Agenda and minutes

County Councillors Steven Holgate and Terry Aldridge replaced County Councillors Bev Murray and Misfar Hassan respectively, for this meeting.

Apologies for absence were presented on behalf of co-opted members Janet Hamid, Teresa Jones and Fred Kershaw

To note the appointment by Full Council on the 15 May 2014 of County Councillor Cynthia Dereli as Chair of the Committee and County Councillor Susie Charles as Deputy Chair for 2014/15.

It was reported that Full Council, at its meeting on 15 May 2014, had approved the appointment of County Councillor Cynthia Dereli as Chair of the Committee and County Councillor Susie Charles as Deputy Chair for 2014/15.

Resolved:  That the appointment of County Councillor Cynthia Dereli as Chair of the Committee and County Councillor Susie Charles as Deputy Chair for 2014/15 be noted.

A report was presented on the Membership and Terms of Reference of the Committee.

Resolved:  That the Membership and Terms of Reference of the Committee, as now reported, be noted.

Members are asked to consider any Pecuniary and Non-Pecuniary Interests they may have to disclose to the meeting in relation to matters under consideration on the Agenda.

None disclosed

The Minutes of the Education Scrutiny Committee meeting held on the 11 March 2014 were presented and agreed, subject to the inclusion of apologies from Mr K Wales.

Resolved: That the Minutes of the Education Scrutiny Committee held on the 11 March 2014, as now amended, be confirmed and signed by the Chair.

The Chair welcomed County Councillor Matthew Tomlinson, Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Schools who was attending the meeting in accordance with Standing Order 23.6(4) in order to respond to questions and comments.

She also welcomed and introduced the following officers from the Directorate for Children and Young People.

·  Louise Taylor – Interim Executive Director for Children and Young People

·  Sally Riley - Head of Inclusion and Disability Support Scheme.

The Chair then introduced County Councillors Michael Green and

Graham Gooch who had been invited to attend the meeting in order to present the case in support of the call-in.

Purpose of the Meeting

Wendy Broadley explained that following the request from five county councillors, as set out in the report, this special meeting of the Committee had been called in order to discuss whether the Committee wished to formally "call in" the decision by the Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Schools to introduce a parental contribution for discretionary post-16 transport support for young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).

It was explained that the Committee would initially hear presentations from County Councillors Green and Gooch,followed by the cabinet member. Members of the Committee would then have an opportunity to ask questions or clarify any issues before making a decision in relation to the formal 'call in'. 

The Committee was reminded that the purpose of the meeting was not to consider the cabinet member's actual decision but to determine if and on what grounds the cabinet member could be asked to reconsider it.

At the Chair's invitation, County Councillor Green presented reasons for the call in request. He contended that the cabinet member had failed to take proper account of the 630 responses to the consultation, 80% of which had been opposed to the changes being considered and that insufficient account had been taken of the needs of young people with SEND. He referred to what he described as a frank and thorough discussion at the Executive Scrutiny Committee following which that Committee had resolved to suggest amendments to the proposals. These included a recommendation that the annual increase to the parental contribution be based on the Retail Price Index only and that the proposed additional 5% annual increase be dropped. He expressed the view that the policy would have the greatest impact on vulnerable members of society, and also that the changes would have a significant impact on the educational achievements of young people with SEND, restricting their choice of school/college, and perhaps whether to attend at all.

County Councillor Gooch expressed significant concerns with the consultation, in particular that insufficient efforts had been made to secure a wide range of responses, and also that, in his view, that it had been a cosmetic exercise with positions already established before the responses came in.. He referred to relevant legislation including that which placed an obligation on local authorities to ensure those with a disability can access education. He said that disabled young  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

An item of urgent business may only be considered under this heading where, by reason of special circumstances to be recorded in the Minutes, the Chair of the meeting is of the opinion that the item should be considered at the meeting as a matter of urgency.  Wherever possible, the Chief Executive should be given advance warning of any Member’s intention to raise a matter under this heading.

No urgent business was reported.

The next scheduled meeting of the Committee is due to be held at 10.00am on the 15 July 2014 in Cabinet Room 'C' – The Duke of Lancaster Room, County Hall, Preston.

It was noted that the next meeting of the Committee would be held on Tuesday 15 July 2014 at 10.00am at County Hall, Preston.