AT A MEETING of the SOCIAL CARE POLICY REVIEW COMMITTEE of the COUNTY COUNCIL held at The Castle, Winchester on Friday, 9 July 2004

PRESENT

Councillors: Mrs. P.G. Banks (Chairman); Jenny Wride (Vice-Chairman); Mrs. P. Dickens;

A.G. Dowden; Mrs. J.K. Frankum; Mrs. P.G.E. Holden-Brown; Mrs. C.A. Leversha;

Mrs. A.M. McNair Scott; Mrs. P.G. Peskett; Mrs. E.M.F. Randall; Mrs. M.D. Snaith;

Mrs. V. Steel; Mrs. P.A. West.

Also in attendance Councillor Felicity Hindson MBE - Executive Member for Social Care.

166 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

Members were mindful that where they believed they had a personal or personal prejudicial interest in any matter to be considered at the meeting, they should, normally at the time of the debate, declare their interest and, having regard to the circumstances described in paragraphs 9, 10, 11 and 12 of the County Council's Code of Conduct, consider whether to leave the meeting whilst the matter is discussed.

Councillor Mrs. Dickens declared a non-pecuniary interest in Item 9 where it relates to health issues, as she is employed by the NHS.

167 MINUTES

The Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 14 May 2004 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

Arising thereon:

168 CHAIRMAN'S COMMUNICATIONS

There were no Chairman's communications

169 MEMBERS' QUESTIONS

There were no Members' questions to this meeting.

170 DEPUTATIONS

There were no deputations to this meeting.

171 THE CHILDREN BILL

The Chief Executive presented a report outlining the corporate approach to dealing with the issues set out in the Children Bill (Item 6 in the Minute Book). He outlined the actions taken since the publication of the Bill in order to put arrangements in place to discharge the County Council's responsibilities. A Children's Services Board had been established comprising core membership of the Chief Executive, County Education Officer, Director of Social Services and County Treasurer along with three school representatives from the special, primary and secondary sectors, representatives from health (one from the Strategic Health Authority and one from the PCT sector), a young person and a representative from the community and voluntary sector. He outlined the internal arrangements for re-configuring any integrated services, management and governance and the timescale indicating overall priorities up until March 2006. He said that much remained to be done, but progress to date was satisfactory. A consultant had been appointed to assist the board to develop a performance led approach to improved outcomes for children based on the five key objectives in the Bill; and work to integrate services and consider an evidentially based service configuration was well in hand. Regular reports would be submitted to the Cabinet charting progress against the proposed timetable.

Members were concerned that there was no member representation on the Children Services Board. The Chief Executive explained that the work of the Board was detailed and focused on operational issues.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted and that the Cabinet be requested to consider County Councillor representation on the Children Services Board.

172 NEW ZEALAND STUDY TOUR

The Director of Social Services presented a report identifying the actions that had been taking place since the New Zealand study tour (Item 7 in the Minute Book). He outlined the initiatives set out in the report to the Cabinet, which included the establishment of a national call centre, family group conferences, family mentoring, and research in evaluation strategy; and explained the actions that had taken place to progress the recommendations

RESOLVED:

That the actions taken so far to further the opportunity for the young people of Hampshire following the New Zealand study tour in spring 2004 be endorsed.

173 CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE'S STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP (CYPSP)

The Director of Social Services presented a report informing members about the function and business of the Hampshire CYPSP setting developments in the national and local contexts (Item 8 in the Minute Book).

Hampshire's CYPSP was established in July 2003. The Partnership had wide ranging representation from the key stakeholders, the statutory and voluntary sector agencies, users and carers. The County Council's commitment was demonstrated by the level of elected Member and senior officer representation. Three Executive Members sat on the CYPSP, with Councillor Felicity Hindson as chair, together with the Director of Social Services, and the County Education Officer.

A shadow CYPSP comprising young people was being put in place which would ensure the direct contribution of children and young people and coordinate the work of the wide range of bodies already in place, as well as providing a focus for consultation and participation.
RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

174 FINAL ACCOUNTS 2003/04

The County Treasurer and Director of Social Services presented the final accounts for 2003/04, which had been approved by the Executive Member (Item 9 in the Minute Book). Members were disappointed to note that the full Social Services underspend had not been carried forward.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted and the Cabinet advised of the Committee's disappointment that the full Social Services underspend had not been carried forward.

175 ANNUAL REPORT ON THE OPERATION OF THE COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE

The Director of Social Services presented the annual report on the operation of the complaints procedure (Item 10 in the Minute Book). He said that there had been a rise in the volume of complaints, but that there was a continued reduction in the receipt of formal complaints, which was to be welcomed.

RESOLVED:

That the report be accepted and a presentation be made to a future meeting of the Committee, giving a detailed analysis of the operation of the complaints and customer care service.

176 STAFF RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION

The Director of Social Services presented a report giving an update on the progress being made in addressing the difficult recruitment and retention problems previously identified (Item 11 in the Minute Book). He reported that good progress had been made in achieving the required establishment level to meet business requirements and that there had been some improvement in recruitment and retention. However, the recruitment of social workers in children and families, occupational therapists, approved social workers and care staff in the older persons sector continued to be a challenge. In an environment where there was a national shortage of some of the key workers required by the department and, as a product of significant competition for these resources, the Social Services Department through its strategy had a wide range of initiatives in progress to build upon recent improvements in recruitment and retention. The strategy needed continuous monitoring and re-visiting, if necessary, to ensure that all component parts were effective.

RESOLVED:

That the report be received and the difficulties encountered in staff recruitment and retention be noted.

177 MEMBERS' ATTENDANCE AT CONFERENCES

The Chief Executive presented a report giving details of the conferences attended by Members since the last meeting of the Committee (Item 12 in the Minute Book). Councillor Mrs. Holden-Brown gave details of the European Social Services Conference she had attended in Dublin and Councillors Mrs. Banks and Jenny Wride gave details of the Conferences they had attended on "Improving Services for Children - Creating Local Solutions" in London and Brighton respectively.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted and Councillors Mrs. Holden-Brown, Mrs. Banks and Jenny Wride be thanked for their presentations.

178 COMMITTEE'S WORK PROGRAMME

The Director of Social Services presented the Committee's forthcoming work programme (Item 13 in the Minute Book). The Chairman encouraged Members to make visits to Children's Homes.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

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