Agenda and minutes

To appoint a Chair of the committee.

RESOLVED:

That Cllr Carol Bulman be appointed as Chair.

To appoint a Vice-Chair of the committee.

RESOLVED:

That Cllr Jos Saunders be appointed as Vice-Chair.

Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Beanland.

To provide an opportunity for Members and Officers to declare any disclosable pecuniary and non-pecuniary interests in any item on the agenda.

There were no declarations of interest.

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 7 March 2023.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 7 March 2023 be agreed as a correct record.

To receive a verbal update on the Cared for Children and Care Leavers Shadow Committee.

A meeting of the Shadow Committee had been held recently with some new young people attending. The meeting was positive and the young people had expressed an interest in co-producing new documents and initiatives with the Council in the future.

Members of the Cared for Children and Care Leavers Committee were encouraged to attend a meeting of the Shadow Committee.

RESOLVED:

That the update be noted.

To consider the performance for the Cared for Children and Care Leavers service for quarter 3 of 2022-23.

The committee received the Cared for Children and Care Leavers scorecard for quarter four of 2022-23.

Members raised concerns around the number of vacancies for permanent social workers. Officers advised that this was a national issue but that social work recruitment and retention was higher in Cheshire East than in some other authorities. Cheshire East had set up social work apprenticeships and was also about to start a targeted campaign to recruit more experienced social workers.

It was noted that the number of children who had not received a dental check within 12 months appeared to be increasing but that these figures were likely to have increased due to improved reporting. Work was ongoing to continue improving dental care for cared for children and young people.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.