The Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee met to discuss the Local Authority Social Services Annual Report, eliminate profit from care, and the Education and Lifelong Learning Inclusion Strategy. The committee agreed to send letters to Councillor Ash Lister, Cabinet Member for Children's Services and Tackling Poverty and Supporting Young People, and Councillor Sarah Merry, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Education, outlining their views and requesting further information.

Local Authority Social Services Annual Report 2024/25

The committee undertook pre-decision scrutiny of the Local Authority Social Services Annual Report (LASAR) 2024/25, focusing on issues related to children's services. Councillor Ash Lister, Cabinet Member for Children's Services and Tackling Poverty and Supporting Young People, Deborah Driffield, Director of Children's Services, and Nick Blake, Operational Manager, Business Performance and Policy, were present to answer questions.

• Staffing: Members discussed challenges in recruitment and retention of social workers, the impact of moving services in-house, sickness absence, and the potential of AI to reduce bureaucracy. Concerns were raised about data protection issues related to AI use. Deborah Driffield clarified that AI would not replace social workers, but could help with bureaucracy, and that Microsoft co-pilot was considered secure for data protection.
• Budget Overspend: The committee discussed the budget overspend in children's services, which was mainly due to the high cost of residential placements. Deborah Driffield explained that a work stream had been established to understand the reasons for the increased costs and numbers of children requiring residential care.
• Forward Planning: Members raised concerns about forward planning for children with disabilities, particularly those with complex health needs. Councillor Ash Lister noted the improved information sharing between the maternity unit and NOAA's ARC[^1] and said that the council is striving to get that information as early as possible. [^1]: NOAA's ARC is likely a typo in the transcript, and should read Noah's Ark Children's Hospital for Wales, a 4-story, purpose-built children's hospital located on the same site as University Hospital of Wales.
• Care Experienced Children: The committee discussed the attainment of care experienced children and the support available to them. Patricia Arlotte Roman Catholic representative, requested data on the number of care experienced children who go on to apprenticeships or work.
• Exploitation: Councillor Helen Gunter asked about the support in place for children at risk of exploitation, and whether there was a better spread of support across the city. Deborah Driffield said that the council has developed its response to child sexual and criminal exploitation across the whole city, and that a virtual hub was planned to respond immediately to any issues.

The committee requested to be kept up to date with the work around the exploitation action plan, and to receive more information about the areas of the city where the work is currently being carried out. They also requested data on the number of care experienced children who have gone into apprenticeships or work. Councillor Robert Hopkins requested insight into the impact of the services workforce strategy on recruitment, retention, sickness, absence, and reducing bureaucracy, as well as insight into how the service is managing its budget during the current financial year. He also requested further information on how the service is working with the education service to ensure that the interests of care experiencing young people are being properly addressed within the inclusion strategy.

Eliminating Profit from Care Update

The committee received an update on the progress being made in relation to the elimination of profit from care, in line with Welsh Government legislation. Nick Blake gave a presentation on the topic.

• Accommodation Strategy: The committee discussed the accommodation strategy, including the increase in in-house provision and the commissioning of providers to run some of the homes.
• Foster Carer Recruitment: The committee discussed the recruitment of foster carers, including the use of marketing campaigns and the pioneer scheme, where existing foster carers help with recruitment.
• Adaptations Policy: The committee discussed the adaptations policy for foster carers' homes, which provides grants for extensions and adaptations to make homes more suitable for foster children.
• Financial Support: The committee discussed the financial support available from Welsh Government, and the risks associated with potential changes in funding following the next Senedd[^2] elections. [^2]: The Senedd is the Welsh Parliament.

Councillor Bridgid Corr Parent Governor Representative, asked whether the providers being commissioned to run the homes had to be not-for-profit. Nick Blake said that ideally they would be, but that for-profit providers would be considered if they could evidence that they would become not-for-profit in line with the timeline.

Councillor Robert Hopkins asked about the attitude of independent fostering agencies to the policy of not-for-profit. Deborah Driffield said that the council had been having open dialogue with providers, and that Welsh Government had put in place an exemption process.

The committee requested further information about the development of the strategy at the appropriate point.

Education and Lifelong Learning Inclusion Strategy

The committee undertook pre-decision scrutiny of the draft Cardiff Inclusion Strategy, which will be considered by Cabinet on 16 October 2025. Councillor Sarah Merry, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Education, Melanie Godfrey, Director of Education and Life Long Learning, and Helen Williams, Assistant Director of Education and Inclusion, were present to answer questions.

• Key Objectives: The strategy aims to ensure that all children and young people feel they belong in their school or school setting, and sets out five areas for action: deepening and embedding inclusive practice, strengthening learner engagement, providing the right provision and the best support, meeting the needs of all learners, and supporting and strengthening the workforce.
• Early Years Assessment: Carol Cobert Church in Wales Representative, asked about assessing the needs of children with physical needs before they start school.
• Home Schooling: Carol Cobert Church in Wales Representative, asked about the increase in home schooling, and the reasons why parents are choosing to educate their children at home. Melanie Godfrey said that the trend was reducing, but that work was underway to provide guidance to schools and parents.
• Data: Councillor Robert Hopkins emphasised the importance of data in evaluating the impact of the strategy, particularly in the early years.
• Governors: Councillor Robert Hopkins asked about the role of governors in the strategy. Councillor Sarah Merry said that governors are key, and that all governing bodies should have an inclusion lead.
• Gender Neutrality: Elisabeth Hagen Parent Governor Representative, asked why the strategy was gender neutral, given that data shows that males perform worse overall in terms of absenteeism and performance indicators.
• Absenteeism: Elisabeth Hagen Parent Governor Representative, asked about the reasons behind the levels of absenteeism.

The committee requested clarity on the figures for elected home education, information on the causes of absenteeism, and sight of the attendance strategy as soon as it is available. They also asked for a stronger sentence in the letter emphasising that governors will be an important element in ensuring that the strategy is delivered within schools as intended. Councillor Robert Hopkins requested information on the measures that the service is going to use to evaluate the impact of the strategy on children and young people from the early years, and drew attention to the fact that the council does not have data on all of Cardiff's disabled children and young people. Councillor Helen Gunter asked what data the council thinks it will be able to provide on low socioeconomic households.