Agenda item

To consider a report seeking approval of the updated Dedicated Schools Grant Management Plan for the period 2023/24 to 2027/28.

The committee considered the report which sought approval of the updated Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) Management Plan for the period 2023/24 to 2027/28.

A number of concerns were raised during the debate which included:

·         Concerns around the size of the deficit

·         Whether it was appropriate for this committee to make the decision rather than Full Council as the financial impact would have a wider effect

·         The need for more SEND provision in mainstream schools

·         This was a national issue and there was a lack of an alternative

Members asked officers for assurance on their confidence that the plan would be effective and for the Section 151 Officer to provide assurance that it was a sound recommendation.

The Director of Strong Start, Family Help and Integration advised that officers were confident in the plans put before committee. The right staff were in place and were committed to being part of the Safety Valve programme and learning from others. Learning had been taken from the Delivering Better Value Programme.

The Section 151 Officer advised that the committee had responsibility for the oversight of budgets associated with Children and Families which included the Dedicated Schools Grant. The management plan included significant activity to mitigate the expenditure and the Safety Valve programme had been entered into by other local authorities before. The Section 151 Officer was satisfied that this was compliant with the statutory duty and accounting rules put in place by central government and, while members’ concerns and the importance of the topic were understood, it was considered appropriate for the committee to make the decision.

Paragraph 50 of the report referred to 17 local authorities in the North West which were holding combined deficit balances totalling £177m and it was queried whether Cheshire East held the highest deficit. Officers undertook to check this detail and confirm in a written response.

An amendment was moved and seconded which sought to remove recommendation 1 in the report and instead refer the decision to Full Council. A recorded vote was requested with the following results:

FOR

Councillors M Beanland, G Hayes, R Kain, B Posnett, J Saunders, L Wardlaw

AGAINST

Councillors L Anderson, S Bennett-Wake, C Bulman, A Critchley, G Smith, J Place

The Chair used a casting vote against and the amendment was declared lost.

The recommendations as set out in the report were proposed and seconded and a recorded vote was requested with the following results:

FOR

Councillors L Anderson, S Bennett-Wake, C Bulman, A Critchley, G Smith, J Place

AGAINST

Councillors M Beanland, G Hayes, R Kain, B Posnett, J Saunders, L Wardlaw

The Chair used a casting vote for and the recommendations were carried.

RESOLVED (by majority)

That the Children and Families Committee:

1.    Approve the current DSG Management Plan for 2023/24 to 2027/28, which forecasts a deficit reserve position of £536m unmitigated and £307m mitigated by the end of March 2028. There is a full breakdown of the forecast for income and expenditure in appendix 1 paragraph 22. This is a requirement of DfE.

2.    Note the need to pursue additional capital funding and review the capital programme to identify additional projects which could be included in DSG management plan as determined by the SEN sufficiency statement.

The council has updated the SEN sufficiency statement for 2023/24 to 2025/26. This will set out the additional provision needed over the next three years to further mitigate the overspend and require significant capital investment to deliver).

3.    3. To delegate to the Executive Director of Children’s Services authority to undertake any consultations deemed necessary to facilitate implementation.

4.    To note, the Chief Executive, Executive Director of Children’s Services and the Section 151 Officer will continue to raise the financial issues with the DfE and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC).

5.    To note, the acceptance of invitation to join the Safety Valve intervention

programme.

6.    To approve an onward journey for a revised version of the DSG management plan to include Safety Valve to be presented to Council on 11 December 2023.