Decisions

The County Council carries out repair, maintenance and refurbishment work throughout the corporate estate, a construction framework arrangement is required to deliver work around and within the County Council buildings. This will include repairs and refurbishment as well as new build requirements where needed. It will enable the County Council to place works orders with a variety of qualified contractors to deliver works that fall outside of the current maintenance contract.

The Cabinet Member for Economy and Corporate Resources has approved:

1.   The commencement of a Find A Tender Service restricted procurement process to establish a new Construction Framework Agreement to commence 01 September 2021 and run for a period of 4 years; and that

2.   Authority be delegated to the Director of Property and Assets to award the Framework Agreements and any call-off contracts as a result of mini-competitions run under the Frameworks.

A previous decision about Halewick Lane approved the capital allocation of £11.6M for the development of a 20MW battery storage system owned and operated by the County Council.

The project has been revised and the Cabinet Member for Environment has considered changes to the Halewick Lane Battery Storage scheme.

The Cabinet Member for Environment has approved the changes to the Halewick Lane Battery Storage Project and the Halewick Lane site with focus on the following two key items:

(1)        the change to the previous system configuration, reducing the system size from 20MW to 12MW whilst retaining the residual export capacity on site; and

(2)     delegated authority to the Director of Environment and Public Protection to, at the conclusion of the procurement process, award the grid connection contract and the design and build contract(s) for the scheme.

The Cabinet Member for Highways and Infrastructure has discretion to approve up to 15 additional Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs) to be processed above those selected annually by the County Local Committees (CLCs).

Community requests for TROs that cost under £3,000 to implement are considered annually by CLCs. More complex TROs are considered for progression as a Community Highways Scheme and so fall outside the process.

The TRO requests in the year to July 2019 have been assessed and scored and the results were presented to the relevant CLCs for consideration. The CLCs can select a specified number of TROs each – totalling 23 across the county. The CLCs had 29 TROs to consider and selected 20 to proceed.

The Cabinet Member for Highways and Infrastructure has approved the nine remaining Traffic Regulation Orders that have scored ten or above to be processed and, subject to due process, implemented in the 2021/2022 financial year.

The County Council, in partnership with the South Downs National Park Authority, was required to undertake a Soft Sand Review (SSR) of the West Sussex Joint Minerals Local Plan (JMLP), which is part of the statutory ‘development plan’ for West Sussex.  The SSR considers the need for soft sand during the plan period (to 2033) and identifies changes to the JMLP to meet this demand, including the need for new site allocations. 

Informal public consultation on issues and options took place in January–March 2019 (under Regulation 18) followed by a formal period for representations on proposed changes to the JMLP in January-March 2020 (under Regulation 19).  In April 2020, the draft was submitted to the Secretary of State for independent examination, for which hearing sessions took place in August 2020. 

Following the hearings, the Government-appointed Inspector indicated that the submitted changes needed to be modified.  Consultation on Proposed Modifications took place during November–January 2021.  The Inspector considered the Proposed Modifications and the representations made on them.  He then reported that the submitted changes (as modified) are ‘sound’ and suitable for adoption.

The Cabinet Member for Environment has recommended to County Council on 19 March 2021 that the changes to the Joint Minerals Local Plan identified through the Soft Sand Review (in Appendix A) be adopted.

The County Council faces an ever-increasing demand for the availability of high quality placements for children who are looked after. Despite an increase in the approval of new foster carers in the last two years, it is recognised that further work is required to improve the recruitment and retention of foster carers. 

Therefore it is proposed to modify the current in-house foster carer allowance scheme to enable the Council to attract and increase in-house foster carer provision. By modifying the current allowance scheme, it will:

·       attract more carers to foster for the Council

·       increase in-house provision to enable more children to be placed locally

·       expand in-house provision to provide multiple placements to support siblings

·       reduce the level of reliance on independent fostering agencies

·       drive better value for money

(1)The Executive Director of Children, Young People and Learning has approved the implementation of the modification to the current County Council foster carer allowance scheme set out in section 2 of the report.

Social distancing measures at the busy Household Waste Recycling Sites (HWRSs) have added pressure to the nearby roads leading to some disruptive queuing and delays for site visitors and road users.

The Cabinet Member for Environment has reviewed options for mitigating these impacts and has agreed measures to improve the management of vehicles accessing the HWRSs in a safe way for both staff and residents.  

The Cabinet Member for Environment has –

1. approved the immediate introduction of a pilot HWRS booking system covering the Bognor, Littlehampton, Shoreham, Worthing, Crawley and Hop Oast (Horsham) sites as detailed in section 2 of the report.
2. delegated authority to the Director of Environment and Public Protection, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Environment and relevant local Members, to vary, expand or suspend the scheme during the six month pilot period in the event of operational issues; and
3. agreed that proposals emerging from the pilot booking system’s six-month review will be considered by the Environment and Communities Scrutiny Committee prior to any further decision.

The proposal relates to a request from residents of Langley Green for parking restrictions in a residential area in the vicinity of community health centre, shops and school. Obstructive and inconsiderate parking in Langley Drive and at other nearby locations restricts access and visibility for traffic entering and leaving the roads making the roads unsafe for both drivers and pedestrians. Inconsiderate parking for nearby shops & medical centre obstructs access and there is evidence of damaged kerbs & grass verges in Langley Drive & Leveret Lane.

Following the Statutory Public Consultation, between 28th October 2020 and 25th November 2020, there were 14 objections received, along with 2 expressions of support. All objections are included in Appendix B to this report.

The Director of Law and Assurance, in consultation with the Chairman of the Crawley County Local Committee and the Chairman of the Environment and Communities Scrutiny Committee, has used his delegated powers under Standing Order 3.45 to decide the following:

That Crawley CLC having considered the objections to the scheme, and the responses in Appendix B, and authorise the Director of Law and Assurance to make the order as advertised except for the amendments as detailed in the revised scheme referred to in paragraph 2.3 and attached in Appendix C.

The Community Initiative Fund is a County Local Committee (CLC) administered fund that provides assistance to local community projects.

The Director of Law and Assurance, in consultation with the Chairman of the Crawley County Local Committee and the Chairman of the Performance and Finance Scrutiny Committee, has used his delegated powers under Standing Order 3.45 to decide the allocation of CIF as

follows:

That the following Community Initiative Funding awards be made:

West Sussex Crowd

607/C – Horsham & Crawley Counselling Group, ‘Talk, Heal and Walk (THAW)’, - to provide free access to walking and talking wellbeing groups, facilitated by counsellors trained in eco-therapy.   The Committee pledge up to £1132.00 which consists of £432.00 to complete the main project and £700.00 as listed in the overfunding for administration costs.

Micro Fund

619/C – Phoenix Choir of Crawley, ‘Singing is good for you’, £748.98– to purchase 240 copies of four music scores to rehearse, with a view to performing at a TV & film-themed concert in late 2021.

624/C – Talk Broadfield ‘Love where you live, love Broadfield’ £743.88- to purchase leaflets and booklets and a zoom subscription for online meetings.

The Community Initiative Fund is a County Local Committee (CLC) administered fund that provides assistance to local community projects.

The Director of Law and Assurance, in consultation with the Chairman of the Adur County Local Committee and the Chairman of the Performance and Finance Scrutiny Committee, has used his delegated powers under

Standing Order 3.45 to decide the allocation of CIF as follows:

That the following Community Initiative Funding awards

be made:

West Sussex Crowd

616/A – We Are FoodPioneers CIC, ‘Bees&Seas’, to transform Brooklands Park, Lancing, into an educational pollinator hub and outdoor teaching space.  The Committee pledge £1500.00 conditional on the project being verified by Locality and permission granted by Adur & Worthing Councils.

Micro Fund

605/A – Over the Moon Shoreham C.I.C, ‘Children’s Activity Packs for The Gateway Hub’, £500.00 towards arts and crafts materials to produce and distribute activity packs to disadvantaged children during the school holidays.

617/A - 1440 (Shoreham) Squadron Royal Air Force Air Cadets, ‘Supporting core syllabus lesson delivery’, £705.00 – to purchase IT equipment and squadron-branded stationary for a return to classroom learning.

That the following Community Initiative Funding application be declined:

West Sussex Crowd

606/A – Adur Community Gateway, ‘Project Laptop’, – to collect, refurbish and distribute laptops helping families to home school their primary school children. – Declined because most primary schools in the area have already made arrangements and the requirement for this is now limited.

Micro Fund

618/A – Wickers Gymnastics Club, ‘Replacement laptop’, to replace an irreparable laptop and enable club administration. Declined as CIF has supported this club many times and only has limited funds available so must prioritise.

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. 

To accord with Standing Orders, this report advises on the outcome of the marketing of this vacant smallholding and seeks the approval of the Cabinet Member for Finance to dispose of the County Council’s freehold estate in the property.    Offers have been received and approval is sought to sell to the preferred and highest bidder. 

The Cabinet Member has agreed:

(1)         That the County Council disposes of its freehold interest in this surplus smallholding at 159 Hatches Smallholdings Estate, West Chiltington as set out in the plan in Appendix B of this report: and that  

(2)         Authority is delegated to the Director of Property and Assets in conjunction with the Director of Law and Assurance to conclude the terms of the sale with the purchaser. 

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 2022 for schools in the Chichester, Horsham and Mid Sussex areas and the outcome of this is set out in section 3 of the report.

The proposed changes to school admission arrangements for 2022 are outlined in section 2 of the report.

The Cabinet Member for Education and Skills has approved:

(1)The redrawn catchment areas for the Chichester area.

(2)The creation of a catchment area for Woodgate Primary School (currently called Warninglid Primary School) to reflect the relocation of the school to a new site, this will also be reflected in the oversubscription criteria of Woodgate Primary school and Colgate Primary School to reflect the federation between the two schools.

(3)The division of the current catchment area for Warninglid Primary School at its existing site, between surrounding schools to ensure any children resident in the area are able to receive priority for school places based on the catchment criteria.

The Council commissions accommodation-based support for adults affected by high risk substance misuse, and who require specialist interventions to achieve safe, sustained recovery and reintegration into local communities. This is funded through the Public Health Grant.

The current contracts for this service provision end 30 September 2021.

In February 2020, approval was given for the commencement of an open procurement for Accommodation Based Support for Alcohol/Drug Recovery, Key Decision Report Reference AH10 19/20. The procurement has been delayed due to Covid-19 and pressures on the market.

The overall objectives of the service to be delivered from 1 October 2021 are not changed, but there are some new elements which will enhance existing provision.

A competitive procurement exercise has been undertaken in accordance with the Public Contracts Regulation 2015 under the Light Touch Regime. The Council is now in a position to award the contract.

The Interim Director of Public Health has approved the award of the West Sussex County Council Accommodation Based Support for Alcohol/Drug Recovery to Turning Tides for an initial period of four (4) years commencing 1 October 2021 with the option to extend for up to two (2) further years should the delivery and performance of the contract be satisfactory.

The Council has a statutory duty to provide placements for all children looked after (CLA) that are appropriate to meet each individual’s specific needs. Due to the level and complexity of their needs and the lack of availability of appropriate care and support elsewhere, during the last 6 months of 2020 it has been necessary to accommodate 4 young people in solo placements. This followed exhaustive placement searches nationwide, including registered children’s homes and foster care agencies, which resulted in no offers and a number of failed placements.

These solo placements were established at short notice and, due to the timescales involved and the safety of the children concerned, a competitive tender process was unable to take place. The 24-hour care packages needed for each of these 4 children are staffed by Bespoke Guardians Ltd, a specialist staffing agency and the only provider able to respond to each placement. Approval to contract with Bespoke Guardians for this service was retrospectively sought, and approval given, via a standing orders waiver for a single tender.

The need for this type of specialist 24-hour care package for young people is anticipated to continue. Although the services have already been put in place due to urgency a contract is required to deliver these services for a 12-month period whilst options for the longer term are considered. The total cost of the services provided by Bespoke Guardians over this period is estimated at £1.8m.

(1)The Executive Director of Children Young People and Learning has approved, in retrospect, the award of a contract with Bespoke Guardians Ltd for the provision of 24-hour wraparound support for short-term/emergency accommodation for looked after children, for a period of 12 months from June 2020.

The Community Initiative Fund is a County Local Committee (CLC) administered fund that provides assistance to local community projects.

The Director of Law and Assurance, in consultation with the Chairman of the Joint Western Arun Area Committee and the Chairman of the Performance and Finance Scrutiny Committee, has used his delegated powers under Standing Order 3.45 to decide the allocation of CIF as follows:

That the following Community Initiative Funding awards be made:

600/JWAAC – Southdowns Folk Festival, ‘Festival Music Workshops’, £750.00 - to pay for the workshop tutors' services and the cost of materials for the weekend event scheduled 17-19 September 2021.

604/JWAAC – Bognor Regis Town Youth Football Club, ‘Replenish outdated first aid kits/supplies and upgrade them with COVID-19 and PPE products’, £749.40 - to purchase new FA-approved first aid kits, digital thermometers and hand sanitiser.

613/JWAAC – Friends of Horsemere Green, ‘Horsemere Green Wildflower Meadow’, £745.54 - to purchase materials for ground preparation works in creating a wildflower meadow.

That the following Community Initiative Funding award be declined:

615/JWAAC – Ambush Veteran Adventure Training & Woodland Management CIC, to purchase equipment for delivering outdoor sporting activities. The Committee supports the idea, however the application did not include any evidence of how this project would benefit the residents of the JWAAC area for which this fund is specifically for.

In December 2018  the decision was made (report ref: AH11 18/19) to reduce expenditure on Housing Related Support to £2.3million by 2020/21. The reduction was to be implemented over the financial year 2019/20, allowing time to remodel services and explore impact mitigation with providers, District & Borough Councils and other partner organisations, ensuring that services are still able to meet the needs of vulnerable people.

In accordance with the Key Decision  taken on 14 August 2020 (Report ref: OKD26 (20/21)  a procurement exercise is being undertaken to replace the contracts for 3 Housing Related Support Services which expire on 31^st March 2021 and contribute to the fulfilment of West Sussex County Council objectives for Best start in life, a Strong, Safe And Sustainable Place and Independence for Later Life.

The Executive Director Adults and Health has awarded the contract(s) to the successful bidders in January 2021 for Lots 2 -6 (Report ref: OKD58 20/21). All contracts will commence on 1 April 2021. The contract(s) will have an initial term of 2 years with the option to extend for up to a further 2 years.

The contract award for Lot 1: Adur & Worthing was delayed allowing Adur & Worthing Councils time to complete necessary internal governance processes. These processes are now complete and so this report is regarding the award of contract for Lot 1. 

The Executive Director for Adults and Health has approved the award of a contract to the following Supplier:

Lot 1: Adur and Worthing: Southdown Housing Association

The service will commence from 1^st April 2021 with a two-year initial period to 31^st March 2023, with the option to extend for a further 2 years.

A public procurement process to secure a single delivery partner to develop out the Horsham Enterprise Park scheme was authorised by the County Council Cabinet (Key Decision report CAB13 19/20).

The purpose of this report is to seek approval to award the contract for a single delivery partner to develop the Horsham Enterprise Park. The procurement procedure was conducted under the Concessions Contracts Regulations 2016 and commenced 3 July 2020 (OJEU Contract Notice 2020/S 129-317995). Muse Developments Limited has been selected as the most economically advantageous tenderer capable of delivering the project.

The Executive Director for Place Services has agreed that the award for the Horsham Enterprise Park delivery partner contract be made to Muse Developments Limited.

The County Council has a statutory duty to provide a range of services to assist parents and carers of children and young people with disabilities and complex needs in ensuring appropriate and effective provision for the child or young person in their care. Where these needs impact significantly on daily life, it can be necessary to commission specialist support and care provision.  These services are currently commissioned through the Supported Living and Family Support Services Framework (SLFSSF), which ends on 31st July 2021.

In order to ensure the continuation of services on conclusion of the existing Framework this report seeks approval to commence a procurement for the provision of Family and Community Support Services for Children and Young People with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).

This will be achieved through the establishment of a new Framework Agreement for Family and Community Support (FACS) for Children and Young People with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities. The projected maximum cost of the Framework over its maximum length (8 years) is £4.3 million (based on the current spend with an estimated annual uplift of 2%).

The Cabinet Member for Children and Young People has approved:-

(1)The commencement of a procurement for a Framework Agreement for Family and Community Support for Children and Young People with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities for a duration of 4 years commencing in September 2021 with the option to extend for a further 4 years.

(2)The transfer of any current contracted business commissioned through the Supported Living and Family Support Services Framework for children and young people to the new Framework.

(3)The delegation of authority to the Executive Director Children, Young People and Learning to implement the Framework Agreement for the initial 4 year period and further extension periods as necessary.