Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillors Donovan and Turan.

If you have a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest* in an item of business:

§  if it is not yet on the council’s register, you must declare both the existence and details of it at the start of the meeting or when it becomes apparent;

§  you may choose to declare a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest that is already in the register in the interests of openness and transparency. 

In both the above cases, you must leave the room without participating in discussion of the item.

If you have a personal interest in an item of business and you intend to speak or vote on the item you must declare both the existence and details of it at the start of the meeting or when it becomes apparent but you may participate in the discussion and vote on the item.

*(a) Employment, etc - Any employment, office, trade, profession or vocation carried on for profit or gain.

(b)  Sponsorship - Any payment or other financial benefit in respect of your expenses in carrying out duties as a member, or of your election; including from a trade union.

(c) Contracts - Any current contract for goods, services or works, between you or your partner (or a body in which one of you has a beneficial interest) and the council.

(d) Land - Any beneficial interest in land which is within the council’s area.

(e) Licences- Any licence to occupy land in the council’s area for a month or longer.

(f)   Corporate tenancies - Any tenancy between the council and a body in which you or your partner have a beneficial interest.

 (g) Securities - Any beneficial interest in securities of a body which has a place of business or land in the council’s area, if the total nominal value of the securities exceeds £25,000 or one hundredth of the total issued share capital of that body or of any one class of its issued share capital. 

This applies to all members present at the meeting.

There were no declarations of interest.

Councillor Hamitouche for Councillor Donovan.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 24 November 2014 be confirmed and the Chair be authorised to sign them.

None.

The Chair suggested that as the SEN reforms had just started to be implemented, deferring this scrutiny to the 2015/16 municipal year would allow time for the reforms to be embedded, would enable the committee to undertake a more in depth scrutiny and allow the committee to focus more on the Impact of Early Help on Preventing Escalation to Statutory Services.

The Committee considered whether to reduce the number of reports submitted to the Committee and were of the view that one report at each meeting would mean sufficient time could be allocated to the scrutiny review. Presentations should be limited to five minutes and time would be allocated for members’ questions. As the Annual Report on Learning and Schools Standards was less strategic and operational than the Educational Services Report, it would be more useful to the Committee.

A vote of thanks to the chair for her work in devising the work plan was moved by Councillor Wayne, seconded by Councillor Poyser and carried.

RESOLVED:

1)     That the Impact of SEN changes on Children and Families scrutiny be deferred to the 2015/16 municipal year.

2)     That, in addition to the Impact of Early Help on Preventing Escalation to Statutory Services scrutiny review, the Committee would receive one additional report at each meeting. This would be accompanied by a five minute presentation and questions from members. The report schedule would be as follows:

March 2015 – Annual Report on Learning and Schools Standards

April 2015 – Executive member presentation

May 2015 – Early Years report

3)     That a vote of thanks be accorded to the Chair for her work in devising the work plan.

The Chair outlined the proposed next steps for the Impact of Early Help on Preventing Escalation to Statutory Services scrutiny and explained that by identifying aspects of the local early help offer and partnership working, the scrutiny would be more focused. Similarly, identifying questions to focus on would help the committee scrutinise and provide useful recommendations. The questions in the Next Steps document focused on access and efficiency.

RESOLVED:

1)     That the Next Steps document, including the six focus questions, be agreed.

2)     That the decision on who would be invited to give evidence, be delegated to the chair, in consultation with officers.