Agenda and minutes

            The Minutes of the meeting held on 3 January 2013 were taken as read and signed as a correct record.

            It was reported that no public questions had been received.

(NB: Councillor Woolfall declared a Disclosable Other Interest in the following item [EXB115] due to being Chair of Governors of The Bankfield School).

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

            Member discussed EXB115 in relation to Priority School Building Programme Update and queried the PFI funding.  In response it was reported that it would be the new version which was PFI2 and it was understood that there were no financial implications for the Council.

            RESOLVED: That the minutes and comments made be noted.

            The minutes of the Halton Children’s Trust meeting held on 27 November 2012 were submitted to the Board for information.

            The Board considered the draft minutes and under Scrutiny Topics it was reported that Ann McIntyre was the LA representative on the CCG Board.  Members wished to congratulate staff in relation to minute no. 5, Priority Update and the improved outcomes recorded.

            Members further discussed provision of defibrillators under minute no. 6.4 and requested more information be sought from the Director of Public Health regarding people who were most at risk of needing treatment from the machines, training requirements and costs involved.

            With regards to 5.3 Members asked if it was possible to have a breakdown of GCSE subjects other than English and Maths that had been achieved.  In response it was noted that this information was not readily available, however it could be investigated.

            RESOLVED: That

1)    the minutes be noted; and

2)    detailed information be provided to Members regarding defibrillators. 

            The Board considered a report of the Strategic Director – Policy and Resources, which provided performance management information for Quarter 3 of 2012-13.

            It was reported that in line with the revised Council’s Performance Framework for 2012/13, the PPB had been provided with a Children and Young People’s Priority Based report which identified key issues that arose from performance in Quarter 3.  The priorities and common areas of focus were set out in the report as follows:

·         commissioning;

·         early help and support;

·         common areas of focus: workforce planning and development, asset management of resources.

Arising from Members discussions, the following points were highlighted/noted.                

·         Wade Deacon High School’s transfer to Academy status was planned for 1 March 2013;

·         a Montessori Free School was planning to open in Daresbury Park, Members requested further details be circulated providing the definition of a Montessori Free School;

·         Members discussed the teenage pregnancy figures in the local press and it was reported that 2008 figures were used for that publication;

·         in relation to Narrowing the Gap, the Board discussed measures being taken to close the gaps in attainment for vulnerable groups;

·         both thresholds were met with regards to the Adoption Scorecard; and

·         Halton’s Inspiring Families programme became operational in November 2012, Members noted the first submission for payments by results had been submitted in January.

RESOLVED: That the third quarter performance monitoring reports and comments made be noted.

            The Board received a report of the Strategic Director, Children and Enterprise, which provided Members with the opportunity to scrutinise the referral and assessment activity and provided an update on issues that impacted on current performance within the Children in Need (CiN) service.  The report focussed on the performance in relation to Quarters 1 and 2 of 2012/13.

            The Board was informed of the importance of Members having a good understanding of the performance for CiN Contract, Referral and Assessment analysis and were satisfied that adequate strategies were in place to ensure that the children of Halton were safeguarded.  Ofsted inspections of Contact, Referral and Assessment processes in other Local Authorities had criticised the failure to scrutinise safeguarding practices and the poor understanding of issues impacting on performance.

            The report provided information on the following service:-

·         referrals;

·         contacts;

·         completion of assessments;

·         child protection plans and S47 enquiries;

·         court activity / children in care

·         performance / data

·         social work capacity;

·         caseload analysis;

·         management capacity;

·         efficiency review; and

·         Climbie visits and training.

Arising from discussion of the information, Members sought clarification on Section 47 enquiries and noted the difficulties in recruiting managers in children’s services. 

RESOLVED: That

1)    an update report on year end performance (2012/13) is presented to the Board in six months; and

2)      the Board supports the steps being taken to reduce social workers caseloads and to monitor progress and impact of these.

            The Board considered a report of the Strategic Director, Children and Enterprise, which provided an update on Child Poverty with the Liverpool City Region (LCR) and the developments locally as outlined in Halton’s Child and Family Poverty Strategy.  In addition the report updated Members on the use of the Pupil Premium and its impact on narrowing the attainment gap between pupils in receipt of the Pupil Premium and those who were not.

            It was reported that the LCR was home to 1.5 million people, which included around 327,000 children in 1941,000 families.  Over 91,000 (27.9%) children in the LCR were growing up in poverty and approximately 6,500 (26.4%) children in Halton lived in poverty.  It was noted that the latest projections suggested that there would be a significant increase in relative and absolute poverty through to 2020 which meant the government target of eradicating child poverty would not be met.

            The Board was advised of the LCR Child Poverty Strategy which ran till 2014 and that it had identified two overarching aims to reduce child poverty across the Region.  The two aims were set out in the report for information, in addition to seven key actions associated with the aims.

            The report further set out key underlying causes of child poverty and key priorities to tackle child and family poverty in Halton and the 5 objectives which had been identified though Halton’s Child and Family Poverty Strategy.

            Members were advised that the Pupil Premium was introduced in April 2011 and was allocated to schools to work with pupils who had been registered for free school meals at any point in the last 6 years (known as Ever 6 FSM).  It was further noted that schools received funding for children who had been looked after continuously for more than six months and children of service personnel.                                 

            It was reported that schools currently received £600 for each pupil that was eligible for a Free School Meal, and schools used the summer term in 2011 to plan how they would use the Pupil Premium in the 2011/2012 academic year.

            The report further set out examples of the use of the Pupil Premium and the impact on Halton’s Performance in Key Stages 2 and 4.

            Arising from the presentation of the report Members sought clarification on relative and absolute poverty and further discussed the pupil premium and noted that it was being used effectively in Halton. In relation to Annex 1 of the report, ‘assisting achievement of aspirations’ Members commented that in the first instance, children from vulnerable families should be challenged to have higher aspirations.

RESOLVED: That the impact of the Pupil Premium to date and comments made be noted.

            The Board received a report of the Strategic Director, Children and Enterprise which provided an outline of the provision in Halton for Children’s Emotional and Mental Health.

            It was reported that 9.6% of all children and young people aged 16 and under would have some form of mental disorder (ONS 2005).  Therefore according to recent demographic information there were approximately 24,000 children and young people aged 0-15 currently living in Halton.   Of this cohort it could be expected that 2,500 children would have a diagnosable emotional and mental health condition.

            Members were advised that there was widespread evidence, which suggested that vulnerable groups were more at risk of developing mental health problems such as:-

·         children with disabilities;

·         young people who smoke and drank;

·         not in education, employment or training;

·         pregnant teenagers;

·         asylum seekers, refugees and immigrants;

·         Romany traveller children; and

·         young carers.

The report further set out an overview of Children and adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS), which detailed the tiered response to levels of need for all children and the current tiered CAMHS provision across Halton.

The Board was further advised of demand and capacity and next steps.

Members raised concerns regarding the impending budget and staff cuts and the effect this would have on the service.  In response it was noted that these areas would be a priority for the Health and Wellbeing Board and services would be re-designed to provide a more effective and sustainable service.

The Board also queried support that was provided for school staff and it was noted that teachers could refer pupils and families for drop in services where access to mental health workers could be gained.

RESOLVED: That

1)    the report be noted; and

2)    a further report be presented to the Board in 6 months outlining developments.

            The Board considered a report of the Strategic Director, Children and Enterprise which provided an update on apprenticeships in Halton.

            It was reported that apprenticeships took between one and four years to complete and covered 1,400 job roles in a wide range of industries.  An apprenticeship was a set of qualifications called a ‘framework’ developed by Sector Skills Council, most of which followed a standard format, details of which were set out in the report for information.

            The report informed Members of the role of the Learning Provider and how training was delivered, opportunities for progression, details of the on-line vacancy service, and development of a programme to deliver sessions to schools across the Liverpool City Region with the aim of supporting teachers’ knowledge and understanding of apprenticeships.

            The report further set out an overview for Halton with apprenticeship starts and success rates for residents including a breakdown of sector subject area, gender and employer information, in addition to Halton’s apprenticeship development plan, Halton Employment Partnership and Liverpool City Region Apprenticeship Strategy.

            Members were advised of the future policy for apprenticeships, traineeships and the Richard Review of apprenticeships.

            Arising from discussion of the information the Board noted the importance of jobs being available at the end of an apprenticeship scheme and that relevant and appropriate training and experience was provided.       

RESOLVED: That the information be noted. 

            The Board received a report of the Strategic Director, Communities which informed Members of the Armed Forces Community Covenant which was appended to the report for information.

            It was noted that in referring to Armed Forces it encompassed the Army, Royal Navy and Air Force.

            Members were advised that Halton was part of a PAN Cheshire Covenant which covered the Local Authorities of Cheshire East, Cheshire West and Chester, Warrington and Halton.  In addition Local Authorities (LA’s), Health, Probation and Job Centre Plus were involved in supporting the covenant.

            It was noted that each LA was required to have a nominated Armed Forces Champion, the Community Development Manager had been designated this role in Halton.  The role was to provide representation on a Community Covenant working group that covered the Cheshire area and provided a point of liaison for the forces.

            It was further reported the Armed Forces Community Covenant was a voluntary statement of mutual support between the civilian community and its local armed forces community.  The aim was to provide awareness of the role of the armed forces, the sacrifices that in service and ex service personnel and their families made, encourage activities that integrated armed forces and local communities together and continue to foster civic pride in our armed forces.

            The report informed Members that the Covenant set out twenty pledges around five key themes as follows; housing, employment and benefits, education, health and well-being.  Each theme was described further in the report.

            Members were further advised of the Community Covenant Working Group and the wider context of armed forces for Halton.

In relation to issues around housing Members discussed how to encourage providers of social housing to give priority to returning armed forces personnel and their families, and arrangements for Choice Based Lettings.  In addition the Board queried the impact of the ‘bedroom tax’ when armed forces where away on active service

            RESOLVED: That the report and comments made be noted.