Agenda and minutes

Please note that this meeting may be filmed or recorded by the Council for live or subsequent broadcast via the Council’s internet site or by anyone attending the meeting using any communication method. Although we ask members of the public recording, filming or reporting on the meeting not to include the public seating areas, members of the public attending the meeting should be aware that we cannot guarantee that they will not be filmed or recorded by others attending the meeting. Members of the public participating in the meeting (e.g. making deputations, asking questions, making oral protests) should be aware that they are likely to be filmed, recorded or reported on. 

By entering the meeting room and using the public seating area, you are consenting to being filmed and to the possible use of those images and sound recordings.

The chair of the meeting has the discretion to terminate or suspend filming or recording, if in his or her opinion continuation of the filming, recording or reporting would disrupt or prejudice the proceedings, infringe the rights of any individual or may lead to the breach of a legal obligation by the Council.

The Chair referred Members present to agenda Item 1 as shown on the agenda in respect of filming at this meeting, and Members noted the information contained therein’.

Apologies for Absence were received from Cllr Isilar Gosling, Cllr Opoku and Helena Kania.

Apologies for lateness were received from Cllr Lawton.

The Chair will consider the admission of any late items of urgent business (late items will be considered under the agenda item where they appear. New items will be dealt with as noted below).

There were no items of Urgent Business.

A member with a disclosable pecuniary interest or a prejudicial interest in a matter who attends a meeting of the authority at which the matter is considered:

(i) must disclose the interest at the start of the meeting or when the interest becomes apparent, and

(ii) may not participate in any discussion or vote on the matter and must withdraw from the meeting room.

A member who discloses at a meeting a disclosable pecuniary interest which is not registered in the Register of Members’ Interests or the subject of a pending notification must notify the Monitoring Officer of the interest within 28 days of the disclosure.

Disclosable pecuniary interests, personal interests and prejudicial interests are defined at Paragraphs 5-7 and Appendix A of the Members’ Code of Conduct.

There were no Declarations of Interest.

To consider any requests received in accordance with Part 4, Section B, Paragraph 29 of the Council’s Constitution.

None.

The notes from the last Meeting in Common in May 2024 were noted, along with the actions and recommendations contained therein.

To follow.

The Meeting in Common of the Adults & Health, and the Children & Young People’s Scrutiny Panels received a presentation on the Council’s Transitions Programme. The presentation was introduced by Ann Graham, Corporate Director of Children’s Services along with Jo Baty, Director of Adult Social Services, Dionne Thomas, Director of Safeguarding and Social Care, and Sara Sutton Corporate Director of Adults, Health and Housing as set out in the published slide deck, which accompanied the agenda papers. Cllr Brabazon, Cabinet Member for Children, Schools and Families was also present, along with Cllr Das Neves, Cabinet Member for Adults and Health. A number of other officers from Children’s Services and Adult Social Services were also present. The following arose as part of the discussion of this report:

a.    The Panel sought assurances about the numbers of agency staff within the Transitions service. In response, officers advised that there were six posts within the service and all of them were either fixed-term contracts or permanent positions. The Corporate Director of Children’s Services added that there had been a lot or work done generally within Children’s Services to keep the number of agency staff to a minimum. Within Children’s Social Care, the number or agency staff was around 17%, which had fallen from approximately 30% four or five years ago.

b.    The Panel welcomed the inclusion of a case study into the slides, but enquired whether there was an example that could be shared of a not so positive story. Further assurances were sought about what would happen if the Transitions service was not in place. In response, officers commented that that the service worked with people who had a level of need. There would be examples of young people struggling to get CAMHS appointments or around a lack of housing, but the service worked hard to meet those needs. In response to a follow up question about what was being done differently, officers advised that the team had worked with 27 young people to date and that what they had done was provide an early intervention, saving that young person a waiting time of weeks. That additional time meant that there was better planning and they could work with the young person and their parent carer to ensure that they achieved what that young person saw as a good outcome. It was emphasised that they key point here was around early intervention.

c.     The Panel queried about the role of health colleagues in the development of a transitions service. In response, officers set out that they were trying to build an integrated transition team with health at the centre of that. It was acknowledged that health colleagues had a crucial role to play in this. Work was ongoing to build health into the governance arrangements, but there were capacity issues at present. Officers commented that health were involved in developing the SEND two-year strategic plan and that to date, five joint transition assessments had been carried out. Officers noted that there had been some  ...  view the full minutes text for item 120.

To consider any items admitted at item 3 above.

N/A