Agenda item

This report sets out the budget proposals for the services covered by this Committee. An update is also provided on any proposed changes in fees and charges in the budget.

Jacqui McShannon (Director of Children’s Services) and Tony Burton (Head of Finance for Children’s Services and Education) presented the report. Emily Hill (Director of Finance) was also in attendance to answer questions on the corporate budget.

Jacqui McShannon gave an introduction, presenting the Children’s Services vision for all children in the borough. She also highlighted the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on children and families, the achievements of the department, and the whole system approach to budget management that had enabled those achievements within a constrained financial environment.

Tony Burton explained that the 2022/23 draft budget consisted of total planned expenditure of just under £156m, of which £109m was spent on education services. £87m of the money for education was from the dedicated schools grant and would go to the borough’s schools. A further £14m was from other Government grants. The department was proposing £533k of savings and £534k of growth.

Tony Burton informed members that the Council had negotiated £20m of funding from the Department for Education (DfE) to address historic deficits in the High Needs Block. The DfE had agreed a plan to pay off the deficit over the medium term to enable the Council to focus on future investment. Children’s Services had also secured a £1.2m capital grant from the DfE to support the High Needs Block strategy and invest in the placement strategy.

Jacqui McShannon summarised the budget presentation and said the Council was committed to delivering high quality services, improving outcomes, and protecting key services.

The Chair asked about the impact of budget cuts. Jacqui McShannon said the department had three key tenets for services – providing quality services, delivered locally where possible (either designed with the community in mind or co-produced), and intervening early.

Nandini Ganesh asked about progress on the High Needs Block safety valve arrangement with the DfE and if the demand for Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) was decreasing. Jacqui McShannon said the arrangement was negotiated a year ago. It would be a huge transformation and was being co-produced with partners and schools. There was still a lot of work to do to develop confidence amongst stakeholders. The department was also going to be investing in new posts to monitor effectiveness of services and develop a performance management culture. Demand hadn’t decreased but the plan was still in the early stages and the numbers weren’t expected to decrease yet.

Nandini Ganesh asked if officers could evidence the outcomes at the next meeting. There had been some concerns from parents about inclusion. Jacqui McShannon said officers could talk through the programmes and services that had been put in place.

ACTION: Jacqui McShannon

Tony Burton noted that the safety valve funding covered the historic deficit, but the department’s assumptions involved increasing expenditure on the High Needs Block over the medium term.

Councillor Larry Culhane (Cabinet Member for Children and Education) explained that the Government had been underfunding special educational needs for many years. Reforms in 2014 increased access to services but reduced the funding which had led to High Needs Block deficits across the country.

Nandini Ganesh clarified that the Council’s plan, in layman terms, was to manage the need for EHCPs and improve inclusion in mainstream schools. She supported that plan but noted that there were some concerns about it so wanted to discuss it in more detail in future.

Nandini Ganesh questioned why savings were being made in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) when there was high demand. Jacqui McShannon said the Council wasn’t cutting its contribution, but Health was increasing its level of funding.

Nandini Ganesh noted the demand for travel care had increased with EHCPs and asked if that would start declining with the safety valve agreement and ongoing High Needs Block transformation. Jacqui McShannon said the transformation programme would take some time to have an impact. A sufficiency review was being undertaken which would show where more local resource was needed. Tony Burton clarified that the safety valve agreement didn’t require the Council to reduce expenditure on EHCPs. The plan assumed growth in EHCPs and increasing expenditure on young people in H&F. Nandini Ganesh said that was very reassuring.

Councillor Lucy Richardson asked if the safety valve agreement was specific to H&F. Jacqui McShannon said H&F was one of 6 Council’s invited to negotiate with the DfE. It was a rigorous process but ultimately the DfE had confidence in H&F’s willingness and ability to deliver transformation and improvement to improve access to services. Councillor Richardson congratulated them on the agreement and asked if it was, in part, a recognition that the High Needs Block was underfunded in previous years. Tony Burton said the pace of funding increases over last few financial years showed a recognition that they had not put enough money into the system in the past. It was still a difficult area for many local authorities.

Councillor Richardson asked if the transformation plans would reduce the need for EHCPs. Jacqui McShannon said the intention was that earlier access to therapies and services would reduce demand for plans.

Councillor Richardson commended the Council’s work with schools and asked how the local authority was influencing academies. Jacqui McShannon said the department had developed strong partnerships with academy schools in the borough. The Council and schools worked together in a collegiate way through Schools Forum, primary and secondary networks, SEN workshops, and budget workshops.

Councillor Mark Loveday asked for more information on the falling rolls support provided to schools. Jacqui McShannon said it was due to the falling birth rate and fewer children applying for primary schools across London. In previous years there had been an expansion but that had now reversed, and it impacted the financial situation for the borough’s primary schools.

Councillor Loveday asked why it wasn’t included in the risk register. Jacqui McShannon said the risk register only included immediate financial risks. Tony Burton added that it would affect funding in future years, but it affected the delegated budgets of schools not the Council’s general fund.

Councillor Loveday asked when the High Needs Block deficit would be completely paid off. Tony Burton said the in-year position would be in balance by the end of next year.

Councillor Loveday asked if the top slice of the school’s budget was going up or down this year. Tony Burton said the top-slice was only for maintained primary schools. The funding covered support services like financial support, a maternity fund, school improvement services etc. He said it was reducing year-on-year.

Councillor Loveday asked for more information on the proposed £400k saving for care leavers placements. Tony Burton said the Council had joined the West London Alliance’s procurement scheme to secure better value for money placements and had been working to ensure there was a good range of in-house foster carers.

Councillor Loveday noted that the budget report from last year had almost identical savings of 400k in 2021/22, 2022/23, and 2023/24 and asked if that was sustainable year-on-year. Tony Burton said the savings were sustainable (noting they were cumulative). The proposed 2022/23 savings built on activities in previous budgets.

Councillor Siddique asked if the Council had sufficient resources to cope with another pandemic wave. Emily Hill said there weren’t any specific additional items for Covid in the Children’s Services budget but there was a Covid contingency fund in the corporate budget that departments could bid for. Finance officers expected some Covid grant underspend by the end of the year.

Councillor Mercy Umeh thanked the Children’s Services team for their hard work on the budget, particularly considering the challenges imposed by the pandemic. Her comments were echoed by the Chair and other committee members.

RESOLVED

The Committee noted the budget report.