Hampshire County Council Children and Young People Select Committee Meeting

Apologies had been received from Cllr Hayre and Cllr Heron – a Conservative group deputy was not available.

Apologies had also been received from Cllr Bains. Cllrs Groves was present as the Liberal Democrat group deputy.

Apologies had also been received from Richard Mounfield, Parent Governor Representative for Hampshire’s Secondary Schools.

Cllr Chadd, Executive Lead Member for Children’s Services and Cllr Forster, Executive Member for Education were in attendance.

Members were mindful that where they believed they had a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest in any matter considered at the meeting they must declare that interest at the time of the relevant debate and, having regard to the circumstances described in Part 3, Paragraph 1.5 of the County Council's Members' Code of Conduct, leave the meeting while the matter was discussed, save for exercising any right to speak in accordance with Paragraph 1.6 of the Code. Furthermore Members were mindful that where they believed they had a Personal interest in a matter being considered at the meeting they considered whether such interest should be declared, and having regard to Part 5, Paragraph 5 of the Code, considered whether it was appropriate to leave the meeting whilst the matter was discussed, save for exercising any right to speak in accordance with the Code.

No declarations were made.

The Minutes of the previous meeting were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

The Committee did not receive any deputations.

The Chairman thanked Cllr Porter for her time as the Liberal Democrat Spokesperson and welcomed Cllr Bains to the position.

The Committee received a presentation from the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board (ICB) on children and young people’s Autism Services Commissioning within Hampshire.

Members noted that the caseload for Autism Services in Hampshire was approximately 7,000 with an average waiting time of 18 months, with a range between 12-36 months depending on age and service area. Funding for Autism and ADHD services has increased by 48%, however this has led to minimal improvements due to the continued high demand.

The committee received an overview of the short term improvement actions taken to date alongside the plan for a system wide transformation. The ICB noted that this system transformation is not the responsibility of a single agency and required all partners to play their part in an integrated pathway.

The Select Committee wished for their unanimous concern and continued dissatisfaction to be recorded in relation to Autism Services in Hampshire.

In response to questions members found that:

·           Efforts were being made to support the needs of children with Autism in educational settings through ‘PINS’ (the Partnership for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools).

·           There was a focus on ‘waiting well’ for young people on the waiting list, meaning that their position in the list was adjusted by need and urgency of diagnosis.

·           The increased rate of Education, Health and Care Plans being issued has led to increased pressure on Autism Services.

·           Diagnosis appointments take between one and two hours but can take longer depending on the assessment.

·           The number of psychologists in the workforce limits the number of appointments that can be undertaken, impacting the speed at which the waiting list can be reduced. There are ongoing issues with the recruitment and retention of psychologists.

·           Schools need to develop a school wide inclusive approach to incorporate neurodiverse young people. This should also be considered when designing future schools, as many aspects of the building can lead to difficulties for young people with additional needs.

RESOLVED:

That the CYP SC encourages the NHS and Children's Services to work with wider Education Services to embed inclusive teaching into all primary school and secondary school teacher training to ensure neuro diverse inclusive teaching skills at all levels.

The Committee received a report and presentation from Hampshire’s Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) providing their annual update to the Select Committee.

The Committee noted the aim of improving access to CAMHS services through an early intervention and prevention offer and a re-alignment of NHS services to match population needs. To support this a new single provider across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight has been created.

Members noted that CAMHS is continuing to expand and develop new services in response to the growing need of support for children and young people’s mental health. It was further noted that the current average waiting time for a CAMHS assessment is 16 weeks, with 1,795 young people on the waiting list. This is a reduction from January 2024 (2,164) and January 2023 (2,637). Despite this improvement, it was recognised that this should continue to be an area of focus for the CAMHS service.

In response to questions members found that:

·           There is one single point of access for CAMHS, which triages cases on the day received.

·           Efforts are under way to build capacity, but a 17% vacancy rate remains for CAMHS staff.

·           There have been significant changes to the approaches used for young people with eating issues, which are saver and do not involve long stays in hospitals.

·           Young People are seen up to the age of 19, with transition to adult services starting from 17 and a half years old and undertaken at a speed that suits the individual.

RESOLVED:

That the Children and Young People Select Committee considered the report and note the work programme and priorities of the Hampshire Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service.

The Committee received a report and presentation from the Director of Children’s Services providing the annual safeguarding report for Children’s Services for 2023-24 for pre-scrutiny in advance submission to Cabinet.

Officers assured members that whilst demand for children’s social care services continues to increase year on year, the response to the safeguarding of vulnerable children is both robust and timely. It was noted that the Directorate had been subject to a full inspection in June 2024, which judged Hampshire to be Outstanding, with a Good judgement for Care Leavers.

Officers explained that the decision had been taken to withdraw from offering sector led improvement work with the last programmes ending in March 2025. These services were provided on the basis that they did not detract from providing the best offer for Hampshire’s Children and the Council’s financial challenges meant Officers were no longer able to continue in this area.

The Committee noted the key national developments and a summary of the Directorate’s performance and activity levels alongside details of the priorities for the year ahead.

In response to questions members found that:

·           The areas of improvement identified by the last Ofsted inspection did not have targets attached to them as the inspector recognised that those areas had already been addressed by the Directorate’s plan.

·           Social Work teams were based in district offices, but work was being undertaken to see if this could be moved more directly to the community.

·           Hampshire Children in Care have a lower number with a criminal record then nationally and those who do tend to have had this before entering the authority’s care. Children in Care are not more likely to offend and generally have better outcomes then their peers not in care.

·           While the direct Sector Led Improvement work will be ending, there are still many methods whereby Officers can share best practice with colleagues from around the country.

RESOLVED:

That the Children and Young People Select Committee note and support the recommendations being proposed to Cabinet in the attached report.

The Director of People and Organisation presented the Committee’s work programme.

Requests were received for items covering the transition from Children’s to Adult’s Services and Teacher Training, particularly on neurodiversity.

RESOLVED:

That the Children and Young People Select Committee discussed and agreed potential items for the work programme that can be prioritised and allocated by the Chairman of the Children and Young People Select Committee in consultation with the Director of Children’s Services.