Agenda item

Councillor Cheryl Barnard, Portfolio Holder for Children and Young People, delivered a presentation highlighting the following:

(a)  the total budget for Children’s Integrated Services in 2021/22 is £72.659m. The largest variable within this budget is the number of Children in Care. During and following the lockdown there has been a large increase in this number and more children with complex needs. The budget for Children in Care placements is £40.378m;

(b)  savings have been identified within the budget over the next 3 years in various areas including a reduced children’s centre offer, removal of unfilled vacancies and a reduction in the activity budget;

(c)  based on 2020/21 outturn and the current forecast there will be no change to the Children in Care’s pressures in the Medium Term Financial Plan until more information is available on which to base future trends/demands linked with the outcome of OFSTED and SEND reviews;

(d)  whilst it is always a last resort to take a child into care, this can be necessary with increases in self-harming behaviours, eating disorders and neglect. Other Local Authorities have also reported increases in the number of Children in Care;

(e)  delays in the court system are leading to increased numbers of Children in Care and, in addition to the impact on the child and their family, this results in additional cost and budgetary pressure;

(f)  the Children at the Heart Improvement Programme  is embedding consistently good strength-based social work practice to support families to make sustainable changes and work is ongoing at the edge of care to provide practical, intensive and therapeutic support keep children with their families;

(g)  costs are being managed through regional commissioning arrangements, extension of the residential block contract, semi-independence block contract, supported lodgings scheme with Barnado’s, and expansion of internal residential provision is progressing;

(h)  the Council is engaging with the Competition and Markets Authority on the high cost and poor availability of external placements and continues to work with the Local Family Justice Board to escalate concerns about delays for children;

(i)  the Covid-19 Pandemic has had an impact on children and families leading to an increase in domestic violence and mental health referrals. Staff have also been impacted with self-isolation and low morale. The costs of the pandemic have also not been fully reimbursed by the government;

(j)  an external review of service transformation relating to children’s services is currently being scoped.  This will contribute to the Council’s wider recovery and improvement activity and feed into future service and budget planning.

In response to questions from the Committee and in the subsequent discussion the following points were made:

(k)  the Service works closely with education settings and other agencies to identify children who may be at risk of coming into care, and they receive training to help with this. Last year the Neglect Strategy was put in place to help identify signs that children might be starting to be neglected and support them families with mental health services and practical support with housing and benefits. The cessation of the £20 a week uplift in Universal Credit will cause families to be under further pressure;

(l)  the Duty Team refers cases to social workers, or gives advice if a social worker is not required. The percentage of referrals that turn into formal social work is monitored and compared to other local authorities to make sure that this is the appropriate threshold;

(m)other family members are always assessed as possible suitable carers before taking a child into care is considered;

(n)  the number of external placements which fall into the higher cost bracket of £4,000 a week or more is increasing due to the increasingly complex needs of children;

(o)  opportunities for naming an award after Helen Blackman and possibly a memorial tree or bench are being explored. The Garden Street Centre is to be renamed Helen’s Place.

The Committee thanked the Portfolio Holder for outlining the current context for the provision of services for children and young people, and discussed that it would be useful to explore in more detail plans for addressing the demand and budget pressures facing Children’s Services at a future meeting.