Issue - meetings

To consider a report of the Director of Culture, Communities and Business Services providing an update on major projects currently being progressed within the department.

The Panel considered the report of the Director of Culture, Communities and Business Services (Item 6 in the Minute Book) which provided an update on major projects that were being progressed within the department.

Members noted the details contained within the report. In particular, discussion was held regarding the new schools delivery programme and how the County Council was required to follow the Department for Education’s (DfE) process and governance for new free school delivery where sponsors had been selected directly by them. The Panel were concerned that the combined effects of a reduction in Government funding and the Government’s decision to limit the design of future school buildings to a lower specification would not necessarily result in delivering school buildings to the same existing level of  quality across the county. Members were pleased to hear that Property Services (PS) continued to have a positive working relationship with the Education Funding Agency (EFA) and to hear that PS officers were striving to achieve a sensible balance across all influencing factors to produce the best possible results for the new schools delivery programme.  In response to Members’ question it was clarified that:

• The County Council would not be responsible for maintaining the new school buildings once constructed.
• That the minimum environmental requirements for new school facilities, as stipulated by the DfE, were that standard Building Regulations were met.
• That the planning application for new schools would be brought before the relevant local planning authority and that the application would be from the County Council as the agents of the DfE. 

RESOLVED:

That the Buildings, Land and Procurement Panel recommends to the Executive Member for Policy and Resources that:

a) Progress of each of the programmes is noted.