Venue: Committee Room A/B, South Walks House, South Walks Road, Dorchester, DT1 1EE
Contact: Lindsey Watson 01305 252209 - Email: lindsey.watson@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk
No. | Item |
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To confirm the minutes of the
meeting held on 17 September 2019. Minutes: The minutes of the meeting
held on 17 September 2019 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the
Chairman. |
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Declarations of Interest To receive any declarations
of interest. Minutes: There were no declarations of
interest. |
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Public Participation To receive questions or
statements on the business of the committee from town and parish councils and
members of the public. Minutes: There were no representations
from parish or town councils or from members of the public. |
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Urgent items To consider any items of
business which the Chairman has had prior notification and considers to be
urgent pursuant to section 100B (4) b) of the Local Government Act 1972. The
reason for the urgency shall be recorded in the minutes. Minutes: The
Chairman reported that following his attendance at a Local Government Association
(LGA) course on scrutiny, he had spoken to the Leader about arranging a meeting
of group leaders, scrutiny chairmen and the Executive Leadership Team to discuss
scrutiny moving forward. |
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People Services - Children Transformation Programme Update PDF 694 KB To receive a presentation
from the Executive Director for People, Children in respect of the People
Services – Children – Transformation Programme. Minutes: The
Executive Director for People – Children, gave a presentation to the committee
which provided an overview of the directorate’s transformation programme
‘Blueprint for Change’. The presentation
covered the council’s vision for children, design principles for the whole
council and for Children’s Services, the programme timeline, an overview of the
major changes proposed and the localities for the service. The Portfolio Holder for Children, Education
and Early Help hoped that councillors recognised the steps taken in this area
including recruitment of officers at a senior level and work undertaken around
the corporate parenting board. The
Chairman noted that it was important for the committee to receive the presentation
in order to have an understanding of the background when they were considering
financial information in this area. The
committee considered the issues arising from the presentation and during
discussion the following points were raised: ·
A point was raised about the importance to a child or young person of
having the continuity of contact with one social worker. In response it was noted that it may not
always be possible to avoid the need to change social workers however,
consideration was being given to the systems available to and support provided
to social workers in order to retain officers in this area ·
In response to a point raised about the transition of young people into
adult services, it was recognised that this needed to be a respectful process
which considered the important role of parents ·
A point was made that there was no reference to access to doctors and
dentists, as it was thought that a large proportion of looked after children
were not registered with either. In
response, the Executive Director referred to work undertaken through the
Corporate Parenting Board, working with partners, to aim to ensure that the
majority of children were registered ·
It was noted that there were two locality bases in the North area as
this was the largest area in terms of population and this also took into
account school clusters and links to other service areas. This also took into account the amount of
travel undertaken by social workers ·
In response to a question, the Executive Director provided information
on the time availability of youth workers, urgent care teams and social workers ·
A discussion was held with regard to the support being provided to staff
going through the transformation programme and information was provided on
upskilling opportunities, looking at best practice, training for staff and the
opportunity that this provided to listen to staff ·
The transformation programme aimed to provide £1m of savings through the
delivery of services more efficiently ·
The presentation made reference to ‘needs not thresholds’ which related
to the need to have a conversation when a referral was first made in order to
understand what a child’s needs were and who would be best to meet them. There was a need for ownership from the person
making the referral · The presentation provided an overview of the work to be undertaken to get the ... view the full minutes text for item 33. |
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Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) PDF 405 KB To receive a presentation in
respect of the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG). Minutes: The
Service Manager for Finance provided an overview of the Dedicated Schools Grant
(DSG) which included what it was, how it was controlled, the role of the
council and the current position for the council. As part of the presentation, the Service
Manager for Finance noted that the slide titled ‘DSG – what do we do?’ should
include a note to say that the council was able to put a school in special
measures. Councillors
discussed the issues arising from the presentation and comments were made as
follows: ·
Reference was made to the way that the DSG was distributed to the
council in four blocks, with the funding then being passed onto schools. It was noted that the Government was setting
the schools budget below the schools minimum standards ·
In response to a question it was noted that the Government had announced
increases to the blocks which represented of the order of £200 per child per
primary school, based on a particular formula, including deprivation
factors. Some background to the High
Needs Block deficit was provided and reference was made to a current Department
for Education consultation around a proposal for deficits to sit within the
school rather than with the council. The
outcome of this consultation was awaited ·
Councillors discussed the budget issues in this area and the Portfolio
Holder for Children, Education and Early Help provided background to previous
financial forecasting that had been undertaken and noted that the forecasting
mechanism needed to be looked at again.
There was recognition that every child had a right to mainstream
education although some would require special education provision in an
appropriate setting ·
It was noted that this was a demand driven process ·
The challenge in setting the budget in this area was that notification
of DSG was usually received late in the process ·
It was noted that coverage in the Press was suggesting that the
additional funding to be provided by Government, could take the budget back to
the position in 2015 ·
In response to a question, it was reported that the pay increase for new
teachers was just a proposal at present ·
A discussion was held in respect of the way that deprivation factors
were measured and it was noted that a number of factors were taken into
consideration and could vary by council.
The experience was that there was undeclared deprivation which could
impact on the funding provided to the council in this area. The Portfolio Holder encouraged councillors
to communicate and seek understanding from local MPs of the needs of Dorset in
terms of funding. The situation in
Dorset was considered against the situation in other areas such as London and
although the issue was recognised by the Department for Education, there was
currently no solution ·
In response to a question, it was reported that there was no provision
to allow the council to charge the deficit back to the Department for Education · The council funded the top up of schools’ budgets in respect of education, health ... view the full minutes text for item 34. |
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People Services - Adults and Housing Transformation Programme Update PDF 2 MB To receive a presentation in
respect of the People Services – Adults and Housing Transformation Programme. Additional documents: Minutes: The
committee received a presentation with regard to the People Services – Adults
and Housing Transformation Programme. An
updated version of the presentation was provided at the meeting which gave the
latest basis for the transformation plan.
The Portfolio Holder for Adult Social Care and Health gave an overview
of the areas covered by the presentation.
She also noted that a technology room would be opening on 17 October 2019
and councillors were invited to an event to mark the opening on the lunchtime
of this day. A report with regard to the
transformation plan would be provided to the People Scrutiny Committee and
Cabinet in due course. The
committee considered the issues arising from the presentation and during discussion
the following points were raised: ·
Reference was made to the Building Better Lives Programme and the need
to link into Children’s Services and the council’s assets programme as well as
looking at issues from an Adults’ Services perspective. In addition it was noted that the methodology
used for the scheme in Purbeck had been taken into account when looking at
other areas and specific reference was made to mapping exercises that had been
undertaken in respect of sites in Gillingham ·
Staffing issues in this area were discussed and particular reference was
made to issues around the recruitment of social workers, the nomination of
design champions from across the directorate to assist with designing the
programme, the need to look at how people worked including flexible working and
ways to grow the workforce including the use of apprenticeships ·
The use of assistive technology was discussed and issues around
broadband and mobile coverage were being looked at ·
Reference was made to housing issues including the need for appropriate
accommodation provision in order to retain younger people in the area. |
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Dorset Council Workforce Data and People Strategy PDF 1 MB To receive a presentation on
Dorset Council Workforce Data and the People Strategy. Minutes: The
Chairman noted that the presentation on Dorset Council Workforce Data and
People Strategy would now be given at the next meeting of the committee on 7
November 2019. |
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Minutes of the Audit and Governance (Assessment) Sub-committee PDF 81 KB To receive and note the
minutes of the meetings of the Audit and Governance (Assessment) Sub-committee
held between June and September 2019. Additional documents:
Minutes: The minutes of meetings of
the Audit and Government (Assessment) Sub-committee held on 28 June, 17 September
and 25 September 2019 were noted. |
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Audit and Governance Committee Work Programme PDF 78 KB To review the Audit and
Governance Committee Work Programme. Minutes: The
committee noted the work programme and items expected at future meetings. The Dorset Council Workforce Data and People
Strategy presentation would be given at the meeting on 7 November 2019. The
Chairman noted that the committee had received a series of presentations over
the last few meetings in order to provide background to a number of council
areas. After November, the committee
would need to give consideration as to any in-depth reviews they would like to
undertake. A
point was raised with regard to the issue of asset management which was
currently included on the work programmes for both Audit and Governance
Committee and Resources Scrutiny Committee.
This would be clarified following the meeting. It was noted that the review of the
Constitution was also included on both committee’s work programmes and this
would be discussed at the meeting of the scrutiny and audit and governance
chairmen. |
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Exempt Business To move the exclusion of
the press and the public for the following item in view of the likely
disclosure of exempt information within the meaning of paragraph x of schedule
12 A to the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended). The public and the press will
be asked to leave the meeting whilst the item of business is considered. There is no exempt
business. Minutes: There was no exempt business. |