To receive additional items that the Chair is of the opinion should be considered as a matter of urgency, in accordance with Section 100B (4) (b) of the Local Government Act 1972.

Councillor Okunade, Vice-Chair of the Committee, informed Members she had allowed an item of urgent business and invited the Corporate Director of Children’s Services to present the report.

The Corporate Director of Children’s Services addressed Members advising them at a previous meeting it was agreed that the Committee should receive regular performance data. He commented that it was important that Members of the Committee were aware of the performance of the service as it enabled them to challenge officers and to ensure they were aware of what was happening.

The key issues were highlighted to Members in that:

•               Thurrock had one of the highest rates of Looked after Children in the eastern region. The borough had seen a rise in the number of Looked after Children to 350 plus during the last year; however that had since reduced to 320.  This was particularly down to the reduction if unaccompanied asylum seeker children, which were now under 40 from 103, due to the work on the Easter Region transfer Protocol and the work Officers had completed within the eastern region.  It was commented that the council would be at their expected rate  for unaccompanied children  by September 2018.

•               There was an underlining pressure in the high volume of Care Proceedings, which were taking place. In particular the number of young children and babies coming into the care system had risen.

•               93% of Looked after Children reviews had been completed on time. This included the difficulty of completing reviews on time for older children and unaccompanied asylum seeker children. The Corporate Director of Children’s Services assured the Committee that all statutory reviews had been completed.

•               12 adoptions had been completed this year and officers were hopeful that more would be completed. It was explained that a full report on adoptions would be reported to the Committee later in year.

•               Members were notified that the Council were increase recruitment for Foster cares in the borough. 

The Vice-Chair enquired as to performance regarding return interviews for children missing from placements.  The Assistant Director of Children Services advised that Open Door had been commissioned to undertake these interviews and there was a procedure in place.  There was room for improvement and data around the levels of children for whom interviews were carried out would be provided to Members in future.

Councillor Kerin asked why there was a gap between the number of placements in-borough and outside of the borough, and what steps were being taken to continue to improve.  The Committee heard that it was important to place as many children as possible within Thurrock to allow access to Thurrock schools and services.  Local placements also reduced the need for social workers to spend precious time travelling outside of the borough for visits.  A continuous rise in unaccompanied asylum seekers had contributed to the increase in placements outside of the borough, usually semi-independent placements in London.  This had begun to shift but a key development was the recruitment of local carers which enabled more children to be placed locally.  There was more to be done. 

Councillor Kerin asked when an update might be received and it was confirmed that a report would be presented at each Committee meeting outlining the data but a report describing the work to date, trends in data and progress could also be presented either in December or March. 

RESOLVED:

Members of the Corporate Parenting Committee noted the update.