Agenda item

To consider a report by the Corporate Director: Communities (copy enclosed) on the findings from the Test of Assurance (ToA) for joining Education and Children and Families services in Denbighshire County Council (DCC).

 

A report by the Corporate Director: Communities (CDC) had been circulated previously.

 

The CDC explained that the Committee had been requested to note the Test of Assurance report which presented findings from the Test of Assurance (ToA) for joining Education and Children and Families services in Denbighshire County Council (DCC).  The two services had been operating as a single service, Education and Children’s services, since January, 2016.

 

The report had been presented to the Committee for information and to offer assurance that the transition to the new service had been well managed and risks mitigated.  In September, 2014 the CEO communicated proposed changes to the Council’s organisation structure, including bringing together the Education Service and Children and Families Service to create a new service, Education and Children’s Services.  This had been compulsory in England for over a decade and had been increasingly common in Wales.

 

It had been agreed that a ToA be developed and carried out as part of the process of transition to the new organisation structure.  The ToA aimed to provide assurance that the Council’s statutory duties towards children and young people would be maintained and strengthened through the new organisation structure.  Repeating the ToA would offer assurance over time that the new service was compliant with statutory accountabilities.

 

It was explained by the CDC that the ToA provided assurance on:-

 

ü    meeting statutory duties of the Director of Social Services and Director of Education.

ü    delegated decisions and any associated risks and how these would be managed.

ü    strengths and areas for future focus for the new service in terms of meeting and exceeding statutory duties and maximising the potential of a combined Education and Children’s team.

ü    input into Legal and Democratic Service’s ongoing review of the Council’s Constitution, specifically around delegated accountabilities of key officers.

 

The key statutory instruments which had informed the development of the ToA had been listed in the ToA included as Appendix 1 to the report.

 

The Test of Assurance had consisted of the following:-

 

·                     Desk-top review and documentation of all statutory accountabilities

·                     Process of structured interviews with senior managers for Education and Children and Families Services and the Director, Communities

·                     Review of meetings attended by members of both management teams

·                     Review of the delegated decisions for both management teams

·                     Ongoing consultation with staff related to organisational changes

·                     Ongoing engagement with elected members, involving the two Lead Members and the Leader directly, and attendance at all MAGs in autumn 2015.

Key Findings/Actions had been included in the ToA in Appendix 1.

 

·      The organisation structure was revised and senior posts allocated, as indicated on page 4 of Appendix A.

·      Attendance at external meetings was reviewed and delegations agreed

·      Internal management meetings were reviewed and structure agreed

·      Delegated decisions were fed into the review by Legal Services, of the Council’s Constitution

·      The risks and mitigating actions had been identified and agreed.

The Equality Impact Assessment key findings included:-

 

·                     Overall some positive outcomes were being observed in relation to safeguarding children and young people.

·                     The collegiate working across the service should enable greater equality of opportunity for this vulnerable group

·                     There was potential risk to the management team from the additional workload entailed and the changes in management structure.  This would be reviewed on an ongoing basis through regular management meetings

 

Any risks and steps to mitigate them had been outlined in the Risk Register.

 

The CDC provided the following responses to questions presented by Members of the Committee:-

 

-               It was confirmed that the merging of the two services would not be perceived as a takeover by one service.  The two respective management teams had been assured that the elements of the work that were purely social work or education would remain the same.  However, the element of collaborative working which was already in place would be continued which would assist in improving the level of service provision.

-               The CDC was unable to confirm that there had been an impact on the CAMHS service which was outside the respective structure as it was a health service.  However, access to information was now more readily available, and measures to reduce the waiting list were being examined.

-               It was explained that the success criteria of the merger, in terms of the project planning aspect, would be assessed through the three work streams based around Safeguarding, Children with Disabilities and Special Educational Needs, and Early Intervention and Prevention.

-               The roles of the Reviewing Officers, page 28 of the report, were outlined and summarised by the CDC.

-               The WAO Representative explained that he was unaware of any concerns having been identified by CSSIW in relation to safeguarding and Children’s Services, and he outlined the role of CSSIW in monitoring the structures and arrangements which had been initiated.

 

During the ensuing discussion the Committee requested that the Service Challenge report, as outlined by the Head of Business Improvement and Moderisation, be presented to the Scrutiny Chairs and Vice Chairs Group in September, 2016.  Members also agreed that a progress report on the development of the service be included in the Corporate Governance Committee’s forward work programme for November, 2016.

 

RESOLVED – that the Corporate Governance Committee:-

 

(a)          receives and notes the contents of the report.

(b)          agrees that a progress report be included in the Committee’s forward work programme for November, 2016, and

(c)          requests that the Service Challenge report be presented to the Scrutiny Chairs and Vice Chairs Group in September, 2016.

      (NS to Action)