Agenda and minutes

That the minutes of the meetings of the Cabinet held on 7 and 16 February 2011 be confirmed and signed as an accurate record of the proceedings, and that the outstanding actions be noted.

There were no apologies for absence.

If a Councillor has any prejudicial or personal interest in a particular report he/she should declare the existence and nature of the interest at the commencement of the consideration of the item or as soon as it becomes apparent.

At meetings where members of the public are allowed to be in attendance and speak, any Councillor with a prejudicial interest may also make representations, give evidence or answer questions about the matter. The Councillor must then withdraw immediately from the meeting before the matter is discussed and any vote taken, unless a dispensation has been obtained from the Standards Committee.

Where members of the public are not allowed to be in attendance, then the Councillor with a prejudicial interest should withdraw from the meeting whilst the matter is under consideration, unless the disability has been removed by the Standards Committee.

There were no declarations of interest.

1         That the changes to the capital programme as set out in Appendix 1 be approved.

2         That a revenue virement totalling £133,000 as set out in Appendix 2 be approved.

That the HFBP contract be amended by a Deed of Variation from 1 April 2011 to permit the transfer, under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations (TUPE), of Business Transformation and Programme Management Office project management services.

That the annual subscriptions, at a total cost of £227,363, as set out in Appendix A of the report be approved.

1. That the 2011/12 planned highway maintenance (carriageway and footway) schemes, as set out in Appendix A, be approved.

2  That authority be delegated to the Director of Environment and Director of Finance and Corporate Services to amend the programme in order to make the optimum use of resources, allowing virements to contain expenditure within the approved resources and not subject to the normal virement rules.

3 To report update programme amendments (additions and removals) to the Cabinet Member for Environment and Asset Management be agreed.

The Leader welcomed Mr Dennis Charman and his colleagues to the meeting. Mr Charman presented his deputation expressing concern regarding how the Council had used the data available to substantiate the recommendations within the report.  He was of the view that the strategy should not be based too much on choice data.  It should also consider what people were asking for and what they were receiving from schools.  He noted that parents’ satisfaction levels from their 3^rd and 4^th preference school were at a very high level.  Parents were very happy with the high level of service delivered by these schools.  He implored the Council to work with the schools to build up their profile and use the data more carefully as the schools’ achievements might not be reflected in their reputation.

In response, Councillor Binmore noted that the Council believes in giving parents the right to choose the school they prefer their children to attend.  The strategy took into account a wider range of factors including 4 to 5 years of preference data, the school’s ability to expand from 1 to 1½ form entry, site suitability, OFSTED reports and attainment.  The Leader thanked Mr Charman for his comments.  He noted that the Council was keen to see all schools succeed and parents to have a choice to choose local schools.  The Council’s expectation was for more local children to be educated in local schools.

1.        That the School Organisation Strategy, as outlined in the report be approved;

2.        That the decision to dispose of the Askham Centre, taken at Cabinet on 7 February 2011, to allow its use as the site for Queensmill Special School’s relocation be revoked.

3.         That authority be delegated to the Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, in consultation with the Leader of the Council, the Director of Children’s Services and the Director of Finance and Corporate Services, to take the necessary decisions to progress the strategy, including:

(a)   The decision on the temporary decant or permanent relocation of the Haven Respite Centre from its current location to Dalling Road Children’s Home;

(b)   Appointing the preferred design team for the schemes contained within this report, following the bid evaluation process;

(c)   Appointing the preferred contractor for the schemes contained within this report, following the tender evaluation process;

(d)   Agreeing ‘bulge’ classes where necessary;

(e)   Procuring contracts on behalf of Free Schools, where necessary and at the request of the Department for Education and Partnership for Schools, to deliver cost efficiencies;

(f)     Altering the priority order of schemes if circumstances change.

1.  That authority be delegated to the Cabinet Member for Children’s Services in conjunction with the Director of Children’s Services to finalise the terms of the contract for the Connexions Service.

2.  That the Council’s Contracts Standing Orders be waived in accordance with section 1 of this report.

Cabinet was informed that the Union’s deputation request had been withdrawn.

1. That the closure of the Tamworth hostel (after all current residents are moved onto alternative accommodation) and cease use of 11 Farm Lane as a supported housing provision be approved.

2. That the site be declared surplus to the Council’s requirements and to dispose of it in accordance with S123 Local Government Act 1972 on terms considered appropriate by the Director of Environment, Assistant Director (Building and Property Management) and the Assistant Director (Legal and Democratic Services) be approved.

That the placing of an order under a New Contract, in the form of a JCT Standard Building Contract, to carry out new CCTV installations on Bayonne Estate & Lampeter Square W6; White City Estate & Batman Close, W12 and Becklow Gardens W12, be approved.

That the Council continue to deliver a Trade Waste Sales operation in 2011/12 with a further review in twelve months time, be approved.

The Forward Plan was noted.

The summary was noted.

The summary was noted.

The Cabinet is invited to resolve, under Section 100A (4) of the Local Government Act 1972, that the public and press be excluded from the meeting during the consideration of the following items of business, on the grounds that they contain the likely disclosure of exempt information, as defined in paragraph 3of Schedule 12A of the said Act, and that the public interest in maintaining the exemption currently outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

That under Section 100A (4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public and press be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the remaining items of business on the grounds that they contain information relating to the financial or business affairs of a person (including the authority)] as defined in paragraph 3 of Schedule 12A of the Act, and that the public interest in maintaining the exemption currently outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

[The following is a public summary of the exempt information under S.100C (2) of the Local Government Act 1972.  Exempt minutes exist as a separate document.]

That the exempt minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet held on 10 January 2011 be confirmed and signed as an accurate record of the proceedings, and that the outstanding actions be noted.

That the recommendations in the exempt report be approved.

That the report be noted.

That the report be noted.

That the recommendations in the exempt report be approved.

The summary was noted.

The summary was noted.

The summary was noted.