Health and Social Security - Approved Panel Minutes - 29 January 2016

Present

Deputy R. Renouf , Chairman Deputy G. Southern , Vice-Chairman Deputy T. McDonald

Apologies

Absent

In attendance

Ms G. Johnson , Independent Chairman, Children and Adult's Safeguarding Board

Miss K. Boydens , Scrutiny Officer

Miss L. Stoodley , Scrutiny Officer (acting up)

Ref Back

Agenda matter

Action

517/1/1(3)

1.  Children and Adult's Safeguarding Partnership Board: Meeting with the Chairman

The Panel welcomed the Independent Chairman of the Safeguarding Partnership Board to the meeting. The Independent Chairman explained that the Board worked to safeguard children and adults in Jersey through the joint work of two boards; children and adults.

Board members included representatives of key agencies in order to safeguard vulnerable adults and children. Key agencies included the Police, Housing, Fire Service, Health, Social Work, the Social Security Department and representatives from the Voluntary and Community sector. The Independent Chairman explained that most representatives were senior managers within each agency who were able to make decisions for their organisation.

Both Boards were supported by a small team which included a manager, trainer, policy worker and administrator. The Independent Chairman explained  that  she  often  discussed  matters  with  the  ministerial representative – Senator P. Routier. Information would then be passed on to the Chief Minister to ensure that the ministerial side was fully informed.

The  Independent  Chairman  explained  to  the  Panel  that  Jersey's Children's  Service  was  currently  experiencing  a  wide  range  of challenges.  An  Improvement  Plan  had  been  developed  by  an Improvement Board as a result of the work undertaken by an interim Children's Director. Work was ongoing within the Department to ensure that improvements were made.

It was the Independent Chairman's opinion that the Children's Service was out of date and needed to be brought up to modern day standards.

This included improvements to Information Services and how children were assessed to be put into care.

The Panel heard that, traditionally, turnover was high in social work which was a challenge currently experienced in the UK. One disadvantage of working on a small Island was the inability to move around different services, which was an option for social workers working in the UK.

The  Independent  Chairman  explained  that  there  was  no  statutory legislation in terms of social work in Jersey. Therefore, the Safeguarding Board for  children  tended  to follow  the  UK  statutory guidance:  HM Government:  "Working  together  to  safeguard  children"  March  2015, whilst the Safeguarding Board for adults followed the UK Care Act 2014.

The  Panel  asked  whether  social  work  should  be  statutory,  but  the Independent Chairman explained that this was not a priority for the Safeguarding Board as current children's legislation was out of date. She explained that a Memorandum of Understanding between all agencies had been signed.

The Independent Chairman advised that she had requested additional funding for the next two years to develop an improvement plan for all agencies  other  than  social  work.  She  explained  that  improvements needed to be implemented in planning, auditing and training. The Panel heard that the decision on whether additional funding would be granted would be made in due course.

The Independent Chairman explained that, as part of her role, she was required to make a statement on safety of children in the area. She explained that she had refused to make a statement as there was a lack of management information to make an informed judgement. Information Services needed to be improved in order that an informed judgement could be made.

As part of the Safeguarding Board's responsibilities, the Independent Chairman explained that Serious Case Reviews were undertaken by both the children and adult Boards. Both Boards were mindful about what information was put out into the public domain, as there had been issues with the media in the past. The key aim of a Serious Case Review was to identify what needed to be improved within a particular service. All actions and recommendations as a result of a Serious Case Review were recorded onto a spreadsheet and monitored regularly by the Independent Chairman.

The Panel asked the Independent Chairman about the rate of suicides in Jersey. She explained that the rate was falling elsewhere, but not in Jersey.  The  Safeguarding  Board  had  drafted  a  thematic  review  on adolescent suicides in Jersey which would be published within the next few months.

The Panel asked whether there was a need for a Children's Minister in Jersey.  It  was  the  Independent  Chairman's  view  that  a  Children's Commissioner may be more appropriate as they would be required to have the right skills and expertise.

At the end of the meeting, the Panel acknowledged an invitation from the Independent Chairman of a regular update for the Panel to discuss developments within the Safeguarding Board.