Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence.

An apology for absence was received from Cllr Carl Woode.

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 C Jones declared in respect of Item 9 – Impact of Cost-of-Living Support Programme 2024-25, that she was a trustee of a charity receiving funds from the programme.

Cllr A Todd declared in respect of Item 8 – Education, Health and Care Plans Enquiry Day Update, that his daughter had an EHCP.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 6 May 2025.

The minutes of the meeting held on 6 May 2025 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 [email protected] by 8.30am on Monday, 16 June 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 [email protected] by 8.30am on Monday, 16 June 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 receive an update and presentation from the Chief Operating Officer, Dorset County Hospital, on the impact of the temporary closure of the Special Care Baby Unit and changes to inpatient maternity services at Yeovil District Hospital.

A report by the Deputy Director of Maternity and Perinatal Services, NHS Dorset, on maternity services available to residents across the whole Dorset area is to follow.

The Committee received information on maternity services at University Hospitals Dorset and Sailsbury Hospital. Sailsbury hospital’s maternity services had improved to a ‘Good’ rating following an improvement programme after it was rated as ‘requires improvement’. University Hospitals Dorset has demonstrated progress in its outcomes for its improvement journey, following a rating of ‘inadequate’ in 2023. Its maternity services had moved to its new BEACH building and the hospital managed to sustain achievement in its improvements whilst it moved maternity services to the new building.

The Committee then heard about the CQC improvement journey at Dorset County Hospital maternity services after it was rated as ‘requires improvement’ in 2023. The services employed a maternity improvement advisor and it and recent recruited a 10^th consultant, so it was now compliant with consultant presence. The maternity service’s leadership team and its audit process had been strengthened. The most recent CQC inspection took place in June 2025, and no immediate concerns had been raised, with the visit being more positive than the previous inspection.

The Committee then received an update on the temporary closure of the Special Care Baby Unit and inpatient maternity services at Yeovil District Hospital. The temporary closure was the result of a Section 29A warning notice issued by the CQC for Paediatric services, and subsequent improvement requirements that Yeovil District Hospital was unable to achieve in the timeframe. The update included a timeline of events, the impact it has had on other hospitals, and an outline of Dorset County Hospital’s operational response.

Members asked questions of the NHS representatives and discussed the item. The following points were raised:

·         Women who would have used Yeovil District Hospital could choose where they would want to continue their care, and it would transfer to that place.

·         A member queried whether the CQC allowed sufficient time for improvements to be made. It was assumed that Somerset Foundation Trust were not able to meet the expectations within the timescales.

·         A member asked how an increased number of births at other hospitals could be accommodated. Somerset Foundation Trust have been working closely with Bath hospital and increasing the capacity as Musgrove Park, Taunton. Some women may also choose to give birth at Salisbury hospital. The capacity for home births around the Yeovil area had been increased.

·         Dorset County Hospital would take approximately 20% of the births that would have happened at Yeovil. The hospital has considered different ways of working and a business case for increased staffing levels to accommodate the additional births.

·         The increase of visitors to the Dorset area over the summer was not a cause of significant concern for Dorset County Hospital and it would be business as usual. They were prepared for an increase in patients with a flexible workforce and estate, where rooms could be converted to create capacity.

·         Most hospitals use the same electronic record for maternity services and most women would have an app with their pregnancy information. This enabled hospitals to have the relevant information.

·         Members sought  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

To consider a report by the Corporate Director for Education and Learning, on behalf of the committee’s panel on Education, Health and Care Plans.

The Chairman introduced the item and thanked all the participants of the enquiry day. She outlined the developing themes for further exploration from the enquiry day, which included: Communication with families and young people; the voice of young people in the EHCP process; the quality of content provided by the NHS for annual reviews; the effectiveness of joint funding; and waiting lists for autism diagnosis. In addition to this, future changes proposed by central government would need to be taken into account.

Members discussed the report and raised the following points:

·         There were pressures in the NHS due to their resources, which led to long waiting lists. This created a weak spot within the system.

·         There was a limit of 20% of pupils being from other counties at the Dorset Centre of Excellence. However, the current number of out-of-county pupils was around 4%.

·         Whether there could be a role for Family Hubs in improving EHCP support and advice for families.

·         The need to compare the council’s support to other local authorities that have good performance with EHCP’s, to see where the council can improve.

The EHCP Panel would continue its work and follow up on key lines of enquiry, before producing a final report for the committee.

The committee appointed Cllr Andy Todd to its working group on Education, Health and Care Plans.

At 11.45am the committee adjourned for a comfort break and reconvened at 11.58am.

Cllr Robin Legg left the meeting at this point.

To consider a report by the Business Partner – Communities and Partnerships.

The report was introduced through a statement read on behalf of the Cabinet Member for Customer, Culture and Community Engagement. The Business Partner for Communities and Partnerships outlined the financial details of the cost-of-living support, including that the Department for Work and Pensions would replace the Household Support Fund with a new Crisis and Resilience Fund. She highlighted some of the support available through the projects funded by the cost-of-living support.

The committee discussed the report and raised the following points:

·         There was a reduction in funding from £2m to £500k by the council for cost-of-living support.

·         The Household Support Fund added additional funding for cost-of-living support, however it was likely that it would be terminated or significantly reduced by Government in April 2026.

·         There was concern from the committee that a reduction in cost-of-living support funding, by the council and through the Household Support Fund, would have implications for other service areas and their budgets.

·         The underspend in cost-of-living support from the previous financial year was repurposed for prevention in Adult Social Care.

·         It was important to continue monitoring the cost-of-living support programme to ensure there was not a negative impact on other services due to reduced funding.

·         A member sought clarification on the tenancy sustainment statistics in Sherborne. The Business Partner – Communities and Partnerships agreed to follow this up after the committee.

·         There was a concern about the timeliness of cost-of-living data from Government.

·         The levels of support through Revenues and Benefits and the Housing allowance were set levels. However, there was a concern that if support was combined, then people may end up with less support.

·         Lendology CiC was advertised through the council’s website and by referral agencies, such as Citizen’s Advice. This support can be used by tenants, after receiving permission from private landlords, or can be used by people who own their home.

The Chair summarised the discussion and emphasised the need to ensure that the cost-of-living support is having a positive impact on vulnerable residents. The Committee would continue having 6-monthly reports on the impact of the council’s cost-of-living support.

To consider a report by the Service Manager for Community Safety.

The Service Manager for Community Safety introduced the report and highlighted the key areas. In addition to the annual report, the committee would be reviewing community safety through quarterly performance monitoring.

The Committee discussed the report, and the following points were raised:

·         Cllr Somper would meet the Service Manager for Community Safety to have a discussion on the Hate Crime Strategy.

·         The Pineapple Project had a needs assessment every year, however it is not made public due to the information it holds.

·         There were local area meetings across Dorset which were led by the police. It was suggested that councillors be invited to these meetings and there were already discussions taking place on this.

·         Crime statistics were available on the Dorset Police website. Councillors could also get further insight through the local area meetings.

·         There was a lower reporting rate for domestic abuse in rural areas, although there were various partners involved to raise awareness of domestic abuse.

·         The police inform schools if a child has been involved in domestic abuse.

·         There was also other work with schools, such as the Bystander project, which raised awareness of domestic abuse with pupils. Six more schools had approached the council to take part in this.

·         The Dragonfly Project would provide training on domestic abuse for community groups. One of its aims is to reach people in isolated communities. Information about the Dragonfly Project would be circulated to all councillors.

The Chairman thanked the officers for attending and explaining the work of the Community Safety Partnership. There was a need for councillors to have further information about local need, such as through the local area meetings.

The Committee agreed to extend the meeting beyond 3 hours.

To consider the committee’s Work Programme and the Executive Forward Plans.

The Chairman outlined the items on the committee’s work programme. She updated the committee that the committee’s performance dashboards were being updated to reflect the needs of the committee.

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.