Recommendations - Children in the Care of the Nottinghamshire Councils investigation report

Recommendation

Nottingham City Council should assess the potential risks posed by current and former foster carers directly provided by the council in relation to the sexual abuse of children. They should also ensure that current and former foster carers provided by external agencies are assessed by those agencies. Any concerns which arise should be referred to the appropriate body or process, including the Disclosure and Barring Service, the local authority designated officer (LADO) or equivalent, the fostering panel and the police. 

Nottinghamshire County Council should assess the potential risks posed by current and former residential care staff and foster carers, which are directly provided by the council, in relation to the sexual abuse of children. They should also ensure that current and former staff in residential care provided by external agencies, and current and former foster carers provided by external agencies, are assessed by those agencies. Any concerns which arise should be referred to the appropriate body or process, including the Disclosure and Barring Service, the Health and Care Professional Council (HCPC), the local authority designated officer (LADO), the fostering panel and the police

Responses

Nottingham City Council 

On 30 January 2020, Nottingham City Council stated that a systematic review of all allegations made about the conduct of foster carers (including any who are now de-registered) will be carried out, to assess the robustness of the decisions made and the appropriateness of the responses by modern standards. The Council will write to all current and historical private fostering agencies that have been responsible for placing Nottingham children, or that have registered offices in the area. 

On 22 September 2020, Nottingham City Council provided an update on its action plan to use a risk-based methodology to review the HR cases to assess the risks posed by current and former foster carers. Nottingham City Council stated that in partnership with Nottinghamshire County Council, it has written to all agencies who they have placed a child with (since 2013) and those on the East Midlands Commissioning Framework. The completion of this work has been delayed due to the pandemic.

On 15 December 2020, Nottingham City Council stated that the external consultant has reviewed the work already undertaken in relation to Nottingham City Council’s fostering service. The work with the independent fostering agencies has also been progressed. A report will go to the Safeguarding Partnerships in both the City and the County, setting out the findings and impact from this work. 

On 29 July 2021 Nottingham City Council provided an update on their work following the Inquiry’s recommendation. The Council confirmed that all agencies have now confirmed that they have undertaken a review of information regarding current and previous foster carers to assess risks. The Council stated that the external assurance of the review of internal fostering has been completed. The review concluded that no further referrals are required to be made in relation to former carers either to the LADO, DBS, the police or Fostering Panel, and found no evidence that carers currently assessed as ‘suitable’ are presenting a risk of sexual harm to children.

Nottinghamshire County Council 

On 16 December 2019, Nottinghamshire County Council stated it is working to review current and former residential care staff and foster carers; this work will be completed in January. A second phase of work, relating to residential care staff provided externally and those employed within independent children’s homes, is due to be completed in April. 

On 13 January 2020, Nottinghamshire County Council stated that the action plan in response to the findings to the Inquiry report was approved and a progress report will be brought back to the Children and Young People’s Committee in July 2020.

On 15 June 2020, Nottinghamshire County Council sought approval by the Children and Young People’s Committee for the establishment of a Managing Allegations Service from October 2020. The service will provide a centralised response to all allegations (both current and historical) against those who work, or who have worked with children. The Council states that the new service will also ensure consistency and timeliness of responses to allegations and provide an effective service for both the complainant and the individuals against whom allegations have been made. 

On 21 September 2020, Nottinghamshire County Council provided an update on its review of existing and former members of residential care staff. Nottinghamshire County Council has engaged an external consultant to undertake reviews in respect of individual members of staff, former employees and residential staff. The consultant was commissioned to consider any issues raised and to make recommendations as to whether any further actions are needed. 

The external consultant has also directly reviewed specific cohorts of current foster carers and reviewed all cases of identified former foster carers, including those where there had been concerns regarding sexual abuse. The findings from this internal review are currently being compiled in order to identify any issues for practice improvement and to give assurance that any necessary actions have been undertaken appropriately. 

On 21 June 2021, Nottinghamshire County Council stated that the review of current and former members of residential staff was still ongoing. It further stated that the report of the review of current and former foster carers including findings and recommendations had been completed and that the fostering service developed an action plan to undertake the recommendations. Nottinghamshire County Council also confirmed that engagement with relevant independent fostering agencies to undertake their own internal reviews had been completed and their responses collated, and that a report had been brought to a joint meeting of Nottinghamshire and Nottingham City Children’s Safeguarding Partnership Board.