Councillor Wickham also stated that the panel intended to expand its membership from elected Member representatives to include adopters, adoptees and birth family members in order to provide a broad viewpoint to review the performance of Adoption West.

 

The Committee discussed the draft report, raising issues around ensuring Adoption West provided detailed and realistic training on the complex issues involved with adoption, the purpose of the panel and its ability to challenge and ask questions whilst seeking to emulate council scrutiny arrangements with Adoption West . Learning programmes for panel members was also raised as a risk, though it was noted that as the members did not share the same electoral cycles there would not be entirely new membership at any one time.


At the conclusion of discussion, it was,

 

Resolved:

 

To note the draft report of the joint scrutiny panel.

 

To recommend that the Children’s Select Committee receive the finalised report at its meeting in June 2021.

 

21.

Executive response to the Final Report of the Youth Transport Task Group

The Youth Transport task group’s final report was considered by the committee on 10 March 2020 (can be accessed here). In accordance with the agreed overview and scrutiny arrangements under Covid-19, it was agreed that the executive response would be deferred until this meeting.

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

The Youth Transport Task Group presented its final report to the Committee on 10 March 2021 in respect of public transport options available for young people. As a result of streamlined scrutiny arrangements during Covid-19, the executive response to the Task Group was deferred to this meeting.


The Chairman of the Task Group, Councillor Tony Jackson, thanked the Cabinet Member for the Executive Response, noting nearly all the recommendations had been accepted. He noted the situation will have developed further since the report including in relation to budgetary constraints, and raised issues relating to traded services, that future tendering would allow for contactless payment, and that over the last year use of digital wallets for things beyond transport could be of increasing importance.


It was then,

 

Resolved:

 

To thank all involved for their work.

 

To note the executive response and accept the offer of an update to the Children’s Select Committee once the contents of the National Bus Strategy have been fully understood, possibly around July 2021, and at the same time an update on any decision or progress regarding a single ”Wiltshire Youth Card” (Recommendation 5).

 

 

22.

Executive Response to the Final Report of the Traded Services for Schools and Outdoor Education task group

The Traded Services for Schools and Outdoor Education task group’s final reports were considered by the committee on 10 March 2020 (can be accessed here). In accordance with the agreed overview and scrutiny arrangements under Covid-19, it was agreed that the executive response would be deferred until this meeting.

 

The final report of the task group was split into two for ease of reading, however a single Executive Response is provided (as there was only one remaining recommendation regarding Outdoor Education)

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

The Traded Services for Schools and Outdoor Education Task Group presented its final report to the Committee on 10 March 2021 in respect council services available for schools and provision of outdoor education. As a result of streamlined scrutiny arrangements during Covid-19, the executive response to the Task Group was deferred to this meeting.

 

The Chairman of the Task Group, Mr John Hawkins, thanked the Cabinet Member for the positive response to the report and acceptance of many of the recommendations. The work undertaken by previous task groups was acknowledged and that some elements of the report could be relevant to the Commercialism Task Group.


It was then,

 

Resolved:

 

To thank all involved for their work.

 

To note the executive response provided and accept the proposal of an annual update to Children’s Select Committee on:

 

-        Progress and development for Traded Services

-        Development of the Traded Services team

-        The establishment of a project / governance board

 

To forward recommendation 6 to the Commercialism task group for consideration and also invite the task group to consider adding a member of the Traded Services for Schools and Outdoor Education task group to its membership.

 

23.

Early Years and Childcare sufficiency

To receive information on places available (and demand) in Early Years and Childcare settings across Wiltshire.

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

A report was received on work undertaken by the council to meet the statutory requirement to make available sufficient childcare in the local area as further detailed in the report.

 

Lucy-Anne Bryant, Lead Commissioner, and Gary Binstead, Head of Commissioning, Families and Children, presented the report, providing details of 848 childcare providers registered with the council, details of percentages of children benefiting from early education entitlement and current levels of occupancy, which had improved in the last year. It was noted that some parents had not been sending children to childminders during Covid-10, and out of school club providers had limited availability which affected financial viability. The full impact on sustainability of providers was not expected to be clear until the late Summer 2021.

 

The Committee discussed the report and presentation, requesting details of the take up of childcare capacity and further S106 funds provided to expand in future years where this was needed.


At the conclusion of discussion, it was,

 

Resolved:

 

To note the update provided and recommend that the Children’s Select Committee receives a report on Early Years and Childcare Standards at least on an annual basis; including in 2021-22:

 

- Outcome of campaign to promote childcare as an attractive offer to those who are looking for an alternative career – launched by Wiltshire Council in April 2021

- update on the implementation of the SWAP (sector-based Work Academy Programme) course, developed with Jobcentre Plus and Family and Community Learning

- update on the county-wide action plan (paragraph 38 of the report refers), latest timescale being July 2021

- update on the work with schools regarding “wrap-around care” for school age children

24.

Children's Select Committee - review of the committee's work (2017-21)

To consider and approve the committee’s review of its work (2017-21) before it is presented to Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee on 9 March 2021. This includes key activities and achievements as well as recommended ongoing Overview and Scrutiny work under the new Council.

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

The Committee was asked to review its work from 2017-21 to provide feedback on key activities, achievements and recommended ongoing work to the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee on 9 March 2021, which would finalise a legacy report for consideration by Overview and Scrutiny after the May 2021 elections.

 

The report and appendices listing work undertaken by the Committee and suggested topics for briefing, rapid scrutiny exercise, task group or committee work was considered and discussed.

 

It was proposed that a briefing be included on the Family Learning Service, that additional work be undertaken looking into modelling and addressing demand for children in care and that Children and Adult Mental Health Services required further focus specifically on young people. It was noted that work on the Whole Life Pathway had been deferred due to Covid-19 and that this should be a priority for future work.

 

The Committee considered that the role of Members as Corporate Parents needed to be emphasised strongly for those who were elected in May 2021. It also noted the lengthy agendas for many meetings, and that it should be considered whether further meetings were necessary, or if some items could be focused upon between meetings and reported, to enable appropriate time could be paid to each item on an agenda.

 

The Chairman, Councillor Jon Hubbard, and other Members thanked officers, in particular the scrutiny team, for supporting its work, and paid tribute to those Members who were retiring as well as the Cabinet Member, Councillor Laura Mayes, for her engagement with the Committee.

 

At the conclusion

 

Resolved:

 

To approve Appendix 1 as a list of the Children’s Select Committee’s key activities and achievements during 2017-21.

 

To approve Appendix 2 to recommend to the Management Committee as topics requiring further work in the new Council, including topics raised during discussion, and stating a reason for inclusion.

 

To approve the following good practice:

·       Information briefings;

·       strengthening joined-up working;

·       embedding the voice of young people in the work of the committee;

·       managing agendas (to ensure each item can be fully considered), including the possibility of small working groups (committee members) to review annual reports ahead of committee meetings;

·       shared training.

 

To note the next steps described in paragraph 17 of the report

 

25.

Date of Next Meeting

To note that the next scheduled meeting is due to be held on Tuesday 8 June 2021 at County Hall, Trowbridge, starting at 2.30pm.

Minutes:

The date of the next meeting was confirmed as 8 June 2021.

26.

Urgent Items

Any other items of business which the Chairman agrees to consider as a matter of urgency.

Minutes:

There were no urgent items.