(a)

referral rates to Children’s Social Care had increased by 18.9 per cent in 2013 – 2014, which had resulted in the service continuing to face ongoing capacity issues and workload pressures;

(b)

the service were in the final stages of moving to a single assessment process and the new framework would be in use by 1 September 2014;

(c)

there had been an increase in the number of children subject to a Child Protection Plan (CPP), with the figure rising from 313 – 380,  and partner agencies had also seen an increase in the number of referrals;

(d)

the service were working to ensure that when a child is placed on to a Child Protection Plan the family were made aware of the reason, and every effort was made to help the child remain with their family when safe to do so;

(e)

the number of children in care had remained relatively steady in the four year period prior to 2013 – 2014, there had recently been a slow but steady increase and as of 1 September 2014 there were 418 children in care;

(f)

the same number of children enter and leave care each month, reasons for leaving care included leaving care to return home, being permanently placed for adoption or Special Guardianship Order, or reaching the age of 18 years; in recent months more have entered care than left hence the steady increase in numbers;

(g)

there had been a large number of children entering the care in the last few months, in particular large groups of siblings;

(h)

60-70 children (mainly in the 16-18 age group) had three or more placements within a 12 month period;

(i)

there was a shortage of foster placements available, particularly for older children, and some children needed to be fostered individually;

(j)

30 children were currently in care within a residential setting;

(k)

107 children were placed out of area (in some cases for their own safety), but many were within easy access of the city boundary and remained in their original school until a permanently matched placement was identified and care proceedings had completed before consideration was given to any move of education;

(l)

Plymouth were one of the top ten areas in the country for processing proceedings – in July 2014 the average timescale for completion of care proceedings for children and young people in care was 23.1 weeks and this was higher than the national average;

(m)

Plymouth were actively involved in the embedding of the Adoption Reform agenda, and were working with the neighbouring authorities of Cornwall, Devon and Torbay to increase the number of adoptive placements.

(n)

Children’s Social Care had successfully recruited 10 new social workers;

(o)

Qualified Social Workers needed a degree, in addition to registration with the General Social Care Council (GSCC) there was the new Assessed Year in Social Work Education – where there is ongoing training whilst working as a new social worker with protected caseload.  Plymouth City Council had close links with Plymouth University for the training of social workers;

(p)

the ‘Stay put’ campaign eased the transition in to adult life for 18 year olds in care;

(q)

the increase on the demands of Children’s Social Care had resulted in pressure on their budget, and the service needed to investigate how to reduce costs;

(r)

Children’s Social Care saw temporary increase in demands on their services, particularly in August due to the school holidays;

(s)

all care settings in the city were rated, and 80 per cent were rated as ‘good’ or ‘excellent’.