Agenda item

Consideration was given to the report of the Head of Children’s Services which was presented to provide Members with information on how Children’s Social Services supported vulnerable children since the COVID-19 pandemic started in March 2020.

The Head of Children’s Services spoke to the report and highlighted the main points contained therein.

A Member enquired if resources were available to cope with any increase in cases coming forward with the easing of Covid restrictions.   The Head of Children’s Services said that there were no additional monies set aside, and there was a mixed view regarding whether there would be a significant increase in the numbers of referrals.  There had been no significant increase after the first lockdown and preventative services such as Families First and Flying Start had continued to work with families across Blaenau Gwent on a preventative level to stop their needs escalating.  She felt the Service was as prepared as it could be.

A Member referred to any increase in domestic abuse referrals and enquired if this had impacted on Children’s Services.  The Head of Children’s Services said that it was not the number of increased cases but the complexity of the situations of the cases being referred that was more difficult.  There were increased numbers of domestic abuse cases but they were not disproportionate at this time in comparison to previous years.

The Corporate Director of Social Services commented that regionally there had been an increase in the number of referrals of domestic abuse cases across the board.  Over the last 12 months referrals had steadily increased in Wales and the Regional Safeguarding Board would closely monitor the situation.  There were concerns that with the easing of lockdown restrictions there could be a further increase in referrals as people would have the opportunity to come forward looking for support.

A Member enquired if Social Services staff had been offered the Covid vaccine.  The Head of Children’s Services said the names of all the social care staff had been put forward for vaccinations, the majority had received their first vaccination, however, the criteria had been made more specific which may exclude some of the front line Social Services staff.  As such there was a small but significant cohort of staff within Children’s Services who had not yet had their first vaccination, however, their names had been submitted for the ‘mop up’ sessions.

A Member referred to the use of virtual technology and enquired if this was now considered good practice in relation to Children Looked After, the Head of Children’s Services explained that all of the teams and social workers had laptops and work phones, the move to using Microsoft Teams had led to holding virtual meetings, although it had been difficult to get children and families involved in that particular platform of meetings.  She advised Members that work was currently being undertaken to ascertain what was working well during Covid and what could be improved or returned to.   Some of the feedback from this work was that parents whose children were on the Child Protection Register needed to return to face to face meetings to ensure that parents were supported and she felt this had not worked well virtually, but it could also be that professionals, social workers and Independent Reviewing Officers could join the meeting virtually.  In relation to Children Looked After they would continue to talk with them via WhatsApp through access via work phones.  She felt that the nature of the work was to build trusting relationships with children and parents to talk through some very sensitive issues and that was quite difficult to do on a virtual system.

A Member enquired what impact Covid-19 would have on Children’s Services going forward.  The Head of Children’s Services said it had impacted on staff, however, sickness had not increased significantly during this period and she felt that was testament to the workforce.  There had been peaks and troughs regarding morale and staff had continued to take leave, with the Directorate providing support to the team and the workforce.  In relation to Children Looked After, as needs arise the Team were doing everything they could to ensure that those needs were managed in the right way.

The Corporate Director of Social Services informed Members that in relation to vaccinations, an estimated 90% of staff had received their first vaccination.  There had been a limited number of staff who had initially refused to take up the vaccine, however, after discussions and reassurances from Public Health colleagues some of those staff had subsequently received the vaccine.  In relation to the workforce, the Director had slight concerns that as staff had worked at an intensity they had not experienced before that they may need extra support going forward particularly during the transition from this intensive period of work to returning to some sort of normality.  The Directorate would try to ensure that any support required by staff could be provided as they move through the transition period.

A Member enquired if the Directorate would apply for extra funding for additional staff to support some of the issues raised.  The Head of Children’s Services said that as situations arise there may be a need to make a case to the Corporate Leadership Team for additional resources.  There was a national shortage of Social Workers and recruitment had always been a challenge and may be even more difficult after the pandemic. 

The Corporate Director of Social Services informed Members that the Welsh Government had confirmed that the Hardship Fund would be available for another six months, if there was an increase in demand the Directorate would look to accommodate that demand through the Hardship Fund.  He commented that work was being undertaken nationally looking at the long term implications for Social Services as a result of the pandemic and included the impact on budgets.  When completed, he felt it would be a useful document for all Councils to consider.

A Member commented on the excellent work of all the staff and the Directorate adapting to significant changes to working practices during Covid to support the most vulnerable people in the community and expressed his appreciation to the whole workforce.  He suggested that a generic letter or email be sent to all staff conveying their heartfelt thanks on behalf of the Local Authority and the community of Blaenau Gwent.

The Chair and Members agreed with their colleague’s comments and supported the suggestion.  The Corporate Director of Social Services would relay that message across to all staff.

The Committee AGREED to recommend that the report be accepted and endorse Option 2; namely that the report as provided be accepted.