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Meeting Details

Meeting Summary
Renfrewshire Area Support Team
24 Oct 2023 - 14:00 to 16:00
Occurred
Corporate Meeting Room 1
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  • Documents
  • Attendance
  • Visitors
  • Declarations of Interests

Documents

Agenda

Agenda
Notification
Committee Members
Standard Items
Membership

Derek Bramma; Craig Campbell; Jacqueline Doherty; Edi Hanley; Jennifer Hay; Alex MacDonald; Ciara McLean; Ruth MacLeod; Ewan McNaught; Jim Melrose; Cairistiona Manson;
Marion Robinson; Anne Tucker. Representing Renfrewshire Council: Councillor Lisa-Marie Hughes.

 

Chair

D Bramma, Area Convener.

Items Of Business
Apologies
Apologies from members.
Councillor Hughes, C McLean and E McNaught.
Declarations of Interest and Transparency Statement

Members are asked to declare an interest or make a transparency
statement in any item(s) on the agenda and to provide a brief
explanation of the nature of the interest or the transparency statement.

1 Minute of Previous Meeting
Minute of previous meeting held on 20 June 2023.
1
There was submitted the Minute of the previous meeting of Renfrewshire Area Support      Team (AST) held on 20 June 2023.

DECIDED: That the Minute be approved.
 
2 Minute of Inquorate Meeting
Minute of Inquorate Meeting - 22 August 2023.
3 Matters Arising
3
Accessible Taxi Provision

The Area Convener advised that Councillor Hughes had made inquiries into accessible taxi provision for Panel Members, however no reliable, suitable service was currently available. 
  
DECIDED: That the information be noted.
 
4 Learning & Development Sub-Group
Minute of meeting held on 5 October 2023.
4
There was submitted the Minute of the meeting of the Learning & Development Sub-group held on 5 October 2023.

The Minute provided updates on the following: -

(i) Pre-service issues including recruitment; the learning academy training calendar; local training and support; proposed local pre-service training; and observations;
(ii) In-service updates including mandatory training deadlines; training calendar January – June; confirmation of a wellbeing evening in November; Management of Hearings/Enhanced practice update; and Panel member/social worker twilight event;
(iii) TSM Learning Champion role; and
(iv) Recruitment 2014.

DECIDED: That the Minute be approved.
 
5 Rota and Management of Hearings Sub-group

Minute of meeting held on 12 October 2023.

5
There was submitted the Minute of the Rota and Management of Hearings Sub-group held on 12 October 2023.

The Minute provided information on the Rota information required; sabbaticals; resignations; panel member strength; Hearing statistics for the period 14 August to 13 October 2023 including deferrals, swaps; cancelled hearings; standby hearings; continuity; cross-area assistance; additional hearings; and pastoral care.

DECIDED: That the Minute be approved.
 
6 SCRA Locality Reporter Manager - Update
Verbal report by Locality Reporter Manager.
6
The Locality Reporter Manager provided a verbal update relative to staffing; refurbishment at Glen Lane; and appeals feedback. 

The Locality Reporter Manager was then heard in answer to questions on the report.

DECIDED: That the report be noted.
 
7 Tribunal Support Model
Presentation by Children's Hearings Scotland.
7
There was submitted a presentation by Children’s Hearings Scotland (CHS) relative to the proposed Tribunal Support Model.

The presentation provided information on the sequencing of the Tribunal Support Model implementation; the background to and proposed future of the Model; clerking support for the nine regions; strengthened regional and national links; meetings and governance cycles; regional volunteers roles; and the transition programme for each cohort and examples of what this might look like.

DECIDED: That the presentation be noted.
 
8 UNCRC Incorporation and Children (Care and Justice) (Scotland) Bill - Update
Presentation by Children's Hearings Scotland.
8
There was submitted a presentation by Children’s Hearings Scotland relative to an update on progress on the UNCRC Incorporation and Children (Care and Justice) (Scotland) Bill.

The presentation indicated that the UNCRC outlined the rights every child under 18 should have. These had been ratified by the UK Government in 1991 creating obligation to comply but were not currently enforceable in the Scottish legal system.

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Bill Aim – make rights within UNCRC enforceable in law.

In addition, the presentation outlined the timeline for incorporation.

DECIDED: That the presentation be noted.
 
9 Professional Development Award (PDA) Completion Guidance for Area Support Teams (ASTs) - August 2023
Report by Children's Hearings Scotland.
9
There was submitted a report by Children’s Hearings Scotland relative to Professional Development Award completion guidance for Area Support Teams.

The report advised that the aspiration in CHS was that all Panel Members were confident and competent to make the best decisions for infants, children, and young people in hearings. One of the key components to achieving this was to ensure they were given the best training to equip them for their role, and therefore all Panel Members, who had joined the National Panel since 2014, were required to complete the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) accredited Professional Development Award (PDA).

The aim of the report was to provide ASTs with all the necessary information about the PDA and the expectation of Panel Members to complete the award as part of their commitment to their role, and also included guidance on what should be done if any Panel Member had not progressed on their PDA journey, as expected within the recommended timelines.

The report detailed background information; the current position; CHS Chairing policy; Panel Member reappointment guidance; minimum requirements of reappointment; criteria for not reappointing a Panel Member; training requirements imposed by the National Convener; exceptional circumstances preventing PDA completion within two years; and PDA extension requests.

DECIDED: That the report be noted.
 
10 Panel Member Recruitment - 2023 Campaign
Verbal update on progress to date.
10
The Area Convener provided a verbal update relative to the Panel Member Recruitment Campaign for 2023.

The Area Convener advised that 13 applications had been submitted through the CHS recruitment portal and further late application accepted from East Renfrewshire AST.

An Information Evening had been scheduled for 24 October and interviews would take place between 6 and 9 November.

DECIDED: That the report be noted.
 
11 Devolved Funding
Report by Clerk.
11
There was submitted a report by the Clerk relative to a summary of the devolved funding budget.

The report indicated that following the Panel member recognition event, the remaining budget was £214.03.

DECIDED: That the report be otherwise noted.
 
12 Future Meetings Arrangements
Report by Clerk.
12
There was submitted a report by the Clerk relative to future arrangements for meetings of the Area Support Team. The report proposed dates for meetings until April 2024.

The dates proposed were: -

Tuesday 20 February 2024; and
Tuesday 9 April 2024.

DECIDED: That the future dates, as detailed in the report, be approved.
 
13 Date of Next Meeting
Members are asked to note that the next meeting of the Area Support Team is scheduled for Tuesday 12 December 2023 at 2.00pm in Renfrewshire House.
15
DECIDED: That it be noted that the next meeting of the Area Support Team was scheduled for Tuesday 12 December 2023 at 2.00pm in Renfrewshire House.

Attendance

Attended - Committee Members
Name
No attendance information has been recorded for the meeting.
Attended - Other Members
Name
No other member attendance information has been recorded for the meeting.
Apologies
NameReason for Sending Apology
No apology information has been recorded for the meeting.
Absent
NameReason for Absence
No absentee information has been recorded for the meeting.

Declarations of Interests

Member NameItem Ref.DetailsNature of DeclarationAction
No declarations of interest have been entered for this meeting.

Visitors

Visitor Information is not yet available for this meeting