To receive any public questions, statements or petitions submitted in accordance with the Constitution. Further information on the requirements for submitting these is available to view at the following link:-
The deadline for the submission of public questions is 3 clear working days before the meeting.
The deadline for the submission of a statement is midday the working day before the meeting.
The deadline for the submission of a petition is 10 working days before the meeting.
Minutes:
There were two questions and a statement received from Mr Adam Sofianos
“I applaud the efforts of the Chair, and officers, to bring this matter to Committee. Safety Valve is a controversial programme and deserves thorough scrutiny.
The Government invitation dated 18th July sets out a process timetable. The critical period is early January, when the draft Management Plan is reviewed and updated.
At this point,
officers will also have the final deficit-reduction and payment
schedules. These are the key features in any Safety Valve
contract.
We don’t have the Management Plan or Contract schedules
today. But they are critical. So, will Council provide
these to Committee members for scrutiny, as soon as each is
available?
And will Council facilitate a further Committee meeting, before the “final meeting” with the Government’s team, to ensure Scrutiny plays a proper role in the “political clearance” process referred to in that letter, and ensure these documents are made available to the public?”
Source: Appendix 1 for Safety Valve Programme.pdf (bcpcouncil.gov.uk)
Cllr Richard Burton, Portfolio Holder for Children and Young People, provided an answer as follows:
The management plan we have currently for the Delivering better Value programme has been included in the pack for the O&S Committee. We have not yet developed the management plan or contracts for the Safety Valve programme.
These will be completed and reviewed with the DfE support officers prior to submission and can be provided to the committee prior to the final Safety Valve meeting with the DfE. Once the contract is agreed this is published on the DfE website.
Whether the council facilitates a further committee meeting before the “final meeting” with the government team is dependent on the chair and members of this committee with advice from democratic services, with a mind on officer capacity.
Question two:
“The statutory override, which ringfences Dedicated Schools Grant overspending, expires in April 2026. At that point, without further intervention, any council which cannot balance these cumulative DSG deficits, faces a Section 114 notice.
Each of the 34 existing Safety Valve contracts, sets out a schedule for annual reductions in that council’s own underlying deficit. But there is not a single contract that projects an elimination of such deficits by 2026.
What of net deficit figures, i.e. including Government payments? The two largest contracts, for Kent and Norfolk, cover deficits well over £100m – a situation likely to be faced here. Yet these contracts forecast net deficits of £74m and £62m in 2026.
This amplifies growing concerns that Safety Valve itself cannot resolve this deficit burden.
So, for this Council, what are the cumulative underlying and net deficits in April 2026, as projected under Safety Valve?”
Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dedicated-schools-grant-very-high-deficit-intervention
Cllr Richard Burton, Portfolio Holder for Children and Young People, provided an answer as follows:
We do not have a cumulative underlying and net deficits for April 2026, as projected under Safety Valve, as this has not been projected yet. The negotiations are still at an early stage.
Under the Delivering better value programme assuming savings can be delivered, with a high confidence level from the activities identified £157.8m accumulated deficit. Savings are from reducing Education, Health and Care Plans growth, greater proportion of placements in mainstream schools, new places being created in special schools and with better utilisation to reduce use of higher cost independent schools. One example of this is the Cabinet paper 25 October 2023 - Minute No. 49 - SEND Programme of Expansion - Broadstone First School that is I am bringing to full Council tomorrow evening.
A public statement has been received from Mr Adam Sofianos as follows:
“Safety Valve is controversial. Two targets are particularly contentious: reductions in EHCPs issued, and increased placements of affected children into mainstream settings. Its Management Plan template requires councils to agree targets for everything, from care plans to transport costs. Based not on need, but on quotas.
Other struggling authorities are moving up to 80% of affected kids into mainstream schools. Or pulling funding from other school services. Or raiding school reserves to meet Safety Valve targets.
EHCPs are a safeguard, a safety net, an assurance that a child will have a fair chance to access education. And, regardless of any Safety Valve incentives, they remain a statutory duty.
Families are afraid, that the future will deliver even worse outcomes. I ask Council to ensure that whatever happens, that will not be the experience for our most vulnerable children.”
Sources:
https://www.tes.com/magazine/news/general/send-cost-cutting-councils-law
https://schoolsweek.co.uk/kents-mainstream-send-plans-put-pupils-chances-at-risk/
https://schoolsweek.co.uk/council-deficits-send-spending-bailouts-funding/