Agenda for Children & Young People's Overview & Scrutiny Committee on Wednesday, 15th September, 2010, 5.00pm
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Agenda and minutes
PDF 199 KBVenue: Council Chamber, Hove Town Hall. View directions
Contact: Sharmini Williams, Scrutiny Support Officer
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(Copy attached). Minutes: 12a. Declaration of Substitutes 12.1 Councillors Lynda Hyde, Ann Norman, Juliet McCaffery and Joanna Martindale (CVSF representative) sent their apologies.
Substitutions for Councillors included Tony Janio for Lynda Hyde, Denise Cobb for Ann Norman and Kevin Allen for Juliet McCaffrey.
12b. Declarations of Interest 12.2 There were none.
12c. Declaration of Party Whip 12.3 There were none.
12d. Exclusion from the Press and Public 12.4 In accordance with section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, it was considered whether the press and public should be excluded from the meeting during the consideration of any items contained in the agenda, having regard to the nature of the business to be transacted and the nature of the proceedings and the likelihood as to whether, if members of the press and public were present, there would be disclosure to them of confidential or exempt information as defined in section 100I (1) of the said Act.
12.5 RESOLVED- That the press and public not be excluded from the meeting. |
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Minutes of the previous meeting Minutes of the previous meeting held on the 16 June 2010. (Copy attached). Minutes: 13.1 The minutes were approved.
13.2 In relation to the report on the Arrangements for Governance, Commissioning & Provision for Children’s Services - Item 7, it was asked whether a response had been received from the Chair of the Children and Young People’s Trust (CYPT) Board to seek the views of the Parent Carers’ Council when looking at issues where there was significant parent carer interest.
It was agreed to ask the Chair of the CYPT Board for a response. |
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Chairman's communications Minutes: 14.1 The Chair welcomed Councillor Lizzie Deane (who was replacing Ben Duncan) and Amanda Mortensen (Parent Governor representative) to CYPOSC. |
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Public Questions No public questions had been received. Minutes: 15.1 None were received. |
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Questions and Letters from Councillors No letters had been received from Councillors.
Minutes: 16.1 None were received. |
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Short film and a discussion with Hangleton & Knoll Youth Forum around partnership working A presentation by the Adam Muirhead. Minutes: 17.1 Adam Muirhead (Sports Development Worker) and young people involved in the Hangleton & Knoll Youth Forum: Sophie Murphy, Leon Weller, and Hannah Norman, presented a short film. The main ethos of the project was to include young people in any decisions that would affect them.
17.2 In answer to a question on what age group the Forum worked with, the Committee were advised that membership was fluid and that the age range was between 11-19 years and they had 15 young people that attended the Forum.
17.3 In response to a question on whether the Forum had been consulted on the Youth Service Review, Sophie explained how they had been consulted and informed the officers about workshops that they had been involved in and how these had given her stability and a positive outlook.
17.4 The Committee heard about a visit to the Forum and the enthusiasm and encouragement that the Project had demonstrated.
17.5 RESOLVED
(1) The Committee thanked the young people and Officer for their time. (2) The Committee agreed to hear about the Youth Council 3:1 campaign. |
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Primary School Places in Brighton & Hove
Report of the Acting Director of Children’s Services. Additional documents: Minutes:
18.1 Gil Sweetenham (School Futures Project Director) and Steve Healey (Head of School Admissions and Transport) presented the report and answered questions.
18.2 A Member reiterated the importance of having local schools, as families did not want to travel across the city to their allocated schools.
18.3 The Committee were advised that there were plans to upgrade school buildings but these depended on the level of funding available following the review of capital funding.
18.4 Members were informed that in the Officers view the GP data figures were the most accurate available. Child benefit data was not as accurate as the benefit wasn’t always paid to the address where the children were living.
18.5 Members were informed how some GP data didn’t match the numbers attending primary/infant state schools as families moved around and some children went into private education.
18.6 The Committee was advised that there was pressure on school places for schools within the BN 31 to BN 34 areas (along the Hove seafront). Historically some of these children used to go to schools in Portslade; however these schools are full to capacity too.
18.7 In response to what communication has been made with parents, the Committee were informed that Officers would attend school meetings, the school admissions booklet would outline the authorities future plans, information would be available on the council website and the information would be released to the press. This would enable all parents to make informed decisions when going through the school admissions process.
18.8 In answer to a question on when does the authority receive the capital funding, Members were advised that the funding was allocated on a 3 year basis, the latest allocation being made 3 years ago. The authority has used the 3 year capital programme funding and “safety valve” money for school expansion projects and the additional temporary accommodation.
18.9 The Committee were informed that a temporary school would be opened for September 2011; this would be managed by local primary schools for a period of up to two years, until formal government approval was given. This will allow sufficient time to plan for a permanent three form entry all through primary school, including management of the school whether this was parents, the local authority, faith groups or other bodies.
The authority has two plans and will continue to work with these options to ensure that one of them will come to fruition.
It was confirmed that unless suitable accommodation was found, mobile classrooms would have to be used
18.10 In answer to a question on the forecast figures that showed another school would be needed in 2016 and what plans were in place to meet these forecasts, Members were told that projections were based on trends, there were schools in the east of the city that had vacant places and whether these places needed to be filled first, to ensure funding was spent wisely. Planning so far ahead was difficult as the children were not born yet and there was limited space within the city to build on. The authority were already looking into alternative, high quality accommodation, investigating modern methods of learning and keeping all options open.
18.11 In response to a question on whether suggestions from the public were welcome as the idea of negotiating with the Connaught Centre came from a member of the public, it was confirmed that the authority welcomed all local involvement.
18.12 Members heard that the authority was working with all potential providers to look at future opportunities and the implications of these to schools.
18.13 RESOLVED – (1) The Committee noted the actions proposed to secure additional primary school places in the City and particularly in Hove.
(2) The Committee noted the statistical information on which the proposals had been based on and the potential variations which must be allowed for in forecasting. |
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Children and Young People's Trust Performance Report of the Acting Director of Children’s Services. Minutes: 19.1 Paul Brewer (Head of Performance) presented the report and answered questions.
19.2 In answer to question on the why certain cities were benchmarked with Brighton & Hove, the committee were told that the deprivation profiles within these cities were similar to Brighton & Hove’s.
19.3 In response to a question on the reasons why the achievement of good GCSE’s (including Maths and English) for 2009 had declined, members were advised that a Working Group had met up to answer Councillor Pat Hawkes letter which expressed concerns stipulated in the “Oneplace” Audit Commission report. The final report on the group’s findings, which covered underachievement would answer CYPOSC’s queries, and the report would be circulated out to members shortly.
19.4 In relation to a question on the reduction in funding for Connexions, the committee were told that there was a genuine concern on collating high quality data from the different providers.
A member told the committee how the connexions 1:1 intensive work with vulnerable young people was still required as this was preventative work.
19.5 A member informed the committee how performance must be related to getting young people involved in the community projects, e.g. like the Hangleton & Knoll Youth Forum.
19.6 Azdean Boulaich (Youth Council representative) asked why the government had abolished the Tellus4Survey even though there was a rise in reported substance misuse; members were informed that the authority will utilise the Safe at School Survey in it’s place to ensure that young people were still consulted.
The committee noted that future figures would be difficult to compare with previous results from the TellUs survey as the surveys are delivered differently
Additionally, substance misuse was also an issue for young people who had left school and RU-OK and A&E figures should also be reported in future reports
The issue of substance misuse was complex and lengthy and there was a whole range of data relating to this which the officer suggested would be best explored in detail as a theme
19.7 A member requested whether there was any data comparisons made with other South East regions, the committee heard how this data could be collated CYPOSC,however it was noted that Brighton & Hove would compare unfavourably with other authorities due to the high profile of substance misuse within the city.
19.8 There was a debate over the best way that performance data could be reported to the committee.
Members requested that all the indicators would need to be reported with a summary of the challenges, action plans and outcomes for the indicators that were under- achieving (in red). This would help members understand the context and have a more holistic approach. Equalities issues information was also requested.
19.9 RESOLVED – (1) The Committee noted the information.
(2) The Committee requested that the information be presented differently with all 19 priorities (including equalities issues), any indicators in red to have a summary on the challenges, action plans and outcomes. |
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In-Year Grant Savings To follow. Minutes: 20.1 Steve Barton – Assistant Director, Strategic Commissioning & Governance gave a verbal report and answered questions.
20.2 Members were informed that the service is not in a position to discuss details as the council are currently in negotiations with external providers that are commercially sensitive and in discussions with the Trade Unions.
20.3 In answer to a question on what information did staff have in relation to their contracts the committee heard that there were face to face conversations and a formal consultation letter that had been sent to staff.
20.4 Members requested a short report to come to be sent to members before the next CYPOSC meeting; with a summary of the main points.
20.5RESOLVED (1) The Committee agreed to have a short report summarising the main points of the Connexions savings and it’s impact on services before the next CYPOSC meeting. |
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CYPOSC Work Programme
Report of the Acting Director of Strategy & Governance. Additional documents: Minutes: 21.1 Tom Hook (Head of Scrutiny) introduced the report and answered questions.
21.2 Members heard how several panels had been suggested through the Scrutiny consultation that was carried out in July 2010 and 5 of the responses were for CYPOSC to consider. Some of the suggestions for CYPOSC had been tabled into the CYPOSC work programme; these were:
Members agreed to wait for the annual Children & Young People’s Plan (CYPP) report and request a scrutiny panel from an area of the CYPP that CYPOSC wished to investigate.
21.3 Members requested to hear the draft Youth Service Review at the next CYPOSC meeting, as the final version would not be completed until the end of January 2011.
21.4 Members asked whether the report on “What support /outcomes are there for young people who are care leavers and transferring into adulthood” would be heard at the next CYPOSC meeting, and whether it could also have information on what impact the Connexions savings had on the service.
21.5 RESOLVED
(1) CYPOSC agreed the work programme.
(2) CYPOSC noted the panel consultation responses.
(3) It was agreed to hear the draft report of the Youth Service Review at the 10 November 2010 meeting.
(4) It was agreed to include what, if any impact the Connexions savings had on the support/outcomes of young people who are care leavers and transferring into adulthood |
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Items to go forward to Cabinet, or the relevant Cabinet member meetings and Full Council Minutes: 22.1 There were none. |