The Children and Young People's Overview and Scrutiny Committee were scheduled to discuss an introduction to Children and Young People's Services, an Integrated Care Board update, the Quarter Four 2024/2025 Performance Management report, and a refresh of the Work Programme.

Children and Young People's Services Overview

John Pearce, Corporate Director for Children and Young People's Services, was scheduled to provide an overview of the services, covering scrutiny, key inspection frameworks, what is working well, challenges, risks, national reforms, and future considerations.

The report pack included a presentation that stated that scrutiny of Children and Young People's Services is an integral part of safeguarding, with councillors having a crucial role as corporate parents for children under the council's care.

The presentation also included the results of an Inspecting Local Authority Children's Services (ILACS) inspection from March 2025, which gave the service an overall judgement of outstanding. The report pack noted that inspectors found:

Despite rising demand, strong and aspirational senior leaders have continued to improve and innovate services.

The presentation also noted key challenges for Children's Social Care, including demand, workforce and sufficiency¹. For Early Help, Inclusion and Vulnerable Groups, challenges included pressures on the High Needs Block² of Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG), risks regarding staff recruitment and retention at Aycliffe Young People's Centre and Maple House, and risks related to temporary government funding.

Integrated Care Board Update

Neil Jarvis, Deputy Director of Local Delivery/Head of Integrated Commissioning, was scheduled to give a presentation on the Integrated Care Board (ICB). The presentation was scheduled to cover the differences between an Integrated Care System (ICS), an ICB, and an Integrated Care Partnership (ICP), as well as the ICB's budget, changes from 2025 onwards, statutory duties, functional changes, cost reductions, and wider financial challenges.

The presentation noted that ICBs have a national mandate to deliver changes, and that some elements of ICB functions will grow, some will be adapted, and some will transfer to other parts of the health and care system. It also stated that the North East and North Cumbria ICB has one of the smallest reduction targets of the 42 ICBs, due to its current costs being lower than most.

Performance Management Report

Stephen Tracey, Corporate Performance Manager, was scheduled to present the Quarter Four 2024/2025 Performance Management report. The report was scheduled to inform members, senior managers, employees, and the public of the council’s progress towards achieving the strategic ambitions and objectives set out in the Council Plan 2024-28.

The report noted that statutory referral demand for children's social care had increased significantly compared to last year, but improved practice had led to a consistently low re-referral rate. It also noted that the number of children in care remained relatively high but had stabilised.

The report also stated that increased demand from 2022 onwards had significantly impacted the timeliness of completion of new Education Health and Care Plans (EHCPs), but that a comprehensive action plan had been put in place to reduce delays.

Work Programme

The committee was scheduled to consider a report on the refresh of the work programme for 2025/2026. The report noted that the Children and Young People's Overview and Scrutiny Committee (CYP OSC) reviews its work programme each year to reflect the objectives and associated outcomes, and actions identified within the Council Plan and in the context of the County Durham Vision 2035.

The proposed CYP OSC work programme has been framed around the shared County Durham Vision 2035, which has been developed with partners around three strategic ambitions: 'more and better jobs', 'long and independent lives', and 'connected communities'.

The report pack included a draft work programme for 2025/2026, which included a number of items for consideration, such as an introduction to Children and Young People's Services, an Integrated Care Board (ICB) update, outcomes from the Inspection of Local Authority Children's Services (ILACS), an overview of public health services supporting children and families, a Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) update, home to school transport, elective home education, child poverty, best start in life, 0-25 Family Health Services, family hubs, school attendance, educational attainment and school Ofsted update, Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), CYP Mental Health, Emotional Wellbeing, demand on Children's Social Care, sufficiency strategy and transformation of children's residential care, and children's social care reform.