To agree the executive response to the recommendations from the task and finish group review of early years and children’s centres.

The cabinet member health and wellbeing thanked the task and finish group for their work. She noted that almost all of the recommendations had been accepted. Recommendation 6 was felt to be encompassed by the other recommendations. The cabinet member asked for an update regarding recommendation 7 on the performance of speech and language therapy.

The director for children’s wellbeing responded that the main responsibility for speech and language therapy lay with the clinical commissioning group (CCG). The CCG acknowledged significant delays in accessing the service and had confirmed that while a broader review was under way they would also engage in a short term improvement process. The CCG expected improvements over the following few months and certainly by March 2017.

The chairman of the task and finish group stated she was pleased that the majority of recommendations had been taken on board. With regard to recommendation 6 the concern of the task and finish group was that it was not known if some of the other organisations using the children’s centres were paying anything at all and that it was not always known which other organisations were using the centres. She reported that the children’s centres were massively underused, despite having good facilities and being in areas that should attract a good number of people.

A group leader asked if there was an overarching strategy to pull together the rationalisation of services and buildings taking place across the council.

The cabinet member health and wellbeing stated that services rather than buildings helped people. She went on to say that giving children a good start in life had the biggest impact on health and wellbeing later in life.

Resolved:

That:

a)    the responses to the health and social care overview and scrutiny committee’s recommendations regarding the early years and children’s centres report, as attached at appendix 1 be considered and approved.