Agenda item

To agree the public minutes and non-public summary of the meeting held on 13 February 2018.

The Committee noted that the external guests who had attended the last meeting had been omitted from the attendance and agreed that this should be corrected.

RESOLVED – That, pending the above correction, the public minutes of the meeting held on 13 February 2018 be agreed as a correct record.

Matters Arising

Update on Changes to Cancer Services and Breast Cancer Screening

A Member clarified that the concerns they had raised in the previous meeting about the cancer unit at St. Bartholomew’s were more specifically about the expectation that patients could receive more than one treatment in a day at the unit, and that patients were having to wait too long for mammograms. It was hoped that this could be improved.

Employment for People with a Learning Disability

The Committee was given an update on the City of London Corporation’s activities in this area. The Committee noted that the Establishment Committee was responsible for matters of employment at the Corporation itself. A major project was underway to co-ordinate work experience opportunities at the Corporation, who had various partnerships already. Led by Human Resources, this would also involve Community and Children’s Services, the Economic Development Office, the City Bridge Trust and working with a number of brokerages. This was to ensure that the new service would address the different commitments and strategies already in place or planned. It was not thought that expanding the work experience offering would impact on commitments to placements for schools, as generally students required different work experience opportunities to adults and there was a range of people that would benefit.

Members felt that the Corporation had a statutory duty to provide appropriate support where possible, but accepted that due to the wide spectrum of learning disabilities there was no ‘one size fits all’ approach. The Corporation also had a responsibility with regards to children and young people with learning disabilities. The Committee hoped that the City of London could move towards an individual, integrated approach. The Assistant Director of HR advised that she could only comment in relation to employment and in this regard, it was the Equality Act 2010 that identified issues such as disability discrimination and reasonable adjustments.

The Committee heard that the Corporation had received Silver accreditation last year and was working towards Gold, which entailed gathering better monitoring information. Learning disabilities were self-reported on the Corporation self-service facility but were not broken down into types of disability. Support was offered on an individual and one-to-one basis. It was an area where the Corporation was always learning and trying to improve. The Corporation had also had a duty to make reasonable adjustments for employees with disabilities. A Disability Staff Network was in place and had hosted events to support individuals with disabilities. The Director of Community and Children’s Services told the Committee that their department had met with the City Bridge Trust and the HR department to review what was already in place to support people with learning disabilities joining the workforce. The Corporation was awarded disability-confidence recognition and supported individuals on a one to one basis to meet their needs. The Corporation, through its attracting talent and recruitment initiatives, aspired to become a leader in this area in the City. It was important to utilise the amount of employment opportunity available in the City of London.

A Member asked what support was in place for children in care after the age of 16, where in some places a lack of continuing support could cause problems, as a foster home would not necessarily prepare a child for adult life. The Director of Community and Children’s Services told the Committee that an extensive network of support was in place for care leavers, including training and a care-nominated member of staff. Support was available until the care leaver reached 25 years of age. A recent Ofsted report had rated the Corporation’s services for care leavers as Good. Outcomes in health and wellbeing and education, employment and training were measured. The Corporation also cared for a number of unaccompanied asylum seeker children via the national dispersal scheme, and took in a higher number of children that suggested by the quota. The Committee suggested that more effort could be made to publicise the good work that the Corporation was doing in these areas and encouraged officers to do so.

The Committee noted that the Corporation had recently been inspected by Ofsted on its SEND programme, and were waiting for the formal feedback letter. This could be brought back to the next Committee meeting as it picked up on the issue of transition.