Agenda and minutes

The Minutes of the meeting held on 23 May 2011 were taken as read and signed as a correct record.

(NB: Councillor Fry declared a personal and prejudicial interest in the following item due to being the Chairman of Halton Autistic Family Support Group (HAFS) and left the room during consideration of the item.)

            In relation to Minute No. CYP24 the following public question had been submitted in accordance with Standing Order 34(9).

            “As a very concerned local and national taxpayer, who actually lives in and is committed to Halton, will the Board Members investigate the appalling waste of public money by the senior officers of the Education Department of Halton Borough Council by intimidating Parent/Carers of disabled children into unnecessary, very costly and time consuming Tribunals, especially at a time when people were loosing their jobs in HBC as a result of cut backs?  Linked with this issue, would the Board Members also investigate why the hypocrisy of this department is being allowed to continue to ignore the documented views and opinions of Parent/Carers and disabled children themselves, whilst pretending to value to voice of the disabled children and their Carers?”

            Arising from the question the Chair requested that further written evidence to support points raised in the question be forwarded directly to the Chair. It was also reported that the Strategic Director, Children and Enterprise had responded in writing to the question.

            The question was received by the Board and in response Steven Nyakatawa provided a presentation on Provision and Support for Children and Young People with Autistic Spectrum Condition in Halton.  The presentation outlined the following:

·        specialist provision in both Widnes and Runcorn, including speech language and communication plus details of Autistic Spectrum Conditions (ASC);

·        continuum of provision for ASC in mainstream schools, enhanced provision, specialist resource bases in schools for children with Autism, specialist schools and out of Borough specialist placements;

·        details of multi-agency provision – Halton had committed in excess of £1 ¼ million to support children with ASC;

·        information of multi-agency support and various schemes available across the Borough;

·        training and development of front line staff; and

·        details of the Autistic Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) training.

In addition Mr Shanahan made a supplementary statement as follows:

“A lot of money is wasted on non-autism specific provisions which result in tribunals.  There is a need for a dedicated autism school within the Borough of Halton and needs of children and young people with autism are not being addressed.”

It was pointed out that no one size fits all for autistic children; Halton’s strategy and services were geared to an individual response to need.

In response the Chairman requested that further evidence to support the statement be provided.

RESOLVED: That the public question be noted.

The Board received a report which contained the minutes relating to the Children and Young People Portfolio which had been considered by the Executive Board Sub-Committee since the last meeting of the PPB.

            In relation to Minute EXB21 it was reported that Traded Services had been TUPE to SERCO and there was a launch scheduled for 12 September 2011.  The Chairman requested a progress update report be brought to a future meeting.

         RESOLVED: That

1)                 the Minutes be noted; and

2)                 a progress update report be brought back to a future meeting of the Board.

The Minutes of Halton Children’s Trust meetings held on 17 May 2011 and 5 July 2011 were submitted to the Board for consideration.

           RESOLVED: That the minutes be noted.

The Board considered a report of the Strategic Director, Children and Enterprise which informed the Members of the development of an action plan to continue and further improve on the work around Safeguarding and Looked After Children’s services in Halton. This work had been highlighted as ‘Outstanding’ or ‘Good’ in all areas by Ofsted and CQC inspectors in February 2011.

It was reported that in anticipation for Halton’s inspection, a multi agency working group had been established in 2009.  This group had a wide membership from the Council and its partners, who all saw the inspection process as a real opportunity to test progress across all agencies in delivering high quality services for vulnerable children and young people. It was used as a means of improving practice on the ground.

The Board was further advised that Halton’s inspection had taken place in February 2011.  Halton had been graded as ‘Outstanding’ for 10 elements and ‘Good’ for 12 of the 22 criteria.  This placed Halton Borough Council and its partners as one of the top performing local authority areas in the country.

In addition, the inspection report had highlighted the robust systems in place locally and the strength of partnership working across Halton within children and young people’s services. 

An action plan had been developed following the inspection to ensure that work continued to bring further improvements to Safeguarding and Looked After Children’s services within Halton, particularly focusing on areas highlighted by the inspection.  This action plan had been endorsed by and was being monitored through both the Halton Safeguarding Children Board and Halton Children’s Trust to ensure that the areas highlighted for improvement were fully addressed and embedded in practice.  The action plan was also being regularly updated as progress was achieved and the latest action plan could be found in Appendix A of the report.

            In relation to Child Protection Case Conferences and the need to improve attendance or provision of reports by General Practitioners (GPs), it was noted that the Council and its Partners had carried out extensive work to enable GPs to attend the conferences and provide reports.

RESOLVED: That

1)     the outstanding outcome of the Ofsted and Care Quality Commission Inspection of Safeguarding and Children in Care be noted; and

2)     the action plan be endorsed and the Board receive a further progress report in January 2012.

(NB: Councillor Peter Lloyd Jones declared a personal interest in the following item due to being a Non-Executive Director for Halton and St Helens PCT)

The Board considered a report of the Strategic Director, Children and Enterprise which gave an update on the development of a Shadow Health and Wellbeing Board for Halton and presented the Draft terms of Reference for comment and discussion.

It was reported that the initial proposal was announced in July 2010 as a result of the NHS White Paper and it was anticipated that the Health and Wellbeing Board would be implemented by April 2013.  The main functions of the Health and Wellbeing Board were detailed in the report for information.

The Board was advised that the Halton Health Partnership (HHP) currently acted as the thematic partnership for the Healthy Halton priority. The Partnership reported into the Halton Strategic Partnership Board as one of the five Specialist Strategic Partnerships (SSPs).

         The Board was further advised that the HHP had a strategic responsibility for the Healthy Halton priority and for those elements of work that contributed to the objectives of the Sustainable Community Strategy (SCS) and Local Area Agreement (LAA). The Halton Health Partnership was currently chaired by the Acting Director of Public Health.

   It was reported that health priorities were also addressed by the Health Policy and Performance Board and Children’s health issues were included in the work of the Children’s Trust and the Children, Young People and Families Policy and Performance Board.

   Following an extensive consultation regarding the Terms of Reference set out in Appendix 1 to the report, it seemed appropriate to set up a Shadow Health and Wellbeing Board in Halton.

            The Shadow Health and Wellbeing Board would be responsible for guiding and overseeing the implementation of the ambitions outlined in the Health White Paper as well as providing the strategic direction for the Health priority in Halton.

   Formal decision making responsibility would continue to rest with the Council’s Executive and the relevant governance bodies of the local health services until new legislation was enacted. Transitional governance arrangements were key in establishing the Shadow HWBB, given that Health and Wellbeing Boards would assume their statutory responsibilities from April 2013.  In addition, overview and scrutiny issues would remain an integral independent arrangement within the Health Policy and Performance Board.

In conclusion, it was proposed that a Shadow Health and Wellbeing Board would be established in October 2011.  This would operate in shadow form and a review would be undertaken 12 months after its commencement and a further report be presented to the Executive on its progress.  The current Health SSP would be disbanded and many of their actions embedded into the new Shadow Board.

Arising from discussion of the membership of the Health and Wellbeing Board it was suggested that Board Members reside in the Borough of Halton.  In response it was noted that membership of the Board was predetermined by the guidance.  

RESOLVED: That the report and comments made be noted.

(NB: Councillor Peter Lloyd Jones declared a personal interest in the following item due to being a Non-Executive Director for Halton and St Helens PCT)

The Board considered a report of the Strategic Director, Children and Enterprise which sought endorsement of the new Children and Young People’s Plan (CYPP) 2011-14. It was reported that the CYP Plan had been endorsed at Executive Board and Full Council in July 2011.

The Board was advised that Halton’s first Children and Young People’s Plan had been published in 2006, covering a three year period to 2009.  The second CYPP for Halton had been published in 2009 and had ran until March 31^st 2011.

It was reported that the Coalition Government had announced in July 2010 its intention to reform Children’s Trusts.  The proposals had come into force from October 31^st 2010.

         It was further reported that following the announcement of the reforms, the future of Halton’s Children’s Trust had been discussed at both the Children’s Trust Board and Executive Group.  At both meetings there had been a universal agreement from all partners for the Trust to continue in its current format, as the overarching multi agency body that contained all children and young people’s services in Halton.  This reflected the breadth and strength of partnership working across the children and young people’s agenda in Halton, as well as universal understanding of the need to continue to work in partnership in the challenging economic climate currently faced. 

         It was further noted, with agreement to continue the Children’s Trust arrangements came the need for a new Children and Young People’s Plan to provide a strategic direction. The new CYPP for Halton had been developed within the Children’s Trust for a three year period from 2011-14.  Through consultation, the new priorities for the Children’s Trust have been agreed as:

·  Improve outcomes for children and young people through embedding integrated processes to deliver early help and support;

·  Improve outcomes for children and young people through effective joint commissioning; and

·  Improve outcomes for our most vulnerable children and young people by targeting services effectively.

Members were advised the focus on Safeguarding would continue to be a key theme for the Trust across the priorities and the CYPP was based around the priorities noted above.

         The following comments arose from the discussion:-

·        for students leaving high school and further education Members felt that a facility to offer students advice on financial guidance should be provided.  It was noted there could be something organised via the citizenship pathways and a report would be brought back to a future meeting of the Board;

·        in relation to provision of advocacy for young people it was noted that the route for this was currently changing, and a view to how Halton would approach this in the future was being sought.

RESOLVED: That the Board endorse the Children and Young People’s Plan 2011-14.

The Board considered a report of the Strategic Director, Children and Enterprise, which gave details of the current numbers of Children in Care of Other Local Authorities (CICOLA) and the possible impact on services within Halton.

The report assessed within the context of neighbouring local authorities, the numbers of Residential Children’s Homes operating within Halton, the types of these services and the potential financial impact on the Borough.

The report also offered an update regarding ongoing work developments in this area.  The Board was also advised that the Members would receive an action plan in response to the information contained in the report.

Arising from discussion of the report the following comments were noted:

·        Halton’s own system had been introduced whereby every three months local authorities were informed of which children were placed within Halton;

·        young people who had Statements were funded by the Local Authority they were from. However young people with School Action or School Action Plus placed a significant impact on education and safeguarding resources.  In addition the range of children missing from care caused a drain on services like police, housing and youth offending; and

·        there was Statutory Guidance for Local Authorities to provide accommodation for young people within their area and there was an emphasis to ensure they better meet the needs of young people within their boundaries;

RESOLVED: That

1)     the report and comments made be noted;

2)     the revised pathways for notification of CICOLA be noted;

3)     the proposed development work be supported;

4)     the Board receive a further report on the outcome of the revised arrangements; and

5)     the impact of CICOLA’s on the key agencies be noted.

The Board considered a report of the Strategic Director, Children and Enterprise which gave Members an update on existing and future scrutiny topic group titles.

The Board was advised that at the beginning of April 2011, the Employment, Economic Regeneration and Business Development department had moved to the Children and Young People directorate and the Children and Enterprise directorate had been established.

The Board was further advised that by bringing together Children and Enterprise within one directorate it was recognised that for most young people it was the transferable skills that were developed at school and in further education that would determine their success in a range of jobs throughout their lives. It was, therefore, proposed that a topic title on apprenticeships would further cement these principles. It was proposed that the topic would be jointly overseen by members of both the Employment, Learning, Skills and Community Policy and Performance Board and the Children, Young People and Families Policy and Performance Board.  In addition, it was reported that Councillor Sue Edge had offered to chair the topic group.

It was further reported that the topic would consider the following:

·        The implementation of an apprenticeship programme for Halton;

·        Monitoring and review of the programme i.e. the effectiveness of the programme;

·        Engagement with the private sector; and

·        Roles and responsibilities of respective agencies to drive forward the apprenticeships agenda in Halton.

Councillor Horabin offered to take part in the Scrutiny Topic Group and the Chairman asked if any other Members would like to sit on the Board they were to notify him.

RESOLVED: That a joint scrutiny group on Apprenticeships be supported.

The Board considered a report of the Strategic Director, Children and Enterprise which provided an analysis on complaints processed under the Children’s Act 1989, Representation’s Procedure.

The Board was advised that a complaint may generally be defined as an expression of dissatisfaction or disquiet in relation to an individual child or young person, which requires a response.  The formal complaints procedure had a four stage process and there were three categories to the representation process as follows:-

              i.                  Statutory Complaint  - the complainant is eligible as stated in the Representations Procedure to make a formal complaint;

            ii.                  Representation - where a complainant is not eligible under the Representations Procedure to make a formal complaint, but their comments are noted and responded to. If it is not a complaint under the Representations Procedure then the Corporate Complaints procedure may apply; and

          iii.                  Compliment – positive feedback.

         It was reported that there had been 40 Statutory Complaints made to the Local Authority in 2010/11.  This represented an increase of 17 statutory complaints, a 74% increase.  This could be attributed to the following:-

·        Customer Care Manager now being firmly established in post and raising awareness of the complaints process within the Children and Enterprise Directorate, offering advice and guidance to staff;

·        Delivering training sessions to front line staff; and

·        Commissioning training for Managers by the Local Government Ombudsman Office.

The Board noted the evidence in the report on how feedback from service users had been used to improve service delivery.

The following comments arose from the discussion:-

·        The department was looking towards the future to develop a supportive approach via the customer care team with a need to create better understanding between all agencies; and

·        In comparison to other Local Authorities, the number of complaints was quite low.

RESOLVED: That

1)     the report be accepted as the mechanism by which the Local Authority is kept informed about the operation of its complaints procedure; and

2)     It be noted that the Annual Report where applicable will evidence how feedback from service users has been used to improve service delivery.

The Board considered a report of the Strategic Director, Children and Enterprise which informed the Members of the recommendation of the Halton Agreed Syllabus Conference for Religious Education to readopt the 2006 to 2011 Syllabus as the Halton Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education from 1^st September 2011 for a further five years.

The Board was advised that there was a statutory duty on the Local Authority to establish and convene an Agreed Syllabus Conference to review the agreed syllabus for RE every five years.  The role of the Agreed Syllabus Conference was to produce and recommend an Agreed Syllabus for adoption by the LA.  The Agreed Syllabus needed to meet fully the requirements of the Education Act 1996 and be educationally sound.

The Board was further advised that a Conference was a separate legal entity from a SACRE and, although common membership was permissible, it must be separately convened.  Similar to SACRE, it comprised of four committees, representing Christian denominations (and other religions and religious denominations), the Church of England, associations representing teachers and the LA.

RESOLVED: That

1)     the minutes of a meeting of the Halton SACRE and the Halton Agreed Syllabus Conference on 11^th July 2011 set out in Appendix 1 to the report be noted; and

2)     the recommendation of the Halton Agreed Syllabus Conference for Religious Education to readopt the 2006 to 2011 Syllabus as the Halton Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education from 1^st September 2011 for a further five years be supported.

(NB: Councillor Peter Lloyd Jones declared a personal interest in the following item due to being a Non-Executive Director for Halton and St Helens PCT)

The Board received a report of the Chief Executive on the Performance Monitoring Reports for Quarter 1 to June 2011.

Members were requested to consider and raise any questions or points of clarification in respect of the performance management report on progress against service plan objectives and performance targets, performance trends/comparisons and factors affecting the services etc. for:

·        Children and Families;

·        Children’s Organisation Provision; and

·        Learning and Achievement.

In particular the following points were noted:

·        In relation to NI063, the stability of placements of Children in Care, performance in Quarter 1 was short of the very challenging target,  however it was noted the performance was still higher than other Local Authorities in the region;

·        With regards to the James Review, Local Authorities were awaiting guidance from the DfE as to whether the two recommendations outlined in the report would be accepted;

·        There were two additional Academy Schools in the Borough being the Health and Palacefields;

·        Central CRMZ held a celebration event at the end of August, the Summer Blitz had been one of the most successful schemes run through the summer providing a wide range of activities and had been extremely well attended;

·        In relation to teenage pregnancies there would be more of a focus from a local perspective, with the aim of getting more high schools in involved.  Setting more realistic targets was also being explored;

·        the standard of recent examination grades for 2011 had improved from last year throughout all the Key Stages, including Children in Care, however the figures have yet to be verified and a report will be presented to a future meeting of the Board.

RESOLVED: That the report and comments made be noted.