Agenda item

To receive a verbal update from the Cabinet Members for Specialist Children’s Services and Adult Social Care and Public Health, the Corporate Director of Social Care, Health and Wellbeing and the Director of Public Health.

Children and Young People’s Public Health

1.            The Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Public Health, Mr G K Gibbens, gave a verbal update on the following issues:-

6 February – visit from Duncan Selbie, Chief Executive of Public Health England. Mr Selbie had been very complimentary about the County Council’s work in public health since it took over responsibility for it in April 2013, especially on addressing health inequalities, and acknowledged the ongoing challenge faced by Kent and many other local authorities across the country in tackling this issue.

9 March – attended Local Government Association Public Health Conference in London.  At this event, the Minister had focussed on the Childhood Obesity Plan and the prevalence of obesity among Year R children.  There was much integrated working between professionals to address these issues.  Local Authorities would be judged by the way in which they managed public health issues, since taking responsibility for them in April 2013.

2.            The Director of Public Health, Mr A Scott-Clark, then gave a verbal update on the following issues:-

Public Health ring-fenced budget extension - at the Local Government Association Public Health Conference in London, it had been announced that the ring-fencing of local authorities’ public health funding would continue until 2019. Thereafter, it would form part of an authority’s care budget. 

Public Health Mandate for 0-5 Healthy Child Programme extension – the timeframe within which local authorities had to implement this mandate had been extended by 18 months, which was helpful in terms of work management as there was much work to do. 

NHS Maternity Transformation Event 'Implementing Better Births’ – Mr Scott-Clark had recently attended a meeting with NHS England which had discussed work to reduce the number of still-births by 2030. This work would be helped by the closer working between public health and maternity services.

In response to a question about what the County Council could do to press for maternity services to stay at Maidstone Hospital, rather than move to Tunbridge Wells, Mr Scott-Clark advised that the County Council’s Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee (HOSC) would need to discuss any such major change as a ‘substantial variation of service’, but said he was not expecting there to be such a change.  Another speaker, who served on the HOSC, advised that it was proposed that only the day unit should move from Maidstone to Tunbridge Wells; there would be no change to Maidstone’s pre-natal or post-natal clinics or the birthing unit.  This smaller change was a clinical decision and would not therefore need to be discussed by the HOSC.

In response to a question about heavily-sugared drinks, Mr Gibbens advised that the LGA had done a lot of work on the sugar tax and that this issue would gain prominence in the political agenda in the future.

Children’s Social Care

3.            The Cabinet Member for Specialist Children’s Services, Mr P J Oakford, gave a verbal update on the following issues:-

Interviews for Strategic Commissioner post – these were going on today and he was on the interview panel, but had arranged a break to allow him to attend the CSCH meeting. NOTE: The panel subsequently appointed Vincent Godfrey.

Ofsted inspection – Ofsted inspectors had been in Kent for three weeks and had undertaken many interviews with staff, service directors and Members. In his interview he had raised the issue of the high number of children placed within Kent by other local authorities (OLAs).  Two Kent MPs were currently on board and he was aiming to meet with all Kent MPs about this issue.  There were currently 1,316 children placed in Kent by OLAs, while Kent’s own care population was 1,400. 

Annual Foster Carers awards evening - he had recently attended this excellent event, at which one Kent couple had been rewarded for 35 years of fostering, during which time they had cared for 55 children and young people.

Kent Fostering Association had recently held a Family Fun day for foster families, including both birth and fostered children.  This event had taken over a bowling alley for the day and had been attended by 144 people.

UASC – there were now only 500 UASC under 18 in Kent, half the number there had been at the peak in 2015.  A large number were reaching 18 and attaining care leaver status; there were currently 750 but this was expected to rise to 1,000 by mid-2017.  This cohort brought a number of challenges, including accommodation, provision of English as a Second Language (ESOL) courses, etc. The Leaving Care service had recently been restructured and the number of personal advisors increased.  He reassured Members that both citizen children and UASC now had access to the same services as care leavers. The National Transfer Scheme (NTS), which Kent lobbied the Government for, was introduced as a voluntary scheme in July 2016 and has moved 300 UASC from Kent to other local authorities around the UK.  These receiving authorities would take over full responsibility of caring for the UASC sent to them under the scheme. The Millbank reception centre now housed only 11 young people who were waiting to be moved under the NTS, and in the last week there had been only 23 new arrivals in the county.    

The Chairman thanked Mr Oakford for his commitment and passion as Cabinet Member in pursuing the issues faced by children and young people in care and leaving care, for the active role he had taken in lobbying the Government to address the burden placed upon Kent by UASC and excessive OLA placements and for the time and energy he had given to travelling around the county to meet and talk to frontline staff.

4.            The Corporate Director of Social Care, Health and Wellbeing, Mr A Ireland, then gave a verbal update on the following issues:-

Ofsted inspection – to what Mr Oakford had said, Mr Ireland added that the Ofsted inspection would conclude on 30 March, after which a draft report would then be prepared.  A draft report and letter would be sent to the County Council, but not until after the May election, to allow the Council an opportunity to comment on any factual inaccuracies, and then the final report would be published towards the end of May. 

Education Select Committee – fostering inquiry.  This had taken place two weeks ago, had been well chaired and a very useful session, to which Kent had been able to make a good contribution.

Social Work Bill – the County Council had made contributions to the consultation stage of this, after which, clauses 32–39, which had caused much controversy, had been removed. It had had its third reading on 7 March and would then go on to the Commons amendment stage and then to the House of Lords, hopefully with a straightforward passage.

5.            RESOLVED that the verbal updates be noted.