Agenda and minutes

Members are reminded of their responsibility to declare any pecuniary interest in respect of matters contained in this agenda.

If you have a pecuniary interest you must withdraw from the meeting. Normally you should leave the room before the business starts to be discussed. You do, however, have the same right to speak as a member of the public and may remain in the room to enable you to exercise that right and then leave immediately. In either case you must not seek to improperly influence a decision on the matter.

There were no declarations of interest received.

To assist Members in scoping the review, the Head of Early Intervention and Support will deliver a presentation on Child Sexual Exploitation (presentation enclosed).

The Chair welcomed members of the Task Group reviewing Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) to the first meeting. 

Members of the Task Group received a presentation which included –

·         explanation of the sexual exploitation

·         prevalence of CSE

·         the process of identification CSE

·         case reviews

·         learning for improved practice

·         legislation

Through the case studies members of the Task Group considered reasons for each child’s vulnerability.  

At this point Councillor Morwood left the meeting and left notes with Cllr Roy Lees to provide input into the discussion

Members will need to consider what the desired outcome of the review will be and how this can be achieved.

Members of the Task Group were invited to put forward their suggested objectives, outcomes and who they wanted to interview as part of the review.

The following elements form the scoping of the review:

Objectives

·        To understand the definition and issues surrounding Child Sexual Exploitation;

·        To gain an understanding of the Council’s policies and procedures and how they complement those of our partners;

·        Identify those services that were most likely to receive intelligence about service users who were potentially at risk or those perpetrating the abuse and understand the reporting mechanisms officers use to report such intelligence.

Outcomes

·        An understanding of the Council’s policies and procedures and how they complement those of our partners;

·        To make recommendations on any changes to the Council’s process and procedures to ensure they are as robust as possible;

·        An understanding of the role of the Councillor in the future management and control of services;

·         For all Councillors to undertake on-line Child Sexual Exploitation and Safeguarding training.

Terms of reference

To understand the Council’s requirements in protection of those children and young people who are being/or at risk of being sexually exploited.

To identify key services that have the potential to receive intelligence about those children and young people who were being sexual exploited or at risk of being so, and possible perpetrators of the exploitation either directly or indirectly.

To ensure that the Council’s policies and procedures are robust and ensure that any gaps identified were adequately addressed.

To ensure all Councillors are made aware of their responsibilities when it comes to identifying and reporting Child Sexual Exploitation.

Consult partners

Representatives from –

DETER Team, Lancashire Police,

Education sector (eg pastoral care representative)

Children’s Services

Relevant agency from the voluntary sector

AGREED – The Democratic and Member Services office complete the scoping template on the basis of the above information for approval by the Chair and members of the Task Group.

AGREED – That the Task Group aimed to conclude the review for the Overview and Scrutiny Committee in January 2017. 

The Task Group had been scheduled as follows:-

·         Wednesday, 21 September at 4pm – interviews with partners

·         Thursday, 27 October at 4pm – interviews with partners

·         Thursday, 10 November at 4pm – the final meeting to bring together all the recommendation