To report on the monitoring of the Children’s Services revenue budget for 2010/11 at the end of quarter three.  To provide comparisons to 2009/10 budget and outturn so that Scrutiny Committee can assess and comment upon the budget management of Children’s Services.

The Committee considered the monitoring report of the Children’s Services revenue budget for 2010/11 at the end of quarter three and assessed comparisons to 2009/10 budget and outturn.

The Assistant Director, Planning, Performance and Development, reported that the overall forecast showed a net over spend of £647k and this represented a reduction in the projected overspend of £434k since the last report to scrutiny in December 2010.  The overspend was almost entirely due to the pressures on external placements for looked after children and young people and placements for children with complex needs.  The agenda report outlined the service pressures and the measures being put in place to address those pressures.

During the course of scrutinising the report the following principal points were noted:

• While initial projections suggested that 50% of schools would face a deficit within two years, action would be taken by schools to address this. A deficit budget position was not something that schools should plan to be in.
• The Committee noted that the new Early Intervention Grant (EIG) provided reduced levels of grant (£2,000k) when compared to previous grants.  While savings had been anticipated – as set out at paragraph 29 in the report – the Director of Children’s Services reported that a number of programmes had stopped and only a smaller core of activities could be provided.  A further restructure of the Directorate would also be necessary.
•  Responding to whether further economies could be made through school transport without prolonging the journey time for young children the Committee were informed that the Service worked closely with the Sustainable Communities Directorate to ensure that, where possible, economies were made between school transport and public transport.
• Questioning the pressures on the Safeguarding staffing budget due to a reliance on agency social workers covering vacant posts (16.5 vacant posts on 1 January 2011) the Committee noted that recruitment to this sector was a national issue and the Council was represented both regionally and nationally to try to address the shortage.  Meanwhile the Council had a programme of training its own social workers and were working with Human Resources to reduce the costs.  The Committee requested comparative information on the administrative and financial advantages or disadvantages between employing agency Social Workers and recruiting them to the full time staff.
• The Interim Director of Children’s Services reported that in reviewing its Youth Service the Council will need to consider how much to provide or commission. Nationally there were a number of models that could be considered.
• The budget had been top sliced based on an assumed figure for the impact of academies, however, the government had actually based the grant on a predicted number of academies which had impacted on the budget in some local authorities to a greater extent.
• Special Educational Needs funding surrounding statementing and some specialist services was not being transferred to academies.  Further guidance was anticipated in the government green paper in the autumn.
• While funding for the Choice Advisor had been cut, the function remained a statutory duty and therefore alternative ways of covering the duty were being explored.
• The government were undertaking a review of the School Admission Code, the implications from which would be awaited.
• Responding to various questions concerning the overspend on Looked After Children (£1245k) the Committee noted that while the needs of the child were paramount, the Service was exploring various alternative activities to prevent children requiring care and were working with the Council’s Procurement Section to ensure value for money was obtained from service  providers. 
• The Service were looking to develop an Emergency Adult and Children Duty Team, which was currently provided by Worcestershire.

RESOLVED: That

a)      the position set out in the Revenue Budget report be noted; and

b)     a Member Briefing note be issued setting out the administrative and financial advantages or disadvantages between employing agency Social Workers and recruiting them to the full time staff.