Agenda item

Melanie Ellis introduced the report (Agenda Item 11), which aimed to report the forecast financial position of the services funded by the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG), highlighting any under or over spends, and to highlight the cumulative deficit on the DSG.

Melanie Ellis reported that West Berkshire’s DSG allocation for 2023/24 was £167m. Some of this went straight to academies and high needs places, and the remaining balance following this was £115.7m. The budget was also set with a £3m efficiency target, which had not been met and therefore still stood as an overspend. There was also an additional overspend in the High Needs Block (HNB) of £1.5m. All other blocks had managed to break even. The table under section 4.5 of the report showed that the deficit balance from 2022/23 was £4.7m with the cumulative deficit expected to increase to £9.5m by the end of 2023/24.

The final table in the report under section 4.9 showed the balances broken down by each block and it could be seen that the Schools’ Block had quite a large surplus, which was due to the Growth Fund.

Gemma Piper felt that it was important to note the body of work taking place with the HFG, targeted at deficit management. This work was extremely important and it was very clear what needed to be achieved. Melanie Ellis added that as well as this work taking place by the HFG, West Berkshire was also part of the Delivering Better Value (DBV) Programme, also designed to help reduce the overspend.

Richard Hand queried what the primary drivers were of the huge increase in SEND costs and how the increase compared with other LAs. In response Jane Seymour commented that the key drivers were a combination in the increase in the number of children requiring Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) in mainstream schools (maintained and academies) and also an increase in the number of children needing places in independent non-maintained special schools combined with an increase in the unit cost of external provision. Officers were unable to comment on increases compared to other LAs however, the increase was £9.5m compared to only £1.4m in 2021, indicating it was doubling each year.

Trevor Keable commented that the matter had been discussed recently with the Denefield School SEND Team and it had been found that more parents were undertaking private assessments, which were highlighting detailed needs, which they might not have got if the LA route had been taken. Concern had been expressed that this could be skewing the budget, because increased finances were required for these children and children were often identified as having a greater need compared to those going through the LA route. It was noted that waiting times with the LA were often long. 

Richard Hand noted the work taking place however, there did not seem to be much cross LA consultation/discussion regarding one of the primary drivers, which was the costs charged by external private providers. He queried if there were any checks and balances on this element as it did not seem like it was being addressed. Jane Seymour reported one way they were trying to address this issue was through increasing local maintained specialist provision, so there was less reliance on independent non-maintained providers. This included the Castle at Theale (opened in 2022), Kennet Valley SEMH opening in September 2024 and there were further new provisions planned as part of the five year SEND Strategy. The other issue was the increase in unit costs and Jane Seymour explained that sometimes these could be justified but other times not and anything that could not be justified was always challenged. The DBV Programme would help with this issue as it would provide increased commissioning capacity to be proactive on this matter and in reviewing the costs of all placements.

Councillor Iain Cottingham commented on the wider issue of children’s care plans, which had been debated at the conference he had attended. Regulating care plans had been raised as a way to help tackle the issue.

The Chair noted the complexity of the subject and looked forward to receiving a report with more information in March.

RESOLVED that the Schools’ Forum noted the report.