An apology for absence was received from Councillor Darling (S).  It was also reported that, in accordance with the wishes of the Conservative Group, the membership of the Board had been amended to include Councillor Thomas (D) in place of Councillor Bent.

To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the meeting of the Board held on 9 September 2015.

The minutes of the meeting of the Board held on 9 September 2015 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

To receive an update on the progress made against the Children’s Services Five Year Plan.

The Director and the Executive Lead of Children’s Services presented a progress report on the approved Children’s Services Five Year Cost Reduction Plan.  It was noted that, whilst the current programme of work was showing positive changes in social work practice, the Plan was not generating the level of savings originally assumed.

The report also provided an update of the SWIFT (Social Work Innovation Fund Torbay) Project which had seen the receipt of £1.25 million over two years from the Department for Education to transform public sector systems and to develop area-based, multi-agency, whole-family services for those needing help.  The Board noted that there were three elements of the programme; namely the establishment of a Torbay Public Services Trust and of Early Help Practices and workforce integration.

The Board also noted that the Audit Committee was undertaking a “Deep Dive” exercise to investigate and challenge the budget overspend and decision making processes in both Adults and Children’s Services.  The Board asked that, once completed, the report of the Audit Committee be presented to a future meeting and it was reported that this was likely to be in conjunction with the report from the current Ofsted Inspection.