Hampshire County Council Children and Young People Select Committee Meeting

Apologies were received from Councillor Broomfield.

Members were mindful that where they believed they had a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest in any matter considered at the meeting they must declare that interest at the time of the relevant debate and, having regard to the circumstances described in Part 3, Paragraph 1.5 of the County Council's Members' Code of Conduct, leave the meeting while the matter was discussed, save for exercising any right to speak in accordance with Paragraph 1.6 of the Code. Furthermore Members were mindful that where they believed they had a Personal interest in a matter being considered at the meeting they considered whether such interest should be declared, and having regard to Part 5, Paragraph 5 of the Code, considered whether it was appropriate to leave the meeting whilst the matter was discussed, save for exercising any right to speak in accordance with the Code.

No declarations were made.

The Minutes of the meeting held on 11 July 2023 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

The Committee did not receive any deputations.

The Chairman did not make any announcements to the meeting.

The Committee received a report and presentation from the Director of Children’s Services providing an overview of the proposed Revenue Savings Programme to 2025.

These outlined the detailed savings proposals for the Children’s Services Directorate which have been developed as part of the Council’s Savings Programme to 2025 (SP2025). The report also provided the details of the Equality Impact Assessments undertaken in respect of these proposals and highlighted any issues arising from the public consultation carried out over the summer.

It was noted that the proposals were to be presented to the Executive Lead Member for Children’s Services, to be approved for submission to Cabinet in October, followed by the County Council meeting in November, recognising that there will be further public consultation for some proposals.

In response to questions members heard that:

·           Hampshire Libraries host a number of services including banks for their local communities, providing additional income.

·           Children’s Services believed in an approach which believed that children should be at home when safe to do so, rather than in a Children’s Home or Foster Care.

·           Considerations had been given to a sold service opportunities in relation to Social Care, but it was decided that the pressures in Hampshire had to be the directorate’s focus.

·           The ‘cost of change’ funding available to the directorate allows flexibility and savings are being unlocked from the transformation work being undertaken, without impacting on delivery.

·           There are a number of risks in relation to the various market places the directorate interacts with and the variability of external costs etc.

·           There is constant lobbying to Members of Parliament and government directorate for required funding and legislative change.

·           There was significant pressure in relation to the School Transport Service, which would be kept at the statutory requirements. It was noted that the service is being thoroughly assessed and mistakes are being learnt from to enable costs to be reduced.

·           There has been a reduction in school attendance but Hampshire was above the national level. This was thought to be an impact of more parents working from home and associated lifestyle changes.

·           The directorate is facing various issues in relation to the workforce, but has a number of methods of minimising and tackling this, including the graduate entry scheme and apprenticeships on offer alongside the benefits of the Hampshire Brand and the flexible working the Council offers.

Following questions and debate, the recommendation was proposed and voted on with the following outcome:

Favour           10

Against          6

RESOLVED:

That the Children and Young People Select Committee consider the detailed savings proposals and support the recommendations being proposed to the Executive Lead Member for Children’s Services in section 2 of the report.

The Committee received a report from the Director of Children’s Services providing the details of the Hampshire Youth Justice Service’s Youth Justice Plan for 2023.

It was noted that the plan was due to be presented to the Executive Lead Member of Children’s Services, requesting it to be recommended to Full Council for approval in accordance with the relevant legislation.

It was noted that the Youth Justice Plan is a statutory requirement for Local Authorities under the 1998 Crime and Disorder Act. It was further noted that the approved plan is submitted to the Youth Justice Board, part of the Ministry of Justice, and the oversight authority for all Youth Justice Services in England and Wales.

Members noted that the purpose of Hampshire’s Youth Justice Service is to support children to avoid offending or reoffending. It achieves this through its statutory partnership with other agencies including the Police, Health and Probation.

Officers highlighted Section 15 of the plan which identified areas that will form the Service Delivery Plan for 2023/24 and which the Hampshire Youth Justice Service will be concentrating on in the next year.

In response to questions members heard that:

·         Anti-social behaviour was tackled by neighbourhood policing and community based solutions.

·         The service advocates for children engaged, including Hampshire’s Looked After Children when necessary.

·         Staff are being trained in regards to Canabis related crimes to prevent them becoming normalised.

·         There has been an increase in weapons awareness interventions to help tackle the issue of knife crime.

RESOLVED:

That the Children and Young People Select Committee consider the report and plan and recommends the Executive Lead Member for Children’s Services decides that the Hampshire Youth Justice Service’s Youth Justice Plan for 2023/24 is submitted to full council for approval.

The Committee received a report and presentation from the Director of Children’s Services providing an overview of the scope and breadth of Hampshire’s Library Offer.

Officers set out what made a library a library in 2023, including the statutory requirement of the library service, the Libraries Connected National Offer and how Hampshire Library Service provides a comprehensive and efficient service.

Members noted that Hampshire Library service transferred to the Children’s Services Directorate in a very strong position, as evidenced in CIPFA’s most recent Public Library Statistics 2021/22 report. Hampshire’s Service remains  high performing with the most issues, visits and eIssues of any county authority. It was further noted that Hampshire does so efficiently as evidenced by less spending overall per 1000/population than most other English counties.

Members heard that the service is continuing to develop, reviewing the community hub offer to align and merge with the new community hub concept under development in Children’s Services to ensure libraries retain a universal service that meets the needs of communities.

In response to questions members heard that:

·         There has been a 12% increase in the summer reading challenge uptake, but similar schemes have not been successful in the winter so the focus is instead of free events.

·         The simple sign up process means that there is not a lot of data available on the service’s users. Instead the footfall and eborrow rates are tracked.

·         Hampshire’s Libraries aim to deliver the services that best meet the needs of the local community, so are not all the same and extend beyond the traditional idea of a library.

RESOLVED:

That Members note the contents of this report and the future strategic direction of the Hampshire Library Service, and to consider any local connections that would be beneficial to explore to further meet the needs of local residents.

The committee received a regular information update (written only) on Autism Services Commissioning for Children and Young People in Hampshire, from the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Partnership of Clinical Commissioning Group.

RESOLVED:

That the Children and Young People Select Committee note the progress made and the ongoing issues outlined in the update report.

The Director of People and Organisation presented the Committee’s work programme.

RESOLVED:

That the Children and Young People Select Committee discussed and agreed potential items for the work programme that can be prioritised and allocated by the Chairman of the Children and Young People Select Committee in consultation with the Director of Children’s Services.