To review the budget and corporate plan proposals for 2020/21 relating to the remit of the Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee.

The committee considered a report by the Leader of the council which outlined the draft budget and corporate plan proposals for 2020/21. The chief finance officer (CFO) introduced the report and provided the presentation attached to the agenda. The CFO explained the process to be followed in developing the budget which would see it return to the January meeting of the committee and explained the themes contained in the corporate plan. He explained that a proposed pooled budget for social care would cover adults and children and would allow the council to determine where spending should be committed in future to meet pressures. The capital investment priorities in the children and families directorate were outlined.

The director children and families (DCF) explained that the budget was set in the context of the new children and young people’s plan and the priorities contained within the plan. Work on the priories from the plan was undertaken with a range of partners who were also looking at financial constraints and issues as well as what more could be done. Within the Council the education, development and skills strategy had been included from the last three year period which contains different areas currently being worked on including early years settings, schools, colleges and other partners; some of this relates directly to the capital budget including the school investment strategy. The safeguarding family support development plan which is a one year plan within the service of the different areas being worked on which prioritised that work which could be done at an earlier stage to prevent children becoming looked after to continue to seek to address the high level of looked after children in Herefordshire. Proposals in the budget included the improvement of practice around social work practice and retention and recruitment. The current pressures consisted on placement costs, corporate contingency was in place to address where there was need for additional spend on children services however a lot of work was undertaken to attempt to keep costs within budget. There were a number of pressures including county lines which the council was working closely with the police and it was an area where the needs of children were having to be met to ensure they were safe. Supported accommodation costs had increased particularly with respect to care leavers; the council had acquired additional duties recently and were responsible for care leavers up to the age of 25. One of the proposals was to develop services to meet need earlier including edge of care to increase support for families and children who need to be cared for outside of the family. The services sought to work with families and carers to return children to the family network as appropriate; work had been ongoing with Staffordshire to learn about practice in edge of care work but cabinet had agreed some funding to support the development of the service. 

The cabinet member children and families explained that investment was targeted in those areas where it was required.

The cabinet member finance and corporate services explained that the consultation that had been undertaken had engaged a significant number of consultees to help prioritise investment and determine the priorities in the corporate plan. The budget proposed an uplift in the revenue budget for children and families which was intended to support an aspiration to get to a ‘good’ Ofsted rating for children’s services and to support children. The investment that was planned proposed transformational change to address the level of looked after children however it was important to retain a perspective on the breadth of services provided by children and families including educational attainment.

The Leader explained that the significant issue facing the budget was the number of looked after children and the challenge was to meet more of their needs without the need to come into care.

The committee made those points below in the debate that followed:

·         There was support for the areas identified for the planned investments for looked after children, edge of care and improving social care services.

·         The level of the increase in the base budget for children and families was queried and how additional pressures would be met if they arose during 2020/21. The CMF&CS explained the significant increase in the base budget but account needed to be taken of the savings agreed previously and the additional pressures the service was experiencing which meant that how money was being spent in the directorate was shifting. The increase to the base budget was separate to the planned, additional investment. It was acknowledged that individual social cases were not predictable but the financial parameters and pressure for the children and families budget were understood. The CFO concerns the 18/19 base budget was £23.4 million, in 19/20 it was £27 million and for 20/21 it is proposed to be £30.4 million. There was a different approach in the previous year when a contingency arrangement was put in place.

·         It was queried why savings targets were included in the budget if there were such unpredictable pressures. The DCF explained that savings and efficiencies could still be achieved in certain areas of the service.

·         It was queried when the preventative work funded from the planned investments in the budget would commence. The DCF explained that the cabinet had made an initial investment in May 2018 to increase early help and family support work as prevention and also to provide more capacity for social work.. Work was also ongoing in respect of the edge of care service and there was engagement with Redbridge Council to look at what more could be done to coordinate early help and the MASH. Work was ongoing with partners to define early help and how work could be undertaken with schools and early years settings to ensure effective coordination. 

·         The work that was to be undertaken in respect of dental health was raised; what budget was available and what was planned? The DCF explained that public health were working with NHS England and seeking to support parents to improve the dental health of children.

·         It was queried how the current situation at the Brookfield school had arisen. The interim Education and Capital manager explained that the school was the only SEMH school in Hereford and demand for places was high. The nature of the site and setting of the school was constrained which made improvements difficult. It was recognised that investment and improvement was required which the business case set out.

·         The costs associated with care leavers in the report were queried and how many were supported. The DCF explained that the costs concerned the provision of supported accommodation for care leavers. The number of care leavers currently being supported would be provided after the meeting.

·         It was queried whether the investment planned was sufficient to meet the challenges faced by children’s services. The CMC&F (cabinet member children and families) explained that a realistic approach to meeting challenges was being undertaken with new ways of addressing issues proposed. The CMF&CS explained that investment was targeted to realise improvements in the long term; to divert children from care at an early stage by funded preventative services.

RESOLVED: That the committee:

·         Supports the planned investments for looked after children, edge of care and improving social care services and requests further information is submitted to the committee regarding proposals for these services; and

·         Asks that a report concerning the dental health initiatives is provided to the committee setting out key performance indicators for the proposals.