Agenda item
Call in the Head of Children & Young Peoples Services and Service Manager of Resources re the Internal Audit Unsatisfactory Opinion on SGO/Kinship Payments
Minutes:
The Audit Committee took this item first to allow for all members present to have their say.
The report informed the Audit Committee of the action taken by management in the Service Area to date and its progress against the agreed action plan in respect of the Unsatisfactory audit opinion for Special Guardianship Orders (SGO) / Kinship Payments.
The Head of Children and Young People Services presented her case to the Audit Committee. This was a challenging period with a depleted management team from five to two managers and the service area was awaiting new guidance from Welsh Government along with further work, hence the delay. There was also a national piece of work to change parameters in relation to this matter, which also added to the delay in implementing the agreed management actions.
In the meantime, the Head of Children and Young People Services was pleased to report a full complement of staff in the management team and the recently appointed Service Manager (Resources) had taken a proactive step towards approaching financial support and had care funding from Welsh Government. The team supported special guardian kinship and child care. Work had grown exponentially and there was a positive change in culture.
It was hoped that the Chief Internal Auditor would agree that the service area was in a better place in light of all the recent changes.
The Chair thanked officers for their presentation.
Discussions included the following:
- Councillor Hourahine queried the high turnover of management staff. It was advised that there had been changes, however going forward there was only one agency social worker out of 340 staff. There were still vacancies however the working relationship with staff was good, most of which came to the Council as students and stayed with us. The service area was in a very different place to where it was in 2013. This would always be a watching brief but the Head of Service felt much more confident. In addition, there would always be vacancies but staff more recently had left for good reasons such as promotions. Councillor Hourahine added that social workers did a wonderful job and worked hard for the Council.
- Councillor K Thomas asked if most of the payments had gone through. Fortunately, the Head of Service advised that they had, however, the problem was with the process and procedures, although families were not left without financial support. Additionally, Councillor K Thomas asked was Internal Audit part of the process at the time. It was confirmed that Internal Audit were not at that time, and a number of assessments were linked to the Courts and financial assessment. There were two yearly reviews on a finance and needs basis, which was part of the regulations. The Director of Social Services Annual Report to Council highlighted that the preventative side of social work was paramount. Councillor K Thomas also asked if the amalgamation of teams had strengthened this. The Head of Service advised that the challenge was that children/families were already vulnerable but it was clear that this type of support was working for families. The service areas was working hard to ensure that the support plans in place were tailor made for each family and it was recognised that some families would dip in and out whereas some would need constant support. In relation to preventative work, yearly reviews were undertaken to check any issues to prevent escalation, the duty desk and newsletter provided support for carers in Newport; this was one of best the practices in Wales.
- The Chair considered the shortage of staff and was concerned that money was not going to families. During this period, therefore could the control be altered slightly to ease burden with the shortage of staff as a lot could be done to streamline control from a financial point of view. The Head of Service advised that this was not the case as the system was automated and was therefore confident that control measures meant that the service area was in a much better place and the bureaucracy had diminished.
The Chair also looked at the action plan reasons relating to two unsatisfactory opinions and asked was this due to lack of staff. It was advised the service area had not grasped the need to remedy this however it had now risen up the agenda for social workers and teams are now in place to address the processes.
- The Chief Internal Auditor was concerned that the overall practice was inconsistent; however the value was considerable and would build back into the audit planning process a follow up review to update the Audit Committee in due course. Internal Audit had a good working relationship with the Service Manager at an operational level and were happy to work with managers going forward.
Agreed:
That the Audit Committee were informed of the action taken by management in the Service Area to date as well as progress against the agreed action plan in respect of the Unsatisfactory Audit Opinion for Special Guardianship Orders/Kinships.
Supporting documents: