Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence.

There were no apologies for absence.

The Chair thanked Cllr Carole Jones for her time as a committee member and welcomed Cllr Julie Robinson to the committee.

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.

Cllr Ezzard declared a non-pecuniary interest as a trustee of Purbeck Youth and Community Centre which had been designated as a family hub. She would take part in discussion.

Cllr Lugg declared a non-pecuniary interest that she was a member of the advisory board for Ferndown Family Hub. She would take part in the discussion.

To confirm and sign the minutes of the meeting held on 29 October 2024.

The minutes of the previous meeting held on 29 October 2024 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, 16 January 2025.

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, 16 January 2025. 

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 a report by the Family Hub Programme Lead.

The Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, Education and Skills introduced the report. She updated the committee on the progress of family hubs across the county. 

The Family Hubs Programme Lead gave a presentation which outlined the purpose of family hubs, which was to bring together services which provide information and support services to a single access point. Members were updated on the progress of developing family hubs across the county, including working with the Local Alliance Groups, identifying locations and opening family hubs in each locality area. Family hubs were organised into a network, with a main family hub providing all services and network points where support is available with some services. Some family hubs were run through partnerships with voluntary and community sector organisations in local areas. The council was running a promotional campaign across the county to ensure that communities and families are aware of the support provided through family hubs. An online family hub was also available for people to access information virtually.

There was an extension to grant funding from the Department for Education for family hubs, so further funding would be available to the council for their continued development. The next steps for the ongoing development of family hubs were outlined.

The presentation is attached as an appendix to these minutes.

The Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care said that they were also moving to a hub and spoke model and there were opportunities for collaboration with Children’s Services and the NHS.

Members had an in-depth discussion about family hubs and asked questions of the officers. During the discussion, the following points were raised:

·         Main family hubs were funded through grants for this year. Options for income generation from family hubs were being explored, and officers were waiting for further government guidance on family hub funding and support. Family hubs were linked to other transformation work through the Families First for Children Pathfinder which enabled future consideration of commissioning and joint commissioning with the NHS.

·         A member queried whether there was a north-south divide for family hubs and whether there were access issues in rural areas. In response, officers advised that the network model aimed to address access in all areas, however some families may have challenges accessing hubs in rural areas.

·         There was a concern about the lack of access to a family hub in Gillingham and Shaftesbury, where there was large, expanding populations. Officers advised that Children’s Centres were based in Shaftesbury and Sherborne, and they were looking for opportunities for network points or further services to be made available in these areas.

·         The council’s proposed budget for 2025-26 identified £1 million savings from family hubs. The savings were predicated on family hubs providing early support, which prevented children from going into care. Prevention and early support had a significant impact on the number of children entering care.

·         There was a concern about risks to voluntary organisations from safeguarding and data protection concerns. The Corporate Director for Commissioning would provide a single point  ...  view the full minutes text for item 39.

To consider the Committee's Work Programme and the Cabinet Forward Plan.

The committee noted its work programme and the executive forward plans.

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.