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 that the Youth Cabinet was continuing to make good progress with its study of the Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) curriculum. The Youth Cabinet had arranged further visits to discuss this subject with staff in various schools.

FOR MONITORING

(1) Scrutiny Review of the Closure of Schools during periods of inclement weather and heavy snow fall – it was agreed that a short scrutiny review be undertaken of this issue, with the Review Group comprising Councillors Kaye and G. A. Russell and Mr. M. Hall (co-opted member).

(2) The Scrutiny Panel noted the contents of a letter dated 16^th December, 2009, addressed to the Leader of the Council, from the Rt. Hon. Dawn Primarolo MP, Minister of State for Children, Young People and Families; included with the letter was the Improvement Notice being served upon this Council in respect of performance in Children’s Services.

MINUTES

Consideration was given to a report presented by the Finance Manager  providing details of expenditure, income and the net budget position for the Children and Young People’s Services Directorate compared to the profiled budgets for the period ending 30th November, 2009 and the projected year end outturn position for the 2009/10 financial year. Currently the Directorate is forecasting an overspend of £4.084m.

Discussion took place on the following issues:-

-     moratorium on spending within the Directorate;

-     identifying all possible areas for savings;

-     the recent value for money review (Minute No. 107 below refers);

-     the availability of resources to meet unpredictable demand (eg: looked after children);

-     cost of social work staff from external agencies;

-     the budget for youth and community services;

-     Section 17 budget (children in need).

The Scrutiny Panel also discussed the cost of recruiting social workers from external, private agencies and whether local authorities ought to make joint arrangements in order to try and reduce costs. It was agreed that the unit costs of the use agency social workers ought to be considered further as part of the budget process.

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

(2) That the current forecast outturn position for the Directorate based on actual costs and income to 30th November 2009 and forecast costs and income to 31st March 2010 be noted.

(3) That further consideration of the current year’s and of the 2010/11 budgets for Children and Young People’s Services be undertaken at this Scrutiny Panel’s next meeting, to be held on 5^th February, 2010.

Resolved:- That the minutes of the previous meeting of the Children and Young People’s Scrutiny Panel held on 27^th November, 2009 be approved as a correct record for signature by the Chairman.

held as follows:-

- 18^th November 2009

- 24^th November 2009

- 2^nd December 2009

- 8^th December 2009

- 16^th December 2009

Resolved:- That the contents of the minutes of the meetings of the Cabinet Member and Advisers for Children and Young People’s Services, held on 18^th November, 2009, 24^th November, 2009, 2^nd December, 2009, 8^th December, 2009 and on 16^th December, 2009, be noted.

Resolved:- That the contents of the minutes of the meeting of the Looked After Children Scrutiny Sub-Panel held on 2nd December, 2009 be noted.

Resolved:- That the contents of the minutes of the meeting of the Children’s Board held on 9^th December, 2009 be noted.

Consideration of the following item will begin at 10.00 a.m.

FOR DISCUSSION

Resolved:- That the contents of the minutes of the meeting of the Performance and Scrutiny Overview Committee held on 20^th November, 2009, be noted.

Consideration was given to a report presented by the Strategic Lead for Attendance and Parenting, about the Rotherham Parenting Strategy which contained Rotherham’s commitment to supporting mothers, fathers and carers, recognising the important influence they have on a child’s development, achievements and self-esteem.

The report stated that the parenting support, developing out of the Strategy, demanded that account be taken of the needs of all vulnerable groups. A parent or carer can expect to receive a level of service depending on their needs, or the needs of their children. There will be a range of parenting support in each neighbourhood. Rotherham’s Parenting Strategy will be delivering on a four tier intervention model, as follows:-

Level 1 – Universal

Level 2 – Co-ordinated Early Intervention

Level 3 – Complex Support

Level 4 – Intensive Support

The report included general definitions of each level and identified key agencies delivering support. The list of providers was not exhaustive and might change over time. It was anticipated that each neighbourhood’s Parenting Champion will update the information and inform locality teams.

The Scrutiny Panel welcomed a group of parents, most of whom were participating in the Families and Schools Together (F.A.S.T.) programme based in Catcliffe. Each parent explained the way in which this innovative project had helped to develop and improve aspects of their family life. Also attending this meeting was a parent who received services from the Family Intervention Project and one who had taken part in the Carnegie parenting programme.

The Scrutiny Panel’s discussion of this issue included the following salient points:-

-     the content and purpose of home to school agreements;

-     the Carnegie parenting programme;

-     engaging with parents, the parents forum and parental influence upon the Strategy;

-     Parenting Early Intervention Project;

-     the F.A.S.T. programme at Catcliffe, which already had many parents awaiting the availability of places in the future;

-     anti-social behaviour family intervention projects (FIP); Court orders sometimes required attendance at such projects;

-     Working with Parents National Occupational Standards and Training;

-     the role of Parent Support Advisers;

-     the funding of the parenting intervention and support projects, which would end in March, 2011 and the need to find alternative methods of funding (possibly mainstream funding) to enable the projects to continue beyond that date.

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

(2) That the group of parents be thanked for their contributions to today’s meeting and for their continuing support for the Rotherham Parenting Strategy.

(3) That a further report about the strategy for early intervention be submitted to a meeting of this Scrutiny Panel in March or April, 2010.

(4) That this Scrutiny Panel shall give further consideration to the need for continued funding for parenting intervention and support projects, at its next meeting on 5^th February, 2010, during consideration of the 2010/2011 budget for Children and Young People’s Services.

(5) That a progress report about the Rotherham Parenting Strategy be submitted to a meeting  ...  view the full minutes text for item 105.

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).

The Scrutiny Panel noted the contents of the minutes of the meeting of the Children and Young People’s Services Value for Money Budget Review Group held on 30^th November, 2009.