Decisions

At its meeting on 29 November 2016, the then Central Mid Sussex County Local Committee (CLC) was presented with a report on traffic regulation order prioritisation.

Proposals for the Bentswood area were considered and approved at that meeting for inclusion in the works programme. Subsequently, these roads fell within an area which was the subject of a wider ranging review of parking within the Haywards Heath area and postponed pending its outcome. The decision was taken not to progress the wider scheme and the proposals for the Bentswood area have therefore been resurrected.

During the formal consultation stage, seven objections together with one individual letter of support were received.

That the Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport, having considered that the resulting benefits to the community outweigh the objections raised, authorises the Director of Law & Assurance to make the Order as advertised with a minor revision to the proposals for Fairbanks (as set out in sections 2 and 3 of the report).

In 2018 the ‘Choices for the Future’ transformation programme for inhouse services was approved by the Cabinet Member for Adults and Health. Within the programme there was a commitment to review the in-house residential services.

Marjorie Cobby House in Selsey is an in house residential resource centre, providing Discharge to Assess with Reablement beds and interim beds primarily for people coming out of hospital and in particular St Richards hospital in Chichester.

The demand for residential Discharge to Assess beds has been and is likely to further be impacted by the increase of capacity to support people on a ‘Home First’ pathway, the commissioning of alternative models of care during the pandemic and the increase in provision of the Community Reablement Service.  Supporting people in their own home and maximising opportunities for independence remains the priority as outlined in the Adult Social Care vision and strategy.

Proposed Savings were presented to the Health and Adults Social Care Scrutiny Committee on the 13^th January 2021 and then at Cabinet on the 22^nd January 2021, which included £640k in savings related to in house services and identifying in particular Marjorie Cobby House.  At the scrutiny committee it was identified that this will involve a consultation and an Equalities Impact Assessment which will be presented back to Cabinet once completed.  Following this, Cabinet will be asked to take a decision on the future of Marjorie Cobby and the provision of residential based in-house services at this setting.

Following consideration of the report, Cabinet resolved:

1.          The end of the provision of in-house residential services for adults in Marjorie Cobby House, 38 St Peter’s Crescent, Selsey, PO20 0NA and all the buildings on site including 38a and 38b St Peter’s Crescent. This will include closure of the building, declaration that the buildings are surplus to operational requirements as per the plan set out in Appendix C and for the return of the buildings to the Council’s Property and Assets service to manage or dispose of.

2.          The arrangements for future provision of short-term residential care services in the Chichester and Bognor Regis area as set out in paragraph 2.

3.          To delegate the implementation of recommendation (1) to the Executive Director Adults and Health (DASS) in light of the potential short term use of the building as outlined in paragraph 1.10 of the report.

The call-in deadline is 25 November 2021.

The County Council has a statutory duty to provide sufficient school places for all children who need a place.

Increasing provision for children and young people with SEND through the creation of additional places in Special Support Centres (SSCs) will assist with the aim of enabling children to attend school locally. As a consequence this will reduce the number of children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) moving from maintained schools and academies into costly education provision in the Independent and Non-Maintained Special School sector, often at schools not situated in West Sussex. 

It is proposed to redesignate and create 4 additional places at the SSC at West Park Primary School in Worthing.  The school currently caters for 840 children aged between 4 and 11 with an existing SSC that is currently designated and resourced to provide 10 places for children with Additional Learning Needs

Approval is required for the allocation of funding from the Capital Programme to provide the necessary accommodation at West Park for the redesignation of the SSC from Additional Learning Needs to Social Communication Needs and to increase the current planned places from 10 to 14 children aged 4 to 11 from September 2023. In addition the budget will fund all associated fees, ICT and furniture and equipment.

The Cabinet Member for Learning and Skills has approved:

(1) The allocation of £0.935m to fund the necessary accommodation and external play area as set out in paragraph 2.1 of the report. This will enable the redesignation of the Special Support Centre (SSC) from Additional Learning Needs to Social Communication Needs and an increase from 10 to 14 planned places at the SSC at West Park CE Primary School in Worthing from September 2023;

(2) The authorisation to commence a procurement process and delegation to the Director of Property and Assets to appoint contractors to complete the design and cost the new accommodation;

(3)The delegation of authority to the Director of Property and Assets to submit the necessary planning application, to obtain any statutory consents and enter into a construction contract with the successful tenderer.

Gatwick Airport Limited (GAL) proposes alterations to bring the existing Northern Runway at Gatwick Airport into routine use alongside the main runway, enabling the dual operation of both runways.  The proposal, the Northern Runway Project, is a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project requiring a Development Consent Order (DCO) from the Secretary of State (rather than planning permission from the local planning authority).  The County Council is a statutory consultee in the DCO process.

The proposal would increase Gatwick’s passenger throughput to approximately 75.6 million passengers per annum (mppa) by 2038, an increase in capacity of approximately 13.2 mppa.  The Northern Runway would be operational by summer 2029.  The majority of the construction works associated with the project would be contained within the existing airport boundary.

Formal consultation on the proposal is taking place from 9 September to 1 December 2021.

The Cabinet will be asked to approve the County Council’s response to the formal consultation. 

Following consideration of the report, Cabinet resolved:

(a)     to approve the comments in paragraphs 2.36-2.98 of the report and the detailed comments on the PEIR in Appendix C of the report as the County Council’s formal response to the consultation on the Northern Runway Project;

(b)       to authorise the Director of Highways, Transport and Planning to respond to any further stages of pre-submission consultation and to make minor or technical changes to the pre-submission in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Environment and Climate Change – in support of the formal response approved under (a);

(c)     if an application for a Development Consent Order is submitted, authorises the Director of Highways, Transport, and Planning to:

(i)      approve the County Council’s ‘adequacy of consultation’ response;

(ii)     prepare and submit the County Council’s written representation and Local Impact Report, and to negotiate with the applicant on the DCO requirements, any S106 Agreement, and the preparation of a Statement of Common Ground – all in support of the formal response approved under (a); and

(iii)    attend the examination hearings and answer the Examining Authority’s questions in support of the County Council’s position; and

(d)     if a Development Consent Order is made, approves the County Council becoming a relevant authority for the discharge of requirements, provided that the Authority’s costs are met in full.

The call-in deadline is 25 November 2021.

UPDATE – Wednesday 17 November 2021

Following approval by Cabinet, the Director of Highways, Transport and Planning, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Environment and Climate Change, has made some minor changes to the Northern Runway Project report and to Appendix C (detailed comments on PEIR) for the reasons set out in the Schedule of Post-Cabinet Changes.

Shaw Healthcare Ltd hold a contract with West Sussex County Council to provide 12 Residential Care and Nursing Homes across West Sussex. Six of these services also have a Day Service offer. In May 2018, a Cabinet decision (Report Ref: AH2 2018/19) was taken which confirmed a three phased approach to making investment in the Shaw Healthcare Ltd contract, the third phase being the review of day services.  In November 2020, as part of the Council’s savings plans, the intention was confirmed to extend the review to assess whether all of the day services are required, whether they provide best use of public money and if not, what should change in order to deliver better outcomes for people.  (Report Ref: CAB 11 20/21)

As part of the review of this provision, the County Council will now undertake a 6-week public consultation on the future of the services, with consideration of the outcomes of the review to date and the identification of savings. The process of consultation will be completed by the end of July 2021. The outcomes of the review, responses from the consultation and considerations of the Equalities Impact Assessment will then be presented to Cabinet to inform the decision on the future of the day service offer within the Shaw Healthcare Ltd services.

Following consideration of the report, Cabinet resolved:

1.   The permanent closure of the Shaw Day Services and undertaking of a contract variation to remove the provision of day services from the Shaw Healthcare contract.

2.   The utilisation of existing provision as alternatives for current and future potential customers.

The call-in deadline is 25 November 2021.

Since 2015, West Sussex County Council has installed over 300 rooftop solar power systems on domestic properties, schools, corporate and commercial buildings with a total capacity of 5.4MW.

The performance of these systems will be optimised through operational monitoring alongside planned and reactive maintenance in order to –

·         maximise renewable energy generated to substitute for carbon emitting sources  

·         derive energy savings for social housing residents, schools and the County Council estate

·         protect the County Council’s investment in these systems

A tender process was started in July 2021 with a view to securing best value for the provision of the services.

The Director for Environment and Public Protection will be asked to award the contract for the monitoring, operation and maintenance of rooftop solar PV systems owned by West Sussex County Council, in accordance with the Council’s Standing Orders on Procurement and Contracts.

The Director of Environment and Public Protection has awarded the contract for Monitoring, Operations and Maintenance of the Council’s Roof Mounted Solar Power Systems to Ecovision Asset Management Ltd. as a single supplier for the sum of £478,477. The contract is for an initial term of 3 years with the option to extend for up to a further 2 years commencing on 01/04/2022 as set out in section 2 of the report.

The County Council has a statutory duty to provide sufficient school places for all children who need a place.

Increasing provision for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) through the creation of additional places in Special Support Centres (SSCs) will assist with the aim of enabling children to attend school locally. As a consequence, this will reduce the number of children and young people with SEND moving from maintained schools and academies into costly education provision in the Independent and Non-Maintained Special School sector, often at schools not situated in West Sussex. 

It is proposed to create an SSC at St Margaret’s CE Primary School in Angmering. The school currently caters for 420 children aged between 4 and 11.

Approval is required for the allocation of funding from the Capital Programme to provide the necessary accommodation at St Margaret’s for the establishment of a Special Support Centre for 12 children aged 4 to 11 with Social Communication Needs. In addition the budget will fund all associated fees, ICT and furniture and equipment.

The Cabinet Member for Learning and Skills has approved:

(1)The allocation of £1.064m to fund the necessary accommodation and external play area, as set out in paragraph 2.1, to enable the establishment of a 12 place Special Support Centre at St Margaret’s CE Primary School in Angmering from September 2023;

(2)The authorisation to commence a procurement process and delegation to the Director of Property and Assets to appoint contractors to complete the design and cost the new accommodation;

(3)The delegation of authority to the Director of Property and Assets to submit the necessary planning application and to obtain any statutory consents, and to enter into a construction contract with the successful tenderer.

The decision to rebuild Woodlands Meed College on its current site and with its existing capacity of 100 pupils, with a total budget of £20m was approved by Cabinet in May 2020 (Decision CAB03(20/21) refers). This approval acknowledged that there is a current under provision of area at the College (based on the Department for Education’s Building Bulletin 104) of circa 1,259 sqm. The site fails to provide the necessary levels of inclusion. As part of this decision the Cabinet also approved the delegation of authority to the Director of Property and Assets to award the contract for the works.

ISG Construction Ltd were procured under the Southern Construction Framework (SCF) on a two-stage design and build route for the new build project. Following the end of RIBA stage 4 design and the contractor’s financial offer, the total project cost has increased to £21.66m and is approximately £1.66m above the originally approved budget of £20m.  In October 2021 the Cabinet Member for Learning and Skills approved the allocation of the necessary additional funding to enable the project to rebuild Woodlands Meed College to proceed (Decision LS06(20/21) refers).  The intention is to proceed with awarding the contract for carrying out the rebuilding project to ISG Construction Ltd.

This proposed decision was published in the Forward Plan on 21 April 2021 therefore the required 28 days’ notice has been given.  However, this decision is now urgent as it is necessary to confirm award of the contract to enable the project to commence without additional delay or further cost increase. Due to the need for this decision to be determined as soon as possible, the Director of Property and Assets has consulted with the Chairman of the Children and Young People’s Services Scrutiny Committee regarding this urgent decision being taken and coming into effect immediately.

The Director of Property and Assets, in consultation with the Chairman of the Children and Young People’s Services Scrutiny Committee, has approved the award of the construction contract to rebuild Woodlands Meed College to ISG Construction Ltd for the sum of £17,787,522.46 which is affordable within the overall budget of £21.66m for this project.

The County Council is required to establish and maintain a Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education (SACRE) as part of its statutory education function and to make appointments to it in accordance with the relevant legislation.

Following the County Council election in May 2021 appointments to SACRE were made following procedures used in previous years. There are currently three matters requiring attention to complete and regularise appointments to SACRE – the filling of a vacancy for an elected member, the status of the Free Church representative and the determination of a request for membership by the Humanist Society.

The report explains the background to these matters and the reasons for proposals.

The Cabinet Member for Learning and Skills has approved:-

(1)That Cllr Zack Ali be appointed to Committee D of SACRE from November 2021 until the end of the current Council term (May 2025)

(2)That Rev’d David Pitkeithly, the co-opted representative of the Free Churches be designated as a full and voting member of SACRE Committee A with effect from November 2021 and until the end of the current Council term (May 2025)

(3)That Mr Andrew Edmondson be appointed to Committee A of SACRE as a representative of the Humanist Society until the end of the current Council term (May 2025)

(4)   That the Free Churches and Humanist Society organisations are also given the facility to appoint representatives to the Agreed Syllabus Conference, which is a separate meeting to SACRE.

The Local Government Boundary Commission for England has launched a Review of the electoral boundaries for Mid Sussex District Council and is consulting on a proposed scheme for wards. The County Council is able to respond to the consultation, as may any other individuals, organisations and councils.

The County Council’s Electoral Review Panel met on 20 October 2021 to consider the Commission’s proposals and discussed a number of alternative options. A response to the consultation was agreed by majority and is attached at Appendix A. The Commission’s draft recommendations are largely supported. The Panel recommended a change to the name of two proposed wards to better reflect community identity and two changes to warding patterns, in both cases finding ways to split three-member wards into a two-member ward and a one-member ward.

Following consultation with the Chairman of Governance Committee, this decision has been taken by the Director of Law and Assurance in accordance with Standing Order 3.45(d).

That the proposed response to the Local Government Boundary Commission’s consultation as outlined in Appendix A be approved as the County Council’s response to the consultation.

The Council is developing plans to respond to seasonal pressures for the period between October 2021 and March 2022 in consultation and partnership with our NHS partners. The seasonal pressure plan will potentially include the commissioning of both Care and Support at Home and residential based service provision as well as other services that support hospital discharge or enable people to remain independent at home.

The health and social care system face increased pressures during this period, particularly in the winter months that place increased demands on services. This year this is likely to be exacerbated by continued pressures as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.  Seasonal pressure plans are designed to ensure discharges from hospital, avoid admission to hospital or increase the flow across health and social care and access to services during pressured periods.

Following the decision made by the Cabinet Member for Adult Services on the agreement of the Health and Social Care Seasonal Pressures Plan 2021/22 and commencement of procurement, the Executive Director, Adults and Health will be asked to approve the award of contract(s).

The Executive Director for Adults and Health, in consultation with the Chairman of the Health and Adult Social Care Scrutiny Committee has approved;

(1)  the award of Contracts for Hospital Discharge Care Provision to Providers contracted through the Care and Support at Home Framework Agreement 2015, Framework Agreement for Domiciliary Care Spot Purchase Contract 2009 and Care and Support at Home Contingency Framework 2021;

(2)  the award of Contracts for Domiciliary Care Rounds to Providers contracted through the Care and Support at Home Framework Agreement 2015; and

(3)  the award of Contracts for Block Residential and Nursing Beds to Providers contracted through the West Sussex County Council Contract for Care Home Services 2007 Framework.

34.1     The Council considered a proposal for the use of hybrid technology for meetings in some circumstances, in the light of a report by the Governance Committee (pages 31 to 34).

34.2     Resolved –

That the proposed changes to Standing Orders, as set out at Appendix 1 to the report, be approved.

36.1     The Council considered changes to the terms of reference of the Corporate Parenting Panel and the Member Development Group in the light of a report from the Governance Committee (pages 35 to 42).

36.2     In response to a suggestion from Cllr Pudaloff that it would be helpful to have someone with lived experience of disabilities on the group to feed into the process, the Chairman said that Cllr Wickremaratchi, Chairman of the Member Development Group, would contact her for a discussion.

36.3     Resolved –

(1)         That the revised terms of reference for the Corporate Parenting Panel, as set out in Appendix 1 to the report, be approved; and

(2)         That the proposed amendment to the terms of reference of the Member Development Group, as set out in Appendix 2 to the report, be approved.

33.1     The Council approved appointments as set out below which took effect from the end of the meeting.