To consider the Annual Conversation Letter and identify areas for overview and scrutiny.

The Director of Children’s Services, Nancy Meehan, provided the background to the Ofsted Annual Conversation and highlighted the key points raised in the letter dated 19 May 2023 and responded to questions in respect of the following:

·                     It was suggested that 10 flats were needed for care experienced young people, was bed and breakfast accommodation being considered for urgent housing.

·                     What was the expected numbers of care experienced young people requiring housing over the next two years.

·                     How does the different options e.g. guardianship, fostering etc impact on the future housing requirements.

·                     What incentives were being offered to encourage more people to foster or remain as foster carers as a result of the cost of living crisis.

·                     When was the new Ofsted Framework Inspection due and would the assessment of accommodation form part of the main Ofsted Inspection.

·                     What age was it assumed the care experienced young person would be leaving home.

·                     Were HMOs (Houses of Multiple Occupation) considered suitable accommodation.

·                     Where were the care experienced young people currently being housed if there was a shortage of suitable accommodation.

·                     What was the impact from the asylum hotels and the unaccompanied asylum seekers and was sufficient funding provided from the Government to support these individuals and families.

·                     What was the average age of the unaccompanied asylum seeker children.

·                     The Council was relying on a percentage of 43 flats coming through for care experienced young people, if we were inspected now what grading would we get.

·                     Were Section 106 Agreements sufficient to help allocate new housing to care experienced young people.

·                     What areas in Torbay were most appropriate for care experienced young people to live.

It was agreed that the previous paper on housing need for care experienced young people would be updated and circulated to the Members of the Board as this provided details of what the Council was already doing to help support them with their housing requirements.

Members supported the ongoing fostering recruitment campaigns and were encouraged to contact the Director of Children’s Services if they were holding events in their Wards to see if they could provide a manned stand to encourage more people in the community to become foster carers.

Resolved (unanimously):

1.         that the contents of the annual Ofsted letter be noted and the Children and Young People’s Overview and Scrutiny Sub-Board’s gratitude be passed onto all the staff involved for their continued hard work on behalf of our children, young people and their families;

2.         that the Director of Children’s Services and Director of Pride in Place be requested to review two or three recent Section 106 Agreements with affordable housing and assess how they have addressed allocation of properties to care experienced young persons and to consider if there is a need to review our Section 106 policy to give preferential opportunities for care experienced young people to secure suitable accommodation before it is opened up through Devon Home Choice; and

3.         that the Director of Children’s Services be requested to analyse the types of accommodation required for our care experienced young people and report back as part of the sufficiency update.