Issue - meetings

The Council has a statutory duty to ensure sufficient school places are provided.  There is a shortfall of special education needs (SEN) school places to meet current and projected demand.  The Council has been awarded Targeted Basic Need (TBN) grant funding of £1.541m by the Education Funding Agency (EFA) in order to provide an additional 44 places at Manor School. In order to comply with the conditions of that grant funding and therefore retain it, all 44 additional places must be available and all of the TBN funding allocated to the project must be fully spent by 31 August 2015.

The total estimated cost of works required to provide these places (£2.182m) exceeds the TBN funding available.  This report therefore requests approval in principle to the additional sums required to deliver the proposed scheme from the Council’s Basic Need Capital grant funding allocation subject to Cabinet approval in December 2014 to permanently expand the school following statutory consultation.

This report also sets out pre-tender considerations for the works contract and seeks approval to commence the procurement process.

(i)         that it be noted that the consultation on the statutory expansion of pupil numbers would commence in September 2014, with a report on the outcome of the consultation to be submitted to the Cabinet in December 2014;

(ii)        that approval be given in principle to the allocation of additional funds (£641k) from the Council’s Basic Needs Capital grant allocation required to deliver the provision of 44 additional pupils at Manor School, pending consideration of the outcome of the consultation on the statutory expansion of pupil numbers in December 2014;

(iii)       that approval be given to the invite of tenders for the proposed building works to support the expansion of Manor School on the basis of the pre-tender considerations set out in paragraph 3.11 of the report from the Strategic Director of Regeneration and Growth and via the London e-Tender Portal;

(iv)       that approve be given to the evaluation of the tenders referred to in (iii) above by officers on the basis of the evaluation criteria set out in paragraph 3.11 of the report.

The report from the Strategic Director Regeneration and Growth advised that the council had been awarded Targeted Basic Need (TBN) grant funding of £1.541m by the Education Funding Agency in order to provide an additional 44 places at Manor School. In order to comply with the conditions of that grant funding and therefore retain it, all 44 additional places must be available and all of the TBN funding allocated to the project must be fully spent by 31 August 2015. Councillor McLennan (Lead Member, Regeneration and Growth) referred to the high costs of out borough placements and welcomed the opportunity to permanently expand the school. Members queried the timescales, consultation process and sought assurances that the council would get value for money given the timescales involved for commitment and spend.

RESOLVED:

(i)         that it be noted that the consultation on the statutory expansion of pupil numbers would commence in September 2014, with a report on the outcome of the consultation to be submitted to the Cabinet in December 2014;

(ii)        that approval be given in principle to the allocation of additional funds (£641k) from the council’s Basic Needs Capital grant allocation required to deliver the provision of 44 additional pupils at Manor School, pending consideration of the outcome of the consultation on the statutory expansion of pupil numbers in December 2014;

(iii)       that approval be given to the invite of tenders for the proposed building works to support the expansion of Manor School on the basis of the pre-tender considerations set out in paragraph 3.11 of the report from the Strategic Director of Regeneration and Growth and via the London e-Tender Portal;

(iv)       that approve be given to the evaluation of the tenders referred to in (iii) above by officers on the basis of the evaluation criteria set out in paragraph 3.11 of the report.