Agenda item

Resolved: to note the report.

5.1      Barrie Neal (Head of Corporate Policy and Governance) introduced the report. The following key points were noted:

·         The management report had been considered by the Committee for a number of years on a quarterly basis, most often as an information item.

·         The purpose of the report was to serve as a management tool for the Council’s executive management team to keep a track of the performance in key areas.

·         The report was presented in four sections: performance, projects, risk and finance.

·         Over time, the number of performance indicators in the report had been streamlined down to 23.

·         At the front of the report the indicators were summarised, further detailed information about the indicators was included in the rest of the report.

·         The report used a red, amber, green (RAG) system of indicators - to highlight performance against targets. There was also a system of arrows and symbols that indicated the direction of travel of the different indicators.

·         There were currently (February 2017) five red rated areas for management attention.

·         There were two areas for management attention relating to performance in timely completion of education, health and care plans (EHCPs) for children and young people. Officers from the Children and Young People’s directorate were in attendance to provide further context about performance in this area.

5.2    Ann Wallace (Service Manager, Children with Complex Needs) and Louise Comely (Principal Educational Psychologist) addressed the Committee in relation to the Council’s performance in producing EHCPs:

·         There had been a significant change in the legislation relating to EHCPs, as well as issues with computer systems and levels of staffing in the team responsible for completing the plans. This had led to delays in completing the plans and a significant backlog of cases had also developed.

·         The most significant issue in relation to performance of EHCPs was the change in legislation (from September 2014), which had led to a substantial (30% on average) increase in the level of requests for plans each month.

·         EHCP statements were previously required for children who were referred from ages five to 18. The change in legislation meant that they were now required for children and young people referred to the Council from birth to age 25. This had markedly increased the workload of the service.

·         There had also been a significant lack of capacity in the workforce. Staffing levels had been increased but there was still a significant backlog of work and the team were dependant on agency staff to fill gaps in capacity. However, in September there would be new educational psychologists joining the team.

·         There had also been serious problems with the availability of key IT systems and access to Lewisham Council and Lewisham NHS networks. The new IT system was a real improvement.

·         There was a statutory deadline for the completion of EHCPs. However, the completion of each ECHP might require input from a broad range of health and social care professionals so meeting the legislative deadline (which had changed from 26 to 20 weeks) was extremely challenging.

·         If there was a problem at any point in the system, this would have an impact on the completion of the plan.

·         Performance had begun to improve.

5.3    Barrie Neal, Ann Wallace and Louise Comely responded to questions from the Committee. The following key points were noted:

·         A single case officer oversaw the completion of each EHCP but up to 10 professionals might be involved in the assessment of a case before a plan could be completed.

·         Once a draft plan was in place it had to be assessed by a panel and officers were required to engage with parents, which meant the timetable for completing assessments was very tight.

·         In September, despite the increase in permanent staff, there would still be a need for some agency support.

·         There were approximately 30 requests a month for new EHCPs. In some months this could be as high as 50. Before the new legislation - there had been approximately 15-20 requests a month.

·         There were 1800 current ECHPs for children and young people that teams were managing and monitoring.

·         There were statutory duties to children who were already subject to plans.

·         The quarterly financial forecast report to the Committee provided more information about areas of overspend and cost pressures.

·         Work was taking place with partners to improve the operation of the Council's Oracle finance system.

·         There were individual transformation teams within directorates overseeing the transformation of systems, processes and IT.

·         Corporate risks were reported to the internal control board. The board met quarterly and was chaired by an independent expert. Reports from the Board were considered by the Council’s Audit Panel.

Resolved: that the report be noted.