Issue - meetings

To approve the DSG Management Plan for 2022/23 to 2026/27.

The committee received the report which sought the approval of the updated Dedicated Schools Grant Management Plan for the period 2022/23 to 2026/27.

Officers gave assurances that this was a national issue and that intelligence and feedback from a range of sources, including members and residents, was factored into the mitigation plan.

Concerns were raised by some members which included not understanding the financial risks behind each area of mitigation and the impact if an area of mitigation fails. A motion was moved and seconded which sought to defer the plan until the committee had a full understanding of the financial implications, particularly having an understanding and assurance that there had been a line by line analysis of all planned expenditure. The motion was declared lost.

RESOLVED (by majority):

That the Children and Families Committee:

1.    Approve the DSG Management Plan for 2022/23 to 2026/27.

2.    Note the need to pursue external capital funding and review the capital programme to identify additional projects within the DSG management plan as determined by the sufficiency statement.

(The council will be updating its SEN sufficiency statement in autumn 2022. This will set out the additional provision needed over the next five years to further mitigate the overspend and require significant capital investment to deliver).

3.    To note that engagement has begun with the DfE’s Delivering Better Value (DBV) programme.