Agenda and minutes

An apology had been received from Maggie Kirkbride.

At this point Members must declare whether they have an interest, whether personal or prejudicial, in any of the items on the agenda.  Members must also declare if they are subject to their party group whip in relation to any items under consideration.

Cllr John Fox declared a personal interest in item 6 as he was a member of Peterborough Council for Voluntary Services (PCVS) and Shop Mobility.

The minutes of the Children and Lifelong Learning Scrutiny Panel meeting held on 4 March 2009 were approved as an accurate record.

The decision notice for each decision will bear the date on which it is published and will specify that the decision may then be implemented on the expiry of 3 working days after the publication of the decision (not including the date of publication), unless a request for call-in of the decision is received from any two Members of a Scrutiny Committee or Scrutiny Commission.  If a request for call-in of a decision is received, implementation of the decision remains suspended for consideration by the relevant Scrutiny Committee or Commission.

There were no requests for Call-in to consider.

The Assistant Director of Family and Communities presented a report on the rising numbers of young people Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET) in Peterborough.  The report gave statistical data and an outline of the associated plans that have been put in place to reduce the number of NEET’s in Peterborough. The reduction of young people who are NEET is a critical national indicator (NI117) in the Local Area Agreement.

The Young People’s Service delivered connexions services within Peterborough to meet all the statutory responsibilities to young people.  These included:

Ø      A careers service

Ø      Support and encouragement to enable participation in education or training

Ø      Assessment of young people with learning difficulties and/or disabilities to assist their transition into post 16 education and training opportunities

Ø      A commitment to offer a suitable place in post 16 learning to all young people leaving compulsory education.

The report presented an accurate picture of performance against annual targets over the past three years and the current position as of June 2009 which was 10.1% against an annual target of 7.5%.  This target was based on a planned reduction of 2% by 2010.  The national average performance for this indicator at the end of May 2009 was 7.3% with Peterborough showing a figure of 9.7%. 

Figures for NEET usually increased during August as young people left statutory education with numbers falling again through September and October as young people moved into education, training or work.  Compared to the previous year NEET levels had started to rise in Peterborough from January 2009. Levels continued to rise above the expected rate for the time of the year indicating that meeting the target of 7.5% would be challenging.

It was widely recognised that young people from the following groups were at risk of becoming NEET:

·         young people with learning difficulties and disabilities

·         young people who are looked after/ care leavers

·        young people who attended alternative provision pre 16

·         young people who have been involved with the Youth Offending Service

·         teenage mothers

·         young people who have qualifications below level 2 (equivalent to below 5 GCSEs A-C).

The Committee were advised that the Young Peoples Service continued to focus resources on work to prevent education leavers becoming NEET and targeted resources to track and support those who were NEET to enable them to access suitable opportunities and provision.  Work was being done with a range of services and organisations and there was also a wide range of new initiatives being planned.

A young person who had been a NEET attended the meeting as an expert witness to share her experiences and the services that had been offered to her.  She explained that she had attended Marshfield’s School and after leaving had been out of work for one year but now had a job.  During the time she was out of work she had signed up to a programme call New Deal at the Job Centre and this programme gave people on benefits the help  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

The Executive Director of Children’s Services and Executive Director of Adult Social Services gave a presentation to the Committee setting out the position statement relating to adults and children’s services for those with disabilities. The presentation highlighted some of the plans for those services and then proposed some scrutiny topics that the Committee may wish to look at in more detail.  The areas identified for scrutiny would provide a great opportunity for members to get involved.  Key areas highlighted to the Committee for possible scrutiny were:

Adults

        I.      User-led organisations – “Putting People First”.  Peterborough had supported and funded the development of the Disability Forum which it was hoped would become the key user-led organisation for the city. The Committee could add value by examining progress to date and how the Forum could be most effective in its role.

      II.      Self-directed support.  It aimed to enable individuals to take control over their money or services and be creative in meeting their own needs.  This had started to be implemented in January 2009 and scrutiny could evaluate the progress of the programme and provide challenge.

    III.      Carers including young carers.  A new local strategy for carers in Peterborough was about to be finalised.  A new Carers’ Partnership Board was in place and collaboration between the new Carers’ Partnership Board and the Scrutiny Committee could be an exciting venture.

   IV.      Disabled parents with disabled children.  These families often had very complex needs. There was potential for difficulties between agencies working with the family (children’s services, adult social care and health services) and potential for confusion over who provided what and how to get help.  Scrutiny could undertake a focused piece of work looking at these families and service provision.

Children

        I.      Parental satisfaction. Many children with moderate disabilities were not currently accessing services.  The ability of children with disability and their families to access mainstream community and leisure facilities was also central to parental satisfaction. Parental engagement with elected members was therefore crucial to effective scrutiny of services.

      II.      The development of the integrated service.  The progress of this service was an ideal area for scrutiny.

    III.      Supporting transition into adulthood.  There was a considerable amount of work required to develop holistic services which supported young people into adulthood and independence.  Scrutiny could play a part in ensuring that this approach worked.

Observations and questions were raised and discussed including:

·         What services were provided for under 18 year old carers?  Officers advised that unless a young carer was designated a child in need they did not receive any help.  This was an area which did need attention through scrutiny.  Peterborough Council of Voluntary Services (PCVS) was being strengthened and there was a Young Carers Strategy which was being strengthened and reviewed to ensure young carers received support.

·         Young carers had some activities provided for them during school holidays but some of them did not have transport to get to these activities.  This was an issue and was being looked at as  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

To consider the latest version of the Forward Plan

The Committee received the latest version of the Council’s Forward Plan, containing key decisions that the Leader of the Council anticipated the Cabinet or individual Cabinet Members would make during the course of the following four months.  Members were invited to comment on the Plan and, where appropriate, identify any relevant areas for inclusion in the Committee’s work programme.

            ACTION AGREED

            The Committee noted the Forward Plan and agreed that:

(i)         The lead officers provide an update and further information via the Scrutiny Bulletin on the Building Schools for the Future programme, including the milestones.

(ii)        The lead officer provides further information on the extensions to Woodston and Hampton Hargate Schools via the Scrutiny Bulletin.

To agree the current work programme and discuss future items.

Members considered the Committee’s Work Programme for 2009/2010 and discussed possible items for inclusion.

ACTION AGREED

The Committee agreed to include the following items in the 2009/2010 work programme for the September meeting:

1. Education Standards – unvalidated exam results of all key stages
2. The results on the delivery through localities consultation
3. LAA Priority Performance report for Quarter 1

The Committee also requested that the Cabinet Member for Education, Skills and University and the Cabinet Member for Children’s Services attend the November meeting to give an update on their portfolios.

Tuesday, 15 September 2009 at 7.00pm

Tuesday 15 September 2009