The Head of Safeguarding and Family Support reported on the actions and strategies adopted to respond and prevent incidences of Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE), in light of the recent widespread revelations concerning the plight of children living in the County Borough of Rotherham. 

He stated that BCBC is committed to protecting the most vulnerable members of the community from sexual exploitation and as such all practitioners have access to a number of key documents which provide guidance and structure to their practice.  He informed the Committee of the processes in place for practitioners to assist in the early identification of child sexual abuse.  He also informed the Committee that CSE meetings are held on a weekly basis which identifies the level of risk posed to children and young people and the monitoring of those who present a risk to children.  Such individuals are being identified within a number of cases and are closely monitored by the Police and attending agencies to assist in the protection of young and vulnerable children and in the prosecution of offenders. 

The Head of Safeguarding and Family Support reported on the joint working being undertaken with the police, whose priority it is to protect children and young people through the investigation and the prosecution of offenders.  The police have a   problem profile for the Bridgend area regarding children who are at risk of being sexually exploited and the perpetrators of exploitation.  The Public Protection Department are currently reviewing past cases as well as taking new matters forward.  BCBC holds a data base of all young people subject to CSE meetings and this information is now cross referenced with the Police to ensure that Police CSE markers are placed against the names of those identified as being at risk. 

The Head of Safeguarding and Family Support drew the Committee’s attention to the joint working with the ABMU whereby the A&E Department within the Princess of Wales Hospital has direct access to the Child Protection Register as does the children’s ward.  He also reported on Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA), which are a set of arrangements in place to manage the risk posed by the most serious sexual and violent offenders.  These arrangements within Bridgend bring together lead professionals from the Probation Service, Mental Health Service, Housing, Public Protection and Children’s Services on a fortnightly basis.  These professionals are experienced in this arena and are effective in the sharing of important information between agencies which is key in protecting the most vulnerable people in society.  He stated that staff in schools, further education colleges and other education establishments in Bridgend are uniquely placed to recognise and refer children who are believed to be vulnerable to CSE.  CSE had been recognised as one the strategic priorities for the Western Bay Children’s Safeguarding Board. 

The Head of Safeguarding and Family Support reported on a CSE case study highlighting the effective multi-agency procedures and practice across Safeguarding services within Bridgend is cited in the recent conviction of a male from Cardiff who has been sentenced to serve a 4 year custodial prison term for several sexual offences against a young vulnerable female who was Looked After by BCBC.  He stated that there are significant blocks to young people reporting CSE due to the perpetrators of CSE being skilled and manipulative of young people and that the grooming process is very significant preying on vulnerable young people.  In some cases the parents would also be groomed by the perpetrators.  He informed the Committee that the proactive work undertaken by the Group Manager Safeguarding and Quality Assurance on CSE had been cited as good practice for use elsewhere. 

In response to a question from the Committee on the resettlement of offenders, theHead of Safeguarding and Family Support stated that a constant risk assessment is made of those who have been convicted and they would be subject to ongoing treatment and on licence and placed on the register.  When offenders are released, MAPPA arrangements are put in place to consider safeguards and measures where offenders are housed from schools, children’s homes and community and leisure centres.  The Corporate Director Social Services & Wellbeing informed the Committee that the role of elected Members is crucial in their communities in raising the awareness of CSE.  An awareness training session on CSE has taken place for Members and a further session was planned, the details of which would be communicated to Members.  The Corporate Director Social Services & Wellbeing also informed the Committee that the NSPCC are developing a helpline and details would be forwarded to Members once it had been set up.

The Cabinet Member Children’s Social Services and Equalities commented that awareness of CSE be raised at primary schools due to children being exposed to risks at earlier ages.  The Interim Head of Safeguarding and Family Support informed the Committee that in addition to engagement with schools, awareness raising would also be carried out with the business community. 

Members commented on the sophisticated intelligence gathering locally on CSE by the various agencies and questioned how this compared with other areas.  The Head of Safeguarding and Family Support informed the Committee that CSE is a corporate priority and also a priority for the Western Bay Safeguarding Children’s Safeguarding Board.  He stated that the authority did not stand out as being more prolific than other authority’s, but it was important that strategies are in place to tackle CSE and that the authority had taken enforcement action against taxi drivers, while the police had used exclusion orders which excluded people from going to certain localities or addresses.  The Head of Safeguarding and Family Support commented on the importance of raising awareness of CSE with children of all ages due to the prevalence of online threats and the increasing use of social media sites by children and young people.   The Committee considered the importance of raising awareness of CSE to every primary school at Year 6.  The Corporate Director Social Services & Wellbeing informed the Committee that CSE also needed to be highlighted at the Local Service Board, CSE is also a standing item on agendas of meetings of the Community Safety Partnership.  The Committee requested the Corporate Director Social Services & Wellbeing consider holding a CSE event for the Business Forum to raise awareness.    

The Committee whether children had come forward with incidences of CSE as a result of the training they had received.  The Head of Safeguarding and Family Support commented that it was known that 1 in 5 children had met someone in the real world whom they had first met online. 

RESOLVED:               That the report be noted.