Agenda and draft minutes

There were no apologies for absence.

There were no declarations of prohibited party whips.  

The Chair advised that no public questions had been received.

The Committee considered the Council’s draft Annual Report for the period 2023/24 which had been produced to meet the relevant provisions within the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 and the Local Government and Elections Act (Wales) 2021. 

The Annual Report was based on the Council’s four Well-being Objectives as outlined in the Corporate Strategy for 2022-27. The reporting structure had been refined to ensure a seamless alignment between the Corporate Strategy and how the Council reported on its progress, thereby placing greater emphasis on an outcome-focussed approach to performance management. 

Consideration was given to the information detailed within the Annual Report in respect of the well-being objectives and thematic and service priorities relevant to the remit of the Education, Young People and Welsh Language Security Committee. 

The observations raised by the Committee were addressed as follows:-

·       The Committee commended the report which reflected the range and breadth of the council’s activities undertaken during a very challenging economic climate.

·       In response to concerns raised in respect of the cessation of funding for the ‘Hwb Bach y Wlad’ service in December 2024, the Committee was advised that discussions were ongoing in an endeavour to run a similar model offering cost of living support and guidance to residents within rural areas of the County going forward.

·       In respect of the rural innovation grant funding secured in 2024 to deliver sport and leisure activities, the Cabinet Member for Education and Welsh Language reported that enquiries would be made to establish the duration of the grant funding and future aspirations for the initiative going forward.

·       Reference was made to the free swimming initiative, in light of the importance of children developing aquatic competence and confidence, together with the concerns regarding obesity levels amongst children in Wales.  Accordingly, a request was made to explore funding opportunities to enable schools to support the provision going forward.  The Director of Education and Children’s Services acknowledged the importance of access to swimming lessons for children, however the provision was not a statutory requirement and therefore work was ongoing within the council to establish costings, which included substantial transportation costs for schools, to assess its viability within the current economic climate. The Committee was advised that further information would be sought from the Head of Leisure, and contact would be made with Councillor S. Williams in due course to further discuss the issue.

·       In response to a query, the Committee was advised that figures relating to the take up of the Childcare Offer for Wales initiative and the Flying Start programme would be promulgated to the Committee.

·       A query was raised regarding the impact of the ‘Trauma Informed Approach’ provision in schools in the light of reduced budgets.  The Director of Education and Children’s Services referred to the robust evidence which indicated the effectiveness of the provision; however it was recognised that schools faced challenges in terms of releasing staff to attend the training and development courses due to resourcing issues.

·       Attention was drawn to the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

The Committee considered the Revenue Budget Outturn Report 2023/24 in respect of the Education & Children’s services falling within its remit. It noted that, overall, the services reported a £1,264k underspend against its approved budget which, in the main, was attributable to the application of grant funding and staffing vacancies.  The underspend was reduced by the cost of maintaining closed school sites and pressures on the free school breakfast and lunch provision.

The observations raised by the Committee were addressed as follows:-

• It was queried whether the under expenditure indicated within the report could be utilised to offset the over expenditure within the school budgets.  The Committee was advised that half of the surplus monies would be utilised centrally by the Council and the remaining sum would stay within the Education and Children’s Services department to offset the over expenditure mainly attributable to implementation of the ALN system and within children’s services.

• The Group Accountant, in response to queries raised, clarified that the £1,264k underspend reported was reflective of the services relevant to the Committee’s remit only, and therefore did not take account of the Children’s Services element which formed part of the department’s responsibilities.  Furthermore, it was clarified that the department would be responsible for the cost of redundancies within schools, however HR protocols would be instigated in the first instance in line with the individual circumstances of each school.

• In response to the concerns raised in respect of the low uptake of Welsh Language courses, it was explained that schools were encouraged to attend training and development sessions, however the ability to release staff, with cover needing to be arranged, could adversely affect attendance levels.

RESOLVED that the report be received.

[Note: Councillors B. W. Jones, K.V. Broom and E. Skinner had earlier declared an interest in this item and remained in the meeting during the deliberation of the matter].

The report presented to the Committee provided an update on the financial position of Nursery, Primary, Secondary, and Special Schools, including information on Welsh Government funding streams for education services. It highlighted a forecasted overspend of £10.8m at the current point in time, resulting in a net deficit on school reserves exceeding £5m by March 2025, which was deemed alarming and unsustainable. The report emphasised the need for urgent action to reduce resourcing levels to bring expenditure in line with available budgets, as well as accelerating progress in rationalising the schools’ footprint, to achieve a more sustainable system overall. A programme of individual support and challenge to identified schools had also commenced and governing bodies and headteachers were urged to reduce expenditure. Written representations had also been made to the chancellor requesting additional monies to be released to councils to prevent rises in council tax.

The Committee’s attention was drawn to the spreadsheet appended to the report which provided a breakdown of the financial implications for individual schools, which, overall showed significant over expenditure in both primary and secondary schools. It provided a detailed financial analysis of school balances, costs, and forecasts for 2024-2025, including data on balance brought forward, funding, over/underspend, and forecast balances, which provided an insight into the financial management and planning effectiveness.

In considering the Welsh Government funding streams for education services, the report outlined the Local Authority Education Grant (LAEG) for 2024/25, detailing the amalgamation of various pre-16 education funding streams and the challenges posed by standstill or reduced grant funding, coupled with increased staffing costs as a result of significant pay awards.  The importance of Post 16 grant funding within the secondary sector and other smaller grants supporting specific projects was also highlighted to the Committee.

The issues/observations raised by the Committee were addressed as follows:-

• In response to a query, an assurance was provided to the Committee that representations had been conveyed by the Directors of Education across Wales to the Cabinet Secretary for Education at Welsh Government emphasising the severe financial pressures on schools whereby the level of debt had tripled as a result of the financial burden placed upon them. It was reported that Welsh Government recognised and understood the concerns raised, and some adaptations had therefore been made to the implementation of the new curriculum and Additional Learning Needs (ALN) system, however there had been little impact from a budgetary perspective.

• It was considered that utilisation of the pupil level annual school census (PLASC) was ineffective as a basis of the Welsh Local Government Finance Settlement for schools as it did not account for the additional funding requirements as a result of in-year pupil transfers, in particular for those with additional learning needs.  It was suggested that HWB could be utilised as a simpler solution for the collation and sharing  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

The Committee considered a report which provided an update on the status of the Strategic Focus Groups (SFGs) which had previously been utilised as a mechanism to support the delivery of the Education and Children’s Services business objectives. 

The Committee was advised that the SFGs would no longer be continued due to changes in the management structure. Members were informed that an internal Managers Group had been established as a means of ensuring that the division’s strategies and business planning arrangements are co-constructed, delivered and evaluated, in addition to providing a forum to resolve pressing and complex issues in schools and across the division.

It was reported that going forward, the department intended to consult with headteachers on strategic matters at area meetings held once every half term, in accordance with the timetable set out within the report.  It was considered that this approach would enable input from all headteachers to be received rather than a representation of headteachers, and weekly updates by way of a newsletter would continue to be issued to schools.

It was envisaged that implementation of the changes would result in improved delivery at pace.  With the discontinuation of SFG updates, a request was made for periodic reports summarising the discussions with Headteachers, including the actions and outcomes arising from those meetings to be submitted to the Committee.

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that:

The Committee received a list of forthcoming items to be considered at its next meeting to be held on the 4^th December 2024. 

In considering the Committee’s Forward Work Plan for 2024/25 the Chair advised that some meeting dates would be changed, and the revised dates would be circulated shortly.  In this regard, a request was made for any changes to meeting dates to be kept to a minimum, and to endeavour to avoid clashes with members’ other commitments, where possible.

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the list of forthcoming items to be considered at the next scheduled meeting on the 4^th December 2024 be noted.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 26^th June 2024 be signed as a correct record.