Issue - meetings

Received a report from the Corporate Director of Children’s Services setting out the Outline Business Case (OBC) to be submitted to Partnerships for Schools (PfS) and the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) to support the Council’s bid for Building Schools for the Future (BSF) investment resources from Government. 

Agreed, in order to assist the Council in achieving its Community Priority “Better Education and Learning for all”, to:

(i)  Endorse the OBC principles and process and to engage further with the BSF programme;

(ii)  Seek to fund Private Finance Initiative (PFI) revenue contributions from the Dedicated Schools Grant and obtain the views of the Schools’ Forum;

(iii)  The Divisional Director of Corporate Finance to ascertain the optimal solutions to support lifecycle costs for consideration in the relevant budget process, to ensure that non-PFI schools are maintained in a good serviceable condition;

(iv)  Note the current funding gap on the Barking Riverside Secondary School of £19m and, if no alternative sources are found, it will be met from the Dedicated Schools Grant;

(v)  Consider, as part of the 2009/10 capital programme review, earmarking £2m from the long-term capital programme for potential costs of off-site works, pending further advice from the Council’s BSF technical consultants; 

(vi)  Authorise the Divisional Director of Corporate Finance to approve the approach in seeking provision of an equity investment in the region of £1.310m in the Local Educational Partnership (LEP) and Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) for each of the three new PFI schemes planned;

(vii)  Note the profile of BSF project costs, as set out in Appendix 1 of the report and that this is fully considered as part of the 2009/10 capital programme review and Medium Term Financial Strategy;

(viii)  The Corporate Director of Resources, in consultation with the Corporate Director of Children’s Services, agreeing the BSF contract with the private sector;

(ix)  Secondary Head Teachers, Head Teacher of Trinity Special School and Governing Bodies participating in the selection and procurement process;  and

(x)  The Council operating and adjudicating the Schools’ competition process.

(# The Chair agreed that this item could be considered as a matter of urgency under the provisions of Section 100B(4)(b) of the Local Government Act 1972 so as not to unnecessarily delay the delivery of the project).