Minutes:
Question from Councillor Evelyn Carpenter
“Please would the Executive Member for Resources outline what the Council has done to implement the Government’s requirement set out 3 years ago that Councils find 3% per year efficiency savings.”
Response from Councillor Graham Bramley
“We were set a target from the government of £13.4m of efficiency gains up to and including the financial year 2007/08. By the end of 2006/07, we had already achieved £14.2m of efficiency gains – so we hit our target one year early.
Some examples of the main areas of efficiency:
- We have saved over £1m as a result of the cross borough agency staff contract, as a result of lower rates being negotiated, and tighter monitoring of overall spending on agency staff. We have also made savings in Children’s and Adults social care through reducing the levels of agency staff usage.
- As a result of ongoing rationalisation of assets, we have earned £2m of interest on the capital receipts we have made on land sales
- We have made efficiency gains of £0.75m as a result of reducing the number of void Council properties, maximising our income in this area
- We made savings of £0.5m as a result of the Council restructure in 2006/07.
These are not cuts, they are efficiencies and we have spent the gains in our services. For example, as a result of our investment in Children’s Services we have recently won the award for the best corporate parent in the country and investment in social services has resulted in the Inspection Commission awarding us 3 stars. I am very proud of what this Council has achieved and we will continue to give the people of this borough the best service we can.”
Question from Councillor Lawrence Rustem
“Following the Channel 4 documentary ‘Last Chance Kids’ which was screened last month 22nd/25th October, and focused on Monteagle Primary School. The programme gave an interesting insight into the levels of education that are being experienced by primary school children within this borough. Would the lead group like to explain to this Labour borough’s primary school children and to their parents why they disgracefully, have been failed so miserably, some children in the school year 2006/07 barely able to read and write, and even worse, some unable to read and write at all. Shouldn’t this Labour council collectively bow its head in utter and absolute contemptible shame at the way it is betraying this borough’s children?”
Response from Councillor Jean Alexander
“The only thing that really is disgraceful and miserable is the question – certainly not the record of this Council on primary education.
The Council has an excellent reputation on educational improvement sustained over more than two decades – and still maintained today. It is really proud of the way it has worked in partnership with all the schools.
The record is second to none in the country. In the light of this, this is one of the most misguided and ill-informed and ignorant questions the opposition has ever put – and that is really saying something!
So let me, Chair, give Councillor Rustem the information he obviously needs to get a grip on what really is happening – and he along with us, should be very grateful indeed to the headteachers, teachers and dedicated support staff of all our schools for their outstanding work for all our children and young people. Is he aware, I wonder – I don’t think he possibly could be - of how his disgraceful and miserable question casts a slur on their achievement?
Anyway – the facts that must relate to his question:
Fact 1 – The results last summer were easily the best ever in Barking and Dagenham.
77% of pupils achieved the nationally expected Level 4 in English (compared to the national average of 80%); 76% achieved Level 4 in Mathematics (77% nationally); and 87% in Science (88% nationally).
That makes a grand total of 240 out of a possible 300. The national range is from 265/300 at Richmond upon Thames to 216/300 in Hackney. The national average is 244/30. We have converged rapidly on the national average: in 2006 we were 10 points below the national average; in 2007 we are only 4 points below. We are considerably closer to the top performing authority (15 point gap) than the lowest (24 point gap). We were the fourth fastest improving authority in London and the eleventh fastest in the country.
I know these facts because I m quoting from an email I received on the 7 August from the Director of Children’s Services – which all Councillors received. Either Councillor Rustem has never read the email or in putting forward his question he wilfully ignores the truth about education in this Borough revealed in the email.
Fact 2 - Because of this outstanding performance, Lord Adonis, Minister for Schools and learners, wrote a letter to Roger Luxton, Corporate Director of Children’s Services, headed ‘Congratulatory Letter to Top Performing Local Authorities’, congratulating him on the excellent performance of the schools in his authority for achievement of their Key Stage 2 results this year.
Why can’t Councillor Rustem join in this official recognition of the excellent performance of the schools?
Fact 3 – and coming to the Monteagle Primary programme. Incidentally, everyone I have spoken to has found these programmes moving and powerful, by the way they portray a headteacher and her staff working together with parents for the children. It is obvious to anyone who watched the programme that they are NOT – repeat NOT – about the reading standards of the whole school which are well up to the mark. They are about the enormous efforts put in to helping the small number of children who have real difficulties in reading – a school which is trying its hardest to help the children overcome those difficulties before it is too late – to get the children to the expected standard by 11 – and that is exactly what the school was doing.
There are children with difficulties in every school. Monteagle truly is a school that puts exceptional time and effort into helping them.
Why that is a reason for bowing heads in shame is quite beyond me. It is a reason for joy and pride that we are fortunate in Barking and Dagenham to have headteachers and teachers and dedicated support staff for the local community willing and able to do so much for your young people.”
Councillor Alexander concluded by highlighting that the Council had recently won the award for Best Corporate Parent, stating that she was extremely proud and passed on her congratulations to the staff who had achieved that.
Question from Councillor Robert Buckley
“Since the introduction of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 how many citizenship ceremonies have taken place in this borough and how many people have received their citizenship certificates?”
Response from Councillor Bert Collins
“In the year ending:
¨ March 2005 there were 58 ceremonies and 698 adult citizens were presented with certificates
¨ March 2006 there were 232 ceremonies and 1611 adult citizens were presented with certificates
¨ March 2007 there were 88 ceremonies and 1381 adult citizens were presented with certificates
¨ To date this year there have been 104 ceremonies and 1160 adult citizens have been presented with certificates
Not all of these citizens live in the borough.”
Question from Councillor Richard Barnbrook
“The Children’s Services Department has a budget of £7.5m for 300 children in care and 300 asylum clients cause an operating cost of £4m.
How many independent child asylum seekers are placed in the borough’s schools and care facilities?
What is the cost to the council and the government?
Where are independent child asylum seekers accommodated and what is the unit cost of this service?”
Response from Councillor Jean Alexander
“As at the end of November, out of 326 children in the care of the Council, 37 were unaccompanied asylum seeking children. The Council has statutory responsibilities to all children in its care and is reimbursed for costs related to this group of children including their accommodation.
Out of the 37 unaccompanied asylum seeking children, only three attend Barking & Dagenham schools. Only one child is placed with the Council’s foster carers.
The Council submits a claim yearly to recover the costs associated with unaccompanied asylum seeking children in care, The current level of spend/grant for 2007/08 is estimated at £1.5m. All costs are expected to be recovered subject to audit.
It is not appropriate to provide any information relating to where children are placed. Individual unit costs depend on the type of support services provided and all are contained within the £1.5m sum mentioned above.”
Question from Councillor Christine Knight
“Adult Commissioning Services – Older Persons – Commissioning Services has a budget of £24.7m. From this approximately 300 service users receive the meals on wheels service and an unspecified number benefit from care visitors.
Will the council confirm that the meals on wheels service and the carer service will be maintained without cuts or change of criteria in 2008/9 regardless of the level or terms of central government funding?”
Response from Councillor Robert Little
“The meals on wheels service provides around 1800 hot nutritious meals a week (some people have a meal every day, some have them on certain days to suit there requirements). The meals are low in salt, high in fibre and vitamins and are extremely healthy. The Council wants to promote the take of meals on wheels and we hope the utilisation of the service will increase.
Older people receive over 10,000 hours of support every week in Barking and Dagenham via adult and community services. This helps thousands of people remain independent for longer. Through individual budgets and direct payments the Council is giving people the choice to choose their own service and people are choosing to remain at home with support at the times that suits them. This has meant that less people have needed residential care, which is part of the preventative strategy the Council is delivering. This was recognised by CSCI who rated ACS as excellent for delivering independence and choice and gave the department a 3 star rating.”