Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Ryan Holloway and Rebecca Knox.

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.

There were no declarations of interest.

To confirm and sign the minutes of the meeting held on 8 September 2022.

Proposed by Cllr Ezzard, seconded by Cllr Dunseith.

Decision: That the minutes of the previous meeting be confirmed and signed.

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 Wednesday, 19 October 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 

There was no public participation.

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 Wednesday, 19 October 2022.

Dorset Council Constitution – Procedure Rule 13 

There were no questions from councillors.

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.

There were no urgent items.

To receive a report by the Independent Chair of the Birth To Settled Adulthood Board.

The Lead Member for Health introduced the item. The Birth to Settled Adulthood project aimed to improve the experiences of young people and families in preparation for adulthood. The report highlighted the areas of progress as well as areas being fine-tuned.

The Independent Chair of the Birth to Settled Adulthood Board gave a presentation to the committee and the presentation is attached to these minutes. The update included background information on the project, challenges identified in 2021, early priorities of the Board, and the current focus and next steps.

Members asked questions and made comments on the report. The following points were raised:

• There were different legislative frameworks for young people and adults which were not always fully aligned.
• The backlog of assessments changes weekly and there was a recovery and improvement programme to address them. There was some recruitment and secondments into the transition team to help.
• This project was also important for what happened after the 0-25 period. Adult social services would be aware at an earlier stage of who they might need to support.
• The Dorset Education Board was working alongside this Board, which ensured that workstreams were connected.
• There were appropriate links to the Schools Forum.
• All of the staff in the pathway were being given information on a regular basis. There was a whole staff webinar which had good turnout.
• The balanced scorecard would contain a set of performance indicators, as well as objective measures where progress could be gauged. This would give an indication of successes.
• Housing would become more of a focus through the service redesign, and it was part of the work programme.
• There was a county-wide careers hub for SEND, as well as a small education and employment team within children’s services.
• There was a new tool for future demands from age 14 which would help forward plan accommodation needs.

The committee would receive a report on the balanced scorecard at a future meeting.

To consider the Committee's Forward Plan and that of the Cabinet.

The committee noted their Forward Plan and the Cabinet’s.

The three items raised at the previous meeting would be included on the agenda for the meeting on 31 January 2023.

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 3 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.

There was no exempt business.