Agenda, decisions and minutes

I dderbyn unrhyw ymddiheuriadau.

To receive any declarations of personal interest.

No declarations of personal interest were received.

Nodi unrhyw eitemau sy’’n fater brys marn y Cadeirydd fel y gellir eu hystyried.

The Chairman shall propose that the minutes of the meetings of this committee held on the 18 December 2025 be signed as a true record. (attached)

The Chair signed the minutes of the previous meeting of this committee held on 18 December 2025, as a true record. 

The current provision and available resources need to be scrutinised in order to deliver the strategy.  

1.    To accept the report.

2.    To note appreciation of the work being done by the officers of the Children and Families department.

3.    To express concern about the way the service is being funded in the short term and the impact of that on the service and the workforce.

4.    To request a report on the Derwen Service review when appropriate.

5.    To request further details of the collaboration between teams implementing the Keeping Families Together Strategy and Education Department officers. 

6.    To ask the Council to ensure that all services remain available despite maternity leave periods and ask for an update on how this is being achieved.

The report was presented by the Cabinet Member for Children and Supporting Families. It was explained that this work focused on providing timely and specific support to assist families and keep them together and safe. It was noted that the Department's strategy was based on a clear principle, to keep families together before they reach a crisis and to prevent children and young people from entering care. It was noted that the main aim of the Department was to keep children and young people with their families if it was safe to do so and to reduce the need for statutory intervention. It was noted that the strategy brought together a range of preventive services within the Children and Supporting Families Department, including: 

·               Families first 

·               Team Around the Family 

·               Family Support Team  

·               Trobwynt  

·               Derwen  

·               Hafan y Sêr  

It was emphasised that multi-agency collaboration was at the heart of this approach with partners such as health, education, housing and the third sector contributing to supporting families. The report highlighted the increasing demand for these services, the increasing complexity of family needs and the pressure on resources, including reliance on grant funding. Attention was drawn to the content which demonstrated that this preventative work was making a positive difference, in helping to establish families and reduce the need for children to enter care. It was noted that the community hubs also help promote information for the families. 

The members gave thanks for the report and praised the work that was proceeding in the Department by protecting Gwynedd's most vulnerable families. It was recognised that the service was complex and multi-layered and the dedication of staff to supporting and safeguarding the county's children and young people was praised. 

During the discussion, the following comments and questions arose; 

In reference to section 4.16 of the report, it was asked whether the numbers of children and young people awaiting an ASD/ADHD assessment also included autism assessments. In response, it was confirmed that the number of children and young people referred to in the report included a wide range of children and young people who are neurodivergent, including those with autism, dyspraxia, dyslexia, etc. 

Reference was made to a recent meeting of the Corporate Parenting Panel attended by a representative of the Health Board, noting that waiting lists for these conditions were increasing. Disappointment was expressed about this, and it was noted that diagnosis for these conditions by a psychologist was of paramount importance for the health and well-being of individuals. It was trusted that the Health Board was now investing in this work to ensure that waiting lists come down and meet the increased demand and ensure that no child waits more than 3 years for an assessment. It was hoped that 2 years will be more common soon regarding waiting time. It was reinforced that the work of the Autism Team in Gwynedd supports this work and strategy while offering vital and comprehensive expertise. It was noted that they worked very closely  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

Ensuring that the service is efficient.

1.    To accept the report.

2.    To express concern that there are no resources to provide speech and language support.

3.    To ask the Cabinet Member for Children and Families to correspond with the government asking them to consider ensuring that the appropriate resources are available to provide speech and language support to young people in the justice system.

The report was presented by the Cabinet Member for Children and Supporting Families. It was noted that the Gwynedd and Anglesey Youth Justice Service (YJS) is a statutory, multi-agency service, which is run by Cyngor Gwynedd and operates across both counties. It was noted that the role of the service was core to the prevention of crime and re-offending by children and young people operating within the framework of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, through a 'Child First' approach which focuses on strengths, well-being and rehabilitation. It was highlighted that the report provided an overview of the service structure, governance and funding arrangements, and the way the service worked with children across a wide spectrum of interventions. From out-of-court prevention and diversion to statutory court orders and support in more complex contexts, including custody and rehabilitation. It was noted that the report provided detailed information on the performance of the service, including the results of the HMIP inspection in 2023/24. In the inspection, it was noted that the service was good overall and that there was a high standard of assessment within the service. However, it was recognised that significant challenges to the service remain, including youth violence, knife crime, poor educational outcomes, mental health and speech needs, and the financial pressures associated with the reliance on grants. It was explained that the purpose of this report was to provide assurance of the effectiveness of the service, to enable members to question and challenge existing arrangements and to offer input to support the continued development of the service in a context of increasing demand and complexity. 

There was an opportunity for members to comment and ask questions. During the discussion, the following observations arose. 

It was asked what progress had been made as the service implements the improvement plan following the HMIP inspection. It was confirmed that the Improvement Plan was in place in March 2024. It was noted that the management board thoroughly reviewed the progress of the plan on a quarterly basis. It was confirmed that they had achieved around 80% of the implementation objectives in the current Plan, and a final inspection of the Plan would take place in March 2026.  With reference to the progress analysis, it was recognised that there were some issues in question that needed to be completed, such as, providing a Safeguarding Report for the Local Safeguarding Delivery group, SLA Review and working practices with CAMHS. It was trusted that most of the recommendations had been completed.  

Concern was expressed that the service had been without the support of Speech, Language and Communication Needs for 6 years, due to a lack of resource provision. It was asked what was happening to try and overcome this problem. It was recognised that this was one of the main limitations of the service and that it was a problem across the Youth Justice sector in Wales. It was stated that Gwynedd was at the forefront in Wales with the language and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

Assurance in relation to the 16 plus provision.  

1.    To accept and note the report.

The report was presented by the Cabinet Member for Children and Families. It was noted that the Post 16 Team had been set up as a dedicated team to focus on the cases open to the Children and Supporting Families Department, aged between 16 and 25. It was noted that the team supported young people who needed care and support, who were in care or had left care. It was stressed that the support was voluntary, but that most young people took advantage of the support available. It was confirmed that 249 cases had been open to the team at the beginning of January. An overview of the Team's budget was given, noting that £1,040 million was available to meet the needs of young people. It was noted that a large portion of the budget (£800,000) was for accommodation and support needs. It was asked if arranging accommodation for individuals was currently challenging. In response, it was explained that the first aim was to keep the young people at home with families if this was possible. However, several homelessness referrals had been received which added to the demand for accommodation. 

Details were given of the work allocation and processes. It was explained that a specific employee was designated for each case, depending on the nature of the case. It was noted that a Social Worker also undertook the assessments for Care and Support cases. It was reported that the intervention offered was dependent on the individual case, as agencies worked together to plan and meet the needs of the individual. It was noted that they focus on well-being, stability, education, work, training and development of independent skills. 

Reference was made to the number of Asylum Seekers currently in Gwynedd. It was noted that 32 of the total of 249 cases open to the Post 16 Team were Asylum Seekers, following the Gwynedd allocation. It was recognised that this was a high percentage, in line with the quota that had been received, under the Home Office's National Transfer Scheme. It was emphasised that it was Gwynedd's responsibility to ensure support and accommodation for them, as they were treated as children in care until they were 18 years old. At the age of 18 they were Care Leavers and were the responsibility of the local authority until they were 25 years old. Those challenges and implications were elaborated upon, by referring to the lack of background information, wishes, needs, trauma, and emotional well-being. It was noted that the information obtained through the referral was very basic. It was added that language was also a barrier, as well as the young peoples' uncertainty and lack of understanding about the process. 

The Pathway Plan was detailed, stating that all young people leaving care were expected to have a Pathway Plan which was reviewed regularly, as required.  

It was noted that the content of the Plan varied from individual to individual and depended on their personal situation. It  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.