FORMAL CONSULTATION ON CHILDREN’S SERVICE BUDGET 2012/13

2Security marking 2 Context ●government is reducing the amount of money available to all local authorities ●Barnet Council has to make savings of £43.4m between 2012/13 and 2014/15 ●all areas in the Council must make savings. For 2012/13 the Children’s Service needs to find further savings of £1.044m ●Youth Offer – proposed saving of £500,000 for 2012/13 (c.50% of total proposed savings) Pressures facing Children’s Service ●growing population, 22% increase in births since 2003– places strain on all areas including social care ●need for more primary school places new Reception places created for September 2011, more applications coming in daily ●increasing costs of high level services – SEN and children in care

3Security marking 3 Response to consultation ●last year the Children’s Service reduced budgets by £6.4m. ●Children’s Service also invested £2.5m to meet unprecedented pressure on children’s social care and to fund more preventative services ●we had over 250 responses to our online survey, and held over 40 meetings with stakeholders ●your input shaped the way we changed services ‒ we retained 13 full service children’s centres, with outreach continuing in the other venues ‒ we targeted the remaining activities budget to ensure that vulnerable young people have access to youth provision ●for 2012/13 Children’s Service needs to find further savings of £1.044m ●to help meet demographic pressures, the Children’s Service is requesting investment of £750,000 for 2012/13

4Security marking 4 Approach to savings – Budget proposals for 2012/13 ●make savings through efficiencies and income generation wherever possible ●20% of proposed savings through efficiencies and income generation

5Security marking 5 Social Care ●children in care are among Barnet’s most vulnerable. Supporting them in order to ‘narrow the gap’ remains a key priority. ●no budget reductions in children’s social care last year. ●need to ensure all our services are running as efficiently as possible, including social care ●trying to see where we can achieve savings through efficiencies rather than service reduction ●proposals in two areas: ‒ corporate parenting ‒ adoption and fostering allowances related to children in care

6Security marking 6 Corporate Parenting 1.Reduce the budget for computers provided to children in care and foster carers by better targeting of resources to need. Proposed saving: £40,000 2.Reduce the budget for individual tuition for children in care by approximately 40% by better targeting of resources to need and through closer working with schools to minimise the impact on children. Proposed saving: £40,000 3.Reduce non frontline support for children in care around educational and health outcomes and the staff training budget. Proposed saving £20,000

7Security marking 7 Adoption and fostering allowances related to children in care ●the allowances children and their foster parents e.g. for clothing and transport have not been reviewed for some time ●the annual allowance given to those newly adopting also needs to be reviewed, while ensuring the child’s needs are met ●anticipated that efficiencies could be made e.g. increased use of Oyster travel cards could reduce the spend on taxis ●funding for both adoptors and foster carers would be agreed for shorter period with reviews built in 1.Review and reduce the overall costs of allowances given to children in care, foster carers and those newly adopting by carrying out more regular reviews to ensure that allowances are appropriate and being applied consistently. Proposed saving: £110,000

8Security marking 8 Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services ●NHS Barnet funds majority of CAMHS services – mainly for higher level needs ●Council contributes £763,000 a year – mainly for moderate needs ●new CAMHS referral model formally introduced in September 2011 to make processes more efficient and reduce duplication. ●anticipated that new model will result in savings in 2012/13 ●also work with providers to find efficiencies 1.Work with providers to find efficiencies, such as joining up teams, which enable us to reduce the commissioning budget for CAMHS with a minimal impact on services. Proposed saving: £100,000 ●Alongside this the NHS is proposing a broader reconfiguration of CAMHS services, which would be likely to take place over the next few years.

9Security marking 9 Youth Youth Services – proposed saving of £500,000 for 2012/13 (c.50% of total proposed savings) Priorities ●continue to support voluntary sector and local communities to build capacity ●continue to prioritise vulnerable young people Developed three key proposals to achieve budget savings of £500,000

10Security marking 10 Key proposals 1.There are two options: either reduce funding for youth and play activities, or start to charge for some activities and make a smaller reduction in funding for youth and play activities ●Option X: Reduce funding for youth and play activities by £150,000 (from £254,000 to £104,000) and do not introduce charging for activities. ●Option Y: Reduce funding for youth and play activities by £75,000 (from £254,000 to £179,000), and introduce charging for some activities to generate an income of £75,000. Proposed saving: £150,000, achieved by either option X or Y

11Security marking 11 Key proposals 2. Re-negotiate contracts within the areas of advocacy, out of school activities for young people with disabilities, and universal art programmes to reduce costs. This would result in a reduction in the services delivered. However, we will work with providers to try and minimise the impact. Proposed saving: £135, Reduce non-frontline staff posts and continue to deliver core functions by integrating teams and building capacity in the voluntary sector Proposed saving: £215,000

12Security marking 12 Timeline EventTiming Formal consultation on overall budget with stakeholders to commence 4 November 2011 Formal consultation closes6 January 2012 Final report goes to Cabinet20 February 2012 Report goes to Council6 March 2012 New structure in place1 April 2012

13Security marking 13 Your input appreciated ●we will keep you updated on progress via the engage website ●You can respond to the consultation on all Children’s Service budget proposals via an online questionnaire, which can be found at ●If you have any comments on the outline proposals please