Agenda item

Council Plan Overview Report (CPOR) covering the second quarter of 2023/24 is attached.

Members of the Commission are asked to submit technical or detailed questions in advance of the meeting.

The Chief Executive, Susan Halliwell, provided an overview of the Council Plan Overview Report (CPOR) and highlighted the following achievements and risks:

·       Highlights included multiple summer fun events such as the launch of the summer wellness exchange; the opening of the Binfield Health and Community Hub; the inaugural climate change summit led by the leader of the Council and a new migration team to improve the lives of individuals placed in the borough.

·       Risks – the predicted overspend in next year’s budget of £1.8-2 million had been downgraded to £1.2-1.7 million but the Council was still predicting a deficit budget. The reason for this was largely due to an increase in demand for services, a rise in the unit cost of service provision and high inflationary pressures.

Members of the Commission asked the following questions and answers were received as follows:

Question: On page 59 the number of children attending the Lookout appear to have decreased, why was this?

Answer: The Lookout figures were an anomaly as they covered the summer, when numbers usually decreased, and over two quarters the Council was hitting its targets for the number of visitors.

Question: Why had Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) figures not progressed as expected?

Answer: An update was provided to the Executive on progress against the Written Statement of Action (WSA) which showed three quarters of actions had been completed. The WSA was a two-year action plan, so not all actions were expected to be completed already, and 11 were outstanding. However, it was noted the Council was in the process of developing an action plan as part of the Safety Valve project - a government driven programme to help Council’s manage their SEND services and financial performance, which was likely to detract from officers’ abilities to complete targets on the WSA this quarter.

Question: What was the reason for the 50% drop in maintained schools being good or better in the borough, as highlighted on page 59?

Answer: There were only two maintained schools in the borough. One of those was College Hall, the Council’s Pupil Referral Unit (PRU), which had recently been judged Inadequate. Formal arrangements had been put in place to help support the PRU to improve.

Question: Was there data to show the reasons behind the number of staff being on long term sick, as shown on page 69?

Answer: A breakdown of reasons was not available but at the beginning of the quarter 38 members of staff were on long term sick and by the end of the quarter there were only 15, which equated to 1% of staff.

Question: What actions needed to be taken to help ensure value for money as part of the apprenticeship programme in the Council?

Answer: There were currently 50 apprenticeships across the Council and schools in the borough and the Council were proactive at offering opportunities to apprentices.

Question: Was the stated number of homes receiving planning permission on page 66, L284, incorrect as it showed only nine homes had been built this quarter?

Answer: Yes, due to the way the Council received S106 funding receipts it meant the reporting process did not show the actual figure of 519 new homes approved that quarter.

Question: What was going to be included in the high-level application referred to on page 64, 5.02.03 – i.e. were PV panels going to be on top or behind the charging station and café?

Answer: A feasibility study was being undertaken and a briefing note on the project would be provided to all Councillors setting out the ambition for the site.

Question: Was the number of complaints upheld against the Council on page 71 unusually high?

Answer: Most complaints related to decisions and outcomes for children and young people with SEND and were not always the local authority’s fault as they sometimes had to wait for partners to provide reports. The number of complaints was down this quarter compared to quarter 1. Complaints were not unexpected as it was all part of the improvement process.

Question: What was the reason for schools not engaging in the transition programme on page 58?

Answer: Locally, and nationally, transition was thought to be a difficult issue to solve. While there had been success in being part of this programme for one primary/secondary school it had not succeeded in others and a survey of Year 7 pupils had been undertaken to understand engagement in schools.

Question: Was there funding available to mend play equipment and clear land at Chaucer Woods?

Answer: A report highlighting a new capital funding programme was going to be presented at Executive on 12^th December and consultation would begin on 13^th December as part of the Council’s budget proposals.

Action: A briefing note would circulated to all Councillors setting out the ambition for the London Road site.

Councillors thanked officers for the report and in particularly for the level of detail in the comments section which was considered more informative than the previous quarter.