Agenda and minutes

There were no declarations of interest made at this meeting.

There were no questions from members of the public or the press.

The Scrutiny Panel noted National Holocaust Day in January, 2009 and welcomed the information to be sent to all Members.

FOR DISCUSSION

(a)     The Performance and Scrutiny Overview Committee had agreed to support the £11 million Takeover Day on the 7th November, 2008 which would allow the Youth Cabinet to set the agenda and takeover the meeting.

(b)     The Co-optees Mentoring Scheme was also being promoted with a link to an Elected Member.  Anyone interested in taking part should contact Caroline Webb in the Scrutiny Office.

Consideration was given to a report concerning the Government’s Capital Investment Programme entitled ‘My Place’, which was making available grants of between £1 million and £5 million to develop twenty-first century youth facilities in local areas. The programme had £190 million to allocate, with £160 million due to be committed in 2008 and a further £30 million in Spring, 2009.  ‘My Place’ was designed to enhance the Government’s “Aiming High for Young People: A Ten Year Strategy for Positive Activities” Agenda, by responding to what was described as a “clear ongoing demand”  from young people, parents and communities for more and better places for young people to go.

The ‘My Place’ project was being managed by the Big Lottery Fund, on behalf of the Department for Children, Schools and Families.  Initial expressions of interest were required by 30^th September, 2008 from which successful candidates would be decided by February, 2009, and subsequently invited to a second round and a far more detailed and substantive submission. Indications were that successful bids were likely to be awarded between £2 million and £3 million.

The report stated that Rotherham’s proposal was to submit a bid for the building of a twenty-first century youth facility near to the Rotherham town centre. The suggested preferred option was for the voluntary sector (possibly YMCA in partnership with Voluntary Action Rotherham) to become the lead partner for the “My Place” development, with the Borough Council acting as a strategic partner and donating/leasing the land.

The Scrutiny Panel also received a presentation by two former members of the Rotherham Youth Cabinet, Lydia and Andrew, Young Advisers appointed by Children and Young People’s Services to work on the agenda of the voice and influence of young people in strategy and service delivery and the consultation exercise undertaken on the ‘My Place’ project.

The presentation drew attention to:-

·              The role of Young Advisers.

·              Big Lottery Fund to delivery on behalf of the D. C. S. F.

·              The bid to meet the ‘My Place’ objectives to be successful.

·              The story so far.

·              Discussion with young people.

·              Submitting the application and consultation.

·              Regular meetings with the Architect to consider feedback.

·              Bid submitted on the 29^th September, 2008.

A discussion and a question and answer session ensued and the following issues were raised and clarified:-

-                 Support from Council Directorates.

-                 Potential sites and transport links.

-                 Application details and the draft sketches submitted.

-                 Contributions and ambitious plans submitted by young people.

-                 Internal layout and accessibility.

-                 Focus on being totally inclusive for all young people.

-                 Other ‘My Place’ projects in the country.

-                 Responsibility and sustainability of the premises and partnership agreements.

-                 Remit and age range of the ‘My Place’ project.

-                 Consultation process and inclusion of hard to reach groups.

Resolved:- (1) That Lydia and Andrew be thanked for their very informative presentation.

(2)  That the report be received and its contents noted.

(3) That further reports be submitted to Elected Members,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 42.

The Director of Resources and Access made a presentation to the Scrutiny Panel about the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) ‘Transforming Learning’ programme.

The presentation drew specific attention to:-

·              What was BSF.

·              Rotherham’s BSF Programme.

·              Timescales.

·              Principles.

·              Broad Aim – to deliver outstanding outcomes and provision for all learners.

·              To create learning environments that would accelerate this transformation.

·              Strategy for Change.

·              Diversity, Choice and Access,

·              Rotherham Learning Partnership.

·              Transforming Learning.

·              Academy Status for MaltbyComprehensive School.

·              Co-location of HilltopSchool on the comprehensive school campus and the amalgamation of the adjacent infant and junior schools.

·              Integrated Schools.

A discussion and a question and answer session ensued and the following issues were raised and clarified:-

-                 The building of world class schools and facilities as opposed to demolishing and rebuilding a school.

-                 Appointment of a Design Consultant and Design Champion.

-                 Inclusion of voluntary aided schools in the BSF Programme.

-                 Long term funding of the project.

-                 Logistics of change and minimisation of disruption to pupils to prevent them being adversely affected.

-                 Scrutiny Review – Use of Council Buildings.

-                 Use of the schools by the wider community and the arrangements for this to take place.

-                 Extra vehicular traffic around a multi-school campus.

-                 Overcrowding and ability of the school to deal and cope with demand.

-                 Pupil place planning.

-                 Lead in time and timescales for delivery.

-                 Costs associated with each phase of development.

-                 Government guarantees and the impact of any change.

-                 Sustainability of the new schools.

-                 Specialist schools and the transportation of young people across the borough.

-                 Investment in the school building programme and the contribution to environmental climate change.

-                 Traffic generation at both primary and secondary schools and the plans to reduce this.

-                 School travel plans.

The Cabinet Member for Children and Young People’s Services welcomed the questions and input from the Scrutiny Panel, but pointed out that it was a long slow process, which potentially was a £170 million investment into the infrastructure of Rotherham’s schools.

It was equally important to secure this funding in order to provide Rotherham’s children with modern facilities to improve their education and attainment.

Resolved:-  (1)  That the Director of Resources and Access be thanked for his informative presentation.

(2)  That the contents of the presentation be noted.

(3)  That consideration be given to the contents of the report into the Scrutiny Review – Use of School Buildings.

(4)  That consideration be given to setting up a joint meeting with Regeneration Scrutiny Panel with a further report being submitted on the progress of travel plans for schools across the borough.

MINUTES

Consideration was given to a report presented by the Director of Resources and Access, which detailed how the Children and Young People’s Service Directorate Outturn (excluding schools delegated budgets) for 2007/08 showed an overspend of £573,265 against a net cash limited budget of £32,897,245. This represented a variation of 1.74%. 

This outturn was before adjusting for the carry-forward of traded balances (£616,431 deficit).  The adjusted variance to budget was £43,166 underspent (­0.13%).

In addition to the above, the report detailed earmarked balances to a value of £19,030.  Approval had been given to carry forward the earmarked balances. The adjusted outturn for Children and Young People’s Service after carrying forward the earmarked balances was an underspend against budget of £24,136.  An additional request to retain £4,827 (20%) for the Service’s use in 2008/09 was in line with the new carry-forward policy.

A summary of the outturn position for the Directorate was provided in addition to schools’ balances, which drew specific attention to the overspend for Looked After Children and the challenges facing the Adoption and Fostering Service.

There was also a Building Schools for the Future resource commitment, which was required in order to deliver the programme, with support from Council and school budgets to support this.

Discussion ensued and the following issues were raised and subsequently clarified:-

-                 Surplus of school budgets.

-                 Large forecasted overspend IN 2008/09 for Children and Young People’s Services and whether the budget would be adjusted for future years.

-                 National shortage of foster carers and the marketing campaign being proposed in Rotherham.

-                 Statutory duty as “Corporate Parent” to meet the needs of looked after children and the challenges of predicting future demand.

-                 Strategy to address the challenges facing the Directorate.

Resolved:-  (1)  That the contents of the report be noted.

(2)  That further information be provided to this Scrutiny Panel on the marketing drive and recruitment campaign of fosters carers in Rotherham.

(3)  That further updates on the budget process be submitted to this Scrutiny Panel in due course.

Resolved:- That the minutes of the previous meeting of the Children and Young People’s Services Scrutiny Panel held on 5^th September, 2008 be approved as a correct record for signature by the Chairman.

Resolved:- That the contents of the minutes of the meeting of the Performance and Scrutiny Overview Committee held on 12th September, 2008 be noted.

The following item is likely to be considered in the absence of the press and public as being exempt under Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 as amended (information relating to financial or business affairs)

Resolved:- That, under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 as amended (information relating to financial or business affairs).

Consideration was given to a report presented by the Principal Catering Officer which provided an overview of the report produced by PriceWaterhouseCooper (PwC) on the School Meals Catering Service, the key recommendations of the report and the actions taken by the School Meals Catering Service to address those recommendations.

The subsequent PwC report recognised the financial pressures impacting on the School Meals Catering Service and identified additional specific factors which, if addressed, would contribute towards the delivery of a sustainable and strategic service.  These included:-

·              Comparison of Meal Take Up 2004-05 to 2007-08.

·              Finance.

·              Key Issues of the PwC Report.

·              Response to PwC Report.

·              Strategic Direction.

·              Operational.

·              Financial Sustainability.

·              Proposals to be Implemented in the Future.

·              Current Position.

A discussion and a question and answer session ensued and the following issues were raised and subsequently clarified:-

-                 Comparison of meal take-up between schools and performance data.

-                 Pressures on revenue, priority and value for money.

-                 Economies of scale and menu choice.

-                 Best practice visits to improved school meal take-up areas.

-                 New menu to be introduced during November, 2008.

-                 Take up of free school meal places.

-                 Cultural diversity of some schools and the challenges to provide choice for all.

-                 Opinions and feedback from parents regarding school dinners.

-                 Taster sessions with parents and their viability.

-                 Staffing levels.

-                 Composting and recycling of school meal waste.

-                 Links with the Obesity Strategy.

-                 Number of schools restricting egress at lunchtime.

Resolved:-  (1)  That the report be received and the contents noted.

(2)  That a report be submitted to this Scrutiny Panel in six months time with an update on the service with data on school meal take-up.