Apologies were received from Councillor Nat Green 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.

Councillor Ruth Houghton declared an interest as a trustee at Bethphage,a learning disability charity and noted that her Grandson attended Severndale Academy.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 12^th July 2023.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 12^th July 2023 be confirmed as an accurate record and be signed by the Chairman.

To receive any questions from members of the public of which notice has been given. The deadline for this meeting is 5.00 pm, Thursday 9^th November 2023.

There were no public questions.

To receive any question of which Members of the Council have given notice. Deadline for notification for this meeting is 5.00pm, Thursday 9^th November 2023.

        There were no members’ questions.

To review progress in delivering the work of the children and young people's mental health partnership. (Report to Follow).

Contact:

Vicki Jones, Head of Transformation and Commissioning Children and Young People Learning Disabilities and Autism - vicki.jones18@nhs.net

Liam Laughton, Children, Young People and Families Services Manager - liam.laughton@mpft.nhs.uk

Liam Laughton, Children, Young People and Families Services Manager, MPFT & Vicki Jones, Head of Transformation and Commissioning Children and Young People Learning Disabilities and Autism, ICB gave a presentation regarding the progress in delivering the work of the children and young people's mental health partnership.

Liam Laughton presented the first part of the presentation which provided information in response to the following concerns raised by members at a previous meeting:

·       The lack of referrals and waiting times data

·       The lack of information regarding outcomes

·       Access for rural populations to services,

·       Support for ‘Looked after Children’

Vicki Jones presented the remaining part of the presentation which detailed the investment into CAMHS by the ICB, the challenges faced by the partnership and the next steps.

In response to questions members were informed that:

·     Waiting times varied depending on the needs of the child or young person and stressed that if there was an immediate risk the child or young person was seen straight away.

·     Families on the waiting listed were contacted by an assistant psychiatrist who was able to sign post to sources of support. It was noted that the introduction of direct contact had been welcomed by families.

·     There was a correlation between those who had been waiting longest and the worse outcomes which highlighted that things need to be done differently.

·     Rural areas required different support than in urban areas due to the different culture, support networks and services available.

·     The team covering North Shropshire which provided support in rural areas worked alongside education providers but there was also a small clinic in Market Drayton

·     It was identified that delivering services in rural areas without a base/hub is challenging due to factors such as travel time. Education providers have been invited to be a base where services can be provided from which has begun to happen. It was agreed that Members would provide MPFT with a list of suitable local buildings where clinics could be delivered from.

·     There was an issue nationally in relation to the quality of private assessments which needed to be addressed to give families the assurance that the organisation they use are reputable.

·     An increase in referrals in October was usual following the summer holidays but the number for this year was higher than seen previously.

·     The 50% figure in relation to positive outcomes was an average across the country and the same figure was seen in adult mental health. It was noted that mental health problems were quite different to physical issues and usually involved a number of factors.

·     Covid and the cost of living crisis had both had a massive impact on children and young people’s wellbeing.

·     Assessments should not be prioritised over the child or young person’s needs although diagnosis can be useful.

·     Over the last decade mental health services for children and young people in Shropshire had been under-funded and there was a lack of skilled professionals and provision in this area.

Members were in agreement that the committee should set up  ...  view the full minutes text for item 17.

To scrutinise financial performance at quarter 2 and identify issues that may require further investigation by the overview and scrutiny committee. (Report to Follow).

Contact: Ben Jay, Assistant Director - Finance and Technology

The Chairman explained that the relevant financial information from this item had been incorporated into item 8 - Performance Monitoring Report Quarter 2 and it was therefore agreed that items 7 and 8 were considered together.

To scrutinise performance at quarter 2 and identify issues that may require further investigation by an overview and scrutiny committee. (Report to Follow).

Contact: Tanya Miles - Executive Director for People

Tanya Miles, Executive Director for People introduced the Performance Monitoring Report Quarter 2 which gave an update on areas of demand activity and performance across the People Directorate.

Natalie McFall, Assistant Director - Adult Social Care and Housing highlighted the key points of the report in relation to Adult Social Care which included different ways of working, the work on reducing in waiting lists, the increase in hospital discharge referrals and how the demographic data was being used to predict the need for the future.

Members were advised that in the information on page 7 there was an error in the report and the percentage of cases that were currently open to Adult Social Care should have shown that 62% were aged 65 and over and the 38% instead related to those aged 18 – 64.

Laura Tyler, Assistant Director Joint Commissioning provided further detail in relation to commissioning including the use of technology to support people at home, the increase in the complexity of people’s needs, the work into capacity issues and how to support the workforce. 

Members were advised that:

·       The information in the report which stated there was no one on the mental health team’s waiting list referred to the community mental health team.

·       More work was needed in relation to pulling together the data in relation to the 0 – 25 pathway to highlight future need.

·       There were still challenges in relation to the retention of staff in the domiciliary care sector and there was a need to future proof this.

·       The high cost of children’s care home placements was acknowledged, and it was noted that alternative options to these placements were being investigated.

Sonya Miller, Assistant Director Children’s Social Care & Safeguarding provided further detail in relation to Children’s Social Care and Safeguarding which included the increase in Children Looked After (CLA), the shift in referrals of abuse and neglect cases and the increase in early help.

Members were advised that:

·       The increase in the CLA data for 0 – 4 year olds was due to a combination of factors including the impact of covid and the reduced support provided during this time.

·       Families wishing to foster can be supported in regard to finding suitable accommodation if they did not at present have the space to accommodate a child.

·       The increased incentives for foster carers had been very successful especially for existing carers but there was a still a challenge nationally to recruit foster carers.

·       The referrals by geography data which indicated an increase of need in the north of the county was due to a variety of reasons.

David Shaw, Assistant Director Education & Achievement noted the key points in relation to education which included the significant growth in Education Health Care Plans (EHCP) referrals  between January – October 2023 and in particular the increase in parental requests for EHCPs.

Members were advised that:

·         If a parental referral for an EHCPs was received information would be requested from the school setting to obtain a full view  ...  view the full minutes text for item 19.

To confirm how this topic should be progressed. (Report attached).

Sophie Foster, Overview and Scrutiny Officer explained that a task and finish group was proposed in relation to the falls pathway, however there had been a lack of available members at the first meeting.

It was reported that a briefing in relation to prevention specifically for Adult Social Care was already underway and other factors would be covered by the Transformation & Improvement Overview and Scrutiny Committee System Working task and finish group. It was therefore agreed that there was no longer a need for the task and finish group.

To consider the future work programme of the Committee. (Report attached).

The work programme had been circulated prior to the meeting.

Sophie Foster, Overview & Scrutiny Officer noted that the next focus would be on mental health provision and would be looked at jointly with the Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee and this would be added to the work programme along with the two recommended briefings.

To note that the next meeting of the People Overview and Scrutiny Committee will be held at 10am on Wednesday 24^th January 2024.

Members noted that the next meeting of the People Overview and Scrutiny Meeting will be taking place on at 10am on Wednesday 24^th January 2024.