Wrthi'n llwytho
Cyfarfu'r pwyllgor i graffu ar bolisi arfaethedig i helpu plant mewn gofal i aros mewn lleoliadau maeth drwy ariannu addasiadau ac estyniadau i gartrefi gofalwyr, cyn i'r Cabinet ei ystyried ar 10 Gorffennaf 2025. Cafodd hefyd friffio ar adolygiad y Drws Blaen mewn gwasanaethau plant, a symudwyd ymgynghoriad ar strategaeth niwroamrywiaeth i gyfarfod ar y cyd ar 7 Gorffennaf. Yr unig benderfyniadau a gofnodwyd oedd ysgrifennu at yr Aelod Cabinet gyda sylwadau'r pwyllgor ar y polisi, a chyfeirio awgrymiadau ar gyfer adroddiad blynyddol craffu at swyddogion.
Apologies were received from Carol Cobert and Patricia Arlotte. The Chair noted that it was the last meeting for Cllr Davies and Emily Gao (Youth Council), and thanked them for their service to the Committee.
There were none.
The minutes of the previous meeting on 10th June were approved.
Y penderfyniad fel y'i cofnodwyd
RESOLVED: That the Chairperson writes to the Cabinet Member on behalf of the Committee expressing their comments and observations captured during the way forward.
Members were advised that this agenda item will enable Members to undertake a pre-decision scrutiny on a proposed policy aimed at maximising placements for children and young people through adaptations and extensions to the homes of carers and seek Cabinet approval to implement the policy and administration of the grant, prior to its consideration by Cabinet on the 10 July 2025. The Chairperson welcomed: · Councillor Ash Lister, Cabinet Member for Children Services and Tackling Poverty & Supporting Young People (Children’s Services) · Deborah Driffield, Director of Children’s Services. · Suki Bahara-Garrens – Operational Manager – Children’s Services, · Nick Blake – Operational Manager – Children’s Services, · Avril Hooper-Williams – Operational Manager – Children’s Services. The Cabinet Member was invited to make an opening statement. Cllr Lister explained that the report intended to create more options for placements for children through increasing availability of more longer-term placements in foster care, and to support with the challenges faced by families in providing longer term placements due to lack of space in their properties. It was also explained that the aim was to make it more inviting to potential and existing foster carers, and included welcome and retention payments, and that the business cases for these grants would be robust in nature. It is also important to market the need for foster carers in local communities and Cllr Lister encouraged the promotion of this service. Members were invited to ask questions and make comments; the discussion is summarised below: Members were encouraged by the information in the report regarding the situation where placements ended for a positive reason and asked about whether foster carers might find themselves in debt should a placement break down, and how this might discourage involvement. Officers explained that there was a need to have a way to ‘claw back’ funding in the agreement, in such situations, to ensure the best use of public money, although there is discretion within this. Officers have been creative in supporting placements to become as successful as possible, and this would be a last resort. Business Cases would be as thorough as possible at the outset, but there is a need to build in flexibility and criterion. Officers welcomed any suggested amendments to the plans and members suggested adding an element of reassurance regarding this for prospective foster carers. Members asked about the situation if the foster carer is living in private rented accommodation and the rental agreements ends and Officers explained that this grant would not currently be considered in that situation. Members thanked officers for looking at such innovative solutions to support Children Looked After and asked how confident Officers were that this type of building work could be completed to support foster care placements in a reasonable timescale given the pressures and demand on the construction sector. Officers explained that this policy was created in partnership with Housing and Communities teams and had been factored in. It had also been considered when looking at pilot cases and bids from contractors to complete the work, as well as with existing contractors already working for the Council. Members asked about the situation regarding payments for extension/adaptation works and what would happen if families could not afford to pay for this and then be reimbursed. Officers explained that families would not be expected to pay the costs upfront. Members asked if there was a prediction of the annual costs of this work and if there would be any impact on core budgets. Officers explained that currently demand is unknown, as it was not an option previously, but the expectation is for funding to come from the grant. Members then asked whether this approach had been tried in other Local Authorities and what the impact and evaluation was. Officers explained that this has been done on an ad hoc basis in Flintshire and some areas in England. Members asked about the incentivisation, and officers explained that the £5,000 payment would be for new foster carers coming on board and the £1,000 is an annual payment for those families who have provided 30 weeks plus of care in the last 12 months. Members asked whether the £140,000 capital grant was for this financial year and whether this was going to be sufficient. Officers explained that investing in this model and offering this option will give more chance of permanent placements, reduce breakdown of placements and offer better outcomes for babies, children and young people. There is an expectation that interest in this will increase, and budgets will need to be reviewed. There is also the option to submit other bids for Capital funding to Welsh Government to support this. Members asked how demand for extension and adaptations had come to light and officers explained that this had come from feedback from officers and families, and how this would increase chances for permanent placements and even possible special guardianship. There are 3 cases being looked at currently. This had been done in one off situations in the past, but demand has now increased. Members asked if there was any data on demand and officers confirmed that engagement sessions had so far raised 6 cases from teams, but no further data was available currently. Officers offered to come back and provide a briefing on progress to which Members appreciated. The Chair thanked officers for their contributions. RESOLVED: That the Chairperson writes to the Cabinet Member on behalf of the Committee expressing their comments and observations captured during the way forward.
Y penderfyniad fel y'i cofnodwyd
RESOLVED: That the Chairperson writes to the Cabinet Member on behalf of the Committee expressing their comments and observations captured during the way forward.
Members were advised that this agenda item will enable Members to receive a briefing and update on a review of the “Front Door” in Children’s Services The Chair welcomed: · Councillor Ash Lister, Cabinet Member for Children Services and Tackling Poverty & Supporting Young People (Children’s Services) · Deborah Driffield, Director of Children’s Services. · Suki Bahara-Garrens – Operational Manager – Children’s Services, · Avril Hooper-Williams – Operational Manager – Children’s Services. Cllr Lister was invited to make a statement and explained that the presentation would provide an update on the progress of Cardiff Family Advice, Support and Protect Hub and how his would focus on providing help at the earliest possible stage. The presentation would explain the key changes in more detail. Officers were invited to deliver the presentation. Members were invited to ask questions and make comments; the discussion is summarised below: Members were interested to know how the priority needs groups had been identified and members explained that there is a focus on the first 1,000 days of a child’s life which aligns with a key Health Services agenda, as well as auditing data which once reviewed prioritised needs for ethnically diverse children and those with additional learning needs (ALN). Members asked for more clarification on how the Triage system would work between Triage 1 and Triage 2 and officers explained how the different levels would work, with examples, to best meet the needs of the families. They also explained how this had worked well in Humberside and had been suggested by the Police as part of the planning for this change. Members asked about this process being used in other Local Authorities and the success of it. Officers that they had spoken to Bridgend, Swansea, Somerset and Leeds to look at what had worked well there and what could be used for best practice. They also found that ALN hubs had been created in other areas which provided support directly to the community and reduced wait times. Members asked about use of Professional Advice Line (PAL) and whether this was available for any third-party organisations or just trusted partners. Officers confirmed this can be used by any organisation. Members then asked if there a process to feedback on these third-party referrals and officers confirmed that this is part of the triage 2 process, both verbally and in written form, and includes feedback to schools where referrals have been submitted. The new digital referral form has been created, and training has been delivered on this, which aims to gather all information to form part of the jigsaw, so the best decisions can be made. Members thanked Officers for the presentation and asked if this sits within the intervention hub and how managing risk had been decided. Officers explained that it is part of the Front Door in Children’s Services and that all services are available from this point where there is no definite risk of harm. The intention is for prevention and intervention at the earliest point. Officers explained the risk comes where there are much longer waiting lists for Early Help support, so it has been agreed that additional temporary staff support is available to support this shift in demand, as well as a Principal Social Worker in this team to support, which is a big change. Regular meetings have been taking place to plan and organise this change and closer working relationships developed as a result. This has allowed for experience and practice to be shared and a more complete package of support for babies, children and families. Members asked where an overview of this would be, and Officers explained that this has always been through Strategic and Operational MASH group and is still the case. Members asked what is in place to gather feedback from Young People regarding their interaction with the service and if it has met their needs. Officers explained that this is the next phase of development and plan to use surveys with Young People and Parents, and Officers appreciated this point. There is always an aim to capture the voice of the child when working with children and young people. Officers advised that the outcomes and impact of this can be fed back to the committee once available. The Chair thanked officers for their contributions. RESOLVED: That the Chairperson writes to the Cabinet Member on behalf of the Committee expressing their comments and observations captured during the way forward.
The Scrutiny Officer explained that this report was due to come to scrutiny today, but the papers were not available, so, following discussions, it had been decided that this agenda item is to be a joint agenda item at CASSC on 7th July at 5.20pm, with a reduced number of CYP members in attendance. The Scrutiny Officer will provide support for this item and contact anyone who was not able to attend today. The following members agreed to attend: · Chair – Cllr Moultrie · Brigid Corr · Cllrs Gunter and Hopkins. · Young People’s Representative.
Rhan o fater a ddilynwyd ar draws 4 cyfarfod
Y penderfyniad fel y'i cofnodwyd
RESOLVED: That the scrutiny officer notes the suggested changes, report them to the Head of Democratic Services and PSO colleagues; and these be taken forward for consideration for next year’s Report.
Members were advised that this agenda item enabled them to have a brief outline of the report by the Scrutiny Officer and seek agreement on a way forward. The Scrutiny Officer explained that the annual report is reviewed before going to Cabinet, and is seeking approval for the report, pending any amendments. Members were invited to ask questions and make comments; the discussion is summarised below: Members asked where there are areas where there is cross over with other committees, if these could be joined together, and where there are recommendations and what scrutiny has looked at, if these can also include outcomes and impact in future reports. Members also asked whether the list of external stakeholders included in the report could be a more centralised list rather than just the ones that the Committee had been involved with in that year, in order to increase involvement. RESOLVED: That the scrutiny officer notes the suggested changes, report them to the Head of Democratic Services and PSO colleagues; and these be taken forward for consideration for next year’s Report.
There were no urgent items.
Tuesday 9 September 2025 from 4.30pm
Rhaid i gynghorwyr ddweud pan fydd ganddyn nhw gysylltiad personol â rhywbeth sy'n cael ei drafod, fel swydd, eiddo neu aelod o'r teulu. Mae buddiant sy'n rhagfarnu yn ddigon cryf i'r cynghorydd adael yr ystafell fel arfer a pheidio â chymryd rhan.
Dyw'r cofnodion ddim yn cofnodi unrhyw ddatganiadau o fuddiant.
Yn rhestru cynghorwyr presennol y cyngor yn unig. Nid yw aelodau cyfetholedig, swyddogion a chyn-gynghorwyr yn cael eu dangos.