The Head of Children’s Social Care advised Members of the process of the serious case review, following which the Business Manger reported that Regulation 5 of the Local Safeguarding Children’s Board Regulations 2006 set out the requirement for a serious case review to be undertaken in instances where abuse or neglect of a child was known or suspected, and where either the child died or was seriously harmed and there was cause for concern as to how the Authority, their Board Partners or relevant people worked together to safeguard the child.

The Committee was advised that this case had been referred to the Thurrock Local Safeguarding Children Board Serious Case Review Panel and they were satisfied that it met the specified criteria, following which a case review had been undertaken using the SCIE Learning Together Methodology.

Councillor Pothecary highlighted some items from the Police, Probation and CCG were marked as red and orange (meaning progress was not on track or needed monitoring). A question was asked as to how the LSCB can encourage the organisations to speed up their process. The Head of Children’s Social Care informed Members that the revised document had only one red item from the Police, and explained that the LSCB will drive and push forward organisations to speed up the process. The Head of Children Social Care reassured the Members that the case will come back to the committee.

The Chair of the Committee proposed a question as to what happened to the individual Social Workers who failed to act upon Julia’s case. The Head of Children’s Social Care advised Members that they looked across the board rather than at individuals, although they did look internally as to whether there were grounds to instigate disciplinary proceedings. The Social Workers involved had left the authority so subsequently an investigation to merit a referral to the HCPC (Healthcare & Care Professions Council) would take place, which would enable them to decide whether or not to instigate a fitness for practice review.

Members praised the service’s good progress and asked if there was any cause for concern. The Committee was informed that acknowledgment of the system across the partnership needed to be embedded.

The Chair questioned whether it was possible to report an external agency if it was felt they did not respond to a serious case in the correct way. The Head of Children’s Social Care reported that Officers looked into referring a GP during Julia’s Case, although it was not possible as the incident was not a breach of the GP’s code of conduct. It was confirmed by Officers that GPs are now a lot more engaged with safeguarding.

A Youth Council representative explained how youths could share their problems at the Youth Hub with other youths and volunteers. The Head of Children’s Social Care agreed to support the service on conditions that the appropriate support would be offered for people taking on the new role.

RESOLVED:

1.   To be noted that the Overview & Scrutiny Committee continues to monitor progress against the multi-agency action plan with a particular focus on Children’s Services