Agenda and draft minutes

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting. She informed the Committee that Agenda Item 8 – Schools Update, will now be presented at the next committee meeting on 18 June.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Tom Jones, Yvonne Peacock and John Mann, and from co-optee members Dr Tom Cavell-Taylor and Stephen Jennings. Councillor George Jabbour attended as substitute member for Councillor Yvonne Peacock.

Resolved

That, the Minutes of the meeting held on 29 January 2025 be confirmed and signed by the Chair as a correct record.

There were no declarations of interest.

Members of the public may ask questions or make statements at this meeting if they have given notice (to include the text of the question/statement) to Alice Fox, Senior Scrutiny (contact details below) by midday on Friday 14 March three working days before the day of the meeting.  Each speaker should limit themselves to 3 minutes on any item.  Members of the public who have given notice will be invited to speak:-

·         at this point in the meeting if their questions/statements relate to matters which are not otherwise on the Agenda (subject to an overall time limit of 30 minutes);

·         when the relevant Agenda item is being considered if they wish to speak on a matter which is on the Agenda for this meeting.

If you are exercising your right to speak at this meeting, but do not wish to be recorded, please inform the Chair who will instruct anyone who may be taking a recording to cease while you speak.

It was confirmed that no public questions or statements had been received.

Any correspondence, communication or other business brought forward by the direction of the Chair of the Committee. 

The Chair expressed her disappointment that the Motion for the Council to formally recognise Care Experience as a Protected Characteristic was not supported at Full Council on 26 February.  However, she explained that Maggie Allen from Children’s Services will be liaising with individual directorates to offer support on promoting the wider care leaver offer.

The Chair attended Scrutiny Board on 12 February where the Quarter 2 Performance Report was presented. She attended the Executive on 18 February and asked the following questions to Executive Members:

1.   The rates of Childhood Obesity have risen by 2% in just a year and North Yorkshire

is now above the national average.  What action is being taken to promote healthy weight amongst children and their families? Furthermore, could more be done to promote active travel, for instance cycle/walk to school schemes?

Response

Councillor Harrison acknowledged that childhood obesity leads to adult obesity and

referred to the Healthy Schools programme which is driving the right behaviours

regarding eating healthy foods. 124 schools are now signed up to this programme. He also recognised the benefits of active travel and is checking how teams are working on this across departments. Councillor Sanderson noted that there is no single cause and no single remedy to address the issue of obesity in babies and children. Multiple factors contribute to this problem including sedentary lifestyles alongside consumption of processed foods. Departments need to work together. Councillor Wilkinson stated that officers across the Council are working together to identify schemes and good practices in other councils to promote active travel in schools. The results will be published in July.

2.   There has been a significant increase in the number of Child Protection Plans, and

it is recognised that this is the result of an increase in multi-agency meetings and subsequent interventions. However, there is a worrying increase in the number of children being assessed as at risk of significant harm. What interventions are in place to reduce this risk?

Response

Councillor Sanderson acknowledged that more cases through the front door will inevitably result in the reporting of more cases. The increase reflects the robust actions taking place. A multi-agency approach is being taken to address issues in the

families.

3.   The number of children in care has reached a 10 year high for North Yorkshire

Council, compared to a national decrease of 0.5%. Could more be done to enable children to be discharged from care?

Response

Councillor Sanderson said that contacts at the door are slowing down, but demand is

still high and the accumulation has resulted in us seeing the number rise. This is due

to more complex issues e.g. economic uncertainty. In terms of doing more, the

Council tries to place children in their own family environment, if safe to do so in the

first instance. This approach maintains family ties and sustains lifelong links. The

service is constantly trying to do more through training and looking at other good practices.

Considered

An update by Louise Wallace, Director of Public Health, and Gill Kelly, Public Health Consultant.

Louise explained that this year’s Annual Report focusses on the ageing population and concentrates on four key areas: health equality, housing, employment and financial security, and making North Yorkshire an age friendly place.

One member of the Committee asked how we can engage with the older people who had previously never claimed any benefits, but who would now improve their quality of life if they applied for them. Louise explained that this would be addressed under the financial security priority.

Gill summarised the progress on the recommendations from last year’s annual report, “In Our Words: A Child’s Life in North Yorkshire”. The Growing up in North Yorkshire 2024 Survey highlighted that there has been an improvement in the mental health of young people, and girls demonstrate poorer resilience than boys.  The Council is working to embed the i-Thrive model to help children identify and manage their emotions and worries, and to build resilience and wellbeing.  Since the pandemic, there has been an increase in demand for mental health advice and some families have more complex levels of needs. It is important to be able to identify the need at the earliest stage to prevent it escalating to a more extreme level, and to respond at the right level at the right time. The mental health system transformation programme will adopt the i-Thrive model and officers will liaise with schools, special education leads and inpatient and outpatient settings to identify the gaps. Multi-task groups will be established.  

The next area to focus on is child obesity, with some children being overweight before they reach primary school age.  The Committee heard that the healthy schools scheme is funded through public health grants. It was noted that the scheme has been able to extend into nursery school settings in Harrogate and Whitby, but this is only because these venues are available free of charge.  The Committee were also informed that work is taking place with schools to promote healthy lifestyles and it is important that children can participate in health-based activities in their community. One member of the Committee cited the Harrogate Bike Bus as an example of the benefits of physical activity in reducing obesity and promoting good mental wellbeing.

The Council has also launched a Let’s Talk Food survey to help understand people’s thoughts about healthy eating and address how to reduce food waste and make healthy food more accessible.

One member of the Committee asked how families in temporary accommodation or those being placed into social housing are supported to adopt healthy eating patterns. Louise said that she would liaise with the Housing officers for this information. She also explained that the poverty proofing toolkit will be made as accessible as possible.

Resolved

1)    That, Louise Wallace liaises with Housing for information of how families in temporary accommodation and those being placed in social housing are being supported to adopt healthy eating  ...  view the full minutes text for item 65.

This agenda item will be presented at the committee meeting on June 18, 2025.

Considered

A report presented by Adele Herdsman, Group Manager Multi Agency Screening Team and Multiple Vulnerabilities, and DCI Carol Kirk, Safeguarding North Yorkshire Police.

DCI Kirk pointed out that the 22 Organised Crime Groups (OCGs) referred to in the report, not all of them are linked to exploitation and extend into the York District. The 7 County Lines modelled OCGs which are soon to be archived demonstrate successful multi-agency working. Adele explained that there is an increased awareness around child exploitation and North Yorkshire is one of 10 local authorities chosen to be part of a pilot for the National Referral Mechanism (NRM), a national framework for identifying and referring and supporting victims of modern day slavery.  The Single Competent Authority (SCA) has recognised North Yorkshire as one of the leading authorities in the NRM pilot. 

Adele and DCI Kirk referred Members to the North Yorkshire Safeguarding Children Partnership (NYSCP) website as the key mechanism for accessing training, resources and more information about the multi-agency safeguarding arrangements for North Yorkshire. 

The Corporate Director for Children and Young People informed the Committee that in North Yorkshire, it is predominantly white males who are the perpetrators of sexually and criminally exploiting children. 

Members of the Committee urged colleagues to find out who their youth workers are in their area to signpost young people to. North Yorkshire Youth can support young people who would like to set up youth activities.

The Committee had several questions:

If an OCG is closed, how are they monitored so that they don’t become active again?

If an OCG is archived, they are still closely monitored, and the Police receive invaluable intelligence from local communities. There is a partnership intelligence sharing form on the NYSCP website that people can complete in confidence.

Is data available concerning the number of young people who are at risk of modern day slavery? 

The Assistant Director Children and Families confirmed that this information can be provided.

What role can Councillors play in tackling child exploitation?

Councillors can offer their support by signposting families to the NYSCP website and to trained professionals. 

Is the service adequately funded?

All resources are utilised and much of the intelligence provided comes from the community. The service is a statutory area and will never be subject to budget cuts.

How can we ensure that professionals keep up to date with the advances around online exploitation? This is an area that is constantly subject to technical advances.

Specialist trained social workers receive training on the latest online apps and the Police follow the trends of particular platforms.

How can we tackle knife/weapon culture, particularly amongst young males?

The Police will carry out intervention work and there is a current campaign to hand in knives and knife bins have been installed across the county.

There was concern amongst the Committee about the increase in accessibility to weapons. 

Members of the Committee can access further information via the following links to the North Yorkshire Safeguarding Children Partnership website (including how  ...  view the full minutes text for item 67.

Considered

A report presented by Julie Pattison, Principle Advisor Monitoring, School Improvement Team.

Julie summarised the report. She added that there are currently SACRE vacancies for Baptist, Buddhist and Salvationist representatives and asked the Committee to spread the word.  She explained how the agreed syllabus and RE in schools is monitored, and how SACRE is supported to identify schools where student feedback about the syllabus may not be as positive as other schools. They can then ask the RE Professional to address this.

Resolved

1)    That, the report is noted.

2)    That, an annual update is provided next year.

Considered

A report by Alice Fox, Senior Scrutiny Officer detailing the proposed Children and Families Overview and Scrutiny work programme for 2025/2026.

It was agreed to amend the work programme as follows:

·       To include an Adoption agenda item to be presented at September’s meeting

·       To move the Fostering agenda item to September’s meeting

·       To move the North Yorkshire Safeguarding Children Partnership Annual Report to December’s meeting

·       To remove the Schools Update agenda item and include it in the 2026/2027 work programme

The work programme will be under review throughout the year and may be altered, subject to agreement by the Chair

Resolved

1)    That, the work programme is amended as stated above.

Any other items which the Chair agrees should be considered as a matter of urgency because of special circumstances

One Member of the Committee asked if an update on the Home to School Policy would be available for either the committee meetings in September or December. The Corporate Director explained that this would be too early as the policy will only become active from September.  

There were no other items of business.

Wednesday 18 June 2025 at 10am

Wednesday 18 June 2025, County Hall, Northallerton, commencing at 10.00am

AF