Agenda and minutes

The following corrections to the minutes of the last meeting were noted:

·         Co-opted Member Nigel Wildish said he was present at the last meeting but this had not been recorded in the minutes; and

·         Co-opted Member Anne O’Shea gave her apologies at the last meeting but this had not been recorded in the minutes.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 21 September 2023 be approved as a correct record.

Apologies for absence had been received from Councillor Wakeley, Councillor Woodcock-Vellemen and Raisel Freedman (Co-Opted Member).

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The Chair announced that the exempt reports for the Family Services item would be considered at a separate meeting due to technical issues with accessing the private area on the Modern.Gov app. This was unanimously agreed.

The Strategic Lead for Children’s Services gave a brief overview of the safeguarding arrangements in Barnet and the work of the Barnet Safeguarding Children Partnership. This included statutory membership from the Police, Health and Local Authority, and wider involvement from Education, Probation and other local organisations. It was reported that a multi-agency team of independent scrutineers had been commissioned to conduct an annual review of the work undertaken. 

The Partnership Manager said their role was to support the Partnership produce the statutory annual report and disseminate learning.

The Lead Independent Scrutineer said she led a team of three independent scrutineers.  Her role was to drive continuous improvement, make recommendations, and provide assurance to partnership on safeguarding.

The Partnership also ensure serious safeguarding reviews are undertaken. A recent project looked at funding of the Metropolitan Police and it was noted that there was concern about the equity and fairness in funding arrangements. Overall, the Lead Scrutineer said the current arrangements were robust, children are safeguarded, and welfare promoted.

The Director of Children’s Social Care gave an overview of the role of the Council in multi-agency partnership working. There were a wide range of arrangements in place including the Multi-Agency Partnership HUB (MASH) Practice Forum. The Director also chaired the Early Help Strategic Board and the Domestic Abuse and Violence against Women and Girls Delivery Group.

The Designated Doctor for Children’s Safeguarding gave an overview of the role of the designated team. This included dissemination of the Strategy to health colleagues, and supporting rapid reviews and safeguarding issues.

The Director of Safeguarding for North Central London Integrated Care Board added that the annual reports reflected the work undertaken over the last year, but there was also lots of discussion and constructive challenge within the Partnership.

The Detective Chief Inspector (DCI) reported that the Partnership worked well and was well managed. There had been positive outcomes from recent child abuse reviews, and spaces were provided for the local authority to have an input in professional development days.

The DCI reported that, following a Police Inspection in September 2022, there had been causes for concern on reporting children missing. New measures had been put in place to make sure all lines were followed up regarding suspects, and additional training provided for officers on social media investigations. There would be increased staffing from the end of January. They would work at the Child Abuse Assistance Desk and Child Exploitation team.

A Committee Member asked if there had been an increase in police funding to undertake additional work. The DCI reported said there was additional funding to bid for specific tasks, but there had been no increased funding for staffing.

A Committee Member questioned if there was an enhanced response to concerns about children at risk. The DCI said queries  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

The Committee noted the Cabinet Forward Plan (Key Decision Schedule). 

The Committee requested that the Corporate Parenting Strategy to be reported to a future meeting.

RESOLVED that the Committee note the Forward Work Programme.

The Committee considered the Task and Finish Group update report enclosed with the agenda.

Members of the Elective Home Education Task and Finish Group sought clarification that meetings would be held with headteachers and council officers before the review was completed. The Principal Scrutiny Officer confirmed that this would be arranged.

The Committee noted the Task and Finish Group updates.

The Executive Director of Children’s Services gave an overview of the performance data which set out range of information and highlighted that most services remained stable. There was an issue concerning timeliness of assessments which was low but improving. There was continuous improvement in recruitment in the children’s workforce.

A Committee Member asked about challenges of completing single assessments and if delays caused any risk to children and questioned why there had been delays.

The Director of Children’s Social Care said delays were caused by staffing shortages but noted that this had now been resolved. Data would fluctuate for a period before it stabilised.

A Committee Member asked about the increases in re-registrations for Child Protection Plans. The Director of Children’s Social Care said this is being kept under review to ensure that children were not being removed from safeguarding arrangements too early.

A Committee Member noted there were 36 additional unaccompanied asylum seeker children coming to Barnet per month and asked if we could we meet this demand.

The Executive Director of Children’s Services said we need to care for our children and meet out statutory duties, there was a concern about children coming into care who were discharged from mental health provision.

A Committee Member asked if the rise in children in care was a national or local trend. The Executive Director of Children’s Services said Barnet rates were below the national average. Rises in figures could be caused by isolated local incidents.

The Executive Director of Children’s Services said he would look at latest data of numbers of children in care across London and report findings to the Committee.

A Committee Member asked how we were addressing the 18% of Looked After Children who go missing in placement.

The Director of Children’s Social said 20 children went missing 54 times. They were often complex adolescents. Young people in care were reported as missing if they come home late. They had return home interviews, risks assessments, and young people were involved in planning. Police would prioritise children at risk of exploitation. There was a regular report to senior leadership teams to ensure there is high level oversight.

RESOLVED that the Committee:

1.    Note the Family Services self-evaluation and progress as set out in the report.

2.    Request that officers provide details of the numbers of children in care across London.