Agendas, Meetings and Minutes - Agenda and minutes

Agenda and minutes

Venue: County Hall, Worcester

Contact: Alyson Grice/Samantha Morris  Overview & Scrutiny Officers

Items
No. Item

295.

Apologies and Welcome

Minutes:

The Chairman informed Members that as part of LGA Peer Mentoring Cllr Alistair Dewhirst from Devon County Council would be observing the meeting.

 

Apologies were received from Mr B Allbut, Ms R L Dent and Mrs P Hill.

 

296.

Declaration of Interest and of any Party Whip

Minutes:

None.

 

297.

Public Participation

Members of the public wishing to take part should notify the Head of Legal and Democratic Services in writing or by e-mail indicating the nature and content of their proposed participation no later than 9.00am on the working day before the meeting (in this case 22 November 2017).  Enquiries can be made through the telephone number/e-mail address below.

 

Minutes:

None.

 

298.

Confirmation of the Minutes of the Previous Meeting

(to follow)

 

Minutes:

The Minutes of the Meeting held on 24 October 2017 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

 

 

299.

Alternative Delivery Model Children's Social Care pdf icon PDF 160 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Panel received a presentation from the Assistant Director (Children, Families and Communities) on work to develop an Alternative Delivery Model (ADM) for Children's Social Care.  In the course of the discussion, the following main points were made:

 

·       The ADM Programme Board was currently in the middle of an options appraisal, the outcomes of which would be published for discussion at 14 December Cabinet.

·       Members were reminded that, nationally, 70% of Local Authority Children's Services departments were rated as 'requires improvement' or 'inadequate'.  The development of Alternative Delivery Models was seen as a way to sustain and accelerate improvement.

·       On 28 September, Cabinet had agreed to move voluntarily to an ADM for Children's Social Care.  This gave some choice as to the scope and nature of the ADM.

·       The Membership of the ADM Programme Board included the Cabinet Members for Children and Families, Education and Skills, and Transformation and Commissioning.  The Programme Board was meeting the following day to sign off the options appraisal.

·       Specialist advice had been commissioned from Mutual Venture (specialists in ADMs), Cipfa Ci.Co (commercial advice) and Bevan Brittain (legal advice).

·       In response to a question about how the original 16 models had been reduced to a shortlist of 5 in a matter of 6 weeks, Members were reminded that Cabinet had originally considered 13 options which, following consultation with Mutual Venture, was developed into a long list of 16.  These were split into 4 broad categories: in-house options, partnerships or collaborations, new delivery vehicles and commissioning options.  This long list was then cut down to a shortlist using gateway criteria, a method which provided a degree of objectivity.  The Cabinet Member informed the Panel that he had wanted to include a long list at the start so that all options could be challenged at an early stage.

·       The results of the options appraisal would be submitted to the DfE by 31 December 2017.  It was confirmed that, although the preference would be to have agreed on one preferred option by that stage, given the time available and the need for innovative thinking, it was possible that there would still be two options being considered.

·       Although the scope of the ADM was subject to ongoing discussion, it was estimated that it would include approximately 600 staff and services costing in the region of £50m.  The conversation on the final scope would continue for some time.  It was an iterative process that may continue right up to the go-live date.

·       Members were reminded that, although local authorities across the country had adopted similar models, no two authorities were the same and it was important that Worcestershire's model worked for Worcestershire.

·       In response to a question about the difference between a Wholly Owned Company and an Independent Trust, Members were informed that the difference lay in the ownership arrangements.  A Wholly Owned Trust would be owned by the Local Authority, whereas an Independent Trust would be owned by a Board of Trustees, creating a very different relationship with the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 299.

300.

Budget Scrutiny: Reviewing the 2017/18 Budget Position for Children and Families pdf icon PDF 90 KB

Minutes:

As part of the Council's development of the 2018/19 budget, the Children and Families Overview and Scrutiny Panel was asked to review the 2017/18 budget position prior to consideration of the 2018/19 budget at the Panel's January meeting.

 

The Panel received a presentation from the Head of Strategic Infrastructure Finance and Financial Recovery.  In the course of the discussion, the following main points were made:

 

·       Members were reminded that the amount spent on demand-led services was increasing.  The majority of the Directorate's budget was spent on placements.  It was also noted that the expenditure relating to services at the Family Front Door had grown considerably in recent months.

·       A question was asked about work to reduce spend on home to school transport.  It was confirmed that this was the subject of ongoing review involving the Corporate Transport Board.  Work included providing independent travel training (which reduced the likelihood of students needing transport to be provided) and the use of direct payments, allowing parents to facilitate their own transport arrangements.

·       It was confirmed that every young person was looked at as an individual, although the majority of independent travel training was for children in mainstream schools.  A question was asked about whether a child would be entitled to assistance with transport even if their parent had access to their own car and they did not need to be accompanied.  The Head of Strategic Infrastructure Finance and Financial Recovery agreed to confirm details of the relevant policy following the meeting.

·       It was confirmed that officers were still in negotiation with Babcock to identify where efficiencies of £230k could be made.  The target was a budget reduction of 10% which had not yet been achieved.  However, the service was confident that this would be achieved next year.  It was important to balance achievement of savings with ongoing delivery of statutory services.

·       With reference to the CAMHS service, which was delivered in partnership with Worcestershire CCGs, it was confirmed that there had been a savings target of approximately £100k for 2017/18.  It was confirmed that this saving would not be made.  Members were reminded that the service had benefitted from some additional funding from NHS England which would be signed off at Health and Well-being Board in December.

·       It was confirmed that all figures were correct up to the end of August 2017 and the main areas of overspend related to children's placements.  September figures would be included in the December Cabinet report and were likely to show that the position had worsened as a result of an increase in expenditure relevant to children's placements.  Although there was continued investment in recruitment and retention activities, a number of key posts were still filled with agency staff.

·       A request was made for comparable salary figures for neighbouring local authorities with whom the County Council might be in competition for staff.  It was suggested that this was a particular issue in the north of the County, where transport networks made it easy for people to work  ...  view the full minutes text for item 300.