Cllr E Wilson proposed Cllr Quick as chairman of the Panel. The motion was seconded by Cllr Mills and passed unanimously.

Cllr E Wilson proposed Cllr Mills as vice chairman of the Panel. The motion was seconded by Cllr Pryer and passed unanimously.

To receive apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received by Cllr D Evans and Cllr McWilliams.

To receive any declarations of interest.

Councillor E Wilson declared a personal interest in item 6 as his wife worked at St Edwards First School. As this was not a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest he stayed and considered the item.

Mr Louden declared a personal interest in item 6 as he was a School Governor. As this was not a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest he stayed and considered the item.

To consider the Part I minutes of the meeting held on 19^th April 2016.

The Part I minutes of the meeting held on Tuesday, 19 April 2016 were approved as a true and correct record.

To comment on the Cabinet report.

Members were reminded that last year Cabinet agreed an action plan relating to tackling child sexual exploitation. A sustainable action plan relating to data monitoring and raising awareness continues to be developed by the Council.

The Head of Commissioning for Adults, Children and Health informed that a recent multi agency conference involving Council Officers had been very successful. She said one was not being held this year, although another was being planned for the following year.

Cllr E Wilson said that the diagram relating to governance of child sexual exploitation on page 12 of the report did not state what the outputs were, or who the responsible Council Members were. The Head of Commissioning for Adults, Children and Health said that this would be rectified in future reports and comments would be passed on to the Safeguarding Board.

The Director of Children’s Services said that the meetings involved in the governance of child sexual exploitation were all operational and Council Members were welcome to attend meetings or request minutes.

Cllr Jones asked how it could be ascertained that the MASH was working effectively. The Director of Children’s Services said that the number of cases that had been tracked from first contact through to a referral had increased significantly since the MASH was set up, thereby safeguarding an increased number of children.

The Chairman said Officers who had helped set up the MASH should be congratulated for its success, adding she hoped more local authorities would implement a similar system.

The Cabinet Member for Children’s Services said creating the MASH had been a high priority for the Council, as monitoring exploitation cases had hitherto been difficult. She said the new body helped to pull together all the parts of any investigation.

Panel Members commented that they would have liked to have received the Supplementary Agenda several days in advance of the meeting. Cllr E Wilson stated the lack of available papers in advance of the meeting did not allow proper scrutiny and the chance to give sufficient feedback to Cabinet. The Director of Children’s Services apologised for the delay, telling Members that Officers were waiting for financial figures to be given to them before the report was compiled. The Chairman commented that the report could have been circulated earlier, with a reminder that financial information was to follow.

Resolved Unanimously: That the Children’s Services O&S Panel considered the report and fully endorsed the recommendations to Cabinet.

To comment on the Cabinet Report.

The Panel considered the Cabinet report detailing the revised costs of the secondary school expansion programme.

The Head of Schools and Educational Services informed the cost of providing additional secondary school places had increased significantly from the initial £20.5million estimate. The proposals in the report had come following six months of negotiations with the schools in the Borough.

The Head of Schools and Educational Services said three levels of solution had been suggested. The technical minimum, which was the cheapest, was not appropriate to four of the schools consulted on and was therefore not being considered in relationship to them.

The practical minimum, which would meet the needs of the schools being consulted, would cost an estimated £23.6million, with an additional £3million contingency being set aside. The cost of the recommended schemes would cost £29.6million, which includes a £3.7million contingency provision.  The third option was ‘sufficient for excellent education’ which also included support for vulnerable children.

The Head of Schools and Educational Services told members that £13.3million of the money needed for the project will come from a grant from the Government, and £6.5million of local money would be used. This results in a £7.8million shortfall; however the Head of Schools and Educational Services said this scheme would be one of the first to benefit from money the Council receives from the sale of Maidenhead Golf Club.

The Chairman noted that the recommended sums for Windsor Boys and Windsor Girls Schools were the minimum amounts. The Head of Schools and Educational Services said this was because only classrooms were being constructed as part of the expansion projects at those schools.

Cllr Jones asked if any of the schools could accommodate more places in their Sixth Forms. The Head of Schools and Educational Services said that in principle they could, and that all of the schools had recognised that running a Sixth Form was important.

Cllr E Wilson questioned why the report did not make any reference to Primary expansion or Pupil Premium. He also raised concern that we were spending tax payers money expanding academies were there were schools such as Desborough College and Churchmead School having places available for pupils, and said more should be done by the Council to fill them. Mrs Brown reported that Desborough College was near to capacity with only 10 spare places.  The Director of Children’s Services said the recommendations in the report were the result of a series of discussions at Cabinet, which would hold further discussions in the future to determine which schools would be expanded in the future.

The Director of Children’s Services stated further that the purpose of the report was to outline which schools the Council would focus on expanding. Officers had been working on the assumption that every school place in the Borough would be filled.

Cllr E Wilson said that the issue surrounding a potential new school should have been addressed in the report. The Director of Children’s Services said that the Council would be the body  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

To comment on the Cabinet Report.

The Finance Partner told the Panel that part I of the report summary was incorrect and should instead state that the non-service variances are projected to have a £70k underspend, meaning there is a projected £41k overspend on the General Fund. The Finance Partner apologised for the error, adding that the appendices to the report were correct.

The Finance Partner said the Council had received a lower DfE condition grant than had been anticipated for Children’s Services when the budget was set, resulting in a £532k reduction to the capital programme. He said some of the lower priority Children’s Services capital schemes would be postponed until 2017/18 and form part of the Capital Programme’s budget setting process.

The Finance Partner said most of the £155k projected revenue overspend within the Adult Children’s and Health Directorate related to Adult Services. Children’s Services overspending was predominantly on the costs of temporary agency staff, particularly with regards to safeguarding. However, these overspends are being compensated for by underspends elsewhere. The Finance Partner said there are plans in place to cover most of the spending and it is anticipated the Council will come in on budget.

Mrs Brown asked why the Council used so many agency staff. The Director of Children’s Services said it was due to a shortfall in social workers, this a national issue and proposals had just been put the Council’s Employment Panel.

Cllr Jones questioned if the additional agency costs were being offset by increasing case loads.  The Panel were informed that increased case loads was part of the temporary solution along with savings such as managed vacancies in other areas of the Directorate.

Resolved Unanimously: That the Children’s Services O&S Panel considered the report and fully endorsed the recommendations to Cabinet.

To note the forward plan.

The Chairman asked for a presentation before full Council reminding Members of their responsibilities as Corporate Parents, in light of there being so many new Members. She said permission would need to be sought from the Mayor first.

The Chairman added the Panel had an update on the Family Support Programme, which should go on the Forward Plan.

Cllr E Wilson asked for a paper from officers outlining the responsibilities of Academy Trusts. He said he wanted this to clarify concerns and confusion amongst residents who were questioning why the Council was financially supporting Academies, when it does not have any administrative control over them.

Cllr Jones said she wanted an update on the progress being made by Children’s Centres.

To consider passing the following resolution:-

“That under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the

public be excluded from the remainder of the meeting whilst discussion

takes place on item 8 on the grounds that it involves the likely

disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraphs 1-7 of part I

of Schedule 12A of the Act"

It was RESOLVED that the public be excluded from the remainder of the meeting.

To consider the Part II minutes of the meeting held on 19th April 2016.

The Part II minutes of the meeting held on Tuesday, 19 April 2016 were approved as a true and correct record.