Agenda and minutes
PDF 48 KBVenue: Council Chamber, Sessions House, County Hall, Maidstone
Contact: Anna Taylor 03000 416478
Media
| No. | Item |
|---|---|
|
Declarations of Interests by Members in items on the Agenda for this Meeting Additional documents: Minutes: No declarations were made. |
|
|
Minutes of the meetings held on 8 March and 23 March 2022 Additional documents: Minutes: RESOLVED that the minutes of the meetings held on 8 March and 23 March 2022, subject to the addition of Mrs Binks to the list of virtual attendees in the 23 March minutes, were an accurate record and that they be signed by the Chairman.
|
|
|
Future meeting dates Wednesday 21 September 2022 - 2pm Thursday 11 October 2022 - 10am Wednesday 7 December 2022 - 2pm Wednesday 25 January 2023 - 2pm Thursday 23 February 2023 - 10am Thursday 20 April 2023 - 10am Tuesday 6 June 2023 - 10am Wednesday 19 July 2023 - 2pm Additional documents: Minutes: RESOLVED that the following future meeting dates be noted:
Wednesday 21 September 2022 - 2pm Thursday 11 October 2022 - 10am Thursday 24 November 2022 - 10am Wednesday 7 December 2022 - 2pm Wednesday 25 January 2023 - 2pm Thursday 23 February 2023 - 10am Thursday 20 April 2023 - 10am Tuesday 6 June 2023 - 10am Wednesday 19 July 2023 - 2pm |
|
|
SEND Transport Update Additional documents: Minutes: 1. The Chairman introduced the item and invited the Cabinet Members to provide an update on developments relating to the provision of SEND home to school transport since the last Scrutiny Committee meeting.
2. Mr Brazier confirmed that all children affected by the retender of SEND transport services had been provided with transport. He reminded Members that daily situation reports were shared with internal stakeholders in the ??Growth, Environment and Transport (GET) and Children, Young People and Education (CYPE) directorates and included information on the number of outstanding complaints. He reassured the Committee that KCC’s provision of SEND transport was now operating in a business-as-usual capacity. Mrs Prendergast confirmed that she had continued to meet with Kent Parents and Carers Together (PACT) on a weekly basis, in order to understand ongoing concerns, and concurred with Mr Brazier that the service was in a business-as-usual position.
3. Mr Jones gave an overview of the number of children awaiting an allocation of transport who had entered the system following the retender of the service, which stood at 1 added in January and 3 added in February. He confirmed that over 5,600 children with SEND had Council provisioned home to school transport. In relation to correspondence, he reassured Members that all parents and carers had been contacted throughout the process, with 10 cases ongoing.
4. The Committee were provided with a copy of Internal Audit’s Terms of Reference for their SEND Transport Lessons Learnt Review. Members raised their concern that the document had been shared on the day of the meeting, Mr Watts explained that the document was finalised on 19 April and circulated to Members at the earliest opportunity.
5. Mr Watts provided an update on the Internal Audit SEND Transport Lessons Learnt Review. He verified that the Terms of Reference had been published on kent.gov.uk. Concerning the consideration of the Review’s findings, he confirmed that they would be reported to the Governance and Audit Committee initially. He noted that the Head of Internal Audit had continued to meet regularly with KentPACT. He emphasised that the Head of Internal Audit had developed the Terms of Reference independently.
6. A Member asked that the Terms of Reference include consultation with schools and teachers in addition to the Consultation Process with Parents, Carers and Kent PACT already detailed in section 2.3. Mr Watts agreed to share the suggestion with the Head of Internal Audit, though emphasised their independent prerogative to decide on the contents.
7. A Member asked whether the transport in place was suitable and took account of each child’s individual needs. Mr Jones confirmed that transport suitability was decided based on the information in a child’s Education, Health and Care Plan. He reassured the Committee that there had been dialogue with parents where transport had been adapted, including where operators had issues with drivers, fuel or vehicles. He stressed that the child’s needs were the main priority whenever changes to transport provision were considered on a temporary or permanent basis. Mr ... view the full minutes text for item 42. |