Issue - meetings

To consider a joint report of the Corporate Directors for Corporate & Support Services and Place Management & Regeneration.

Policy priorities for 2020/21 were set out within the Council Plan, which was adopted at the Budget Council Meeting in February. This incorporates the shared outcomes from the Borough Plan alongside specific priorities of the Cabinet.   These priorities, re-shaped to take account of One Stockport and Building Back Better (building on Covid19), are articulated within the Portfolio Agreements, which form the basis for regular in-year reporting. Portfolio and Corporate Performance and Resource Reports (PPRRs and CPRRs) will assess progress against key objectives, priorities, outcomes and budgets, enabling Scrutiny Committees to hold the Cabinet to account and for the Cabinet to identify current and future risks to delivery. 

This report presents the draft 2020/21 Agreements for the Children, Family Services and Education Portfolio for consideration and comment by the Committee.

The Scrutiny Committee is recommended to review and comment on the draft Portfolio Agreements.

Officer contact: Gaynor Ward, Strategy and Performance Manager at gaynor.ward@stockport.gov.uk (0161 474 3186)

Representatives of the Corporate Directors for Corporate & Support Services and Place Management & Regeneration submitted a report (copies of which had been circulated) detailing the draft 2020/21 Agreements for the Children, Family Services and Education Portfolio for consideration by the Scrutiny Committee.

The agreements provides the policy priorities for 2020/21 that were set out within the adopted Council Plan, incorporating the shared outcomes from the Borough Plan alongside specific priorities of the Cabinet. The priorities within the Portfolio Agreements would form the basis for regular in-year reporting through the Portfolio and Corporate Performance and Resource Reports, enabling the Scrutiny Committee to hold the Cabinet to account.    

The Cabinet Member for Children, Family Services & Education (Councillor Colin Foster) attended the meeting to respond to questions from the Scrutiny Committee.

The following comments were made/issues raised:-

·         It was commented that the new format of the report was not welcomed and that members preferred the previous version of the data being presented as a RAG rating which made the information easier to read and understand.

·         Members expressed appreciation for the report being produced with the input from children and young people including the lived experience and inclusion.

·         It was noted that as a result of the pandemic, mums were giving birth on their own and was there any additional support that had been put in place for parents. In response, it was noted that parents were allowed to support birth partners and be able to visit in hospitals.

·         Focus on reports about breastfeeding, nationally profile women being pressured into breastfeeding, right to choose and not coerced into a “breastfeeding militia”. In response, it was noted that the “breastfeeding team” supported breastfeeding and any other feeding method chosen by the mother.

·         Clarification was sought regarding the reference made to the new targets relating to the digital inclusion strategy and how it was being made available to lower income families. In response, it was noted that the Department for Education (DfE) provided funding for digital devices for children and young people which had been delivered to schools across the borough as well as a digital lending library was being developed for families to borrow digital devices.

·         It was noted that the percentage of children attending a secondary school graded good or better was decreasing. In response, it was noted that it was due to the new Ofsted framework.

·         Clarification was sought regarding how the targets would be reported going forward. In response, it was noted that there would be gaps in children’s learning and that the exam boards would need to take this into account, so that students would not be penalised unduly.

·         It was noted that the cost of keeping a young person in a children’s home had increased considerably from £2,000 in 2016/17 to £4,000-£5,000 in 2019/20 per week. In response, it was noted that it was a significant drain on the Council’s budget despite securing the lowest possible costs for looked after children placements. It was also noted that due to a hardworking commissioning team to secure lower costs, Stockport Council had managed to negotiate the lowest costs in the Greater Manchester area.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.