Agenda and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber

Contact: Christine Rothwell  Senior Governance Officer

Items
No. Item

1.

Apologies for absence

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Susan Durrant and George Derx.

2.

To consider the extent, if any, to which the public and press are to be excluded from the meeting.

Minutes:

None.

 

3.

Declarations of Interest, if any.

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest made.

 

4.

Minutes of the Children and Young People Overview and Scrutiny Panel meeting held on Thursday, 12th March, 2020 pdf icon PDF 89 KB

Minutes:

The minutes of the Children and Young People Overview and Scrutiny Panel held on the 12th March 2020 were agreed as a true and accurate record.

 

5.

Public Statements

(A period not exceeding 20 minutes for statements from up to 5 members of the public on matters within the Panel’s remit, proposing action(s) which may be considered or contribute towards the future development of the Panel’s work programme).

Minutes:

 

There were no public statements made.

 

6.

Early Intervention - Themed Report pdf icon PDF 1 MB

Minutes:

The Panel was provided with a presentation on the Early Intervention Report, which covered the following questions and issues;

 

·      Families don’t just access support from Family Hubs, which can be seen as part of the establishment and go to community groups – what effect did the closure have on these groups?

·      Families may not be able to access Family Hubs easily without a car. Do the Hubs capture how families get there?

·      What is in place for those who will not go to a Family Hub as it is seen as not being for them as it is in a different neighbourhood and so will not travel to it?

·      Most services moved online. What has been done about those who either don’t have access to the internet or are unwilling or unable to access it?

·      With all the developments within Early intervention and the added pressure of Covid-19, are you comfortable that people in need will not be able to slip through the system?

·      Do you think the system will be able to with stand the extra pressure when the Government withdraw the furlough and tenant protection agreements?

·      Will early intervention work have to be increased to cover demand?

·      How are partners going to be involved in the process?

·      What are the challenges?

·      What role for Members is there?

 

In addition to a range of questions and issues covered in the presentation, a discussion held that addressed the following;

 

Access to Family Hubs  - Members were assured that family hubs were inclusive and widely accessed which had been evidenced through footfall recorded from both deprived communities and BAME groups.

 

A Member expressed concern that some families found it difficult to access support from family hubs for a variety of reasons.  An example was used of work in their own ward where additional support had recently been provided by a local community group and it was considered that those groups were fundamental to the process.

 

It was recognised that community groups and volunteers had been particularly impacted by the pandemic.  It was viewed that these groups were central to the locality model and there was a need to harness their expertise with those families that they were working with.  It was viewed that there was a need to utilise those groups more and think smarter to support those families that struggled to access what was available.

 

Assurances were provided to the Panel that community groups in their wards were key members of the Local Solutions Group ensuring the safety of local families. 

 

Members were informed that during the summer holidays, a number of calls had been made to vulnerable children that had been supported by family hub staff.  Reference was also made to the involvement and role of schools that had formed a direct and important link between the Local Commissioning Group.  It was outlined that schools had established themselves very effectively as hubs based within the community during the pandemic.

 

A Councillor praised all staff and council staff for the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

7.

Overview and Scrutiny Work Plan and Council's Forward Plan of Key Decisions pdf icon PDF 699 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Senior Governance Officer presented the 2020/21 Scrutiny Work

Plan for consideration and reminded Members of the current Forward

Plan of key decisions.

 

There was a brief discussion around future items for the Overview and

Scrutiny future workplan following the meeting’s discussions.

 

RESOLVED the Overview and Scrutiny Work Plan 2020/21 and

Forward Plan of key decisions be noted.