Agenda and draft minutes

20.1     The Committee RESOLVED to agree the minutes of the meeting held on 24 September 2024 as a correct record.

21.1     There were no apologies for absence.

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.

22.1     There were no disclosures of interest.

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.

23.1     There were no urgent items.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.