The Minutes of the meeting held on 8 January 2020 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

Questions submitted pursuant to Standing Order 36 in relation to matters falling within the Committee’s Powers & Duties which have been submitted in writing and received by the Head of Legal & Democratic Services no later than four clear working days before the meeting.

Questions on the following matters were submitted:

(The full text of the questions and replies was made available on the Reading Borough Council website).

A report by Reading Voluntary Action’s Youth Social Action Team and the University of Reading Participation Lab.

Rachel Spencer, Chief Executive, Reading Voluntary Action (RVA), Sam Lloyd, Project Manager, Starting Point, and Carly Newman, Operations Manager at No5, gave a series of presentations on Growing up in Reading.  A copy of the RVA report on Growing Up in Reading and a copy of the No5 report on  ...  view the full minutes text for item 25.

The annual assessment of the provision of quality, accessible and affordable childcare provision for under 5s.

The Executive Director of Children’s Services – Education, Early Help and Social Care, Brighter Futures for Children (BFfC), submitted a report sharing the 2020/21 Childcare Sufficiency Assessment (CSA).  A copy of the BFfC Reading Childcare Sufficiency Assessment 2020/21 was appended to the report.

The report explained that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 26.

A report sharing the draft One Reading Children and Young People’s Partnership Early Help Strategy 2021-2023 and providing an opportunity for comment prior to finalisation of the Strategy.

The Executive Director of Children’s Services – Education, Early Help and Social Care, BFfC, submitted a report sharing the draft One Reading Children and Young People’s Partnership Early Help Strategy 2021-2023.  A copy of the draft BFfC One Reading Early Help Partnership Strategy 2021/23 was appended to the report.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 27.

A copy of Ofsted Inspection Report of the Fostering Service.

The Executive Director of Children’s Services – Education, Early Help and Social Care, BfFC, submitted a copy of the Ofsted Inspection Report of the Fostering Service.

The inspection had taken place on 24 and 25 November 2020 and had been a virtual visit but, had been just as robust  ...  view the full minutes text for item 28.

A report outlining the key areas of performance of Adult Social Care during 2019-2020 which is based on performance against the national Adult Social Care Outcomes Framework dataset which is monitored annually.

The Executive Director of Social Care and Health submitted a report outlining the key areas of performance of Adult Social Care during 2019-2020 which was based on performance against the national Adult Social Care Outcomes Framework (ASCOF) dataset which is monitored annually.  An overview of performance for Adult Social Care  ...  view the full minutes text for item 29.

A report providing an update on the expansion of the Shared Lives scheme to support older people, including marketing plan and vision.

The Executive Director of Children’s Services – Education, Early Help and Social Care, Brighter Futures for Children, submitted a report providing the Committee with an update on the expansion of the Shared Lives scheme to support older people, including marketing plan and vision.  A copy of the Shared Lives Plan  ...  view the full minutes text for item 30.

A report providing an overview of complaints activity and performance for Children’s Services for the period from 1 April 2019 to 31 March 2020.

The Executive Director of Children’s Services – Education, Early Help and Social Care, BFfC, submitted a report providing the Committee with an overview of complaints activity and performance for Children’s Services for the period from 1 April 2019 to 31 March 2020.  A copy of the BFfC Customer Services  ...  view the full minutes text for item 31.

A report providing an overview of complaints and compliments activity and performance for Adult Social Care for the period from 1 April 2019 to 31 March 2020.

The Executive Director of Social Care and Health submitted a report providing the Committee with an overview of complaints and compliments activity and performance for Adult Social Care for the period from 1 April 2019 to 31 March 2020.  A summary of Adult Social Care Complaints and Compliments 2019/20 was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 32.

A report recommending to Council the establishment of a Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee for the Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West Integrated Care System to consider any substantial development or variation in the provision of health services across the footprint of this area.

The Executive Director of Social Care and Health and the Monitoring Officer submitted a report recommending to Council the establishment of a Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee for the Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West (BOB) Integrated Care System (ICS) to consider any substantial development or variation in the provision  ...  view the full minutes text for item 33.

As this was the last meeting of the Committee prior to the local elections on 6 May 2021, the Chair and members of the Committee thanked Councillors Grashoff, Jones and McKenna who would not be standing for re-election.

(The meeting commenced at 6.30 pm and stopped at 7.13 pm  ...  view the full minutes text for item 34.