We are now in the special budget People Overview and Scrutiny Committee with Cllr Jackie O'Quinn in the chair. #LDreporter #Brighton #Hove Follow live aisapps.mediasite.com
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Cllr Jacob Taylor says the budget gap is now down to £16 million for the general fund in 2025/26 after an improved local government settlement. The position is improved but a balanced budget needs setting. Pressures are adult social care, demand complexity and cost #LDreporter #Brighton #Hove People need these services. Housing is also a pressure, homelessness and also children's services says Cllr Taylor. The proposed budget is balanced and the pathway is towards sustainability. Preventative investment on homelessness and temporary accommodation #LDreporter Cllr Taylor says the council is committed to continuing the mental health pilot in secondary schools. Finance chief Nigel Manvell says things can change through consultation. There is risk in the plans put forward which he is trying to address. #LDreporter #Brighton #Hove Cllr Amanda Grimshaw asks about alternative funding for employment services. Cllr Taylor says the growth hub funding that is coming should keep the service going. The service is important for people with learning disabilities. #LDreporter #Brighton #Hove Exec director Deb Austin says the funding is expected in June from West Sussex #LDreporter #Brighton #Hove PaCC representative Fiona England asks about the short breaks and activities programme which is not in the budget. Statutory demand exceeds the budget. PaCC has asked for scrutiny. PaCC is still raising the lack of a designated social care officer. #LDreporter #Brighton #Hove Families with statutory provision are not getting holiday breaks which others do get. The most vulnerable families are at risk. One family is now asking for full time residential care from officers. There has been no capacity to address workforce development #LDreporter Cllr Taylor says he is listening and trying to nudge things in the directions PaCC is highlighting. The budget is going up by £5 million. The service area has the highest budget increase. He knows there is pressure on short breaks and activities #LDreporter #Brighton #Hove If we can think about more funding in following years we will do that says Cllr Taylor and he wants to keep co-producing with PaCC on this. Ms England appreciates potential uplifts and meeting statutory duty because the community is not confident in the council #LDreporter Cllr Jackie Simon is concerned about cutting a member of the public health team. She understands the money is going elsewhere... where? Cllr Tristram Burden says public health has only just come into the family and children directorate in January. It does seem rushed #LDreporter In January Cllr Burden agreed to cuts but some have been taken out. There's £565K asked to find in staff reorganisation. He would like a robust case and QIA.. The public health team deliver good out comes. The spend v outcomes tool has public health in the centre #LDreporter Exec director Deb Austin a EIA would be part of consultations with staff, Caroline Bassey director of public health has looked at reallocation on public health which goes to family hubs. It's where most of the budget is going and schools mental health, PSHE advice & tackling county lines #LDreporter Tackling county lines, family hubs and mental health is important public health preventative work says Cllr Taylor. There are 60 post being deleted, in the context of 3,559 to start with. He doesn't want to lose headcount because people do great work. It is a lower amount than last year #LDreporter Cllr Burden says public health has £2 million and is delivering extraordinary work. It is a city with the most active adults because of the public health team which is being reduced. He supports restructuring but is not comfortable with it. #LDreporter #Brighton #Hove We are delivering but cannot see a good argument for the things we are reducing. We need to keep hold of them and not reducing the aging well contract says Cllr Burden #LDreporter #Brighton #Hove Cllr Shanks asks about fostering and trying to move more placements to in-house, it comes up at every budget. Is it an achievable saving. The £40K for youth-led grants is participatory and important for young people which she would like to see saved #LDreporter #Brighton #Hove Cllr Taylor says the council needs to celebrate successes. Children's services is fantastic, 10-15 years ago there were the second highest number of looked after children in the country and the service has transformed where we are below the national average #LDreporter #Brighton #Hove Children's homes are expensive, foster homes are better for children says Cllr Taylor. The service has a good record. Youth led grants are not something he wants to see go. Participatory budget could be done with CIL and section 106 which could have young people's voices #LDreporter #Brighton #Hove Jo Martindale from Hangleton and Knoll Project is concerned about the impact on the aging well budget. There are reduced preventative services. She wants to hear more about working with health colleges. Aging well had a cut and also lost dementia funding #LDreporter #Brighton #Hove Cllr Burden says there is a focus on prevention. The cuts are what is believed the contract can take #LDreporter #Brighton #Hove Youth council representatives brings up the youth grants programme. It hs provided £3,000 for Art Wise which supported 120 young people who have had mental health issues and experienced self harm. How will they be supported. Audio Active had £44,000 supporting 120 people involved with gangs Cllr Taylor wants to find the money from other pots across the council. On county lines and those at risk of drug dealing, it is an important issues for the city. Adolescent services look at that with success. #LDreporter #Brighton #Hove Cllr Andrei Czolak, is concerned about burn out in child protection services. Cllr Taylor says the council has a good history in children's services which is ranked Outstanding by Ofsted. He is conscious of "mucking around at our own peril". #LDreporter #Brighton #Hove Exec director Deb Austin says the council does not use agency social worker and may be overstaffed. Cuts are not something taken lightly. Ofsted looks at caseloads of up to 18 and the caseloads are 13. She is confident the department can accommodate it #LDreporter #Brighton #Hove Cllr Ellen McLeay asks about public health with partners stepping in when council support is cut, such as the NHS, what consultation has been taken on those services. There are cuts being made at Drove Road when cuts are high. Why is there an understand? #LDreporter #Brighton #Hove *underspend Not every saving will come with an EIA. Where partners are named they need to be engaged says Cllr Taylor. On Drove Road exec director Deb Austin is not sure about under spend or lack of uptake. It is currently providing a home for a vulnerable young adult awaiting a home #LDreporter Rainbow Lodge is coming online soon and will provide housing for four young people currently in specialist settings outside the city. The EIA is difficult to categorise such as waiting lists #LDreporter #brighton #Hove Fiona England from PaCC says there is going to be consultation with parent carers and the council is looking at using the flat (Drove Drove) as emergency accommodation. #LDreporter #Brighton #Hove Cllr Tobias Sheard asks about home to school transport which has £1 million but it is going down for the next 3 years. Why so much this year and less in future. He asks about universal free school meals and what does that mean? #LDreporter #Brighton #Hove Cllr Taylor says the council has learned about what went wrong with changes to home to school transport in 2019. There are costs coming through. In the medium terms there are ways at looking at in-house transport while still providing a service #LDreporter #Brighton #Hove Universal free school meals is about holiday provision and using different pots to keep it going says Cllr Taylor #LDreporter #Brighton #Hove Cllr Amanda Grimshaw is concerned about a reduction in mental health services. She is concerned out of £2 million the £20K being cut is impacting on those most in need. Can the NHS pay in #LDreproter #Brighton #Hove The NHS does give money. The £1.9 million mental health services, the £270K supports for specific public health funds. The director of public health does not think it will have a significant impact. Cllr Grimshaw says the EIA does not say that. #LDreporter #Brighton #Hove Cllr Anne Meadows says stopping funding a family hub in Patcham and Hollingbury is contradictory to previous statements. Cllr Taylor says family hubs are benefitting from funding but the Patcham and Hollingbury hub has limited use compared with other sites. #LDreporter Cllr Shanks raises reduced hours at Jubilee, Hove and community libraries. Also getting rid of home delivery. It seems quite a big impact. If you reduce community libraries then the one in the middle needs to be open longer. She is proud of the libraries #LDreporter #Brighton #Hove Cllr Leslie Pumm says it does hurt as he is a library fan. It is a resourcing decision. A consultation will go out to residents. The days and hours will be identified afterwards. He wants to see high quality data on library usage to make the least painful decision #LDreporter #Brighton #Hove Changes to libraries require public consultation and approval to the Department of Culture, Media and Sport. Cllr Taylor says there is no plan to close a library and Cllr O'Quinn says this issue is going before scrutiny in future #LDreporter #Brighton #Hove Older People's Council acting rep raises concerns about cuts to adult social care. We have lost day services, older people are vulnerable. There is a lot of isolation the ageing well budget is being hit but the council and NHS. Dementia beds at Ireland Lodge. How do you reconcile this? #LDreporter Cllr Burden says he will provide a written response. The council spends £262 Million on adult social care and has to find £111 million from the general fund which is completely unsustainable. We need to continue delivering services to vulerable residents. #LDreporter #Brighton #Hove Ireland Lodge was designed to be short term but never ended up like that. Rainbow Lodge for young people is helping. Great things have been done there. #LDreproter #brighton #Hove Ireland Lodge focus will be on short-term intervention and reduce community care commissioned beds plus there is plans to perverse independence at home. #LDreporter #Brighton #Hove The committee is now on a break after two hours #LDreporter #Brighton #Hove And we are back. Cllr Shanks is concerned about outsourcing residential provision. Cllr Taylor says the council doesn't want to outsource. Most councils don't have in-house provision. Director Genette Laws The learning disability sector is dominated by not-for profit providers. Four homes are up for recommissioning. They are small group homes. There is a vibrant learning disability community in the city with the capacity to take on the services #LDreporter Now on homelessness and temporary accommodation. Cllr Czolak asks about incentivising landlords and housing options for temporary accommodation out of area. Cllr Taylor says there is a severe situation with homelessness. Public money is going to private landlords #LDreporter #Brighton #Hove Cllr Taylor wants to see leasing of morehousing. People are sitting in temporary housing for a long time. People can stay on the housing waiting list and move to private rented which is better for tenants and the council. Where people are happy we'll make reasonable out of town offers #LDreporter Cllr McLeay asks about sending people out of area and delivery of risk when residents decline an offer and a risk of street homelessness. Ms Laws said people have to agree but there is a risk if they refused a reasonable offer in the city. Wording may be looked at again. #LDreporter Cllr Jackie Simon raises the traveller liaison team. The team has helped in Woodingdean. Who will do this work? Cllr Taylor said it is small. Ms Laws says the restructure will not lead to redundancies. It will be the same service #LDreproter #Brighton #Hove Cllr Grimshaw says the single person focuses on single people. Veterans are not impacted. Some are have substance misuse, have got PTSD, they want to go to dedicated veteran accommodation the nearest is in Portsmouth. She would like to see a veteran housing project in Sussex #LDreporter And that's the end of today's double meeting #LDreporter #Brighton #Hove @unroll.skywriter.blue