Agenda item

To enable Members to consider 2020/2021 Quarter 4 Performance.

The Chair welcomed Councillor Graham Hinchey (Cabinet Member for Children & Families), Sarah McGill (Corporate Director & Director of Social Services), and Deborah Driffield (Director of Children’s Services) to the meeting. 

Councillor Hinchey was invited to make a statement during which he outlined the data presented within the Children’s Services Quarter 4 Performance 2020/2021 update. 

Members were asked to comment or raise questions on the information received.  Those discussions are summarised as follows:

·       Members sought clarification on how services maintain contact with care leavers particularly post-16, in relation to the high percentage of CLA and care leavers recorded as NEET (54% in January 2020, 34% in January 2021). Members were advised that the reduction was promising but still not where the Council wanted to be. The Council has a statutory duty to maintain contact with young people in full-time education until the age of 25. There is a Personal Advisor Service additional to the Social Workers and young people have Pathway Plans which identify their aspirations and who will work with them. The Council has been working on identifying the available partners for local training and employment opportunities. The aim is for all young people to have opportunities for employment and training.

·       Members enquired as to the availability of data on the proportion of young people who have benefited from the Cardiff Commitment. Members were advised that officers did not have the data to hand but would report back. The data is available but the people who have benefited would potentially be those who have had a significant intervention from the Personal Advisor Service and Into Work. The data needs to be examined.

·       Members sought clarification on which categories within the Child Protection statistics had seen the largest change. Members were advised that there has been a significant increase in neglect cases, linked to increasing deprivation and child poverty whether generational or experienced for the first time. Domestic abuse cases have increased significantly either because there has been an increase or because people are reporting more. There is increased surveillance and awareness of the signs of physical abuse. Officers are concerned that sexual abuse is not being detected. The Council is part of pilot project to retrain social workers to listen to children and ask the right questions.

·       Members sought clarification on what sits within the Exploitation category. Members were advised that there has been a significant rise in criminal exploitation, which until recently was on a similar trajectory to child sexual exploitation. Work is underway to move young people from Child Protection and identifying issues such as  contextual safeguarding. There are issues around forced marriage and child trafficking which are emerging themes.

·       Members enquired as to whether there was the capacity to deal with the rise in Child Protection cases. Members were advised that there was insufficient capacity to manage Child Protection investigations. Managers have reported that their teams are unable to cope with the number of cases. Workers have been brought in from other teams to assist with investigations, with impacts on those other teams. Too much time is being spent on investigations and too little on support. Political support is required to change processes and structures.

·       Members enquired as to how the partnership with Education was working. Members were advised that there are monthly meetings with Education colleagues, a joint recovery plan, and there has been a move into locality working. There has been a revival of working in joint assessment teams (or teams around the family). Officers are working closely with Education colleagues on supporting the mental health of young people.

·       Members requested information on the steps that were being taken to engage with communities, carry out preventative work and address mistrust. Members were informed that the increase in numbers supported by Family Help indicated the more diverse ways the Council used to communicate with people, partly due to the pandemic were presenting opportunities to the service. There are opportunities to learn about virtual ways of engagement and reach higher numbers at the preventative end. It is important to engage other professionals across the system to free up social workers to perform their essential tasks and ensure the right intervention at the right time. Children’s Services is only able to respond to statutory requirements. It is hoped it would be possible to build links with communities in the future when there is a return to localities.

·       Members enquired as to the risk to the wellbeing and retention of Social Workers and to the quality and timeliness of investigations and decision making affecting young people due to staff being under pressure. Members were advised that the work of Children’s Services is under continuous review. Managers meet daily to review cases. Remuneration of agency staff has been increased to attract more experienced social workers. There is a national shortage of social workers able and willing to undertake investigations because of low remuneration. The effect of the market supplement has worn off as other local authorities have introduced it. Longer term solutions such as revised career pathways and pay structures and a Training and Workforce Academy are being investigated.

·       Members enquired as to whether the increase in the budget for Social Services was sufficient to cover the greater demands upon Services than anticipated at the start of the financial year, and whether there was the political will to address any shortfall. Members were advised that there was a better-informed collaboration with Finance colleagues in attempting to understand the uncertainties within the current financial year. The key uncertainty is around the funding support from Welsh Government. The pressures on Children’s Services will be significant and long term. Detailed monitoring allows quick action to mitigate pressures or call upon the Contingency Fund. Going forward there may be a need for greater reserves in Children’s Services.

·       Members enquired as to the how well Children’s Services would be able to prevent breakdown when children are reunited with their families due to better practice. Members were advised that intensive support over the long term was necessary for some families, but that currently there is a lack of resources for such long-term support. A proposed Interventions Hub is being developed bringing together different services to support families for a period. For some families it will be necessary to buy in services because they lack their own support network for the longer term.

·       Members discussed how vulnerable groups had been particularly badly affected during the pandemic.

RESOLVED:

That the Chairperson writes to the Cabinet Member on behalf of the Committee expressing their comments and observations during the Way Forward.