RESOLVED:

1.         That the Recovery Plan requested by the Department of Education in response to Merton’s overspend on the Dedicated Schools Grant caused by significant overspending of the high needs block, and the context and background in which this Recovery Plan has been required be noted.

2.         To continue to lobby central government to ensure sufficient funding is made available through the DSG to achieve the intentions of the Children and Families Act 2014 for all children and young people to be able to achieve their full potential.

The Cabinet Member for Schools and Adult Education presented the report, highlighting the pressures on the Council’s ability to support the growing number of young people eligible for additional support due to their Special Educational Needs (SEN).  The Council was committed to supporting these young people and would be bringing a SEN Strategy to a future Cabinet meeting.  The financial pressures had been exacerbated by the change in the eligibility criteria introduced by the Government, which had not come with additional funding and therefore it was recommended that the Council continued to lobby the Government to recognise this and ensure sufficient funding is in place in the future.  The additional funding included in the Government’s financial settlement was welcome but it did not go any way to plugging the gap.  Given that the overspend on the Dedicated Schools Grant exceeded 1%, the Council was required to submit a five year recovery plan to the Department for Education to set out how the Council intended to bring the DSG back into balance.

The Cabinet welcomed the plan to improve provision for young people despite the financial difficulties.  The Cabinet Member for Finance echoed the comments made and drew the Cabinet’s attention to the table on page 139 of the agenda, which set out the financial impact on the Council dependent on the approach taken by the Government.  He urged the Government to fund this area properly as it had a big impact on the quality of lives of children in the borough.

The Chair welcomed the report and echoed the comments made.  The shortfall in government funding in this area was an issue for all London boroughs and he would continue to lobby the Government along with his colleagues in other boroughs.

RESOLVED:

1.         That the Recovery Plan requested by the Department of Education in response to Merton’s overspend on the Dedicated Schools Grant caused by significant overspending of the high needs block, and the context and background in which this Recovery Plan has been required be noted.

2.         To continue to lobby central government to ensure sufficient funding is made available through the DSG to achieve the intentions of the Children and Families Act 2014 for all children and young people to be able to achieve their full potential.