Agenda item

To receive a progress update on the recommendations arising from the scrutiny review of Blackpool Better Start.

Ms Clare Law, Director of the Centre for Early Child Development presented a progress report on the recommendations arising from the scrutiny review of Blackpool Better Start. She informed Members that the action plan of recommendations had been considered and agreed via the Better Start governance process and thanked the Committee for the work undertaken as part of the review.

An update on each of the five recommendations was provided by Ms Law. In relation to recommendation R1 ‘That Better Start should target funds to the seven wards originally identified for funding and in cases where residents of these wards are failing to access Better Start provisions the services on offer should be reviewed to ensure they are suitable and accessible,’ she advised that funding continued to be monitored through the Better Start Executive for distribution across the town and provided details of a number of projects which had been targeted specifically at Better Start wards.

Ms Law informed the Committee that access to services was closely monitored to ensure those with the highest need were receiving the necessary support and a portfolio review had taken place with the Expert Advisory Group to ensure that individuals identified as being in need were receiving appropriate support. Furthermore, she advised that ongoing quarterly review meetings continued to take place with the National Lottery Community Fund.

The Committee questioned the criteria used to originally identify the Better Start wards, with Ms Law advising that an exercise had been undertaken nationally to identify those wards classed as disadvantaged. She explained that the Better Start model aimed to initially trial interventions on a smaller scale within its seven Better Start wards, but that programmes which were successful were often then rolled out across other areas of the town as appropriate.

In response to recommendation R2 ‘That Better Start works in conjunction with the Council’s Performance, Systems and Intelligence Manager to target future interventions where appropriate more specifically to those parents identified as being at risk of having their children taken into care, with a periodic review of the subsequent impact on the data of children born into care,’ Ms Law reported that work was underway with Mr Robert Arrowsmith, Performance, Systems and Intelligence Manager and Oxford University to link Council data with data from Better Start. In addition, Better Start funds were being invested in a project with Lancaster University to undertake a review of pathways and support to allow a comparison of local and national research and best practice in preventing children from being born into care. The Committee was informed that the project would also include learning from those with lived experience. Ms Law advised that ethical approval to allow Better Start to undertake analysis of the collected data was now awaited and, once received, she anticipated that such analysis would be able to commence from April 2022.

With regard to the Communications Strategy requested within recommendation R3, Ms Law informed the Committee that Better Start’s current Communications Strategy had been produced in 2020 and as such was due to be updated in conjunction with the broader Better Start Strategy in early 2022. She offered to keep Members updated on the progress of the Strategy and to share the draft document with the Committee once it had been finalised.

The Committee considered recommendation R4 ‘That Better Start should introduce within the next six months a regular update bulletin to Councillors informing them of recent achievements and forthcoming events, as well as information on how they can get involved in any programmes,’ noting that the target date for completion was December 2021 and seeking an update on the anticipated completion date. Ms Law agreed that a bulletin to Councillors could be produced and circulated before the end of December 2021. The Committee acknowledged the value of such a bulletin, noting that it would allow Councillors to inform residents of appropriate services and events in their wards.

Further to recommendation R5 ‘That the Children and Young People’s Scrutiny Committee receives annual updates from Better Start on the progress of sustainability planning of Better Start programmes,’ Members extended an invitation to Ms Law to attend the Committee on an annual basis and requested that she attend more frequently should she feel that additional updates were required. The Committee sought further information on current sustainability planning and questioned what Blackpool Better Start would look like once the funding ended. Ms Law highlighted that sustainability of services had been at the forefront of Better Start planning from the start and advised that a comprehensive strategy for the final phase of Blackpool Better Start was anticipated to be completed by summer 2022.

The Committee questioned whether Covid-19 had impacted on Better Start services and sought details of any necessary changes to provision as a result of the pandemic. Ms Law reported that the pandemic had made a significant impact and that in response Better Start’s community engagement team had collaborated with the Council to ensure that contact had been made with hard to reach residents via doorstop visits and the delivery of resources. In addition, such doorstop drops had been utilised to provide additional support and signposting to available services to any residents in need.

The Committee extended its thanks to Ms Law for attending the meeting and for the provision of a comprehensive and thorough progress report.

The Committee agreed:

1.      To request that a Better Start information bulletin be produced and circulated to all Councillors before the end of the calendar year, to inform them of recent Better Start achievements and forthcoming events;

2.      That Better Start’s draft Communications Strategy be shared with the Committee once completed;

3.      That a further update on the work of Better Start be provided in twelve months’ time.

[Ms Law left the meeting on conclusion of this item.]