Decisions

The County Council currently contracts with Xerox to provide print services at the County Councils 190 smaller sites around the county.  The contract is due to end in October 2020. The Cabinet Member will be asked to endorse the commencement of procurement of a print management contract using a procurement framework.   The Cabinet Member will be asked to delegate authority to the Director Finance and Support Services to award the contract and a further key decision will be published as appropriate.

The Cabinet Member has:

1.   Approved the procurement of a contract to supply multifunction devices and desktop printers, plotters and related equipment using the Crown Commercial Framework contract the contract to commence 31 October 2020 for a period of three years with the option to extend for a further two years; and

2.   delegated authority to the Director Finance and Resources to award the contract. 

The County Council has a statutory duty to consult on community and controlled school admission arrangements each year where there are proposed admission arrangement changes and once every seven years, if there are no proposed changes.

A public consultation has been undertaken in relation to a range of proposed changes which would take effect in 2021 and the outcome of this is set out in section 3 of the report.

The proposed changes to school admission arrangements for 2021 are outlined in section 2 of the report.

The Cabinet Member for Education and Skills has approved:

(1)   The proposal to remove the Kilnwood Vale development in Horsham from the catchment area for Waterfield Primary School/Ifield Community College in Crawley, creating a new catchment area for Kilnwood Vale Primary School.  The Kilnwood Vale development will also be moved into the catchment area for Millais School and The Forest School in Horsham for the secondary phase.

(2)   The proposal to give priority under the oversubscription criteria for all community and controlled schools to children of staff, in order to assist schools with the recruitment and retention of staff.

(3)   The proposal to give priority under the oversubscription criteria for all community and controlled schools to children who are placed under a Special Guardianship Order who have not previously been in the care of the local authority.

The children’s in-house residential service is made up of six homes, of which three, including Cissbury Lodge, are currently closed and awaiting refurbishment whilst feasibility studies and design work have been undertaken.

A strategy for the in-house  residential service was approved by the Cabinet Member for Children and Young People in October 2019 (decision reference CYP03(19/20)).  This included a proposal to re-open Cissbury Lodge with a revised delivery model.

In order to implement this proposal Cissbury Lodge will be remodelled, ensuring the most efficient use of the existing footprint of the home whilst maximising the potential service offering of the site. A design has been developed from which the following services for children with disabilities will be delivered;

·       An enhanced short breaks service incorporating 4 beds,

·       A residential service incorporating 6 beds, and

·       An outreach function offering further support to children and families in the home or community

The Executive Director Children, Young People and Learning has approved the commencement of a procurement process to appoint a contractor to undertake the remodelling of Cissbury Lodge.

The Highway and Transport Delivery Programmes identify capital highways infrastructure maintenance and transport improvement schemes for delivery during 2020/21 and beyond. Capital funding for the Delivery Programmes is predominantly received from the Government for roads maintenance (the Local Highway Maintenance Block), and transport improvements (the Integrated Transport Block) supported by additional funding from developer agreements and contributions.

The indicative forward programmes for Highway Infrastructure Maintenance, Local Transport Improvements (LTIP) and Community Highway Schemes (CHS), have informed the 2020/21 Highways and Transport Delivery Programmes. These provide transparency of the maintenance and improvements investment needs, and the funding priorities prepared and selected for review and approval in this decision.

The Cabinet Member has approved:

(1)  The Highway and Transport Delivery Programme 2020/21, to allow implementation of schemes for delivery from 1 April 2020. (Appendix 1)

(2)  That the Highway and Transport Delivery Programme 2020/21 is circulated to County Local Committees and other appropriate stakeholders for their information and published on the West Sussex highways webpages. (Appendix 2 - part a and b)

(3)  That the Director of Highways, Transport and Planning has delegated authority to adjust the Highway and Transport Delivery Programme 2020/21 to take account of budgetary pressures and any changes in priority arising as a result of network availability, emergencies, or other operational circumstances, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Highways and Infrastructure.

At a meeting of the Cabinet on 3 December 2019, the County Council adopted an Electric Vehicle Strategy. This strategy sets out the County Council’s vision for electric vehicles across the county, and the interventions required to deliver this vision. One of the actions is to enable a comprehensive and cohesive public charging solution on public land by appointing a market-based partner to provide the charging point network.

The Cabinet Member for Environment has –

1.     approved the commencement of the procurement process to procure a concession contract for a period of 7 years with the option to extend up to a further 3 years (on a 1 + 1 + 1 basis) as set out in section 2 of the report and

2.     delegated authority to the Director of Environment and Public Protection, in consultation with the Director of Highways, Transport and Planning, to award the service concession contract to the successful bidder following the procurement exercise.

12 May 2021 – update

Due to the abandonment of the procurement process in January 2021, a full review of the offer to the market has been undertaken.

The review, which included consideration of lessons learnt from the first tender and additional feedback from suppliers via a market engagement exercise, concluded that a longer contract length of 15+5 years is required to enable a sufficient return on investment to be attractive to suppliers. 

A shorter contract length would significantly limit the number of suppliers likely to bid and would also undermine the County Council’s aim to see chargepoints in sites where there is community need, but lower commercial returns.

The Director of Environment and Public Protection has approved a change to the contract period from the initial 7+1+1+1  years to 15+5 years.

All other elements remain unchanged from the original March 2020 report (ENV09 19/20).

When visiting the West Sussex Library Service residents regularly use self-service kiosks to transact a range of library services. 

In order to provide modern, longer term services a procurement (decision ref: OKD10 19/20) has been undertaken for Self Service Library kiosk replacement in West Sussex libraries. An allocation of £1m is included in the 2019/20 – 2023/24 capital programme for the replacement of kiosks.

Following the completion of this procurement process, the Director of Communities will award the Contract for the Self-Service Library Kiosks to the preferred bidder.  

The Director of Communities has approved the award of the contract to purchase and maintain 70 Library Kiosks (with associated maintenance package) to D-Tech International Limited.

At its meeting on 16 March 2020 the North Horsham County Local Committee agreed to consider the Community Initiative Funding applications which had been received after the agenda had been published. The details of the projects and pledges are outlined below.

The following pledges were approved: -

473/NH – Warnham Parish Council, ‘Hollands Way playground project’, £1,740.35 - towards re-surfacing the playground and replacing old play equipment and seating.

487/NH – Southwater Jubilee HQ Committee, ‘New flooring Southwater Scout & Guide HQ’, £1,740.35 - towards laying new LVT flooring in the entrance, kitchen, main hall and leaders' room.

432/NH – Horsham Community Speedwatch, £715.04 - towards purchasing a radar gun starter kit, six hi-vis long-sleeve vests and five lamppost boards.

488/NH – West Sussex Music Trust, ‘Here! Our Song’, £746.80 – towards designing and printing 50 songbook copies to distribute to 50 local primary schools. On the condition that these are distributed to West Sussex County Council Maintained schools in the Horsham Location only.

489/NH – Southwater Village Hall Pre-School, 'Double Mud Kitchen for New Outdoor Play Area', £339.98 - towards purchasing two wooden mud kitchens for the new outdoor play area.

490/NH – Tapestry Lunch Club, ‘Pilot scheme host training’, £600.00 - towards first aid training provision for four hosts.

491/NH – Asperger’s Voice, ‘Understanding Autism event 2020’, £700.00 - towards printing packs for event attendees and promotional materials. 

492/NH – Brighton Road Baptist Church, ‘Car park wheel stops’, £750.00 – towards purchasing a wheel stop kit for the church’s ‘pocket park’.

The call-in deadline is 24 March 2020.

Outside bodies are external organisations, including formal or informal partnerships to which the County Council is a party, which have requested that the County Council appoints an Elected Member or a representative to them or to which the Council expects to make appointments. 

A vacancy has arisen on the Council of Governors for the Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which is an outside body that the Cabinet Member for Adults and Health is responsible for making Member appointments to. The Cabinet Member for Adults and Health now seeks to appoint an Elected Member to this position.

The Cabinet Member for Adults and Health has appointed Mr Mike Magill to the Council of Governors for the Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust until the end of the Council term (May 2021).