Agenda and minutes

To approve as a correct record and sign the Minutes of the meeting held on 20 September 2017.

The Minutes (copies of which had been circulated) of the meeting held on 20 September 2017 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

Councillors and officers were invited to declare any interests they had in any of the items on the agenda for the meeting.

No declarations of interest were made.

There were no call-in items to consider.

To consider a report of the Corporate Director, Services to People.

The report provides for comment the Mid-Year Portfolio Performance and Resource Reports (PPRRs) for the Children & Families and Education Portfolios. They include forecast performance and financial data (where this is available) for the Portfolios, along with an update on the portfolio savings programmes.

The Scrutiny Committee is invited to consider and comment on the report.

Officer Contact: Gaynor Ward on Tel: 0161 474 3186 or email: gaynor.ward@stockport.gov.uk

Representatives of the Corporate Director, Services to People, submitted a report (copies of which had been circulated) providing for comment the mid-year portfolio performance and resources update. The report provided a summary of progress in delivering the portfolio priorities, reform programme and other key projects for the first half of the financial year.

The Cabinet Members for Children & Young People and Education attended the meeting and answered questions in relation to the report.

The following comments were made/issues raised:-

Children and Young People Portfolio

·         The new Regional Adoption Agency, Adoption Counts, led by Stockport had gone live on 3 July 2018 and was based in Manchester. The agency covered Trafford, Salford, Manchester, Stockport and East Cheshire.

·         The financial demands for Looked After Children to be accommodated in residential care continued to rise. Recognising that the needs of the young person were paramount, a team had been created to review the number of children in residential care and plans were being put in place to open a second children’s home in addition to Dial Park.

·         Measures had been taken to increase the number of staff to deal with follow up work with children who go missing from home, care and children’s homes. The team would be located in the MASSH.

·         Councillors requested more information in respect to the new SEND ‘Transition to Adulthood’ pathway. The team had recruited two additional temporary social workers to support the project.

·         The Committee discussed the number of Early Help Assessments and the number of social care referrals.

·         In respect to child poverty and inequality, the continued development and delivery of the Financial Resilience action plan was welcomed.

·         Councillors asked that a report be submitted to a future meeting concerning take up of the early year’s childcare offer.

Education Portfolio

·         Councillors noted that performance breakdown by subject revealed that Stockport was consistently higher than the national average in all assessed subjects.

·         Stockport was one of only two Greater Manchester local authorities with a positive Progress 8 score and the borough’s Attainment 8 score was the second highest in Greater Manchester and third highest in the North West.

·         Good progress had been made towards engaging learners from disadvantaged areas in the Continuing Education Service. During 2016/2017, the proportion of learning aims for learners from priority areas increased to 94% compared to 58% in 2015/2016.

·         Work to improve road safety continued with 20 priority schools all having been surveyed and audited. Each school would now be contacted to discuss engineering proposals and arrangements for road safety workshops.

·         Reports would be submitted to Area Committees in respect to road safety and enforcement issues for affected schools.

·         Councillors requested further information in respect to pupils who had been subject to fixed term exclusions and on the New Hope Scheme.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted and that the Cabinet Members be thanked for their attendance and report.

To consider a report of the Cabinet Members for Children and Family

Services and Education.

At the 3 October Cabinet Meeting an update on the Council’s Inclusive Growth and Reform Programme was provided which set out proposals to reduce spending by £5.026M in 2018/19.

The report outlines a summary of the proposals for Children’s Services which form part of the Cabinet’s response to the Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP). Consultation is currently being undertaken with key stakeholders on the proposals and the outcomes will be reported to the next meeting of the Scrutiny Committee.

The Scrutiny Committee are invited to consider and comment on the report.

Officer Contact: Andrew Webb on Tel: 0161 474 3808 or email: andrew.webb@stockport.gov.uk

The Cabinet Members for Children & Young People and Education submitted a report (copies of which had been circulated) providing an update on the Council’s Inclusive Growth and Reform Programme which set out proposals to reduce spending by £5.06m in 2018/2019. The report summarised a number of proposals for Children’s Services which were being consulted upon, the results of which would be reported to the next meeting of the Area Committee.

The following comments were made/issues raised:-

·         Councillors welcomed the efforts made by Children’s Services to engage with the Digital by Design Programme in an attempt to identify more efficient ways of working better to support families.

·         It was noted that proposals for service redesign would result in new ways of working in hope of releasing efficiencies.  The Start Well programme was one example with the aim to refocus support with families and children in early years to produce a significant improvement in school readiness for children in priority areas.

·         The Star Chamber process had identified additional opportunities to increase traded income to £260,000.

·         The Committee requested further data and information in respect to the Apprenticeship Store and future proposals for reform.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.

To consider a report of the Corporate Director for People.

In July 2017 the Cabinet considered a report setting out a second phase of the Digital by Design (DbD) programme which was to support identified spending reductions over the medium term. The proposed work will lead to a range of improvements to the way in which services are supported and delivered, and will reform working practices to facilitate recurrent annual reductions in revenue spending of £1.5m in Corporate and Support Services (CSS) and a further £0.6m in Children’s Services. This report sets out the delivery plan for phase ll for the Children’s Services work stream.

The Scrutiny Committee is requested to comment on the report.

Officer Contact: Jennie Neill on Tel: 0161 474 4159 or email: jennie.neill@stockport.gov.uk

A representative of the Corporate Director, Services to People submitted a report (copies of which had been circulated) setting out a second phase of the Digital by Design (DbD) programme which aimed for annual reductions in revenue spending of £1.5m in Corporate and Support Services (CSS) an a further £0.6m in Children’s Services.

The following comments were made/issues raised:-

·         Councillors welcomed the introduction of the Children’s Social Care Dashboard which provided near real time management information and greater insight on the services and staff performance.

·         For services users, web content had been updated and easy to use platforms and tools had been developed to enhance signposting for families and professionals.

·         Clarity was sought in respect to whether bite size training would continue.

·         The £1.2m investment was anticipated to return a recurrent savings of £0.6m form 2019/2020 onwards.

·         Councillors sought clarification in respect to hoe the expected cashable return on investment across the programme of at least £2 for every £1 invested over a 5 year period would be reported in future.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.

To consider a report of the Independent Chair of the Stockport Safeguarding Children Board.

The report covers 1 April 2016 to 31 March 2017 and highlights the activity, progress and challenges faced by Stockport Safeguarding Children Board with a particular focus on the journey of the child. The report outlines the ongoing developments in relation to Stockport Family and the impact that the innovative service models are having on our most vulnerable children.

The Scrutiny Committee is invited to consider and comment on the report.

Officer Contact: Una Hagen on Tel: 474 5973 or email: una.hagen@stockport.gov.uk

The Independent Chair of the Stockport Safeguarding Children Board submitted a report (copies of which had been circulated) providing for comment the activities undertaken from 1 April 2016-31 March 2017 as well as the challenges moving forward.

The following comments were made/issues raised:-

·         The ongoing developments in respect to Stockport Family was discussed and the impact that the innovative service models were having on the most vulnerable children – for instance the new Complex Looked After Children Service who support ad accelerate care plans for the boroughs children in high cost placements where the outcomes for children were known to be poor.

·         Councillors noted that in 2016/2017 – the Board had not commissioned any serious case reviews.

·         The publication of the Children and Social Work Act in April 2017 meant that the Board and its wider partnership would need to engage in work to determine what the future multi-agency safeguarding arrangements would be.

·         Councillors discussed the Demographic context of children and young people aged 0-25 living in poverty. The Joint Strategic Needs Assessment estimated that 8,500 children in poverty in 2015.

·         Councillors asked that a report be submitted to a future meeting on the findings and outcomes from the visits to private children’s homes.

·         The strong improvement in children subject to a child protection plan recorded as being seen by their social worker at least every 4 weeks was welcomed.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted and Gill Frame be thanked for her attendance and report.

To consider a report of the Corporate Director for People.

The Youth Justice Plan headlines achievements against last year’s plan and outlines the priorities, opportunities and challenges for the coming year. The work of Stockport’s youth justice service delivery is monitored through the Youth Offending Services Partnership Board (YOS PB), which in turn reports through the Children’s Trust Board (CTB) and the Safer Stockport Partnership (SSP). Stockport Children’s Safeguarding Board (SSCB) also receives updates and reports as required.

The Scrutiny Committee is invited to consider the report.

Officer Contact: Jacqui Bellfield Smith on Tel: 0161 474 4789 or email: jacqui.bellfield-smith@stockport.gvo.uk

A representative of the Corporate Director, Services to People submitted a report (copies of which had been circulated) providing for comment the Youth Justice Plan 2017/2018 which outlined achievements against last years’ plan, priorities for the future and opportunities/challenges for the forthcoming year.

The following comments were made/issues raised:-

·         The Committee discussed the increase in the number of First Time Entrants over the course of the last two years and noted that Stockport has the same rate of FTE per 100,000 population as the North West (292) and a lower rate than the national indicator (324)

·         The cohort of young people that do reoffend was reducing. However, they remained the most challenging, complex and hard to engage group and increased efforts were being made to target and address this issue.

·         Councillors welcomed the fact that the Service was actively involved in a number of developments at a Greater Manchester level and that there were opportunities for further collaboration in the future.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.

To consider a report of the Democratic Services Manager.

The report sets out planned agenda items and items for the Scrutiny Committee’s next meeting and Forward Plan items that fall within the remit of the Scrutiny Committee.

The Scrutiny Committee is invited to consider and comment on the report.

Officer Contact: Stephen Fox on Tel: 474 3206 or email: stephen.fox@stockport.gov.uk

A representative of the Democratic Services Manager submitted a report (copies of which had been circulated) setting out planned items for the Scrutiny Committee’s next meeting and relevant Forward Plan items.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.