Issue - meetings

Report of the Cabinet Member for Children, Young People, and Skills is attached.

Councillor Tamoor Tariq, Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Skills, presented the report which provided an update on the deficit on the Council’s Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) and the revised plan and progress on Project Safety Valve, including how Bury was addressing the financial challenge of eliminating the cumulative DSG deficit by the end of the financial year 2024/25.

In response to Members’ questions, it was noted that working with the families and carers of young people was a key part of making improvements to the Education Health and Care Plan service, and feedback and proposals would be brought back to Children and Young People’s Scrutiny along with progress on priorities.

Members expressed their thanks to officers and DfE colleagues, as well as the network of schools and parents involved in these improvements.

Decision:

Cabinet:

1.    Noted the progress on the DSG recovery agreement between the Department for Education and the Council which forms the basis of the grant agreement that the Council has signed up to;

2.    Supported the decisions required by officers to deliver the recovery plan within the agreed timeframe;

3.    Noted the financial support provided by the DfE in assisting the Council to recover the DSG deficit and the expectation that this will lead to a balanced position by the end of 2024/25;

4.    Noted that the settlement reached with the DfE will bring significant additional government funding into Bury to remove a large proportion of the DSG overspend;

5.    Noted that the settlement gives the Council funding to improve services, including services for children and families with SEND; better services here in Bury will replace more expensive services out of borough; and

6.    Agreed that no decisions for change affecting individual children and families will be made without them.

Reasons for the decision:

Cabinet is asked to consider the recommendations in order to demonstrate ongoing support to Project Safety Valve and SEND Transformation based on the key considerations as set out in the report.

Other options considered and rejected:

This report details the extensive progress made in respect to SEND Transformation and Dedicated Schools Grant deficit recovery where the recommendations included for consideration by Cabinet form part of the overall delivery requirements in accordance with the formal agreement between the Council and the DfE. There are no alternative options to be considered at this stage. Further recommendations will be brought to Cabinet in due course and in line with the continuing priorities of this programme.