Agenda item

1.         Mrs Whittle set out a number of recent and current developments, as follows:-

New Children’s Services governance arrangements are now established, including the new Corporate Parenting Panel and Children’s Services Improvement Panel, which had each held their inaugural meetings. Work on the Staff Advisory Group Panel is still ongoing.

The Shadow a Social Worker scheme had had good take up by KCC Members, and feedback from those who had already participated showed it to be a good experience.

The Children’s Services Improvement Plan:  There are currently some 2,700 cases which have been without an allocated social worker for 28 days or more, due to social worker vacancy levels.  The establishment of social workers is now nearly at full strength but the percentage of experienced social workers needs to be increased. A recruitment and retention package is being introduced to address this, and pay levels are only one aspect of this package.

On 20 June, Cabinet had received a report from Liz Railton, the Chairman of the Independent Improvement Board, which had been very complimentary about the KCC’s approach to addressing this issue, while highlighting the increase in referral rates, Child Protection Plans and LAC.

CAMHS.  Ofsted had identified failings in this service, but much progress is being made with NHS colleagues to develop jointly-commissioned services and aligned budgets.  The most pressing need is faster referral times. 

2.         Arising from comments and questions from Members, the following points were highlighted:-

• There is still a high percentage of agency social work staff, but this will decrease when more experienced social workers are recruited.

• it is vital that KCC Members remained involved in Adoption Panels, and that time taken to process adoptions be shortened.  Martin Narey, formerly head of Barnardo’s, has been engaged to address this aim.
• Members wished to have more up-to-date statistics than those given (for the end of March), but it was explained that the statistics reported to POSCs were governed by the Core Monitoring timetable.  Members are sent monthly updates of statistics.
• Members welcomed news of progress on addressing CAMHS shortfalls, as this had been a long-standing concern.  Members need frequent updates on progress on this issue, and a further report was requested for the POSC’s next meeting.
• although some £750,000 additional government funding had been made available to fund mental health service provision for 16- and 17- year olds, one aspect of funding which needs to be addressed is the CAMHS costs to Kent of young people placed by other local authorities, which is either not recouped or only slowly recouped, leaving KCC to carry the cost.
• morale amongst social work staff had understandably suffered as a result of the Ofsted report and staffing difficulties.

3.         Members placed on record their thanks and deep appreciation of the difficult work undertaken by social work staff but acknowledged that this needs to be supported by ensuring that those staff have reasonable and manageable workloads.

4.         It was proposed, and generally supported, that a recommendation be made to Cabinet that it urge PCTs to retrieve from the placing authority the costs of providing CAMHS services to young people placed by those authorities.

5.         RESOLVED that:-

a)         the information given in the update and in response to Members’ comments and questions be noted, with thanks;

b)         a recommendation be made to Cabinet that it urge PCTs to retrieve from other local authorities the costs of providing CAMHS services to young people placed by those authorities; and

c)         social work staff be advised of Members’ thanks and deep appreciation of the difficult work they undertake and the acknowledgement that this appreciation needs to be supported by ensuring that they have reasonable and manageable workloads.