Meeting: Health and Wellbeing Board and Cabinet	Date: 14 December 2023 / 9 January 2024

Wards affected: All

Report Title: Torbay Safeguarding Childrens Partnership Annual Report 2022-2023

When does the decision need to be implemented? Immediately

Cabinet Member Contact Details: Cllr Nick Bye, Lead Cabinet Member Childrens Services nick.bye@torbay.gov.uk

Director Contact Details: Nancy Meehan, Director Childrens Services nancy.meehan@tobay.gov.uk

1.	Purpose of Report

1.1	This report has been prepared to provide members with the latest ‘Torbay Safeguarding Childrens Partnership’ (TSCP) annual report 2022 – 2023.

2.	Reason for Proposal and its benefits

2.1	The ‘Torbay Safeguarding Children Partnership’ (TSCP) has been established under Working Together to Safeguarding Children 2018 (WT2018) arrangements since September 2020.

2.2	The partnership produces an annual report providing updates on the following:

The current governance arrangements and structure of the partnership

The role of the independent scrutineer

The priority areas of focus for the partnership

The financial arrangements

The local background and context,

Any statutory reviews and audits that have taken place and the impacts of these

Child death overview arrangements

Learning and development, and

Allegations that have taken place against people that work with children.

2.3	Due to the date range this this report covers it also contains an update on the impact of Covid-19 on TSCP activity that took place during this time.

3.	Recommendation(s) / Proposed Decision

1.	That Members note and endorse the contents of the Torbay Safeguarding Children Partnership annual report 2022-2023 as set out in Appendix 1 to the submitted report.

Appendices

Appendix 1: Torbay Safeguarding Children Partnership Report – 2022 - 2023

Background Documents

N/A

Supporting Information

1.	Introduction

1.1	In April 2017, the Children and Social Work Act received Royal Assent, this ended the role of Local Safeguarding Children Boards (LSCB) and all sections of the Children Act 2004 that relate to them. The Department for Education (DfE) published the revised Working Together to Safeguard Children guidance in July 2018, which sets out what organisations and agencies who have functions relating to children must do to safeguard and promote their welfare in England. The major shift has been the responsibility for safeguarding children, now being shared between the Local Authority, Health partners and the Police

1.2	In addition, further statutory guidance was published to support LSCB’s, the new safeguarding and child death review partners, and the new Child Safeguarding Practice Review (CSPR) Panel in the transition from LSCBs and Serious Case Reviews (SCRs) to a new system of multi-agency arrangements and local and national Child Safeguarding Practice Reviews (CSPRs).

1.3	In March 2020, the transition period ended, and new safeguarding arrangements were fully implemented. For Torbay this meant stepping away from a traditional board and implementing a new multi-agency partnership, initially via shared arrangements with Plymouth but as a Torbay only partnership from September 2020.

1.4	The new Working Together to Safeguard Children 2023 (WT2023) arrangements are in the process of being written by HM Government and once these are agreed will become the guide and standards for the work of the TSCP.

1.5	The attached annual report provides updates on the activity of the TSCP over a 12-month period from 2022 – 2023.

2.	Options under consideration

2.1	N/A – no other options are under consideration.

3.	Financial Opportunities and Implications

3.1	The final TSCP funding arrangements for 2022/23 were agreed between the safeguarding partners on 25/03/23 and are detailed in section 5 of the attached report.

3.2	It should be noted that the unequal division of partnership funding arrangements has remained an item for debate between the three partners during the current reporting period, but no solution has been found & this was noted in the previous TSCP annual report for 21/22.

3.3.	Although the WT2018 guidance and Wood Report 2021 state that partnership funding should be ‘equitable and proportionate’, there remains no agreed national or local funding formulas to facilitate this process. It was hoped that the new Working Together 2023 guidance would provide clarity, however early drafts indicate that the wording is likely to remain unchanged or very similar.

3.4	As such this issue will pass to Chief Executive level for each of the three safeguarding partners to jointly discuss and resolve.

3.5	Please see section 5 of the attached report for more details and a breakdown of the funding.

4.	Legal Implications

4.1	N/A

5.	Engagement and Consultation

5.1	N/A

6.	Purchasing or Hiring of Goods and/or Services

6.1	N/A

7.	Tackling Climate Change

7.1	N/A

8.	Associated Risks

8.1	N/A

9.	10.	Cumulative Council Impact

10.1	N/A

11.	Cumulative Community Impacts

11.1	N/A