Agenda item

At the 2 March 2023 meeting it was proposed and agreed that as a result of work undertaken in partnership with the Local Government Association the Committee adopt a hybrid model moving forward.

This would be based on the assumption that meetings will last no more than three hours, with two hours focused on the theme and the remaining time on general matters that need to be reviewed by the Committee as existing ongoing business. 

Following consultation with the Director of People and Deputy Chief Executive it was agreed that this meeting would be Finance Themed with reports on the Draft Capital and Revenue Budget 2025/26, Capital Budget Monitoring and Revenue Monitoring Round 2 2024/25. The Council Plan Performance Monitoring Report and Strategic Risk Summary – Quarters 1 and 2 2024/25 will also be taken alongside the themed items.

Discussion:

Members received a presentation on finance and considered the reports under this theme.

Members then raised several questions and comments:

The medium term financial position was a challenge as financial pressures continued to grow and this would be challenging for Medway, the review being undertaken by Central Government was welcomed.

Government financial support for Local Authorities - in response to a question on whether the Government announcement on financial support would ease the pressures of the anticipated overspend, the Committee was informed that the Government, in announcing the budget were clear that they recognised that local authorities had been underfunded and were keen to address issues with pressures. Additionally, changes would be made to distribution of funding, details of which were yet to emerge.

In the policy statement, it was made clear that distribution of funding would be based on need, with increased funding directed to Local Authorities that had higher areas of deprivation or who were less able to raise income through local taxation. It was currently difficult to estimate what the announcement meant for Medway who were amongst the 20 lowest funded local authorities per resident in England. The caveat for consideration by officers in terms of increased funding was whether additional costs may materialise.

Overspend - it was asked what the likelihood of overspend would be for the coming year given that Medway continued to experience increased migration, which would increase budgetary pressures on the Council. It was explained that budgetary predictions were made with the best information available at the time and it was difficult to predict in totality what would happen each year.

The report alluded to the considerable savings to be made from SEND transport and it was asked what knock on effects had been considered. The Committee was advised that Medway had to date been generous with its transport policy, providing significantly more than neighbouring authorities and more than required statutorily. Legislation had changed to reflect that children with an ECHP did not have to be provided with transport if they were not attending their nearest suitable school.

It was further commented that it was vital to ensure that all implications of non-provision of transport be looked into and not just the savings that could be made. Members were reminded that decisions for children on EHCPs were made based on need. A banding system was in operation and each child received the same amount of funding regardless of whether in mainstream or SEND specialist provision. There was an increased drive for inclusiveness as part of the national as well as Medway’s agenda, for provision for all children in mainstream schools.

Travel training - members of the Committee commented that more was needed to be done to support independence of SEND children, including provision of travel training to support transition to adulthood. Officers said that there was a transport group in place exploring options and the Council would also be working with Medway Parents and Carers Forum, who currently provided travel training. Further work was planned on empowering children to use public transport.

It was asked what wider work had been undertaken in SEND and viewed as priorities for the next 3-5 years. The Committee learned that there was anticipated significant growth in pupil numbers due to inward migration of families and as a result transport would continue to be a challenge. Additionally, there were many children that still attended specialist provision outside of Medway, this remained a challenge due to the significant continued uplift in associated costs. Reviews were ongoing, with exploration of different ranges of options. Council wide, further exploration was needed on the travel infrastructure of Medway to make travel easier and more accessible for families.

Reduced timetables - it was commented that some children in specialist provision were placed on short timetables as a means to manage issues and it was asked whether there would be provision in the budget to assist schools in providing extra support should it be needed. The Committee was informed that schools went through a graduated approach and layered on support as needed. At a point where they experienced difficulties in meeting needs or required additional funding, they approached the local authority for support. In all cases, officers worked with schools and families to understand the needs of the child. Schools had a duty to report the implementation of a reduced timetable, the team would review what the timetable entailed, and any concerns were discussed with the school.

A Member of the Committee added that it was important to note that reduced timetables were not implemented as a means to reducing a child’s access to education, it was used solely as a temporary measure whilst work was undertaken on reintegration of the child onto a full timetable. Reduced timetables were effective and useful when used appropriately.

Advice - the Committee was informed that parents were able to access SEND inclusion advice and support from the family hubs, in particular in instances where parents and carers felt relationships had broken down with the school.

It was asked how the additional investment that was proposed in the journey of children’s social care from good to outstanding would involve and how would this drive fit into the wider plans of the service. The Committee was informed that investment would be made in recruitment, increase in staffing capacity, including management. Review was being undertaken on the Early Help service which had experienced increase in contact and now required additional support. Further investment in placement of children locally and increased support for those placed outside of Medway.

The Director of People and Deputy Chief Executive added that the 2025/26 financial year was the penultimate year to make significant improvement ahead of the next Ofsted inspection and whilst confident that some categories could achieve outstanding, focus would be on ongoing stabilisation and consistency in service.

Impact of budget on families - concerns were highlighted as to the possible impact to families whilst the service trying to enforce budgetary controls and it was asked what safeguards were in place. The Committee was informed that the review work to develop the budget began early in the financial year, with officers asked to identify where pressures would be and predict what their service would look like in the year ahead. Those projections formed the basis of the draft budget.

The Director of People and Deputy Chief Executive added that the approach taken in formulating the draft budget was welcomed and was confident that the budget being presented with continued to ensure the needs of children were met with the appropriate resources in place.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)- in response to a question on the use of AI in completion of paperwork, how risks would be managed through the pilot and dissemination of this way of working in other areas, officers said that AI would complete tasks alongside officers and comparisons would be made to identify gaps. Whilst the use of AI would save time, it would not negate the use of a human and would be used mainly as a quality assurance programme to ensure vital details were not missed out in case reports. The pilot would be run in a tempered and moderated way and AI used as a tool to support officers with efficiency. Caution would always be taken to ensure no replacement of human input.

In response to a question on investment in business change and transformation, the Committee learned that this was an ongoing area of investment that was included in this year’s budget.