Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Cathy Lugg and Jean Dunseith.

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 14 September 2023.

The minutes of the meeting held on 14 September 2023 were 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 either 1 question or 1 statement for each meeting.  You are welcome to attend the meeting in person or via Microsoft Teams to read out your question and to receive the response.   If you submit a statement for the committee this will be circulated to all members of the committee in advance of the meeting as a supplement to the agenda and appended to the minutes for the formal record but will not be read out at the meeting. The first 8 questions and the first 8 statements received from members of the public or organisations for each meeting will be accepted on a first come first served basis in accordance with the deadline set out below.  For further information read Public Participation - Dorset Council

All submissions must be emailed in full to george.dare@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk by 8.30am on Thursday, 12 October 2023.

When submitting your question or statement please note that: 

·         You can submit 1 question or 1 statement.

·         a question may include a short pre-amble to set the context.

·         It must be a single question and any sub-divided questions will not be permitted.

·         Each question will consist of no more than 450 words, and you will be given up to 3 minutes to present your question.

·         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.   

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 Thursday, 12 October 2023. 

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 consider the Committee's Work Programme and the Executive Forward Plans.

Members noted the committee’s work programme and forward plan.

The work programme would be revised to enable the next meeting to have more focus on the Housing Strategy.

To consider a report of the Programme Lead- Quality Assurance.

The Portfolio Holder for Adult Social Care, Health, and Housing introduced the item, and the Programme Lead outlined the report. The peer review was designed to support the council in preparing for the new CQC Annual Assurance regime. An action plan was developed from the findings of the review. A presentation was given to members, and it is attached to these minutes.

Members discussed the report and raised the following points:

·         The action plan in the report was high level. The inspection will produce a detailed report.

·         Connections between the peer review and the housing directorate were being made.

·         There needed to be a way to measure how successful the council is in responding to the action plan.

To consider a report by the Corporate Director for Care & Protection and the Youth Voice Manager.

The Corporate Director for Care and Protection introduced the report and gave a presentation which is attached to these minutes. The presentation outlined the protected characteristics in the Equality Act 2010 and gave background details to adopting care experience as a protected characteristic. Approximately 50 councils had adopted care experience as a local protected characteristic, and it was a recommendation from the national children’s social care review.

Members asked questions and discussed the report. The following points were raised:

·         The care leaver service could help care leavers identify as care experienced.

·         What members could do as corporate parents to help champion care experience as a protected characteristic.

·         It would be important for care leavers to identify as a care leaver on applications forms so they can receive support.

Proposed by Cllr Jones, seconded by Cllr Holloway.

Decision:

That the following recommendations be made to Cabinet:

1.    To support the development of an agreed definition of care experienced for the purpose of making this a protected characteristic.

2.    To agree that ‘care experience’ will be treated as if it were a Protected Characteristic under the Equalities Act 2010 so that decisions on future services and policies made and adopted by Dorset Council are assessed and consider the impact on people with care experience.

3.    To approve the amendment of Dorset Council’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy 2021-2024 to reflect ‘care experience’ being treated as if it were a protected characteristic and the development of specific actions to reduce the disadvantage and discrimination that care experienced people face.

To receive a report by the Corporate Director for Care and Protection.

The Executive Director of People – Children introduced the report on the Families First for Children Pathfinder. Dorset Council was selected by the Department for Education to be one of three pilot local authorities for the pathfinder. The council had received the first round of funding and was expecting more further funding in November.

The Corporate Director for Care and Protection gave a presentation which is attached to these minutes. The presentation outlined the recommendations, the six pillars of the strategy, developing a new model to deliver the pathfinder, the progress made, and the financial implications to the council.

Members asked questions on the report and raised the following points:

·         The Treasury were supportive if the programme to keep children in their extended families.

·         The police and health services would like additional funding for the programme but have not received any.

·         The current system had a focus on crisis intervention; however the programme would change the integrated care system to focus on early intervention and prevention.

·         The family help pillar could be achieved through family hubs and creating networks of support.

Proposed by Cllr Ezzard, seconded by Cllr Jones.

Decision

That the People and Health Overview Committee recommend to Cabinet that the approach to delivering the Families First for Children Pathfinder be adopted by the council.

To consider a report by the Corporate Director for Education and Learning.

The Executive Director of People – Children introduced the report and outlined several key parts of the report. These included the statistics for Osted inspections of Dorset schools, attainment of English and Maths, and recruiting and retaining staff working in the education sector.

In response to questions from members, the Executive Director of People – Children advised that the council does not differentiate between maintained schools and academies. She also advised that the Belonging Strategy had received a soft launch with school leaders, and it would ensure that there was support for schools with link workers, and that youth practitioners would work alongside schools to encourage children to attend school.

Members noted the report.

To receive a report by the Principal Lead for Best Start in Life.

The Principal Lead for Best Start in Life introduced the report on the expansion of the funded childcare offer. Th expansion was announced by the Chancellor in the Spring Budget and the council would be responsible for distributing funding on behalf of the Government. Members received a presentation, which is attached to these minutes, and it included details on national changes to support the policy implementation, providing grants to new registered childminders, and it outlined the implementation plan.

Members discussed the report and asked questions of the officers. The following points were raised:

·         In preparation for challenges from an increased childcare demand, the support that may be needed for childcare was being mapped, areas where childminders may be needed were being identified, and best practice was being shared among local authorities.

·         Parents would need to earn £100,000 each before they need to pay for childcare.

·         Funding would be received through the dedicated schools grant for early years.

·         The funding received would be per child.

·         The ratios of staff to children would depend on the age of the child.

·         Local provider agreements state that they should not charge parents extra for equipment to prevent discrimination.

Proposed by Cllr Ezzard, seconded by Cllr Holloway.

Decision

The approach to the expansion of funded childcare offer from April 2024 be recommended to Cabinet for adoption by the Council.

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 are no exempt items scheduled for this meeting.

There was no exempt business.