Decisions

Following consideration of the report the Cabinet approved the nomination of Councillor Bob Woodman, a member of Littlehampton Town Council, to represent West Sussex County Council on the Littlehampton Harbour Advisory Body.

The call-in deadline is 10 October 2024.

The Performance and Resources Report (PRR) details the Council’s position in relation to revenue and capital spending, budget planning, workforce projections, performance and risk management by portfolio against the County Council’s priorities.  The Leader, Cabinet Member for Finance & Property, or Cabinet will be recommended to approve the PRR and any decisions required in relation to budget (revenue or capital), resources and performance management.

Following consideration of the report the Cabinet agreed the proposed changes to the KPI measures detailed in Table 1.

The call-in deadline is 10 October 2024.

Orchard House children’s home in Cuckfield is part of the County Council’s Residential Service and caters for residential placements and short breaks for children with disabilities, with capacity for up to 16 children at one time.

Remodelling and refurbishment works are being carried out to modernise the existing home and improve the facilities for those children resident at the home and those who undertake short breaks there.

Capital funding totalling £5.576m has so far been allocated to deliver this project, through Cabinet Member Key Decisions in March 2021 CYP04(20/21), in December 2021 CYP04 (21/22) and in October 2022 CYP02 (22/23).

The modernisation works are progressing but, due to unforeseen issues identified during the remodelling of the existing buildings, the budget for the project has increased and the allocation of additional funding is now required to enable the project to continue and conclude.

The Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, Learning and Skills has approved the allocation of £0.652m of additional capital funding to ensure the remodelling project at Orchard House Children’s Home can be completed.

In April 2022 the Government confirmed that the County Council would be awarded c. £17.4m to deliver some of the ambitions in its Bus Services Improvement Plan.

The ambitions will be delivered through a new Enhanced Partnership with the local bus companies.  The work will also require collaboration with other partners including borough and district councils.

The funding is available until 31 March 2025 by when the ambitions must be delivered.

In January 2023, the Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport approved the capital and revenue budgets for the delivery of ambitions in the Enhanced Partnership Spending Plan and delegated authority to the Assistant Director (Highways, Transport and Planning) to undertake the procurement process and award contracts for the capital projects and for revenue expenditure.

The procurement processes are underway and, upon their conclusion, the Assistant Director (Highways, Transport and Planning) will be asked to award the contracts for the various schemes.

The Assistant Director (Highways, Transport and Planning) has approved the award of contract (total value £618,356) to Landbuild Ltd. to deliver the Manor Royal Bus Lane Extension Phase 3 works using the County Council’s framework – Lot 6 Infrastructure Improvements.

The on-street parking charges review for 2024/25 will review all on-street parking charges in West Sussex, including all parking permits, parking bay suspensions and pay and display areas.

The Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport, having considered the options for changes to on-street parking charges, has decided to freeze on-street parking charges for 2024/25, as set out in section 2.3 of the report

The Better Care Fund (BCF) is a programme spanning both the NHS and local government which seeks to join-up health and care services, so that people can manage their own health and well-being and live independently in their communities for as long as possible.

The programme is planned and delivered at Health and Wellbeing Board area level across England. For West Sussex, day to day oversight of BCF is within the remit of the Joint Commissioning Strategy Group on behalf of the Health and Wellbeing Board. BCF planning is undertaken on an annual process, which follows the issuing of national BCF planning guidance from NHS England.

The national BCF programme requires local systems to enter into a joint commitment via an Agreement under Section 75 of the NHS Act. This enables budgets and decision-making authority to be delegated between West Sussex County Council (WSCC) and West Sussex Integrated Care Board (ICB), to the benefit of the BCF Programme.

The extension and variation of the BCF Section 75 agreement has been appraised by County Council Legal Services. 

As 2024/25 national planning guidance requires agreements to be signed and in place by 30 September, an update to the financial schedules of the agreement is proposed documenting the 2024/25 income and expenditure. 

This decision will confirm that WSCC will extend the BCF Section 75 agreement for 1st April 2024 to 31st March 2025.

The Director of Adults and Health has approved that West Sussex County Council enters into the extension of the Better Care Fund Section 75 agreement (as attached to this report at Appendix 1), for 2024-25.

Residential and nursing care home services for adults with mental health needs  are purchased by the County Council on behalf of people who have been assessed as having eligible social care needs.

The County Council has published a Commissioning Strategy and is in the process of developing a Market Position Statement and Public Mental Health Needs Assessment that will include intentions for how the County Council will procure this type of provision in the future. It is proposed that residential and nursing services will be recommissioned providing the opportunity for co-production with residents and care providers to ensure that they align with our vision and intentions for this care market going forward.

To allow sufficient time for the recommissioning and ensure that the new arrangements are informed by the Commissioning Strategy and emerging Market Position Statement and Public Mental Health Needs Assessment, it is proposed that current provision is continued via direct award of contracts to residential care and nursing homes in West Sussex under new terms and conditions.

The Director of Adults and Health will be asked to approve the direct award of contracts for the provision of residential and nursing care home services for Adults with Mental Health needs until October 2027, at the latest.

The Director of Adults and Health has approved the direct award of contracts to existing residential care and nursing home providers for people with mental health needs to April 2027 with a further six (6) month extension to October 2027, if required. 

West Sussex County Council is a designated Highways Authority under the Highways Act 1980 and has a duty to maintain highways maintainable at public expense.

In February 2024, the Assistant Director (Highways, Transport and Planning) appointed contractors to a four-year Framework Agreement, to commence 1 April 2024, for capital highways works (Lots 4, 5, 6 & 7).

The procurement exercise to appoint a contractor from Lot 5 (Carriageway Surface Dressing and Carriageway and Footway Treatments) to undertake the Carriageway Surface Dressing Programme for delivery during the financial year 2025-26 is complete.

The Assistant Director (Highways, Transport and Planning) has approved the award of contract (total value £4,223,879.83) to Eurovia Infrastructure Ltd to deliver the Carriageway Surface DressingProgramme for delivery during the 2025-26 financial year.

A new secondary school is planned in Burgess Hill, Bedelands Academy, on a site secured as part of the Northern Arc development. The timeline for completion of this project is September 2027; therefore a temporary school is required for September 2026 to cater for the demand for pupil places for secondary age children in the area.

The Burgess Hill Academy are governed by the same Academy Trust as the new Bedelands Academy - University of Brighton Academies Trust (UBAT) and have agreed to host the temporary school on their Burgess Hill Academy site. This would allow 120 pupils from September 2026, as Bedelands Academy pupils, to access local education prior to transferring to the newly built school in September 2027.

The Assistant Director (Property and Assets) will be asked to approve the allocation of S106 funding to enable delivery of the temporary school.

The Assistant Director (Property and Assets) has approved the allocation of £960,000, from received S106 funds, to enable the delivery of a temporary Bedelands Academy to provide 120 pupil places, to be sited at The Burgess Hill Academy as set out in paragraph 2.1 of the report and to procure the delivery of the works in so far as required.