Agenda and minutes

www.swansea.gov.uk/disclosuresofinterests

None.

None.

Questions can be submitted in writing to scrutiny@swansea.gov.uk up until noon on the working day prior to the meeting. Written questions take precedence. Public may attend and ask questions in person if time allows. Questions must relate to items on the open part of the agenda and will be dealt with in a 10-minute period.

No public questions were received.

Invited to attend are Cllr Robert Smith (Cabinet Member for Education & Learning) and Education Officers

Link to Cabinet Papers for 20 February 2025, which contain the budget proposals (papers should be available online from 13 February 2025).

The Cabinet Member for Education & Learning and lead Education officers attended the meeting to discuss the Annual Budget as it relates to education matters and take questions.

The Panel had the opportunity to provide feedback on the proposed budget which was detailed in the report(s) being considered by Cabinet on 20 February, and give views as part of the overall Budget Scrutiny process led by the Service Improvement, Regeneration and Finance Scrutiny Performance Panel.

Discussion focussed on the Revenue Budget for 2025/26 which set out:

·       Current Budget Monitoring Position

·       The Local Government Finance Settlement

·       Budget Forecast

·       Schools Delegated Budget

·       Specific Savings Proposals

·       Budget Consultation Response – including the view of the School Budget Forum

·       Staffing Implications

·       Relevant Issues

The following points were raised by the Panel and would be forwarded to the Service Improvement, Regeneration & Finance Scrutiny Performance Panel for inclusion in overall feedback on the budget that will be sent to the Leader / Cabinet Member for Economy, Finance and Strategy ahead of the Cabinet meeting on 20 February.

·       Budget Increase - the Panel welcomed the increase to the Education budget especially when considering that the £11.5m of one-off money granted in 2024/5 has now been base lined. This meant that that true value of the base increase was over £23m, more than double the headline rate at over 12%. The Panel noted that the delegated schools budget for 2025/26 was £213.6m which they were told was the highest it has ever been. However, it was felt that the level of spending on education across Wales and the UK was still not enough in view of the increasing expectations, demands and pressure on education and schools.

·       Uncertainty about National Insurance Costs – the Panel was pleased with the commitment to cover increases in teachers’ pay and pension costs. However, the Panel was concerned about the impact additional Employer National Insurance costs (estimated at £2.4m for the schools delegated budget) could have on school budgets if this was not fully compensated. The Panel noted that assumptions have been made within the budget but there is material uncertainty over costs which we may not know until June.

·       Funding via Grants - the Panel shared the concern that substantial elements of schools funding is now being delivered via specific grant (Local Authority Education Grant) and presented a risk to overall school’s funding that was not in the control of the Council.

·       School Budget Forum Concerns - although the School Budget Forum recognised a better-than-expected settlement, the Panel felt that their letter contained some concerning statements. The Panel asked for sight of the Leader’s / Cabinet response to the School Budget Forum, particularly the concerns raised within that there is ‘not enough money to deliver statutory education services’ as well the ability to deliver the reform agenda, including ALN. The Forum also highlighted that ‘budgeted expenditure per pupil in Swansea has fallen to the lowest ranking of 22nd of the 22 local authorities in 2024-25’; though at the same time it recognised there may be inconsistency in how Local Authorities report and allocate spending on education and potentially misleading comparisons. The Panel remained concerned about the drop in school reserves highlighted by the Forum, and rate of depletion. Members asked for a summary of the position of current school reserve levels (as of 31 March 2025) from the Education Directorate to see how much further reserves have dropped and the variation between schools. The Panel was told however that the overall relative position regarding reserves in Swansea was better than elsewhere in Wales; nevertheless, Members felt that we needed to address this issue.

·       Meeting Additional Learning Needs - whilst recognising there was a strategy in place, the Panel felt that ALN funding remains a challenging area for the Council given the increase in demand and pressures, and impact on schools and education, both in mainstream and specialist settings. The Panel asked about our intelligence on this, how well the Council is able to forecast things and the impact on budgets. The Panel felt that it should look more closely at ALN funding / provision and demand at future Scrutiny meeting(s) to monitor things.

·       Staffing Implications – the Panel noted that the ‘headcount’ reduction figure provided (shown as 1 for Education) did not include schools. The Panel was keen to know when we will know the implications for schools’ staff. Members were informed that this will not be known until schools have their indicative budgets for 2025-26.

·       Budget for Home to School Transport – the Panel noted that funding for Home to School Transport has been transferred from the Education Directorate to the Place Directorate.