Agenda item

Report by Director of Finance and Support Services, setting out the finance and performance position as at the end of December 2023.

The Committee is asked to examine the County Council’s corporate performance, finance, savings, delivery and business performance for the services within the remit of this Committee for the period October-December 2023.

48.1     The Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, Learning and Skills, Cllr Russell, introduced the report highlighting that the quarter three projected overspend of £24 million was due to an increase in demand and complexity of placements, alongside a growth in the number of pupils needing home to school transport. The Dedicated School Grant deficit is predicted to increase to just under £74m by the end of the financial year.

48.2     Cllr Russell highlighted that the Department for Education had undertaken a review of improvement activity in October 2023, focussing on family safeguarding, care leavers and effective partnership arrangements, and had concluded that the authority continued to improve practice in all three areas and acknowledged that the service is committed to the ongoing pace of improvement. 

48.3     Members of the Committee asked questions and a summary of those questions and answers follows.

48.4     A member asked that the KPI results include further information such as numbers of cases, rather than just percentages, to give greater context and view of ongoing performance.

48.5     Members asked that under KPI 25 and 26 where only West Sussex maintained schools were covered, it be changed to all schools so that residents could see the figures for all schools and students.  Officers agreed to investigate this.

48.6     KPI 30 – Members asked why there had been an increase in NEETS from 6% to 9.5% and officers reported that a lot of work had taken place and the number of unknowns was now down to around 1,000.

48.7     KPI 56 – Percentage of EHCPs completed in 20 weeks – Officers confirmed that the September figure was skewed because of the school holiday period but acknowledged that performance was not acceptable and that a recovery plan was in place to get performance to 100% over the next 12-18 months.  This would not happen until the backlog of applications had been cleared.  The data was also reported to the SEND and Alternative Provision Improvement Board who had close oversight of this work.  Funding had been made available to recruit further staff and the budget for 2024-25 had been reset to double the size of the team. Data broken down by month and backlog versus new applications would be included in the EHCP Recovery Plan. Members asked that the data included case numbers as well as percentages. 

48.8     KPI 57 – Children and young people with EHCPs accessing mainstream education – Members queried why this was rated as green.  Officers highlighted that work was being progressed to revise the target for the next financial year. 

48.9     Timeliness of Contacts in 3 days – A member asked why the timeliness had decreased by 10% and was informed by officers that the number of contacts at the end 2023 had been affected by staff sickness but that the January 2024 figure was increasing again.  The rolling annual figure is in the mid-90%.  Members welcomed the work being undertaken but expressed their concern at the drop in performance. 

Finance Summary

48.10  A member raised the continued pressure of placement costs and asked what initiatives were being introduced to drive down the use of expensive providers.  Officers reported that much activity was taking place on what was a demanding national picture.  There had been engagement in regional and national discussions on effective agitation of the placements market.  Initiatives locally included the service leadership team looking at how to engage more effectively with small providers and not-for-profit providers who wished to expand their services.  Action: A briefing on these initiatives to be shared with Scrutiny Committee members.

Cost Drivers Information

48.11  Number of Final Statements – The table showed a doubling of numbers since 2015, and a member asked if it was possible to compare staffing levels in the SENAT and Educational Psychology Team to the number of statements to see if the teams have been managing.  Officers reported that staff numbers were being increased, although recruitment of Educational Psychologists was a national challenge.  The service were also looking at other creative ways of working.

48.12  Total Number of Pupils Transported – A member felt that numbers of parents taking up the Parent Mileage Grant was low compared to other many local authorities and asked if work was being done to encourage parents to take up this option?  Officers reported that a scoping exercise was taking place around the whole high needs block pressures which included exploring home to school transport.  A workstream would be established to look at pupil transport including parental transport.  The member offered to discuss the matter with officers.

Capital Programme

48.13  28 - Slinfold School – A member asked how the school would cope if the cost of a permanent two-class extension was not in budget.  Action: The Cabinet Member committed to respond back to the member on this question outside of the meeting.

48.14  36 – Woodlands Meed – A member thanked the Cabinet Member for their determination not to agree a handover until the new school building was in a fit state but wondered how substantial problems had not been identified sooner.  The Cabinet Member expressed disappointment at the delays, mostly caused by the contractor having a bare minimum of workforce onsite to get the project completed.  The County Council, the school and the governing body were all aligned on the stance that they would only accept a building that is good enough for pupils to use. 

48.15  Resolved – That the Committee:

1.   Asks that Performance Measure 25 and 26 on the Ofsted ratings of schools are expanded to include all West Sussex schools.

2.   Raises that the performance of the number of EHCPs being delivered within the 20 weeks is not where it needs to be. The Committee asks for the actual number of EHCPs being delivered within 20 weeks to be provided. 

3.   Welcomes that the target for Key Performance Measure 57 will be revised to be more ambitious.  

4.   Seeks clarity on the current performance of number of contacts being completed within 3 days and welcomed the work being undertaken.

5.   Suggests that promoting parental transport for home to school transport should be progressed.  

6.   Requests a short briefing around resources to address the rise in number of statements. 

7.   Welcomes further detail on work underway to address the pressure on high-cost placements when available.