Agenda and minutes

Cllr Judith Blake (Chair) welcomed the following new members to the Board for 2020/21 meeting cycle: Cllr Eammonn O’Brien, Cllr Milli Patel, Cllr Ed Maxfield, Cllr Charlie Hull and Cllr Julian Dean.

Apologies were received from: Cllr Phil Norrey and Cllr Matthew Golby.

There were no declarations of interest.

The Chair introduced the item including a brief overview of the Terms of Reference and Outside Bodies the Board appoints to.

In the subsequent discussion Members of the Children & Young People Board raised the following points:

-        Cllr Mark Cory (Liberal Democrats) proposed extending appointment to the National Youth Agency to a two-year term, to enable better engagement with long term work plans. While no objection was raised to this, the Chair noted such should be caveated against membership of the Board.

-        Members discussed the role of the proposed Equalities Advocate as well as the appointment process. Abigail Gallop (Senior Adviser) explained that additional work is underway to appoint Equalities Advocates across all Boards, with further information to be fed back to Group Offices.

-        Cllr Teresa Heritage (Conservatives) noted that members of the Conservative Group have declared interest in the vacant position on the Asylum, Migration and Refugee Task Group.

Decision

The Members of the Children & Young People Board agreed to;

1.     Formally note the membership of the Board for 2020/21

2.     The following appointments to Outside Bodies for 2020/21;

a.     Children’s Improvement Board – Cllr Judith Blake

b.     Adoption & Special Guardianship Leadership Board – Cllr Susie Charles

c.     National Youth Agency – Cllr Mark Cory

d.     LGA’s Asylum, Migration & Refugee Task Group – TBC

3.     Note the Board’s Terms of Reference for 2020/21

4.     Formally note the list of Board dates for 2020/21

5.     Identify a Member to be the Equalities Advocate for the Board;

Actions

-        Officers to coordinate the appointment of the Equalities Advisor

-        Officers to coordinate the appointment of vacant External Bodies including discussions on political balance

The Chair invited Ian Keating (Principal Policy Adviser) to introduce the programme. Ian noted that it outlines the key priorities and work streams for 2020/21.

In the subsequent discussion Members of the Children & Young People Board raised the following points:

-        Members noted several areas of work they felt were underrepresented in the Work Programme. These included health, skills & education and the Child Centred Recovery Report.

-        Members also recommended that advice should be issued on the Kickstart programme to member authorities.

-        An update on joint working across other Boards on T-Levels and Apprenticeships was requested.

-        In order to help manage what was seen to be a busy workload, members proposed setting up Task & Finish Groups to focus on specific areas of work plan.

-        Concerns were raised with prioritisation of work and the lack of specific timeframes in the work programme for presentation to the Board.

Decision

Members of the Children & Young People Board noted the Work Programme.

Actions

-        Officers to provide an update on cross board work on T-Levels and Apprenticeships.

-        Officers to amend work plan in line with comments of Members.

A representative from the Home Office will be in attendance to present on this item.

The Chair invited Ailish Kingfisher (Deputy Director, Resettlement and Transfer Operations) to discuss the Home Office consultation on the National Transfer Scheme. There followed a confidential discussion.

Decision

The members of the Children & Young People Board noted the report.

Action

Officers to draft the LGA’s response to the consultation in line with the members comments.

Report to follow

The Chair asked Rose Doran (Senior Adviser) and Anna Taylor (Executive Director, The Food Foundation) to introduce the report and discuss recent developments around food poverty.

Rose noted that food poverty has moved up the political agenda during the COVID outbreak, partially due to high profile campaigns. Asked for specific comments from the Board on whether the LGA should adopt a strengthened position on the issue.

Anna gave an overview of the core aims and recommendations of the National Food Strategy, which is an independent review due to be published in it’s final version in 2021;

-        Three urgent recommendations were published in July 2020 to address immediate concerns arising from the COVID outbreak which collectively are intended to provide a nutritional safety net to all children: 

i.                Extension of Free School Meals to all families receiving Universal Credit.

ii.              Scaling up the DfE Holiday Activity Fund to reach all children eligible for FSM.

iii.             Increasing the value of the Healthy Start Voucher programme and extending eligibility to all households receiving Universal Credit.

-        Food Foundation research indicates that 14% of households with children have experienced food insecurity in the last 6 months. Given the link between poor dietary health and susceptibility to COVID-19, the need for investment to tackle food poverty is urgent. 

-        End of the furlough scheme and predicted levels of unemployment represent a serious risk, with demand on food banks only likely to grow.

-        Local authorities support and work has provided vital help for vulnerable families.

The Chair thanked Anna for her time and opened the floor to questions. In the subsequent discussion members raised the following points;

-        There was a broad consensus among members in favour of the NFS strategy to enhance existing programmes.

-        Concerns were raised around the concept of Food Dignity. This included comments on the cultural appropriateness, nutritional value and logistical considerations of packages from food banks as well as Free School Meals.

-        A question was raised on the engagement with the food industry and large retailers as opposed to working solely with Government schemes. Anna explained that the high profile Rashford campaign is supporting the Food Foundation’s and NFS approach and working to bring the industry into the conversation. Supermarkets are being approached to add additional value to the Healthy Start Voucher scheme.

-        A short discussion took place on the role and effectiveness of Breakfast Clubs in supporting vulnerable children and closing the attainment gap.

-        Members noted the link between food poverty and poor nutrition as well as obesity. Concerns were also raised that the obesity crisis may only be exacerbated by the dissolution of Public Health England.

The Chair summarised the debate and noted that Food Poverty will be a major challenge for local authorities moving forward. The Chair added that this issue will need to be revisited by the Board.

Decision

The Members of the Children & Young People Board noted the report.

Action

Officers to further develop the LGA’s position on food poverty  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

The Chair invited Ian Keating to discuss the report.

Ian explained that the CCR report will support the CSR submission by acting as a body of evidence to back-up the calls being made there. Noted that the report should be considered open to further development, and that the establishment of a dedicated Task & Finish Group can be explored.

In the subsequent discussion Members of the Children & Young People Board raised the following points:

-        It was recommended that long and short term aims of the report should be clearly differentiated.

-        Members argued that the importance of Early Intervention should be given greater prominence in the report.

-        Members raised questions on capital investment and a suggested that the report could be more proscriptive on this matter.

The Chair summarised the discussion and thanked officers for their work on the report. Ian asked that any additional comments on the Report will be needed in advance of 24^th September 2020.

Decision

Members approved the Child-Centred Recovery document, subject to any additions or amendments identified by the Board and final sign off by the Political Group Offices.

Action

Officers to update the document in response to recommendations by the Board and publish in advance of the Spending Review deadline on 24th September 2020.

Report to follow.

The Chair invited Bushra Jamil (Adviser) to introduce the report.

Bushra gave a brief summary of recent activity and next steps of the action plan, which is part of a long-term cross board body of work. Bushra raised the following points;

-        Requested specific comments on Paragraphs 9 and 31 of the report to direct future work.

-        The full draft of the Education-2-Employment (E2E) paper has been issued to the members of the CYP, City & Regions and People & Places Boards. Comments are requested by 18^th September 2020.

-        Engagement work has taken place to build support with a range external bodies and stakeholders. A number of events were cancelled due to the COVID crisis.

-        A submission has been made to the House of Lords Employment & COVID-19 Inquiry.

-        A roundtable discussion took place with Gillian Keegan MP (Minister for Apprenticeships and Skills) on 16-25-year olds Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET). The Minister is subsequently being invited to the People & Places Board for a discussion on Youth Participation.

-        The impact of COVID has been considered along with the Government’s Kickstart scheme.

In the subsequent discussion members raised the following points;

-        Members noted that due to the late circulation of the report additional time would be needed for comments.

-        Concerns were raised with the 60% drop in apprenticeship places being offered. Combined with projected youth employment statistics, employment and engagement for 16-24-year olds was seen to be a major challenge moving forward.

-        The role of the proposed Youth Minister was briefly discussed, with members suggesting that the remit be might need expansion beyond employment and skills.

Decision

The members of the Children & Young People Board;

1. Noted the draft youth participation publication

2. Noted the action plan

Action

Officers to further develop policy position in line with Members’ comments.

The Chair asked member to agree the note of the previous meeting as an accurate record.

Decision

Members approved the note of the last meeting on 9^th June 2020 as an accurate record.