To receive apologies for absence

Apologies for absence were received from Mr Burbidge and Mr James.

To receive details of members nominated to attend the meeting in place of a member of the committee.

There were no named subsitutes.

To receive declarations of interest in respect of Schedule 1, Schedule 2 or Other Interests from members of the committee in respect of items on the agenda.

There were no declarations of interest.

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting on 29 November 2018.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting of the children and young people scrutiny committee on 29 November are confirmed as a correct record.

To receive any written questions from members of the public.

Deadline for receipt of questions is 5:00pm on Tuesday 29 January 2019.

Accepted questions and answers will be published as a supplement prior to the meeting. Please submit questions to: councillorservices@herefordshire.gov.uk. 

Questions received from members of the public and the responses provided are attached at appendix 1.

To receive any written questions from members of the council.

Deadline for receipt of questions is 5:00pm on Tuesday 29 January 2019.

Accepted questions and answers will be published as a supplement prior to the meeting. Please submit questions to: councillorservices@herefordshire.gov.uk. 

Questions received from members of the council and the responses provided are attached at appendix 2.

Council is required by law to set a balanced budget every year. It is the responsibility of the executive to formulate the documents that form the budget and policy framework of the council and recommend them to Council. The budget provides details of expenditure on local services in the forthcoming municipal year and the forms of income upon which the council relies to provide those services.

Alternative budget proposals have been submitted by the It’s Our County Group. A copy of the alternative budget to be proposed as an amendment to the substantive budget proposal, and the chief finance officer’s statement are attached. The committee is asked to inform and support the process for Council consideration of the proposals by providing constructive challenge and make recommendations and other appropriate commentsto the It’s Our County Group, and which will be reported to Council.

Protocol for alternative budgets

The council’s constitution requires that where an alternative budget is being proposed:

•      The proposing group or member must present their proposals to the scrutiny committees. The scrutiny committee will receive a presentation from the proposing group or member setting out the proposals in the alternative budget. The presentation from the It’s Our County Group is provided in the papers for this meeting.

•      The scrutiny committee may make recommendations or other appropriate comments to the proposing group or member. The recommendations of the scrutiny committee to the It’s Our County Group will be attached to the alternative budget presented to the budget meeting of full Council.

•      Members proposing amendments to budget proposals must have consulted with the relevant director(s) to determine the context and possible consequences of the proposal.

•      The chief finance officer must have provided confirmation that the alternative budget meets statutory requirements. The chief finance officer’s statement is provided in the papers for this meeting.

The committee considered a report containing the alternative budget proposals submitted by the It’s Our County (IOC) Group.

Councillor EPJ Harvey introduced the alternative budget, with a particular focus on those elements relating to children and young people, and raised those principal points below in the presentation provided:

·         The alternative budget was based on the themes of prosperity, wellbeing and sustainability;

·         The revenue and capital budget contained within the alternative budget were based on the same funding envelope as the executive’s budget but reprioritised the work programmes in each;

·         The alternative budget would invest in investigations of transitioning to the Hertfordshire family-centred support model in Herefordshire. The Hertfordshire model had produced impressive statistics in respect of reduction of children on protection plans amongst other benefits and demonstrated how best practice from other areas was being understood and applied locally. The proposal to implement the Hertfordshire model would be facilitated by the broadening of the directorate at the Council to include responsibility for children and families;

·         Investment of £70k in the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) was proposed in the alternative budget.

·         A social services pilot for families on the edge of care was also proposed through the alternative budget. The pilot was intended to help reduce the number of cases that require more serious intervention.

·         The alternative budget would also provide funding to investigate the provision of a respite facility for teenagers with disabilities amongst the three counties of Herefordshire, Gloucestershire and Worcestershire.

·         IOC had also amended the medium term financial strategy (MTFS) in which there had been a re-prioritisation of investment.

Councillor AJW Powers spoke in response to Councillor NE Shaw’s question which had been raised earlier in the meeting. It was denied that the alternative budget sought to ‘fritter away’ or spend money in an arbitrary fashion. The alternative budget sought to implement preventative measures in order to release funding for curative measures in future. The additional funding outlined in the alternative budget was a signal of intent and would enable vital work to undertaken on early intervention services. The investments outlined in the alternative budget were well evidenced and represented positive outcomes for children and adults in the county.

The chief finance officer provided his assessment on the robustness of the alternative budget proposals. He was comfortable that the proposals could be delivered.

Members of the committee raised the following principal comments in the discussion which followed:

·         Feedback from the budget consultation to increase spending on social workers and children’s services had not been fully taken into account in the alternative budget. The proportion of additional investment dedicated to the children and families directorate in comparison to the amount identified for economy and place was not felt to represent the outcomes of the budget consulltation. IOC explained that investment had not been applied in proportion to the budget consultation response; it was noted that the executive’s budget had not sought to structure its investment on such a principle.

·         IOC was congratulated on producing an alternative  ...  view the full minutes text for item 54.

The attached report contains the current work programme of the committee and the recommendation tracker for 2018/19. A proposal for a task and finish group relating to the recent court judgements in respect of Children and Families is set out in the attached report. Responses to the recommendations arising from the dental health/childhood obesity spotlight review and the section 20 task and finish group are contained in the attached report.

The committee received and noted the work programme 20128/19, the response of the executive to the spotlight review on dental health and childhood obesity, the executive response to the task and finish group on section 20 and the recommendation tracker.

The committee considered and agreed the scope for a task and finish group relating to the court judgements concerning children’s services. The committee explained that as part of the review the Ofsted inspection outcome from 2012 should be circulated. It was agreed that Councillor CA Gandy would act as chairperson of the task and finish group and that the membership of the group would be finalised by the chairperson and officers following the meeting.

RESOLVED: that the scope of the task and finish group relating to the court judgements concerning children’s services is agreed and that Councillor CA Gandy is appointed as the chairperson of the group.