Agenda item

For the Select Committee to consider the update report on the work of the Children’s Services Department.

Contributors:

Cllr Anita Cranmer, Cabinet Portfolio holder for Children’s Services & Education

John Macilwraith, Corporate Director – Children’s Services

Simon James, Service Director - Education

Richard Nash, Service Director – Children’s Social Care

The Chairman welcomed Cllr Anita Cranmer, Cabinet Member for Children’s and Education; Richard Nash, Service Director – Children’s Social Care and Errol Albert, Service Director – Transformation and Improvement, to the meeting.

In their presentation, the following points were highlighted:

·       The update report on the work of the Children’s Services Department had been forwarded to Cabinet for consideration. A number of significant issues had been highlighted in the Cabinet report, including the issues relating to the substantial increase in demand levels nationally, the progress of the schools’ white paper, the Care Review and the government’s response to it. Demand levels and changes at the national level had a significant impact on how the service would meet the challenges of the future.

·       Mr Nash commended Sandra Carnell and her team’s excellent work for children's homes as two had received outstanding Ofsted ratings and the positive inspection outcome for the youth offending service. However, he recognised the need for ongoing improvement and highlighted the challenges in finding appropriate placements for children in need.

During the discussion, comments and questions raised by the Committee included:

·       A Member asked if Buckinghamshire would receive any of the £27 million in funding for carer recruitment and retention. Mr Nash clarified that the mentioned figures were national and that the report was written before the specific division of funds among local authorities was known. They were currently awaiting further information on how the allocation will be distributed. Mr Nash acknowledged the importance of having clarity on the funds and stated that as more information becomes available, the Committee would be updated accordingly.

·       Concerns about the clarity of paragraph 2.9 regarding social worker pay in the report were raised. They sought clarification on the specific roles and types of social workers being referred to, and questioned whether the conditions of service were determined at the local authority level or followed a national pay and terms structure. Mr Nash acknowledged the need for detailed answers and committed to providing a written response with the necessary information. He mentioned that efforts were made to ensure pay parity with other local authorities, aligning with prevailing pay rates for similar roles.

ACTION: RN

·       A Member noted that the care review suggested abolishing the role of Child Protection Conference chair, which was not mentioned in the strategy. Mr Nash advised that there had been no proposals to change these roles, though there had been an ongoing debate regarding the role of independent reviewing officers for looked-after children.

·       It was noted that the county was falling behind in meeting the completion targets for the digitalisation of Education, Health, and Care Plans (EHCPs). Mr Nash acknowledged that the demand for EHCPs was increasing annually by approximately 16% and emphasised the need to consider digital solutions to improve performance. Potential barriers that certain parents and carers may face in accessing digital services were highlighted. Mr Nash agreed with these concerns and emphasised the importance of developing a strategy that ensures easy access to digitalisation for all individuals, acknowledging that some exceptions may be necessary to address the challenges associated with digitalisation. A written response concerning the specific details of this issue would be provided to the Committee.

ACTION: RN

·       The upcoming kinship care strategy with £9 million in funding was discussed. Mr Nash highlighted the significance of kinship care and the local authority's commitment to supporting kinship carers. There was currently a lack of information on the government's timeframe, but Mr Nash expressed eagerness for guidance and potential additional funding from central government.

·       A Member raised concerns about workforce stability in frontline teams, and asked about plans to improve it. They also inquired about the frequency of peer reviews.  Mr Nash acknowledged the national shortage of social workers and the demanding nature of child protection work. He emphasised the importance of supporting social workers and creating the right conditions to perform their roles effectively, aligning with the ongoing transformation programme. He also explained that peer reviews are part of the sector-led improvements and are conducted annually. Additional processes, such as comprehensive quality assurance, were also in place to ensure the service was running effectively.

·       A Member raised the issue of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child's observations regarding academic selection testing measures and the higher levels of stress experienced by students. They asked if the Cabinet Member for Children's Services was aware of the observations and if Cabinet would formulate a response. The Cabinet Member acknowledged the importance of the suggestion and mentioned the ongoing work of the school improvement team in providing enhanced support to students. She also expressed willingness to investigate the matter further.

ACTION: AC

·       In response to a Member’s question regarding how the national co-production for SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) Week would be publicised, as well as the co-production charter mentioned in the local inspection report, Mr Nash noted that a written response would be provided to the Committee.

ACTION: RN

·       It was noted that Buckinghamshire was not one of the 12 pilot areas for early intervention scheme funding.

·       Several questions regarding funding and support for children with SEND were raised. Mr Nash explained that the distribution of the government's committed funding of £200 million and £30 million was yet to be confirmed. However, Buckinghamshire Council would receive £188,000 over two years to support the increase in leaving care allowances. The high needs block funding for Buckinghamshire Council had increased by 49% from 2019-2020 to 2023-2024, reaching £123.5 million. This increase had helped the council meet the growing demand for support in education, health, and care plans, as well as SEN support. However, the high needs budgets still faced pressure due to increased demand and complexity, and the council was carrying a deficit in its high needs block. A written response would be provided to address the questions more comprehensively.

ACTION: RN

Councillor Stuchbury attended the committee to speak to his question which had been submitted with notice as follows:

“Paragraph 2.4 of the report details the six pillars for reform of the Government’s Implementation and Strategy Consultation and these are underpinned by £200 million of funding. The Care Review called for £2.6 billion support over 5 years. Paragraph 2.24 also refers to the £200 million to support children – I am assuming this is national funding.

Paragraph 2.19 of the report states that £30 million will be spent of programmes supporting families of care leavers and children in care and paragraph 2.20 notes the increase in grant for those leaving care from £2000 to £3000, and the bursary for those in apprenticeships will increase from £1000 to £3000 – broadly in line with the care review recommendations.

Paragraph 2.24 states that the LGA analysis reports on an estimated £1.6 billion shortfall per year to maintain current service levels, and the care review recommended an additional £2.6 billion over 4 years prior to the impact of inflation. Despite increasing their budgets by over £700 million in the year 2020/2021, councils still overspent by £800 million that year.

Paragraph 2.38 states  the government's significant investment into children and young people with SEND and in AP, with investment increasing by more than 50% compared with 2019-20 - to over £10 billion by 2023-24.

Although we are grateful for the additional funding, given the substantial size of these figures it is important we understand what these figures mean, what percentage they represent in terms of Westminster’s decision and how they relate to our outcomes in Buckinghamshire. We need to know the methodology within the Buckinghamshire Education Plan for those with SEND whose parents face particularly difficult challenges in order to gain the support they need to meet their child’s specific needs.

To summarise my question is:

(i)What does the £200 million commitment by the Government mean in financial terms and support to Buckinghamshire Council and the county’s children? and

(ii) what of the £30 million will be allocated for Buckinghamshire’s care leavers and children in care?

(iii) what will be the difference that the additional funding makes to meeting the needs of  those with special educational needs in meeting the high demand for EHCP reports and to funding for children with challenges such as autism, dyspraxia and extrasensory conditions.

I hope this is received enthusiastically considering the importance of the subject to be discussed. and the shared journey, the local authority has been on since 2013 in respect to children services and education

The response to Councillor Stuchbury’s Question was as follows:

“Thank you for your question Cllr Stuchbury as this highlights the additional funding that will be made available to support improvements within children’s services across the country. In relation to your first and second question, whilst the government has announced an additional £200m and £30m commitment respectively, how that funding is to be distributed across different initiatives and individual local authorities has yet to be confirmed. However, Buckinghamshire will receive a total of £188k over two years (£94k per year) to support the increase in leaving care allowances from £2,000 to £3,000.

On your final question, the High Needs Block funding for Buckinghamshire Council has increased by 49% from 2019-20 to 2023-24, increasing from £82.7m in 2019-20 to £123.5m in 2023-24.  The increase in funding has supported the council to meet the increase in demand for support for pupils with Education, Health and Care Plans and pupils on SEND Support across all types of provision and type of need. High needs budgets remain under pressure due to increases in demand and complexity and the council is still carrying a deficit against its high needs block.”