Contact: Peter Colenutt, Joint Strategic Planning Manager

Telephone 01962 846157; email: [email protected]

1 Introductory

1.1 This report sets out proposed changes to the 2008/09 capital programme.

2 Recommendations

a) That the revised 2008/09 capital programme set out in Appendix 2 be approved.

b) That it be a recommendation to Cabinet that the uncommitted funding of £4.211m be carried forward from the 2008/09 to 2009/10 programme

c) New temporary classrooms - approval is recommended for the following projects:

(i) Forest Education Centre, Dibden Purlieu - it is recommended that approval from Executive Member for Policy and Resources is sought to submit a planning application for the siting of a double temporary classroom until August 2013.

(ii) Cove School, Farnborough - it is recommended that approval from Executive Member for Policy and Resources is sought to submit a planning application for the siting of a double temporary classroom until August 2013.

d) Temporary classrooms - approval be given for the application for planning renewals until 31 August 2013 (unless otherwise stated), for temporary classrooms to be located on the following sites:

· Bridge Education Centre, Eastleigh - teaching block until 31 August 2009

· Linden Education Centre, Farnborough - teaching block

· Knightwood Primary School, Chandlers Ford - classroom unit and toilet

· St. Luke's CE Primary School, Lymington - classroom unit

· Padnell Infant and Junior, Waterlooville - playgroup unit

· Four Marks CE Primary, Alton - playgroup unit

· Limington House Special School, Basingstoke - teaching block

· Quilley Secondary, Eastleigh - classroom block, until completion of building project.

3 Carry forward from 2007/08 and capital receipts

Carry forward from 2007/08

3.1 A total of £26.024m of 2007/08 resources was unspent at the end of the financial year, excluding resources and projects carried forward when the 2007/08 capital programme was approved in January 2008.

3.2 Of the £26.024m of resources to be carried forward to 2008/09, £21.067m relates to provision in block votes rather than for specific projects. The largest single component of this carry forward is provision for early years initiatives (£15.704m). Of the remaining carry forward amounts relating to block votes, it is proposed to add these to the block votes for similar provision in the 2008/09 programme. Exceptions to this are shown in Table 1:

Table 1

Capital receipts

3.3 Table 2 shows the capital receipts made available to Children's Services as a result of transactions during 2007/08. These receipts cover expenditure incurred in previous financial years to allow capital projects to proceed in advance of land sales.

Table 2

Additional resources

3.4 At its meeting on 8 February 2008 the Cabinet approved an additional allocation in 2008/09 of £1.5m and the same amount in 2009/10 to take up more of the Government's borrowing allocations than previously planned. Further resources of £2.346m from Children's Services' share of capital receipts obtained in 2007/08 were added to the capital cash limit for 2008/09 by Cabinet on 23 June 2008. £0.370m of this £2.346m has already been allocated to schemes, leaving £1.976m currently uncommitted.

3.5 Along with the £0.735m shown in Table 1 it is proposed that the available resources of £4.211m shown in Table 3 be carried forward to the 2009/10 programme to support projects which are currently under-funded, principally the planned new primary schools to serve the new developments in Andover and Waterlooville.

Table 3

Resources		Expenditure
	£'m		£'m
Capital receipts	1.976	Committed resources (c/f resources in paragraph 3.1 (£26.024m) less uncommitted amount in Table 1(£0.735m))	25.289
Resources c/f (Table 2)	26.024
Additional resources	1.500
Totals	29.500		25.289
Available resources = £4.211m (£29.500m - £25.289m)

3.6 Taking into account changes since the 2008/09 programme was produced in January (including those proposed in this report) the revised limit for the programme is made up as shown in Table 4.

Table 4

	£'m
Original starts programme	72.414
Projects carried forward (not included in original cash limit)	25.289
Cash limit carried forward	0.735
Capital receipts	1.976
Mobile technology for social workers	-0.097
Specialist schools funding	0.200
Hamble College sixth form	6.837
Total	107.354

3.7 The revised capital programme for 2008/09 is submitted for approval at Appendix 2.

3.8 Table 4 refers to a total of £25.289m of projects to be carried forward from 2007/08 to 2008/09. A significant part of the carry forward (£15.704m) is for children's centres and has been accounted for against costed projects, the majority now on site. The remaining carry forward is of a similar size to previous years and it is anticipated that any increase in costs would be met from the contingency.

3.9 Table 4 also shows that £0.097m of resources to purchase laptops for social workers has been returned to the DCSF. Due to delays with a piece of software to allow data to be taken securely out into the field by social workers, it was decided not to purchase the necessary laptops until the software was working. A request was made to the DCSF to carry forward the funding but was refused. Additional grant is expected for the current year by which time the software difficulties are hoped to have been resolved.

4. Amendments to the 2007/08 capital programme

14 - 19 initiative

Basingstoke Consortium

4.1 The consortium received £0.100m capital funding from the DCFS through the Gateway 1 14-19 bidding process. They are using this money to purchase a virtual learning environment (VLE) to serve all establishments within the Consortium. In addition improvements to wireless networks are being undertaken in some establishments as well as the purchase of relevant ICT equipment.

Hart/Rushmoor Consortium

4.2 The consortium received £0.653m capital funding from the DCSF through the Gateway 1 14-19 bidding process. This money has been used to purchase a virtual learning environment (VLE) to serve all establishments within the consortium. In addition infrastructure works have been undertaken in all establishments to improve ICT curriculum delivery, equipment has been purchased including new computers, as well as the purchase of peripheral equipment such as scanners, printers and cameras. Video conferencing is also being developed as part of the ICT diploma delivery.

Eastleigh Consortium

4.3 The consortium received £0.475m capital programme funding from the DCSF through the Gateway 1 14-19 bidding process. This money is to be used to upgrade a technology space at Quilley School of Engineering, including new equipment, and set up a construction and engineering classroom within Eastleigh College.

5 Amendments to the 2008/09 capital programme

Secondary schools improvements to sports halls

Brookfield Community School and Language College, Fareham

5.1 It is recommended that £0.100m New Deals for Schools Modernisation funding (NDS) be used to support the refurbishment of the sports hall at Brookfield Community School and Language College, Fareham. Contributions of £0.100m are also being made by Policy and Resources and the school.

Harrow Way Community School, Andover

5.2 It is recommended that a sum of £0.100m from the NDS funding be used to support the refurbishment of the sports hall at Harrow Way Community School. Contributions of £0.100m are also being made by Property, Business and Regulatory Services and the school towards the project.

5.3 These schemes are now being progressed, with an anticipated start on site of August 2008.

Hamble Community Sports College

5.4 Statutory proposals to establish a post-16 Vocational Centre as part of an approved sixth form presumption was approved on 31 March 2008. The centre will be used to deliver learning programmes which complement provision delivered by partner institutions with particular reference to 14-19 Diploma routes. A successful bid was made by Hamble Community Sports College to the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) in 2007, for financial support to cover the cost of the sixth form building.

5.5 A total of £6.837m has been secured from the LSC, payable in two instalments over the 2008/09 and 2009/10 financial years in equal amounts. Therefore, it is recommended that a sum of £6.837m be added to the 2008/09 capital programme.

Schools Access Initiative (SAI)

5.6 The Schools Access Initiative provides borrowing approval to local authorities to increase the accessibility of mainstream schools for pupils with physical and sensory disabilities. A borrowing approval of £2.447m was received for 2008/09, but the recommended programme, however, is £1.600m, as a result of the funding limitations referred to in paragraph 3.2 of the 23 January 2008 report. £0.412m was deferred to 2008/09 in January 2009 and a further £1.241m is proposed for deferral in this report, hence a revised 2008/09 capital programme total of £3.253m. Proposals for specific projects are listed in Appendix 4.

Youth Capital Fund

5.7 Appendix 5 lists those projects paid for through the Youth Capital Fund in 2006/07 and 2007/08 and indicates those projects to be carried forward to 2008/09. Work is in hand to identify future priority projects to be funded from this budget in 2009/10 and 2010/11.

6. Action taken by the Director of Children's Services

6.1 Under delegated powers, and following consultation with the relevant Executive Member, approval has been given to a number of items below £0.250m. These are listed in full in Appendix 3 and it is recommended that formal approval is now given to the allocations listed.

7. Temporary classrooms

New temporary classrooms

Forest Education Centre, Dibden Purlieu

7.1 The Forest Education Centre occupies a site in Cabot Drive, Dibden Purlieu and all the accommodation is provided by using temporary units. There is currently a shortfall in the accommodation for Forest Education Centre, especially for KS2 pupils. In order to provide the required additional accommodation it is recommended that a double temporary classroom be placed on the site until August 2013.

7.2 The total cost of this proposal is approximately £100,000 which includes replacing part of the car park, as the new unit will be placed on the existing parking area, and the provision of a pumped drainage system to allow the removal of the cess pit.

Cove school, Farnborough

7.3 The school has a capacity of 1000 places with 1017 on roll. Included in the calculation of the school's capacity were two classrooms in a HORSA building whose condition had deteriorated to such an extent it became unusable for teaching. The building has been demolished and a double temporary classroom is needed to provide the much needed teaching space at the school to replace that lost. The intention is that this double temporary classroom is located on the footprint of the HORSA building.

7.4 It is recommended that approval from the Executive Member for Policy and Resources is sought to submit a planning application for the siting of a double temporary classroom until August 2013. The cost can be met from the 2008/09 revenue budget for temporary classroom provision.

Temporary classroom planning renewals

7.5 Approvals are sought for the continued siting of temporary classrooms at the schools listed in Appendix 7. In all cases, approval is sought for units to remain on site until August 2013.

8 Corporate Priorities

8.1 The proposals in this report support the Corporate Strategies "Maximising well-being" and Enhancing our quality of place" by proposing allocations of funding to improve the environments of Hampshire schools and children's homes.

8.2 It also supports the following outcomes of the Children Act which 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 which include the encouragement of walking and cycling to and from school, the provision of health advice through children's centres and co-location with the Health Service;

· staying safe (being protected from harm and neglect): by creating safe environments in schools, children's centres, children's homes and carers' homes;

· enjoying and achieving (getting the most out of life and developing the skills for adulthood): by providing a high standard of education and care 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 and creative 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, will protect equality of opportunity and support children from no or low income families to secure skills and qualifications.

9 Legal implications

9.1 The proposals support the County Council's statutory duty to provide school places and comply with central Government accommodation requirements and guidance.

10 Financial implications

10.1 These are set out in the report.

11 Personnel implications

12.1 None directly arising from this report.

12 Impact assessment

13.1 The proposals in this report are derived from the departmental service plans and central government policies and are in accordance with the budget strategy and the County Council's financial management policy. An impact assessment of the departmental service plans and the financial management policy has been carried out and the proposals in this report are not considered to be discriminatory.

13 Crime prevention issues

14.1 All of the capital schemes included in this report are undertaken with a view to maximising crime prevention.

14 Conclusion

14.1 The investment programme outlined in this report supports County Council priorities and Government policies for the provision of accommodation in schools.

Section 100 D - Local Government Act 1972 - background documents

The following documents discuss facts or matters on which this report, or an important part of it, is based and have 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.