Agenda, decisions and minutes

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting.

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting.

There were no declarations of interest received.

There were no declarations of interest received.

·       12 September 2024

The minutes of the meeting held on 12 September 2024 were approved as an accurate record of proceedings.

The minutes of the meeting held on 12 September 2024 were approved as an accurate record of proceedings.

Members considered items from the Cabinet Forward Work Programme

Members considered items from the Cabinet Forward Work Programme

Following scrutiny, members supported the recommendation outlined in the draft Cabinet report.

The Head of Support Services and Transformation stated that the strategy was required to fulfil the councils’ obligations and to promote a multi-agency approach to supporting young people.

Members enquired whether there would be a further action plan and how it would be tracked and monitored, members commented that the strategy action points were not dated. Members asked if there was an intention to map third sector provision, and, if so whether the Social Services Local Area Co-ordinators could assist.

Officers confirmed that the strategy did include the beginnings of an action plan, it was hoped that the Youth Engagement Strategy Group would be re-established and could develop their own action plan which they could monitor. The strategy focuses on young people not in education, employment or training and those young people who are at risk of youth homelessness and there is a good understanding of third sector mapping in relation to those issues. There are well established multi agency operational groups in place.

Members expressed the importance of mapping going forward and how this could help when limited funding was available.

Officers confirmed that members views will be feedback to the Youth Engagement Strategy Group, once formed.

Following scrutiny, members supported the recommendation outlined in the draft Cabinet report.

Following scrutiny, the report was noted.

The Head of Early Years, Inclusion and Partnerships provided a brief overview of the report.

Members commented that the number of children with additional learning needs (ALN) was increasing but there was insufficient funding to address this.

The Head of Early Years, Inclusion and Partnerships agreed that it was a difficult situation with increasing numbers of children with ALN. It is difficult to predict numbers; there are children with complex needs moving into the borough. Additional grants from Welsh Government for ALN have been used to support schools. There is wider support available from training, with support services visiting schools to help with provision and assessment.

Officers advised members that provisions are regularly reviewed. Work is ongoing to consider all the specialist provision across the authority and the projected need, working closely with other service areas to ensure there is sufficient provision to meet need. It is acknowledged that some pupils may require over and above provision. To address this within mainstream schools, additional outreach support is offered to these pupils. Work is undertaken with Ysgol Maes Y Coed to ensure that staff supporting young people receive support, training and advice.

The Director of Education, Leisure and Lifelong Learning acknowledged the pressure on school budgets. There is less financial pressure in Learning Support Centres (LSC’s) and Specialist Schools, but this cannot be considered in isolation. Most pupils with additional learning needs attend mainstream schools and the needs of young people need to be met in the entirety of the education budget not only within LSC’s. It was noted that if the needs of young people are not being met, this may result in out of county placements and increased budget pressures. The Director commented on a recently published WLGA paper which outlined pressures in local government public services and highlighted over £100m of unfunded pressures in education in Wales; this was mainly due to increased incidence of ALN in schools. Within Neath Port Talbot the increase in ALN has been particularly within Early Years.

The Cabinet Member for Education and Early Years agreed the timelines for the ALN reform are tight, but complimented the team on what has been achieved to date. ALN reform is not fully funded from Welsh Government and is putting pressure on local authorities; all members were encouraged to lobby UK and Welsh Government for full funding.

The Director of Finance advised members that when Welsh Government introduced the legislation, the impact assessment concluded that there would be no additional cost to local authorities and therefore no funding was provided through the Revenue Support Grant. Some one-off grant funding was available but no core funding, it was suggested that the Welsh Government impact assessment should be reviewed.

Following scrutiny, the report was noted.

Following scrutiny, members noted the report and the suggestions and views put forward by the committee.

The Director of Education, Leisure and Lifelong Learning advised members that Directors, Heads of Service and accountable managers were working to achieve the required savings proposals across the local authority. The guiding principles were, where possible, to increase income, cover core costs against grants, protect public services and jobs. The consultation period has not yet commenced, and the proposals presented to members were part of a pre-consultation engagement exercise for members comments and ideas. Proposals have been based on currently known information and the assumption that grants and funding levels will continue. Some detail is still unavailable, however, if the proposals do form part of the official consultation proposals, more detail will be available.

Officers provided an overview of the budget proposals reference ELL-A – ELL-G as contained within the agenda pack. The savings for Margam Country Park are part of a three-year plan and a report will be presented to members in January, containing the new business plan and parking review. New events have been introduced at the park. In relation to staffing, there has been some staff progression, and one staff member has expressed an interest in retirement. There is a slight delay to the cinema project at Pontardawe Arts Centre, but it was hoped that this will be open for trading in March 2025. Savings have been realised from the closure of Pontardawe Swimming Pool. A new catering facility has been introduced at the Aqua Splash in Aberavon, which is operated by Celtic Leisure. Some schools are reviewing the service level agreement they have for the Education Learning Resource Service (ELRS). The savings in the ELRS area relate to the change of the use of technologies.

Members raised concern regarding potential staff redundancies and unfilled vacancies. Members commented that Margam Country Park was currently not making savings and questioned how savings will be achieved in the next financial year. Members commented that indoor leisure trading improvements were based on staff morale and considering Celtic Leisure was not being brought back in house next year, whether staff morale would enable these savings to be delivered.

The Director of Education, Leisure and Lifelong Learning acknowledged that any prediction of increased income could be affected by factors such as poor weather. The target across the suite of services was broadly achievable, with the ability to over achieve in some areas, such as the new cinema and catering facility at Pontardawe Arts Centre. In relation to Margam Country Park, predicted income is not static during the year and is dependent on weather and organised events. The Director was not aware of any predicted budget pressures in Margam Park. The Director acknowledged that there are risks for the ELRS; schools are looking to save money on non-statutory areas, due to budget pressures.

Members referred to budget proposal reference ELLL-D and requested a further breakdown.

The Director of Education, Leisure and Lifelong Learning confirmed that part of the management fee provided to Celtic Leisure was to run Pontardawe Swimming Pool and due  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4c

Members considered items from the Scrutiny Committee Forward Work Programme

Members considered items from the Scrutiny Committee Forward Work Programme

Following scrutiny, the report was noted.

The Head of Education Development provided a brief overview of the reports contained within the agenda pack, the five Service Improvement plans sit below the Directorate Improvement Plan and link into the Corporate Improvement Plan.

Members referred to the mention of coffee mornings for electively home-schooled children and enquired about the level of engagement. Members commented that the numbers of electively home-schooled children was increasing and there was concern regarding the lack of monitoring and overview.

The Head of Education Development confirmed that on average, 30 to 40 families attend each session. The sessions are jointly run in partnership with health, police and Careers Wales. The college have attended sessions and provided a variety of roadshows such as knife crime, scooter safety, internet safety and learning through play which some families may not receive outside of the school system.

Members questioned what percentage of the electively home-schooled families attended the coffee morning sessions. It was noted that there was no register, and this is an issue.

The Head of Education Development advised members that the percentage of families attending from the whole home-schooled family population was unknown. Welsh Government guidance is followed and it is hoped that more families will attend in future.

Members asked for clarification on the risk assessments contained within the report, and how they are used for monitoring.

The Director of Education, Leisure and Lifelong Learning confirmed that there are Service Improvement Plans for all accountable managers within the Directorate and the risks are assessed within teams. The Service Improvement Plans are aggregated into the Coordinator Service Improvement Plans, which in turn are aggregated to the Directorate Risk Register.

The member requested to meet with officers outside of the meeting for further clarification.

Following scrutiny, the report was noted.

There were no performance monitoring reports for consideration.

There were no performance monitoring reports for consideration.

Members agreed to add the following items to the Scrutiny Committee Forward Work Programme:

·         Flying Start Expansion Phase 3 – 5th December 2024

·         Country Parks Car Park Review – 5^th December 2024

Members noted the Forward Work Programme.

Officers advised members of new items that had been added to the Cabinet Forward Work Programme and changes to the Scrutiny Committee Forward Work Programme; members were given the opportunity to request further items for consideration.

Members agreed to add the following items to the Scrutiny Committee Forward Work Programme:

·        Flying Start Expansion Phase 3 – 5th December 2024

·        Country Parks Car Park Review – 5^th December 2024

Members noted the Forward Work Programme.

Any urgent items at the discretion of the Chairperson pursuant to Section 100BA (6) (b) of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended).

There were no urgent items.

There were no urgent items.