Agenda and minutes

There were none on this occasion.

RESOLVED – That the minutes of the Safe and Strong Communities Select Committee held on 9 November 2016 be confirmed and signed by the Chairman.

Report of the Cabinet Member for Communities and Environment

The Select Committee had previously received a presentation to their 6 April 2016 meeting on Modern Slavery and had endorsed the establishment of a Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent multi-agency task and finish group to develop a partnership plan to tackle the issue. Subsequently the Group was established with the aim of:

a)    overseeing co-ordination of a consistent multi-agency partnership approach to tackling modern slavery across Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent;

b)    developing a joint Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent action plan, which clearly outlined the roles and responsibilities of partners, the actions required and timescales; and

c)    considering and recommending most appropriate governance arrangements for this area of work and considering how this could link with existing and related areas of work.

An action plan had been established and named individuals identified to lead on each action. Members noted that at the January meeting of the Strategic Task and Finish Group the named individuals would be reporting progress to the Group and identifying the anticipated timescale for completing each action.

Three actions had been agreed as immediate key priorities, these being:

a)    developing a consistent and co-ordinated approach to training and awareness raising across the partnership workforce;

b)    agreeing the operational arrangements for tackling modern slavery; and

c)    identifying clear referral routes which aligned with existing processes and procedures.

Training needed to be consistent but tailored, with a training programme developed that would enable the appropriate level of training to be in place for the breadth of staff requiring training across agencies, including emergency services staff. The Select Committee was assured that elected members would be part of the training programme. The Chairman asked the Cabinet Member to consider making the training mandatory for  all elected members. The Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, as Chairman of the Member Development Panel, agreed to include this training was on the Panel’s agenda.

Work was underway to align modern slavery referrals to existing safeguarding referral routes. There was a legislative requirement to refer cases of modern day slavery into the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) and existing referral processes were being adapted to enable this. Referrals for children were currently made through the First Response Unit at the MASH (Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub) which made links with partner organisations, such as the Police, much easier. Referrals of adult victims were more complex as current adult safeguarding referral mechanisms were for adults who had specific “care and support needs” which were defined by the Care Act. Adults who were victims of modern slavery may not have a safeguarding need as defined by the Care Act and therefore the existing adult safeguarding referral routes would not be the most appropriate mechanism for these adults. It had therefore been agreed that referrals for adult victims of modern slavery would be referred to the Police, and work was underway to refine this process. Once referral systems for both adults and children had been agreed these would be built into the training programme and communicated to the workforce. The Select Committee received  ...  view the full minutes text for item 30.

Report of the Cabinet Member for Children and Young People

The Select Committee received a progress report on the Children’s and Families System Transformation Programme which continued to address the challenges identified within the children’s social care system and the broader children’s system. The Select Committee had previously considered this issue in June and July 2016 where the new way of working with partners was highlighted, recognising the importance of system leadership, commissioning and empowering communities and families to help each other and themselves.

The Select Committee heard that to work towards a demand reduction, improved outcomes for children and families and to utilise all available resources effectively a way forward had been agreed through the Families Strategic Partnership to implement the system transformation through a place-based approach. This was being tested and evidenced through eight district pilots, with a report being brought to the January 2017 Select Committee outlining progress made so far.

The Select Committee heard that demand for children’s services continued to increase whilst the funding diminished. There was a need to undertake targeted prevention work to support families and reduce long term service costs. The Health and Wellbeing Board had endorsed the Place Based approach at their meeting of 8 December 2016 and the Families Strategy which outlined the outcome framework. The Place-based approach was being piloted in Newcastle and Tamworth.

Members heard from officers about a number of pilot projects, including Hidden Harm, Intelligence Function, Front Doors and Community Capacity. Members also heard details of the Intensive Prevention Service, which worked to reducing the number of children aged 11-17 that became “looked after” and the Breathing Space project which aimed to prevent repeat removals of babies from mothers where a child had already been taken into care and avoid repeat removals.

Members heard that the Intensive Prevention Service. Which was a joint project with Public Health, was on target to achieve the anticipated 5% reduction in the number of children aged 11-17 becoming looked after. This in turn saved £715,000 in cost avoidance with an anticipated cost avoidance saving of £1.2m over the year if this continued.

With regard to the 14 intensive support cases currently part of the Breathing Space project the Select Committee were informed that these related to mothers who had already had children taken from them and were pregnant again. The programme worked to prevent children being taken into care again.

Members congratulated officers on the success so far but queried how sustainable these intensive support programmes were in the longer term. A more intelligence led approach to services enabled more effective targeting.  Effective targeting and the sharing of intelligence enabled best use of resource and a clearer understanding of commissioning intentions.

RESOLVED – That Officers be congratulated on the success of the Transformation Programme to date and asked for a further update to be brought back in due course.

Report of the Cabinet Member for Health, Care and Wellbeing

The Select Committee received an update report detailing progress on the development and implementation of the Transforming Care Programme following its approval by Cabinet on 18 May 2016. Significant progress had been made with scoping the needs of the existing in-patient cohort and mapping current admissions as well as with discharge and Section 117 preventing re-admission pathways. However Members heard that discharging people from long-term in-patient care had proved more challenging.

Work was being undertaken to develop the local provider market and a Dynamic Purchasing System to support patient discharges. A new model of care was also being developed to support people to live in the community.

Members heard this was an NHS England led programme. 53 individuals were currently in hospital settings, with a multi-disciplinary team considering each case and discharge only made when all clinicians felt it was appropriate. The work was anticipated to take between 2 – 3 years, with no more than five individuals having been discharged so far.

Concerns were shared over the long term funding of care for these individuals. Care was currently funded by the Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCG) and Public Health. It was anticipated that the CCG funding would be ring fenced, with this funding continuing to pay for the long term care of individuals once they had been discharged.

Members also raised concerns around the selection criteria for care providers and the need to ensure this was not just driven by cost. They received assurances that the care provided would be tailored to and responsive to the individual’s needs and that work was being undertaken to stimulate the market place to ensure appropriate providers were in place. Domiciliary Home Care Provider services were due to be re-tendered and Members were assured that their concerns around quality assurance and quality auditing would be taken into account during this process.

There was a need for significant work around public awareness to overcome the existing stigma and discrimination that existed around patients with intensive needs.

RESOLVED – That:

a)     progress made towards the development and implementation of the Transforming Care Programme be noted, Members concerns around the reliability of CCG funding, the quality of care providers  and the concern over stigma and discrimination influencing the Programme;

b)    Members’ concerns regarding the quality assurance and quality auditing be fed into the process to retender Domiciliary Home Care Providers services; and,

c)    the findings of the needs assessment be noted, with priorities for development accepted.

The Scrutiny and Support Manager informed the Select Committee of a number of proposed changes to their work programme, as follows:

a)    Items on the “Cabinet Response :Preventing Low Level Neglect of Children in Staffordshire” and “ Staffordshire Safeguarding Children Board Annual Report 2015/16” be moved from January to 6 March Select Committee agenda;

b)    an “as and when” rolling programme of Serious Case Reviews be included on the work programme;

c)    the Wood report legislation was not now expected until Autumn 2017 and therefore this item would be taken off the March agenda;

d)    the action plan on modern day slavery be included on the March meeting; and

e)    items on adult social car market failure policy and on missing persons be included on the work programme.

At their November meeting Members had resolved that a letter be sent to the Chairman of the Corporate Review Committee outlining their concerns around IT issues and suggesting that an item be included on the Corporate Review Work Programme to address these. Members had continued concerns around the Care Director system. After a detailed discussion Members agreed that they would await the outcome of the Corporate Review Committee’s consideration of the issues raised with them, with this then influencing their request for further discussion around the Care Director system.

RESOLVED - That changes to the work programme listed above be noted.

The Chairman to move:-

“That the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business which involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in the paragraphs of Schedule 12A (as amended) of the Local Government Act 1972 indicated below”.

Part Two

(All reports in this section are exempt)

nil

RESOLVED - That the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business which involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in the paragraphs of Schedule 12A (as amended) of the Local Government Act 1972 indicated below.

(exemption paragraphs 1 & 7)

Report of the Cabinet Member for Children and Young People

( Exemption paragraphs 1 & 7)

The Select Committee received a briefing note outlining a recent confidential HR matter. Members accepted the details shared and asked the Cabinet Member, Children and Young People, to review the appropriate timing of communication with the Chairman and Select Committee on issues in the future.

RESOLVED – That the briefing note be received and the Cabinet Member be asked to review future communication timings for such issues.