Agenda item

Cabinet in October were presented with the Draft Budget and Medium Term Financial Strategy for 2018-2019 which enables the council to set a balance budget. 

There were no new specific budget reduction proposals that fell in the remit of this panel.  

There had been 4 evening consultation meetings with public and breakfast meetings with businesses along with an online and paper survey.

In Paragraph 3 it was noted that the significant existing budget reduction targets of £3.75 million related to looked after children. The Children’s’ Transformation Programme had been implemented and sought to reduce demand on specialist services by safely preventing family breakdowns. Significant progress had now been made and nationally the numbers of looked after children were increasing but the numbers were remaining level in Wolverhampton. It was important to try to ensure that children remained with their families safely

The panel noted sections 4.1.6 of the report which highlighted a potential overspend and a number of actions regarding how to reduce deficit.

There were a significant number of young people in care and a young people’s pilot team had been set up to try and help keep them remain at home safely

Officers stated that they were also reviewing the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH)and would looking for more cost effective placements where possible. Officers would also be looking to recruit in-house foster parents.

The Director for Education stated that the Education Department had delivered savings over the last few years but due to increased demand there was an overspend. The Director stated that the dedicated schools grant was ring fenced and there was core funding but that there were some implications due to having to place some children out of the City. The Schools Forum had agreed to retrospectively fund some of this. Officers were looking at the strategy to ensure that children’s needs were being met locally. This was linked to funding more places in the City and having services in the City to cut down on transport costs.

The panel commented on the previous overspend in 25 July and queried what the situation was now. Officers confirmed that there was still some overspend but over the summer there had been a piece of work looking across the whole of children’s services and a recovery plan put in place to consider how the Council could mitigate against risks. At the moment it was estimated that there could be £700,000 of efficiencies in 2017/2018 and further work currently being carried out as shown in the list under section 4.1.6.

The panel requested further clarification of the education savings.

The Director stated that the Council was seeking to reduce the number of children who had to be educated outside of the city and the knock-on transport costs of this. There was no income associated with this but savings and on costs. The Council was also looking at the services we trade with schools to ensure that we are bringing in the right income. The Director stated that in some cases the needs of a child might be so complex that the City could not meet them and that is was often costly to place the child outside of the City.

Members referred to pages 7 and 8 of the report where it referred to reducing agency social workers, members queried how many agency staff the Council had and at what stage it was decided to make an agency worker permanent.

It was confirmed that in children’s social care there were 31 agency workers (most of these were against vacancies or maternity leave or sickness) and that these staff could be made permanent if they decided to apply for a job, there was an ongoing recruitment campaign and constant advert out. There was also a robust recruitment offer and officers had reviewed the relocation package the previous year. The panel also noted that in most cases regarding agency social workers, agencies tended to pay more money which unfortunately undercut the efforts of Local Authorities. Officers stated that that there was a West Midlands agenda protocol so there were capped rates for agency workers which had helped with recruitment.

The panel voiced some concerns in relation to the review of the MASH and the use of updated thresholds. 

Officers stated that they were looking at how the MASH made decisions and that they had refreshed the thresholds documents to tightened up on areas such as escalation, consent and responses to cases.

The panel queried how the Council were looking to redress the overspend on transport and requested an assurance that there would not be changes in access criteria.

The Council was not looking at moving any thresholds and that the transport policy had not changed. Officers were however looking at having more conversations with parents and emphasising the need to promote and support independence as young people overtime needed to be able to transport themselves and this could often come down to confidence. This was linked to the other objective of trying to have more children placed in the City.

Officers stated that a lot of work had been done looking at behaviours and overriding need including encouraging independence. The Council had a moral duty to ensure that if a child with SEN could get to school on their own then they should as in the future this would give them more confidence to go to college. This was a well-regarded service at the moment but needed more emphasis on whether transport was the right choice, was it necessary, will requirements change as the child gets older etc. Members considered that resources needed to be in place to help with the transition for people with learning disabilities to help show them what to do, how to catch a bus etc.

The panel requested information regarding the number of children accessing higher education, The Director for Education confirmed that she would send this information out to the Panel members.

Resolved:     

1.            That feedback be provided to Scrutiny Board for consolidation and onward response to Cabinet on the Draft Budget 2018-2019.

2.            That feedback be provided to Scrutiny Board for consolidation and onward response to Cabinet on the approach to Budget Consultation for 2018-2019.

3.            That feedback be provided to Scrutiny Board for consolidation and onward response to Cabinet on progress on key budget reduction targets as detailed above.