Apologies were received from Councillor Jamie Daniels, Councillor Vicky Moore and Sian Lines, Diocesan Board of Education.

Members are reminded that they must declare their disclosable pecuniary interests and other registrable or non-registrable interests in any matter being considered at the meeting as set out in Appendix B of the Members’ Code of Conduct and consider if they should leave the room prior to the item being considered. Further advice can be sought from the Monitoring Officer in advance of the meeting.

None received.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 2^nd July 2025.

Contact: Shelley Davies – Committee Officer.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 2^nd July 2025 be confirmed as an accurate record.

To receive any questions from members of the public of which notice has been given. The deadline for this meeting is 12.00 pm, Thursday 16^th October 2025.

There were no public questions.

To receive any question of which Members of the Council have given notice. The deadline for this meeting is 12.00 pm, Thursday 16^th October 2025.

There were no member questions.

To scrutinise performance at Quarter 4 and identify areas that may require further investigation by an Overview and Scrutiny Committee – Report to follow.

Contact: Tanya Miles - Executive Director DASS/ Interim Chief Executive.

Tanya Miles, Interim Chief Executive and Executive Director DASS introduced the Performance Monitoring Report Quarter 4 which gave an update on key areas of performance across Care & Wellbeing and Children and Young People services. She emphasised the importance of identifying specific areas for future scrutiny and asked the committee to consider which performance areas they would like to focus on for the next meeting in January.

Natalie McFall, Service Director - Care & Wellbeing and Amanda Allcock, Service Manager - Ops South, outlined key areas of the report in relation to Adult Social Care. It was reported that there were ongoing challenges due to demographic pressures, increased complexity of cases and a high number of weekly referrals, but proactive measures were in place and the service was working closely with commissioning to improve delivery models and address demand.

In response to questions in relation to Adult Social Care members were advised that:

·       There was a specific mental health pathway for young people preparing for adulthood and the focus was on measuring success by achieving safe transition and appropriate support.

·       The main challenge regarding self-funded care was identifying and reaching people who were not known to adult social care, as these individuals often make decisions in crisis without information regarding the support available.

·       The team was focusing on improving advice and information in regard to self-funded care through family hubs and community outreach, to help people make informed choices before their savings were depleted.

·       The team was working to improve advice and information to enable families to make more appropriate decisions and avoid unnecessary early entry into care homes by recommending alternative pathways, such as reablement services or domiciliary care.

·       It was important to reach those not yet known to Adult Social Care through partnerships with GPs, pharmacies, and other health providers before their needs escalate.

·       The family hubs initially focused on children, but adults were now being integrated into the model. It was acknowledged that some areas of the County may need bespoke or outreach models due to local needs and limited existing infrastructure.

·       Adult Social Care has already taken £34 million out of its budget over recent years by transforming service delivery and that every possible efficiency was being explored including benchmarking against other councils and inviting independent scrutiny to identify further opportunities for sustainable budgeting.

David Shaw, Director Children's Services and John Rowe, Head of Education Quality and Safeguarding outlined key areas of the report in relation to Education. It was reported that there was a need for more challenge and support for Academies and it was noted that a new education excellence strategy to increase the local authority’s role in challenging, supporting, and intervening in all schools, including academies, to improve pupil outcomes was being developed.

In response to questions in relation to Education members were advised that:

·       Electively Home Educated (EHE) pupils were monitored by a specific service (EAS), which has become more proactive, especially regarding safeguarding and ensuring children receive a good education. It was suggested  ...  view the full minutes text for item 18.

To review the outcome of the CQC Assurance Assessment – Report attached.

Contact: Tanya Miles - Executive Director DASS/ Interim Chief Executive.

Tanya Miles, Interim Chief Executive and Executive Director DASS presented the report which provided an update on the Care Quality Commission (CQC) Adult Social Care Assessment.

Daniel Powner, Service Manager, Community Partnerships and Day Opportunities advised that the assessment focused on working with people, providing support, ensuring safety, and leadership/governance. He reported that Adult Social Care had been rated “good” with notable strengths in Care Act compliance, carer engagement, user experience, and innovative rural delivery. The key improvement areas included streamlining processes, reducing assessment delays, enhancing carer support and learning from complaints and it was noted that a ‘towards outstanding action plan’ (TOAP) was in place to address these areas.

In response to a request from a member for the inclusion of dates on the Action Plan at Appendix 2, Daniel Powner advised that the appendix was an extract of a larger document but progress dates would be added for future meetings. 

Officers were thanked for their report.

RECOMMENDED:

That the contents of the report be noted.

To review the Local Youth Transformation Pilot Development Plan – Report to follow.

Contact: David Shaw - Director Children's Services.

David Shaw, Director Children's Services provided background information in relation to the Local Youth Transformation Pilot and introduced Helena Williams, Youth Support Team Manager.

Helena Williams gave a presentation in relation to the Local Youth Transformation Pilot, a system transformation pilot to build sustainable youth work across Shropshire.

In response to questions members were advised that:

·       The funding for youth services under the Local Youth Transformation Pilot was expected to come from a combination of sources, including town and parish council precepts, partnerships, and identifying different funding pots that Shropshire Council may not be able to access directly.

·       The project would be challenging due to the need for sustainable funding and collaboration with town and parish councils, which have limited resources and varying capacities.

·       The pilot included a grant, but only a small portion was for direct delivery, the majority was for building capacity, structures, and sustainable systems to create lasting change rather than temporary fixes.

·       The Council cannot fund all youth services directly but can support coordination, share good practice, and help bridge gaps between well-served and underserved areas.

·       The development of youth services and the Local Youth Transformation Pilot strategy must be co-produced with young people, ensuring their involvement in every element of the project, from local youth partnerships to strategic decision-making.

Councillor Andy Hall, Portfolio Holder for Children and Education congratulated the Team for securing the funding which will support the transformation of youth provision in Shropshire and provide much needed training for youth professionals.

The Chairman thanked the officers for the presentation and welcomed a future report on progress of the Local Youth Transformation Pilot.

RECOMMENDED:

That the presentation be noted.

Verbal update on the work programme of the Committee. Draft Work Programme attached.

Contact: Sophie Foster – Overview and Scrutiny Officer.

Sophie Foster, Overview & Scrutiny Officer noted that a number of topics to be added to the work programme had been suggested during the meeting and she suggested that an additional meeting via Teams be arranged to discuss the priorities for the Committee.

RECOMMENDED:

That an additional Teams meeting be arranged to discuss the Work Programme.

To note that the next meeting of the People Overview and Scrutiny Committee will be held at 10.00 am on Wednesday 14th January 2026.

Members noted that the next meeting of the People Overview and Scrutiny Meeting will be taking place on at 10.00 a.m. on Wednesday 14^th January 2026.