Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillors David Ross, Nathan Desmond and Jo Monk, from Mark Hughes (Parent Governor representative) and Tim Reid (Church Representative).

None.

Members of the public wishing to take part should notify the Democratic Governance and Scrutiny Manager in writing or by e-mail indicating both the nature and content of their proposed participation no later than 9.00am on the working day before the meeting (in this case 16 January 2023).  Further details are available on the Council's website.  Enquiries can also be made through the telephone number/e-mail address listed in this agenda and on the website.

There was one public participant, Mr Trevor Knight. Mr Knight asked questions in relation to the Home to School Transport Budget and the Work Programme.

The Chairman thanked Mr Knight for his questions and advised that he would receive a written response.

(previously circulated)

The Minutes of the Meeting held on 3 November 2022 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

The Panel had requested an update on the school health nursing service which is part of the Starting Well Partnership (SWP). The Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing highlighted that the SWP, which was funded by Public Health, and led by the Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care Trust (HWHCT), had been in place since April 2020 and brought together professionals from six different service areas. The Interim Public Health Director (IPHD) added that these services were part of the Council’s statutory public health duties provided for children and young people in the county. With the SWP starting in 2020, the first couple of years had been severely disrupted as a result of the pandemic.

The Clinical Services Manager (CSM) provided an overview of the report including the background to the SWP, and highlighted the following key issues:

• The extent and range of the current school nursing health offer. Included in this offer was ChatHealth, a confidential, anonymous text service for young people to be able to access school health nurses (SHN’s) directly for advice and support. This service had seen a significant increase in use during the pandemic.
• There was also a new Wellbeing, Resilience and Positivity Programme (WRAPP) service which had just been launched providing one to one support for those with poor emotional wellbeing or behavioural issues. The WRAPP service was accessed via referrals from schools, families, or young people and offered a 6-week programme of low-level support.
• The current capacity of SHN’s was impacted by the significant increases in safeguarding work, which the team prioritised.
• The Panel was informed that pre Covid-19, secondary schools were offered 2-3 hours of SHN time per week for a drop-in service incorporating sexual health support and one to one appointments. The use of this service had declined and work was underway with Headteachers and young people as to their preferred means of accessing the service going forward. Initial feedback from young people suggested that they preferred to access to support via a number of different options.
• A new School Screener health needs assessment questionnaire was being rolled-out to schools.  Due to staff capacity issues, the schools within the most deprived areas received the questionnaire in September 2022 for Reception, in January 2023 for Year 9 and the spring term 2023 for Year 6.  This approach ensured that the core elements of the service were provided in response to the outcomes of the questionnaire. It was highlighted that whilst these services were offered on a universal basis, the response was on an individual basis.
• There was a national shortage of SHN’s and a 30% reduction in numbers in the last decade. The pandemic had a significant impact on the health of SHN’s. Feedback from those leaving the role cited burn out, increasing safeguarding work and a lack of career progression as key factors influencing their decision. The service was currently operating at 57% capacity and this was having an impact on early intervention work. Managers were working hard to try  ...  view the full minutes text for item 562.

As part of the Budget Scrutiny Process, the Chief Financial Officer (CFO), highlighted the key points from the draft Budget 2023/24 and medium-term financial plan for 2024-27 including:

·         The overall net Council Budget for 2023/24 was £400.792m. The Council had received net additional grant funding of £26.3m, £8.4 for core spending areas and £19.5m in recognition of pressures in adult and children’s social care.

·         The Panel was advised that a funding review was anticipated for 2025/26, as the Department for Education (DfE) considered the responses to the Josh McAllister review and other changes, which would be critical moving forward.  

·         The Council’s budget pressures totalled £67.9m, of which pay and contract inflation were significant factors, as was a large increase in service demand, including £5m relating to children’s safeguarding.

·         The proposed Council Tax increase for 2023/24 was 4.94%, which would provide a net £14m additional income. With a limited use of reserves, the levels of savings and efficiencies needing to be identified was £22.4m.

In terms of specific budget information relating to children and families, the WCF Director of Resources (DOR) highlighted the key points to note:

·         The Panel was advised that the 2023/24 Budget for WCF was £147m gross, of this £111.105m related to the Council’s net base budget and the balance towards the overall running costs of WCF. The £32.825m other funding mainly related to specific grants for example the Social Care Grant £15.3m, DSG £6.5m and other specific grants and £3.06m related to non-County Council sales, fees, and charges.

·         The main budget pressures related to the ‘demand led’ placements which were consistent with other upper tier authorities and pressure on home to school transport budgets. It was highlighted that there was a risk that the placements budget for 2023/24 could exceed the budget by £2-3m, although this would be mitigated by the £2m risk reserve and close monitoring during the year, with prompt action taken if required. The DOR advised that this approach had been taken and worked well over the last 3 years.

·         The DOR outlined that £13.7m gross investment into Children’s Services for 2023/24 (net £10.1m), was largely funded by the additional Social Care Grant (£9.3m). Savings of £3.6m had been identified, which included a reduction of the employer pension fund rate from 18.6% to 17.1% which saved £0.6m, an increased vacancy factor from 2.5% to 6.5% equating to savings of £1.7m and savings proposals of £1.3m required by WCF, which were outlined in Appendix 3 of the 5 January 2023 Cabinet Report.

·         In relation to the provisional Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG), the Council had been notified that an extra grant of £14m, as part of the additional funding outlined in the Autumn Statement, was to be made available for schools (including academies), this was in addition to the £406m for the schools’ block highlighted in the report. The Panel was informed that the Government had also announced it’s intention to extend the statutory override for the DSG for the next 3 years to 2025/26. This  ...  view the full minutes text for item 563.

The Panel received an update report on developments relating to the qualified children’s social work workforce. The Chief Executive highlighted that it was an ongoing and difficult challenge to ensure that there was a sufficient number of effective social workers recruited and retained and it was a key issue identified by the Care Review. Effort was focussed on trying to ensure that WCF was an employer of choice for qualified social workers who demonstrated high standards of practice.

The Group Manager provided an overview of the assurance report on the work of the social work service. The key issues, successes and challenges in relation to areas including the Workforce Strategy, the Social Work workforce profile, staff turnover and vacancies, capacity and performance management and agency social workers were highlighted. Members’ attention was drawn to the Josh McCallister review into social care which reported in May 2022 and highlighted the pressure on practice and funding for children’s services in employing agency staff. A DfE announcement was awaited as a response to this review.

The Group Manager informed the Panel that he had been Principal Social Worker (PSW) since 2017 and was a member of the Executive leadership team. An important aspect of the role was that it provided a direct link between the front-line social workers and senior management. The PSW’s responsibilities included meeting with all frontline practitioners to allow them the opportunity to feedback on their experiences, providing input to the learning and development function and managing the social work health check process. Recent feedback from WCF staff has been very positive, with staff indicating that they felt listened to and supported in their work. The Panel was advised that WCF had recently secured 5th place nationally in the Standards for Employers of Social Workers awards, which was a significant achievement.

The Team Manager of the Positive Outcomes Project (POP) provided an overview of the POP which had been launched in September 2020 during, and despite the pandemic. POP ensured that students continued to be able to access placements offering a variety of learning opportunities with high expectations of standards of practice. The key focus of POP was to support the growth of the social work workforce in Worcestershire, but it also had the benefit of providing extra capacity to offer support with gaps in provision which arose during the pandemic with the withdrawal of early help support and advice services provided by partners and health. Students living or studying in the Worcestershire area were targeted for the project to encourage them to seek permanent jobs in the county. The Panel was informed that since POP was launched, 51 student social workers had been provided with a placement, with further details of their onward journey’s being included in the report. The majority of these students had provided positive feedback on their experience. On a final point, the Team Manager also highlighted that WCF obtained some revenue income from the project, with this year’s projected figure currently at £21,600.

The Social  ...  view the full minutes text for item 564.

The Panel reviewed its work programme and agreed that no changes were needed at this time.

In response to a Member’s question, the Overview and Scrutiny Manager confirmed that the Overview and Scrutiny Performance Board was responsible for monitoring the implementation of Scrutiny Task Group recommendations unless the responsibility was delegated to an Overview and Scrutiny Panel.