Agenda item

Mr M J Vye was present for this item as the Liberal Democrat Lead on Children’s Services.  (and Vice-Chairman of the Corporate Parenting Panel)

Ms J Gethin, Interim Programme Manager, KSCB, and Ms R Atkinson, Evaluation and Analysis Officer, were in attendance for this item.

1.         Ms Gethin introduced the report and referred to the good quality information sharing and joint working which had gone on in the last year.  Although there is much work still to do – for example on the level of re-referrals and the number of children going missing - the overall picture is very positive.  Ms Gethin, Mr Ireland and Ms MacNeil responded to comments and questions from Members and the following points were highlighted:-

a)         there is clear evidence that the measures which have been put into place in the last two years have had a good impact, although the figures in the KSCB report are different from those in the performance dashboard on the previous item.  Mr Ireland explained that this is because the two data sets were collected at different times – the KSCB report in November 2011 and the dashboard in June 2012; 

b)         it is important to ask why the number of re-referrals is so high,  and define what is meant by the term, for example, was a previous referral inappropriate or has an issue recurred?  Ms MacNeil responded that re-referrals is one of the areas which had not responded as well to the improvement measures as had been hoped, so these will be subject to future focus. It is important to identify the range of causes of re-referrals, for example, they could arise from ineffective past intervention or from better reporting of new issues;

c)         it would be helpful for the Committee to be able to see which areas of the county perform well with the level of re-referrals and which areas need to improve;

d)         the common assessment framework (CAF) is good but the overall process is still bureaucratic.  Improvement and simplification of the process would lead to better performance;

e)         it is important that this Committee has an opportunity to see and debate the KSCB Annual report and that it should not just go to the full Council.  It is a very honest an robust report which gives Members a good appraisal of issues; and

f)          for some areas of data gathering – for example, the number of LAC placed in Kent by other local authorities – it is not possible to present more than informed estimates, as other authorities do not always notify the County Council when they place a child in Kent.  In some areas it is simply not possible to identify what information is not being provided.

2.         The Cabinet Member, Mrs Whittle, commented that the number of children in care who go missing is an issue of immense current interest to local authorities and the Government.  The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, is to hold a summit of local authorities who place LAC out of their area, and Kent is pressing for a Statute to enforce the current rule of children being placed for fostering within 20 miles of their home, with an aim to reducing this upper limit to 15 miles in the next two years.  She undertook to keep Members up to date on developments in addressing this issue.

3.         RESOLVED that:-

a)         the information set out in the report and given in response to questions be noted, with thanks; and

b)         those responsible for preparing the Annual Report be congratulated on its honest and robust presentation of issues.