Agenda item

To consider a report by the Business Manager, Conwy & Denbighshire LSCB (copy enclosed) presenting Conwy & Denbighshire Local Safeguarding Children Board’s annual report and updating members on progress made towards the integrations and collaboration of the North Wales Local Safeguarding Children Boards.

10.50 a.m. – 11.20 a.m.

Councillor Bobby Feeley introduced the report (previously circulated) presenting Conwy & Denbighshire Local Safeguarding Children Board’s Annual Report and updating members on progress made towards the integrations and collaboration of the North Wales Local Safeguarding Children Boards.

The LSCB Annual Report provided a brief overview of the Board’s operations including its governance and financial arrangements.  It also summarised key priorities for 2012/13 together with progress made.  The Business Manager, Conwy & Denbighshire LSCB (BM) elaborated upon other key points relating to –

·        membership and attendance

·        financial contributions from partner organisations, and

·        the annual self-assessment process.

In terms of developing regional approaches the North Wales LSCBs had agreed four areas of work which were being progressed further.  Discussions were continuing on the role and governance of the Regional Safeguarding Children Board and its relationship to local arrangements.  It was highlighted that the current public services review would likely impact on regional arrangements.

The committee considered the development of regional arrangements and acknowledged that certain processes could benefit from a collaborative approach.  However members stressed the importance of ensuring that the current levels of protection for children locally would not be jeopardised as a result and the robust arrangements for safeguarding children were maintained.  In scrutinising the report members expressed particular concern regarding the level of domestic violence and raised questions regarding contributory factors to domestic abuse, the role of the police and referral process and sought assurances regarding how the issue was being addressed.  Further assurances were sought regarding progress in other areas of safeguarding children.  In responding to members officers –

·        confirmed that domestic abuse continued to be a priority for the LSCB with work on-going to identify children experiencing difficulties due to their parents/carers drug and alcohol, mental health or domestic violence problems to ensure concerns did not escalate from safeguarding to child protection issues – the Head of Children and Families Services and Youth Justice Services Strategic Manager were working at a strategic level to tackle this issue from the child’s perspective.  They would now be attending Community Safety Partnership (CSP) meetings on a regular basis

·        acknowledged a mix of contributory factors to domestic abuse and the difficulties in determining the main factors and whether more cases had been linked to domestic violence as a result of the recession and financial pressures faced by families

·        elaborated upon the involvement of the North Wales Police and other agencies within the process advising that LSCB considered the number of domestic abuse incidents involving children and young people on a quarterly basis – this information could be included as a confidential appendix in future reports to the committee

·        explained that more targeted and intelligent information was being provided for referrals via CID16 forms to enable better identification of those at risk and for the appropriate help to be directed at families – the Joint Referral and Assessment Panel assessed those referrals and a Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub was also being piloted in Wrexham

·        whilst a very small proportion of referrals resulted in children being taken into care many families benefited from support provided by Children’s Services and programmes such as Families First

·        confirmed that Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board had recruited their Safeguarding Team in order to support the local safeguarding agenda.

[At this point Councillor Meirick Davies left the meeting and it became inquorate.]

Members noted the crucial contribution of partners to the local safeguarding agenda and the importance of the committee’s role in monitoring the LSCB’s work.  As domestic violence was still a significant problem within communities members asked that particular reference be made to this issue in future committee reports together with work undertaken in that regard with the Community Safety Partnership.  The importance of considering trends together with the effectiveness of the measures introduced to address them was also highlighted.

The Chair referred to her role on the Adoption & Fostering Panels and the excellent work being carried out to support families in that regard and conveyed the committee’s appreciation for that work.

RECOMMENDED that –

(a)       subject to members’ comments above the Conwy and Denbighshire Local Safeguarding Children Board’s Annual report be received and progress made towards the collaboration of the North Wales Local Safeguarding Children Boards be noted;

(b)       a further report be submitted to the committee in approximately six months’ time containing the following –

-       progress in delivering the key priorities for 2013/14 and information on key priorities for 2014/15

-       an analysis of data and trends identified in 2013/14 to determine which approaches worked well and which were not as successful, and

-       an update on the latest national and regional developments with respect to Local Safeguarding Children Boards.