Decisions

The A27 Arundel Bypass has been included in the Government’s Roads Investment Strategy (2015-20).  In late summer 2019, Highways England will be undertaking a further non-statutory consultation on options for providing an A27 bypass at Arundel to meet the Government’s aspirations.  This further consultation will supersede the 2017 consultation on options and is taking place as further surveys and technical work have resulted in substantive changes to the options.  The Cabinet Member for Highways and Infrastructure will be recommended to approve the County Council’s response to the consultation.

That the Cabinet Member for Highways and Infrastructure approves the Consultation Response (Appendix B) for submission to Highways England indicating that the County Council’s preference for the A27 Arundel Bypass scheme is Option 4/5AV1 (Magenta).         

A contract for the provision of a specialist community advocacy service to support adults with physical or sensory impairment, acquired brain injury, autism or a learning disability was extended for 12 months until 30^th June 2020. This extension enabled a review of the service and customer engagement.

This advocacy service is a component part of the People services prevention strategy which is designed to support demand management and delivery of value for money.

 The review, completed at the end of July 2019, has evidenced that the service enables the Council to meet its statutory duties in relation to supporting the most vulnerable people, particularly those with communication difficulties. People with these protected characteristics face challenges in many areas of everyday life and without advocacy support, struggle to communicate their wishes and needs.

The new service would start on 1^st July 2020 for a period of 3 years plus the option of extending for a further 2 years. The total cost of the service over the maximum service length is £1.2m

The Cabinet Member for Adults and Health is asked to approve the commencement of a procurement process to source a specialist advocacy service and delegate the authority to award the contract to the Executive Director People Services.

The Cabinet Member for Adults and Health has approved;

1)   the commencement of a procurement process to source a specialist advocacy service;

2)   the new service would start on 1^st July 2020 for a period of 3 years with the option of extending for a further 2 years, to a maximum of 5 years; and

3)   the delegation of authority to award the contract to the Executive Director People Services.

The Cabinet Member for Adults and Health approved the allocation of funds from ‘Choices for the Future’ capital programme for the first part of the day services rationalization programme (Part A) which is estimated at £2.315m and the commencement of procurement on 1 August 2019.  

The Executive Director People Services will award the contract to the successful contractor, to allow for the renovation of Judith Adams, Chichester and The Chestnuts, Bognor Regis Day Centres.

The Executive Director People Services has approved the award of contract to CBG Construction for period of 3 months 26days for value of £1,695,157.01. The contract is to commence on the 2^nd December 2019.  The expected completion date for the works is 27^th March 2020.

The County Council’s Future West Sussex Plan set out its ambition to minimise the burden of local taxation, delivering the best outcomes for residents with the money it spends, whilst living within its means.  In 2018 the County Council agreed to adopt an Asset Management Policy and Strategy. An objective of the strategy is to acquire, manage, maintain and dispose of property effectively, efficiently and sustainably, together with optimising financial return and commercial opportunities.  This includes identifying opportunities for rationalisation of assets and disposal or redevelopment of assets no longer required for operational purposes. Declaring properties surplus is part of the process to deliver the strategy and allows further decisions to be made regarding properties that are no longer needed for operational purposes. 

The Cabinet Member has agreed that the County Council declare the following assets surplus to service operational requirements:

a)   1 The Gardens, Littlegreen School, B2146, Compton, Chichester, West Sussex, PO18 9NW

b)   19 The Gardens, Littlegreen School, B2146, Compton, Chichester, West Sussex, PO18 9NW

c)    2 The Gardens, Littlegreen School, B2146, Compton, Chichester, West Sussex, PO18 9NW

d)   20 The Gardens, Littlegreen School, B2146, Compton, Chichester, West Sussex, PO18 9NW.

e)   Land to the rear of The Gardens, Littlegreen, B2146, Compton, Chichester, West Sussex PO18 9NW

  The properties at points a) to e) above shown on the plan attached at Annex A

f)    Land at Petworth (to west of School);South Grove, Petworth, Chichester, West Sussex, GU28 0ED shown on the plan annexed at Annex B

g)   The Forest School, Caretaker House, Comptons Lane, Horsham, Horsham, West Sussex, RH13 5NT shown on the plan annexed at Annex C

(A06(19/20))

The Committee considered the written report from the Director of Highways and Transport and Head of Highways Operations and the recommendation that the Committee reviews the proposals and agrees to progress the highest scoring TROs from the list attached at Appendix A, subject to any adjustments made at the meeting.

It was RESOLVED that the following two Traffic Regulation Orders be progressed as a priority:

·       M3004628 – West End Way, Lancing: DYL in turning head.

The Call-In deadline is 29 October 2019

(A07(19/20))

The function of the nomination of school governors to maintained schools and academies is delegated to County Local Committees (CLCs) as it enables county councillors to maintain a valuable link with the schools and helps promote to the wider public the important role of school governors.

Under the Education Act 2011 local authority governors are nominated by the local authority but appointed by the governing body. The CLC can nominate any eligible person as a local authority governor, but it is for the governing body to decide whether their nominee has the skills to contribute to the effective governance and success of the school and meets any other eligibility criteria they have set.

At its meeting on 21 October 2019 the Adur County Local Committee approved the following nominations under the 2012 Regulations:

Nominations for appointment:

·       Maureen Ashley to Shoreham Beach Primary for a four year term

The call in deadline for this decision is 29 October 2019.

(A05(19/20))

The Committee considered the written report from the Director of Law and Assurance and the applications for grant funding from the Community Initiative Fund.

The Committee considered each application on it’s merit and it was RESOLVED that the following awards be granted:

·       400/A – Women’s Royal Army Corps (WRAC) Association, £750 towards a Christmas lunch in November

·       406/A – Smart Dog Education CIC, £750 towards the cost of venue hire and refreshments for wellbeing sessions.

·       407/A – Surf Solace, £538.64 towards the cost of purchasing 10 wetsuits enabling disadvantaged children and young people to involved with sea-based activities.

·       408/A – SOLD Shoreham Opportunities for Learning Disabilities, £645 towards the ‘Our Town’ project to establish safe spaces throughout a specific town where any vulnerable individual can receive support if they find themselves in a difficult or challenging situation.

The Call-In Deadline for this decision is 29 October 2019.

At its meeting on 21 October 2019, the North Mid Sussex County Local Committee considered the report from the Director of Highways, Transport and Planning.

The Committee, having considered the objections raised, agreed to authorise the Director of Law and Assurance to bring the Traffic Regulation Order into operation as advertised.

The call-in deadline is 29 October 2019.

The function of the nomination of school governors to maintained schools and academies is delegated to County Local Committees (CLCs) as it enables county councillors to maintain a valuable link with the schools and helps promote to the wider public the important role of school governors.

Under the Education Act 2011 local authority governors are nominated by the local authority but appointed by the governing body. The CLC can nominate any eligible person as a local authority governor, but it is for the governing body to decide whether their nominee has the skills to contribute to the effective governance and success of the school and meets any other eligibility criteria they have set.

At its meeting on 21 October 2019 the North Mid Sussex County Local Committee approved the following nominations under the 2012 Regulations:

Nominations for reappointment:

• Mr Nicholas (Nick) Hodges to St Peter’s Catholic Primary School, East Grinstead for a further four year term

• Mr Robert Darvill (Bob) to Imberhorne School for a further four year term

Nomination for appointment:

• Mr Kim Beasley to Handcross Primary School for a four year term

The call-in deadline is 29 October 2019.

In June 2015 the Department for Education (DfE) published a paper, Regionalising Adoption, which proposed the move to regional adoption agencies in order to:

•        Speed up matching between children and adopters

•        Improve adopter recruitment and adoption support

•        Reduce costs

•        Improve the life chances of vulnerable children.

Since this time West Sussex County Council, in conjunction with Brighton and Hove City Council, East Sussex and Surrey County Councils has developed a proposal to deliver its adoption services via a Regional Adoption Agency (RAA), Adoption South East (ASE).  In October 2017 local authorities were advised of continued ministerial resolve to complete regionalisation by April 2020.  The Adoption South East arrangement now requires formalising to meet the Government’s expectation that all local authorities become part of a RAA by April 2020.

The Cabinet Member for Children and Young People has:

1.  Approved the establishment of and West Sussex County Council’s participation in a Regional Adoption Agency (RAA), to be known as Adoption South East (ASE), in partnership with Brighton and Hove City Council, and East Sussex and Surrey County Councils as described in this report.

2.  Delegated authority to the Director of Children’s Services to take any action necessary or incidental to the above including entering into and signing the Partnership Agreement and any other agreement between the participating Authorities in order for the Regional Adoption arrangement to be implemented by April 2020.

3.  Delegated authority to the Director of Children’s Services in consultation with the Director of Finance and Support Services to determine and agree the transfer of the County Council’s contribution to a pooled RAA budget as set out in this report and to settle arrangements for the pooled budget through the Partnership Agreement.

This report provides a summary of the recent review of in-house residential services for children. It seeks approval for a strategic framework and service model which seek to ensure that outcomes for vulnerable children are maximised and that long-term care costs are minimised. The proposed strategy is attached (Appendix 1) and provides a full context and history for the review and a rationale for the proposals.

The Council’s existing children’s residential estate has three open establishments which all have a ‘good’ Ofsted rating and three establishments which are not in use. Proposals for the three closed homes are prioritised in the first phase (September 2019 to December 2020) of the overall plan for the service, with the three open homes to be focused on in the second phase (July 2020 to July 2021).

The Cabinet Member for Children and Young People has:

1.     Approved the strategy for the in-house children’s residential service (Appendix 1).

2.     Endorsed the implementation plan and the proposals for the investment required to deliver the strategy.

West Sussex County Council and its partners are delivering a programme of transformational capital projects to deliver efficiencies in the use of the public estate across the County. The County Council is now in a position to progress a project to deliver a new operational fire station and blue-light training centre in Horsham through its detailed design phase and into Planning.

That the Acting Chief Executive approves the award of contract for design services for Horsham Blue Light Centre to Willmott Dixon for a contract period of 8 months commencing from October 2019 at a value of £933,847.00.