Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Ruby Sayed.

There were none.

To agree the public minutes and non-public summary of the previous meeting held on 7^th June 2021.

RESOLVED, that the public minutes and non-public summary of the previous meeting held on 7 June 2021 were approved as an accurate record.

A presentation from Action for Children.

The presentation was postponed to the next meeting of the Sub-Committee.

Report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services.

Please note a non-public appendix at agenda item 21.

The Committee received a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services regarding the Action for Children Survey Report.

An officer commented that young people were feeling supported by social workers and that they had received very positive feedback.  The survey had been updated to include questions surrounding COVID and BLM to see how young people had been impacted.

A member asked if the timing of the survey had changed.

An officer responded that the timing would be changed to ensure more young people’s views could be captured as it had fallen just as many were going on holiday.

RESOLVED, that – the report be noted.

Report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services.

Please note a non-public appendix at agenda item 22.

The Committee received a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services regarding the Corporate Parenting Annual Report 2019/20 and Corporate Parenting Strategy Update.

An officer noted that the report was updated in February, but it would be reviewed on an annual basis.  The report reflected the ways in which the Corporation acted as a corporate parent.  There was now clearer wording on the process for care leavers up to the age of 25. 

The Chair noted the non-public appendices was due to identifiable data of individuals.

A member asked if members would have further training in the role of corporate parenting.

An officer confirmed this would be an annual event and aimed for the next session to be in the new member induction period. 

A member asked if a survey could be taken after the session to check for areas of weakness to help amend training in the future.

An officer agreed with the suggestion and would coordinate through the workforce development lead.

RESOLVED, that – the report be noted.

Report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services.

The Committee received a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services regarding City of London Prevent Policy and Channel Guidance/Internal Further Education Prevent Guidance.

An officer introduced the report stating that the Community Safety team works with the police on prevent to stop radicalisation.  It was noted that various sessions had taken place within the community to create more awareness.

The Chair noted the recent member training session which had gained excellent feedback.

A member asked how many referrals the team had received.

An officer responded that the City had received 2 referrals and only 1 had been opened as an active case.  On average they received no more than 2 a year.

A member asked for the definition of an ‘immediate risk’ case.

An officer clarified an individual making active plans would be treated as an ‘immediate risk’ case and often included the involvement of the police. 

A member asked if there was much cross boundary work with neighbouring boroughs.

An officer responded stating that local authorities were responsible for their own residents and rough sleepers.  Referrals can be transferred to the correct borough if identified elsewhere.  It was noted that the team attended bi-monthly forums with neighbouring local authorities to stay updated on trends throughout London.

A member asked how contact details for the prevent officers were being made readily available to the public.

An officer clarified that the contact details in the report for the prevent coordinator were for the Committee to use if they had comments or questions, but the community safety pages held information for those who needed to submit a referral.  Agencies also often submitted referrals and the team worked with the community frequently to raise awareness about the team.

A member asked if the flowchart could be updated with new contact

Report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services.

The Committee received a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services regarding Adult Skills Education and Apprenticeship Service.

An officer introduced the report, it was stated that the report showed the seven key recommendations from the safeguarding processes and procedures review which had taken place over the last year.  An additional audit took place to consult recipients on safeguarding processes and concerns.  It had been decided that more safeguarding leads would be required, and a team was formed.  Apprentices were now allocated two safeguarding contacts.  There was a new emphasis on training and all CoL tutors were trained to a level 3 safeguarding standard.

The Chair asked if external tutors were also asked to be safeguarding certified to level 3.

An officer responded that it was not yet a contractual requirement for external providers.

The Chair asked if it was under active consideration.

An officer responded that it was under consideration but if it was made a stipulation, it would require a much further discussion with the organisations.  Currently it was assumed all external tutors would have at least a level 2 safeguarding certification. 

A member asked for the Safeguarding/ Prevent Policy to be updated with new contact details or generic email addresses to ensure queries weren’t missed.

RESOLVED, that – the report be noted.

Report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services.

Please note a non-public appendix at Agenda Item 23

The Committee received a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services regarding Adult Safeguarding Performance Report, Q1 2021/22.

Items 9 and 10 were taken together.

An officer introduced the reports stating new papers had been circulated with updated figures for both reports of item 9 and 10.

RESOLVED, that – the report be noted.

Report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services.

Please note 2 non-public appendices at agenda item 24.

The Committee received a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services regarding Adult Safeguarding Performance Report, Q1 2020/21.

A member asked what happened when outcomes were only ‘partial’ or ‘not successful’.

An officer responded stating that some outcomes expressed by the individual could unrealistic and some may not express any at all.  Safeguarding could be varied process in terms of time scale so parts of a goal may be achieved quickly but other parts may sit over a longer period of time.

A member asked if there were any trends in areas of concerns and if there was any correlation to neighbouring boroughs.

An officer responded that due to the small numbers in the City it was hard to pinpoint specific trends. National trends were observed and reviewed with the safeguarding board – for example, physical abuse rose over COVID.

A member asked if the Committee was receiving the correct information to understand if issues were being addressed properly and was there room for improvement and change.

An officer clarified that the framework data was intentionally very high level because individual outcomes were too specific to analyse.  The officer assured the Committee that if the report showed 100% of outcomes achieved that would be concerning and unrealistic due to the complex nature of the issues.  The officer also commented on how the impact of COVID had affected adult safeguarding and that the insight report would inform the board of any national trends.  All data was used to look at the quality of services.

A member asked how the team could adapt services to keep up with the changes seen in the community e.g., rises in domestic abuse cases.

An officer responded that the team was able to be agile and flexible as shown by the Afghan resettlement programme.

Report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services.

Please note 2  non-public appendices at agenda item 25.

The Committee received a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services regarding Children and Families Service Performance – Month 3 2021/22 (June 2021).

An officer introduced the report.

Members had no questions.

RESOLVED, that – the report be noted.

Report of the Independent Chair of the City and Hackney Safeguarding Adults Board.

The Committee received a report of the Independent Chair of the City and Hackney Safeguarding Adults Board.

 An officer introduced the report stating the board had been meeting on monthly basis to ensure key partners could report any issues arising.  The meetings had proved effective in keeping regular contact with key agencies and a deep dive took place to look at the specific issues arising in case work.  The board published the safeguarding adult reviews, as required by statutory duty, which lead to improvement in work towards homelessness and a review into policy surrounding a fire death.  Safeguarding adult week activities took place online and it was expected that this year would be the same.  The team focused on mental capacity and executive capacity, which often links to self-neglect and hoarding.  A rough sleeper worker had been recruited and had been very effective.  The team would like to see an improvement in engagement with local residents.

A member commented that it was difficult to see trends due to the large age ranges heading the data.  The member hoped there was a further breakdown of this data behind the scenes so the team could focus on trends.  The member also thanked the team for all the work dedicated towards rough sleepers and the community’s effort towards the foodbank which had allowed officers to directly hear concerns from the residents.

RESOLVED, that – the report be noted.

Report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services.

Please note a non-public appendix at agenda item 26.

The Committee received a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services regarding City of London Self Evaluation Framework.

An officer introduced the report stating that the self-evaluation framework was a document produced annually as part of the Ofsted general monitoring process. 

A member asked for clarification on what was meant by ‘the framework us not defined’.

An officer clarified it meant that Ofsted didn’t give a set template for how the document was structured.

An officer echoed this and stated that Ofsted were consulted in the annual engagement meeting, and they gave good feedback about the SEF.

A member asked if it would be easier if Ofsted did define the framework.

An officer responded that it was not a mandatory requirement for Ofsted, but they ask for the SEF and the team operate well with the way it is set out.

A member commented that it was a shame that some on the information in the non-public appendix couldn’t be in public session as it was very interesting and queried as to whether any information could be moved into the public report.

The Chair commented that it would take a lot of time to redact the amount of information required.

RESOLVED, that – the report be noted.

Report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services.

Please note a non-public appendix at agenda item 27.

The Committee received a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services regarding The Independent Reviewing Officers’ (IRO) Annual Report.

An officer introduced the report stating the IRO service moved to virtual from March 23^rd. The team had responded quickly to changes and no reviews were out of date.  Virtual meetings had increased and the levels of communication with young people.  Overall, it had been a positive year with an increase in IRO visits, advocacy, allocation of independent visitors and a decrease in placement disruptions.

A member asked with the change of IRO responsibility form management to a wider overview, what has the effect been on a day-to-day basis.

An officer responded that it was no longer a case-by-case notification system, instead if you were concerned you would look at the whole service to see if a pattern could be identified.

The Chair asked if there was still an issue with the ongoing care plan documentation.

An officer responded that the pathway plan and care plan process had been changed but there was a technical issue with the system and implementing the new format required.  The care plan completion rate had increased but the document itself was still being pushed through.

An officer echoed the technical issues but ensured that it was being prioritised.

RESOLVED, that – the report be noted.

Report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services.

Please note a non-public appendix at agenda item 28.

The Committee received a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services regarding Local Authorities Designated Officer (LADO) Annual Report.

An officer introduced the report stating that it gave Members the opportunity to see activities which occurred in the LADO role.  It was noted that only two allegations had resulted in an allegation meeting due to a slight change in child protection guidelines.

RESOLVED, that – the report be noted.

Report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services.

The Committee received a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services regarding Update to the Children’s Sufficiency and Commissioning Strategy 2021-2023.

An officer introduced the report stating that an updated strategy plan had been put into place in line with the City children and young people’s plan.  The team were focused on moving to localised options for care leavers.  Unregulated placements would not be used for anyone under the age

of 16. 

The Chair asked for clarification if the City had every housed under 16s in unregulated placements.

An officer confirmed that the City has never placed under 16s in unregulated placements, but they felt it was important to re-confirm the statement.

A member if there was more difficulty finding placements for young people under the age of 16.

An officer responded that there could be some issues in finding arrangements, but the use of spot placements had been helpful in finding immediate providers and options.

The Chair started that they had visited some non-regulated placements and the staff were very knowledgeable and stated that officers always inspected facilities before placements took place.

A member asked how much support young people received once placed into independent living.

An officer responded that this was part of assessment process and that the team created tailored support models for each individual up to age of 25.

RESOLVED, that – the updated Children’s Sufficiency and Commissioning Strategy for Children in Care and Care Leavers in the City of London 2021-2023 be accepted.

A member asked what the City was doing to investigate the impact of COVID on the community and to feedback into any reviews required. 

An officer responded that there wasn’t a workstream, but the team was responding to post COVID impact and information was being discussed and flagging increased need in certain areas e.g., domestic abuse support.  Intelligence was being fed into the boards where data could be lifted quickly and fed into national reviews.

There was no other business.

MOTION, that – under Section 100(A) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part I of the Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act.

RESOLVED, that – under Section 100(A) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part I of the Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act.

To agree the non-public minutes of the previous meeting held on 7^th June 2021.

RESOLVED, that the non-public minutes of the previous meeting held on 7 June 2021 were approved as an accurate record.

The Committee received the Action for Children Survey non-public appendix.

The Committee received the Corporate Parenting Annual Report 2019/20 and Corporate Parenting Strategy Update non-public appendix.

The Committee received the Q1 performance non-public appendix.

The Committee received the Q4 performance non-public appendix.

The Committee received the Children and Families Service Performance - Month 3 2021/22 (June 2021) non-public appendices.

The Committee received the City of London Self Evaluation Framework non-public appendix.

The Committee received the Independent Reviewing Officers' (IRO) Annual Report non-public appendix.

The Committee received the Local Authorities Designated Officer (LADO) Annual Report non-public appendix.

Report of the designated LAC Doctor and Nurse.

The Committee received a report of the designated LAC Doctor and Nurse regarding the Looked After Children (LAC) Health Annual Report.

Report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services.

The Committee received a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services regarding the Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Update.

Report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services.

The Committee received a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services regarding the Virtual School for Looked-after Children: Annual Report for Academic Year 2020-2021.

Four questions were asked in non-public session.

There was no other business in non-public session.