Decisions

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

Following a review of pupil projections for starting secondary school in Mid Sussex, it is necessary to provide for a bulge class of 30 pupils at The Burgess Hill Academy for September 2022.  In order to accommodate this temporary increase in pupil numbers a project will be delivered to invest in teaching and non-teaching areas at the school.

In November 2020 the then Cabinet Member for Education and Skills approved the allocation of Section 106 funding for education infrastructure capital projects, including education infrastructure at The Burgess Hill Academy (decision ES10 (20/21) refers). Following completion of the feasibility study, it has been identified that an increase to the budget is required in line with the most recent cost estimate.

Therefore an allocation of S106 funding from the Capital Programme will be sought to enable the works to be taken forward and to make provision for current fluctuations in the market. The budget will fund all associated fees and furniture and equipment.

The Assistant Director (Property and Assets) has approved the allocation of a further £0.422m of received S106 contributions to fund the necessary works, as set out in paragraph 2.2 of the report, to enable the provision of a bulge class of 30 pupils at The Burgess Hill Academy; with previous expenditure the gross budget for this project totals £0.615m.

In August 2018 the Arun Growth Deal, identified Littlehampton Public Realm Improvements (LHPRI) in the town centre as a priority for the regeneration of the West Sussex coastal economy. 

The LHPRI project is key to the economic regeneration of the Littlehampton coastal town centre, aligning with the Economic Reset Plan (2020-24) and ‘Our Council Plan’ (2021-25).  The LHPRI scheme responds to the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and supports growth of the Littlehampton visitor economy and hospitality sector and promotes sustainable travel options and connectivity by upgrading the urban digital infrastructure. The County Council contribution is aligned to the recent Arun Levelling Up award.

The Terminus Road phase aims to create an attractive environment and accessible public space around Littlehampton station.   The design will create a gateway for visitors, with enhance access points, upgrades to paving and clear crossing points. The aim is to promote sustainable modes of transport such as walking and cycling, support carbon reduction and community connectivity and wellbeing benefits.

The Cabinet Member for Support Services and Economic Development has

(1)        approved the allocation of £1.253m as contribution towards the delivery of Littlehampton Public Realm Improvements project at Terminus Road, from the remaining £5m agreed in February 2021 in the County Council budget for Growth Programme; and

(2)        the appointment of Arun District Council (ADC) as the delivery body for the LHPRI Terminus Road capital project.

Aspire Sussex, an independent, charitable, social enterprise, has been providing Adult Education and training on behalf of West Sussex County Council for six years. It provides training and support for skills and adult community-based learning under contract and funded through an annual grant to the County Council from the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA).

The current contract is in the first of two possible extension periods (decision OKD01 (20/21) refers). The initial contract extension period comes to an end at the end of the academic year 2021-22. The County Council has explored options for alternative adult education and community based learning and skills provision within the County but has not identified comparable service offers. It is therefore proposed to extend the contract with Aspire for a further year during which options will be explored for the future delivery of Adult Education. Some changes to contractual terms and arrangements for contract management and support to the service are also being confirmed.

The Cabinet Member for Learning and Skills has approved the extension of the Education and Skills Funding Agency Adult Education contract to Aspire Sussex for the period of a further year until August 2023 pending a revisiting of soft market testing to assess future long-term options.

Manor Royal Highways Improvement package is a key project within the approved Crawley Growth Programme that will provide sustainable transport infrastructure and highway upgrades to boost overall transport capacity and enable significant modal shift from car usage to bus, rail, cycling and walking alternatives.  It will also deliver public realm transformation to upgrade the quality of the living environment and business environment and so attract higher quality new jobs and homes.

The project is to be delivered over two phases as set out in decision report OKD74 20-21.   Phase 2 includes highway alignment alteration for the Manor Royal bus lane, Metcalf Way traffic calming and Gatwick Road/ Manor Royal junction improvements.

The Director of Place Services has approved:

1.    the allocation of project funds to the value of £2.222M, as set out in Section 5, to cover project management and associated costs to completion of Phase 2.  This brings the total Phase 2 budget to £2.809m; and

2.   the award of a construction contract for Manor Royal Highways Improvement Phase 2 to Landbuild Ltd for £1.051M to be funded within the Phase 2 of £2.809m.

In February 2017, the Cabinet Member for Finance (on behalf of the Cabinet Member for Residents’ Services) delegated authority to the Executive Director of Economy, Infrastructure and Environment to award the Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) Contract. Decision RS14(16/7).

The RDF Contract was procured with an initial contract term of five years with an option to extend the RDF Contract in minimum increments of whole calendar years, for up to a further five calendar years.

The initial five-year term is not due to expire until April 2023. West Sussex County Council can extend the RDF contract on the same terms and conditions and there is a contractual requirement to inform the contractor, no later than 12 months prior to expiry, whether or not the contract will be extended.

The Director of Environment and Public Protection will be asked to extend the RDF Contract by 12 months from April 2023.

The Assistant Director (Environment and Public Protection) has approved the allowable extension of one year from 6 April 2023 to 5 April 2024 with the contract value set out in section 5 of the report.

The Highway and Transport Delivery Programmes identify capital highways infrastructure maintenance and transport improvement schemes for delivery during 2022/23 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 2022/23 Highways and Transport Delivery Programmes. These provide transparency of the maintenance and improvement investment needs and the funding priorities prepared and selected for review and approval in this decision.

The Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport has approved:

1.      The Highways, Transport and Planning Delivery Programme for 2022/23 (Appendix A); and

2.      Delegated authority to the Director of Highways, Transport and Planning to adjust the Highways, Transport and Planning Delivery Programme 2022/23 to take account of budgetary pressures and any changes in priority arising as a result of network availability, emergencies, or other operational circumstances. Any amendments to the programme will be undertaken following the Change to Programme process in consultation with the Asset Managers, and local members where appropriate. Programme changes and capital governance will be administered internally through the Highways and Transport Hub and the Capital and Assets Board.

West Sussex County Council is required, under national funding regulations, to consult schools and the Schools Forum on proposed changes to funding arrangements affecting school budgets. The School Funding Review 2022/23 consultation document was published on 20th October 2021. Responses to the consultation and feedback from Schools Forum have been taken into account in the development of the local funding formula for mainstream schools in 2022/23.

To help pay for service improvements within the High Needs budget that will help to reduce the size of the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) deficit in future years a proposal to transfer £1.2m of funding from the Schools block to the High Needs block of the DSG was approved by Schools Forum at its meeting on 25th November 2021, and therefore has also been taken into account when setting the funding rates within the local funding formula for mainstream schools in 2022/23.

The Cabinet Member for Learning and Skills has agreed the approach to the local funding formula for mainstream schools as set out in section 2 of the report and approved the proposals in paragraph 2.30 of the report to:

(1) Continue to protect the primary lump sum at a rate of £130,000, by continuing to scale back the primary unit values for Low Prior Attainment (LPA) from the National Funding Formula (NFF) primary unit value,

(2) Reduce the NFF basic entitlement rates by 0.5% in order to help pay for the £1.2m transfer to the Dedicated Schools Grant High Needs block,

(3) Set the Minimum Funding Guarantee level at 1% to ensure that all mainstream schools benefit by this increase in their pupil-led funding.

34.1     The Committee considered a report by the Director of Highways, Transport and Planning which proposed amendments to the Rights of Way Code of Practice (copy appended to the signed minutes).

34.2     It was noted that on page 53, paragraph (1) ii should include ‘Sussex Police’ in the text as well as the heading.

34.3     Members were reassured that the reduction in the 21-day time limit to 10 days is in relation to local member consultation only and will not affect the publication of statutory notices for the public.

34.4     Resolved - That the proposed changes to the Delegation Code of Practice for Rights of Way (Public Path Orders), as set out at Appendix 1 to the report, subject to the minor amendment in minute 34.2, be submitted to full Council for approval on 18 February 2022.

31.1     The Committee considered a report by the Director of Human Resources and Organisational Development on proposed revisions to the Pay Policy Statement, for recommendation to the County Council (copy appended to the signed minutes).

31.2     Members queried the changes to paragraph 4.3 of the Pay Policy on the authority to determine gradings. Cllr Jupp suggested a minor change to the wording to read ‘a single pay point and grading is determined by either the Chief Executive or, if appropriate, by the Director of Human Resources and Organisational Development’ and this was agreed.

31.3     Members commented on the deletion of paragraph 6.3 which referred to pay increases being subject to bench-marking and satisfactory performance. The Head of Specialist HR Services said the Council does not have performance-related pay but that there are provisions within the standard staff contract that pay increments will not be given if performance is not satisfactory. He explained that, alongside the changes to the Pay Policy Statement, there will be a refresh of the HR operating procedures to include details of performance and benchmarking measures.

31.4     In relation to the pay multiples set out at Appendix 2 and note (3) it was confirmed that the Chief Executive is an employee of East Sussex County Council with the County Council sharing salary costs and therefore this post cannot be treated as the highest paid employee. Cllr Lord asked if the ratio of those payments on a pro-rata basis could be included as a note. It was agreed that this would be explored for the 2023/24 Pay Policy Statement.

31.5     Resolved - That the proposed revisions to the Pay Policy Statement, as set out in Appendix 1 to the report, subject to the amendment set out in minute 31.2 above, be endorsed for recommendation to the County Council.

36.1     The Committee considered a report by the Director of Law and Assurance on a new Standing Order to make explicit reference to how requests by members for reasonable adjustments are considered (copy appended to the signed minutes).

36.2     Resolved –

That Council be recommended to add a new Standing Order 1.07 to Part 4, Section 1 of the Constitution, to read:

‘Subject to legal requirements any Standing Order may be waived or amended for an individual member requiring a reasonable adjustment to enable effective working on Council business, in line with best practice. The Director of Law and Assurance will actively consider any requests for such reasonable adjustments.’

33.1     The Committee considered a report by the Director of Law and Assurance on a new Code of Governance to provide residents and partners with insight into the Council’s governance framework (copy appended to the signed minutes).

33.2     In response to comments on the draft Code set out at Appendix 1, the Committee was advised that in section 3, sub-sections e), f) and g) should have explanations beneath them and these would be reinstated. In the explanation beneath sub-section d) the word ‘is’ should be deleted.

33.3     Members discussed the explanation of the role of scrutiny committees in paragraph 3.7 of the Code. A request was made for the five scrutiny committees to be listed for ease of reference. It was suggested that the process of flagging major policy items and their timing in the Forward Plan to enable timely scrutiny be explained. The Director of Law and Assurance said he would review whether the section should give more detail on how the process works.

33.4     Members were happy to approve the minor amendments set out in minute 33.2 in order to comply with the commitment to publish a new Code of Governance by the end of April, as set out in the Council Plan. In relation to the suggested changes in relation to the paragraph 3.7 on scrutiny, it was proposed that any significant changes be brought back to the Committee’s next meeting for further consideration. Members also felt that the Code should be kept under review.

33.5        Resolved –

(1)         That the Code of Governance (attached at Appendix 1 to the report), subject to the minor amendments set out in minute 33.2 above, be approved for publication and dissemination; and

(2)         That any major revisions to paragraph 3.7 on scrutiny be brought to the next meeting of the Committee with proposals for how the Code of Governance will be reviewed.

The appointed Demand Side Response (DSR) Management operator acts on behalf of the County Council to manage and create revenue from the County Council’s battery assets by engaging in the DSR markets with the National Grid, selling energy to create revenue and support grid stability.

The current contract expires on 31 March 2022.

The Director of Environment and Public Protection has approvedaward of a contract for the provision of Demand Side Response services to E-On UK Heat Ltd (E-On), for the County Council’s current assets at Westhampnett and the planned battery storage at Halewick Lane.  The contract is for an initial period of 3 years, with the option of extending by a further period of up to 2 years. The total value of the contract is £517,546.

21 July 2022 – update

Due to an acceptable set of terms and conditions for both parties not being reached, advice from Legal & Procurement colleagues is that this contract award is rescinded on the basis that the County Council is unable to amend the Terms and Conditions released at tender stage to meet the requirements of the Demand Side Response supplier chosen, without significant risk of challenge from other bidders.

Since March 2022, the County Council has sought and approved a variation to the end date of the current Demand Side Response contract. This is in order to ensure access to the markets for the battery storage site at Westhampnett as a source of revenue to the County Council whilst the contract was reviewed by the suppliers’ legal representatives. The County Council will now seek a further variation to this contract to allow a new procurement exercise to take place.

A Forward Plan notice will be published for the provision of Demand Side Response services for the County Council’s current assets at Westhampnett and the planned battery storage at Halewick Lane once a suitable route to market has been identified.

The County Council needs to source a range of services and educational placements including foster care and placements in residential homes and independent and non-maintained special schools. The total revenue budget is £60m a year.

The process for obtaining these services from external providers is by using the Dynamic Purchasing System for Children’s Placements and Other Support Services (“CPOSS DPS”).   Using the DPS enables the Council to match a young person’s needs with a suitable provider. The initial contract period for the DPS expires on 28th February 2022 and this report seeks agreement to extend the DPS for 2 years from 1st March 2022 – 29 February 2024.

The Executive Director of Children, Young People and Learning has approved the extension of the Children’s Placements and Other Support Services Dynamic Purchasing System for 2 years from 1st March 2022 – 29th February 2024.