Agenda item

Attendee:

-           Sarah Morgan – Chief Education Officer

-           Meirion Rushworth – Head of Finance

The Chief Education Officer presented a brief overview of the report to the Committee and highlighted the key areas for consideration. The saving proposal within Education was the only saving to be presented to the Committee from the People Directorate. When the Council looked for savings it had to take into account the statutory education obligations and grant funded roles, which limited the potential areas for savings. The Officer confirmed that the workforce in Admissions had already been cut, the Special Educational Needs (SEN) provisions were overburdened, and many roles, including Gwent Ethnic Minority Service (GEMS) and Gwent Music, were grant funded.   The Authority had seen a growth in pupil numbers, which had been accommodated with a £3.1 Million increase in budget.

·                Members of the Committee asked the Chief Education Officer if the reduction in the budget could have been made in any other areas within the Education Department, the Officer was also asked where future reductions would be made and what would happen in the next few years to come.  The Officer replied to Members explaining that the Heads of Service in the Organisation had an incredibly hard job to make savings year on year. This leads to entire departments being scrutinised for which areas potentially could change for savings to be made. The Officer continued by informing the Committee that she could not discuss which other areas of Education were looked at or which areas of Education could face cuts next year.

·                Members enquired if any correspondence had been received from Schools, or meetings taken place, to gain information on what others thought of the proposed saving. The Officer confirmed that the public consultation was ongoing. Trade Union representatives had communicated their concerns, and the Employee Partnership forum and Head Teacher forum was meeting before the consultation closed. Officers explained that Head Teachers had been addressed at a meeting regarding the budget proposal, but they could not suggest any alternative cost savings.

·                A Member expressed concerns regarding the proposal to cut Educational Welfare Officer (EWO) and an Education Psychologist post.  Members commented that by reducing the EWO role, it would likely have a knock on effect on attendance results, which Estyn would criticise. Members felt that a reorganisation would be required to ensure support could be provided to all schools in Newport. The Officer replied to the Members explaining that the less visual back office staff often receive less empathy, it was explained that there were only three back office staff to support the whole of Newport. The Officer continued by stating that it was important to keep front line staff but equally important to keep back room staff for a functioning service, the decision was the best of the worst option.

·                Members commented that the proposed saving was two hundred and fifty thousand pounds and asked could the Officers confirm what figure would be saved in 2019/2020.  The Officers confirmed that the full amount would be saved as there was a separate pot for redundancy and pension costs.

·                Members enquired what support would likely be given to schools and would this reduce home visits by the EWO. The Officer replied explaining that the support would fall on the EWO as they would take on 2 clusters within the City. It was explained that schools should set the attendance culture, more emphasis should be on changing the attendance culture within the family setting. The Officer also explained that the proposal might reduce the EWO working with staff in schools, but this was something that would be identified in time. The EWO would predominantly work with schools around the attendance prosecution process.

Members asked the Officers if any allowance would be given to the Authority    from Estyn, as there could be a knock on effect on attendance figure. The Officers confirmed that Estyn were aware, but if the Authority fell below the Welsh average there would be consequences.

·                A Member asked Officers to confirm the age group of those staff effected by the proposal, and asked if the staff would have to interview for their own post. The Officer confirmed the age ranged from 30 – 50. Voluntary Redundancy would be offered to staff, which would then determine if staff needed to interview for roles.

·                Members commented that there would be staff left behind to pick up the excess workload, would the staff and their welfare be monitored. Officers explained that the Authority had a duty of care to employees, and those changes would be tracked as a result of budgetary cuts.

·                Members asked the Officers what the 3.1 million extra budget would be spent on, and if some of the budget could be spent in other areas. Officers confirmed that the extra budget would be spent on new schools and to accommodate the growth of current schools within the Authority. The Officer confirmed the suggestion was a valued point, but the decision had been very difficult, the suggestion of spending the extra budget in different areas would only give a proportional saving.

·                Members asked the Officers for a quarterly report on attendance data. Officers confirmed that would be produced.

The Chair thanked the Officer for attending.

Conclusion - Comments to the Cabinet

The Committee noted the 2019/20 Budget Proposals and MFTP and agreed to forward the minutes to the Cabinet as a summary of the issues raised.

The majority of the Committee reluctantly supported the education budget saving proposal and wished to make the following comments to the Cabinet:

·         Monitoring of the attendance levels of schools and a quarterly report to be produced for the People Committee.

·         Concerns were raised over the impact of the budget saving on the fantastic work done by the Education department and schools to increase the attendance figures over the last number years.

·         Concerns were raised over the impact on the remaining EWOs from additional workload pressures. The Councilors concerns included the EWO’s welfare, additional sick leave and school staff picking up the slack. The Committee felt that there were not adequate mitigations to offset the risks.

·         The Committee requested an explanation of how the budget saving fit in with the Council’s long term aims set out in the Corporate Plan.