Issue - meetings

The Panel considered the report of the Director, Legal and Business Operations which provided an overview of performance across Children and Families Services since July 2020.

Councillor Barnes-Andrews, Cabinet Member in attendance; Robert Henderson, Executive Director Wellbeing (Children and Learning), Southampton City Council; and Julian Watkins, Interim Head of Service - Safeguarding, Children and Families, Southampton City Council; were present and, with the consent of the Chair, addressed the Panel. 

In discussions with the officers, the Panel noted the following:

• The presentation of the Improvement Plan and performance data had improved

·  The increase in demand for safeguarding services had been in part due to an increase in safeguarding referrals nationally as a result of the long-term impact of Covid.  The economic effects of the Brexit on the port as well as the impact of lockdown on the hospitality industry would have a particular impact on Southampton.  An analyst would be placed in the Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) so that an understanding of why numbers were increasing could be obtained.

• The Panel continued to be concerned about the Social Work vacancies in the service.

RESOLVED

  (i)  That analysis of the increased number of referrals into the safeguarding service would be circulated to the Panel.

  (ii)  That the findings from the audit of re-referrals into the safeguarding system would be considered as part of the Children’s Services Performance item at the next meeting of the Panel.