Issue - meetings

The Cabinet Member for Education and Schools presented a report on alternative proposals in respect of the future provision of nursery services at Abbey and John Perry Children’s Centres.

Under Minute 6 (2 June 2015), the Cabinet had approved the outsourcing of the two remaining in-house Children’s Centre nurseries.  The Cabinet Member advised, however, that although the procurement exercise had attracted interest from several excellent providers, the high pension liabilities that would have transferred to the new provider had resulted in no tenders being submitted.  Officers had therefore undertaken a review of all possible options and the preferred option involved the Council retaining and expanding the Abbey Children’s Centre nursery and absorbing the remaining staff from the John Perry Children’s Centre nursery into the expanded facility, allowing the John Perry Children’s Centre nursery service to be re-tendered as a more attractive proposition.

Cabinet resolved to:

(i)  Agree to the retention of Abbey Children’s Centre nursery as a Council provided service and its expansion to create an additional 40 places with effect from September 2016;

(ii)  Note that the current Council staff at John Perry Children’s Centre nursery would be redeployed at the appropriate time to fill the staff vacancies created by the expansion at Abbey Children’s Centre Nursery;

(iii)  Agree the procurement of a five-year contract, with an extension option of up to three years, for the provision of nursery services at John Perry Children’s Centre nursery with effect from September 2016, as detailed in the report; and

(iv)  Delegate authority to the Corporate Director of Children’s Services, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Education and Schools, the Strategic Director of Finance and Investment and the Director of Law and Governance, to award and enter into the contract and coterminous lease to the successful bidder in accordance with the strategy.