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Agenda item

Quarter 3 Performance Report - Children's Services

(a)   Councillor Graham Hinchey (Cabinet Member for Children & Families) will be in attendance and may wish to make a statement;

 

(b)   Tony Young (Director Social Services) and Irfan Alam (Assistant Director of Children’s Services) will present the report and be available to answer any questions Members may have;

 

(c)   Questions from Committee Members;

 

(d)   The way forward for this item will be considered at the end of the meeting.

 

Minutes:

The Chairperson welcomed Councillor Graham Hinchey (Cabinet Member for Families and Children) and Irfan Alam (Assistant Director, Children’s Services) to the meeting.

 

The Chairperson invited the Cabinet Member to make a statement, in which he said that whilst there is a high volume of complex work, performance continues to be good which is down to the hard work of staff. One of the continuing pressures is that the number of looked after children is increasing, but the Directorate are looking at early help strategies to address this and that Councils across the UK are dealing with an increase in looked after children who have complex issues.

 

Members were invited to comment, seek clarification or raise questions on the information received. Those discussions are summarised as follows:

 

·         Members noted that the looked after children caseload rate is higher in Cardiff than in the rest of Wales. The Assistant Director explained that there has been an upward trend, with an increase across Wales and the UK. Cardiff is a larger city than others in Wales and therefore has a higher proportion of looked after children. 

 

·         Additional monitoring information was previously requested following the Quarter 2 performance report at the December meeting. Members noted that whilst the new Quarter 3 report is substantial, it is overcomplicated and it is difficult to find all the information that had been requested. The Assistant Director explained that it is difficult to provide comparative data for some areas due to changes introduced last year, however, further changes will be made to the next report.

·         Members noted that the percentage of Social Worker vacancies has increased since Quarter 2 and were advised that this is partly down to a reallocation of posts, with some existing staff moving to newly created posts; their substantive posts thus remaining vacant. Members were encouraged that posts are being created, but queried the length of time taken to appoint to the vacant posts.  Members also queried whether Social Workers that have been recruited are being retained.  Members were advised that Social Workers have an 8 week notice period but this does vary from authority to authority.  Members were also advised that the Council are retaining staff, with some returning after having left previously. Members were advised that it would be it would be a challenge to reduce the notice period in line with others authorities as the authority has a single policy for all staff.

·         Members sought clarification of what the resulting cost of agency staff is and were informed that the cost to date is £1,994,000. Comparative data from the last few years can be provided in a future report. Members also requested information to be provided in future on the Social Worker agency market and how these agencies operate.

·         Members noted that performance in relation to timeliness of statutory wellbeing assessments decreased in Quarter 3 and were informed that a system is in place to ensure that children are seen in a timely manner. It is a case of prioritising and managing demand. The process is closely scrutinised, and senior managers review performance reports on a weekly basis. Members asked whether the statutory requirements could be re-thought if they are unreachable, but the Assistant Director explained that it is good to have this timescale to ensure they keep on track, and the situation is constantly reviewed.

·         Members made reference to the Performance Indicator Targets and noted that there are a number of indicators for which targets are not set. Members pointed out that some of this information should be available e.g. for the number of looked after children and the number of children in out-of-county placements returning to Cardiff, but were informed that it is not appropriate to set targets for certain areas. The Cabinet Member added that the number of looked after children (810) is given in the report and that the task and finish group looking at out-of-county placements will be reported on soon. The Assistant Director explained that annual performance indictor figures will be available in the end of year report. Members suggested that the quarterly information could be reported in a clearer way.

·         Members were pleased that the Adolescent Resource Centre (ARC) is having a positive impact and asked whether the capacity could be increased. Members were informed that since ARC went live in April 2017 the capacity has already increased, and they are in the process of recruiting four more support workers, an additional Social Worker and are also looking at recruiting two more respite workers.

AGREED – That the Chairperson, on behalf of the Committee, writes to the Cabinet Member conveying the observations of the Committee when discussing the Way Forward.

Supporting documents:

 

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