The Chairperson welcomed Councillor Sarah
Merry (Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Education, Employment
and Skills) and Nick Batchelar (Direction of Education and Lifelong
Learning) to the meeting to present the report which the Committee
indicated had been read and considered.
Members were invited to comment, seek
clarification or raise questions on the information
received. Those discussions are
summarised as follows:
- Members welcomed with the level of
investment for the Band B programme, half funded by Welsh
Government and half by the Council.
However, Members queried the plans to address the issues of
capacity and school buildings and were advised that working is
ongoing to address those issues, Band B will not address all the
capacity and building issues faced by the authority.
- Members were advised that this is
one of a series of reports which will be presented to Cabinet
sought clarification as to whether the proposed rebuilding of
Fitzalan High School would take place on the existing site or
whether the school would be moved.
Officers advised that any changes to the location of the school
over a distance of 2 miles would require consultation and Cabinet
determination, but it likely that Fitzalan High School will be
rebuilt on the existing site.
Cabinet would
firstly have to determine the priorities; followed by budget
setting and consultation. As far as
Fitzalan High School is concerned any rebuild would not result in
an significant move or expansion, whereas in respect of
Woodlands it would be necessary to
consult with partners as to how provision is configured and a need
to change the designation of the school.
- Members wanted reassurance that
there were would be strong maintenance package contained in the
tendering process and were advised that Cardiff is currently the
host authority for the South East Wales Schools Capital procurement
framework, which provides pre-qualified and experienced
contractors. When considering both new
build and refurbishment projects for schools it has now become
clear, as a result of the learning from Band A, that standardised
designs rather than bespoke or one off designs are the way forward,
together with tendering in lots, or example 3 schools rather than
1. However, maintenance does not form part of the tendering process
and therefore maintenance needs to be factored into the costs.
- Members queried what progress is
being made with the maintenance backlog and were advised that Band
B will not solve all the maintenance issues however, removing D
rated school buildings will have an effect on the
backlog.
- Member sought clarification in
respect of some issues raised in relation to the use of facilities
for community benefit, it was understood that a private company
will be taking over the maintenance of some pitches and concerns
had been raised as to whether community sports group would be able
to afford to use those pitches. Members
were advised that at the present time no operational arrangements
had been finalised in relation to maintenance.
AGREED – That the Chairperson, on behalf
of the Committee, writes to the Cabinet Member conveying the
observations of the Committee when discussing the way forward.