Issue - meetings

To receive any questions or petitions.

Notes:

1.    The deadline for Member’s questions is 12.00pm four working days before the meeting (6 June 2023).

2.    The deadline for public questions is seven days before the meeting(5 June 2023).

3.    The deadline for petitions was 14 days before the meeting, and no petitions have been received.

The public retain their right to submit questions for written response, with such answers recorded in the minutes of the meeting; questioners may participate in meetings to ask a supplementary question. Petitioners may address the Committee on their petition for up to three minutes Guidance will be made available to any member of the public wishing to speak at a meeting.

There were three public questions, one Member question and no petitions. The questions and responses were published as a supplement to the 12 June agenda.

The Scrutiny Officer read a supplementary question on behalf of Roisin Kennedy, asking when the Council would stop offering only two sessions of speech therapy as standard when many children needed more. The Cabinet Member for Education and Learning agreed to provide a written response.

A second questioner, Charles Hepburn, did not attend the meeting.

Anna Sutherland attended the meeting and asked for an answer to her original question which she felt had not been provided by the response. The Cabinet Member for Education and Learning offered to have a discussion with Mrs Sutherland outside the meeting.

Adjournment for 7 minutes while building works noise resolved. Meeting resumed at 10:18 am.

As a supplementary to his written question, Jonathan Essex asked what would be done to address the shortfall in play and youth activities. He said this had not been bridged by DfE funding, which had created an expectation for something additional that might not be funded in the future. The Cabinet Member for Children and Families said she had committed to review the budget position for 2024/25. In the meantime, outcomes would be measured and evaluated, and feedback from carers and young people accessing the service would be harnessed through Family Voice.

Actions/requests for further information:

1.    Cabinet Member for Education and Learning to reach out for discussion with Anna Sutherland regarding her Public Question and share notes of the conversation with the Select Committee.

2.    Cabinet Member for Education and Learning to send a written response to Roisin Kennedy’s supplementary question and share it with the Select Committee.