To receive any other items of urgent business which have been previously notified to the person presiding.

The chair notified the Committee of two items of business that he wished to raise.

1.    In response to an email that had been sent to members, the Chair reminded the Committee that the constitution, and in particular Procedure Rule 93, prohibited them from responding on any matter where there was a right of appeal to a tribunal and that it would not be appropriate for scrutiny to get involved in individual cases. However, as was so often the case, the concerns raised had stimulated a wider line of enquiry, such as the number of Special Educational Needs (SEN) cases that went to tribunal and the need for legal representation at tribunal. The Chair therefore invited Ms Godfrey to make a statement regarding the issue of SEN tribunals and her response is outlined below:

Following concerns raised by some members in regards to SEN tribunal numbers in Rutland, the following information seeks to reassure Committee members about the quantity and context of these.

i.      The numbers of complaints regarding Children's SEND service in the last two years up to October 2020 was 6.

Such complaints are dealt with at SEND service level, utilising the Corporate Complaints and Compliments Policy and process. The first stage in this process will be to provide a service response, as matters pertaining to the SEND Code of Practice will determine this first level response. These complaints contain confidential information and are not discussed at the Children's Scrutiny Committee as Childrens Scrutiny Committee would not be the appropriate forum to discuss individual complaints.

ii.     13 SEND cases have been brought to the SEND Tribunal in the last two years. The nature of these cases is as follows:

·       Parental appeal against RCC’s decision not to assess a child.

·       Parental appeal against RCC’s decision not to issue an Education Health and Care (EHC) Plan.

·       Parental appeal against Sections of the EHC Plan.

There are 5 SEND cases currently in Appeal, with an outcome yet to be reached.

iii.    The outcome of the cases which went to Tribunal in the last two years is as follows:

·       5 cases - Conceded prior to Tribunal Hearing.

·       5 cases - Agreement reached prior to Tribunal Hearing.

·       2 cases - Local Authority position upheld at Tribunal.

·       1 case – Tribunal directed amendment to EHC Plan.

Ms Godfrey also added that the service was reviewing its use of legal representation at tribunals. SEN officers were trained in appeals and were very skilled but they were not used to the legal arena. There was also a potential organisational risk if a case went to full tribunal hearing and that was why legal representation was used in these circumstances.

2.    The second issue raised by the Chair concerned the CQC “Review of Health Services for Children Looked After and Safeguarding Rutland” which had identified a number of issues. Health colleagues had presented on this report at the meeting in February however the action plans to address the highlighted issues were only received last week.

After discussion at the Committee’s pre-meet there was strong feeling that there was not enough information supplied on the actions taken and that there were still some outstanding concerns that the Committee would like to see addressed. The Chair therefore proposed that Health colleagues be invited back, this time to a joint meeting with Adults and Health Scrutiny, to further discuss the issue.

The Chairs of the respective committees felt that a joint meeting was necessary because although children’s welfare came under the Children’s scrutiny committee, children’s health was included within the Health Scrutiny’s remit and therefore it was an overlapping issue.

Councillor Webb seconded the proposal and a vote was taken. The result was unanimously in favour.

AGREED:

That a joint meeting of the Children and Young People and the Adults and Health Scrutiny Committee be arranged in the New Year to discuss the action plans stemming from the CQC “Review of Health Services for Children Looked After and Safeguarding Rutland”. Date to be advised.