Agenda item

Report of the Monitoring Officer. To be introduced by the Leader.

Cabinet is asked to agree the establishment of the Corporate Parenting Advisory Committee, the appointment of members to Committees and Partnerships in 2022-23, and to confirm Terms of Reference.

The Democratic services and Scrutiny Manager set out the report which took forward:

·         Re-establishment of the Corporate Parenting Advisory Committee, confirming its terms of reference, and proposed Members to serve on this advisory Cabinet sub-Committee.

·         An update on the membership of the LHC which was a joint executive committee which would only be continuing until March 2023, following agreement by constituent boroughs in Feb 2022 to disband.

·         Confirmed the appointment of Cllr Bevan to the LHC board as he was

·         nominated to sit on the Holding Board on 25th March as the delegated representative from the Joint Committee.

·         Confirmed the terms of reference of the Community Safety Partnership and  proposed appointment of members to this statutory partnership body.

RESOLVED

1.    To re-establish the Corporate Parenting Advisory Committee, and that the terms of reference for this advisory Sub Committee, attached at Appendix A be noted.

2.    To note the Community Safety Partnership membership and terms of reference attached at Appendix B;

3.    To agree appointments to the LHC Joint Committee (1 Cabinet Member – Cllr Williams and 1 non-exec – Cllr Bevan). These appointments shall be until March 2023.

4.    To confirm the appointment of Cllr Bevan to the LHC Holding Board following nomination by the Joint Committee on the 25th of March 2022 as the delegated representative from the Joint Committee.

5.    To appoint the following Members to serve on the Corporate Parenting Advisory Committee and Community Safety Partnership:

Corporate Parenting Advisory Committee

Chair – Cllr Brabazon Cabinet Member for Children, Schools, and Families

Cllr Johnson

Cllr Opoku

Cllr Mahbub

Cllr Weston

Cllr Collett

Cllr Isilar-Gosling

Community Safety Partnership

Cabinet Member for Economic Development, Jobs, and Community Cohesion (as Co-Chair)

Cabinet Member for Children, Schools, and Families

Cllr da Costa

Reasons for decision

Establishing a Corporate Parenting Advisory Committee ensures that there is an overview of the Councillors statutory role as a corporate parent, assisting the Council to deliver its duties to children in care and young people leaving care.

These appointments allow the constituent Authorities to consider participation in the new corporate entity which will help maintain the principle of collaborative working which was a core objective of the LHC when a joint Committee. Also Cllr Bevan has been a member and chair of the LHC Joint Committee for many years and will be able to continue to provide the oversight and challenge, as a Board member, to the developing plans for the new corporate entity.

Appointments from Cabinet are required to the Community Safety Partnership to reflect statutory duties and enable high level, accountable, strategic, oversight of issues relating community safety.

Alternative options considered

The alternative option would be for the Corporate Parenting Advisory Committee to cease and this would mean that there is not a scheduled opportunity for members and officers to meet and discuss the wellbeing of children in care and to ensure that the Council is meeting its corporate parenting obligations. This Committee is different to the Children and Young People’s Scrutiny Panel as it concentrates on Looked After Children and care leavers and reports directly to the Cabinet.

To not appoint to the LHC Joint Committee and board would mean that the borough is not included in developing governance plans for the new corporate entity. The Council would not be able to advocate continued partnership working and maintain the principle of collaborative working which were the driving principles of the LHC.

The Community Safety Partnership is a statutory partnership body and therefore not appointing Cabinet Members to this body is not an option.