Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received on behalf of Councillor Janet Godden (Councillor Jean Fooks substituting), Councillor Marilyn Badcock (Councillor Nick Carter substituting) and Carole Thomson.

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 9 November 2010 (CH3(to be circulated separately)) and to note for information any matters arising on them.

Agreed that the minutes be considered at the next meeting.

The following request to address the meeting had been agreed:

Item 5 - Councillor Linda Atkins

The report (which is to be considered by each of the Scrutiny Committees on 20 December) forms part of a series relating to the Service and Resource Planning process for 2011/12 to 2015/16.  

Each Committee will meet in turn to consider the Business Strategies and savings proposed for their service areas.  Comments from each Committee will then be considered by Strategy & Partnerships Scrutiny Committee on 13 January 2011 prior to being fed back to Cabinet in order that they can take the comments into consideration in proposing their budget and Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) in January 2011.

The following annexes are attached:

The Director for Children, Young People & Families will be available to respond to questions, together with the Cabinet Member for Children, Young People & Families.

Officers from Financial Services will also be present at the meeting to answer any questions that the Committee may wish to ask.

The Scrutiny Committee is invited to consider and comment upon the Directorate Business Strategy and proposed savings

The Committee considered a report (CH5) containing the Business Strategies and savings proposed for their service areas.

The proposals for savings to the Children and Young People’s (CYP&F) budgets were grouped and considered under four main headings:

1.      Management Review (including business and administrative functions)

2.      Education (including School Improvement and national strategies)

3.      Communities (redesign of the Early Intervention Service)

4.      Social Care and Safeguarding

In addition the Committee considered proposals for the Music Service.

Councillor Lynda Atkins expressed concerns in relation to the impact of proposals for youth services in respect of Wallingford. Public transport between Wallingford and Didcot was not easy with no buses in the evening or Sundays. There were also issues around the relationships between young people in Wallingford and Didcot. She feared that there was a band of young people who would not be reached by the proposals.

The Committee considered the savings proposals line by line and agreed  (by 10 votes to 3) to support in principle the proposals for CYP&F. They also supported the proposal for the Music Service.

In giving their support, members stated that they would wish to be briefed regularly on the roll out of the Early Intervention Centres. In particular members were assured that there would be outreach support provided from the centres.

Further, members would wish to be part of any review that would consider charging families for respite care for disabled children. Members expressed a hope that this could be avoided if possible.

Finally, the committee would wish to monitor closely proposals for changes to the funding of the Equality and Diversity Achievement Service (EDAS) and to be given an opportunity to scrutinise the business plan for Outdoor Centres at some time in spring 2011.