Issue - meetings

To consider  to the reconstitution of this committee and clarification of reporting lines.

At the previous meeting of the committee there had been discussion on its terms of reference, role in the committee structure, function and purpose.  The Chair had met with the Cabinet Member for Children and Young People to discuss these issues further and compile proposals on the future of the committee for consideration at this meeting.

 Similarities of the committee’s role to scrutiny and its position in the committee structure was discussed.  It was felt that the committee was correctly aligned to the Cabinet as an Advisory Committee. This provided the committee with a long term status and allowed linkages to the Corporate Parenting Advisory Committee to be made.   The Children’s Safeguarding Policy and Practice Committee was constructed to work  in parallel to the Corporate Parenting Advisory Committee  and had duties  for overseeing the Council’s responsibility for children in need, particularly focussing  on safeguarding. This included children that are at home, looked after children and children who would come into contact with safeguarding policies. Members noted that the Corporate Parenting Advisory Committee was also responsible for looked after children and focused on: improving their life chances, ensuring children had a voice in the safeguarding process, providing an advocacy function within the children’s trust, and the council, on behalf of children in care, monitored the quality of their care and ensured that they had sustainable arrangements for their future and wellbeing.

Members agreed that the profile of the committee should be raised and there should be more awareness of the committee’s work. This would be assisted by increasing officer attendance at meetings and by amending the constitution of the committee so that it was more in line with the arrangements for the Corporate Parenting Committee. Clarification was sought on the current constitutional differences between the Corporate Parenting Advisory Committee and Safeguarding Policy and Practice committee and these were outlined.

It was important that the Children’s Safeguarding Policy and Practice Committee continue undertaking detailed case scrutiny into chosen day to day safeguarding practices as this was an essential qualitative function not carried out by any other committee in the Council.  The Children’s Safeguarding Policy and Practice Committee role was dissimilar to role of the Child Protection Overview and Scrutiny Committee which was involved in considering quantitative information and scrutinizing the overall performance of the child protection service.

Members requested performance related reports on the daily activities of the safeguarding service and noted that these types of reports had been considered by the past membership of the committee. However thought would be given to adding performance related reports to committee’s work programme for the year.

RESOLVED                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

1. That the committee be reconstituted and work  along similar lines to the Corporate Parenting  Advisory Committee with a report  compiled for Cabinet seeking ratification of this

2. That the role of the committee, in terms of detailed case scrutiny  and the understanding of safeguarding policy, procedures and performance be unchanged.