Agenda item

A period of 30 minutes has been set aside for members of the public to ask questions on the agenda for tonight’s meeting.

No questions were received in advance of the meeting.

The following questions were asked at the meeting

Kiera Delaney explained that in the Department for Education and NHS England Stocktake Letter to Bury Council (July 2025), the local area was recognised for making structural improvements, but the letter also made clear that further work is needed to strengthen data reporting and oversight including how the Council monitors the delivery of EOTAS and AP packages and demonstrates the actual impact of its actions.

Stocktake Letter, July 2025, p. 3–4 — “It remains essential to enhance data reporting capabilities”

The Ofsted SEND Inspection Report (February 2024) found inconsistent recording and monitoring of annual reviews and highlighted weaknesses in the timeliness of support and data accuracy.

Ofsted Local Area SEND Inspection Report, Feb 2024, p. 6–7 — “Leaders do not have reliable oversight of”

The Bury SEND Partnership Self-Evaluation and Annual Engagement document (October 2025) notes that, while the local area has “taken purposeful and effective action,” there is “still more to do to ensure every child, young person and their families receives the support they need, when they need it.”

That same report confirms 69 children are currently placed in Alternative Provision, though it does not specify how many are receiving a full-time, suitable education.

Kiera asked:

1. What is the current verified data, as of November 2025, showing:

• How many children and young people with EHC Plans are not receiving their full Section F provision;
• How many with EOTAS named have their full package implemented and regularly monitored;
• Of the 69 children in Alternative Provision, how many receive a full-time, suitable education; and
• The percentage of annual reviews completed within statutory timescales, and amended plans issued within 12 weeks of the review meeting?

2.Given that the DfE requires councils to demonstrate impact rather than planning, when will Bury publish verified evidence of measurable improvement — not just new structures or processes — showing that every child with an EHC Plan, including those educated otherwise than at school, is receiving their legal provision in full and on time?

Finally, I’d note that I raised a similar question in March 2025 regarding the Council’s reported 97% compliance rate for EHCP assessments completed within 20 weeks, but no written response or supporting data has yet been provided.

Will the Committee ensure that both that information and the data requested tonight are published in full, so that members and the public can see the actual evidence of improvement?

The Executive Director Children and Young People explained that work was ongoing to ensure that data was collected accurately and was fully transparent. The Minutes of the Send Improvement and Assurance Board (SIAB) meetings are published. Progress has been made to move to a position where we are collating the data alongside the key priority areas for full transparency.

Progress has been made behind the scenes to share data out in a way that is underscored and aligned to our key priorities.

With regards to the child-by-child specific data requested, the information will be provided in a direct response.

The Executive Director referred to the question asked at the meeting of the Committee in March 2025 and made assurance that the response would be provided.

• Kiran Hampson referred to fortnightly review meetings that were being held for parents of children awaiting tribunals. Kiran asked how many meetings were held, what was the purpose of the meetings, is there the opportunity for the Local Authority to agree changes to section 59 before the tribunal and if so what circumstances would lead to that outcome.
• Kiran also referred to new staff that were now in place and asked what steps had been taken to ensure that they were genuinely child focussed and empathetic and passionate in their approach to both children parents.

The Executive Director explained that she would ensure that a response was sent directly in relation to the question of fortnightly meetings.

With regards to the issue of challenges around communication, trust and confidence in was explained that this was at the centre of what the service was trying to achieve. There is still work to do to ensure that there is timely communication back to parents. Work is ongoing about how best to respond, and the service are looking to implement a multi-agency triage team that will be available to respond to requests in a more timely way. There is more to do in improving communication and in relation to ensuring that the workforce is child centred. 

It was also explained that if there is recruitment to any positions from team manager or above, young people are part of that recruitment process.

The Executive Director also explained the role of the Change Maker group of young people who are working alongside the service to hold it to account and that this has been hugely impactful.

There was still a lot of work to undertake, and it was recognised that the service needs to do better but hopefully improvement were being seen.

• Sarah Morris referred to the recent ‘Every Pair tells a Story’ Protest that had been held nationally on 3rd November and which she had attended outside Bury Town Hall. A question had been raised at the meeting of Council on 13 November asking when the council will investigate all of the families that are being failed. The answer had been that ‘we are improving’. Sarah asked when the families would be investigated.

The Director of Early Years stated that too many children were being let down, and this was not good enough, things were improving but not at a fast enough pace. It would not be possible to refer to each case by case but a strategic plan was in place and work was being done to improve the system going forward.

Jacqueline Daley explained that she had submitted a complaint regarding Children’s Services which had taken 9 months to be dealt with which was passed the deadline for complaints.

It was explained that some complaints were more difficult to respond to due to the nature of the complaint and the complexity of the nature of the complaint.

The service have been reviewing systems and processes recently within children's services and working in partnership with the complaints team, and we've now established and much more robust tracking mechanism across those complaints. This is helping the Council to better understand our response and ensuring that as far as possible, we are keeping on track.