Mary Jarrett to report.
Minutes:
Consideration was given to the report presented by Neil Hardwick, Head of Finance, and Jenny Lingrell, Assistant Director for Commissioning, Performance and Inclusion, which summarised the increase in the number of Education and Health Care Plans, the growth in demand for specialist provision and the financial position in 2019/20 of the High Needs Block of the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) and the revised cumulative deficit. The recent growth in volume through increased demand for special educational places and the impact on cost was outlined and compared against previous years.
The High Needs Block Recovery Plan aimed to bring in-year expenditure in line with the annual budget allocation and focus on a longer term plan which would contribute to reducing the cumulative deficit.
Reference was made to the educational setting for children and young people with education and health care plans and where there were increases (and pressures) in terms of placements.
In addition to providing education provision for children with SEND the High Needs Block also funded Alternative Provision for those pupils that have been excluded from schools and academies into Pupil Referral Units.
The 2019/20 High Needs Block (HNB) was £34.5m (including the £2.8m transfer from the schools block) and remained under significant pressure due to rising numbers of children supported in specialist provision, the rising costs of Education Health Care (EHC) plans and growth in numbers accessing Alternative Provision.
The forecast at the end of October, 2019 showed an in-year pressure of £3.3m an increase of £867k on the previous period. The projections based on the DSG recovery plan assumptions and included increases on AP places, anticipated growth on EHCs numbers and the implementation of new developments linked to the SEND Sufficiency Strategy.
Reference was also made to the educational setting for children and young people with education and health care plans and where there were increases (and pressures) in terms of placements.
Information was also shared on the Deficit and Recovery Plan and its variances which had been submitted, the unit costs for social care residential placements, Post 16 contracts, cost of pupil referral units and other variances for education other than at school placements.
The recovery plan also reflected the SEND Sufficiency Strategy Phases 1 and 2 that would provide a further 111 additional local places from September, 2019 onwards.
This meant there were £3.3 million of pressures being alleviated by £2.8 million redirection from the Schools Block. A number of key areas were, therefore, being focused on to reduce the High Needs Block pressures as detailed in the report submitted.
Discussion ensued on the current position, whether children excluded from school were having an impact and methodology and costings for notional budgets.
Agreed:- (1) That the growth in Education and Health Care Plans in Rotherham be noted.
(2) That the increased demand for Specialist Education provision be noted.
(3) That the actions in place to mitigate and minimise forecast pressures be noted.
(4) That the in-year High Needs forecast pressures of £3.291m as per October 2019 be noted.
(5) That the progress against the recovery plan which will enable future budget sustainability be noted.
(6) That the recent ESFA Consultation on changes to the conditions of the DSG Grant and how the local authority must carry forward the whole of the overspend to the schools budget in future years be noted.