Members are invited to provide verbal updates, if any, in respect of the following bodies:
a) Climate change Cross-Party Working Group – Chair, Councillor Brandon Clayton
b) Constitutional Review Working Panel – Chair, Councillor Matthew Dormer;
c) Corporate Parenting Steering Group – Council Representative, Councillor Julian Grubb;
d) Member Support Steering Group – Chair, Councillor Matthew Dormer; and
e) Planning Advisory Panel – Chair, Councillor Matthew Dormer.
Minutes:
The following updates were provided in respect of the work of the Executive Advisory Panels:
a) Climate Change Cross Party Working Group – Chair, Councillor Brandon Clayton
Councillor Clayton explained that a meeting of the group was due to take place in January 2020.
b) Constitutional Review Working Party – Chair, Councillor Matthew Dormer
Councillor Dormer advised Members that a meeting of the Constitutional Review Working Party was due to take place on 13th January 2020.
c) Corporate Parenting Board – Council Representative, Councillor Julian Grubb
Councillor Grubb noted that he had attended a Corporate Parenting Fair in the autumn. The event had been interesting and Councillor Grubb had requested further information, particularly with regard to the roles and responsibilities of District Councillors as Corporate Parents.
Unfortunately Councillor Grubb had not been able to attend the latest meeting of the board as this had clashed with a meeting of the West Mercia Police and Crime Panel. However, Councillor Grubb would be attending the following meeting of the board which was due to take place on 8th February 2020.
Councillor Grubb had received the Corporate Parenting Annual Report 2018-19. The report had highlighted that a number of areas were working well. However, there were also some challenges highlighted in the report including:
· Keep in touch events, which provided an opportunity for direct experience of working with looked after children, were not well attended by Members.
· Provision of accommodation to care leavers was still considered to be inadequate.
· Performance against health assessments, Pathway Plans and PEPs, though getting better, needed to improve further.
· Having a clear understanding of children and young people in care, care leavers and the role of corporate parents.
The board had identified the following key priorities for 2020/21:
· Housing for care leavers.
· Promoting the health and wellbeing of looked after children and care leavers.
· The quality and timeliness of care and pathway planning for looked after children and care leavers.
· Looked after children and care leavers not in employment, education or training (NEETs).
· Bringing Corporate Parenting Priorities to District Councils
· The voice of the child.
Members discussed the points raised in the Corporate Parenting Annual Report for 2018-19. There was general consensus that the subject of corporate parenting, looked after children and care leavers was very important. However, Members questioned whether they had received invitations to attend the keep in touch events referred to in the report. It was suggested that if officers from Worcestershire County Council sent calendar invitations to district Councillors many would attend these events. In addition, Members suggested that some of the low turnout figures might be attributable to the timing and location of the events. Members commented that these events tended to take place in Worcester during the day which meant that it was difficult for some Councillors reliant on public transport or those with work commitments to attend. As an alternative, Members suggested that short events could take place in the evenings in the north of the county and these sessions might then be better attended by elected Members From Redditch Borough and Bromsgrove District.
d) Member Support Steering Group – Chair, Councillor Matthew Dormer
Councillor Dormer informed the Committee that the following meeting of the Member Support Steering Group would take place on 4th February 2020.
e) Planning Advisory Panel – Chair, Councillor Matthew Dormer
Councillor Dormer explained that the Planning Advisory Panel had no meetings scheduled.