Agenda and minutes
Venue: Council Chamber, County Hall, Dorchester, DT1 1XJ. View directions
Contact: George Dare 01305 224185 - Email: george.dare@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk
Media
No. | Item |
---|---|
Apologies To receive any apologies for absence. Minutes: Apologies for absence were received from Cllrs Pauline
Batstone and Ryan Holloway. |
|
Declarations of Interest To disclose any
pecuniary, other registrable or non-registrable interest as set out in the
adopted Code of Conduct. In making their disclosure councillors are asked to
state the agenda item, the nature of the interest and any action they propose
to take as part of their declaration. If required, further advice should be sought from the Monitoring Officer in advance of the meeting. Minutes: There were no declarations of interest. |
|
Minutes To confirm and sign the minutes of the meetings held on: Minutes: The minutes of the meetings held on 4 May 2021, 6 July 2021,
2 September 2021, and 9 November 2021 were confirmed. The minutes were signed
following the committee. |
|
Public Participation Representatives of town
or parish councils and members of the public who live, work
or represent an organisation within the Dorset Council area are welcome to
submit up to two questions or two statements for each meeting.
Alternatively, you could submit one question and one statement for each
meeting. All
submissions must be emailed in full to george.dare@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk
by 8.30am on Monday, 21 March 2022. When
submitting your question(s) and/or statement(s) please note that: ·
no more than three minutes will be
allowed for any one question or statement to be asked/read ·
a question may include a short pre-amble
to set the context and this will be included within
the three
minute period ·
please note that sub divided questions
count towards your total of two ·
when submitting a question please
indicate who the question is for (e.g. the name of the
committee or Portfolio Holder) ·
Include your name, address and
contact details. Only your name will be published but we may need your
other details to contact you about your question or statement in advance of the
meeting. ·
questions and statements received in line
with the council’s rules for public participation will be published as a
supplement to the agenda ·
all questions, statements and responses
will be published in full within the minutes of the meeting. Dorset
Council Constitution Procedure Rule 9 Minutes: There was no public participation. |
|
Councillor Questions To receive
questions submitted by councillors. Councillors
can submit up to two valid questions at each meeting and sub divided questions
count towards this total. Questions and statements received will be
published as a supplement to the agenda and all questions, statements and
responses will be published in full within the minutes of the meeting. The
submissions must be emailed in full to george.dare@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk
by 8.30am
on Monday,
21 March 2022. Dorset
Council Constitution –
Procedure Rule 13 Minutes: There were no questions from members. |
|
Armed Forces Covenant Legislation PDF 666 KB To consider the report
by the Business Partner - Communities and Partnerships. Minutes: The Business Partner for Communities and Partnerships
introduced the report for the preparation of the Armed Forces Act 2021. There
were three principles to the Armed Forces Covenant which were outlined in the
report. The MOD provided funding for an Armed Forces Co-Ordinator which was a
fixed term post. The Covenant Duty applied to specific functions within the
areas of healthcare, education, and housing. Members asked questions of the Business Partner for
Communities and Partnerships and the committee was advised that: ·
The table in paragraph 3.1 of the report
identified which practical steps had started. ·
The Armed Forces Co-ordinator promoted the work
of the Armed Forces and the covenant. ·
Work was being done with social care to ensure
that families were not disadvantaged. ·
There were no regiments in Dorset but there were
2 training bases. ·
Weymouth Town Council is the only parish in
Dorset to have an armed forces champion. Proposed by Cllr Alford, seconded by Cllr Barrow. Decision: 1.
That the new legal obligations be noted. 2.
That the inclusion of the requirements of the
Armed Forces Act 2021 within the development of new policies and the review of
current policies be supported. |
|
Safeguarding Families Together: New Model PDF 242 KB To consider the report by the Consultant for Quality Assurance. Minutes: The Quality Assurance Consultant outlined the report. The
new model would introduce a pilot project in the Chesil area, covering Weymouth
and Portland, to support the complexity of cases and due to the levels of
deprivation. The new model would aim to keep more children and families at
home, reducing the number of children going into care. The model was well
evidenced, used in other Local Authorities, and it received positive feedback. Officers and Portfolio Holder answered the questions of the
members and advised that: ·
Bases should be accessible for families in the
area that they lived. ·
The service would primarily be available during
working hours but there would also be emergency out of hours. ·
There was a plan for the measures that would be
tracked throughout the pilot project, and it would have quarterly reports. ·
Adult practitioners would be in place by September
and the pilot would start when they were in place. ·
Professionals would be seconded to the council
from partners. ·
During the pandemic the council has formed a
much closer relationship with academies and independent schools. Proposed by Cllr Barrow, seconded by Cllr Alford. Decision: That the implementation of a pilot project in Chesil
(Weymouth and Portland) be recommended to Cabinet. |
|
Education Leadership Board PDF 205 KB To consider the report by the Corporate Director for Education and Learning. Additional documents:
Minutes: The Corporate Director for Education and Learning introduced
the item. He explained that the educational landscape has had significant
changes over the last decade. Through the Covid-19 pandemic the council had
worked closely with schools and partners and had built a strong relationship
with them. The board would oversee the delivery of three core objectives. The Portfolio Holder for Children, Education, Skills and
Early Help responded to questions with officers and advised that: ·
Dorset Council was rated good by Ofsted with
outstanding leadership. The board would help to achieve this in all schools. ·
Good feedback had been received from partners. ·
The board would provide leadership to academised
schools. ·
The Executive Director of Children would be a
member of the board; however, this was not included in the report. ·
Regular feedback would be given to the Strategic
Alliance for Children and Young People. ·
The locality model that Dorset uses reduced the
number of exclusions from schools. If a child is at risk of exclusion, staff
work with them in an integrated way. ·
There are 14 permanently excluded children in
Dorset which is less than other local authorities. There was an aim to achieve
0 exclusions. ·
If Cabinet approved the creation of the board, then
the first board meeting would be in the summer term. The board would have a
forward plan. Proposed by Cllr Barrow, seconded by Cllr Ezzard. Decision: That the Committee support the creation of a new Education
Board for Dorset and that the Committee recommend to Cabinet that the creation
of the board be approved. |
|
Children's Commissioning Strategy PDF 577 KB To consider the report by the Corporate Director for Commissioning, Quality and Partnerships. Minutes: The Corporate Director for Commissioning and Partnerships introduced the 5-year approach to commissioning for Children’s Services. The 3 priorities identified in the report were highlighted to the committee. In response to questions from the committee, it was confirmed that: · Family Hubs are a new model of delivering services that the Government has asked local authorities to implement. · Family Hubs would create a network to provide support to children and young people of all ages. · Networks and services would be working together. · There was an aim to start in East Dorset and Purbeck by September, then roll out across the county. · The commissioning strategy looked at all resources that were available. · Year 1 and 2 of the strategy, external commissioning would focus on ensuring sufficient residential provision, foster care provision, and supported accommodation, alongside some family support services. Proposed by Cllr Jones, seconded by Cllr Knox. Decision: That the committee recommend to Cabinet that Cabinet approves the 5-year Commissioning Strategy and adopts the intended approach. |
|
Committee's Forward Plan and Cabinet's Forward Plan PDF 292 KB To consider the Committee's Forward Plan and that of the Cabinet. Additional documents: Minutes: Members considered the committee’s forward plan. The Chairman informed the Committee that the Adult’s Commissioning
Strategy would be deferred from the meeting on 3 May to 28 June. The Chairman
would be working closely with Portfolio Holders to identify items for the
committee’s forward plan. The Portfolio Holder for Children, Education, Skills and
Early Help asked that the Home to School and Post 16 Transport Policies item be
deferred from 3 May until 28 June and that a report on Family Hubs be brought
to the committee on 3 May. Other potential items were raised by members, which
included: Developments in the Integrated Care System; and support for Ukraine
in Dorset. The Chairman advised that some items raised would be better
for the People & Health Scrutiny Forward Plan. There were no comments on the Cabinet forward plan. |
|
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: There were no urgent items. |
|
Exempt Business To move the exclusion of the press and public for the following item in view of the likely disclosure of exempt information within the meaning of paragraph 4 of schedule 12A 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. Minutes: Proposed by Cllr Parkes, seconded by Cllr Alford. Decision: That the press and the public be excluded for the following
items(s) in the view of the likely disclosure of exempt information within the
meaning of paragraph 4 of schedule 12 A to the Local Government Act 1972 (as
amended). At 11.17 the meeting was adjourned for 5 minutes until 11.22
for a short comfort break. |
|
Strengthening Services for Children who are Disabled To consider the report by the Head of Service, Children in Care and Care Leavers. Additional documents:
Minutes: The Committee considered the report by the Head of Service,
Children in Care and Care Leavers. Proposed by Cllr Ezzard, seconded by Cllr Alford. Decision: That the recommendations set out in the exempt report be
agreed. |