Agenda item

Attendee:

-       James Harris, Strategic Director – People

-       Jenny Jenkins, Service Manager - Adult & Community Services

The Strategic Director – People presented a brief overview to the Committee and highlighted the key areas for consideration.

2018/19 was another demanding year characterised by the maintenance of quality and standards of service delivery. The task of embedding the 2014 Social Services and Well Being Act continued and had helped positively in the re-shaping of Early Intervention and Preventative Services. This had assisted in the ongoing work to manage demand. The well-being objectives wind through all social services operations and tie closely to the Newport City Council (NCC) Corporate Plan, notably:

-           To improve skills, educational outcomes and employment opportunities.

-           To enable people to be healthy, independent & resilient.

-           To build cohesive & sustainable communities.

Each year financial constraints become more significant when available budgets are set against rising costs and increasing demand. There was a continuous striving to minimise costs and identify savings. In Children Services efforts have continued to concentrate on addressing the shortage of placement options and the associated costs as well as appropriately minimising the numbers of looked after children. Work in Adults Services had included the managing of demand and the building of capacity through the integration of health and social care, the Integrated Care Fund and the Transformation Fund being key enablers. As usual, there had also been a drive to minimise delayed transfers of care and these were kept at manageable levels, although there remains scope to improve. The Care in Wales inspection reports and performance indicators demonstrate however, that the service delivered to children and adults was being maintained, a significant achievement. In addition to legislative change and financial challenges, the use and application of the Welsh Community Care and Information System (WCCIS) had been developed during the year. Partnership working had developed further with the other South East Wales Local Authorities with numerous joint initiatives maintained and developed. The integrated partnership with Barnardo’s has also remained a strength with a retendering for the strategic partnership delivered by Barnardo’s recently completed. The Regional Partnership Board at which the third sector, Aneurin Bevan University Health Board and South East Wales Local Authorities are represented continues to be an important route for the transformation of health and social care and Newport City Council engages fully in this process. 2019/20 will prove no less challenging but social services in Newport City Council were lean, efficient and well-placed to respond.

Members asked the following:

·                A Member asked for clarification on staff turnover and the movement of Social Workers within the authority. The Strategic Director for People replied explaining that it had been a challenge in the past, but turnover of staff in recent years had been low, and that all post are currently filled. Feedback received from Social Workers was positive, saying that working in Newport holds more of a challenge, which could be an attraction to some people. Pay was less inferior than in previous years to neighbouring authorities and a thorough training pathway.

·                A Member raised concerns regarding child abuse in Newport, asking if there had been a robust program in place when dealing with the challenges society currently face. The Member asked Officers for assurances that the system had not let the children down as it had done in some of the high profile towns in England.  Officers replied but incidents reported in Newport were of a lower scale than those reported on in England.  The Officer explained that systems and processes within the Authority’s Safeguarding hub were unique and robust, sharing information with key front line professionals, holding regular conferences to discuss cases as all of the agencies are located together within the hub.

·                A Member of the Committee asked if Newport had adopted a Believe Policy.  Officers replied confirming that the Authority’s approach is one of an assessed belief, not of a blind belief.

·                A Member commented on the targets set by Welsh Government expressing concerns around the drive to reduce the number of young people in care by placing targets on returning the children to their families, and whether the Authority were still under pressure to return children home. The Officer replied explaining that in some cases the circumstances it were not right to return the child to the family and in these cases the child would not return home. The Council would not put a child in an environment where they might be harmed, other options were considered for those young people such as fostering and adoption.

·                The Committee expressed concerns that Newport had seen a rise in care leavers becoming homeless. Members questioned why the figure was so disturbingly high was and did it include sofa surfers. The Officer replied explaining that it was an immense challenge compared to six/eight years ago when resources were at a higher level. Newport had more residential accommodation than any other authority in Wales. Currently homelessness was a national crisis but there had been significant work carried out in Newport working with private landlords and floating support with help to enhance and develop skills to maintain a home tenancy.

·                A Member of the Committee expressed concerns regarding funding received by third sector organisations to work with the homeless in Newport but the Authority were still facing a substantial issue.

·                A Member thanked the Strategic Director – People, for the positives and the targets achieved on the report. Asking for clarification on what the arrangements had been made taking the report forward to Cabinet and Council after his retirement. The Officer replied confirming that the Interim Strategic Director - People would take the report forward with support of the Interim Chief Executive, Strategic Director – Place, Head of Children and Young People Services and the Head of Adult and Community Services.

·                A Member of the Committee asked Officers if the Authority had the ability to earn money from accommodating children from other Authorities. Officers replied explaining that it would not be the intention to earn money but there would be the potential. The focus would be on the achieving the correct blend of children in the home, not the financial gain. The other five Authorities in Gwent do not have the same facilities or capacity as Newport do, the intention of the Council was to develop further places.

·                A Member asked for clarity on the process of identifying Adults on the edge of needing support, further enquiring whether the Authority were proactive in supporting those individuals.  The Officer confirmed that unless an individual self identifies or a partner agency picks up the situation the Authority would not have sight of the issue. When a referral has been made, there would be two routes for engagement, Safeguarding Hub and the First Contact Team. Newport would then be able to identify the individual with their records to ensure support is maintained.

·                Members of the Committee commented on the percentage of children seen by a registered dentist within three months of becoming looked after, asking if data could be added to the report to incorporate if a child had been registered or not. The Officer confirmed that there was an improved performance for looked after Children registered with a dentist, however the measure would require revision as the child might have seen a dentist just before becoming looked after, or may have left care before dental appointments were sourced. The figures were low due to the Authority having to disclose information that the child was looked after and registered with a GP ten working days after placement, the figures were low but were accurate.

·                Committee Members committed on the revenue out-turn showing an underspend of budget, asking Officers for an explanation.  Officers confirmed that whilst the position was positive there were areas of budget pressure that had been highlighted throughout most of the year, one of which was the demand led pressures within social care.  Within Childrens Services, there was a significant financial pressure due to out of authority placement costs.

·                A Member commented on young carers and the challenges of meeting the needs of those types of carers, currently there was not a statement to make those values clear. The resilience of the family was not always great. Friends act as a support network. Reports from schools indicate that extra support was required as pressure on staffing and have problems finding staff. The Officer replied to Members explaining that there was a challenge with resources in schools, the connection with Education does not show on this report but could be added in the future, however the issue does come up In the Performance Scrutiny Committee - People as well as Overview Management Scrutiny Committee.

The Chair thanked the officers for attending.

Conclusion – Actions and Comments to the Cabinet

The Committee noted the Director of Social Services Annual Report and agreed to forward the minutes to the Cabinet as a summary of the issues raised.

The Committee wished to make the following comments to the Cabinet:

1.         The Committee wished to comment on the increasing pressure from the Welsh Government to lower the number of Looked After Young People in Newport. They explained that the Cabinet Member and Officers would receive their full support if they did not meet WG targets due to the risks to the young people returning home.

2.         Strategic Director – People to add further information on staff turnover within Social Services to the annual report.

3.         Strategic Director – People to add further information on the Grooming/Child Exploitation Strategy to the annual report and provide the information to the Committee.

4.         Strategic Director – People to add more information on Education involvement and support to the annual report.

5.         The Committee found that the rise of homeless young people after leaving care was unacceptable and requested more information as a report.