Let us take a look back at what the Child & Family Services Scrutiny Panel has been up to:

The Covid-19 Pandemic has had an effect on all of the Council’s services including scrutiny.

Let us take a look back at what the Child & Family Services Scrutiny Panel has been up to:

April 2020:

In response to the national lockdown all scrutiny meetings were temporarily suspended and therefore the Panel meeting booked for April 2020 was cancelled.

September 2020:

The Panel met for the first time since February 2020, virtually to receive an update on the impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on Child and Family Services from the Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, Cllr Elliott King and senior officers within the Service.

The Panel learned that there has been a close working relationship with the Health Board and internally with Education during these unprecedented times.

Cllr Elliott King stated that he is ‘incredibly proud’, of what the Service has achieved and that this is due to the staff. The Panel also expressed their appreciation to staff working in a very difficult situation and who have adapted the service to meet demands so quickly.

The panel learned that there is a Recovery/Modification Plan in place.

To read more and view this meeting please click here.

October 2020:

The Panel met to receive an update on Wales Audit Office Follow Up Review of Corporate Safeguarding Arrangements – Children in Swansea Council, and to discuss the work programme for 2020-21.

The Panel learned that the pandemic has accelerated improving the relationship with Education and that Departments are meeting on a weekly basis to prioritise the children they are most worried about to ensure they are safe.

The Panel also learned that there is a Corporate Safeguarding Group that has oversight of corporate safeguarding and there is a Regional Safeguarding Board which is the overarching board for the area. The Panel have agreed to add an update from the Regional Safeguarding Board to its future work programme which will provide the Panel with feedback on how regional arrangements are working.

The Panel also discussed the draft work plan, however, the Convenors of the Child & Family Services Panel and the Adult Services  Panel agreed to pause the current programme for 3 months to accommodate the pressures officers were under due to the pandemic, and to hold joint Social Services scrutiny meetings until February 2021.

Dec 2020 – February 2021

The Joint Social Services Scrutiny Panel focussed on performance monitoring and mainly looked at the Directorates management of Covid-19.

Click here to read more about what was discussed at these meetings.

March 2021:

The Child & Family Services Panel recommenced as a ‘standalone’ panel.  The Panel discussed the Wales Audit Office Report: Tackling Violence Against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence and scrutinised the Cabinet’s Performance Monitoring report for January 2021.

This report includes performance against Welsh Government, Care Inspectorate Wales and local indicators. The information covers Child and Family’s contact from the front door, the Supported Care Planning and Looked After Children’s teams as well as Bays+, and the Youth Justice Service. Also contained in the report is an overview of case supervision and the Signs of Safety metrics.

The Panel also discussed the Safeguarding Quality Unit Annual Report. Click here to view this recorded meeting and to read all reports presented to the Panel. 

May 2021:

The Panel is due to meet on 25 May 2021 to receive a Briefing on Youth Offending Service and an update on progress with Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS). Subscribe to our newsletter here, to keep up to date with this Panel’s work and to be notified of all future meetings of this Panel.