Agenda item

The Children and Social Work Act 2017 defined for the first time, in law, the responsibilities placed upon councils to ensure the best outcomes for Children Looked After and Care Leavers. These duties took up the first chapter and first paragraph in the Act and its prominence highlighted the significance of this duty. The Act outlined these duties as a set principles i.e.

a)  to act in the best interests, and promote the physical and mental health and well-being, of those children and young people;

b)  to encourage those children and young people to express their views, wishes and feelings;

c)  to take into account the views, wishes and feelings of those children and young people;

d)  to help those children and young people gain access to, and make the best use of, services provided by the local authority and its relevant partners;

e)  to promote high aspirations, and seek to secure the best outcomes, for those children and young people;

f)  for those children and young people to be safe, and for stability in their home lives, relationships and education or work;

g)  to prepare those children and young people for adulthood and independent living.

As Corporate Parents, every Councillor and officer within the Council had a responsibility to apply the above principles in the day to day decision making particularly when making decisions about services which may impact CLA and Care Leavers.  All elected members and officers had a duty to act as a parent would for their own child albeit at a much larger scale. Lead Members, Councillors on corporate parenting boards, and on overview and scrutiny committees had particular responsibilities, however all members would need to ensure that they advocated and considered the impact of services for Children Looked After and Care Leavers.

The Chairman welcomed Aneesa Kaprie, Head of CLA and Care Leavers; Melissa Bob Amara, Active Engagement Officer; and Tia Lovick, Chairman of the Living in Care Council, to the meeting.  The Committee expressed thanks for the comprehensive and interesting report that had been provided.  Members congratulated Tia who was a recipient of the Mayors Award in 2019.

In presenting to the Committee, Tia Lovick explained that feedback received by the Living in Care Council (LinCC) demonstrated that there had been a huge improvement in respect of engagement and involvement from elected members.  LinCC would be inviting Members to its meetings so that Corporate Parents could get to know some of the children for which they had responsibility.  The Corporate Parenting Fun Day was also an initiative that had been established to help Members get to know some of the children so that decisions could be well informed.  The idea was for members of LinCC and elected Members to jointly plan and arrange the Fun Day for maximum benefit.  The two Corporate Parenting Fun Days that had taken place (in 2017 and 2018) had both been a big success.  Disappointingly in 2018 only the Portfolio Holder for Children, Education and Families, the Mayor, and the Leader of the Labour Group had attended to help plan the event and it was hoped that more Members could be involved this year.  However, in 2017, 13 Members had attended the event and this rose to 15 Members in 2018.  This increased participation was pleasing.  Going forward it would be helpful if Members were to get involved in the planning event for the July 2019 Fun Day which would take place on 16^th May 2019.

In terms of the difference that Members could make; Tia suggested that it would be helpful for Members to develop a good understand of the different care journeys experienced by young people.  This could be done through increased participation at the LinCC.  Another important contribution that Members could make would be giving consideration to any appropriate work experience opportunities that might be available for young people who were in care.  Turing to the role of Members as decision makers; Tia urged Members when taking decisions to give consideration to how that decision could impact on children looked after.  The example that was citied was that of street lighting; as a result of experiences in care some children may be frightened of walking down dark streets and any decisions to change the operational time of street lights could have a disproportionate impact on a child living in care.  The LinCC was asking that when Corporate Parents were taking decisions they asked the following question: “Are we happy with the impact of this decision on our child?”  This would demonstrate to children looked after that members were thinking about these things.

The Members also heard that care leavers received £57.90 a week living allowance.  This allowance also had to cover the cost of housing which was expensive in Bromley in addition to other living expenses.  The Committee considered the choices that had to be made by care leavers in terms of how to budget and allocate the living allowance. 

A Member who was also a member of the Joint Fostering and Adoption Panel reported that the Joint Panel had asked that the LinCC consider questions that they would like the Fostering and Adoption Panel to ask any prospective adopters and foster carers on their behalf.

A Member raised the issue of consideration of a Council Tax exemption for care leavers.  In response, the Head of CLA and Care Leavers reported that there was a discretionary fund available to provide support to care leavers who were struggling with Council Tax.  The Discretionary Fund was based on need.  If issues were identified a holistic approach was taken to giving advice and guidance about how a care leaver managed their budget and this support would be ongoing.  The Chairman noted that the issue of a Council Tax exemption had been discussed by Full Council on more than one occasion.  The majority view was that children looked after should not be treated any differently to any other 16 or 17 year old struggling with council tax.  The Discretionary Fund was available and could be utilised if necessary.

In response to a question concerning whether Members understood the care journey and how Members could get to know the children for whom they had corporate parenting responsibilities Tia suggested that Members might attend LinCC meetings as this wold help Members to develop an understanding of positive and negative experiences for living in care.  Attendance at LinCC would also help Members to get to know the young people.  It was suggested that involvement in planning the Corporate Parenting Fun Day would also present a good opportunity for engagement.

The Head of CLA and Care Leavers suggested that rather than getting to know individual children it may be helpful for Members to consider a set of principles by asking questions such as ‘how would my child feel if they were separated from their family?’  The Committee was reminded that it was the choice of the children looked after whether or not to share their stories.  Members needed to ensure that opportunities were made available to the children to share their story if they wished and stories would only be shared when the children were at ease and felt confident.

The Portfolio Holder for Children, Education and Families suggested that Practice Week also provided an opportunity for Members to get to know some of their children in care.  The Portfolio Holder also highlighted the importance of use of language.  The Committee’s attention was drawn to a report produced by TACT Fostering and Adoption entitled Language that Cares^[1].  The report aimed to change the way in which professionals talked about children in care.  The Head of CLA and Care Leavers reported that as a Service the professionals in Bromley had challenged themselves to ensure that the most appropriate language was used on a day-to-day basis.

A Member noted that the LinCC had put together some fantastic booklets which addressed some of the issues on which Members should be cited.  It was suggested that it may be helpful if a directory of the booklets could be put together for Members to have as a point of reference. 

The Committee also considered the issue of whether the Services provided by the Council had kept pace with the evolving need for children to have emotional support beyond the age of 18/19 years old.  It was noted that 30 or 40 years ago children often left home for university and rarely returned home.  Today it wasn’t unusual for children to remain living with their parents well into their 20s and 30s.  It needed to be recognised that the emotional development of young people had changed in the last 20 years yet this did not appear to have been reviewed either locally or nationally.  In response, the Head of CLA and Care Leavers highlighted that the Children and Social Work Act 2017 placed a duty to provide care up to the age of 25.  The Local Authority was actively looking at the services which were provided to young people between the ages of 18 and 25.  The Service would always be available to listen to and advise its Care Leavers who needed support in the same way that a parent would support their children.

The Committee noted that whilst Council apprenticeship opportunities were not ring-fence for children looked after they were guaranteed an interview.  There were currently two Care Leavers undertaking apprenticeships and it was anticipated that next year there would be more.

In summing up the discussion that had taken place the Chairman noted the following:

-  The Constitutional Improvement Working Group should be asked to consider adding a further report heading: “Implications for Children Looked After and Care Leavers”.

-  The LinCC would provide some suggested questions for the Joint Fostering and Adoption Panel to ask prospective adopters and foster carers on behalf of children looked after.

-  Consideration needed to be given to flow of information between the Care Leavers Forum, the Corporate Parenting Board, the Children’s Executive and the Select Committee.

-  It would be helpful for Members of the Select Committee to be provided with a diagram setting out the various Boards that engaged with Children’s Services.

-  Opportunities for Members to provide practical support such as assistance with university applications, work experience, and job applications should be further investigated.  The Head of CLA and Care Leavers reported that there was a worker in the Leaving Care Service who provided support such as this to the young people.  A Member had also made an offer of mentoring support.

-  It may be helpful to develop a voluntary register of Members skills and the offers of help that had been made in order to coordinate Members’ engagement as Corporate Parents.

-  It would be helpful to ensure that the dates of LinCC meetings to which members were invited were communicated in good time.

-  Consideration should be given to identifying the most appropriate way of Members gaining an understanding of care journeys.

-  That the Living in Care Council be invited annually to present to the Select Committee.

Members of the Select Committee noted that the Corporate Fun Day would be held on 28^th July 2019.

In drawing the discussion to a close, the Committee agreed that as Easter was approaching an invitation should be sent to all Members for a donation of £10 so that vouchers could be purchased for children looked after.  Members also noted that the Christmas pantomime ticket initiative which had been instigated by the Mayor in 2017 had also been popular amongst the children.

The Chairman thanked Aneesa Kaprie, Head of CLA and Care Leavers; Melissa Bob Amara, Active Engagement Officer; and Tia Lovick, Chairman of the Living in Care Council for their insightful and valuable contribution to the Committees discussion.