Agenda and minutes

The welcomed attendees to the meeting of the Corporate Parenting Board and apologies for absence were received from County Borough Councillors C. Leyshon, S. Evans and S. Trask.

To receive disclosures of personal interest from Members in accordance with the Code of Conduct

Note:

1.     Members are requested to identify the item number and subject matter that their interest relates to and signify the nature of the personal interest: and

2.   Where Members withdraw from a meeting as a consequence of the disclosure of a prejudicial interest they must notify the Chairman when they leave.

In accordance with the Council’s Code of Conduct, County Borough Councillor S. Rees declared the following personal interest in item 6 of the agenda - Vale, Valleys and Cardiff Adoption Collaborative (VVC) Annual Report 2021-2022: ‘I represent the Executive as a Member of the Panel.’

To approve, as an accurate record, the minutes of the meeting of the meeting of the Corporate Parenting Board held on 18^th October 2022.

To approve as an accurate record, the minutes of the meeting of the Corporate Parenting Board held on the 24^th November 2022.

To receive the Tros Gynnal Plant (TGP) Cymru quarterly progress report.

Tros Gynnal Plant provided the Corporate Parenting Board with a progress update for the quarter 2 period, which covered July 2022 – September 2022.

Members were informed that during the period 46 young people accessed Issue Based Advocacy and 21 were referred for the Active Offer across RCT. The officer advised that 19 care experienced young people and 1 care leaver accessed Issue Based Advocacy, presenting with 21 issues; and 5 care experienced young people were referred for the Active Offer.

Members learned that, during the period, 22 Care Experienced young people became eligible for the Active Offer, 4 Active Offers were delivered by advocates and 4 young people accepted the Active Offer and went on to receive Issue Based Advocacy. This means 23% of eligible young people were referred for Active Offer.

During the period, 6 Care Experienced young people were recorded as rejecting the offer of an Active Offer meeting. The officer explained that the main reason for rejecting the Active Offer was that the young person felt they didn’t need the service because they could talk to their social worker or another professional. It was added that 1 young person rejected the Active Offer meeting without a reason but was later referred to the advocacy service.

Members were informed that the most popular issues in need of advocacy support in quarter two, were placement followed by contact and the Social services referral and ‘self-referral’ is the most popular route into the Issue Based Advocacy service for care experienced young people and care leavers.

The officer went on to provide Members with the statistics for Care Experienced young people accessing Issue Based Advocacy service and those referred for the Active Offer. This included information on age, gender, ethnicity and placement.

The Chair thanked Tros Gynnal Plant Cymru for the informative report and referred to a case study which showed the importance and success of the advocacy service. The Chair questioned if all young people are made aware of the service and it was explained that the Local Authority had worked hard to advertise and promote pathways through practitioners to the valuable service.

Following consideration of the report, the Corporate Parenting Board RESOLVED:

1.    To note the content of the report.

To receive an update in respect of the housing and support assistance to young people leaving care for the period 1st April 2022 to the 31st of October 2022.

The Interim Head of Community Safety and Community Housing provided the Corporate Parenting Board with an update in respect of the housing and support assistance to young people leaving care for the period 1st April 2022 to the 31st of October 2022.

The officer advised Members of the housing and support options available for young people leaving care:

·       Social Housing Homefinder (Allocations) – During the period, 14 care leavers applied to Homefinder and had been assessed as ready to live Independently and registered for housing and placed in Band A. 8 allocations of social housing had been made to care leavers during the period with 2 young people leaving care awaiting a tenancy in a new build project in Taff’s Well,

·       Private Rented Accommodation – A pilot scheme which aims to improve access and support to private landlords to offer long term affordable and good quality accommodation with support in the private rented sector;

·       Housing Related Support Services - RCT currently commission, through Housing Support Grant, wide ranging provision and holistic support services to care leavers and young people aged 16 -25. This includes 28 units of supported accommodation and 11 units of emergency accommodation for young people aged 16- 25. During the period, 45 young people had accessed the 28 supported accommodation units. Of the 45 individuals, 9 were identified as care leavers. To date, officers had helped 32 young people access the 11 emergency units;

·       Floating Support - This service helps young people who already have their own accommodations and supports many individuals including young people to further develop their independent living skills and help them to sustain their tenancies. Over the first 7 months of the year, 12 referrals from care leavers were received for tenancy related support and accepted on the scheme;

·       Housing First Project - A partnership between RCTCBC and Llamau and provides a person-centred approach or young people who have high support needs and who will find living in supported accommodation and general needs accommodation without support a challenge. The project was currently supporting 10 young people with 4 young people maintaining their tenancies for 6 months or longer at the end of October.

·       Supported Lodgings - To provide young people leaving care with a safe home and to offer practical advice and help to manage their lifestyle and become independent. At the time of the meeting, 9 care leavers were currently placed in a supported lodgings placement in Rhondda Cynon Taff; and

·       Get Ready and Move on Project (GRAMO) – A project which provides an early intervention pre-tenancy learning environment for all individuals to develop and evidence the skills to manage a tenancy. During the period, 9 care leavers were referred to GRAMO and completed the course.

The officer advised that the provision of Welsh Government funding to increase the supply of both temporary and permanent accommodation had helped. However, despite the financial assistance, there was a limited availability of suitable and affordable accommodation in both the social and private rented sector, which  ...  view the full minutes text for item 18.

To receive the report of the Group Director, Community & Children’s Services which provides Corporate Parenting Board members an update on the work of the Miskin Teams and Therapeutic Families Team set out in the services’ annual reports for 2021-2022.

The Service Manager provided the Corporate Parenting Board with an update on the work of the Miskin Teams, Integrated Family Support Team (IFST), Therapeutic Families Team (TFT) set out in the services’ annual report for 2021-2022.

The officer provided Members with some background to the Miskin service areas and the principals, values, and purpose, which was to prevent child–parent separation or placement breakdown. Members were informed that this was done through the deployment of evidence-based, time limited interventions which are co-produced with the family and the referring case worker.

The officer provided Members with some of the feedback of the service users and explained that questionnaires are sent to the referring workers, young people, parents and foster carers. The approximate 25% return rate provided the team with an indication of the benefits of the service and areas to improve upon.

The officer provided an overview of the performance data, a comparison of referrals over the years and the impact of Covid-19.

The Chair referred to the service user quotes on page 9 and praised the staff for such rewarding work. Referring to parental substance misuse, mental health and domestic violence, the Chair questioned whether there had been an increase in those referrals since the pandemic. The officer advised that there hadn’t necessarily been an increase, as they had always been prevalent in the vast majority of referrals and informed the Board, that one of the highest areas in RCT was parental alcohol misuse.

Following consideration of the report, the Corporate Parenting Board RESOLVED:

1.    To acknowledge its content.

To receive the report of the Group Director, Community and Children’s Services, which provides the Corporate Parenting Board with the Vale, Valleys and Cardiff Adoption Collaborative (VVC) Annual Report for 2021-2022.

The Service Director of Children’s Services provided the Corporate Parenting Board with the Regional Adoption Collaboration Annual Report.

Members were informed that, during the period, the Vale, Valleys and Cardiff Adoption Collaborative (VVC) approved a significant pool of adopters with the result that more children can be placed within the region. The need however, to continue to recruit more adopters for more complex children remained a priority for VVC. Adoption Support represented a large set of challenges for VVC and the need to reduce the waiting list for services and to ensure that the service was targeted to those most in need remained a priority.

One Member commented, that as a Panel Member, social worker input was valued at meetings and encouraged their attendance but recognised how heavy their workload was.

The Chair thanked the Service Director for the report and the Corporate Parenting Board RESOLVED:

1.    To acknowledge the information contained within the report.

“That the press and public be excluded from the meeting under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act, 1972 (as amended) for the next item of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraphs 13 and 14 of Part 4 of Schedule 12A of the Act.”

It was RESOLVEDthat the press and public be excluded from the meeting under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act (as amended) for the following items of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of the exempt information as defined in paragraph 14 of Part 4 of the Schedule 12A of the Act.

To receive the report of the Group Director, Community & Children’s Services which provides the Corporate Parenting Board with information on the Fostering Wales: Fostering Friendly Employer/Charter.

The Foster Wales Regional Development Manager provided an update to the Corporate Parenting Board about the recruitment and retention of foster carers, with a particular focus on the regional front door for fostering recruitment and the changes to operational delivery within fostering recruitment.

Following consideration of the exempt report, the Corporate Parenting Board RESOLVED:

1.    To note for information the changes to fostering recruitment and the performance information provided.

To receive the report of the Group Director, Community & Children’s Services providing the Corporate Parenting Board with an overview of the operation and effectiveness of the statutory Social Services complaints procedure.

The Service Improvement, Engagement & Complaints Manager provided the Corporate Parenting Board with an overview of the operation of effectiveness of the statutory Social Services complaints procedure between 1^st July 2022 – 30^th September 2022.

The report contained information on the number of complaints received, the nature of the complaints and any lessons learnt, as well as detailing Councillor, A.M and M.P enquiries and the number of complaints received.

Following consideration of the exempt report, Members RESOLVED:

1.    To note its content; and

2.    That additional training should be provided to all Elected Members, in respect of the risks of submitting complaints to the CRM in their capacity as Councillors on behalf of family members.

To receive the report of the Group Director, Community & Children’s Services, updating members on the Regulation 73 visits and the current position within RCT’s Residential Children’s Homes and Respite Service.

The Residential Services Manager provided the Board with an update on the Regulation 32 visits undertaken at the children’s homes – Beddau, Bryndar, Nantgwyn and Ty Brynna during April – October 2022.

The officer outlined a summary of the inspection outcomes and it was RESOLVED:

1.     To note the content of the report.