Agenda and minutes

At this point, Members are asked to declare:

·        any personal interests not included on the Register of Interests,

·        any prejudicial interests or

·        any disclosable pecuniary interests

which they may have in respect of business on this agenda.

At this point in the meeting Members were invited to declare any personal or prejudicial interests they might have in relation to the business on the agenda or any other general interests they might have within the remit of the Board.

Concerning his declaration of a personal non prejudicial interest at the meeting held on 5 June 2018, Cllr Cuthbertson informed the Board that he was no longer a governor on the Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust.

There were no further declarations of interest.

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting held on 5 June 2018.

Resolved: That;

                                     i.        The minutes of the last meeting of the Corporate Parenting Board held on 5 June 2018 be approved and then signed by the Chair as a correct record.

                                    ii.        That Cllr K Myers be appointed as Chair of the Board and Cllr S Rawlings be appointed as Vice of the Board for the remainder of the 2018/19 municipal year.

At this point in the meeting members of the public who have registered to speak regarding an item on the agenda or an issue within the Board’s remit can do so. The deadline for registering is 5:00pm on Monday, 3 September 2018.

Filming or Recording Meetings

Residents are welcome to photograph, film or record Councillors and Officers at all meetings open to the press and public. This includes the use of social media reporting, i.e. tweeting.  Anyone wishing to film, record or take photos at any public meeting should contact the Democracy Officers (whose contact details are at the foot of this agenda) in advance of the meeting.

The Council’s protocol on Webcasting, Filming & Recording of Meetings ensures that these practices are carried out in a manner both respectful to the conduct of the meeting and all those present.  It can be viewed at

http://www.york.gov.uk/download/downloads/id/11406/protocol_for_webcasting_filming_and_recording_of_council_meetings_20160809.pdf

It was reported that there had been no registrations to speak under the council’s Public Participation scheme.

This report provides the Board with an overview of the Concordat on Children in Custody, which was published by the Home Office in October 2017.

The Youth Offending Team Practice Manager outlined the report which provided the Board with an overview of the ‘Concordat on Children in Custody’ which was published by the Home Office in October 2017. The aim of the Concordat was to clarify the legal and statutory duties of the Police and Local Authorities (LA) and was intended to prevent the unnecessary detention of children in Police cells following charge.

In response to Board Member questions, the Youth Offending Team Practice Manager explained the process for Police and Criminal Evidence (PACE) Transfers clarified:

·        There had been four PACE Transfers in York over the last 12 month recording period and these were all singular events.

·        The reason for the PACE Transfer from How Hill Hostel was explained.

·        The process when multiple PACE beds were needed at one time.

·        The latest figures showing that the overnight detention of children in Police custody had reduced in recent years were based on national figures.

It was then:

Resolved: That the report  on the Concordat on Children in Custody be noted.

Reason:     To keep the Board updated on the Concordat on Children in Custody.

The aim of this report is to detail the issues identified by York’s Children in Care Council (CiCC), Show Me That I Matter, how they are being addressed and the issues still to be taken forward.  The report also details professionals and partner agencies that met with the CiCC, the outcomes of these discussions and different projects that the CiCC is involved in.

The Head of Early Help and Local Area Teams gave an overview of the Show Me That I Matter (SMTIM) Annual Report 2017/18. The report detailed the issues identified by the Children in Care Council (CiCC), how the issues were being addressed and what issues were to be taken forward. The report also detailed the professionals and partner agencies that met with the CiCC, the outcomes of their discussions and different projects that the CiCC was involved in.

Members welcomed the report and during discussion suggested that training on SMTIM could be included as part of the Member induction training following the Local Election in May 2018.

In answer to Member questions, it was explained that:

·        The £20 cash reward for attending three sessions of the SMTIM and I Still Matter (the name for York's Care Leavers Forum) worked well and was revised a number of years ago in consultation with young people and foster carers.

·        With reference to the ratio of more girls than boys taking part in SMTIM, there had been concrete efforts to encourage participation. The need to improve representation from boys was noted.  The Head of Early Help and Local Area Teams highlighted the need to view the participation of groups in the wider context of other activities, for example such as the advocacy for care leavers and the UMatter Survey.

·        Access to advocacy was explained and it was noted that a service statement for advocacy (which was a statutory requirement) had been developed and would highlight the difference between representation and advocacy. It was noted that the number of requests for advocacy had increased.

·        Care leavers' access to the discretionary fund for Council Tax was explained and officers noted that care leavers could be supported to access the discretionary fund (which was means tested).

·        The feedback from the Youth Council on the Clarence Street building was broadly positive and mainly related to the set up of space in the building.

·        The buddying arrangement and contact card system for young people contacting their social workers was explained.

·        With reference to some young people finding their supervision levels excessive, it was discussed that this should be viewed in the context of how any other young people would describe their parenting. It was an issue explored with young people but unlikely to lead to a prescriptive result.

Following Member questions, it was:

Resolved: That the Board be briefed on the Children in Care Council. 

Reason:     In order to be updated on the Children in Care Council. 

The aim of this report is to share with the Corporate Parenting Board the 2017-18 Annual Advocacy Report, which provides a review of the statistics on the demographic of young people who have requested advocacy, details advocacy requests/common themes and reviews the outcomes of the service.

The Board considered a report that gave a review of the statistics on the demographic of young people who had requested advocacy. The report also detailed advocacy requests and common themes and reviewed the outcomes of the service. The Head of Early Help and Local Area Teams gave an overview of the report noting that officers were improving their understanding of the evaluation of advocacy. He added that once advocacy came to an end, young people could revisit an area of their advocacy.

Members discussed the report. It was noted that a significant number of young people had failed to answer a questions and Members asked if a financial incentive could be introduced to improve response rates. The Head of Early Help and Local Area Team explained that officers were looking at different ways of evaluating advocacy. It was suggested that officers could investigate further the difference in responses.

Resolved: That Members be briefed on the advocacy casework being carried out with children and young people. 

Reason:     To keep Members updated on the advocacy casework being carried out with children and young people.

This paper provides an update on placement stability for City of York Council’s children in care.

The report provided Members with an update on placement stability for City of York council’s children in care. The Group Manager of Achieving Performance noted that placement stability was examined in the context of the national and regional context. There was a relatively stable cohort of 200 looked after children in York over the last 5 years in the context of an increasing number of looked after children in other authorities. At December 2017 there were 196 children in care – 111 boys and 85 girls. It was explained that there were two placement stability indicators – 3 or move moves in one year; looked after for 2.5 years or more and stability for 2 years of those years.

The Group Manager of Achieving Performance outlined the analysis of placement stability noting the need for more foster households, and that the 10-15 year old cohort was a pressure in York. It was noted that there was a need to understand the figures in the context of individual young people, as placement moves could be proactive and positive as well as resultant from disruption. The need to increase the number of foster placements was also noted.

In response to Member questions, the Group Manager of Achieving Performance confirmed that:

·        The number of foster households changed and at present there was a slightly fewer number of foster carers than in previous years.

·        Foster carers were assessed and supported in encouraging and supporting children in their care following their assessments.

·        Each foster carer had a link worker who was a social worker. The support available for foster carers and the children’s social workers was outlined.

·        In order to encourage new fostering households the campaign to attract more foster carers had been reviewed and refreshed. The campaign was now targeted. The wider question of recruitment was being examined as part of placement reviews.

·        Compared to the national picture, York was good at finding placements for younger children. However finding placements for teenagers and children with additional needs could be harder, which was a reflection of the national picture.

Resolved: That the Board note the update on placement stability for City of York council’s children in care.

Reason:     To keep the Board updated on placement stability for City of York council’s children in care.

To consider the Board’s work plan for the 2018-19 municipal year and to receive any updates Members may wish to give on their agreed areas of interest relating to the work of the Board.

Members considered the work plan for the 2018/19 municipal year.

Following discussion it was agreed that the work plan would include:

·        Virtual Headteacher update (to include pupil level data) at the meeting on 20 March 2019.

Resolved:  That the work plan be approved subject to the above amendments/additions.

Reason:     To keep the committee’s work plan updated.