Agenda item

Report to follow

·         Councillor Sarah Merry (Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Education, Employment and Skills) will be in attendance and may wish to make a statement;

·         Nick Batchelar (Director of Education and Lifelong Learning) and Officers will present the report and answer Members’ questions;

·         Questions from Committee Members;

·         The Way Forward for this item will be considered at the end of the meeting.

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.