A group overseeing services for vulnerable children in Perth and Kinross has been overhauled after members repeatedly failed to turn up to meetings.
The shake-up of the membership of the local child protection committee follows a review ordered at the end of last year.
An investigation by The Courier previously revealed several members had not been showing up to crucial summits in recent years.
There were 148 “apologies” given at 13 meetings between January 2020 and March 2022 – an average of more than 11 per meeting.
The committee initially blamed the pandemic, but we later reported that other regional groups outwith Tayside had not been affected to the same extent.
It can now be confirmed the core membership of the Perth and Kinross committee has been cut from 22 to 15 from this month.
Local MSP Liz Smith said the new committee must deliver on “promises” she has been given by council bosses that attendance rates will improve.
The committees bring together NHS managers, council bosses and police chiefs, as well as representatives from the voluntary sector.
They help monitor and co-ordinate support for society’s most vulnerable youngsters.
Tragic cases
Questions over attendance rates were raised at a time when child protection services in Perth and Kinross were under the spotlight due to two shocking cases.
It emerged in 2021 that the life of a neglected pre-school youngster, known as “Child B”, was only saved when a member of the public alerted police to their deathly pale complexion.
A review found “significant missed opportunities” for earlier intervention.
Then, in July last year, we reported the findings of a probe into the failures leading up the death of a transgender teenager, who took their own life.
It found the support received by the 17-year-old was too often “fragmented, inconsistent and uncoordinated” among the more than 14 separate professionals supporting the New School Butterstone pupil.
Liz Smith, Scottish Conservative MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, highlighted concerns about attendance rates with council chief executive Thomas Glen at a meeting last month.
“l was provided with a categorical assurance that the matter had been investigated and that every effort would be made to ensure committee members were present at, and contributed to, these essential meetings concerning children’s welfare,” she said.
“The new committee must deliver on these promises. Constituents and their families deserve the best possible care.”
How has the committee changed?
The overall core committee is now cut from 22 to 15 from this month.
Meanwhile, the number of members who are “corresponding”, meaning they are kept up-to-date with reports and documents but do not have to attend meetings, has increased from six to 12.
New members have been added to the core committee in recent months.
It is understood at least one child protection chief has left completely, with several others others becoming “corresponding” only.
Among those no longer expected to attend is a senior nurse who sent her apologies to 12 summits in a row over two years, as well as another committee member who was absent for 11 meetings, and a third person who missed nine consecutively.
A Perth and Kinross Child Protection Committee spokeswoman said the membership was reviewed at the end of last year.
“The core (attending) membership of the CPC is now 15, which remains fully compliant with the 2019 national guidance,” the council said.
“There are a further 12 corresponding members who receive all reports and documentation and contribute when and as required to ensure the CPC is fully representative of children’s services across Perth and Kinross.”
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