Welcome to the
Vale of Glamorgan Council

 

 

SCRUTINY COMMITTEE (LIFELONG LEARNING)

 

 

MINUTES of a meeting held on 28^th November, 2007.

 

Present:  Councillor A.D. Hampton (Chairman); Councillor E. Hacker (Vice-Chairman); Councillors Mrs. M.E.J. Birch, Ms. R.M. Birch, J. Clifford, A.M. Ernest, F.T. Johnson, G.C. Kemp, Mrs. S.I. Sharpe, B.I. Shaw S.T. Wiliam and E.T. Williams.

 

Non-Voting Observers: Mr. G. Beaudette and Mr. T. Cox.

 

 

569     APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE -

 

These were received from Councillors P. Church, Miss. J. Cole, A.D. Dobbinson, N.J. Gibbs and A.G. Powell.

 

 

570     MINUTES -

 

RECOMMENDED - T H A T the minutes of the meeting held on 5^th November, 2007 be approved as a correct record subject to it being recorded that Councillor S.T. Wiliam had tendered his apologies for absence.

 

 

571     DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST -

 

The following Councillors declared the nature of their interest, being governors of schools within the Vale of Glamorgan, it being noted that the Standards Committee on 9^th September and 21^st October, 2004, 13^th January 2005 and 5^th February 2007 had granted them a general dispensation to vote upon any matters to be considered by the Scrutiny Committee (Lifelong Learning) in relation to matters of a general education nature in terms of policy, plans, policy framework and budgets, etc.

 

Councillors A.D. Hampton, E. Hacker, Mrs. M.E.J. Birch, Ms. R.M. Birch, J. Clifford, A.M. Ernest, F.T. Johnson, G.C. Kemp, B.I. Shaw, S.T. Wiliam and E.T. Williams.

 

Councillors J. Clifford and Mrs. S.I. Sharpe declared an interest in that part of Agenda Item No. 7 that related to Cowbridge Comprehensive School in view of their membership of the Trust Committee. 

 

 

572     COLDBROOK CATCHMENT FLOOD RISK MANAGEMENT GROUP -

 

RECOMMENDED - T H A T the minutes of the meeting of the Coldbrook Catchment Flood Risk Management Group held on 6^th November, 2007 be received. 

 

“Present:

 

Councillors R.F. Curtis
Councillor A.D. Dobbinson
Councillor Mrs. A. Moore
Councillor N. Moore
Councillor Mrs. M.R. Wilkinson
Mr. M. Cadogan	Environment Agency Wales
Mr. T. England	Environment Agency Wales
Mr. P. Kemp	Dwr Cymru
Mr. M. Davies	Dwr Cymru
Mr. M. Punter	Head of Visible Services Vale of Glamorgan Council
Mr. A. Bosley	Senior Engineer Vale of Glamorgan Council
Mr. M. Clinch	Headteacher St.Richard Gwyn High School
Mr. M. Haynes	Property Officer Vale of Glamorgan Council
Ms. S. Wood	Resident
Ms. M. Brown	Resident
Ms. A. Usher	Resident
Ms. K. Denman	Resident
Ms. N. Shields	Resident
Ms. J. Cottle	Resident

 

                       

(a)       Welcome -

 

Councillor Curtis welcomed all present to the first meeting of the Coldbrook Catchment Flood Risk Management Group, established by the Council.

 

It was hoped that the Group would meet on a bi-monthly basis.

 

 

(b)       Apologies -

 

Apologies for absence were received from Mr. S. Blakeman and Dr. P. Jones (Welsh Assembly Government (WAG)) and Councillor F.T. Johnson.

 

 

(c)        Terms of Reference -

 

It was explained that the Group had been established to consider water management proposals within the Coldbrook Catchment area only.  Matters concerning other catchment areas were being considered by other means.

 

It was the wish of the Council that the Management Group act to take things forward, and did not dwell on the past.

 

It was also the wish of WAG that the residents be involved in arriving at solutions to the problems.

 

AGREED - T H A T the Terms of Reference be as follows:

 

(i)         Purpose of Management Group

 

            To act as a consultative forum for water management proposals within the Coldbrook Catchment and surrounding areas.

 

(ii)        Aims and Objectives

 

            To act as a sounding board for new ideas and proposals.

 

To be an integral part of the collective decision making process in respect of any proposed remedial measures or engineering works for the catchment.

 

To assist in enabling the various partner organisations to reduce and manage the future risks posed by heavy rainfall events within the catchments.

 

To assist in communicating the positive work of the Group to the wider catchment community.

 

(iii)       Who are we?

 

            The Group comprises

·        senior officers of the Vale of Glamorgan Council, The Environment Agency, Welsh Water and the Welsh Assembly,

·        elected Vale of Glamorgan Members for the Gibbonsdown, Dyfan, Cadoc and Court Wards,

·        representatives from the local community and local schools,

·        as and when required representatives from the Civil Contingencies Unit and the Emergency Services.

 

(iv)       What do we do?

 

The Group will provide a forum where residents can input into the flood management decision making process.

 

The Group will consider the larger picture (strategic direction) in respect of flooding prevention.

 

The Group will assist in the dissemination of information between residents within the catchment and the Group.

 

(v)        What we do not do

 

·        It is not a forum for complaints

·        It is not to seek to apportion blame

·        It is not do deal with problems of individuals or single properties

·        It is not to concentrate on the past.

 

(vi)       Control and Communications

 

            The Cabinet Member for Visible Services will chair meetings and agendas and minutes will be produced and sent out by the Vale of Glamorgan Council.

 

(vi)       When will the Group Meet?

 

            Bi-monthly.

 

The Group would also invite the Headteachers of Ysgol Gwaun y Nant and Oakfields Primary Schools to attend meetings together with representatives of the Civil Contingencies and Emergency Services.

 

 

(d)       Responses to the Event of 20^th July, 2007 -

 

The responses of the Council in relation to the flooding event were to be reported to the Council’s Scrutiny Committee (Economy and Environment) on 13^th November, 2007.

 

A representative of the Environment Agency advised that the level of rainfall on 20^th July, 2007 had amounted to 83mm.  Previous highest levels of rainfall had been 76mm in 1976 and 51mm in 1998.

 

The catchment area had been extremely saturated, and water ran-off very quickly.  Of particular significance was the area where the rain fell.  It was alleged that, if the rain had fallen as little as one mile away, there would have been no flooding.

 

It was felt that figures on climate change suggested that such incidents may occur again, albeit over small areas.  The figures were not available to suggest what the annual probability of such occurrences would be.  It was acknowledged that flooding could not be prevented, but some levels of control should be introduced.

 

Ms. Brown, in referring to the drains, claimed that residents had never seen gully emptiers operating in the area, and alleged that some culverts had collapsed.  With the onset of winter, Ms. Brown feared a recurrence of the problem.

 

In response, the Head of Visible Services acknowledged the need for a larger culvert in the area behind Ms. Brown’s house.  Damage to a pipe had also been noticed in the area (on private land) and the Council was hoping to repair it soon.

 

The Council had allocated a sum of £25,000 for immediate works.

 

Ms. Brown also stated that there should have been a sensor in the storm tank.

 

Mr. Davies of Dwr Cymru, in response stated some £10m. had been spent on installing water storage tanks.  The largest Controlled Sewerage Overflow tanks did not require alarms, but nevertheless one had been fitted to the controlled Sewerage Overflow in the tank at the end of Daniel Street.

 

Ms. Usher enquired as to what had been used as topsoil over the tanks as the newly laid material was not water retentive.

 

Mr. Davies of Dwr Cymru stated that he would make enquiries as to what had been laid.

 

Ms. Wood referred to an area of land which was always wet.

 

Mr. Davies of Dwr Cymru offered to speak to any of the residents about specific matters outside of the meeting.

 

Councillor N. Moore asked if the level of run-off was considered when overflow tanks were installed, and was advised that the footprint of the tanks was so small there was little effect.  Also, the tanks would be covered by porous material.

 

Councillor N. Moore, whilst acknowledging that the level of rainfall was exceptional, commented on the sewerage rising from the drains in his Ward in Coldbrook Road East.  Councillor Moore enquired if this was due to the overflow tanks.

 

Mr. Kemp of Dwr Cymru felt that it was difficult to predict what would happen in such circumstances.  Events could have been affected by:

 

-                      the bungalows built in the 1950’s

-                      drains and overflows could have been overloaded by rainwater

-                      additional buildings built since the 1950’s

-                      other reasons.

           

 

(e)       Schools Affected -

 

Mr. Clinch, Headteacher of St. Richard Gwyn High School, provided an outline of what had happened at that school.

 

Mr. Clinch praised the support received by the School from the Council.

 

Mr. Clinch also acknowledged that there would always be a risk of flooding.

 

Works had been carried out by Dwr Cymru some three years ago.  Mr. Clinch  acknowledged that on this occasion, no sewerage had been involved in the flooding incident at the School.

 

Mr. Haynes spoke of the flooding effects on Oakfield Primary School, Ysgol Gwaun y Nant and Bryn Hafren Comprehensive School.

 

Oakfield Primary School had been flooded before.

 

All schools should be fully open by Christmas.

 

Reinstatement works to the schools were being funded by the insurance companies on a “like for like” basis which meant there was no possibility of works of improvement taking place.

 

Councillor Dobbinson, in relation to Oakfield Primary School stated that CCTV footage existed of the flooding incident which should assist in the review process to see what could be learnt.

 

In addition, Councillor Dobbinson enquired if it was true that, in pumping flood water from residents’ houses, the Fire Service had contributed to the flood waters affecting Oakfield Primary School.  It was

 

AGREED - T H A T this matter be placed on the Agenda for the next meeting of the Group, and that representation of the Fire Brigade be invited to attend.

 

Councillor N. Moore appealed to anyone with video footage of any flooding incident to pass it to the Council.

 

It was also observed that Fire Engines from neighbouring areas had attended in Barry to assist with the flooding.  Different fire authority areas had different ideas of the status of the incident.  It was

 

AGREED - T H A T this was a matter that warranted further consideration.

 

 

(f)         Pre-Feasibility Work

 

The Head of Visible Services advised that WAG had awarded the Council a sum of £6,000 to conduct a feasibility report for the Coldbrook catchment, and all Members of the Group would have a role to play in its preparation.

 

Questionnaires had been sent out for people to provide an account of what had happened on 20^th July.  The results of the survey would be sent to WAG following which it may be possible that money would be provided for improvement works to be undertaken.

 

It may be that there is a need to retain water up the catchment or to construct ponds upstream to slow down the flow of water.

 

The main priority would be to reduce the risk of future flooding.

 

It was not possible to undertake any major projects prior to the results of the questionnaire being known.

 

It was hoped that an analysis of the questionnaires would be complete by February 2008 and that this information would then be submitted to WAG.

 

WAG had expressed the view that this would provide an ideal “pilot” project and had intimated that considerable efforts and resources would be devoted.

 

The view was expressed that, whatever the cause of flooding had been, the lack of gully-emptying had not been a contributory factor although it was acknowledged that a number of gullies may have been blocked.

 

Furthermore, if the gullies had been clear, the water would have flowed faster and would have congregated at a particular spot even faster and with more force.  Members of the Group were advised that photographs of the inspections undertaken of the culvert would be provided at the next meeting.

 

 

(g)       Residents’ Issues

 

Ms. J. Cottle of Carew Close spoke of the drain cover outside her house which is at road level.  Much rubbish blocks the drain, although it was acknowledged that the Council did unblock the drain.

 

The Head of Visible Services gave an undertaking that the drain cover would be inspected.

 

Ms. K. Denman referred to her street being flooded by water flowing from Cemetery Road.

 

The Head of Visible Services replied that this was a matter that required investigation.  The solution would be to either contain water to the north, or at various points to prevent the water leaving Merthyr Dyfan lane.

 

Ms. Brown referred to two drains that had been covered in tarmac in Cemetery Road.

 

The Head of Visible Services asked to be informed of their exact locations.

 

Councillor Dobbinson referred to works being carried out at 29 Robbins Lane and enquired if the works had exacerbated the flooding problem.

 

The Head of Visible Services advised that he had concerns about the works being carried out at the property and the affects of this work would be considered within the feasibility process.

 

AGREED - T H A T a report on this matter be brought before the next meeting of the Group.

 

 

(h)       Communications Protocol

 

It was reported that the minutes of the meetings of the Group would be distributed as quickly as possible.  The minutes would also be reported to the meetings of the Scrutiny Committee (Economy and Environment) and Scrutiny Committee (Lifelong Learning).

 

 

(i)         Any Other Business

 

None.

 

 

(j)         Date of Future Meeting

 

The date of the next meeting would be distributed to the Members of the Group together with the minutes of this meeting.”

 

_________________

 

 

573     INITIAL CAPITAL PROGRAMME PROPOSALS 2008/09 (DFICTP) -

 

Committee were advised of the progress on the 2007/08 Capital Programme for the period ended 31^st October, 2007 and received for consultation purposes the initial capital proposals for 2008/09.

 

Details of progress on the Capital Programme as at 31^st October, 2007 were detailed in Appendix A to the report. 

 

On 14^th November, 2007 the Welsh Assembly Government had announced the provisional 2008/09 General Capital Funding.  The provisional allocation was £8,198,000 which represented an increase of £23,000 (0.28%) over the current year.  The final settlement was expected to be announced during January 2008. 

 

In addition to funding from the Welsh Assembly Government, the Council would finance part of the Capital Programme from its own resources, e.g. capital receipts and reserves.

 

Attached at Appendix B to the report were details of the indicative 2008/09 Lifelong Learning Capital Programme.

 

An indicative asset renewal budget of £800,000 had been included in the figures for Schools.  This constituted an un-earmarked general provision.

 

In addition to the Capital Bids shown at Appendix B to the report, Appendix C listed Capital Bids received that had been unsuccessful and which had not been put forward for inclusion in the 2008/09 Programme. The Corporate Asset Management Group had prioritised schemes that fell within their remit.  The method of prioritisation used was detailed in the Authority’s Capital Investment Strategy and was shown in the following table:

 

Priority Level	Criteria
1.	Health and Safety Legislation
2.	Other Legislation / Statutory Requirement
3.	Sufficiency; Corporate Plan; Economic Sense
4.	Condition; Suitability
5.	Welsh Assembly Government objectives
6.	Low Priority

 

Due to the shortage of Capital Funding, the only addition to the indicative Capital Programme for 2008/09 was that of the Relocation of Road to Dunraven Bay, whereby further costs were required on an already committed scheme.

 

Council, on 12^th October, 2005, had approved the School Investment Strategy.  It approved that the school development budget be increased by £1,000,000 from 2008/09 onwards.  This had been reflected in Appendix B to the report.  The Council also approved that the £9m. one-off School Building Improvement Grant and £1.4m. of existing useable capital receipts, be utilised for the School Investment Strategy.  These budgets were also included in Appendix B.  Approval had also been given for capital receipts generated by schools to be ringfenced for the Investment Strategy up to £6.5m. and that unsupported borrowing of up to £7.3m. could be undertaken.  Davis Langdon had been appointed as the Consultant Project Design Team and would now be proceeding with the design work for Cowbridge Comprehensive School.

 

RECOMMENDED - T H A T the initial capital budget proposals be noted and that Scrutiny Committee (Corporate Resources) and Cabinet be informed accordingly.

 

Reason for decision

 

Following full consultation on the future Capital Programme.

 

 

574     INITIAL REVENUE BUDGET PROPOSALS 2008/09 (DFICTP) -

 

Committee were advised of the initial budget proposals for 2008/09 and were informed of the amended original budget for 2007/08 for services which formed part of the Committee’s remit. 

 

Appendix 1 to the report set out the necessary transfers to the original estimate for 207/08, which were required to be made as follows:

 

·                    Asset Rents - the main reason for this movement was due to revisions to the Accounting Code of Practice that required deferred government grant income to be released to Revenue Services which offset the asset rent already charged.

·                    Recharges etc. - movement in charges between internal Council services.

·                    Budget Transfers - budget adjustments to reflect transfers of functions and responsibilities between services.  Primarily, this related to:

-           the transfer from Human Resources and Equalities to Finance - TransAct staff (£227,000) and to Chief Executive - Equalities (£191,000).

 

The additional pressure arising from the increased price of care home fees could not be predicted at the beginning of the year.  It was unrealistic, at this point in the year, to expect Social Services to cover these costs within their existing budget.  Therefore, it was proposed that an additional allocation of £1.11m. be given to Social Services in 2007/08 to cover these costs and those of the arbitration.  It was noted that this increase was for 2007/08 only and Social Services would need to identify savings to cover the additional costs in future years. 

 

It was essential that early measures be taken to bring down spending, in view of the predicted poor settlement and current financial position.  Consequently, following discussions with the individual directors, it was proposed to set an additional savings target for 2007/08 as follows:

 

 

The total target savings above totalled £1.11m.  They equated to approximately 2% of the individual budgets. 

 

Social Services had not been given an additional savings target and would need to bring a revised Budget Action Plan to Cabinet setting out how they intended to bring their expenditure down to their revised target.  However, a moratorium on the filling of all vacant posts within the Directorate had been put in place, with the exclusion of staff in residential homes and in other exceptional circumstances.

 

Learning and Development had similarly not been given an additional savings target.  The bulk of the budget had already been delegated to Schools for 2007/08.  The Director would produce a Budget Action Plan setting our how expenditure within Lifelong Learning an Catering would be brought within budget.  A moratorium on the filling of all vacant posts within the Directorate had been put in place, with the exclusion of exceptional circumstances.

 

The following table compared the amended original budget with the projected outturn for 2007/08:

 

	2007/08	2007/08	Variance
	Amended Original Budget	Projected Outturn	(+)Favourable (-)Adverse
	£’000	£’000	£’000
Learning and Development
Education and Schools	82,125	81,858	+267
Libraries	2,561	2,561	0
Lifelong Learning	1,900	2,047	-147
Catering	1,075	1,195	-120
Human Resources and Equalities	0	0	0

 

Education and Schools - although there were a number of pressures on the service the expenditure on placements in independent schools included in the Access and Inclusion budget was forecast to be £130,000 less than was estimated.  This was due to a number of pupils returning to placements within the Authority.  At present there was also potential income of £350,000 as a result of more out of county pupils.  However, given the volatile nature of this budget, the income was not considered secure at this time.  In addition, within the Strategic Planning and Performance budget, as a result of the combination of a recent re-tendering exercise on certain home to school transport routes and contract inflation for all other routes being lower than expected, there was a projected saving of £137,000 on home to school transport.  The education base budget currently included £450,000 to support the School Investment Strategy.  In 2007/08 the budget would be used to help fund the costs of the external design team.  From 2008/09 it would be available to support Prudential borrowing.

 

Lifelong Learning - the service continued to predict a potential adverse variance of £147,000 due to delay in starting the new learning programmes to the economically inactive and low enrolments over the summer period - £51,000 to premises costs at the Heritage Skills Centre - £9,000 and the costs of the Vale Learning Network - £87,000.  The Director of Learning and Development had advised that actions would be implemented in an effort to reduce this figure and consequently reduce the support needed from the Strategy and Performance budget. 

 

Catering - an adverse variance of £120,000 was predicted for this service.  This was due to reduced meal numbers not yet recovering to the previous levels and additional cost pressures on food and staff resources resulting from the implementation of Welsh Assembly Nutritional guidelines.

 

There was currently a projected overall deficit of £168,000 that would need to be funded from the reserves, in addition to the £450,000 required to balance the 2007/08 budget.  General reserves as at 1^st April 2007 amounted to £5.7m. and consequently as a prudent minimal level for the General Reserve is £4m.  Some specific reserves would need to be “un-earmarked”.

 

The budget strategy and timetable for 2008/09 had been approved by Cabinet on 25^th July, 2007 as part of the 2007/08 - 2010/11 Medium Term Financial Plan (Minute No. C3160). 

 

The Budget Strategy for 2008/09 outlined that:

 

·                    in order to establish a baseline, services should prepare initial revenue budgets based on the cost of providing the current level of service and approved policy decisions.  This meant the cost of price increases and pay awards should be included.

·                    Increases to budgets approved during the course of a financial year could restrict the freedom the Council had to allocate its resources to priorities during the following budget cycle when it was aware of all the competing demands.  Consequently:

-                      supplementary estimates would only increase the base budget if Council had given specific approval to this effect.  Increase met by virement within a year would not be treated as committed growth.

-                      Directors should find the cost of increments and staff changes from their base budget unless the relevant specific approval had been given for additional funding.

-                      The effect of replacing grant from outside bodies that had discontinued would not be treated as committed growth.  In addition, before any project or initiative that was to be met either wholly or partly by grant may proceed the exit strategy must be approved.

-                      Certain items of unavoidable committed growth would continue and these include the effect of interest charges and the financing charges of the Capital Programme, increases in taxes, increases in levies and precepts charged by outside bodies and changes to housing benefits net expenditure.

-                      Services would be expected to identify and achieve recurrent efficiency savings equivalent to at least 2% of their budget and Schools should plan for efficiency savings of at least 0.3%.

·                    The costs of service development would need to be met from within the respective services from savings that they identified;  in addition works may need to be prioritised within a service to meet any higher priority demands.  Services had therefore been asked to identify any burgeoning revenue cost pressures.

 

A summary of the overall base budget for 2008/09 was attached at Appendix 2 to the report.  This had been arrived at by adjusting the 2007/08 budget for items such as inflation and unavoidable growth.

 

Inflation amounted to £0.460m. of which £0.304m. related to pay awards and £0.156m. for general price increases.  It was noted that these figures excluded inflation for Schools, which was dealt with as a “Cost Pressure”. 

 

A list of the 2008/09 Cost Pressures as identified by the Service was attached to the report at Appendix 3.  These were not shown in any order of priority and included costs relating to Social Services that were a continuation of the level of overspending in 2007/08.  Altogether these totalled £4.594m. and some would need to be met for some services.  They excluded the cost of redundancies, which may be incurred in order to maintain the budget within the resources available.  It was noted that these costs could be significant. 

 

Having considered the detail of the report, Members welcomed the continued high level of delegation of resources to Schools, but noted with concern that the actual level of funding to individual Schools was still one of the lowest in Wales. 

 

Despite the Service being starved of resources, the service still had to respond to Welsh Assembly Government initiatives, which devoted a great deal of management time.

 

As such, Committee noted that the moratorium of the filling of vacancies would cause problems to the Service at a strategic level. 

 

RECOMMENDED - T H A T the initial Revenue Budget Proposals for 2008/09 be noted.

 

Reason for decision

 

In order that Cabinet be informed before making a final proposal on the budget.

 

 

575     SCHOOLS CAPITAL INVESTMENT STRATEGY - UPDATE (DLD) -

 

Committee were updated of progress on the School Investment Strategy. 

 

The programme of work had commenced with Cowbridge School. The Design Team had already made an initial visit to the School.  The first stage of the design process was an option appraisal and preparation of a detailed project plan.  The key purposes of the options appraisal included enabling the Council to effectively minimise risks associated with the re-development of Cowbridge School and gain better certainty over construction costs.

 

Once the most appropriate option was approved by the Council, Davis Langdon would take the design of the school up to full planning application.  Thereafter, the Council would secure a design and build contractor to complete the final design and undertake the construction work.  The scheduled completion of Cowbridge School was September 2010.  The school, parents and governors of Cowbridge School had been updated on progress.

 

Once the costs of Cowbridge School were known with greater certainty, then the Council would be in a position to confirm the phasing of the other two Secondary Schools, St. Cyres and Llantwit Major.  In the meantime, Davis Langdon would commence an option appraisal at St. Cyres in the early part of 2008 and prepare for a further options appraisal at Llantwit Major.

 

RECOMMENDED - T H A T the contents of the report be noted.

 

Reason for decision

 

So that Committee are aware of progress on the School Investment Strategy.

 

 

576     SCHOOL BUDGETS 2007/08 (DLD) -

 

Dr. V. Browne, Headteacher of Llantwit Major School was in attendance, representing the School Budget Forum.

 

Members were advised of the financial state of School Budgets in the current 2007/08 financial year. 

 

In terms of overall education and schools expenditure, the year on year increase for the Vale of Glamorgan had consistently been above average and within the top few authorities across Wales.  In 2007/08, the net increase in education funding for the Vale was 4.0%.  Although not as highly ranked as previous years, nevertheless this was the 8^th highest in Wales and compared to the Welsh average of 3.8%.  The Vale of Glamorgan had always been a consistently high delegator of resources to schools.  In 2007/08 the Vale of Glamorgan delegated a proportional rate of 82.5% which was the highest in Wales.

 

Despite the relatively high proportional budget increase described above, in actual cash terms schools in the Vale of Glamorgan continued to be relatively poorly off in comparison to schools in other local authorities.  Comparison of the variance of the funding per pupil in the Vale of Glamorgan with the Wales average is summarised below:

 

	2007/08	2006/07	2005/06	2004/05
Total £ / Pupil	-60	-77	-114	-142
Primary £ / Pupil	-127	-92	-67	-152
Secondary £ / Pupil	-202	-233	-300	-250

 

An analysis of school balances was provided at Appendix 3 to the report.  As at the end of the 2006/07 financial year, the aggregate primary school balances stood at £1.695m.  They were projected to drop to £0.817m. by March 2008. 

 

For the secondary sector, the aggregate school balances were £0.076m. at the end of the 2006/07 financial year and was forecast to drop to £0.238m. deficit by the end of March 2008.  Schools in the Vale of Glamorgan were prudently and effectively managing their school budgets from the financial perspective.  However, the Budget Forum were concerned that the level of funding was detrimental to the educational curriculum development in schools.  The Budget Forum believed that pupils in the Vale of Glamorgan were being disadvantaged in comparison with pupils in Wales due to the low level of funding.  The impact of this disadvantage would increase as schools in the Vale were unable to fully fund developments in areas such as ICT, and key curriculum development.

 

Dr. V. Browne, on behalf of the Schools Budget Forum, referred to two significant issues:

 

-                      funding for schools was not adequate (although Dr. Browne did not blame the Vale of Glamorgan Council for this)

-                      it was recognised that money allocated to the Council for education purposes was not diverted away to other areas of the Council.

 

Dr. Browne ventured that there must be a basic amount required to provide a given level of education. 

 

The Budget Forum was often informed that representations were to be made to WAG on issues, but had never been involved in the making of representations nor informed of the outcomes of the representations.

 

Dr. Browne requested that, in future, the Budget Forum have a greater involvement when representations were made.

 

Dr. Browne also referred to proposals being developed by the School Budget Forum for an increase in funding for the Secondary Sector of 2%, and the Primary Sector of 1% over the next three years.  Although the details of the proposals was not finalised, Dr. Browne asked the Committee for “in principle” support for the proposals which were to be made to the Leader and Deputy Leader of the Council in the near future. 

 

Following discussions, it was

 

RECOMMENDED -

 

(1)       T H A T the contents of the report be noted with concern.

 

(2)       T H A T Cabinet be requested to support the request of the School Budget Forum that it take a more involved role when representations are made to the Welsh Assembly Government.

 

(3)       T H A T Scrutiny Committee (Lifelong Learning) supports the efforts of the School Budget Forum to increase the level of funding for the Secondary and Primary Sector.

 

(4)       T H A T the WAG Minister for Children, Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills be invited to address a future meeting of the Scrutiny Committee (Lifelong Learning).

 

Reasons for decisions

 

(1)       Having considered the contents of the report.

 

(2)       To further involve the School Budget Forum in its efforts.

 

(3)       To support the work of the School Budget Forum.

 

(4)       To permit the Minister to advise of the WAG funding methods.

 

 

577     WORK PROGRAMME -

 

Having noted that the Committee did not have a current work programme, the Chairman invited Members to suggest items that could be considered in greater depth.

 

Suggestions offered included:

 

-                      Library Standards

-                      School attendance

-                      The Foundation Phase

-                      Home tuition

-                      Exclusions

-                      The Green Room.

 

RECOMMENDED - T H A T the Director be requested to provide a brief covering report on each of the above topics to further inform the Committee prior to a decision being made on items to be included in a work programme for the Committee.

 

Reason for decision

 

To assist in the development of a work programme for the Committee.