The Children and Cultural Scrutiny Committee met to discuss the Lincolnshire Safeguarding Children Partnership Annual Report, and to review proposed changes to the Children and Young People's Nursing Service. The committee approved the Lincolnshire Safeguarding Children Partnership Annual Report for 2024-25 and supported taking forward the recommendations for the Children and Young People's Nursing Service to the Executive Councillor for Children's Services. The committee also approved the planned work programme for 2025-26, subject to consideration of items discussed.

Lincolnshire Safeguarding Children Partnership Annual Report

The committee reviewed the Lincolnshire Safeguarding Children Partnership (LSCP) Annual Report April 2024 - March 2025, presented by Chris Cook, Lincolnshire Safeguarding Children Partnership Independent Chair and Scrutineer, and Stacey Waller, LSCP Manager. The report detailed the work and functions of the LSCP in safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children in Lincolnshire.

Chris Cook explained that there had been a change in statutory guidance¹ and national reform. Key points from the presentation included:

• The establishment of lead safeguarding partners from children's services, the health community, and the police.
• The introduction of an independent scrutineer role, currently filled by Chris Cook, to challenge and scrutinise the partnership's work.
• The creation of a strategic education lead role to represent the education sector, raising its profile in safeguarding.
• The establishment of a Quality Assurance and Independent Scrutiny Panel, chaired by Chris Cook, to review audit work and action plans.
• A focus on tackling child exploitation, with increased focus on locations and persons of concern in Multi-Agency Child Exploitation (MACE) meetings².
• The use of an analyst to analyse data from various agencies to identify trends and areas of concern.
• An emotional well-being campaign that captured the voices of young people in Lincolnshire.
• The development of trauma-informed practice e-learning for the children's workforce.
• Work with the Stay Safe Partnership to promote healthy relationships and online safety in schools.
• A focus on neglect, with the launch of new resources and scales to provide consistent language and objective assessment.
• Work with RAIN, a community interest company, on child sexual abuse training.

Stacey Waller noted that the emotional well-being campaign was:

particularly proud of and what the team have developed, because actually it was about capturing the voices of young people within Lincolnshire.

The committee then asked questions, which included:

• Councillor Kane Clarke asked for an example of when a child identified as suffering significant harm received a prompt and appropriate response. Heather, Director of Children's Services, explained that a clear and structured process is in place, with immediate action taken if a threshold is met.
• Councillor Carol Parkinson asked about the analysts role in identifying trends. Chris Cook responded that the analyst can identify geographical areas of concern and risks, enabling resources to be deployed effectively.
• Chris Cook addressed concerns about the future capacity of the police to fund safeguarding arrangements, given the current financial situation of Lincolnshire Police. He noted his involvement as chair of the Police and Crime Panel and his concerns about potential resource cuts.
• Councillor Richard Cleaver asked about changes in the volume and types of cases, particularly regarding online exploitation. Heather, Director of Children's Services, noted an increase in workload and the complexity of cases. Chris Cook added that the partnership is establishing a new subgroup to address online harm.
• Councillor Sue Rawlins asked about the benefits of the Family's First Children Pathfinder³ funding. Stacey Waller explained that it allowed the partnership to implement and test reforms, with a focus on sustaining the changes beyond the funding period.
• Councillor Stuart Grantham asked about changes to the strategic priorities for 2025 to 2028. Stacey Waller said that the priorities would remain exploitation, neglect, child sexual abuse and physical harm, with the addition of a focus on statutory expectations and online harms.
• Councillor Paula Whittaker asked about the age limit for care services. Heather, Director of Children's Services, clarified that children in care receive support up to age 25, while those under child protection plans receive support during the transition to adulthood.
• Councillor Chris Robinson asked whether the increase in neglect cases was due to more children being neglected or changes in the definition of neglect. Heather, Director of Children's Services, clarified that cases involving a child's identity would require a deeper understanding of the child's life and experience before being classified as neglect.
• Councillor Chris Robinson asked about the trend of mental health issues in children. Heather, Director of Children's Services, responded that Lincolnshire County Council is prioritising children's mental health and wellbeing, with strong performance in CAMHS⁴ delivery.
• Councillor Chris Robinson asked if the county still looks after children who want to go to university. Heather, Director of Children's Services, confirmed that care leavers are supported to attend university, with the council acting as their corporate parent.

The committee approved the annual report and agreed to receive a further update in September 2026.

Children's and Young People's Nursing Service Review

The committee considered a report on the Children's 0-19 Health Service: Children and Young People's Nursing Service Review, presented by Lynn Wilkinson, Lead Nurse – Children's Health (0-19) and Sara Gregory, Strategic Commissioning Manager - Children's Commissioning. The review outlined proposed changes to the Children and Young People's Nursing Service model, effective from 1 January 2026, to align with the updated Healthy Child Programme 5-19⁵. The key recommendations were:

• To start Children and Young People's Nursing Service support from reception year (age 4-5) instead of year 1, to ensure earlier intervention and smoother transition from health visiting.
• To change the delivery of the Tier 1 continence and enuresis pathway⁶ to align with Tier 1 provision, providing self-help information and resources, as well as referral and signposting to Tier 2 clinical continence support. Sara Gregory explained that the changes were needed because the current service model was overwhelmed with continence-related work, with 96% of referrals being for continence issues. This meant that £628,000 of public health grant funding was being used for continence support, which is not part of the Healthy Child Programme 5-19. She added that the current Tier 1 continence pathway was intended as an interim arrangement and that the Integrated Care Board (ICB) was responsible for funding Tier 2 continence services.

Lynn Wilkinson outlined the benefits of the proposed model, including:

• Refocusing the Children and Young People's Nursing Service on children with long-term health needs and medical conditions.
• Supporting vulnerable children to stay in mainstream schools.
• Reducing health inequalities by targeting support to children in the most deprived schools.
• Providing a clearer service definition for families and professionals.
• Strengthening the health visiting model and focusing on school readiness and digital access.

Lynn Wilkinson also noted that the revised model would allow for a reduction in budget, with the removal of the Children and Young People's Nurses practice supervisor post, saving over £63,000 per year.

The committee then asked questions, which included:

• Councillor Kane Clarke asked how many children and young people were receiving continence support and how they would be transitioned to the new model. Lynn Wilkinson responded that 720 children were receiving support and that the transition to the Tier 2 service commissioned by the ICB would be smooth and seamless.
• Councillor Steve Roe expressed concern that the council was having to reduce its service due to the ICB not funding a non-statutory service.
• Councillor Carol Parkinson asked about inflationary uplifts for the Tier 2 service. Sara Gregory responded that the ICB had not been able to agree to any inflationary uplifts.
• Councillor Paula Whittaker asked for an explanation of the difference between Tier 1 and Tier 2 continence support. Lynn Wilkinson explained that Tier 1 involves advice, guidance, and online resources, while Tier 2 involves specialist nursing support for children with complex needs.
• Councillor Stuart Grantham asked about the alternative options considered. Sara Gregory explained that continuing with the same Tier 1 continence pathway would require additional funding, which was not viable.
• Heather, Director of Children's Services, clarified that Tier 1 support is the responsibility of a range of professionals, including GPs and health visitors.
• Councillor Chris Robinson asked if there were more cases of children with complex bladder and bowel problems. Heather, Director of Children's Services, responded that there were, due to advances in medical developments and the need to support parents with advice and guidance.
• Councillor Chris Robinson asked what equipment is provided to support families managing continence conditions. Lynn Wilkinson responded that there is a continence product provision as part of the Tier 2 service.
• Councillor Kane Clarke asked what the impact would be if the recommendation goes through. Heather, Director of Children's Services, assured the committee that the transition would be smooth and that the council would work with the ICB to ensure that services continue to be provided.
• Councillor Kane Clarke asked for an explanation of the difference between a provider and a commissioner. Heather, Director of Children's Services, explained that the council is a provider of the Tier 2 continence service, commissioned by the ICB, while it is a commissioner of other services, such as the behaviour outreach service.
• Councillor Carol Parkinson asked how long it takes for reports on inequalities to be produced and whether they would be included in the health inequalities section of appendix 1. Heather, Director of Children's Services, responded that the council regularly reviews the health of the community and adapts its services accordingly.
• Councillor Paula Whittaker asked if the service could be supported better if parents were better educated in toilet training. Heather, Director of Children's Services, responded that the council wants to ensure that Tier 1 is focused on giving advice and guidance, working with health visitors and GPs to support parents.
• Councillor Carol Parkinson asked why the Ancaster primary school block had been removed from the agenda and gone to OSMB⁷. Heather, Director of Children's Services, explained that it was due to the way executive duties are spread across the programme and that OSMB tends to consider cross-cutting issues. The committee supported taking forward the recommendations to the Executive Councillor for Children's Services.

Work Programme

The committee discussed the work programme for 2025-26. Nicole Hilton, Head of Culture, and Will Mason, Communities and Partnerships Manager, sought clarity on the committee's areas of interest regarding tourism and culture, as Councillor Lisa Cawrey had requested a broad overview of the council's cultural activities.

Councillor Richard Cleaver suggested focusing on the Lincoln Museum and the council's wider cultural activities, including the policy framework, budget, and success of events. Councillor Carol Parkinson suggested receiving a list of upcoming events and a summary of the financial aspects, including the value generated for the local area.

Councillor Paula Whittaker questioned whether the Children's and Culture Scrutiny Committee was the appropriate forum for discussing tourism and culture, suggesting that the Growth Committee might be more suitable. Nicole Hilton responded that culture is part of this committee's remit, but that the committee could decide whether a wider conversation was needed.

Councillor Richard Cleaver reminded the committee that they were due to look at school admissions statistics.

Councillor Carol Parkinson suggested that invitations to events at the Lincoln Museum should be sent to all councillors to increase publicity. Nicole Hilton agreed to share information about upcoming events more widely.

Councillor Stuart Grantham proposed a report on windmills, but it was noted that this falls under the remit of property services.

The committee approved the planned work programme for 2025-26, subject to consideration of the items discussed.