Issue - meetings

The Board received the proposed priorities for the Children, Young People and Families elements of the Council’s Single Business Plan for approval.

It was reported that since 2015 a Single Business Plan had been developed for the Local Authority (LA) as a whole.  This plan had focussed on the key medium term issues rather than providing extensive narrative of every area of work of the LA.  To ensure that the LA was producing a Business Plan that enabled it to meet the priorities identified within the Corporate Plan, the information from each Directorate would be set out under the Council’s priority headings:

·       Children and Young People;

·       Employment, Learning & Skills;

·       Safer Halton;

·       Healthy Halton;

·       Environment and Regeneration; and

·       Corporate Effectiveness and Efficiency.

It was noted that each directorate was compiling their contribution to the Council’s Single Business Plan and would seek approval for their priorities from their respective PPBs.  The information would then be compiled into a single Business Plan which would be presented to Executive Board in March 2018.

The Board were presented with the following six proposed priorities for the Children and Young People’s element of the plan as follows:

1.     Keeping children and young people safe by improving practice;

2.     Improve outcomes for children and young people through effective multi-agency early intervention;

3.     Improve progress and attainment across all key stages and diminish the difference between vulnerable groups and their peers;

4.     Raise achievement in early years;

5.     Improve the offer for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND); and

6.     Improve participation and skills for young people to drive Halton’s future.

Members discussed the priorities presented before them and it was noted that if agreed, more details of the priorities would emerge and more detail could be provided over time with careful monitoring.  It was also agreed that all six were as important as each other and that to prioritise the priorities would not be appropriate.

RESOLVED:  That the Board

1)    notes the contents of the report; and

2)    approves the priorities for the Children, Young People and Families elements of the Council’s Single Business Plan.