Agenda and minutes

Councillor Calum Watt, Chair of the Community Leadership Scrutiny Committee, opened the meeting with a warm welcome to all attendees.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor(s) Rachel Storer, Dylan Stothard and Aiden Wells.

Councillor Clare Smalley was in attendance as a substitute.

Councillor Donald Nannestad and Councillor Lucinda Preston were in attendance as Panel Members to respond to Item 4 entitled 'Consultation to close Sixth Form Provision at Lincoln Castle Academy’.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 30 July 2024 be confirmed and signed by the Chair as an accurate record.

No declarations of interest were received.

Councillor Calum Watt, Chair of the Community Leadership Scrutiny Committee, introduced the topic of discussion which was the Consultation to close Sixth Form Provision at Lincoln Castle Academy.

The Committee received a verbal report from Emily Holmes, Assistant Director, Strategic Development. During consideration of the presentation, the following points were noted:

• The consultation document had been sent to all Members for consideration and comment
• Representatives were unable to attend the meeting due to an open evening at Lincoln Castle Academy
• Carol Gill, Operations Manager, Lincoln Castle Academy had contacted officers and confirmed that she remained happy to respond to any questions, prior to the Consultation deadline on 14 October 2024. She had responded in writing to questions submitted ahead of the meeting
• Officers remained committed to collating comments received from Members. It was hoped that comments would help shape the consultation response.

The Chair offered his thanks to Emily Holmes and welcomed comments and questions from Members of the Committee. As a result of discussions between Members, questions submitted and answers received prior to the meeting, the following points were made: -

Question: What specific data or metrics were used to determine that the Sixth Form provision was financially unsustainable? Were there any alternative cost-saving measures considered before the decision on closure was taken?

Response: To be financially viable, the Department for Education (DfE) recommended that Sixth Forms required approximately 200 students within them. The DfE also stated that the average class size for Sixth Form teaching groups should be at least 15 (Department for Education ‘Making significant changes to an open academy’ January 2022). The school ran to a curriculum-led financial planning model predicated on an approximate teacher contact ratio of 0.79 and a curriculum bonus (a measure of class sizes) of under 8%. Recognising that the curriculum was both educationally unsound and financially unsustainable, school leaders took the decision in Summer 2021 to withdraw unviable courses prior to students who enrolled in September 2021. As a result, admission numbers fell from approximately 80 to just over 40. This had further fallen to 34 by June, and only 25 by September 2022. Whilst a Sixth form is routinely considered as a separate entity (and sometimes as a loss leader in terms of group sizes), class sizes of 1 in Maths and Chemistry and 4 students in History could not be financially sustained.

Question: How were student voices incorporated into the decision-making process? Were there any student surveys or focus groups conducted to gather student perspectives on the Sixth Form?

Response: The most important survey conducted was to publish credible offers to students in December 2021 and December 2022. On both occasions, zero students applied for Lincoln Castle Academy Sixth Form.

Question: Had Lincoln Castle Academy considered the potential long-term implications of closure of the Sixth Form on the overall school community? How might the decision affect future student enrolment and the school's reputation?

Response: Lincoln Castle Academy were clear that the decision to close the school’s Sixth Form would  ...  view the full minutes text for item 76.

Councillor Calum Watt, Chair of the Community Leadership Scrutiny Committee, introduced the topic of discussion which was an Introduction to Anti-Poverty Strategy Proposals.

The Committee received a collaborative presentation from Emily Holmes, Assistant Director, Strategic Development (City of Lincoln Council) and Martin Walmsley, Assistant Director Shared Revenues and Benefits (City of Lincoln Council and North Kesteven District Council). During consideration of the presentation, the following points were noted:

• In some way, the City of Lincoln Council (CoLC) dealt with every household and every business within the city. There were also opportunities to work with North Kesteven District Council (NKDC)
• Consideration had been given to what difference the CoLC could make, such as helping people into work and offering debt advice
• Revenues and Benefits had a key role in the delivery of anti-poverty support
• Covid-19 caused an increased demand to the Revenues and Benefits Service and work included:
  • The facilitation of Test & Trace Support Payments
  • An increase in Council Tax Support Claims
  • Universal Credit (UC) Documents; a significant amount of extra documents were processed for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)
• The Cost-of-Living Crisis support included:
  • Council Tax Rebate Payments (£150)
  • Council Tax Support Fund
  • Energy Bill Support Scheme – Alternative Funding/Fuel Payment
  • Discretionary Housing Payments
  • Household Support Fund
• The title of ‘Lincoln Against Poverty’ (LAP) was important. It was agreed in 2014 by the CoLC and although partners were included, it was approved as a CoLC poverty strategy
• Covid-19 and the Cost-of-Living Crisis had resulted in closer working with the voluntary sector, even more than had occurred previously
• LAP was not led by CoLC and instead, led jointly with a group of partners such as Acts Trust, Bridge Church and LocalMotion
• LAP was a refresh of the Anti-Poverty Strategy further to significant changes experienced within the last four to five years and linked into potential CoLC Vision 2030 priorities
• Current emerging issues that had been identified included:
  • Winter Fuel Payments/Pension Credit
    • The CoLC Cost of Living Support Team had received calls prior to the Government’s recent decision to remove Winter Fuel Payment. The CoLC had a Cost-of-Living Coordinator, as part of a team of 3. However, there was not extensive resource to ensure delivery. This was something that Officers wanted to achieve, not only for CoLC but for NKDC also
  • Household Support Fund
    • Phase 5 would be concluded at the end of the month and the Household Support Fund would be extended to the end of March 2025 for Phase 6. The extension was extremely welcomed as it was likely demand would be very high. Lessons had been learnt throughout the first five phases and the CoLC had worked with many new partners (Age UK, Lincoln City Foundation, the Mosque) which ensured that as many cohorts as possible, had been reached. Delivery of Household Support Fund had received really positive outcomes for residents
  • Universal Credit Managed Migration
    • Rollout of the UC managed migration had been slow however progression would be accelerated. The CoLC had a role within the migration  ...  view the full minutes text for item 77.

Consideration was given to the Committee’s Work Programme. Further to scoping discussions, the Democratic Services Officer confirmed that the focus of the Committee’s upcoming work would include further attendance in relation to Education and the Cost of Living.

It was agreed that the Panel be comprised of Matthew Clayton, Head of Education, Children’s Services (Lincolnshire County Council), Si?n Wade, Active Faith Lead (Transform Lincoln) and Simon Hawking, Chief Executive (Acts Trust). The Democratic Services Officer confirmed that the item would be brought before the Committee in October 2024.

Calum Watt, Chair of the Community Leadership Scrutiny Committee requested that the start time of the next meeting of the Committee be brought forward to 17:30 to provide sufficient time for items of business to be considered effectively.

The Democratic Services Officer confirmed that scoping discussions would take place further to the meeting in relation to the Anti-Poverty Strategy Proposals project.

RESOLVED that:

1. The start time of the next meeting of the Committee be amended to 17:30.

2. The content of discussions be noted with thanks.

Date of Next Meeting: Tuesday 15 October 2024 (17:30)