Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillor Seaton and Councillor Fitzgerald.

There were no declarations of interest.

The minutes of the meeting held on 28 July 2011 were agreed as a true and          accurate record subject to Councillor Khan being noted as being in attendance.

The Employment Committee received a report from the Chief Executive on           the action taken to appoint Adrian Loades, Director of Children’s Services         from Cambridgeshire County Council, as Interim Director of Children’s             Services for Peterborough City Council, with effect from 5 September 2011.

            The report sought the agreement of the Committee to endorse the Authority’s        employment of Adrian Loades as Interim Director of Children’s Services, thus        ensuring that the Council maintained its statutory duty of s18 Children Act         2004.

Members were advised that Adrian Loades would work with Peterborough City Council on a secondment for around three months, and would be with the Authority for three days a week.  The Assistant Director of Education & Resources, Jonathan Lewis would cover the remaining two days.  Members were also advised that the Chief Executive was currently in discussions with an interim Director who was currently based at another authority.  This Director specialised in the turnaround of failing departments, and had the support of Ofsted and DfE as a suitable appointment for Peterborough.  His current assignment did not end until November 2011 and if the Chief Executive was able to secure his services, a report would be brought back to a further Employment Committee.

Members were advised by the Chief Executive that it was intended that the Interim Director of Children’s Services, Adrian Loades would report his findings to Members, Cabinet and Scrutiny on the work of the improvement team following the recent Ofsted inspection.  

The following questions observations, comments were made by Members:

·         Members sought clarification over the Ofsted report’s findings regarding safeguarding children and what this meant for the role of Corporate Parents?  The Chief Executive advised Members that the Ofsted report showed that the work undertaken in relation to safeguarding children, through front line services, would require improvements.  It was intended that the Improvement Team would work closely with those frontline services highlighted within the report, in order to introduce improvement measures.  In the 2010 Ofsted report, the looked after children’s service was given a good grading which reflects on the Council’s corporate parenting role.  Members were updated on the contribution made by the police, health and schools for safeguarding children, which had also been positively recognised in the recent Ofsted report.  The focus for the new Interim Director of Children’s Services would be to make improvements in the Contact Referral and Assessment Service (CRA) and to look at any other services supporting and working with CRA..

·         Councillor Holdich declared, for inclusion in the minutes, that he had been involved in the action taken by the Chief Executive, in his role as Cabinet Member for Education, Skills and University.

·         The Committee was advised that the matters arising from the recent Ofsted Inspection were to be dealt with, and plans were underway to take control of the situation.  The Chief Executive advised Members that there were good members of staff within Children’s Service and that the Interim Director of Children’s Services would work alongside these staff members in order to help  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.