Meeting documents
Children's Services Scrutiny Committee
Thursday, 3 November 2005
Notice of Meeting
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Councillors: |
Norman Bolster |
Jean Fooks |
Deborah Glass Woodin |
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Sue Haffenden |
Steve Hayward |
Hilary Hibbert-Biles |
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Zoe Patrick |
Bill Service |
Val Smith |
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Keith Stone |
Melinda Tilley |
David Turner |
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Carol Viney |
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Co-opted Members: |
Mr Chris Bevan |
Mr Ben Jackson |
Mrs Sue Matthew |
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Ms Bernadine Spencer |
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Notes:
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What does this Committee review or scrutinise?
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How can I have my say? We welcome the views of the community on any issues in relation to the responsibilities of this Committee. Members of the public may ask to speak for up to 5 minutes on any item on the agenda or may suggest matters which they would like the Committee to look at. |
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For more information about this Committee please contact: Chairman - Councillor
Mrs Anda Fitzgerald O’Connor Committee
Officer - Deborah Mitchell, Tel: (01865) 815463 For Scrutiny
Review Officers contact - Julia Baird, Tel: (01865) 815029 |
Derek Bishop
Head of Democratic
Services
October 2005
About the County Council
The Oxfordshire County Council is made up of 74 councillors who are democratically elected every four years. The Council provides a range of services to Oxfordshire’s 622,000 people. These include:
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The Council employs 18,840 people. Each year the Council manages £0.7 billion of public money in providing these services. Most decisions are taken by a Cabinet of 10 Councillors, which makes decisions about service priorities and spending.
About Scrutiny
Scrutiny is about:
- Providing a challenge to the Cabinet
- Examining how well the Cabinet and the Authority are performing
- Influencing the Cabinet on decisions that affect local people
- Helping the Cabinet to develop Council policies
- Representing the community in Council decision making
- Promoting joined up working across the authority’s work
Scrutiny is NOT about:
- Making day to day service decisions
- Investigating individual complaints.
Five Scrutiny committees ‘scrutinise’ or review and challenge decisions made by the Cabinet and help it develop Council policies. There are Scrutiny Committees for:
- Corporate Governance
- Children’s Services
- Environment & Economy
- Community Safety
- Health & Community Services
There is also a Joint Health Overview & Scrutiny Committee which brings together councillors from the County and the five district councils in Oxfordshire to scrutinise health issues.
What does
this Committee do?
The Committee meets up to 6 times a year or more. It develops a work programme, which lists the issues it plans to investigate. These investigations can include whole committee investigations undertaken during the meeting, or reviews by a panel of members doing research and talking to lots of people outside of the meeting. Once an investigation is completed the Committee provides its advice to the Cabinet, the full Council or other scrutiny committees. Meetings are open to the public and all reports are available to the public unless exempt or confidential, when the items would be considered in closed session.
AGENDA
Addenda
- Apologies for Absence
and Temporary Appointments
- Declarations of Interest
– see guidance note
- Minutes
- Speaking to or Petitioning
the Committee
- Preparation for ‘Select
Committee style’ investigation for Achieving Education for Children
with Learning Disabilities
(See also Addenda)
To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 27 September 2005 (CH3) and to note for information any matters arising on them.
10:10
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Why has it been included? |
To enable members of this Committee to prepare for a ‘select Committee style’ investigation in December into how children with learning disabilities are enabled to participate in education. This will include reported budget issues surrounding the Learning disabilities service education and training and proposals to delegate the SEN statementing budget to schools. |
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How is the Committee going to deal with it? |
By means of evaluating background material and developing lines of enquiry in relation to the issues above. Questions/lines of enquiry will then be addressed to relevant witnesses (officer and Cabinet) at the December meeting. |
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When are they going to do it? |
During this meeting. |
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Who is going to take part in this piece of work? |
All members of this Committee and Ms Myfanwy Lloyd, Scrutiny Review Officer. |
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Work to be done prior to the meeting: |
Members are asked to consider the background information attached at CH5, in preparation for the discussion. (A Copy has been placed in the Members’ Resource Centre and a copy is available for public inspection). |
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Documents Members should bring to the meeting: |
Members are asked to bring the following documents that have been sent to them under separate cover:
If
you would like copies of these documents please contact Deborah
Mitchell on (01865) 815463, or |
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Background Information: The item was included as a high priority in the Work Programme.
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- Evaluation of Use of
School Premises for Community Purposes Scrutiny Review ("Room at School")
(See also Addenda)
11:10
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Background Information: |
The former Learning & Culture Scrutiny Committee undertook a scrutiny review into The Use of School Premises for Community Purposes. The Review Group had been appointed to identify local community needs for access to school facilities, assess the degree of non-school usage and report back on key findings. The Scrutiny Review Panel comprised of Councillors Andrew Brown, Mrs Anda Fitzgerald-O’Connor and Dr Athene Reiss. On 1 June 2004, the Executive considered the review report and resolved to ask the Director for Learning & Culture to arrange for the report to be considered by the Extended Schools Strategy Group and to report back to the Executive at the earliest opportunity with a prioritised action plan. On 7 September 2004, the Executive considered a report (EX13) which commented on each of the review's 18 recommendations in the light of consideration by the Extended Schools Strategy Group and set out an overall action plan in response. A second group of actions would be taken forward through the Capital Programme and Asset Management Plan Steering Group. The Executive resolved: to:
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Why has it been included? |
It has now been over a year since the (then) Executive agreed the recommendations of this Scrutiny Review. The Committee is asked to question the Cabinet Member in relation to the progress of implementing the Review recommendations that the Executive endorsed. |
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How is the Committee going to deal with it? |
By means of a question and answer session. |
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When is the Committee going to do this piece of work? |
During this meeting. |
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Who is going to take part in this piece of work? |
All Members of this Committee and the Cabinet Member for Schools Improvement. |
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Work to be done prior to the meeting: |
A
reminder of the main objectives of the Review and suggested lines
of enquiry is attached at CH6 - Members are also asked to consider the report by the Director for Learning & Culture (CH6) which includes the action plan (Annex 1), County Facilities Management Response (Annex 2) and a diagram showing the extended schools model (all attached at CH6), to enable them to question the Cabinet Member for Children & Young people. Members are also invited to forward any questions which they may wish to ask at the meeting to Deborah Mitchell by 2 November 2005. A copy of the full scrutiny review has been sent to all members of this Committee. A copy of this report will be available for public inspection and is also available on the County Council’s Web site www.oxfordshire.gov.uk or from Deborah Mitchell on (01865) 815463, |
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Documents Members should bring to the meeting: |
Members may wish to bring their copy of the full scrutiny review to the meeting. |
- Scrutiny Review: Gifted
Children
(See also Addenda)
- Tracking Scrutiny Items
(See also Addenda)
11:30
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Background Information: |
On
27 September, this Committee agreed as part of their work programme
to undertake a scrutiny review of ‘gifted children’ and appointed
Councillors Deborah Glass-Woodin, Hilary Hibbert-Biles and Val
Smith to the Lead Member Review Group. |
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Why has it been included? |
To inform the Committee of current progress on this review and to enable members to ask questions on areas of interest and to approve the scoping document for submission to the next meeting of the Scrutiny Co-ordinating Group. |
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When are they going to do it? |
During this meeting and at future meetings. |
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Who is going to take part in this piece of work? |
All members of this Committee. |
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Work to be done prior to the meeting: |
None. |
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Documents Members should bring to the meeting: |
None. |
11:45
Report back on advice by this Committee to the Cabinet or Council:
- Children’s Centre Strategy 2006/10
On 27 September 2005 this Committee agreed to advise the Cabinet:
- that it was recognised that the Framework of the Strategy was prescribed by government but the terminology under Early Years Services and the term "reach" throughout the document were not considered to be user friendly;
- that more emphasis should be given to those people who were not accessing services at present and were therefore unlikely to attend the Centres; and
- that the importance of creating the right atmosphere in the Centres was key to there success.
On 18 October 2005 the Cabinet resolved to:
(a) approve the paper "Proposals for Children’s Centres in Oxfordshire 2006-10" as the basis for continuing consultation with public and stakeholders and further development;
(b) request officers to report to the Cabinet in the New Year on the outcome of consultation on and development of the proposals, together with a full financial and risk assessment for the medium term, to include the identification of implications and options and a costed exit strategy, in the event of external funding not being maintained.
- Children & Young People’s Plan
On 27 September 2005 this Committee agreed to advise the Cabinet:
- that more emphasis was still needed in the Plan around play and recreation and having fun in and out of school;
- that the Plan needed to take account of disadvantaged children & young people in rural areas and the rural issues surrounding them;
- the Committee, noting that a health workshop had been set up to discuss health issues, expressed concern that 37% of 5 year olds in Oxfordshire had serious dental problems;
- that using a web-based format for the Plan did not necessarily make it user friendly;
- to ask the Cabinet to ensure that the targets in the Plan were balanced for early attainment;
- that the delivery and implementation of the Plan was key to its success and to ask the Cabinet to ensure that all parties were engaged;
- that emphasis should be given to the development of self esteem and confidence in children & young people.
On 18 October 2005 the Cabinet resolved:
(a) to approve the draft Plan for consultation; and
(b) to ask officers to report back on the financial requirements of the Plan and how they could be met, in the first instance from existing directorate budgets or otherwise through the budget bidding process.
- Realignment of Directorates
On 27 September 2005 this Committee agreed to advise the Cabinet that it endorsed the proposals set out in the report CH11, subject to:
(i) the
Cabinet dealing sensitively and sympathetically with staff concerns
during the change period;
(ii) asking the Cabinet Members for Health & Community Services
and Children & Young People to meet with representatives of
the Adult Learning Service to discuss their concerns about their
position in the new Directorate;
(iii) asking the Cabinet to continue lobbying the Learning & Skills Council over the shift of emphasis towards funding work related courses;
The Committee further expressed concern over the unknown costs of the realignment in relation particularly to ICT.
On 18 October 2005 the Cabinet resolved to note with thanks the comments of the Scrutiny Committees and approve the proposals set out in the report for:
(a) the new titles of the directors and directorates;
(b) the configuration of services within the directorates and their titles;
(c) the timetable for implementation; and
(d) the arrangements to enable officers to transfer staff to the new services.
- Best Value Review of Services for Children & Young People
On 27 September 2005 this Committee agreed to refer the report to Cabinet, with a recommendation that the Cabinet approve in principle to the draft model for the Children & Young People’s Strategic Board, subject to further detailed proposals on how it was going to work being brought back to the Scrutiny Committee and Cabinet in January.
On 18 October 2005 the Cabinet resolved to approve the proposals set out in the Best Value Review report for the development of:
(a) a Children & Young People’s Strategic Board; and
(b) local multi-disciplinary teams;
for wide consultation, subject to the outcome of development work on (a) (including detailed proposals on how the Board is expected to work) being reported, together with the responses to consultations in each case, to the Scrutiny Committee and Cabinet early in the New Year.
- County Facilities Management – Best Value Review
On 27 September 2005 this Committee agreed to refer the best value review report to the Cabinet as the outcome of the Best Value Review, drawing the Cabinet’s attention to:
(i) the further work which was urgently required to give a basis for decisions, subject to appropriate consultation with stakeholders, including secondary schools, on the future of the catering and cleaning services provided by County Facilities Management;
(ii) the importance of providing a good quality healthy meal and the need to find a way of achieving this.
On 18 October 2005 the Cabinet resolved, in the light of the Best Value Review report and the advice of the Children's Services Scrutiny Committee, to:
(a) authorise consultation with schools on the options covered in the report, but focussing primarily on the following three:
- the creation of a consultancy model designed to assist schools operate catering services in house;
- the adoption of a business plan which aims for a sustainable service within, in the main, present structures; and
- the scope for running catering through the Community Interest Company model;
(b) ask the Director for Learning & Culture to set up a Project Group, led by a suitably qualified and experienced person, to undertake the outstanding analysis and carry out further comparative work with other authorities on school meal standards; to manage the consultation under (a); and to develop practicable options for managing the cleaning and catering services;
(c) ask officers to report back to the Cabinet by the end of the year with a detailed evaluation of the options in the light of the outcome of the consultation and proposals for next steps.
- Forward Plan
11:55
The Committee is asked to suggest items from the current Forward Plan on which it may wish to have an opportunity to offer advice to the Cabinet before any decision is taken.
(Please bring along to the meeting the latest copy of the Forward Plan which, at the time of writing covers December 2005 to March 2006).
(Members are asked to contact the Chairman, Deputy Chairman and/or the Committee Officer at least 3 days before the meeting should they wish to raise an item on the Forward Plan for possible consideration).
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If you have any special requirements (such as a large print version of these papers or special access facilities) please contact the officer named on the front page, but please give as much notice as possible before the meeting |