Venue: Multi-Location Meeting - Council Chamber, Guildhall / MS Teams. View directions
Contact: Liz Jordan 01792 637314
Media
Items
No. |
Item |
1. |
Disclosure of Personal and Prejudicial Interests
Minutes:
No disclosures of interest were received.
|
2. |
Prohibition of Whipped Votes and Declaration of Party Whips
Minutes:
No declarations were made.
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3. |
Minutes of Previous Meeting(s) PDF 319 KB
To receive the minutes of the previous meeting(s) and agree
as an accurate record.
Additional documents:
Minutes:
Panel agreed the Minutes of the meeting on 2 August 2023 as
an accurate record of the meeting.
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4. |
Public Question Time
Questions must be submitted in writing, no later than noon
on the working day prior to the meeting. Questions must relate to items on the
agenda. Questions will be dealt with in a 10-minute period.
Minutes:
No questions were received.
|
5. |
Presentation by Young Carers
Gavin Evans, Principal Officer Family
Support Services
Minutes:
Gavin Evans, Principal Officer Family Support Services, Helen Howells,
Team Manager Pupil Support and Egija Cinovska, Young
Carers Coordinator at the YMCA, attended to present a video made by Young Carers
on the Young Carers Forum who have helped shape a Plan to support Young Carers.
Discussion Points:
- Panel queried how the Service finds out how
many young carers there are and what percentage they are reaching. Heard
the statistic matches the national statistic ie three young carers in every single classroom
in the UK. Informed young carers
are identified through PSE sessions held in schools. The Service is
growing as it is receiving so many referrals and would benefit from more
workers.
- Officers confirmed the YMCA supports any age,
gender, any person who needs support within our communities.
- Panel queried who the presentation is going to
be shared with. Informed the Plan
has been to a number of strategic partnerships to
get agreement and has been positively met.
Heard that from young carers feedback, one of the main things is to
ensure all schools are on board and that there is a champion for every
school.
- Panel commented on the language used in the
presentation and thought it was quite grown up. Panel feel if it is going to be used in
schools with younger children it needs to be made age appropriate.
- Panel queried how long the YMCA Carers has
been set up and where they are in the journey. Heard it was set up seven years
ago. Officers feel it has been
successful because young carers have shaped it and told the Service
exactly what they need.
|
6. |
Adolescent Strategy and Action Plan PDF 174 KB
Helen Williams, Principal Officer Adolescent
and Young People Services
Minutes:
Julie Davies, Head of Child and Family Services and Helen Williams,
Principal Officer Adolescent and Young People Services attended to brief the Panel
on this issue including actions and achievements to date and ambitions for the
future.
Discussion Points:
- Panel queried why advocacy was not mentioned
in the report. Officers provided
reassurance that all children they deal with are given the offer and
encouraged to take it up.
- Panel queried if position of Independent
Reviewing Officer (IRO) still falls within Social Services, (officers
confirmed it does), and if the Service feels it has enough staff in those
areas currently. Heard in
Adolescent Services starting to see challenges recruiting social
workers. Alternatively qualified
staff are being recruited to help with increased demand for support.
Staffing levels for IROs are quite healthy.
- Panel noted more talk about the Youth Justice
System in the report and asked if this is an indication that more
youngsters are beginning to present with problems. Heard in terms of accommodation, more
young people are presenting needing additional support and it is difficult
to know the cause specifically. Informed in terms of youth justice, not
seeing significantly more numbers of young people coming through at the
statutory end but the prevention offer within youth justice is growing
significantly in terms of exploitation.
- Panel queried if the Service is satisfied with
the way Barnardo’s deliver on contracts.
Heard there are no issues with Barnardo’s in terms of quality of
provision.
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7. |
Work Plan 2023-24 PDF 37 KB
Minutes:
Panel considered the work plan and noted items for the next
meeting.
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Letter to CM (13 September 2023 meeting) PDF 118 KB
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Response from Cabinet Member (13 September 2023 meeting) PDF 145 KB
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