Meeting: Cabinet (County Hall, Durham - Committee Room 2 - 19/02/2009 10:00:00 AM)
Item: A0 Record of Executive Decisions
RECORD OF EXECUTIVE DECISIONS
The following is a record of the decisions taken at the meeting of
CABINET on
THURSDAY 19 FEBRUARY 2009. These decisions will come into force and may be implemented from
3 MARCH 2009, unless the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee or its Committees object to any such decision and call it in.
Interim Sustainable Community Strategy [Key Decision Corp/CEO/03/08] Summary The Cabinet considered a Report of the Assistant Chief Executive about the County Durham Interim Sustainable Community Strategy (SCS) and outlining the next steps in finalising the SCS.
In general consultees had agreed that the priorities within the document were the right ones to improve quality of life in County Durham. However a number of responses indicated that the SCS as a whole and the Vision in particular did not set out a particularly distinctive or aspirational view of the County’s long-term future.
In considering these issues at the County Durham Partnership, it was agreed to finalise and publish the current version as an interim SCS, and to signal the intent to carry out a review over the next year to strengthen the Strategy, focusing on the specific concerns highlighted above. This would enable a period of development well in advance of the production of the next Local Area Agreement and would have the following advantages:
· Allow time for visioning/scenario planning work with partners, Area Action Partnerships and elected members, so that there is a clear, shared view in relation to aspiration and distinctiveness
· Allow spatial priorities from the emerging Local Development Framework to inform developments and be set out within the SCS in line with best practice
· Allow input from Local Strategic Partnerships’ ‘handover’ community strategies and from the Area Action Partnerships emerging plans
· Allow the strategy to reflect issues from the first Comprehensive Area Assessment of County Durham in 2009
· Ensure that the outcomes for the new LAA can flow from the longer term priorities expressed in the SCS
· Allow targets, measures, delivery plans and progress to be reported more fully
· Enable a more formal level of sustainability appraisal and impact assessment to be carried out, than is feasible for the current strategy.
Decision The Cabinet noted the arrangements for the interim Sustainable Community Strategy and agreed to refer the Strategy to full Council for endorsement on the basis outlined in the report; with the process of review, refinement and consultation to begin immediately following vesting day.
Statutory Officer Appointments in Outgoing Authorities Summary The Cabinet considered a Report of the Acting Director of Corporate Services seeking approval to making appropriate staff available to District Councils in the run-up to Vesting Day.
There are adequate statutory powers available to enable an arrangement whereby the County Council’s statutory officers could assume the responsibilities of statutory officers in outgoing authorities where gaps might arise. This is reinforced by the provisions of the Durham Structural Change Order itself, which places a general duty upon the Councils to co-operate with each other in order to secure the economic, effective, efficient and timely transfer of functions and to generally exercise functions for the purposes of the Order.
Decision The Cabinet agreed to allowing the County Council Statutory Officers, or some other officer nominated by them with appropriate qualifications and experience, to take up appropriate statutory appointments in the District Councils where requested to do so, in the run up to Vesting Day.
Murton Community Primary School Organisation: The Outcomes of Consultation with l on the Proposal to Increase the Size of the School from 1 September 2009 Summary The Cabinet considered a Report of the Corporate Director, Children and Young People’s Services about the outcome of consultation on the proposal to increase the size of Murton Community Primary School by 60 places from 1 September 2009, commenting on these responses in the context of statutory guidance and recommending the next steps.
The proposal was to increase the capacity of the school from 420 to 480 pupils aged 4 - 11. The increase in capacity will be achieved by converting the existing Library/ICT suite into two teaching areas and to provide new accommodation for the Library/ICT suite. In addition, 14 additional car parking spaces and an associated footpath will be provided. The additional accommodation would be in place by 1 September 2009 with the new build Library/ICT suite due for completion by February 2010. The Head Teacher is aware of these timescales.
A feasibility study has been carried out and the cost of the scheme is estimated to be £511,000, to be paid for from the School Modernisation Budget.
Arising from the consultation on the proposal 14 responses had been received, with13 of those who responded in favour of the proposal to increase the size of the school and 1 respondent opposed to the proposal on the grounds that other facilities such as the yard and school hall can only just accommodate the current number of pupils on roll.
The school hall is 180 square metres. Area guidelines for schools issued by the DCSF indicate that a hall of this size can hold up to 525 pupils. The proposed capacity of Murton is for 480 pupils and therefore the school hall is within the guidelines.
Decision The Cabinet granted approval to move to the next stage in the process - to issue a statutory public notice on the proposal. The proposal will mean that there will be sufficient room at the school for the number of pupils expected to be living in Murton in future years.
Part B Contract for the Supply and Installation of Aural and Visual Teaching Aids Summary The Cabinet considered a Report of the Acting Director of Corporate Services about the awarding of a contract for the supply of Aural and Visual Teaching Aids for a two year period commencing 1 April 2009 with an option to extend for a further two years.
In evaluating Tenders, consideration has not only been given to the purchase price and quality issues, but also to the tenderer’s capacity to comply with the service requirements stipulated in the specification which include accepted contractors having to deliver, unpack, test and ensure DVD players/recorders, interactive whiteboards, data projectors, overhead projector and plasma/LCD screens are operational at each location.
Decision The Cabinet agreed that the firms listed below be accepted as suppliers for the products shown:-
| COMPANY | PRODUCTS |
| Coomber Electronic Equipment | Educational Cassette Recorders, PA Systems and CD Players |
| G. V. Multimedia | Hi-Fi Systems, Radio/Cassette/CD Players, DVD Players/Recorders, Camcorders, Plasma/LCD Screens, Interactive Whiteboards, Projection Screens, Overhead Projectors and Data Projectors, Replacement Bulbs |
Building Schools for the Future: Appointment of Selected Bidder and Finalise and Award of the Contract [Key Decision LLL/CYPS/02/09] Summary The Cabinet considered a Report of the Building Schools for the Future Project Board on the progress of the Building Schools for the Future programme, and specifically requesting approval to -
· Appoint the InspiredSpaces (IS) consortium as selected bidder,
· Authorise the Project Board to proceed to Financial Close, and
· Finalise and award the contracts outlined to InspiredSpaces.
Decision The Cabinet approved the appointment of InspiredSpaces as selected bidder for the Durham BSF Programme; and authorised the Chair of the Project Board (the Corporate Director Children and Young People’s Services) and the Corporate Director for Resources, in consultation with the Leader of the Council and the Lead Member for Children and Young People’s Services to proceed to Financial Close, and finalise and award the contracts outlined in the report to InspiredSpaces.
Lesley Davies,
Acting Director of Corporate Services
23 February 2009
Attachments
Exec Decs 02.19.09.pdf