Present:-

Devon County Council

Councillors McInnes (Chairman), Marsh, Sanders and Sellis

West Devon Borough Council

Councillor Clish-Green

Devon Association of Parish Councils

Councillor Dumpleton

Apologies

Councillors Sanders and Garton

*41 Minutes

RESOLVED that the Minutes of the meeting held on 16 July 2010 be signed as a correct record.

*42 Feedback/Representations

In the absence of Councillor Sanders who was unable to attend the meeting Members briefly discussed the Task Group looking into Services for People with Learning Disabilities, a copy of which was distributed with the agenda. It was agreed that the report come back to this Committee in March 2011.

*43 Update on Implications of Budget Cuts for CYPS

(Councillor Clish-Green declared a personal interest in this item by virtue of her being a supply teacher)

Ms Debbie Pritchard, Assistant Director CYPS, gave Members an update on the implications of reductions in the area based grant of 3.1m in relation to cuts to Connexions, the Children s Fund and certain infrastructure areas. She also touched on issuing redundancy notices, the move towards Academies and free school meals.

Members asked questions and made statements in relation to:-

the Dedicated Schools Grant;

direct funding of schools by Government;

the effect of reductions on small rural schools;

clustering and federating schools;

the application of funding per pupil in secondary school;

West Devon Children s Trust conference in January/February 2011;

the number of likely redundancies across the Directorate;

the numbers of children on free school meals who qualify for the 300 grant towards after school activities.

The Chairman thanked Ms Pritchard for her presentation.

*44 West Devon Care Homes and Putting People First

Ms Philippa Bridle, Cluster Manager for Tavistock/Okehampton, updated Members on the Putting People First project part of the Government s Transformation of Adult Social Care. The update included issues surrounding personal budgets and training to assess clients, prevention and early intervention, the retail model of equipment purchase and the setting up of a rapid response service.

Members discussed cases of vulnerable people who were intimidated by the idea of personal budgets and wanted care supplied in the traditional way and Ms Bridle confirmed that this was always an option. Councillor Sellis said that she was sceptical of the benefits of the idea of personal budgets but having discussed the issue at Scrutiny Committee with the Cabinet Member for Adult and Community Services she now supports the concept.

The Chairman thanked Ms Bridle for her presentation.

*45 Okehampton to Plymouth via Tavistock Railway Reinstatement

The Committee considered the report of the Executive Director of Environment, Economy and Culture (EEC/10/216/HQ - text only | pdf EEC/10/216/HQ) on the issues surrounding the potential re-instatement of the former Southern Region rail route linking Exeter to Plymouth via Okehampton and Tavistock.

Mr Tim Davies, Rail Officer, and Mr Stuart Langer, Planning Officer, answered Members questions on the report relating to the feasibility of the Tavistock to Plymouth rail link being progressed in isolation in view of the unlikely reopening of the whole Exeter Okehampton Tavistock Plymouth rail service. Also discussed was whether a new-build track inland of Dawlish would be a cheaper option that trying to follow the existing old route via Okehampton where some sections were unavailable or being used for other purposes.

Mr Davies reported that the Dartmoor Rail partner company, British American Railway Services, has received its full railway operating licence. Members went on to discuss the proposed Okehampton East Parkway site, its access and car parking capacity and the frequency of a service on a single tack line. Mr Davies agreed to send Members the complete report via email as the one sent out with the agenda had a page missing.

*46 West Devon County Committee Locality Budget for Financial Year 2009/10 - Confirmation of Spending Proposals and Spend to Date

The Committee considered the report of the County Community Strategy Officer (CX/10/119 - text only | pdf CX/10/119).

Ms Burgess, Locality Development Officer, drew Members attention to the new spending proposals set out in paragraph 2 of the report.

It was MOVED by Councillor McInnes, SECONDED by Councillor Sellis and

RESOLVED

(a) that the Committee confirms approval of new spending proposals set out in the report, including those agreed by the Chairman/Vice Chairman since the previous meeting;

(b) that the current budget position for 2010/11 be noted.

*47 Member Development Steering Group

The Committee noted the minutes of the meeting held on 2 November 2010, placed on the agenda for information .

*48 Forward Plan

The Committee were reminded of the remaining proposed future items as agreed at the last meeting namely:-

Vision for this Committee;

Presentation on Nursing Homes in the West Devon area such as Harewood House;

Impact of the new government policies on the health service;

Invite local GPs to send a representative to discuss new proposals giving GPs power over NHS budgets.

Ms Burgess, Locality Development Officer, advised Members that work on the item relating to a Vision for the Committee was currently being undertaken and would feature on the agenda of the next meeting in March 2011.

*49 Date of Next Meeting

The Committee noted that the next meeting was due to be held on Thursday 31 March 2011 at 2pm at the Tavistock Offices of the West Devon Borough Council.

*DENOTES DELEGATED MATTER WITH POWER TO ACT

The meeting started at 2.00pm and finished at 4.20pm

The Minutes of this Committee are published on the County Council's Website at:-