Decision details

The Cabinet will be asked to agree proposals to allocate the Basic Need Allocation to specific projects

Further to Minute 51 (18 October 2011), the Corporate Director of Children’s Services presented a report on the first phase of investment proposals, aimed principally at primary school schemes, to help meet the projected growth in demand for school places in the Borough, together with procurement proposals in respect of school expansion projects already approved and due for completion for the start of the 2012/13 academic year.

The Leader addressed the members of the public at the meeting who had an interest in the Adult College in Fanshawe Crescent, Dagenham to reassure them that the inclusion of the reference to the ‘Fanshawe’ project in the table at paragraph 2.2 of the report was entirely in error.  The Leader confirmed that any proposals to address the school places shortage in that part of the Borough which impacted on the Adult College would be the subject of a further, detailed report to Cabinet and that representatives of the Adult College would be properly consulted on any proposals before they were put forward for the Cabinet’s consideration.

The Corporate Director advised on the Government’s recent funding allocation of £49.56m for 2012/13 to support the Council’s overall school and children’s services estate and referred to the first phase programme totalling £15.6m which would create additional capacity at a number of the Borough’s primary schools from the commencement of the 2013/14 academic year.

With regard to the projects that would create additional capacity from the start of the 2012/13 academic year, the Corporate Director referred to the intention to commission the works via the Local Education Partnership (LEP) to ensure their delivery.  In respect of the possible expansion project at Village Infant and Junior Schools, issues regarding the feasibility of the project were raised and the Corporate Director agreed to take these on board.

Cabinet agreed:

  (i)  That the Basic Need and Redirected Basic Need grants totalling £45,804,949 be included in the Council’s Capital Programme for 2012/13;

  (ii)  The allocation of £15.6m of that sum to provide additional, mainly primary school places at the schemes detailed in paragraph 2.2 of the report subject to the schemes being approved via the Corporate CPMO process, with the exception of the Fanshawe project which was included in that list in error and which would be the subject of a separate report in due course;

 (iii)  To note that a further report would be presented on proposals for the allocation of the remaining £30.2m grant funding which would focus on additional secondary school places and provision for reception classes;

 (iv)  The inclusion in the 2012/13 Capital Programme of the School Improvement Grant for capitalised repairs of £3,759,770 to support the improvement of condition and modernisation of the Borough’s schools and the wider Children’s Services property portfolio;

  (v)  The revised procurement proposals, as detailed in paragraph 8 of the report, in respect of the use of the Council secured Local Education Partnership (LEP) for the current year projects to ensure completion for the 2012/13 academic year; and

 (vi)  To authorise the Corporate Director of Children’s Services, in consultation with the Corporate Director of Finance and Resources, to award the respective project contracts based on the checked and independently validated prices.