Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from:

Cllr Sonia Zvedeniuk, Richard Derecki, Estella Gomez and Kathleen Williams.

Any member of the Council who has a disclosable pecuniary interest in a matter to be considered at the meeting is reminded to disclose the interest to the meeting and to leave the Chamber while any discussion or vote on the matter takes place.

Members are also reminded that if they have any other significant interest in a matter to be considered at the meeting, which they feel should be declared in the public interest, such interests should be declared to the meeting. In such circumstances Members should consider whether their continued participation, in the matter relating to the interest, would be reasonable in the circumstances, particularly if the interest may give rise to a perception of a conflict of interests, or whether they should leave the Chamber while any discussion or vote on the matter takes place.

Declarations of interest were received from:

Cllr Will Pascall – Governor, Colville Primary School and Marlborough Primary School, and Governor, Chelsea and Westminster NHS Foundation Trust.

No further declarations of interest were made.

The minutes of the meeting held on 17 October 2024 are submitted for confirmation.

The minutes of the meeting held on 17 October 2024 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

The Chair introduced the item and invited the Committee to consider the proposals for the Registrars Service and Economic Development. Moira Ugoji, Director for Communities was welcomed to the meeting.

The Committee:

1.    Discussed opportunities to maximise revenue generation for the

Registrars service, such as offering additional Council properties as venues for hire and working with third parties to promote venue packages.

2.    Asked how robust and achievable the proposed £100k saving from re-engineering the Council’s economy and skills function was. Officers were confident that the saving was realistic and achievable, and the Committee was assured that a thorough review of cross-council services would allow a more cohesive service with a leaner management structure, reducing duplication whilst maintaining service delivery. The Committee highlighted the importance of considering how the economy and skills function interacted with children and young people in schools when undertaking the review.

3.    Suggested an extension to the review of the economy and skills function to identify where Council services duplicated similar or equal services offered by the Voluntary and Community Sector, with a view to identifying further savings.

The Chair then invited questions or comments on the Children’s Services proposals, and welcomed Cllr Catherine Faulks, Lead Member for Family and Children's Services, Sarah Newman, Bi-borough Executive Director of Children’s Services, Anita Stokes, Lead Strategic Finance Manager for Children's Services and Amit Mehta, Strategic Finance Manager for Children's Services to the meeting.

The Committee:

4.    Welcomed the Ofsted methodology employed by Children’s Services during the budget setting process to use the Council Plan’s policy intent and objectives to inform and implement transformational work to drive efficiencies, and measure impact via internal key performance indicators and externally with service users and partners.

5.    Were concerned by increasing numbers of looked after children and commensurate budgetary pressures and asked what was driving the significant increases. The Lead Member highlighted issues such as domestic abuse, overcrowding and delays in family court that were pushing more children and young people into care for longer, whilst the cost-of-living crisis was partly driving need for mental health support. The directorate was seeking to manage demand in response by investing in early help and intervention.

6.    Asked about the total savings achieved via transformation of services. Officers advised that savings of £6.5m had been achieved since financial year 2020/21, with outcomes protected for children and young people across all service areas despite the reduction in expenditure. Officers cautioned that it was unlikely that significant additional savings could be achieved via transformation, with further savings only realistically achievable by reducing staff levels, which would likely reduce the effectiveness of the service.

7.    Discussed the sustainability of the medium-term financial plan given the limited scope for future savings and the significant rising costs faced by the directorate. Officers acknowledged there was a significant risk to the budget in the medium term as pressures were increasing faster than the ability to implement saving proposals. Additionally, the Dedicated Schools Grant deficit, currently ringfenced from the general fund, would  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

The Chair introduced the item and invited the Committee to discuss the Work programme. The Committee:

1.    Requested the topic of School Exclusions be discussed at a future meeting. Members wished to see recent and up-to-date data on exclusions and inclusion work; evidence from practitioners working in schools; understand how the Council and third sector organisations provided support for early intervention and improving outcomes for children at risk or had experience of exclusion; and understand inclusion strategies of neighbouring authorities.

Action: Scrutiny and Policy Officer

2.    Requested data on adoption rates be included in Key Performance Information due to be presented in February 2025.

3.    Suggested a plan be produced for scrutiny of online safety.

Action: Scrutiny and Policy Officer