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

In accordance with the Code of Conduct, the following declarations were made, as follow –

The panel will be asked to confirm the minutes of the meeting on 31 January 2013.

Agreed that the minutes of 31 January 2013 are confirmed as a correct record.

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

There were no items of chair’s urgent business.

The Panel will monitor progress on previous resolutions.

Alderman Purnell reported on her meeting with officers regarding training received by staff in early year’s settings.  Alderman Purnell was very impressed with the processes and procedures in place and at how quickly the changes were implemented after the event.  Alderman Purnell highlighted that Foster care training was an area for the panel to consider.  It was also brought to the panel’s attention that when Alderman Purnell attended the meeting at Windsor House and she reported that officers were having confidential meeting in main reception area.

Agreed that –

1.         an officer is invited to update the Panel on the provision of training provided for foster carers and for the panel to feel reassured that similar processes are in place.

2.         the Lead Officer investigates why a meeting of a confidential nature was taking place in the reception area of Windsor House.

The Panel to be provided with the latest budget information for Children’s Services and a summary report on Schools Forum.

Anita Martin, Group Accountant provided the panel with an update.  It was reported that the budget was delivered over three services within the People Directorate and schools were a big part of the council’s operation.  It was also reported that -

Children Services Budget

a.     they were forecasting an underspend of £900k and as a result ceased all non-essential expenditure to offset the pressure.  The dedicated schools grant (DSG) ring fenced from Department of Education of £177M was a significant amount of resource for the education of children in schools and there was a responsibility to use this money to gain good outcomes for children;

b.    there were a number of saving targets to meet and a need to manage pressures to make sure we do not overspend and to manage resource throughout the year;

c.     traded income and relationships with schools was changing and would assess whether there would be an impact on the budget.

In response to questions raised, it was reported that -

d.    there was a specific budget for the safeguarding board and safeguarding was inherent in everything undertaken in children services.  If there were issues with safeguarding training for staff we would review the training provided;

e.    there were very few children and young people placed outside of Plymouth.  There were packages in place to keep children and young people in the city;

f.      a report went to Cabinet on traded services and authorisation given to trade outside the city boundaries;

g.     there was an increase on social care and common assessment frameworks (CAFS) were deliberately increasing to avoid going into high costs services.

Schools Forum

h.    there was a mandatory requirement for each local authority to have a Schools Forum.  The forum meets 5 times a year and makes decisions based on recommendations put forward by the working groups.  Each working group have their own business plan and constitution agreed by the Schools Forum;

i.      there was a partnership approach to working together in the city and schools were signed up to working collaboratively;

j.      Schools Forum now have an underspend after years of having an overspend.

The Panel to receive responses to questions raised by the Panel at the last meeting

Michelle Thomas and Kirsty Spencer from Plymouth Community Healthcare provided the panel with the latest update on CAMHs.  It was highlighted that the last set of minutes reported 15 weeks and should report 18 weeks.  The report broke down each service within CAMHs highlighting the referral to treatment times (RTT) and did not attend appointments (DNA).  It was also reported that the consultation period had ended and they were in process of compiling together the information on how the CAMHs service would look like in the future.

In response to questions raised it was reported that the providers were meeting the RTT target of 18 weeks.   At previous meetings the panel felt that 19 weeks was too long for a young person to be seen for treatment.  It was reported that commissioners would be best placed to respond to whether the 18 weeks could be lowered as they set the targets;

Agreed that panel invite the commissioners to attend with the providers to a future meeting to gain an understanding on how the contract is being monitored.

The Panel to receive an update on early interventions.

Fiona Fleming, Commissioning Manager provided the panel with an update on early interventions.  It was reported that the strategy was approved and was co-designed with partners and had involvement from schools.  It was also reported that -

a.     children engaged in employment and training was increasing and not decreasing as stated in the report. A lot of activity had taken place and were working more intensively with those young people;

b.    there was an increase in common assessments framework (CAF) activity in the city this meant that a lot of agencies were talking to each other to ensure the safety of our children and young people.

Agreed that the panel invite a key provider to a future meeting to gain an understanding on how early intervention is put in place and the work undertaken with the families.

The Panel will consider its work programme for 2012/13.

The panel noted the work programme and agreed to include the following items -

·         School meals/catering service,

·         SEN – autistic needs.

There were no items of exempt business.