Issue - meetings

The Commissioning Director, Children and Young People, introduced the item which related to Schools Funding.

The Commissioning Director, Children and Young People, noted that a briefing would be arranged for members of the Committee with the Director of Education and Skills and the Deputy Schools Funding Manager on the implications of the proposed National Funding Formula.

Councillor Kathy Levine made the following comment in respect to Appendix B (Response to the Government Consultation):

·         That in respect to the response to question 14, consideration should be given to existing pressures on schools on top of the proposed National Funding Formula for schools. Specifically, the response should make reference to:

-       The rates at which efficiency savings can be made;

-       The need for retraining;

-       New process automation;

-       Losses in operational flexibility;

-       Increases required in staff productivity;

-       Potential redundancy costs;

-       Effective teaching quality and student outcomes;

-       The increases in the amount that schools have to pay to cover pensions and national insurance;

-       Pay rises promoted by the departments;

-       Reductions to services such as the Education Service Grants.

The Commissioning Director, Children and Young People, stated that not all those comments made would be relevant to the response to question 14, however he stated that the issues specifically regarding the reduction to the Education Service Grants and increased pressures identified by the National Audit Office would fit appropriately into the response to the question. The Committee agreed for those relevant comments to be added to the response to question 14.

Councillor Kathy Levine commented that, in response to question 1, she is concerned that a £250mn funding gap had been created by the design of the National Funding Formula. Councillor Kathy Levine moved a motion – seconded by Councillor Kath McGuirk – to add the following wording to the end of recommendation 3:

·         ‘…and that a comment is made in the response to question 1 of the Response to the Government Consultation [Appendix B to the report] that the Council would like to see the £250mn be put back into the budget for schools’.

Votes were recorded as follows:

* The Chairman used his casting vote against the motion, therefore meaning that it was lost.

Following consideration of the item, the Chairman moved to recommendations 1, 2 and 4. Votes were recorded as follows:

Before proceeding to the vote on recommendation 3, Councillor Kath McGuirk stated that she believed the item should be reclassified as a ‘Key’ item. The Legal Officer and Governance Team Leader present outlined the reasons for classifying an item as ‘Key’ or ‘Non-Key’ as defined by Section 6 of the Responsibility for Functions, outlined in the Council’s constitution.

A simple vote was then offered by the Chairman on whether the report was incorrectly classified as non-key and should be reclassified as ‘Key’: :

* The Chairman used his casting vote against the request,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9