Agenda item

[NOTE:  Councillor G. Jones had previously declared an interest in this item.]

The Committee considered the Revenue and Capital Budget Monitoring Report in relation to the Education and Children Service which provided an update on the latest budgetary position as at 31^st December, 2017, in respect of the 2017/18 financial year.

The Education and Children Service was projecting an overspend of £516k on the revenue budget and a net variance of £2,004k against the 2017/18 approved capital budget. 

The following questions/observations were raised on the report:-

·       With regard to school redundancy and EVR, officers were asked when the Committee would be able to see specific plans for dealing with this issue.  The Director of Education & Children explained that officers have been working on this for 3-4 years and he was pleased that what has been put in place is having an impact as expenditure has been reduced by half this year.  He referred to the Challenge Review which supports schools to make the right decisions at the right time.  Natural retirement is encouraged, however, there will always be an element of redundancy which the Authority will have to bear the cost of;

·       Reference was made to the Music Service and officers were asked if there was a real threat to the service and if so, what can be done to retain it.  The Director of Education & Children explained that it was a financial challenge as it is funded by schools through a SLA and they are having to make tough decisions. The Welsh Government has considered allocating £2m to look at the provision of music services throughout Wales, but this requires further confirmation.  He agreed that it was a challenge and more and more schools are using the service to teach music rather than to learn how to play a musical instrument.  The Head of Curriculum and Wellbeing stressed the importance of increasing income and reducing costs;

·       Officers were asked about the special education posts which have not been filled and the Director of Education & Children informed the Committee that there is a high number of staff in the Education Department and when a post becomes vacant, officers ascertain whether it needs to be filled.  They also encounter problems recruiting to some post such as sensory impairment.  Work is being done in this regard as a high number of staff in this specialised field are approaching retirement age;

·       Concern was expressed regarding the provision of respite and holiday care and the Head of Children’s Services explained that regular meetings are held with the 3^rd sector to see if they are better placed to provide these services as sometimes Local Authorities provide services that are far more intense than families require.  It is all about realigning services and providing what families need, with regular communication with families and providers;

·       Concern was expressed over the reduction in demand for school meals and officers were asked what is being done to mitigate the increase in cost in April.  The Strategic Development Manager explained that the general trend has been one of the take up of school meals holding up until last year, where it declined by around 1% and the data this year shows a further decline.  This could be due to a number of reasons e.g. parents getting accustomed to the new online payment system, however, there was no obvious trend.  With regard to the increase in cost, the Executive Board Member for Education and Children advised the Committee that the price of school meals has increased by 10p most years and now Carmarthenshire is the highest priced in Wales and he was concerned that the price was contributing towards the reduction in take up.  He was therefore working with officers to find a way to avoid increasing the cost and he was hopeful that this could be done;

·       Officers were congratulated on reducing the overspend between September and December and were asked whether they had any idea about the end of year position.  The Group Accountant advised that she did not have an up-to-date figure as officers were currently going through the reports from budget managers for February.  The Director advised the Committee that he would like to get as close to a zero position as possible.  He added that his officers are very successful in attracting and making the most of grants, every vacant post is looked at and whether there is a need to fill it and the department’s work practices are improving with the help of the TIC programme.

RESOLVED

5.1     that the report be received;

5.2     that the Committee receive a report later in the year on School                     Redundancy and EVR detailing the approach taken and the           progress made;

5.3     that the Committee receive a report at a future meeting on the           recruitment and retention of staff;     

5.4     that the Committee receive a report at a future meeting on the           problems being faced by the county’s Music Service.