No. |
Item |
20. |
Minutes of the previous meeting held on 24 September 2024 PDF 253 KB
Additional documents:
Minutes:
20.1
The Committee RESOLVED to
agree the minutes of the meeting held on 24 September 2024 as a
correct record.
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21. |
Apologies for absence
Additional documents:
Minutes:
21.1
There were no apologies
for absence.
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22. |
Disclosures of interests
Disclosures by all members present of personal
interests in matters on the agenda, the nature of any interest and
whether the member regards the interest as prejudicial under the
terms of the Code of Conduct.
Additional documents:
Minutes:
22.1
There were no disclosures
of interest.
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23. |
Urgent items
Notification of items which the Chair considers
to be urgent and proposes to take at the
appropriate part of the agenda. Any members who wish to raise
urgent items are asked, wherever possible, to notify the Chair
before the start of the meeting. In so doing, they must state the
special circumstances which they consider justify the matter being
considered urgent.
Additional documents:
Minutes:
23.1
There were no urgent
items.
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24. |
East Sussex Safeguarding Children Partnership (ESSCP) Annual Report PDF 301 KB
Additional documents:
Minutes:
24.1
The ESCCP Chair introduced the report which outlined the work
undertaken by the Partnership in 2023/24. The Chair also noted the
publication of Working Together 2023 which sets out the
arrangements for cooperation between organisations to improve the
wellbeing of children and includes revised ESSCP multi agency
safeguarding arrangements that came into effect in September
2024.
24.2
The Chair outlined key findings from the report and highlighted the
continuing key priorities for 2023-26 of safeguarding children in
schools; safeguarding adolescents; and embedding learning.
24.3
The Committee thanked the Chair for a thorough report and noted the
achievements within the report, including the positive responses to
training. The Committee asked questions and made comments on the
following areas:
- Format of the
report – the Committee welcomed the information contained
in the report and asked if the use of acronyms could be reduced.
The Chair welcomed the feedback and noted the priority to
communicate the report effectively.
- Looked after
Children – A question was asked about the number of
sexual offences that related to looked after children. The Chair
responded he did not have this data to hand but that it could be
obtained and brought to a future partnership meeting and reported
back to the Committee. The Director of Children’s Services
assured the Committee that there were processes in place to respond
to these children.
- Safeguarding
persistently absent children – The Committee asked how
the Partnership was working with schools to safeguard children who
were persistently absent. The Chair noted new guidance, introduced
in 2023, which included education as a safeguarding partner; work
was underway to develop this role and ensure there was effective
educational representation in the Partnership. The Director of
Children’s Services Department (CSD) noted that attendance
was a priority for the Department and processes were in place to
monitor attendance and identify children who were vulnerable. The
Assistant Director, Early Help and Social Care added that wrap
around support was provided to families where attendance was a
concern.
- Safeguarding
electively home educated children – The Committee asked
how safeguarding concerns were identified for children who were
electively home educated and the number of concerns for this
cohort. The Director of CSD noted the priority for all children to
be in school, but that work was targeted to support vulnerable
children to attend school. The Assistant Director commented that
additional scrutiny was in place with families choosing to
electively home educate where children are known to social care,
including children with a Child in Need Plan or Child Protection
Plan to ensure a robust safeguarding system.
24.4
The Committee RESOLVED to note the report.
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25. |
Transition in services PDF 451 KB
Additional documents:
Minutes:
25. Transition in services
25.1
The Director of Adult Social Care and Health (ASCH) introduced a
report on the Preparing for Adulthood Model. The Model had been
jointly developed with CSD to support young people to transition
between services and was built on four principles: education and
employment; housing; inclusion; and health and wellbeing.
25.2
The Director noted that the transition pathway currently focussed
on children supported by the Children’s Disability team,
however there were plans to expand this to other children known to
CSD with care eligible needs.
25.3 The Director of CSD commented
that the transition process would be an area of focus in the
upcoming SEND inspection and Care Quality Commission (CQC)
assessment.
25.4
The Committee asked questions and made comments on the following
areas:
- Role of parents
– The Committee recognised the benefits of this model for
children and asked questions on how parents engaged with this
process and their role in supporting their child to transition. In
response, the Assistant Director (Operations) ASC noted the role of
Link Workers in the Preparing for Adulthood team who had regular
conversations with parents to reassure and support them through the
process and relationships between parents and children were
regularly reviewed.
- Eligibility for
Preparing for Adulthood Services – The Committee
discussed eligibility for transition support, including for care
leavers and children not previously known to CSD. The Director of
ASCH noted that the number of young people not known to CSD was
very small, but ASCH used a person-centred approach to assess the
need for care, including Care Act eligibility and statutory
responsibilities, and the best approach for individuals. The
Assistant Director Early Help and Social Care commented that most
young people presenting to ASCH would be known to CSD through its
partnerships with education and health as well as wider partners.
The Assistant Director (Operations) ASC noted that work was planned
to expand the Preparing for Adulthood panel to ensure a consistent
service to all young people who may need support from ASCH. In
response to a question about care leavers, the Assistant Director
Early Help and Social Care outlined CSD’s specific
responsibility to support looked after children up to the age of
25. Looked after children with SEND needs could also be supported
through the Preparing for Adulthood pathway. Following further
questions about eligibility for children with SEND, including those
with an EHCP, the Assistant Director clarified that the pathway was
specifically focussed on providing transition support to children
from the Children’s Disability Service to ASCH; a child with
an EHCP or SEND needs did not necessarily meet the criteria for
this service, however there were other support services for
children with SEND approaching adulthood. There was a further
question about how young people were identified as eligible for
support, including young people moving into the county. The
Director of ASCH responded that there were multiple roots into
support services, including through other local authorities, health
partners and schools.
- Staffing –
In response to a question ...
view the full minutes text for item 25.
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26. |
Reconciling Policy, Performance and Resources (RPPR) PDF 219 KB
Additional documents:
Minutes:
26.1
The Director of ASCH introduced the report, which incorporated the
recent RPPR Cabinet report which provided an update on the policy
context, the Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP), capital programme,
and the Council’s response to significant financial
pressures. The report presented a further opportunity for the
Committee to ask questions on the planning context and to request
any additional information required for the RPPR Board in
December.
26.2
The Director of ASCH outlined the Department’s priority to
deliver statutory duties under the Care Act and areas which had
been protected as far as possible when identifying savings. Savings
proposals contained in the November Cabinet report focussed on
reducing capacity and improving efficiency, maximising charging,
and refocussing external grants to deliver the Council’s core
priorities.
26.3
The Director of CSD noted the Department’s continued focus on
prevention and SEND and outlined the savings proposals contained in
the Cabinet report which focussed on consolidating functions,
maximising income and grants and a review of service models.
26.4
The Chief Finance Officer outlined the financial position of the
Council and key headlines from the recent Government Autumn Budget
statement.
26.5
The Lead Member for Education and Inclusion, Special Educational
Needs and Disability (ISEND) commented that announcements in the
Autumn Budget were unlikely to benefit ESCC and there was an
ongoing challenge to balance the budget.
26.6
The Committee asked a number of questions regarding the information
provided in the report including:
- Children’s Care
Market – In response to a question a recent Government
announcement to ‘crackdown’ on childcare profiteering,
the Lead Members for Education and ISEND noted there were concerns
as well as potential positives from this announcement and more
detail was needed on the Government’s approach.
- Autumn Budget
announcements – The Committee enquired about implications
of announcements in the Autumn Budget to increase Employer’s
National Insurance contributions, as well as increases to the
National Living Wage on the Council’s budget. The Chief
Finance Officer clarified that this was not currently reflected in
the MTFP and it was unclear how National Insurance contributions
would impact on ESCC; although the Chancellor said that the Public
Sector (including local authorities) would be protected from the
increase in Employers’ National Insurance, it was not yet
known how this would be funded. It would most likely impact on the
Council’s contracts and suppliers, including social care
providers and this would be factored into future modelling. The
Director of ASCH noted that negotiations were taking place with
providers around these costs. In a response to the impact of these
on self-funders, the Chief Finance Officer commented that costs
probably would increase for self-funders and noted the previous
government’s plans for social care funding reform which were
now not going ahead. The Government’s approach to social care
funding was not yet known. The Chief Finance Officer also noted
that the year on year increase to the National Living Wage will
require in the future a review of local government pay structures,
which will increase costs.
- Procurement
– There was ...
view the full minutes text for item 26.
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27. |
Work programme PDF 215 KB
Additional documents:
Minutes:
27.
Committee Work Programme
27.1
The Chair introduced the report which outlined the
Committee’s latest work programme and noted that the
Committee had reviewed this in detail at its recent away day. Items
for the incoming committee to consider had been added.
Educational Attainment and Performance Reference Group
27.2
Due to recent changes to the Committee membership, the Committee
RESOLVED that Councillor Cross would join the membership of this
Group.
Forward plan
27.3
The Committee reviewed the Council’s Forward Plan of
executive decisions.
Work Programme
27.4
The Committee RESOLVED to agree the updated work programme.
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28. |
Loneliness Stewardship Group PDF 312 KB
Additional documents:
Minutes:
28. Loneliness Stewardship
Group
28.1
The Consultant in Public Health introduced the report which
provided an update to the Committee on the work of the Connected
People and Places project focussed on tackling loneliness in East
Sussex.
28.2
Key areas of work included developing a system approach; developing
programmes of work; community engagement; establishing a tackling
loneliness hub; and developing a vision statement for East
Sussex.
28.3
The Committee welcomed the report, recognising that loneliness
could affect people of all ages and could have significant impacts,
and asked questions in the following areas:
- Partner engagement
– In response to a question on how partners were engaging
with this work, the Consultant noted the work of the Programme
Facilitator who was engaging with partners and making connections
to raise awareness of the project and align programmes of work. The
Stewardship Approach aimed to develop this work with partners and
noted a recent event which was well attended.
- Loneliness in rural
communities – The Committee asked how this project
reached rural communities. The Consultant noted that there was work
to link with integrated community teams within district and
boroughs, including a project in rural Rother, but welcomed the
opportunity to engage with further groups across the county.
- Accessing community
groups – The Committee noted the importance of people
being able to access communities and asked if there was
collaboration with the Communities, Economy and Transport
department to support this. The Consultant noted that the
project’s annual report included the role of local
infrastructure in reducing loneliness. Work was underway to develop
a ‘connection test’ to support local decision making
(for example planning and transport) to consider social
connections.
- Digital inclusion
– The Committee noted that although loneliness affected
people of all ages, older people could be at higher risk if they
were unable to access online platforms. The Consultant recognised
that for older people, it was important to use a variety of methods
of engagement; work was underway to pilot telephone befriending
schemes.
- Identifying
loneliness – The Committee noted that it could be
challenging to identify and engage with people who are lonely. The
Consultant clarified that loneliness was a dissonance between
expectations for social connection and actual social connection;
the quality of connections was also important, including for people
to have a range of ‘thick’ and ‘thin’
ties.
- Voluntary and
community groups – The Committee recognised the important
role of the voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE)
sector to connect people and asked about the impact of recent
announcements on increases to National Insurance and National
Living Wage on the VCSE, and if this could lead to greater demand
for council services. The Director of ASCH commented that
discussions were taking place with partners about these impacts,
and in recognition of the role they had in prevention, the
Department was prioritising VCSE infrastructure. There were still,
however, concerns about financial challenges facing the VCSE and
the potential impact this could have on individuals’
wellbeing and social care needs.
28.4
The Committee ...
view the full minutes text for item 28.
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29. |
ASC Peer Review and CQC preparations PDF 588 KB
Additional documents:
Minutes:
29.1
The Director of ASCH introduced the report which outlined the
Department's preparations for an upcoming Care Quality Commission
(CQC) visit.
29.2
The Director noted that CQC assessments were reintroduced in 2021
and that as part of local preparations for an assessment, the
Council had participated in a Local Government Association Peer
Review in February 2024. In August the Department was informed by
the CQC that its assessment was starting and had provided
information as part of the initial process. The Department was now
awaiting notification of a site visit.
29.3
Preparations had included learning from other local authorities,
and from other external inspections within the Council, and working
with ESCC staff and Members to ensure that work reflected duties
under the Care Act and was presented within the appropriate
framework.
29.4
The Director outlined anticipated areas of focus for the CQC, based
on the recent Peer Review and ASC Strategy, as well as the role of
the Committee in preparing for the visit and its role more widely
in scrutinising the Department.
29.5 The Committee welcomed the
report and commented on the thorough preparation undertaken by the
Department for the CQC assessment. The Committee also welcomed the
transparent way of working within ASCH and the information provided
by the Department to aid the Committee’s understanding of key
areas.
29.5
The Committee RESOLVED noted the report.
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