To receive an update on Exploitation and children missing, to include comparative data to demonstrate the improvements and impact to young people who are vulnerable to exploitation.

(Note:  the Exploitation Team Manager has been invited for this item.)

The Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, Councillor Bye and the Exploitation Team Manager, Katie Buckley outlined the submitted paper which provided an update on exploitation and children missing and responded to questions.

Members asked questions in relation to what involvement do people working with young people have on the Contextual Safeguarding Working Party; there had been a fall in exploitation, was there a narrative around the spike; were people tracked once they had been released from prison; does Torbay have a big problem with modern slavery; there had been a drop in referrals, was there a way of streamlining the process; were exploiters becoming aware of process and adapting their approach; and when was Ofsted expected to inspect this area.

The Sub-Board was informed that a range of core statutory partners, including those working with young people, were involved in the Contextual Safeguarding Working Party and Sub-Groups working on various strands, with a Senior Officer from Probation Chairing the Working Party.  This included looking at children and young people and targeting some care experienced young people who were at risk but were no longer at risk and looking at getting involved.  They would look at what does good look like, to know when to offer support and when not to overwhelm young people.

In response to the spike in exploitation, 2024 saw a few peer groups coming in and escalating quickly with young people missing, substance misuse and other safeguarding concerns.  All the young people were assessed at the same time which caused the spike.  There was training that goes out to all providers and multi-agencies, which was well attended and sometimes this could also cause a spike as people become more aware of what to report.

Members were advised that people who were released from prison were tracked through the Probation Service and have protection orders against them.  Probation colleagues were now part of the MACE (Multi-Agency Child Exploitation) Forum.  Communication had improved beyond what a lot of other local authorities had been able to achieve as a result.  Contextual safeguarding and online safety were key issues.

Members were informed that there were not high numbers of young people subject to modern slavery in Torbay but when referrals were made decisions were made quickly.  Such referrals did not come with additional support and were the responsibility of the Safeguarding Teams, modern slavery support only kicked in when a person was 18 years old.  It was important to ensure the right referrals were made for children.

It was noted that referrals completed online included drop down menus to the relevant toolkits so that they could all be completed at the same time as part of the referral.  This was trying to be streamlined future as there was a need to ensure that the right toolkits were being updated for each young person.

Members were informed that through local information sharing the Council was getting better at tracking locally adults who were exploiting networks or groups of children.  This was more difficult nationally as the national crime groups have resources to move to a different area at very short notice.

Members were advised that the Council was expecting a Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) inspection at the end of February/early March which would impact on when other inspections were carried out.  The Inspection of Local Authority Children’s Services (ILAC) last took place in March 2022 and could happen at any time and Torbay was also on the next cycle for the HM Inspectorate of Probation’s inspection for the Youth Justice Service.

The Sub-Board welcomed the work with Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children (UASC).

Members noted the contents of the submitted report and that a Safeguarding Conference was being held on 28 January 2025, the Clerk circulated a link to the livestream to all Councillors and invited them to watch.  It was suggested that all Councillors should be invited to future conferences.