Agenda and draft 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 Cabinet Member referred those present to agenda Item 1 as shown on the agenda in respect of filming at this meeting and asked that those present reviewed and noted the information contained therein.

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.

The Leader/Cabinet Member will advise of any items they have decided to take as urgent business.

None.

The Cabinet Member noted the report, which sought approval for the Council’s Special Guardianship, Adoption and Child Arrangement Order Payment Policy and also sought agreement for the payment arrangements of Adoption, Special Guardianship (SG) and Child Arrangement Order (CAO) allowances.

RESOLVED

That the Cabinet Member:

Agreed the Policy and arrangement for the payment of: Adoption, Special Guardianship, and Child Arrangement Orders Allowances 2017/18 as set out in Appendix 1 of the report.

Reasons for decision

To ensure that up to date, consistent and cost effective policies and procedures

are in place without creating a barrier to progressing a plan for Adoption or

Special Guardianship or Child Arrangement Orders. Adopting a rigorous

approach to reviewing allowance payments will provide a mechanism to

ensure that allowance payments made are still appropriate and the recipients

remain entitled to them.

To ensure that the Council’s allowance rates will remain broadly aligned to the

North London Consortium average rates (see page 53 of the agenda pack for Haringey’s Allowance and Reward Rates 17/18).

Any attempt to reduce existing allowance rates could become a barrier to

progressing plans for permanency. This would increase Council costs if the

child is a Looked After Child (LAC). If a child or young person remained looked

after when a permanency option was available, the Council would continue to

face the costs of supporting a looked after child (see Appendix 2 of the report for detailed analysis of the Haringey’s allowance rates).

Alternative options considered

The Council considered the option of continuing with the current

arrangement for payment of Adoption, Special Guardianship and Child

Arrangement Order allowances which offered a range of payments

without a consistent testable framework and resulted in differing levels of payment.

To ensure compliance with the regulatory framework for these payments, the

do nothing approach was not considered tenable. The Council was requited to have a sustainable equitable policy and procedure for managing these cohorts of allowances and to progress permanency