Panel Chair and Vice Chair

Chair and Vice Chair for the Luton Adoption Panel
Do have you experience chairing professional meetings? Are you passionate about ensuring children, who cannot live with their birth families, can grow up in happy and safe environments? Do you have experience, professionally or personally, of adoption? Are you confident in working with professionals of all levels and members of the public?
We at Luton Borough Council are looking for a Panel Chair and Vice Chair to join our Adoption Panel, which meets monthly.  We are specifically looking to increase our diversity, including more male Panel members, younger members and diversity regarding ethnicity eg Eastern European and representatives from the LGBTQ+ community with adoption experience.  

Main duties:
1. To chair Panel meetings, ensuring that all items of business are covered and the Panel operates in accordance with Regulations and Guidance and the Policies and Procedures of the Agency.

2. To prepare for Panel meetings, reading Panel papers carefully, identifying key issues and alerting the Agency Adviser if necessary to ensure, as far as possible, that the case is adequate for submission to Panel.

3. To facilitate the active participation of all Panel members in contributing to the Panel’s consideration of cases and to the making of clear and well-evidence recommendations with the reasons for these.

4. To ensure that all those attending Panel are treated with respect and courtesy.

5. To address diversity issues and to promote anti-discriminatory practice at all times.

6. To ensure that clear and accurate minutes are written, in which record any serious reservations which Panel members may have, and to be involved in checking draft minutes before they are sent to the Decision-Maker and to the next Panel meeting.

7. To liaise with the Decision-Maker and with other Senior Managers as required.

8. To attend Adoption Business meetings quarterly and Head of Service meetings as required.

8. To ensure, with the Agency Adviser, that Senior Managers are aware of issues of concern, in relation to both individual cases and to more general matters.

9. To be involved in the recruitment and appointment of new Panel members and in any consideration about terminating the appointment of a Panel member.

10. To review, with the Agency Adviser, the performance of Panel members as the need arises, and at least annually.

11. To assist in developing and promoting and monitoring Policies and Procedures and high standards of work in Adoption and Permanence Services in the Agency.

12. To assist in planning training for Panel members and to participate in this at least one day per year.

13. To safeguard the confidentiality of all Panel papers and Panel discussions.

14. To be involved in:
• deciding whether a case is adequate for submission to panel;
• deciding on the attendance of observers at Panel.
• deciding on the participation of Panel member who declares an interest in a case;
• deciding when an extra Panel may be necessary;
• the preparation of an Annual Report on the Panel’s work.