Agenda item

Members will hear a presentation on the Council Budget Proposals. A link to the Agenda for the Cabinet meeting on 15 October is available here.

Gail Tolley introduced the item and reminded members that the last time she had addressed the Schools Forum in relation to Council budget proposals had been in 2015 when she had presented a consultation on the significant budget savings required at the time.[1] She informed the Forum that the budget proposals would be presented to Cabinet on Monday 15 October 2018 to agree to commence a consultation on ways to achieve half of the required £40 million savings over the next two years i.e. there would be additional consultations on further sums.

Gail Tolley stressed that no decisions had been made and Lead Members and Strategic Directors had examined every area of the Council’s operation in order to identify potential savings and focused her presentation on proposals which were going to affect children and young people. Members heard that there were 17 children centres in Brent – 14 of them had been commissioned to Barnardo’s and three were run by the Local Authority. Under the ‘Difficult’ Budget Proposals (Appendix B to Draft Budget Proposals 2019/20 – 2020/21 report), the number of children centres would be reduced by 50% and six family hubs would be created. Furthermore, it was noted that there was an intention to close the Challenge House Children’s Centre.[2] As the building was unsuitable, social work staff currently working at the site would be transferred to the Willesden Centre for Health and Care and the Council would dispose of Challenge House.

Gail Tolley directed the Forum’s attention to the ‘Most Difficult’ Budget Proposals, which included the closure of all children centres and a reduction of the Connexions service to the statutory minimum as these were funded by the only part of the Children and Young People Department’s budget that was discretionary. However, Gail Tolley emphasised that implementing the ‘Most Difficult’ option could be avoided if the ‘recommended’ proposals were achieved, which on its turn, involved staff reductions and ending Council provision of youth services at Roundwood Youth Centre to allow the site to be transformed to an educational setting with voluntary sector run services.

It was noted that that the consultation on the draft budget proposals would start on 15 October 2018 and would continue until 31 January 2019, following which the budget would be set in February 2019. A Member of the Schools Forum commented that the Early Years Service had been included in the budget proposals outlined in the report that would be presented to Cabinet and enquired about the Council’s communication strategy towards Private, Voluntary and Independent (PVI) providers. Gail Tolley directed the Forum’s attention to Appendix A to the Draft Budget Proposals 2019/20 – 2020/21 report and said that a sum from the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) contribution had been included in the list of ‘Recommended’ savings, subject to approval by the Forum. She added that she had met with Lead Members, backbench Councillors and senior officers across the Council, while Heads of Service had approached both staff and stakeholders and had informed them about the consultation.

Questions raised by members related to the difference between a family hub and a children’s centre and the impact of the proposed cuts on children with Special Education Needs and Disabilities (SEND). Gail Tolley said that the family hub model had been adopted by most local authorities that had kept their children centres open as it allowed them to provide holistic services to support families and including at risk adolescents. The existing contract with Barnardo’s woud expire in 2020 and it would be recommissioned in such way that the new provider would run six family hubs. She emphasised that creating family hubs was the next best solution to retaining the under five provision and providing support to parents. However, it was too early to identify sites that would be affected as this would happen once the concept of family hubs had been fully developed.

It was noted that even if the proposed changes were approved, there would not be a change in expenditure in the High Needs Budget.

The Chair summarised the discussion and said that the Schools Forum would consider the detailed DSG-related proposals once these became available.

RESOLVED that:

(i)            The contents of the discussion on the Council Budget Proposals, be noted; and

(ii)          A detailed report on the proposals relating to the DSG be presented to the Schools Forum at the meeting on 16 January 2019.