Questions are invited from Elected Members about items on the Cabinet agenda. 15 minutes will be set aside for Member Question Time, if required.
Notice of any Member question must be given to the Monitoring Officer by midday Friday, 11 February 2022.
Minutes:
The following question was submitted in advance of the meeting by Councillor Russell Bernstein:
Within item 9 what are the reasons as to why the level of JSA and UC claimants has reduced from 7185 to 6610?
Responding, Councillor Tahir Rafiq reported that The level of JSA and UC claimants almost doubled following the impact of COVID. Prior to April 2019 the count was around 4,000 – 4,300 for Bury. The figure has since fluctuated between 7,000 – 8,000 each month and began to steadily decrease from March 2021 to reach 6,610 by the end of quarter 2 and further reduce to 5,905 by the end of quarter 3 (this figure became available after the report presented was submitted). As the world has opened up again with the easing of lockdowns and restrictions, this has allowed for employment and training opportunities to become available again and reduced our resident’s requirement for financial support due to unemployment.
A further supplementary question was submitted:
Will the Cabinet Member join me in welcoming the Government’s initiatives to bring this down?
Councillor Rafiq advised he welcomed all initiatives to help out in this area, and the Leader reminded Members of the upcoming Employment and Training Fair.
The following question was submitted in advance of the meeting by Councillor Luis McBriar:
On item 9, section 8.3, could we please have an explanation from the Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Skills as to the reasons the number of children with EHCPs has fallen within Bury and the fall of EHCPs issued on time?
Responding, Councillor Tamoor Tariq reported that Bury currently holds 2116 EHC plans, this is a 30% increase over 3 years from the 1617 held in January 2019. There was a slight reduction in December 2021 due to plans being ceased after consultation with parents, particularly in relation to post 19. All of these ceased plans were done within the spirit of the 2014 SEND code of practice. The percentage of EHCPs being issued within 20 weeks fell in October, November and December as the team prioritised issuing historic plans to eliminate the backlog. Although the timeliness decreased, the number of plans issued increased with 152 EHC plans being issued between October and December compared with 63 plans in the three months prior. To demonstrate this impact, in January 2021 there were 258 EHC plans in progress; this has now reduced to 143 EHC plans being in progress currently. Now that the backlog has been cleared the team is focussing on improving the parental experience, co-production and the quality of the plans.
A further supplementary question was submitted:
I appreciate there is a backlog and the team is working on ensuring EHCPs are issued on time. In relation to this happening since the recent Ofsted report, what confidence do you have that we will get back on track with dealing with these issues on time?
Councillor Tariq reported that the recent Ofsted inspection was an ILACS (Inspection of Local Authority Children’s Services) and there was a small reference to SEND. We know this is a significant area the department needs to give focus to and we are progressing with that; for example recruitment of SEND Caseworkers, SEND Casework Manager, and SEND Transformation Lead. We are also continuing with plans to engage and consult with parents to ensure their voice, and voices of young people, are heard through the SEND transformation. The Council still revisits the outcomes of the SEND Ofsted of 2017 and revisit in 2019 to ensure we’re adhering to the action plan, and he advised there would also be work in response to the legislative changes taking place.
The following question was submitted in advance of the meeting by Councillor Jackie Harris:
The Cabinet report outlines the 3 R's and the overview of priorities for each department of the Council. Can the Leader advise how these priorities will be tracked over the next year and what governance is in place to ensure the deliverables remain on track?
Responding, Councillor Tahir Rafiq reported that Delivery of the priorities is tracked and monitored through the production of monthly departmental highlight reports which are presented and discussed at Executive team meetings. These highlight reports are also used to brief the Cabinet Portfolio holders in order to challenge progress and discuss prioritisation. The outcomes of these meetings are then used to create the quarterly reports that are presented to cabinet and CCG governing body giving assurance on delivery. These reports are based on a combination of progress against delivery targets, key performance indicators and financial tracking data. Further development is being undertaken to include workforce data and feedback from residents and service users against the new Corporate Plan which will be presented to Cabinet and Full Council in February alongside the Medium Term Financial Strategy.
A further supplementary question was submitted:
With regards to potholes, the report states the number reported has increased and the number repaired has decreased. £2.95m has been allocated for potholes, but only £146,000 forecasted to be spent up to end of March 2022. When are you planning to spend this money?
Councillor Rafiq reported that he would find out the details of this and respond in writing outside of this meeting.
The following question was submitted in advance of the meeting by Councillor Roger Brown:
The budget papers include a proposal to reduce the External Placement Budget in order to increase recruitment of Bury Foster carers. Can the Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Skills outline how the plans are progressing to increase the Bury Foster carers and explain what Good looks like?
Responding, Councillor Tamoor Tariq reported that during Covid the fostering recruitment community events have been cancelled; a Foster Care Recruitment Officer undertakes the marketing work and, due to covid, this work is undertaken predominantly through a social media presence. The recruitment officer responds to all telephone enquiries, processes applications, and undertakes initial home visits of any potential fostering applicants. The recruitment officer is responsible for the recruitment, marketing, training, support and development of Bury’s foster carers and Supported Lodging hosts. This single point of contact and relationship building in the initial stages of the process is essential to maintain interest of potential carers in a very competitive market.
In 2019/20, seven mainstream foster carers were approved and 2020/21 six new mainstream Fostering households, we predict a total of seven carers will be approved in the 2021/22 reporting year. There are currently 11 potential fostering households in assessment, we have three potential carers going to panel in March, two in April, three in May and two in June, and one set of carers without an agreed panel date as at the early stages of the process. We have set a target for 12 households to be approved in 2022/23.
Currently we have we have 60 mainstream fostering households with 80 children in placement and, 48 Family & Friend foster carers (72 children in placement). Recruitment of foster carers continues to be a focus for the service with regular recruitment meetings being held to track progress and explore any challenges to recruitment, Covid has inevitably impacted on recruitment activity. Bury are part of a North West Leads group on recruitment to share practice. We have been part of collaborations with other local authorities to complete webinar information sessions and radio campaigns.
Bury are also part of the GMCA fostering workstream in response to placement sufficiency for children in care and the challenges this poses to all local authorities. Along with the GM authorities, Bury scoping is currently being undertaken with existing approved carers to ascertain if any additional space can be made within their homes to increase the number of children they can be approved to care for (Room Maker Scheme). We have held a targeted campaign over the Christmas and New Year period with social media activities and digital marketing, this will continue until March, a digital advertising board was displayed in Bury for four weeks (Jan – Feb).
We maintain a focus on keeping children in care in the Bury borough, close to families, friends and Schools. By increasing the numbers of Bury foster carers for our children in care then this will reduce the reliance on costlier Independent Fostering agencies (IFAs) and will reduce the external placement budget. It would be really helpful if everyone could champion the service to aid interest and recruitment, so please follow and promote the Bury Fostering Service.
A further supplementary question was submitted:
How many more Bury foster carers will there have to be in order to meet the £200,000 of savings?
Councillor Tariq reported that he would find out the details of this and respond in writing outside of this meeting.
The following question was submitted in advance of the meeting by CouncillorJack Rydeheard:
The Cabinet paper on the DSG explains that the schools block allocation has increased by £7.63m million. In this, up to 5% if the 3- and 4-year-old funding must be retained by the Council to contribute to the Early Years functions. Can the Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Skills advise how this will be monitored throughout the year to ensure that the funding allocation is adequate given current pressures?
Responding, Councillor Tamoor Tariq reported that the Early Years retention of 5% is the maximum allowable under the statutory funding regulations. In order to maximise funding out to all Early Years providers Bury only retains up to 3% of the Early Years DSG to contribute to the costs incurred centrally in undertaking all operational aspects of Early Years support. This includes contribution to central teams supporting Early Years systems, eligibility checking, Early Years Single Funding Formula (EYSFF) requirements, information advice and guidance to all providers including Maintained, Private Voluntary & Independent (PVI) or Childminder providers early education entitlements, as well as supporting the process and validations around Early Years SEND Inclusion.
The Early Years funding is monitored throughout the year and is updated on at least a termly basis in line with the Early Years headcount and participation assessments that result in revised Early Years DSG allocations to the Local Authority and to all providers where required. All Early Years’ service budgets are monitored on a monthly basis.
The Cabinet paper specifies a reduction to the Early Years block funding for 2022/23 when compared to 2021/22 and it should be noted that this reduction is purely in respect to reducing demographics due to lower birth rates impacting on the current overall 2, 3, and 4 year old population. This reduction actually masks an increase to the hourly rates used to determine funding to all Early Years settings in 2022/23 which is welcomed and will assist providers in sustaining their budgets whilst facing increased cost pressures due to inflation.
A further supplementary question was submitted:
Is the Council in a position to react to optimise the use of the allocation if it’s needed, and what changes do you think could be made in order to make these optimisations?
Councillor Tariq reported that we are committed to monitoring this on a regular basis and have mechanisms in place to respond to changing events and circumstances. This would be done in consultation with providers and withing early years settings within the borough. Cllr Tariq advised he was confident the Council had the processes in place to monitor the situation and to respond effectively.