Agenda and draft minutes

Sue Riley, Maria Stevens, Peter Strong as substitute.

None.

None. 

To conduct pre-decision scrutiny

Cabinet Member Ian Chandler and Diane Corrister introduced the report and answered the members questions: 

Councillor Ian Chandler: 

• Presented the updated corporate parenting strategy, emphasizing shared responsibilities for children and young people in care across all council members, officers, and partner organizations. 

• Stressed that corporate parenting is a council-wide commitment, not limited to children's services.

• Explained the strategy updates reflect progress since 2022, including placement strategies, enhanced foster carer recruitment, and treating care experience as a protected characteristic. 

• Highlighted changes in external context, such as eliminating profit from children's care, and clarified priorities and actions.

• Invited feedback before presenting to full council, underscoring the importance of corporate parenting responsibilities. 

Diane Corrister: 

• Noted the strategy sets out vision, priorities, and roles for corporate parents, with little change in core priorities. 

• Detailed recent changes, including demographic shifts and reduced numbers of looked-after children due to investment in prevention services. 

• Explained active planning for children in care, leading to a significant drop in numbers and improved outcomes. 

• Addressed the inclusion and support for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, and the impact of the national transfer scheme. 

• Discussed development of local residential care units to align with council vision and Welsh Government policy, supporting local placement and family relationships. 

Questions: 

How are care experienced children and young people involved in writing the strategy, and how does their input shape the final document? How often does Cabinet hear directly from young people? 

Care experienced young people are involved through a range of formal and informal mechanisms, including twice-yearly meetings with the corporate parenting panel, participation in recruitment panels for staff and foster carers, and visits to residential homes to provide feedback. Their priorities – education, employment, accommodation, and mental wellbeing – directly inform service development, particularly in relation to accommodation for those aged 18 and over. The strategy is shaped by continuous engagement rather than a single consultation exercise. Cabinet members attend engagement sessions to hear directly from young people, rather than young people attending Cabinet meetings. 

How is staff instability in the long-term support team being addressed, and what is being done about significant staff turnover in the looked after nursing service, which has led to delays in health reviews? 

The backlog in health reviews was raised at senior level with the Health Board, leading to a regional approach that has reduced the backlog from 76 to 35 children. Recruitment challenges remain due to the complexity of cases, but the situation is improving and closely monitored through safeguarding and partnership meetings. 

Why were foster carer recruitment targets not met in previous years, and what is being done to achieve the target of 10 new foster carers this year? 

Monmouthshire faces demographic challenges in recruiting foster carers, as many residents are retirees or less likely to take on challenging placements. The strategy now focuses on consistent community engagement and making fostering appear as a real option. Currently, 14 people are in assessment, so the target is expected to be met. Competition from independent fostering agencies has been  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

Report outlining actions for the next three years.

Cabinet Member Angela Sandles and Pennie Walker introduced the report and answered the members questions with Lisa Knight-Davies and Rory Clifford:

The Cabinet Member stated the Council is a Disability Confident Level 2 employer, committed to inclusive recruitment and supporting disabled people, guaranteeing interviews for qualified disabled applicants, offering reasonable adjustments, and providing mandatory equality and disability training, occupational health, and colleague support networks. She highlighted regular review and continuous improvement, with Pennie Walker as the scheme lead. 

Pennie Walker outlined progress in embedding inclusive practices, strengthening manager and workforce awareness, developing colleague support, and partnership working to widen employment access. She noted updates to work experience and well-being policies, collaboration with Job Centre Plus, expanded disability data collection, and improved accessibility at County Hall. She emphasized ongoing improvement, challenges in workforce data and employment pathways, and actions for regular review and accountability. 

Questions: 

Is there a time limit for completing actions described as “looking into” or “exploring” within the employer evidence template? 

All actions are expected to be completed by the end of the council’s three-year Disability Confident membership period, with the ambition to achieve Disability Confident Leader status. The council has committed to a broader range of actions than the minimum required and aims to have all actions in place by the deadline.

Do pay commitments apply to those involved in the Disability Confident scheme? 

All council employees, disabled or not, are paid according to their role and pay grade, with no difference in rates. 

How does the council support employees who develop long-term conditions or disabilities later in their working lives? 

The Council is aware of the changing and aging workforce, has updated internal systems to capture when employees become disabled during their employment, and is actively gathering information to offer appropriate support as circumstances change. The Council is working with workforce data and new tools to track age and health changes over time, aiming to adapt and flex support throughout employees' life cycles, not just at a single point in time. 

How does the council support employees who wish to work beyond retirement age? 

The Council aims to enable all colleagues to maintain a good work-life balance for as long as they wish to work, uses data to understand workforce demographics, and offers options like internal work experience to help employees transition to different roles if needed, ensuring continued purpose and wellbeing. 

Is Access to Work support still available for employees who develop long-term conditions and need to change roles? 

Access to Work support remains available through the Department for Work and Pensions. However, there are significant delays for individuals applying after starting employment. Internal work experience opportunities provide an additional layer of support and do not replace existing HR policies on reasonable adjustments or redeployment. 

Do outside organisations in Monmouthshire contact the council for guidance on the Disability Confident scheme, and what is gained from this relationship? 

The Council is working with other organisations and the DWP to involve more local employers in the scheme,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

The committee agreed to add the Caldicot Leisure Centre investment item to the March meeting, if possible, noting its recent addition to the planner and the importance of timely scrutiny.

Councillor Howarth raised concerns about items being added to the planner after meetings, potentially missing scrutiny opportunities, and highlighted past issues with items like Tudor Street and County of Sanctuary not being properly tracked or included. 

Hazel Ilett clarified that the planner is updated live and accessible via the Council hub, and that scrutiny chairs and the team receive email notifications when new items are added. She encouraged members to check the planner regularly and noted the safeguard for scrutiny involvement.

The committee discussed the need for more advance notice and transparency, with Councillor Howarth emphasizing that last-minute additions undermine effective scrutiny and requesting improvements in planner management. 

Hazel explained the planner's new features, including date stamps for item additions and the requirement for officers to indicate scrutiny relevance, aiming for earlier and clearer planning. 

Members agreed to keep monitoring the planner, ensure items are not redacted, and maintain oversight of upcoming topics, including the Youth Service and Public Library Strategy. 

Hazel agreed to clarify the decision-making arrangements for the Tudor Street item and advise the Committee accordingly.

Councillor Bond had noted there was no Impact Assessment on the report and asked for it to be provided in future. 

The minutes were agreed.