Agenda and minutes

Venue: Committee Room One, County Offices, Newland, Lincoln LN1 1YL

Contact: Katrina Cope  Senior Democratic Services Officer

Items
No. Item

18.

Apologies for Absence / Replacement Members

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors M T Fido, C Matthews, A P Maughan, L Wootten and R Wootten.

 

It was noted that the Head of Paid Service, having received notice under Regulation 13 of the Local Government (Committee and Political Groups) Regulations 1990, had appointed Councillors R D Butroid and L A Cawrey to replace Councillors A P Maughan and C Matthews respectively, for this meeting only.

 

An apology for absence was also received from Mrs P J Barnett (Parent Governor Representative).

19.

Declarations of Members' Interest

Minutes:

No interests were declared at this stage of the meeting.

20.

Minutes of the meeting of the Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee held on 19 July 2019 pdf icon PDF 195 KB

Minutes:

RESOLVED

 

That the minutes of the Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee meeting held on 19 July 2019 be agreed and signed by the Vice-Chairman as a correct record.

21.

Announcements by the Chairman, Executive Councillor for Adult Care, Health and Children's Services and Chief Officers

Minutes:

The Vice-Chairman invited the Executive Councillor Adult Care, Health and Children's Services and Chief Officers to advise the Committee of any announcements.

 

The Executive Councillor  Adult Care, Health and Children's Services advised the Committee that exam results across the County had been good; and congratulations were extended to all the young people who had received their exam results.

 

The Committee was also advised that the 'Build a Future' results had also been amazing.  It was highlighted that young people across the County were being able to obtain the qualifications they required to help them get a job/career, or gain entry to further education.

 

The Interim Director of Children's Services also extended praise to the young people for their excellent exam results.  The Committee was also advised of the amazing achievement of nine care leavers being awarded university places.

22.

Restorative Practice - Lincolnshire Joint Diversionary Panels (JDP) pdf icon PDF 225 KB

(To receive a report from Andy Cook, Youth Offending Manager, which provides the Committee with an update of the impact and performance of the Joint Diversionary Panel following the report presented in July 2018)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Vice-Chairman welcomed to the meeting Andy Cook, Service Manager – Future4Me, Peter Grayson, Detective Superintendent, Lincolnshire Police, Mark Kirwan, Temporary Detective Superintendent, Lincolnshire Police, Tony Pryce, Joint Diversionary Panel Co-Ordinator and Michelle Westby, Practice Supervisor – Future4Me.

 

In guiding the Committee through the report, the Service Manager – Future4Me provided an update on the impact and performance of the Joint Diversionary Panel on offending behaviour by children and young people.

 

It was reported that preventing children and young people from formally entering the Youth Justice System was central to Lincolnshire's approach to tackling youth crime.

 

The Committee noted that prior to the introduction of the Joint Diversionary Panel (JDP) the vast majority of decisions relating to sanctions and disposals following criminal behaviour by children and young people were the sole and primary responsibility of Lincolnshire Police.  The Committee noted further that where the gravity and seriousness of offending was very high these decisions were still directed to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

 

It was reported that the panel ensured that children and young people were offered timely intervention and support to meet their individual needs; it also provided support to victims; and provided positive opportunities for restorative justice.  Details of the age range of offenders and the range of offences committed since June 2017 were shown on pages 16 and 17 of the report.

 

It was highlighted that the panel had a comprehensive range of interventions available to it, which included supervision, reparation, restorative conferences, group sessions and positive activities.  It was highlighted further that the panel also provided access to specialist support in areas such as substance misuse, emotional health and well-being and wider support to families.

 

The Committee was advised that the JDP continued to demonstrate excellent partnership working and commitment from all key stakeholders over the last year.

 

It was highlighted that national research within the criminal justice service had demonstrated the effectiveness in restorative justice in respect of the longer term benefits for young people, victims of crime and their communities.  It was noted that the JDP had demonstrated how restorative practice could minimise the potential for children becoming involved in the formal justice system whilst still being supported with effective intervention.

 

The report highlighted the revised process concerning anti-social behaviour that had been agreed with both the Police and District Councils to meet the needs of young people and provide agencies with the support required to help deter young people from persistently engaging in anti-social behaviour.  The Committee noted that following agreement with district councils, a countywide approach had commenced, which was to be followed by a formal evaluation.  Details of the aims of the pilot were shown on page 19 of the report.

 

The Committee was advised that the latest national data published by the Youth Justice Board in June 2019 had indicated that the rate of first time entrants in Lincolnshire had dropped by approximately 76% since the diversionary panels had come into operation in June 2017.

 

The report advised that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 22.

23.

Commissioning of Supported Accommodation: Children's Services pdf icon PDF 125 KB

(To receive a report from Amy Allcock, Senior Commissioning Officer, which invites the Committee to consider the Commissioning of Supported Accommodation: Children's Services, which is due to be considered by the Executive on 1 October 2019)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Consideration was given to a report from Amy Allcock, Senior Commissioning Officer, which was due to be considered by the Executive on 1 October 2019.

 

Attached at Appendix 1 to the report was a copy of the Executive report and associated Appendices.

 

The Vice-Chairman welcomed to the meeting Amy Allcock, Senior Commissioning Officer, Mark Rainey, Interim Strategic Commissioning Manager and Andrew Morris, Corporate Parenting Manager.

 

The Committee was advised that the Council had a statutory duty to ensure that Looked After Children up to the age of 18 were accommodated appropriately; to support Care Leavers to access suitable accommodation up to the age of 21; and to assess the needs of homeless 16/17 year olds in their area, and to ensure that they had access to suitable accommodation where applicable.

 

It was reported that the current contract with Lincolnshire Support Partnership due to end on 30 June 2020 could not be extended.  The value of the contract was £989,485.  Details of other contracts commissioned by the Council relating to Housing Related Supported Services, also due to end in June 2020 were shown on page 30 of the report.

 

The Committee was advised that the proposed commissioning approach for the Youth Housing Service would provide the opportunity to undertake a procurement exercise to test the current supplier marketplace.  The proposed integrated model would provide efficiencies against the current spot purchase methodology for Intense Needs Supported Accommodation and would enable the vast majority of supported accommodation to be delivered in County, which would then enable Lincolnshire young people to access local services; and avoid the requirement for the Children Services workforce to travel out of County to undertake statutory reviews.

 

It was also highlighted that the proposed integrated model provided the potential for step-up and step-down provision within the same service to fully respond to the changing needs of the cohort of young people and to provide support to them in order for them to achieve their full potential.

 

The report advised that the new service model would be conducted through an open competitive tender process, with an indicative budget of £1.613m.  It was highlighted that the recommendation was that the contract should be awarded for five years (3+ a maximum of two years extension) and that the contract would commence on 1 July 2020.

 

During discussion, the Committee raised the following comments:-

 

·         Support was given to the new service model, as it would generate a £182,000 saving plus provide a better service for young people. In addition, it would virtually eliminate the need to spot purchase Intense Needs Supported Accommodation (INSA) which was very costly for the Council; 

·         The 72 units of supported accommodation to be commissioned within Youth Housing along with the 10 units of in-house provision would meet the demand for accommodation by homeless 16/17 year olds, Looked After Children and Care Leavers up to 21 years old, and could be provided within the proposed budget;

·         With regards to young people's increasingly complex needs, early identification, intervention  ...  view the full minutes text for item 23.

24.

Local Area SEND Inspection by Ofsted and CQC - Update on Action Plan pdf icon PDF 237 KB

(To receive a report from Sheridan Dodsworth, Head of Special Educational Needs and Disability, which provides the Committee with an update on the Action Plan, previously presented to the Committee in January 2019, following the Local Area Inspection undertaken jointly by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission, in October 2018)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee gave consideration to a report from Sheridan Dodsworth, Head of Special Educational Needs and Disability, which provided the Committee with an update on the Action Plan, previously presented to the Committee in January 2019, following the Local Area Inspection jointly undertaken by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission in October 2018.

 

Detailed at Appendix A to the report was a copy of the updated Action Plan for the Committee to consider.

 

The Head of Special Educational Needs and Disability guided the Committee through Appendix A and responded to questions raised.

 

During a short discussion, the Committee raised the following comments:-

 

·         Clarification was sought as to how Academies responded to the action plan work.  The Committee was advised that there was no difference between Academies and Maintained Schools, both worked with Looked After Children and with young people with SEND;

·         Health historic information – Reassurance was given that processes were in place to ensure that historic health information was available for Looked After Children;

·         Completion of the mandatory health assessments – The Committee was advised that the checks were mandatory and that the Council had to ensure that all parents were offered the check-ups.  It was highlighted that in some circumstances some parents missed appointments.  If a missed appointment related to a targeted family, then a home visit would be arranged.  The Committee noted that processes were continually being refined and that the performance of the Health Visitor team had really improved.  The Team had received a 'good' rating from the Care Quality Commission;

·         Public Health advice – The Committee was advised that the service work closely with Public Health and where there were known public health issues in an area, the council was writing to schools, so that issues highlighted can be included in the schools curriculums.  The Committee noted that the service was starting to see the power of universal services delivering the pertinent messages;

·         Reducing the waiting time for the diagnosis of Autism.  The Committee was advised that this matter was the responsibility of the CCG and that this matter was being raised as a priority.  It was highlighted schools should not wait to manage the behaviour of a young person, as schools should be able to deal with the needs of young people and should not wait for a diagnosis; and

·         Confirmation was given by officers that Speech and Language Therapy issues were picked up as part of SEND.

 

RESOLVED

 

1.    That the updated Action Plan from the Local Area SEND inspection be received.

 

2.    That a further update on the Action Plan from the Local Area SEND inspection be received by the Committee in six months' time.

25.

Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee Work Programme pdf icon PDF 247 KB

(To receive a report from Tracy Johnson, Senior Scrutiny Officer, which provides the Committee with an opportunity to consider and comment on its work programme for the coming months)

Minutes:

Consideration was given to a report which enabled the Committee to comment on the content of its work programme, to ensure that its scrutiny activity was focussed where it could be of greatest benefit.

 

The Senior Scrutiny Officer brought the Committee's attention to the work programme as detailed on pages 118/119 of the report. 

 

The Committee was reminded that a workshop was to be held following the meeting concerning the new Ofsted Education Inspection Framework.

 

The Committee also noted that at the 22 November 2019 meeting, the Committee would receive a response from the Executive and an Action Plan with regard to the Transitions Scrutiny Review.

 

RESOLVED

 

That the Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee Work programme be agreed with the addition of the items agreed at minute numbers 22(2) (3) and 24(2).

 

 
 
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