Agenda and minutes

 Apologies for absence were received form Cllr Joshi and Cllr Barnes.

Members are asked to declare any interests they may have in the business to be discussed.

Members were asked to declare any interests they may have had in the business to be discussed.

There were no declarations of interest.

The minutes of the meeting of the Children, Young People, and Education Scrutiny Commission held on 19 December 2023 are attached and Members are asked to confirm them as a correct record.

AGREED:

That the minutes of the meeting of the Children, Young People and Education Scrutiny Commission held on 19 December 2023 be confirmed as a correct record.

None.

The Monitoring Officer to report on the receipt of any petitions.

The Monitoring Officer reported that none had been received.

The Monitoring Officer to report on any questions, representations, or statements of case received.

The Monitoring Officer reported that none had been received.

The Chair agreed to an agenda variance, The Ashfield Update was taken before the Revenue Budget.

The Director of Education, SEND and Early Help will give a verbal update on Ashfield following the Call-in meeting, particularly regarding the discussions surrounding the proposed tapering of funding.

The Director of Education, SEND and Early Help gave a verbal update on Ashfield following the Call-in meeting, particularly regarding the discussions surrounding the proposed tapering of funding.

It was reported that a meeting between Council Officers and Ashfield Academy had been held in December 2023.  An offer had been made to taper funding over two years. The head of Ashfield Academy had agreed to consider the offer and discuss it with the governing body and would respond to the offer once they had met.

The Committee were invited to ask questions and make comments.  It was noted that the Council Officers and the Executive Lead member for Education, Libraries and Community Centres were happy to put in time and energy to help Ashfield secure alternative funding.

AGREED:

1)    That the verbal report be noted.

2)    That comments made by members of this commission to be taken into account by the lead officers.

3)    That members be kept informed of progress.

The Director of Finance submits a report detailing the proposed Revenue Budget for 2024/25.  

The Director of Finance submitted a report detailing the proposed Revenue Budget for 2024/25.

The Executive member for Social Care, Health and Community Safety introduced the report and noted that the Council was in a serious position financially and there was not enough money to carry out its desired aims.  A major issue was private care providers charging high costs for placements that did not necessarily meet the needs of the Children.  It was further noted that savings and efficiencies had been made where possible and that government help was unlikely based on the government’s approach to Councils who had issued Section 114 notices.

The Head of Finance (Social Care, Public Health, Schools & Corporate Resources) then presented the report.

Key points included:

• The expenditure for 2024/25 would exceed £50m and it would be necessary to make use of reserves to balance the budget. 
• Without further saving the need to issue a Section 114 notice would be likely in 2025/26.  This would freeze any new financial commitment and would necessitate government intervention.
• Managed reserves would need to be used in full in 2024/25.
• In terms of the outlook beyond 2025/26, whilst public sector expenditure was set to grow overall, increases in areas such as the NHS and defence were such that the IFS (institute for fiscal studies) concluded that areas such as local government funding would see a real terms cut of around 3%.
• In terms of the Children’s budget, £17m had been put into the budget for social care and Children Looked After (CLA) costs and £0.5m for legal and translation costs associated with CLA.
• £1.4m had been put into the budget for home-to-school travel for home to school transport for SEND pupils as a result of the increasing numbers of pupils with educational healthcare plans who often need support with transport.
• £0.4m of additional funding had been provided for the educational welfare budget. Changes in legislation meant that previously chargeable casework carried out by the service was now a statutory requirement for which no additional burden funding had been made available from government.
• There were also additional funds for the disabled children’s service of £0.2m due to pressures in this service associated with respite costs.
• The Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) was in deficit due to pressure on the High Needs Block.  A deficit of around £12m was predicted by the end of the financial year.  This had been driven by the doubling of the number of EHC plans agreed following the Covid-19 pandemic.  A deficit recovery plan would be brought to the next scrutiny meeting.

The Committee were invited to ask questions and make comments. Key points included:

• Further growth in numbers of Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children (UASC) had been factored into the Revenue Budget.  It was further clarified that the threshold level for the number of UASC to be taken by councils had increased, and the Council were not yet near this threshold level and were still expected by the government to take on a further 28 UASC.  Demand  ...  view the full minutes text for item 54.

The Director of Finance submits a report which details the Capital Programme for 2024/25.

The Director of Finance submitted a report detailing the proposed Capital Programme for 2024/25.  It was noted that there was £7.1m set aside in Schools Capital maintenance across the schools estate.

The Committee were invited to ask questions and make comments. Key points included:

• In response to a query about heat pumps in schools and the associated costs, it was explained that the Council were working on the issue with Western Power.  However, this was not part of the Capital Programme, but part of a funding programme across schools.  The Capital Programme related to issues such as basic maintenance.
• More money for issues such as repairs was always desirable.  Schools received some funding for minor repairs, but major repairs came through the Council.
• It was recognised that good work was carried out across schools, however, to deliver more, there was difficulty regarding capacity as more staff would need to be brought in.
• A presentation of work done with Capital over the last 12 months would be brought to the Commission.
• Secondary schools had been rebuilt under the building schools for the future programme and this had been a big undertaking.  However, it was commented that primary schools needed work.
• A written response would be provided regarding recent views form MPs and the Local Government Association (LGA) on Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Provision and Funding.
• The number of Children with SEND was growing, but money was not available to address Children’s needs in the best way.

AGREED:

1)    That the report be noted.

2)    That comments made by members of this commission to be taken into account by the lead officers.

3)    That the report be brought to Overview Select Committee prior to Full Council.

4)    That a presentation of work done with Capital over the last 12 months would be brought to the Commission.

5)    That a written response on recent views form MPs and the Local Government Association (LGA) on SEND Provision and Funding be provided to the Commission by the Director of Education, SEND and Early Help.

The Director of Childrens Social Care and Community Safety submits a report to provide the Commission with the Annual Youth Justice Plan, highlighting progress to date and new emerging priorities.

The Director of Childrens Social Care and Community Safety submitted a report to provide the Commission with the Annual Youth Justice Plan, highlighting progress to date and new emerging priorities.

The Executive member for Social Care, Health and Community Safety introduced the report and noted that inspections had found good practice and whilst there was always work to do the understanding that the team had was good.

The Director of Childrens Social Care & Community Safety, The Head of Service Early Help (Targeted Services) and Service Manager (Integrated Services) presented the report.

Key points included:

• The three-year plan was updated on an annual basis.  It was currently in its second year.  This was the first year in which young people had been fully engaged to help produce the plan. 
• The young people involved had emphasised that they needed strong role models and needed to be supported to achieve and be aspirational.  It was important that they were believed-in, respected and not judged.  The involvement of young people ensured that priorities were delivered on.
• Key performance areas included a significant reduction in Children Looked After (CLA) open to the Youth Justice Service.  This had risen in previous years but was now below the national average.  This had been achieved by working in partnership as well as by supporting residential homes, putting restorative justice work in place and creating bespoke group work programmes for CLA. 
• A ‘child-first’ approach was taken, and it was ensured that partners such as the Police were engaged with this, making sure that children involved were seen as children before they were seen as offenders. 
• A remand strategy had been developed with the Police that was child-focussed.  This had helped with performance.
• Custody rates had been worked on.  Whereas in previous years there had been between 60-80 young people in custody over 12 months (higher than the national average), in the last 12 months, there had been only one young person placed in a custodial establishment.  It was acknowledged that it was sometimes necessary to place young people in custody, however, alternatives to custody were explored and victims were worked with.
• There were high numbers of young people in education, training and employment.  This had been a challenge for post-16 young people during the Covid-19 pandemic as many were on casual contracts or let go from work due to the pandemic.  Employers and trainers had been worked with on this over the last 12 months.
• Work on neurodiversity needs had been undertaken over the last 12 months, training staff and working in partnership to ensure that children and young people received the right support.
• There was a challenge surrounding reoffending rates.  The data tracked a small cohort meaning that a single offence could create a big swing in statistics.  This had resulted in reoffending rate that was higher than the national average.  A Reoffending Group met weekly to ensure that reports from the Police were dealt with quickly and young people were worked with to prevent reoffending.
• Successes had  ...  view the full minutes text for item 56.

The current version of the Work Programme is attached.

Members of the Commission will be asked to forward any item they wish to consider on the work programme for the Commission to the Chair or the Governance Services Officer.

Members of the Commission were invited to consider content of the work programme and were invited to make suggestions for additions as appropriate to be brought to future meetings.

It was noted that the next meeting of the commission had moved and would now take place on 26^th March 2024.

The work programme was noted. 

There being no further items of urgent business, the meeting finished at 19:23.