Agenda item

This council notes with concern worsening trends in a number of areas of children’s services including:

·  Low educational attainment, with Leeds the second worst council in the worst performing region in England for reading, writing and maths among primary aged children and persistent gaps in attainment for children receiving free school meals and with English as an additional language

·  Worsening Ofsted results, in which the number of primary schools that have received a worse score in their 2017 assessment is three times higher than the number that have improved

·  Continued reliance on external providers for residential care and independent foster care agencies, which are currently projected to overspend by £1.2 million

·  Reduced senior management capacity to improve services

This council is deeply concerned at the effect this decline in service quality is having on vulnerable children and young people in the city. 

This Council lacks confidence in the current policies in place to deal with these issues and calls for the creation of an independent cross-party commission to investigate these issues and develop sustainable solutions for the city that will halt the decline in support for our most vulnerable children and help create the infrastructure needed to place the service on a stable footing.

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 12.4(b) it was moved by Councillor Golton, seconded by Councillor Cleasby that this council notes with concern worsening trends in a number of areas of children’s services including:

·  Low educational attainment, with Leeds the second worst council in the worst performing region in England for reading, writing and maths among primary aged children and persistent gaps in attainment for children receiving free school meals and with English as an additional language

·  Worsening Ofsted results, in which the number of primary schools that have received a worse score in their 2017 assessment is three times higher than the number that have improved

·  Continued reliance on external providers for residential care and independent foster care agencies, which are currently projected to overspend by £1.2 million

·  Reduced senior management capacity to improve services

This council is deeply concerned at the effect this decline in service quality is having on vulnerable children and young people in the city. 

This Council lacks confidence in the current policies in place to deal with these issues and calls for the creation of an independent cross-party commission to investigate these issues and develop sustainable solutions for the city that will halt the decline in support for our most vulnerable children and help create the infrastructure needed to place the service on a stable footing.

An amendment was moved by Councillor Mulherin, seconded by Councillor Pryor

Delete all after “This Council notes” and replace with:

“…the sharp contrast between the current status of Children’s Services and that which the Labour administration inherited from the Conservative/Lib Dem/Morley Borough Independent coalition in 2010, when Ofsted deemed Children’s Services in the city to be inadequate.

Council notes that despite eight years of damaging cuts and policies by Conservatives and Liberal Democrats in central government, under the current Labour administration this Council has been recognised by the Department for Education as one of the leading local authorities in the country for children’s services.

This Council opposes the Government policy of forced academisation of schools, given the clear lack of accountability of multi-academy trusts, as evidenced by the atrocious conduct of Wakefield City Academies Trust before its collapse.

This Council is appalled by the real term cut in central government funding for children’s services nationally of £2.3bn between 2010 and 2016, with a further £2bn funding gap forecast by the cross-party Local Government Association by 2020 if cuts continue. 

Council calls on all political groups to lobby Government to urgently address the £2bn funding gap in children and young people services identified by the cross-party Local Government Association so the Council can continue to invest in early intervention services to ensure all young people in Leeds are given the best possible start in life.”

The amendment in the name of Councillor Mulherin was carried and upon being put to the vote it was

RESOLVED – That this Council notes the sharp contrast between the current status of Children’s Services and that which the Labour administration inherited from the Conservative/Lib Dem/Morley Borough Independent coalition in 2010, when Ofsted deemed Children’s Services in the city to be inadequate.

Council notes that despite eight years of damaging cuts and policies by Conservatives and Liberal Democrats in central government, under the current Labour administration this Council has been recognised by the Department for Education as one of the leading local authorities in the country for children’s services.

This Council opposes the Government policy of forced academisation of schools, given the clear lack of accountability of multi-academy trusts, as evidenced by the atrocious conduct of Wakefield City Academies Trust before its collapse.

This Council is appalled by the real term cut in central government funding for children’s services nationally of £2.3bn between 2010 and 2016, with a further £2bn funding gap forecast by the cross-party Local Government Association by 2020 if cuts continue. 

Council calls on all political groups to lobby Government to urgently address the £2bn funding gap in children and young people services identified by the cross-party Local Government Association so the Council can continue to invest in early intervention services to ensure all young people in Leeds are given the best possible start in life.