Meeting documents

Cabinet
Tuesday, 7 March 2006

CA070306-addenda

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Cabinet – 7 March 2006

ADDENDA

Item

4. Petitions and Public Address

Item

Speaker

6. Children & Young People's Plan

Councillor Jean Fooks (Shadow Cabinet Member for Children, Young People & Families)

Councillor David Turner (Shadow Cabinet Member for Schools Improvement)

8. Locality Working and Integrated Support Services For Children, Young People & Families

Councillor Jean Fooks (Shadow Cabinet Member for Children, Young People & Families)

9. Children's Centre Strategy 2006/08

Councillor David Turner (Shadow Cabinet Member for Schools Improvement)

11. School Catering and Cleaning Services

Councillor Jean Fooks (Shadow Cabinet Member for Children, Young People & Families)

5. Medium Term Corporate Plan 2006-2010

On 2 March 2006 the Corporate Governance Scrutiny Committee considered the draft Plan. The Committee welcomed the Plan and congratulated members and officers on presenting a well written document. Among a number of minor editorial changes which officers undertook would be made when the document was next reproduced, the Committee made the following specific suggestions:

  • Page 4 – Paragraph 3 – reference should also be made to pockets of deprivation and lack of opportunity in rural areas.
  • Page 5, Strategic Challenges, point 6 – amend ‘and increasing inequalities’ to ‘and decreasing inequalities’.
  • Pages 22,23 – the data on educational achievement for ethnic minorities should be clear about whether the target includes English and mathematics.
  • Page 29, first paragraph, fifth line – after ‘accountability’ add ‘and responds to customer needs’.

The Chief Executive confirms that the editorial amendments will be made alongside any further changes agreed at this meeting. It is also suggested that the redraft prepared for the 4 April Council should also take into account the further specific comments listed above.

6. Children & Young People’s Plan

On 28 February 2006 the Children’s Services Scrutiny Committee considered the draft Children & Young People’s Plan, together with a draft of report CA6, and made a number of detailed observations which officers undertook to take into account when finalising the Plan for presentation to the Council on 4 April. The Committee thanked officers for an "excellent Plan" and welcomed the way the children’s consultation had been carried out.

The Director for Children, Young People & Families confirms that changes will be made to the Plan in line with the Committee’s comments, alongside other changes which will be made to reflect the comments of the School Organisation Committee set out in Annex 2 of report CA6.

7. Children and Young People’s Board

On 28 February 2006 the Children’s Services Scrutiny Committee considered a draft of report CA7. The Committee thanked officers for the extensive work undertaken in this area and agreed to:

    1. advise the Cabinet of its concern over the demands placed on lead members and service officers and the potential duplication of existing boards and committees;
    2. ask officers to report back to the Committee in September on the detailed arrangements for the implementation of the Board.

As mentioned in report CA7, it is expected that the Strategic Partnership will replace a number of existing partnerships and will work to rationalise the number of different groups that meet around the needs of children and young people across the county.

8. Locality Working And Integrated Support Services For Children, Young People & Families

On 28 February 2006 the Children’s Services Scrutiny Committee considered a draft of report CA8 and agreed to:

  1. support the proposals set out in paragraphs 3 and 14 of the report to reduce bureaucracy and time spent in meetings to create greater consistency and higher quality;
  2. underline the importance of early Intervention; and
  3. ask officers to report back to the Committee in 12 months’ time on how all the initiatives were working together on the ground.

9. Children’s Centre Strategy 2006/08

The Financial Appraisal (download as .doc file) for inclusion in Annex E is attached for consideration.

On 24 February a panel of three members of the Children’s Services Scrutiny Committee considered the report on the Children’s Centre Strategy. The panel agreed to advise the Cabinet to:

    1. highlight the fact that the present phase of the programme will not provide children’s centres for all communities and that further provision is subject to the availability of funding beyond 2008;
    2. endorse the approach to the development of Children’s Centres 2006-2008, subject to asking all of the 25 Centres to consider their transport issues and in particular look at their travel plans in relation to their surrounding catchment areas.

The Director for Children, Young People & Families confirms, in relation to (i) above, that (as detailed in the report to Cabinet on 18 October 2005) phase 2 of the Children's Centre programme will only provide services for some families and communities in the County. It is the aim that all families in the Oxfordshire will have access to children's centre services in due course (post 2008), provided further funding is agreed nationally in the 2007 Spending Review for the Government to fulfil its commitment to universal children's centre provision by 2010.

10. White Paper: Higher Standards, Better Schools for All

The Children’s Services Scrutiny Committee were due to consider report CA10 on 28 February. However the Education and Inspections Bill was introduced in the House of Commons on that day and in the light of this the Committee decided to convene a special meeting on 14 March to consider what comments to make on the three outstanding motions relating to the White Paper in the light of the Bill’s provisions. The Committee therefore asked the Cabinet to defer consideration to the 21 March meeting.

The Cabinet Member for Schools Improvement has indicated that he would find deferment to 21 March acceptable.

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