Minutes:
The Portfolio Holder was due to consider a report on the restructuring of Learning and Achievement Services on the Part 2 agenda. Before considering the report in detail in Part 2, the Portfolio Holder received representations about the proposals in public from the Staff Side Secretary, Glenn Kelly, on behalf of staff in Learning and Achievement Services.
Mr Kelly urged councillors to protect front-line services, and emphasised that young people were facing an increasingly bleak future with these proposals, the withdrawal of Education Maintenance Allowance and the increases in university tuition fees. He felt that this was the end of the Youth Service as it had been constituted since the 1960s, that young people would lose their access to safe, secure environments, and that the church and voluntary sector could not be expected to fill the gaps in provision. For the first time, he argued, the hope of every generation that its children would have better lives than before would not be met. He urged Councillors to re-consider the proposals, and make use of the Council’s reserves to support the service. The Portfolio Holder responded that although he would take Mr Kelly’s comments into account, he did not consider that any alternative savings had been suggested, and he did not feel that using the Council’s reserves would be sustainable. Mr Kelly stated that money did exist at a national level to fund these services, and he urged Councillors to demand money from the government to fund services - if they did, staff would fully support them.
The Director of Children and Young People Services tabled her response to the points raised by staff during the consultation and the Portfolio Holder invited her to explain the drivers behind the proposals. She summarised the drivers for the restructuring which included: the in-year reduction in government grant to Bromley of £1.6m, of which £1.4m fell on the Children and Young People portfolio; the heavy reliance of her department on grants from government, which in real terms constituted 44% grant-funded services; and the fixed term nature of national initiatives, such as the National Strategies to support primary and secondary school improvement, which were due to end in March 2011. As so many factors which affected funding streams were beyond the control of the Council, she felt that it was important to take a proactive approach and re-structure Learning and Achievement Services to ensure that the Council could retain an appropriate level of core service provision to fulfil statutory duties within future funding levels.
The Assistant Director, Learning and Achievement, added that the policy direction regarding school improvement had been made clear in previous and current government policy, and that the funding streams relating to school improvement services were moving to the schools as part of Dedicated School Grant announcements. Staff had been kept informed throughout the consultation process, and there had been numerous meetings with individuals, teams and groups. Many of the concerns which had been raised by staff and their Staff Associations had related to human resources issues, and these were summarised in the Director’s response.
The Portfolio Holder invited other Members present to comment. Councillor John Getgood stated that the proposals were not in the best interests of young people – as a school governor he had seen the difference that the Local Authority’s school improvement support services had made. He felt that use of reserves should be considered to support services for young people while the proposals were re-considered. Councillor Robert Evans countered that in the national context it was essential to examine all services and ensure that the remaining service was secure.
The Portfolio Holder confirmed that he would take the statement of Mr Kelly and all the other views and comments made into account in making his decision.