Members will be asked to make any declarations of interest in respect of items on this agenda.

There were no declarations of interest.

To receive reports on business which, in the opinion of the Chair, should be brought forward for urgent consideration.

There were no items of Chair’s Urgent Business.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 9 August 2017.

The Committee agreed the minutes of the meeting held on 9 August 2017.

The Committee to review the report which was submitted to Cabinet.

The Leader accompanied by Councillor Mrs Beer, Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, Tracey Lee, Chief Executive, Carole Burgoyne, Strategic Director for People, Alison Botham, Assistant Director for Children, Young People and Families and David Northey, Head of Integrated Finance introduced the item.  It was reported that this proposal was a result of an invitation from the Children’s Commissioner following the on-going issues to address Children Services in Torbay.  The Commissioner and DfE were keen to see a sustain improvement in Children’s Services in Torbay.

Key areas of questioning related to –

(a)                  whether this council had the capacity to support this and the impact of staff;

(b)                  the contract monitoring arrangements and the political oversight in both Plymouth and Torbay;

(c)                  the language used rather than partnership the City Council would be a delivery partner delivering a contract;

(d)                  timescales and clarity around whether this would lead to further arrangements with Torbay other than Children’s Services;

(e)                  financial support for this and the future funding for Plymouth and Torbay;

(f)                   the risk to Plymouth if we were to exit the contract and the exit strategy;

(g)                  further scrutiny of the contract;

(h)                  Torbay’s IT systems;

(i)                   how this was being communicated to our staff;

(j)                   the contract to include an Executive Member of Plymouth.

The committee advises council to consider, during its debate of the 25 September 2017, the following -

1.         That council should consider this a contract arrangement rather than a strategic partnership;

2.         That council seeks assurance –

a.          that there will be no impact upon service delivery for Children and Young People in Plymouth or be of detriment to staff working in frontline social care.;

b.         that such an arrangement will in no way impact upon the improvement journey for Plymouth City Councils Children and Young People services;

c.          that the resource requirements for the delivery of Children’s Social Care in Torbay is borne entirely by Torbay Council for the duration of the agreement and that there will be no requirement for the pooling of budgets or cross subsidy which impacts upon the people of Plymouth;

d.         that Torbay Council will provide access to their overall budget and financial planning process to ensure effective due diligence and that decisions made for the medium term should be assessed to ensure they do not cause any unintended consequences for the delivery of children’s services in Plymouth and Torbay;

e.         that required staffing structures will not impact negatively upon service delivery in Plymouth, clear controls are put in place for staffing arrangements across the two authorities and that the arrangements improves the recruitment of social workers.

3.         That subject to agreement from all stakeholders for the contract arrangement –

            a.          the Department of Education will provide the required funding for the additional burdens that will be placed on both Torbay and Plymouth in setting up such a partnership and that the contract will be developed at no cost to Plymouth City Council;

            b.         a comprehensive risk register  ...  view the full minutes text for item 33.

The Committee will receive the work programme.

The Committee noted the Work Programme and requested officers to produce the Primary Care Services PID.