Contact: Bob Eardley, Strategic Planning Manager, 01962 846275;

email: [email protected]

1. Summary

1.1 This report sets out the proposed Children's Services capital programme for 2006/07 to 2009/10 (shown as Appendix 1). The Executive Lead Member for Children's Services is being recommended to approve:

(a) for submission to Cabinet:

i) the capital programme for 2006/07 to 2009/10 as set out in Appendix 1;

ii) deferral of schemes and resources from the 2005/06 capital programme to 2006/07 totalling £7.277m;

(b) the following variations to the 2005/06 capital programme :

i) an allocation of £0.045m to Southview Infant School, Basingstoke for adaptation to form a larger library, from the capital programme contingency;

ii) an allocation of £0.046m to Cowplain Community School as a contribution to the costs of providing a Multi-use Games Area and Synthetic Turf Pitch, from the capital programme contingency.

(c) the following variations to the 2005/06 capital programme, subject to approval by the Executive Member for Policy and Resources:

i) the addition of resources of £1.100m to the provision in the 2005/06 capital programme for minor works for specialist schools, funded from additional Government grant;

ii) the addition of resources totalling £0.476m for works under the Disability Discrimination Act at schools providing community and adult education, funded from additional Government grant;

iii) the addition of resources totalling £0.358m for schools' devolved capital in respect of Sustainable Travel Grant allocations, funded from additional Government grant;

iv) an allocation of £0.100m as a contribution to the costs of a new Youth Service facility at Rowner, Gosport, from the capital programme contingency.

(d) that the post-16 accommodation for Henry Tyndale School at "Coppers", 15 Reading Road South, Fleet be declared surplus and that it be a RECOMMENDATION to the Executive Member for Policy and Resources that up to 100% of the capital receipt be used to contribute to the cost of providing a post-16 unit at Henry Tyndale School, Farnborough;

(e) that placement of a temporary toilet at Sopley Primary School be approved until 31 January 2010.

1.2 Prior to the Executive Member considering the proposed programme, this report is being presented to the Children's Services Policy Review Committee to provide the Committee with the opportunity to comment to the Executive Lead Member for Children's Services on the proposals.

1.3 The proposals in this report support the following corporate aims:

· Aim 1 (Maximising life opportunities) by proposing allocations of funding to improve the learning environments of Hampshire schools.

· Aim 5 - (Improving services) by considering solutions which will contribute to the raising of educational standards.

1.4 Race and equality impact assessment has been considered in the development of this report and no adverse impact has been identified.

Children Act outcomes

1.5 The five outcomes specified in the Children Act are set out below, with a summary of how the proposals in this report contribute to their achievement:

· being healthy (enjoying good physical and mental health and living a healthy lifestyle): through proposals to encourage walking and cycling to and from school;

· staying safe (being protected from harm and neglect): by creating safe environments in schools;

· enjoying and achieving (getting the most out of life and developing the skills for adulthood): by providing a high standard of education for children in suitable buildings;

· making a positive contribution (being involved with the community and society and not engaging in anti-social or offending behaviour): by encouraging the flexible use of accommodation;

· economic well-being (not being prevented by economic disadvantage from achieving their full potential in life): by ensuring that proposals will not disadvantage children and will protect equality of opportunity.

2. Introduction

2.1 The Cabinet at its meeting on 19 December 2005 asked Executive Members to prepare proposals for:

· a locally-resourced capital programme for the four-year period from 2006/07 to 2009/10 within the guidelines of the current capital programme uplifted for inflation, and

· capital projects supported by scheme or programme specific Government grants and borrowing approvals for 2006/07 and those expected to be supported in 2007/08, 2008/09 and 2009/10.

3. Capital programme 2006/07 to 2009/10 - schemes supported by Government approvals

3.1 The Children's Services capital programme is based on credit approvals from the Government through the Single Capital Pot, Government grants, capital receipts and developers' contributions. The availability of Government grants and borrowing approvals, together with developers' contributions, is set out below. Any capital receipts for 2005/06 available to support the Children's Services capital programme will be added to these guidelines with the closure of the 2005/06 accounts.

3.2 On the basis of the position outlined above, resources available for each of the four forward years to 2009/10 are set out in Table 1. Allocations from the DfES for 2008/09 and 2009/10 are estimates only, as the DfES has given no indication of the level of resources to be made available in these years.

Table 1

3.3 Resources totalling £7.277m are proposed to be carried forward from 2005/06 to 2006/07. The schemes proposed for deferral are listed in paragraph 15.1.

4. Credit approvals

4.1 The DfES system for allocating funding for new pupil places through a formula is based on a formulaic amount providing each authority with a relative proportion of the available pot, based on:

· the actual number of school pupils in each authority (40%); and

· the forecast growth in pupil numbers, by comparing actuals with forecasts as at September following the end of the spending review period, i.e. September 2007 (60%).

4.2 The amount allocated to Hampshire through this formula for 2006/07 is £4.378m, which is available to fund new projects.

4.3 In the context of generally falling primary school rolls, net demand for new pupil places in this sector is low, although this will vary in specific areas as major new housing developments come on stream in the next few years. In addition to future years' formulaic allocations for new pupil places, significant developers' contributions should also be available. There is, however, no specific provision to support the remodelling of accommodation necessary to make best use of resources during a time of falling rolls. The necessary work requires careful management of priorities.

4.4 There is no outstanding need for additional places in the secondary sector and again this position is unlikely to change in the next few years as numbers overall continue to fall. There is more scope for accommodating local variations in demand for secondary places because the schools generally serve larger areas than most primary schools.

4.5 As part of its strategy for making three-year capital funding announcements, the DfES has made an indicative allocation for new pupil places of £4.445m for 2007/08.

5. Provision of new pupil places

5.1 In the context of the localised need for additional primary school places referred to above, the proposed programme for 2006/07 includes new primary schools at Whiteley and Hedge End.

Whiteley

5.2 On 25 July 2005 the Cabinet approved the provision of a new 210-place primary school in Whiteley to meet growing demand. A bid to the DfES submitted on behalf of the Church of England Diocese of Portsmouth for capital grant to construct a new voluntary aided primary school was successful and £4.083m was allocated. A consultation exercise with the Whiteley community about the location of the school and its proposed voluntary aided status is currently under way.

5.3 The amount of capital grant allocated is unlikely to be sufficient to meet the full cost of the new school. The current year's capital programme includes a sum of £1.438m towards the cost of providing additional primary school places in the area and all or part of this sum could be made available to the Diocese of Portsmouth as a contribution. A recommendation will be made to the Cabinet when the current consultation is complete and in the meantime it is recommended that £1.438m should be carried forward from the current year and added to the resources available in 2006/07.

Dowd's Farm, Hedge End

5.4 On 24 March 2005 the Executive Member for Education approved in principle the provision of a new 210-place primary school to serve new homes at Dowd's Farm, Hedge End and provision for its construction is included in the proposed 2006/07 programme. A substantial developer's contribution will meet part of the cost, with the remainder being met from the New Pupil Places allocation. Prudential borrowing against the future developer's contribution will be recommended in advance of the contract being let.

6. Other formulaic allocations

6.1 In addition to the funding for new pupil places, a number of formula allocations have now been confirmed by the DfES. They are discussed in more detail below.

New Deal for Schools Modernisation fund

6.2 The amounts allocated through the New Deal for Schools (NDS) Modernisation Fund to individual LEAs are based on the DfES's assessment of relative need among LEAs, following detailed submissions through the Asset Management Plan (AMP) arrangements of the work needed to bring school buildings up to the standards required to teach the modern curriculum. The overall allocation is split between suitability (improvement) work and funding to address the backlog of building condition work, which is managed by Policy and Resources. A split of these resources in the ratio of 54% to condition and 46% to suitability was agreed by Executive Members in July 2003.; this split is reflected in the current year's programme. The total amount allocated in 2006/07 is £23.335m, of which £10.734m will be for suitability work and £12.601m for condition work.

6.3 Funding is allocated to projects according to the criteria set out in the Asset Management Plan Statement of Priorities, which sets out priority categories for capital work and was approved by the Executive Member for Education on 20 January 2005. A proposed NDS Modernisation programme for 2006/07 is included in Appendix 1 and is summarised in Table 2.

Table 2

Projects	2006/07 £m
Primary school temporary classroom replacements and specialist accommodation	1.450
Primary school halls	0.170
Playing field drainage for primary schools	0.150
Secondary school sports halls	1.980
Secondary school specialist accommodation	1.000
14-19 projects	0.300
Special schools	0.654
Education centres	2.950
Early years	0.800
Health and safety issues	0.600
Staff facilities	0.250
School security	0.350
Total Modernisation programme	10.654

6.4 The proposed allocation of £1.980m for a sports hall at Hardley School, Holbury will complete the long-standing programme of providing a sports hall at all secondary schools in Hampshire. The proposed provision for education centres includes an allocation of £2.750m for new accommodation for Basingstoke School Plus. Full details of the proposals are set out in a report elsewhere on this agenda. The funding identified is unlikely to meet the full cost of the proposal (currently estimated at £3.500m including acquisition costs) and further reports will be submitted as additional sources of funding are identified.

6.5 Several block allocations are recommended, including amounts for health and safety, school security, staff workforce provision and the costs of progressing land sales, as in previous years.

6.6 An allocation for improvements to children's homes is also recommended. This enhances provision of £0.123m in the current year's Social Services capital programme for such work, by proposing an allocation of £0.250m which recognises the need for investment in these facilities, in the context of a forthcoming strategic review of provision.

6.7 Recommendations for the allocation of block votes to specific projects will be made during the programme year

Schools' devolved formula capital

6.8 An allocation of £20.688m has been made by the DfES in 2006/07 for devolved formula capital for all schools. This will be allocated according to the DfES formula set out in Table 3 and is intended to fund high priority projects identified through schools' AMPs. Allocations for 2005/06 are shown for comparison. The allocation for schools' devolved formula capital in 2005/06 was £16.574.m.

Table 3

	2005/06	2006/07
	£	£
Per nursery/primary pupil	49.40	61.00
Per secondary pupil	74.10	91.50
Per SEN/PRU pupil (all schools)	148.20	183.00
Lump sum (all schools)	13,150	17,000

6.9 Officers work closely with schools to ensure that devolved formula capital allocations are spent on Asset Management Plan priorities. There is particular emphasis on ensuring that they are used in conjunction with County Council and other capital resources so that the maximum number of schools benefit and that resulting projects make optimum use of available resources.

6.10 The amounts of funding available to schools through devolved capital are increasing substantially. Table 4 indicates the amounts available to typical schools. The expectation will, therefore, grow that schools will be using these allocations to help cope with high priority capital maintenance and essential developments.

Table 4

	2001/02 £	2005/06 £	2006/07 £	2007/08 £
210-pupil primary	9,227	23,524	29,810	31,730
1,000-pupil secondary	32,287	87,250	108,500	113,000
75-pupil special	9,458	24,265	30,725	32,675

Schools Access Initiative

6.11 The Schools Access Initiative provides credit approval to local authorities to increase the accessibility of mainstream schools for pupils with physical and sensory disabilities. An allocation of £2.143m has been confirmed for 2006/7. Specific proposals have been formulated and are included in Appendix 3.

7. Capital funding for early years and childcare

7.1 An indicative capital allocation of £9.515m was made to the County Council in June 2005 for the provision of 53 children's centres across the county. The allocation covers two financial years, 2006/07 and 2007/08, and can be accessed through the submission of specific costed proposals to the DfES. The Executive Lead Member for Children's Services approved consultation on the children's centre programme on 26 October 2005, with responses due in February 2006. Once the results of the consultation have been assessed, specific scheme proposals will be developed. As the allocation is indicative, the funding has not been added to the forward years' capital programmes, but specific approvals will be sought as projects are submitted to the DfES for endorsement.

8. Building Schools for the Future

Secondary schools

8.1 Building Schools for the Future (BSF) is a national initiative intended to achieve the replacement or substantial refurbishment of all secondary schools over a ten to fifteen year period from 2005. Resources are allocated predominantly to metropolitan authorities in the midlands and north and to London boroughs. The County Council is not among the 38 LEAs which received funding in 2005/06 and 2006/07. The DfES has confirmed that the earliest date that Hampshire secondary schools could be included in the initiative is 2011.

8.2 In the meantime, data used to support the BSF submission will be reviewed for resubmission and the DfES has said that the next round of allocations will be announced during 2006. The County Council will continue to receive allocations under the New Deal for Schools Modernisation Fund which are reduced by the DfES by about £10m annually from the amounts allocated in 2004/05, to help meet the costs of delivering the BSF programme nationally.

Primary schools

8.3 The DfES has recently announced that significant additional funding will be available from 2008/09 onwards to fund large-scale building projects in primary schools. Details of allocation criteria are expected shortly when a consultation paper is issued and it is hoped that the criteria will be more focused on building need than is the case with secondary funding. Indicative national funding allocations are £150m for 2008/09 and £500m p.a. thereafter.

9. Projects to be funded from capital receipts

Woodlands Education Centre, Havant

9.1 Following a major fire at the Woodlands Education Centre, Cowplain in 2002, the centre was relocated to temporary buildings on the site. Proposals have been developed for the centre to be relocated to permanent buildings on the site of the former Park House Primary School, Havant. The project is estimated to cost £4.750m (including furniture and equipment); £2.000m will be contributed from the Insurance Fund and the balance from the capital receipt from the sale for housing of parts of the Woolston Road and Park House Primary School sites in Havant. The Executive Member for Policy and Resources approved the use of these receipts for reinvestment in the Woodlands Education Centre and Sundridge School (see paragraph 15.3) on 6 December 2005.

Improvements to primary school accommodation in Hedge End

9.2 On 24 March 2005 the Executive Member for Education approved a strategy for rationalising and improving primary school buildings in the Hedge End area in the context of the construction of a new primary school on the Dowd's Farm development (referred to in paragraph 5.4). A replacement new build at Kings Copse Primary School is planned, which will reduce the school's current capacity to one form of entry. The estimated costs and funding sources for this project are set out in Table 5.

Table 5

Costs and funding	£m
Estimated project cost	4.568
Furniture and equipment	0.175
Total estimated cost		4.743
Anticipated capital receipts	4.325
School contributions	0.200
Contribution from Schools Access Initiative funding to visual impairment provision	0.143
Contribution from Eastleigh Borough Council for community provision	0.075
Total resources		4.743

9.3 The planned improvements for the area also include reduction in capacity and remodelling at Shamblehurst Primary School and replacement of a temporary building at Freegrounds Infant School, at an estimated cost of £1.200m for both projects.

Pinewood Infant School, Farnborough

9.4 On 13 July 2005, the Executive Member, Education approved inclusion in the 2006/07 capital programme of a project to rebuild Pinewood Infant School, Farnborough. The total estimated cost of the project, including furniture and equipment, is £3.815m. £2.600m of this sum is being met from the County Council's Insurance Fund and the remaining £1.215m from the capital receipt from the sale of the former Mayfield Infant School site, Farnborough.

Henry Tyndale School, Farnborough

9.5 This school caters for pupils aged 2-19 with complex learning difficulties. The school's current "house in the community" for post-16 pupils is a three bedroom semi-detached house in Fleet. The accommodation is no longer appropriate to cater for those pupils who have a significant level of physical disability. A feasibility study has been undertaken to see whether the property could be extended, but that would not be cost-effective and little improvement could be achieved. Options for replacement accommodation have been considered with the school and the best approach would be to provide a facility on the school site, as this would provide the required type and size of rooms needed. A detailed feasibility study has been undertaken and includes an additional specialist teaching space to cater for rising numbers on roll.

9.6 The scheme is estimated to cost £0.755m. The school has agreed to contribute a significant amount of devolved capital to the project; this, together with the capital receipt from the sale of the existing post-16 accommodation, will provide an estimated £0.401m, leaving £0.354m to be met from the capital programme. Prudential borrowing approval will be required to cover the anticipated capital receipt and approval will be sought in advance of the contract being let.

9.7 It is recommended that the current post-16 accommodation at "Coppers", 15 Reading Road South, Fleet is declared surplus and that approval is sought from the Executive Member for Policy and Resources for the full amount of the capital receipt to be re-invested in this project.

10. Prudential borrowing

10.1 Borrowing under the Prudential Code for Capital Finance provides access to capital funding in advance of capital receipts and developers' contributions becoming available. All prudential borrowing requires Cabinet approval. Such borrowing is necessary to provide new school places at the appropriate time and to allow projects such as school amalgamations to proceed. This mechanism became available from 1 April 2004. Prior to that date a similar arrangement operated through the School Balances Loan Scheme, which allowed borrowing for capital projects against planned receipts up to a level of 25% of overall balances. To date £4.436m has been borrowed under the School Balances Loan Scheme and £28.653m under the Prudential Code, including amounts to be recommended for approval by Cabinet in respect of the 2006/07 capital programme. No repayments have been made to date, but significant amounts are expected in 2006/07. Full details are set out in Appendix 4.

10.2 Borrowing in advance of receipts is now becoming an increasingly important component of the funding profile for the capital programme and it is proposed to report quarterly through the capital programme progress reports to ensure that new borrowing is matched by a flow of repayments from disposals and developers' contributions.

10.3 The proposed 2006/07 capital programme includes borrowing of £11.300m for which approval will be sought in confidential reports to the Executive Member for Education, with subsequent submission to Cabinet. The increased requirement for borrowing reflects the number of schemes funded through recycling of capital receipts and the growth of developers' contributions as a source of funding for new school places. Table 6 summarises the recommendations for prudential borrowing to be included in future confidential reports.

Table 6

Project	Borrowing against
Dowd's Farm Primary School, Hedge End	Developer's contribution
Kings Copse Primary School, Hedge End	Capital receipt
Freegrounds Infant School, Hedge End	Capital receipt
Shamblehurst Primary School, Hedge End	Capital receipt
Woodlands Education Centre, Havant	Capital receipt
Henry Tyndale School, Farnborough	Capital receipt

10.4 Approval for borrowing towards the cost of the new Sundridge School, Havant will be sought from the Executive Lead Member for Children's Services on 19 January 2006 for recommendation to Cabinet, as this project is scheduled for a start on site in the first quarter of 2006/07.

11. Capital programme 2006/07 to 2009/10

11.1 The total available to fund starts in 2006/07 is £62.492m. Table 1 in paragraph 3.2 above illustrates how this sum is arrived at.

Capital programme 2006/07

11.2 The proposed four year capital programme is attached as Appendix 1. The 2006/07 programme totals £62.492m and includes provision for contingency and furniture and equipment allocations. The total value of the capital programmes submitted for consideration for the four years to 2009/10 is shown in Table 7.

Table 7

	Children's Services £'m	Policy and Resources £'m
2005/06 (current)	86.986	14.000	(for information)
2006/07	62.492	12.308
2007/08	39.425	12.784
2008/09	39.425	12.784
2009/10	39.425	12.784
Totals	267.753	64.660

11.3 The figures are net of developers' contributions (except where these have already been received) and exclude the costs of land for programme schemes, which are dealt with outside the programme guidelines. They include resources from prudential borrowing for specific projects.

11.4 There are no proposals for PFI projects. From 2005/06, all education PFI credits are being allocated through the BSF programme nationally.

12. 2007/08 to 2009/10 guidelines

12.1 As indicated above, it is possible to fund those schemes where starts need to be made in 2006/07. The indicative resources available in 2007/08 through formulaic allocations and Policy and Resources total £39.425m and are summarised in Table 8. This table assumes that the split between NDS suitability and condition funding is the same in 2007/08 as in 2006/07. The split is subject to Executive Members' decisions, so the totals may vary.

Table 8

	£'m
Basic need	4.445
NDS Modernisation	10.890
Schools Devolved Capital	21.824
Schools Access Initiative	2.143
Transfer from Social Services	0.123
Total	39.425

12.3 Of the total available resources of £39.425m, funding for schools devolved formula capital and Schools Access Initiative are earmarked for specific use and are not available to fund the capital programme generally; therefore, £15.458m is available for this purpose.

12.4 Government funding at the 2007/08 level is assumed to continue for 2008/09 and 2009/10, but actual allocations will depend upon the outcome of the Government's next spending review in 2007.

13. Pressures on the capital programme

13.1 There are sufficient resources available to fund all the schemes which need to be started in 2006/07. An underlying shortfall of resources of £7.100m was reported to the Executive Member in January 2004 and this has now been eliminated, mainly by reducing the number of New Deal for Schools Modernisation schemes and through the use of prudential borrowing against anticipated capital receipts.

13.2 There are other elements of the Children's Social Services capital programme which will be added into this programme as part of the transfer of resources and commitments from the former Social Services programme into the Children's Services and Adult Services programmes. For example, the investment costs associated with developing information systems for Children's Services were set out in the Social Services capital programmes for 2006/07 and 2007/08.

13.3 The reduction in overall funding received through formula allocations from the DfES will affect the pace at which improvement work in schools can be progressed in the current and future years.

13.4 A significant amount of expenditure on basic need projects is anticipated in 2007/08 and 2008/09, which will generate further pressures. These are projects to provide new schools in major development areas and other areas of significant new housing. Table 9 gives an overview of the location of new primary schools and major extensions where starts on site are expected to be required in the period from 2007/08 to 2009/10. The actual timing of these projects will depend upon the timing of planning consents for the residential development and the forecast rate of housing completions and Table 9 shows the best currently available information.

Table 9

Project	Extension/ new school	Expected start on site
Taylor's Farm, Basingstoke	Extension	2007/08
Cherque Farm, Gosport	Extension	2007/08
West of Waterlooville MDA	New	2007/08
North Popley	Extension	2008/09
Queen Elizabeth Barracks, Fleet	Extension	2008/09
Picket Twenty, Andover	New	TBC
East Anton, Andover	New	2008/09
Aldershot Urban Extension	New	2008/09
Park Prewett, Basingstoke	New	2008/09
West of Waterlooville MDA	Extension	2009/10

13.5 The estimated average cost of a new one-form entry primary school is about £4.3m and of a one-form extension to an existing school about £2.5m. In broad terms, the estimated costs of the new primary school places where starts on site are likely to be required in 2007/08 to 2009/10 are about £30m, of which about half is expected to be available from developers' contributions. The remaining cost will need to be met from New Pupil Places allocations expected to total about £13m. As these allocations are likely to be fully taken up for such projects, there will be no leeway for other demands for new places and a consequent reduction in the amount of overall flexibility in the programme.

13.6 The speed at which the new housing developments proceed will determine when funding for new schools is required. Current estimates show that the amount of funding required for starts in 2008/09 is likely to exceed significantly the amount of available New Pupil Places provision and a strategy for addressing this funding shortfall will need to be developed. The amount of new housing planned currently and that likely to proceed after 2011 suggests that significant pressure on New Pupil Places funding will continue for several years.

14. Revenue Implications

14.1 The revenue implications of the proposed capital programme are shown in Table 10.

Table 10

Schemes supported by Government approvals	Full year cost
	Current expenditure £'m	Capital charges £'m
2006/07	0.152	3.286
2007/08	0.210	2.088
2008/09	0.140	2.088
2009/10	0.140	2.088
Totals	0.642	9.550

14.2 The total current expenditure implications for the four years of the starts programme, including capital charges, represent 0.1% over the 2005/06 original budget for what is now Children's Services. Since revenue expenditure on schools (which forms the vast majority of extra current expenditure caused by the capital programme) will effectively be fixed by central government from April 2006, most of the cost will be absorbed within the schools' budget

15. Issues relating to the 2005/06 capital programme

Project deferrals

15.1 It will not be possible, mainly because of changes in the scope, brief or programming of projects, to start the schemes listed in Table 11 during 2005/06. It is proposed, therefore, to defer them, with their resources, to 2006/07.

Table 11

Project	£m
Basingstoke School Plus	0.250
Sundridge School, Havant	5.150
Whiteley Primary	1.438
Minor works	0.439
Total	7.277

Basingstoke School Plus

15.2 The funding strategy for this project (referred to in paragraph 6.4) includes a carry forward of £0.250m in the current year's capital programme allocated for work at Basingstoke School Plus, which has been deferred pending approval of the proposed relocation project, and £0.200m from the block allocation for EOTAS (included in the amount for minor works in Table 11).

Sundridge School, Havant

15.3 The 2005/06 programme includes provision of £5.150m for replacement of the Sundridge School, Cowplain, on a site in Havant. The current estimated cost of the project, including £0.150m for furniture and equipment, is £5.697m. On 6 December 2005, the Executive Member for Policy and Resources approved the use of anticipated capital receipts from the sale of land for housing development at Woolston Road, Havant and at the former Park House Primary School, Havant. The estimated value of these receipts is sufficient to cover the funding shortfall, subject to separate approval of prudential borrowing. A funding breakdown is shown in Table 12.

Table 12

Costs and funding	£m	£m
Estimated project cost	5.547
Furniture and equipment	0.150
Total estimated cost		5.697
Targeted Capital Fund	3.545
Education capital programme 2005/06	0.826
Receipt from land sale at Rachel Madocks School, Cowplain and anticipated receipt from future land sales (subject to approval of Prudential Borrowing)	1.326
Total resources		5.697

15.4 The proposed deferral of the project for a new primary school in Whiteley is referred to in paragraphs 5.2 and 5.3.

Other proposed variations to the 2005/06 capital programme

South View Infant School, Basingstoke

15.5 South View Infant School has accommodated the Basingstoke Education Welfare Service (EWS) since an exercise to reduce surplus accommodation in the mid-1990s. The school is full to capacity and wishes to improve its specialist accommodation to reflect demands on the curriculum and its priority is to expand the library. The school has considered using some of the space currently occupied by the EWS; there are, however, advantages in the EWS remaining at the school rather than relocating. As no alternative accommodation is readily available, continuing additional costs would be incurred for renting premises, as well as direct moving costs. The existing library could be expanded by undertaking a small extension estimated to cost £0.085m. The school would contribute £0.040m from its devolved capital and the balance could be met from the capital programme contingency. It is recommended that £0.045m is allocated from this source to enable the extension to proceed.

Learning and Skills Council allocations for Disability Discrimination Act works

15.6 The Learning and Skills Council has made a grant allocation of £0.476m to the County Council for work to be carried out to comply with the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) in adult and community learning facilities. The schools benefiting from grant to increase the accessibility of premises used for adult education are listed in Appendix 5. The works required have been identified following an access audit.

15.7 It is recommended that DfES grant totalling £0.476m is added to provision for minor works, to fund the projects listed in Appendix 5.


Schools' Sustainable Travel Grant allocations

15.8 The DfES has made a second round of capital allocations to a number of schools which have School Travel Plans (STPs) authorised and in place by 23 March 2005. The grant is intended to help schools to support sustainable travel to school and DfES expects the funding to be spent on measures identified in their STPs, such as secure cycle parking, lockers and bus bays. The grant is payable at the following rates:

· Primary schools: £3,750 per school, plus £5 per pupil

· Secondary schools: £5,000 per school, plus £5 per pupil

15.9 Grant is paid as an addition to schools' devolved capital and the amount allocated to Hampshire in 2005/06 is £0.358m. A list of schools receiving the grant is shown in Appendix 6.

15.10 It is recommended that the sum of £0.358m is added to resources for schools' devolved capital allocations for 2005/06.

Rowner Youth Service facility

15.11 A project has been developed to provide a new stand-alone youth facility on the Rowner Estate, Gosport. The building will be sited on the Siskin Infant and Junior School site and its provision reflects the high priority given by the local community to the need for youth facilities in this area of high social deprivation.

15.12 The estimated cost of the project is £0.400m. Funding of £0.150m from Single Regeneration Board (SRB) Grant and £0.150m from Policy and Resources is in place, leaving a shortfall of £0.100m. The DfES has recently announced capital allocations of £0.392m in 2006/07 and 2007/08 through a new Youth Capital Fund, which is intended to contribute to the funding of projects such as that proposed for Rowner. This funding will not be available until April 2006, but the project needs to proceed quickly to avoid the loss of SRB Grant. To enable it to proceed, therefore, a contribution of £0.100m is proposed from the 2005/06 capital programme contingency, with compensating resources from the Youth Capital Fund in 2006/07.

Cowplain Secondary School

15.13 A proposal to provide a Multi-use Games Area (MUGA) and Synthetic Turf Pitch (STP) at Cowplain Secondary School has been developed using external and school funding. There are some technical issues relating to the location of the foul and storm drains below the proposed site, which are currently under investigation. The current estimated cost of the project is £0.755m excluding fees, but it is expected that this can be reduced to £0.713m through competitive tendering and value engineering. Funding sources are shown in Table 13.

Table 13

Funding source	£'m
New Opportunities Fund	0.139
Policy and Resources	0.040
Football Foundation	0.320
School	0.161
Havant Borough Council	0.013
Shortfall	0.040
Total	0.713

15.14 Additional funding sources have been explored, but it has not been possible to secure additional contributions. To enable the contract to proceed, it is recommended that a contribution is made from the capital programme contingency to cover the shortfall and £0.046m, including fees, is recommended.

Specialist schools

15.15 Notifications have been received recently of capital allocations for 11 schools which have been awarded specialist schools status. These are listed in Table 14. The allocation to each school is £0.100m.

Table 14

School	Specialism
Calthorpe Park, Fleet	Mathematics and computing
Cams Hill, Fareham	Science
Cowplain Community School	Business and enterprise
Crofton, Stubbington	Science
Fernhill, Farnborough	Languages
Mill Chase Community Technology College, Bordon	Technology
Portchester Community	Arts
Testbourne Community, Whitchurch	Arts
The Hayling College	Mathematics and computing
Warblington, Havant	Science
Winton, Andover	Technology

15.16 It is recommended that resources of £1.100m are added to the 2005/06 capital programme as a result of these allocations.

16. Summary position for 2005/06

16.1 Resources totalling £86.986m have been allocated for the starts programme in 2005/06 (see Appendix 2 for details). Of this total, £25.648m relates to block allocations for schools' devolved formula capital, Schools Access Initiative, furniture and equipment and contingency, leaving £61.338m for specifically identified schemes. Schemes to the value of £43.800m have started, with £17.538m still scheduled to start before the end of the financial year.

17. Building cost inflation

17.1 Tender price inflation for building work still continues to be significantly in excess of other national inflation annual increases. Published indices (by the DETR Public Sector Index) for the year from November 2004 to November 2005, around which the capital programme is based, are predicting a 4.0% increase. This represents a slight reduction in the percentage increases over recent years of around 7% year-on-year but still exceeds national price rise indices for the cost of living. However, this year's announcement that the Olympics will come to London and the continuing demand in the housing and construction markets will lead to continued inflationary pressure on building prices for the foreseeable future. These indices are currently based on forecasts and more reliable information will become available when these are firmed up. To put this into some context, national building costs have increased by more than 34% in the last five years. To help mitigate this, the Director of Property, Business and Regulatory Services has put in place procurement strategies that reduce risk and uncertainty for the contractors and, through a number of appropriate contracting arrangements, secure the resources the County Council requires, whilst still retaining value for money and ensuring a high quality of product.

18. Temporary buildings

Sopley Primary School

18.1 Sopley Primary school has one adult toilet which is also the accessible toilet with specialist lifting equipment installed that until now has been used by all members of staff. However, there are now two disabled people who use this facility who need to take priority use of the toilet, which has meant that with a total of 27 members of staff new facilities are required. Owing to the urgent need for this unit, it was placed on site at the beginning of December and retrospective approval is now sought.

19. County Council Policy Requirements

19.1 Legal implications - The proposals support the County Council's statutory duty to provide school places and comply with central government accommodation requirements and guidance.

19.2 Financial implications - These are set out in the report.

19.3 Personnel implications - None directly arising from this report.

19.4 Community cohesion, inclusiveness and partnership working - Many of the capital projects proposed in this report support these aims.

19.5 Crime prevention issues - None directly arising from this report.

Recommendations

1. That the committee endorses the following recommendations to the Executive Member, Education to approve:

(a) for submission to Cabinet:

i) the capital programme for 2006/07 to 2009/10 as set out in Appendix 1;

ii) deferral of schemes and resources from the 2005/06 capital programme to 2006/07 totalling £7.277m;

(b) the following variations to the 2005/06 capital programme :

i) an allocation of £0.045m to Southview Infant School, Basingstoke for adaptation to form a larger library, from the capital programme contingency;

ii) an allocation of £0.046m to Cowplain Community School as a contribution to the costs of providing a Multi-use Games Area and Synthetic Turf Pitch, from the capital programme contingency.

(c) the following variations to the 2005/06 capital programme, subject to approval by the Executive Member for Policy and Resources:

i) the addition of resources of £1.100m to the provision in the 2005/06 capital programme for minor works for specialist schools, funded from additional Government grant;

ii) the addition of resources totalling £0.476m for works under the Disability Discrimination Act at schools providing community and adult education, funded from additional Government grant;

iii) the addition of resources totalling £0.358m for schools' devolved capital in respect of Sustainable Travel Grant allocations, funded from additional Government grant;

iv) an allocation of £0.100m as a contribution to the costs of a new Youth Service facility at Rowner, Gosport, from the capital programme contingency.

(d) that the post-16 accommodation for Henry Tyndale School at "Coppers", 15 Reading Road South, Fleet be declared surplus and that it be a RECOMMENDATION to the Executive Member for Policy and Resources that up to 100% of the capital receipt be used to contribute to the cost of providing a post-16 unit at Henry Tyndale School, Farnborough;

(e) that placement of a temporary toilet at Sopley Primary School be approved until 31 January 2010.

Section 100D - Local Government Act 1972 - Background papers

The following documents disclose facts or matters on which this report, or an important part of it, is based and has been relied upon to a material extent in the preparation of this report.

NB: the list excludes:

1. Published works

2. Documents which disclose exempt or confidential information as defined in the Act.

Letter of 20 December 2005 from DfES to Director of Children's Services

Appendix 1

Children's Services capital programme

2006/07 - 2009/10