Agenda and minutes

To consider and approve the minutes of the previous meeting held on 8 March 2022 as a true and correct record of the proceedings.

Resolved: - That the Minutes of the meeting of the Improving Lives Select Commission, held on 8 March 2022 be approved as a correct record of proceedings.

To receive declarations of interest from Members in respect of items listed on the agenda.

There were no declarations of interest.

To consider whether the press and public should be excluded from the meeting during consideration of any part of the agenda.

Resolved: -

That under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 the public be excluded from the meeting for the consideration of the case studies presented during agenda item 8 on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 1 (information relating to an individual, Information which is likely to reveal the identity of an individual) of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act.

To receive questions relating to items of business on the agenda from members of the public or press who are present at the meeting.

There were no questions from members of the public or press.

To receive communications from the Chair in respect of matters within the Commission’s remit and work programme.

There were no communications.

The Chair and Vice-Chair provided an update on the activity of the Corporate Parenting Panel.

The Chair, who had chaired a spotlight review that had been carried out jointly by members of the Improving Lives and Improving Places Select Commissions on the Council’s Cultural Strategy, presented the findings of the review.

Resolved: -

1)    That the report be noted and the following recommendations be submitted to OSMB for consideration: -

a)    That the range of available activities tailored for young residents of the Borough be prioritised for expansion.

b)    That consideration be given to how best to expand access, especially for young people, to recreational swimming in the Borough, whilst protecting against hazards.

c)    That the service liaises with CYPS to develop a system to help young carers more easily access opportunities for leisure and culture-related respite.

d)    With a view to expanding access, that consideration be given to hosting cultural events at alternating and varied locations and venues throughout the Borough where appropriate.

To consider and approve the Commission’s Work Programme.

The Chair advised that the new Work Programme for 2022/23 would be developed with members and officers after the appointment of committee members for 2022/23 had been made at the upcoming Annual Council Meeting.

The Chair advised that due to the importance of the issue that the 2021/22 Work Programme had been extended to include the June 2022 meeting in order to enable a report to be scheduled that would provide members with the opportunity to scrutinise the Council’s activity over the previous year with regard to Child Exploitation.

To consider any item(s) the Chair is of the opinion should be considered as a matter of urgency.

There were no urgent items of business.

The next meeting of the Improving Lives Select Commission take place on 14 June 2022 commencing at 10am in Rotherham Town Hall.

Resolved: - That the next meeting of the Improving Lives Select Commission take place on Tuesday 14 June 2022 at 10am at Rotherham Town Hall

To consider a report providing a summary of progress against the action plan submitted to the Youth Justice Board and examples of current practice.

The Cabinet Member for Children and Young People’s Services and the Service Manager - Youth Offending Team and Evidence Based Hub attended the meeting to provide a progress report on the Youth Offending Team (YOT) Inspection Action Plan that had been put into place following the Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP) inspection of the Rotherham Youth Offending Team that had taken place in September 2020. A previous progress report had been received by the Improving Lives Select Commission on 21 September 2021 (Minute No.26 2021/22). The report also provided information on the findings from the recent YJB Peer Review that had been undertaken in March 2022.

Chief Superintendent Steve Chapman, District Commander for Rotherham, two youth workers and an apprentice youth worker were also in attendance at the meeting.

The report stated that due to the impact of the pandemic that the inspection had been carried out remotely. The inspection had looked at YOT activity over the three domains of Organisational Delivery, Court Disposals and Out of Court Disposals. The Inspection report had been published on 17 December 2020 with the Overall judgement being “Requires Improvement”. The inspection report had made five recommendations that were:

The Chair of the YOT Management Board should:

1.    Make sure that Board members understand the specific needs of children known to the YOT and advocate on their behalf in their own agencies.

The YOT Management Board should:

2.    Ensure the partnership understands the reasons for the significant number of Looked After Children known to the YOT and reviews the policies and practices of all agencies to minimise the possibility of children entering the criminal justice system unnecessarily.

3.    Undertake a comprehensive health needs analysis of YOT children to better understand the health provision being delivered and what needs to be developed.

4.    Review the quality and accessibility of education, training and employment provision for post-16-year-old children known to the service.

The YOT Service Manager should:

5.    Review the quality of risk of harm work and improve the effectiveness of management oversight in all cases.

In response to the Inspection an Action Plan had been produced in January 2021 that contained 46 actions to address the areas requiring improvement that had included actions for across the partnership. The Cabinet Member advised that at the YOT Management Board meeting held on 12 January 2022 that the Board had been advised that all 46 actions had been successfully completed. The full action plan was attached as an appendix to the officer’s report.

The Cabinet Member advised that following the inspection the YOT had completed a Youth Justice Peer Review in order to assist the YOT and its partners identify their strengths and to highlight areas for potential improvement in the current provision of youth justice services. The report noted that the peer review process provided an opportunity for YOT’s and local authorities to gain a fresh perspective from peers alongside collaborative support in improving local youth justice services.

The Cabinet Member advised that the peer review  ...  view the full minutes text for item 93.