Agenda item

Report by Director of Children's Services.

62.1     The Panel considered a report by the Director of Children’s Services which provided an update on Looked After Children (LAC) statistics.

62.2     Sally Carnie, Head of Looked After Service updated the Panel on the latest position for LAC in East Sussex.  The Panel heard that in the last quarter there has been another significant increase in LAC from 655 to 684 (increase of 29). There were 61 children admitted to care and 44 children discharged from care which impacted the overall number. This was made up of several large sibling groups, increased numbers of children being accommodated and a group of unaccompanied asylum seeking children (UASC) being transferred via the National Transfer Scheme (NTS).  Via sections 20 no spontaneous arrivals all via NTS.

62.3     There are fewer children living in Foster Care this quarter but set against this the service is seeing an increase in enquiries and initial visits and approvals and it is hoped that there will be more foster placements available to children in the future as a result.

62.4     Supported housing and accommodation numbers remain stable but fewer children in unregistered placements which is positive. All family type provision has seen an increase in children living in those arrangements which is a sign that the unification strategy is getting some traction.  There are 3 children in secure homes but within an ESCC facility so it is raising the income it need to.

62.5     There has been an increase in the leaver population and officers highlighted the need to  consider the local offer for these young people. An overreliance on residential agency placements continues to put pressure on budgets though officers always try to use foster care and family placements where appropriate. The service has seen continued levels of children with very complex needs, with a significant increase in last 6 months, and this can then be difficult to put care in place within the family.

62.6     The Council has traditionally tracked well against other Local Authorities with good foster carers and relationships with suppliers however this has slipped and there is a need to increase the number of foster carers and officers wish to look at multi-issue/needs facilities in house. The new commissioning manager meets monthly with neighbours – perform well comparatively but need to do more to increase the capacity to place children in the best placements. The number of inhouse placements has increased by 30% which is positive.

62.7     There is has a significant group of children post covid who are experiencing mental health challenges which means they cannot be looked after at home due to their complex need and officers work with the Integrated Care Board to see how needs can be met at an earlier stage.

62.8     The Panel agreed that a report at a future meeting which sets out a fostering timeline would be welcome and noted that officers will bring a dashboard with a summary of the overall performance which would include financial information. 

62.9        The Panel RESOLVED to note the report.