Proposed Decision

Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Health (as part of progressing the Stop Smoking Grant agreement entered into earlier in 2024), to approve the enhanced stop smoking services and agree the framework arrangements for management of the related grant funding.

Background

On 4 October 2023, the Government published ‘Stopping the start: our new plan to create a smokefree generation’ which sets out the proposed actions the government will take to tackle smoking and youth vaping.This included a programme of funding to support current smokers to quit smoking, with £70 million additional funding per year for local authority stop smoking services and support.

The aim of this additional funding is to ensure there is a nationwide comprehensive offer to help people stop smoking across England and to increase the number of smokers engaging with effective interventions to quit smoking.

This new funding is in addition to the Public Health Grant and will be provided through a new Section 31 Grant on top of the current Public Health Grant allocations. This funding is ringfenced for local authority led stop smoking services and support. The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) will provide the grant and the additional funding will be used to complement and enhance existing stop smoking services in Kent.

KCC received the full grant agreement in February 2024, detailing the relevant conditions and the full funding allocation for 2024/2025, £1,944,823.

The additional funding is anticipated to be provided over the next five financial years, starting from 2024-25 until 2028-29. The grant agreement covers the first year, with funding for subsequent years subject to spending review settlements, following the routine practice for all government expenditure. It will be important that KCC is able to demonstrate on an annual basis, that it is achieving good value for money and delivery of outcomes, while balancing the likelihood that any underspends in year may lead to future reductions in the grant allocation.

Local authorities will be required to maintain their existing spend on stop smoking services, based on the stop smoking service data they have submitted for the year 2022 to 2023. They should ensure they maintain this level of funding throughout the whole grant period.

The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has determined that the grant will be paid based on the understanding that the funding will be used to:

• Invest in enhancing local authority commissioned stop smoking services and support, in addition to and while maintaining existing spend on these services and support from the public health grant. This should not replace other/existing programmes which support smokers to quit, for example the tobacco dependency programme delivered within the NHS Long Term Plan
• Build capacity to deliver expanded local stop smoking services and support
• Build demand for local stop smoking services and support
• Deliver increases in the number of people setting a quit date and 4 week quit outcomes, reporting outcomes in the Stop Smoking Services Collection.

Reason for Decision

A Key Decision (Decision No: 24/00001) was taken in February 2024, which approved the Council entering into the agreement to secure the funding. A further key decision is required to approve the commissioning of enhanced stop smoking services and agree the framework for management of related grant funding.

The additional funding is a great opportunity for KCC to increase and enhance the stop smoking service offer for Kent residents and therefore improve outcomes (measured through 4 week quits). The funding will be used to build demand and capacity in stop smoking services and increase targeting.

It is proposed that commissioning activity is undertaken to enhance the stop smoking services and support available for residents of Kent. Work is underway to plan commissioning activity for 2024/2025 and future years. All planned activity is in line with the Grant Conditions and will aim to increase the number of people in Kent quitting smoking.

It is also proposed that a ‘Stop Smoking Service Framework’ will be used to determine spend of local stop smoking service grant funding and support decision making. Under this Framework all expenditure of Local Stop Smoking Services and Support Grant funding must be in line with budget forecasting and adhere to DHSC Local Stop Smoking Services and Support Grant terms and conditions. Proposals for spend must meet one of the following criteria:

1. Will support the council in enhancing commissioned stop smoking services and support. This should not replace other/existing programmes which support smokers to quit, for example the tobacco dependency programme delivered within the NHS Long Term Plan
2. Will support the council to build capacity to deliver expanded local stop smoking services and support
3. Will build demand for local stop smoking services and support
4. Will support the council to deliver increases in the number of people setting a quit date and four week quit outcomes.

An example of a project that would meet the criteria:

• Develop marketing materials and social media campaigns to increase awareness of local stop smoking services (this may involve engagement with people who smoke).

KCC will be required to work with the DHSC to provide the necessary information and data to monitor and evaluate progress.

Options (other options considered but discarded)

Reject the Stop Smoking Services and Support Grant – The option of turning down the additional stop smoking services funding was discarded as there are many people in Kent who will benefit from this resource, and it is a great opportunity for KCC to increase and enhance the stop smoking service offer for Kent residents and therefore improve outcomes.

Distributing funding on an individual basis with some via Key Decision and some managed operationally – The option for handling all funding activity on an individual basis, with certain projects managed at operational level and others progressing via the Key Decision process as and when required was considered. That option would not enable the council to respond quickly and flexibly to changing demand and need or provide a clear strategic plan for delivering against the Local Stop Smoking and Support Grant requirements.

How the proposed decision meets the priorities of New Models of Care and Support as set out in ‘‘Framing Kent’s Future – Our Council Strategy 2022 – 2026’’

Stop smoking services supports KCC to achieve the following priorities set out in the Councils Strategy 2022-2026 ‘Framing Kent’s Future’:

Priority 1: Levelling up Kent

• To see significant improvements in the economy, connectivity, educational attainment, skills and employment rates and public health outcomes in deprived communities in coastal areas so that they improve faster than the rest of Kent to reduce the gaps

• To work with our partners to hardwire a preventative approach into improving the health of Kent’s population and narrowing health inequalities.

How the proposed decision supports Securing Kent’s Future

Stop smoking services supports KCC to achieve the priorities set out in Securing Kent Future, by preventing people from getting long term health conditions linked to smoking, which increase’s demand and costs in Health and Social Care.

Financial Implications

The table below shows the confirmed maximum amount of funding allocation for Kent.

Table 1: Kent Funding Allocation 2024/2025

The grant allocation will initially apply for the first year of the grant (the financial year 2024 to 2025).

The additional funding is anticipated to be provided over the next five financial years, until 2028-2029.

The government cannot provide specific allocations for 2025 to 2026 and beyond at this stage. Funding for subsequent years will be subject to spending review settlements, following the routine practice for all government expenditure. Authority has been delegated via the previous decision, for Officer agreement to accept any future funding allocations providing it is on similar terms.

Important to highlight that this funding is in addition to the Public Health Grant and therefore the Stop Smoking activity and spend for this programme does not create any additional pressure on KCC’s base budget.

Proposed decision

That the Cabinet Member for Education and Skills, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Integrated Children’s Services, approve the  extension of the existing Service Level Agreements for Specialist Nursery Intervention for one year from 1 September 2024 to 31 August 2025.

Reason for the decision

This decision brings forward an element of the Early Years Review, presented to CYPE Cabinet Committee in January 2024, specifically the decision to extend the existing Specialist Nursery Intervention Service Level Agreements for one year.

A proposal to implement a refreshed model of Specialist Nursery Intervention (SNI) is currently out for consultation as part of the Early Years Education in Kent public consultation. The consultation will close on 5 May 2024 and the findings, along with recommendations for a refreshed model of support for early years education in Kent will be presented to Children, Young People and Education Cabinet Committee in July 2024.

The current Specialist Nursery Intervention Service Level Agreements (SLA) expire 31 August 2024. An extension of the existing SLAs for one academic year (from 1 September 2024 to 31 August 2025) is required toensure continuity of support and minimise disruption to children, their families and the settings that support them while any potential change to the model, determined by the outcomes of theagreed following the public consultation, can be implemented for 1 September 2025.

The decision is being brought forward to ensure that special schools currently providing the service have sufficient time to consider and agree the extension.

Background

The Specialist Nursery Intervention focuses on the identification and assessment of young children, aged five years and below, with Special Education Needs and Disabilities (SEND).  The current specialist nursery intervention service is commissioned from 11 special schools across the county through a Service Level Agreement (SLA) that expires 31 August 2024.

Children can access the service through four different pathways. The predominant pathway will see children attending the specialist nursery setting on average for nine hours a week for two terms, whilst also attending their existing mainstream setting. This equates to three, three-hour sessions a week (or average nine hours in total per week). This can be extended if required.  There are three intakes a year. If children are referred and accepted, they will typically have to wait until the start of the next term to attend. 

The proposal outlined in the consultation is that the Specialist Nursery Intervention will continue to work with individual children but will provide support directly to children in their mainstream settings without the need for the child to attend a special school setting, as is (predominantly) the current model. This will support children to develop skills within their mainstream setting and build confidence within that setting to support them. Specialist nursery places will still be available for children to go to who need specialist support for a prolonged time, but the process for agreeing these placements will change and will be determined by a multi-agency team who work with and understand the needs of the child.

Options (other options considered but discarded)

Two further options were considered in relation to the proposal to extend the current SLAs for one academic year.

These were:

·   Do not extend the SLAs

·   Submit the proposal to extend the SLAs in July 2024 alongside the outcomes of the public consultation.

The option to not extend the SLAs was considered and ruled out for the following reasons:

·    negative impact on children and their families of ending the service. 

·   the need to have a service in place as an interim measure while a refreshed model is implemented, supporting continuity of support for children and their families.

·    ending the SLAs a year before a potential new model is implemented would result in loss of staff and the associated skills, knowledge and experience.

·   ending the SLAs would mean that if a refreshed model is agreed a new process would need to be undertaken to identify new providers, who would then need to recruit staff and mobilise the new service – creating a delay in implementation of any refreshed model.

The option to submit the proposal to extend the SLAs in July 2024 alongside the outcomes of the public consultation was considered and ruled out. The two primary reasons for this are:

• referrals for a new intake of children into the service for term one of 2024-2025 academic year begin end May 2024. Delaying the decision to extend the SLA until July would impede this process creating uncertainty for children, their families and the nurseries themselves.
• The governing bodies of schools holding the SLA will need sufficient time to consider and agree signing the extension. Headteachers of these schools have told us that the time between when a decision taken in July could be implemented and when the school term ends, does not leave enough time for this process to be completed. 

How the proposed decision supports the Framing Kent's Future - Our Council Strategy 2022-2026

The proposal to implement a refreshed model of Specialist Nursery Intervention will support Framing Kent’s Future Priorities 1 and 4 as outlined below:

• Priority 1: Levelling Up Kent and our commitment to maintain KCC’s strategic role in supporting schools in Kent to deliver accessible, high quality education provision for all families, specifically: maintain improvement support services for all Kent schools, including maintained schools and academies, to maintain Kent’s high-quality education system.
• Priority 4: New Models of Care and Support and our commitment to support the most vulnerable children and families in our county, ensuring our social work practice supports manageable caseloads, reflective learning, joined up safeguarding and effective corporate parenting arrangements, specifically by respond to national policy changes on SEND provision, work with SEND families to rapidly improve the service provided to SEND children and work with mainstream schools so more can accept and meet the needs of children with SEND, increasing choice and proximity of school places.

While both above priorities only reference schools directly, it is reasonable to extend the application of these principles to the earliest years of children’s education provided through early years settings and childminders.

These actions will support Securing Kent’s Future by:

·         Supporting Objective 1 in bringing the 2023-2024 budget back into balance through cost avoidance achieved by supporting more children in mainstream schools from the outset of their statutory education and avoiding the use of non-maintained independent special school placements. 

·         Further transforming the operating model of the Council (Objective 4) by making processes less time-consuming and bureaucratic we can free up our resource to focus on working directly with children and the providers that support them. A greater focus on understanding and demonstrating impact will enable more effective decision making about how and where to focus the use of resources.

Proposed decision

The Cabinet Member for Education and Skills to approve the adoption and implementation of the Locality Model for Special Educational Needs Inclusion in Kent

Reason for the decision

-      Adopting the Locality Model for Special Education Needs (SEN) Inclusion would be a step forwards in Kent County Council’s (KCC) commitment to delivering the priorities of the Countywide Approach to Inclusive Education (CATIE) Strategy. The CATIE Strategy is one of KCC’s responsibilities to implement the Designated Schools Grant management plan, as outlined in the Department for Education’s (DfE) Safety Valve Agreement with Kent.

-      Implementing the Locality Model will support increased inclusion in mainstream schools for children and young people with SEN. The Locality Model will be the framework that ensures KCC can deliver the most effective and appropriate High Needs Funding (HNF) allocations to local areas in Kent. The Locality Model will align with a new Kent SEN continuum being developed to span mainstream, specialist resource, and special school provisions, ensuring system-wide cohesion.

Background

-      In May 2023, at KCC’s Children Young People and Education (CYPE) Cabinet Committee, the CATIE was set out as KCC’s strategy for 2023-28. The CATIE established KCC’s collective ambitions for children, young people, and their families in Kent. Professionals working together in a collaborative, sustainable system to ensure equity of education, meaning children feel they belong, are respected, and valued as individuals, and are fully supported to achieve their best.    

-      The CATIE, signposted within the DfE’s Safety Valve Agreement with Kent, states it will “develop a school/area-led approach to […] SEN support services (Locality Based Resources), to better respond to the needs of children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND)”.

-      CATIE’s Priority Two aims to develop community working and implement structures that support children and young people with SEND in Kent to have their needs met within their own locality, wherever possible.

-      As part of KCC’s work towards delivering on CATIE priorities a Locality Model has been developed, with the aim of improving the outcomes for children and young people with SEND in Kent. This proposal went out to public consultation between November 2023 and January 2024.

Options (other options considered but discounted)

-     The process for developing the Locality Model was iterative and alternative options were considered within the development process, to ensure the direction proposed is the right one for Kent. The group involved in developing and defining our options consisted of KCC staff from education, finance, and SEN, alongside leaders of education from KCC mainstream primary and secondary schools (selective and non-selective), single and multi-Academy Trusts, special schools, and free schools.

-     Three main options were considered:

1)    to maintain the current system

2)    to implement a Tariff system

3)    to implement a Locality Model

-       Option one was discounted as an impracticable solution; it is not currently performing well in Kent, there iscurrent inconsistency in mainstream SEN inclusion and provision, along with a lack of effective monitoring systems and accountability. Ofsted have stated, poor standards are achieved, and progress made, by too many pupils with SEN under the current system.

-       Option two could have been viable but was discounted due to its identified limitations. A tariff system^[1] for mainstream would provide clear and transparent arrangements with a prescriptive allocation of resources but tends to be used in conjunction with individual funding allocations for children with EHCPs, rather than for wider operations and funding of SEN Support Services. The elements of inflexibility it would bring were also considered too restrictive for SEN support services, and unsupportive of innovative use of resources for mainstream if used on its own.

-       Option three was viewed as the best path for KCC to explore and define further with partners. Research finds that more consistent and effective support in mainstream schools lead to positive outcomes for children and young people. Local authorities who make substantial use of peer moderation and mainstream collaboration have found that doing so improves consistency and is a useful source of advice and support. The Locality Model is designed to improve the quality of the mainstream education offer in Kent, through early and accurate identification of need, high quality teaching of a knowledge-rich curriculum, and timely access to specialist health and care support, and via alternative provision placements where they are needed.

-     Proposals for the Locality Model were agreed following intensive collaboration with schools, settings, and other key stakeholders, and then put out to consultation with parent/carers, young people, all professional stakeholders, and all members of the public.

-  Following consultation, subsequent analysis of feedback, and defining KCC’s response to consultation feedback, the Locality Model will be   presented to the CYPE Cabinet Committee.

How the proposed decision supports Securing Kent’s Future andFraming Kent's Future - Our Council Strategy 2022-2026

-      The Locality Model directly aligns with KCC’s strategic vison for children, young people, and families, as set out in ‘Framing Kent’s Future’. Priority 1: Levelling up Kent explains that: ‘We will maintain improvement support services for all Kent schools, including maintained schools and academies, to maintain Kent’s high-quality education system’. The Locality Model will implement structures that will increase the inclusion of children and young people with SEN in mainstream schools, so they can be educated with, and are able to access the same opportunities to education as their peers wherever possible. The aim is children and young people with SEN in Kent receive early and timely support. That greater numbers of children and young people are able to have their needs met within mainstream settings, or should they need specialist provision, that wherever possible they can access this locally, close to where they live.

-      Under the Locality Model structure, available resources will be discussed by groups of schools and other SEN, education, or healthcare professionals in the local area, to determine where resource and HNF allocations would be best directed. The final decision to allocate HNF will remain with KCC, but by discussions occurring locally KCC aim to make better use of resources. This activity is expected to support KCC with its Safety Valve aims to achieve financial sustainability in the longer term. This would align with priorities set out in Securing Kent’s Future, the next step on from Framing Kent’s Future, agreed at Cabinet in October 2023.

Financial Implications

-      Kent currently spends approximately £45m on specific high needs allocations to schools per annum. Approximately 40% of this are for SEN support services for individual children and the remainder to children with an EHCP. This is funded from the High Needs Block of the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG), a specific ring-fenced education grant from the Department of Education. The council is one of a number of local authorities which are part of the DfE Safety Valve Programme to support those councils with the highest overspends on SEN services to achieve a financially sustainable longer term position. The Kent’s Safety Valve agreement with the DfE states:

“The authority agrees to implement the DSG^[2] management plan that it has set out. This includes action to:

3.1. Implement a countywide approach to ‘Inclusion Education’, to further build capacity in mainstream schools to support children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), thus increasing the proportion of children successfully supported in mainstream education and reducing dependence on specialist provision

3.7. Ensure there is sufficient and consistent capacity across the county to support children with severe and complex needs in their local area where possible

3.8. Develop a school/area-led approach to commissioning of SEN support services (Locality Based Resources), to better respond to the needs of children and young people with SEND”

(page 2 and 3  DfE DSG ‘Safety Valve’ Agreement: Kent)

-      Kent must implement a sustainable approach to HNF to meet the DfE Safety Valve agreement and to ensure financial sustainability in this area moving forwards; the Locality Model will build the robust governance and monitoring processes required to implement the necessary new approach.

Proposed decision:

The Cabinet Member for Education and Skills is asked to:

1. APPROVE the expansion of Northfleet Technology College from a PAN of 165 to a PAN of 189.

2. AGREE to allocate the funding from the CYPE Capital Budget that will be required to complete the project.

3. DELEGATE authority to the Director of Infrastructure to, in consultation with the Director of Education, enter into any necessary contracts or other legal agreements, as required to implement this decision; and

4. AGREE for the Director of Infrastructure to be the nominated Authority Representative within the relevant agreements, with authority to enter variations as envisaged under the contracts.

Reason for the decision

This proposal to expand Northfleet Technology College has been developed because the Kent Commissioning Plan 2024/28 indicates that there will be a shortfall in year 7 places in the Gravesham and Longfield Non-Selective planning group.

Northfleet Technology College, a member of the Northfleet Schools Co-Operative Trust, is a boys secondary school.  Following an inspection that took place in October 2022, Ofsted deems Northfleet Technology College to be a ‘GOOD’ school, in all areas.

Following initial discussions, Northfleet Technology College agreed to offer 189 places on a temporary basis in 2023. This agreement has been repeated for September 2024. This proposal seeks to make the expansion permanent and so the senior management and governors of Northfleet Technology College have agreed to consult on this proposal to permanently expand the school and enlarge the secondary provision within the school by the addition of 25 places per school year.

If no further action is taken in the longer term, Kent County Council will find it extremely difficult to provide sufficient secondary school places in the Gravesham and Longfield Non-Selective planning group.

Background

Gravesham Borough’s population is increasing with more families moving into the area and as a result, Kent County Council needs to add additional secondary school places to manage the increase in demand. One strategy for providing additional school places is to expand existing successful and popular schools.

The Northfleet Technology College does not have sufficient accommodation to offer the requisite additional places, so as a temporary measure, four mobile teaching rooms will be placed on the site.  This will be a revenue expense.

KCC will design and construct a new standalone block to be ready for the September 2026 intake.  This will need to be funded from the CYPE Capital Budget.

Securing Kent’s Future

The 'Securing Kent's Future' strategy outlines the measures that KCC intend to take to ensure that Kent remains financially stable, now and long into the future.  It describes the statutory priorities, one of which being the statutory duty to ensure sufficient school places are available to any child or young person who requires one.  This duty applies to Special Educational Needs (SEN) provision, as well as mainstream settings.

This proposal is necessary for KCC to continue to deliver the statutory duty, in a cost-effective way, in line with the guidelines described in the Securing Kent's Future strategy. It will help to maintain KCC’s strategic role in supporting schools in Kent to deliver accessible, high quality education provision for all families.

The County Council’s Commissioning Plan for Education Provision in Kent 2024-28 is a five-year rolling plan which is updated annually.  It sets out KCC’s future plans as Strategic Commissioner of Education Provision across all types and phases of education in Kent. A copy of the latest plan can be viewed from this link:

https://www.kent.gov.uk/education-and-children/schools/education-provision/education-provision-plan

Financial Implications

Capital

Progression of the scheme will be dependent on the outcome of detailed feasibility and design work – these will inform the full overall cost of the project.

The cost of the new standalone block will be borne by the CYPE Capital Budget.  Currently the estimated cost for the whole scheme is £8.3m.  This sum has been included within the Basic Need Capital Programme that was recently agreed by Council. KCC Project Managers will be undertaking continuous checks to keep build costs as close as possible to this estimate.

Northfleet Technology College is a Public Finance Initiative (PFI) school. The PFI Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) have been on board from the start of the project and a change notice is in place for the Deed of Variation (DoV). The works will result in part of the land being removed from the PFI red line. Forecast legal costs for the DoV will be included within the total project cost for the main capital works.

An allowance of up to £2,500 may be payable to the school, to outfit each new teaching room with appropriate ICT equipment, such as touch screens or projection equipment.  This will be met from the overall Capital allocation for this project.

Should the scheme not proceed through to completion, any costs incurred at the time of cessation would become abortive costs and are likely to be recharged to Revenue. This would be reported through the regular financial monitoring reports to Cabinet.

Revenue

The initial phase involves the installation of four mobile teaching rooms at a cost of £311,168.  This will be a Revenue expense, funded from the Mobiles and Temporary Accommodation Budget included within the Education Revenue Budget.

As the scheme progresses, £6,000 per newly created learning space, would be provided towards the cost of furniture and equipment, such as tables, desks, chairs, cabinets and learning resources.

The school would also receive funding for the additional pupils that it admits in line with the funding allocated to schools through KCC’s Schools Funding Formula.

Both the £6,000 per classroom, and the additional pupil funding will be met from the Growth Funding provision held within the dedicated school's grant.

Human

The school will appoint additional staff as required; utilising revenue funding allocated through the Schools Funding Formula for these additional pupils.

Proposed decision:

The Cabinet Member for Education and Skills to:

1. APPROVE the expansion of Leigh Academy by 2FE,

2. AGREE to allocate £425,000, subject to a binding funding agreement, from the CYPE Capital Budget to the Leigh Academy Trust (LAT), to:
   1. enable design work for the essential internal and external works
   2. enable LAT to undertake essential internal modification works, during 2024.

3. AGREE to allocate £975,000 from the CYPE Capital Budget, to enable KCC to undertake feasibility checks, design, plan, cost and tender for the project to construct a new standalone block, from June 2024

4. DELEGATE authority to the Director of Infrastructure to, in consultation with the Director of Education, enter into any necessary contracts or other legal agreements, as required to implement this decision; and

5. AGREE for the Director of Infrastructure to be the nominated Authority Representative within the relevant agreements, with authority to enter variations as envisaged under the contracts.

Reason for the decision

This proposal to expand Leigh Academy has been developed because the Kent Commissioning Plan 2024/28 indicates that there will be a shortfall in year 7 places in the Dartford and Swanley non-selective planning group.

To support KCC to mitigate against this shortfall, Leigh Academy agreed to increase its PAN from 240 to offer 270 places for September 2023, September 2024 and September 2025.

Following further discussions, Leigh Academy agreed to offer 300 places from 2026, subject to a physical expansion. This proposal seeks to facilitate the expansion by building a standalone block, and to enable various internal and external works.  The Trust, senior leadership team and governors of Leigh Academy agreed to consult on this proposal to permanently expand the school and enlarge the secondary provision within the school by the addition of 60 places per school year.

Leigh Academy, part of the Leigh Academy Trust (LAT), is a co-ed secondary school.  Following an inspection that took place in April 2023, Ofsted deems Leigh Academy to be a ‘GOOD’ school.

A decision is required now to allow internal modifications to Leigh existing building to be undertaken, which will allow the school to continue to admit an increased cohort from September 2024 and to begin work on external areas of the site.  The funding will also allow KCC to enter into a contract to undertake the requisite feasibility studies and design work for the main scheme to produce a new standalone block on site.  A separate decision will be taken by the Cabinet Member in due course to agree the overall funding of the scheme.  The estimated costs are explained below.

If no further action is taken in the longer term, Kent County Council will find it extremely difficult to provide sufficient secondary school places in the Dartford and Swanley non-selective planning group.

Background

Dartford Borough’s population is increasing with more families moving into the area and as a result, Kent County Council needs to add additional secondary school places to manage the increase in demand. One strategy for providing additional school places is to expand existing successful and popular schools.

The 2FE expansion is to be facilitated by internal alterations to the existing main school building, along with construction of a new teaching block at the front of the site to provide the level of accommodation required in accordance with BB103.  The existing tennis courts will be relocated to facilitate the construction of the new standalone block.  These internal and external works will be undertaken by LAT and the funding for the works will be passported to LAT from the CYPE Capital Budget, subject to a binding funding agreement being signed.  KCC will directly deliver the standalone block and related Highways mitigations, should they be required.

In order to accommodate the ongoing 2FE expansion, Leigh Academy have committed to an increased PAN in September 2024 (in line with September 2023), however this increased PAN requires an initial phase of internal alteration works to be undertaken to facilitate an increase in pupil numbers.

Any works undertaken by the Academy are to be overseen by the appointed KCC Consultant team.

Securing Kent’s Future

The 'Securing Kent's Future' strategy outlines the measures that KCC intend to take to ensure that Kent remains financially stable, now and long into the future.  It describes the statutory priorities, one of which being the statutory duty to ensure sufficient school places are available to any child or young person who requires one.  This duty applies to Special Educational Needs (SEN) provision, as well as mainstream settings.

This proposal is necessary for KCC to continue to deliver the statutory duty, in a cost-effective way, in line with the guidelines described in the Securing Kent's Future strategy. It will help to maintain KCC’s strategic role in supporting schools in Kent to deliver accessible, high quality education provision for all families.

The County Council’s Commissioning Plan for Education Provision in Kent 2024-28 is a five-year rolling plan which is updated annually.  It sets out KCC’s future plans as Strategic Commissioner of Education Provision across all types and phases of education in Kent. A copy of the latest plan can be viewed from this link:

https://www.kent.gov.uk/education-and-children/schools/education-provision/education-provision-plan

Financial Implications

Capital

The total cost of the expansion is estimated to be £10.5m, including both KCC and LAT spend which is to be allocated from the CYPE Capital Budget.   This sum has been included within the Basic Need Capital Programme that was recently agreed by Council. KCC will investigate whether other funding sources can be accessed, such as Community Infrastructure Levy, once full costs are known.

An allowance of up to £2,500 may be payable to the school, to outfit each new teaching room with appropriate ICT equipment, such as touch screens or projection equipment.  This will be met from the overall Capital allocation for this project.

Should the scheme not proceed through to completion, any costs incurred at the time of cessation would become abortive costs and are likely to be recharged to Revenue. This would be reported through the regular financial monitoring reports to Cabinet.

Revenue

The school would also receive funding for the additional pupils that it admits in line with the funding allocated to schools through KCC’s Schools Funding Formula.

As the scheme progresses, £6,000 per newly created learning space, would be provided towards the cost of furniture and equipment, such as tables, desks, chairs, cabinets and learning resources.

Both of these revenue allocations will be met from the Growth Funding provision held within the dedicated school's grant.

Human

The school will appoint additional staff as required; utilising revenue funding allocated through the Schools Funding Formula for these additional pupils.

Proposed decision:

The Cabinet Member for Education and Skills is asked to determine the School Year dates for community and voluntary controlled schools, by the local authority (LA)

Further Information:

Schools are required by statute to provide schooling for 190 days. Teaching

staff are required by their terms and conditions to complete 195 days

including 5 development days.

Term dates and holidays, in England, are set:

•        for community and voluntary controlled schools, by the local authority (LA)

•        for foundation, voluntary aided schools, academies and free schools by the governing body.

The government’s policies to promote academies and free schools will mean that increasingly school governing bodies will be determining the school term dates for their schools.

The proposed calendar will be considered by Children’s, Young People and Education Cabinet Committee and following this the Cabinet Member for Education and Skills will take the final decision. Following the consultation and approval, the agreed school term dates calendar for 2025-8 will be published.

Setting school term dates has a relationship to one of the priorities in Delivering Vision and Priorities for Improvement 2018 – 2021.  The priority states KCC will ‘ensure that the maximum number of children and young people of statutory school age are enabled to attend education provision on a full-time basis.’

Proposed decision:

A) Retrospectively contract with the East Kent Hospitals Trust and the Kent Community Health Foundation Trust for 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024 for the provision of SEN Therapies

B) Contract with the East Kent Hospitals Trust and the Kent Community Health Foundation Trust for 1 April 2024 to 31 August 2025 for the provision of SEN Therapies

C) Agree to the review of the Kent and Medway Communication and Assistive Technology service and to incorporate into the wider recommissioning of SEN Therapies

D) Agree for the exploration of joint commissioning with the NHS for the wider provision of SEN Therapies to include in the re-procurement of NHS Community Services

E) Delegate authority to the Corporate Director of Children, Young People and Education, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Education and Skills and the Corporate Director of Finance, to take relevant actions, including but not limited to, entering into and finalising the terms of relevant contracts or other legal agreements, as necessary, to implement the decision

Reason for the decision

To continue with annual contracts, issued by NHS Providers, for the current Special Educational Needs (SEN) Therapy services. The future commissioning intentions are to align with the NHS Kent and Medway timeline to re-procure their Community Services, and specifically jointly commission an Integrated Therapy Contract for 1 September 2025.

The current annual contract values are £752,905 with East Kent Hospital University Foundation Trust (EKHUFT) and £1,526,586 with Kent Community Health Foundation Trust (KCHFT).

This requires agreeing a retrospective contract for the financial year 2023/2024 and a future contract for 17 months from1 April 2024 to 31 August 2025.

Decision is also sought to review and bring the Kent and Medway Communication and Assistive Technology service into the new jointly commissioned Integrated Therapy Contract, under the NHS Kent and Medway Community Services re-procurement. 

Background

The 2015 Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Code of Practice, sets out that Speech and Language Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy and Assistive Technology should be jointly commissioned.

KCC is working towards a jointly commissioned Integrated Therapy Service, which will include the Kent and Medway Communication and Assistive Technology Service (KMCAT), to maximise the use of finite resources from local authorities, schools, colleges and the NHS improving outcomes for 0–25-year-olds with SEND and their parents/carers.

The joint aim is to establish a new jointly commissioned service by September 2025, to fall in line with NHS Kent and Medway’s broader recommissioning of a unified Community Service Offer.

Significant transformational activity is underway with the NHS providers who are working in partnership with KCC and NHS Kent and Meway to develop new ways of working.   Implementing a more proactive and preventative tiered approach to the provision of therapy support, that will maximise use of finite resources and ensure a more coherent county-wide offer.

Securing Kent’s Future – Budget Recovery Strategy

KCC has agreed with the Providers that there will be no increase to the contract price for 2023/2024, however, the Providers have stated that this position will not be sustainable for 2024/2025, and therefore negotiations continue. 

The contract values for 2024/2025 will be agreed alongside Finance colleagues and the Director for Education.

The longer-term joint commissioning project will meet the ambitions of Framing Kent’s Future as follows:

Priority 4: New models of care and support demand for our social care services has out stripped funding year on year. Our commitment is to seize the opportunity of integrating our planning, commissioning and decision making in adult, children’s and public health services through being a partner in the Kent and Medway Integrated Care System at place and system level.

It meets the aims of Securing Kent’s Future by holding Best Value at the centre of all joint commissioning opportunities.

Financial Implications

These contracts are for the provision of Therapy staff and are only a proportion of the overall Therapy services purchased by the Council. A high-level reconciliation has been undertaken to be able to justify the level of spend in commensurate with the level of service provided, given that vacancies have been held to compensate for the lack of inflationary uplift. 

KCC has been in negotiation with the Providers for this year’s fee increase and have agreed in 2023/2024 there will be no fee increase, this has meant the providers have held frozen vacancies.

Both Providers have stated that continuing without a fee increase into the new financial year 2024/2025 will not be sustainable, and therefore negotiations continue. 

The current contract values are £725,905 for EKHUFT and £1,526,586 for KCHFT, contract values for 2024/2025 will be agreed alongside Finance colleagues and the Director for Education.

This contract is funded from the Dedicated Schools Grant: High Needs Block, an annual grant provided by the Department of Education.

Legal Implications  

The procurement strategy is to align existing Therapy services required by KCC, with the service commissioned by the NHS Kent and Medway and to jointly commission the service, with the NHS Kent and Medway as the Lead Commissioner and KCC as a Joint Commissioner. 

As a Joint Commissioner, it is expected that KCC will be a full partner of the contract with the provider(s) and will have the ability to participate in performance contract management and monitoring, with NHS Kent and Medway.  This will strengthen existing contract performance monitoring and management, given the scale and value of the proposed contract.

The Provider Selection Regime (PRS) came in to force on 1 January 2024. PSR is a set of rules for procuring health care services, by NHS England, Integrated Care Board, NHS Trusts, NHS Foundation Trusts and Local Authorities.

There are three Provider Selection processes:

For the 2023/2024 contract, the Public Contract Regulations (PCR) 2015 would have applied, however as PSR is now in force, this is the regulation that covers the provision of Therapy services, and it is therefore recommended that the route followed to sign these contracts is under Direct Award (C).

For any other meaningful commissioning using this Regime would require developing specifications, detailed outcome frameworks and key performance indicators, quality assurance mechanisms and contract management schedule.  This would also not allow for the necessary coproduction with Children, Young People, and their Families/Carers, as required by the SEND Code of Practice and our commitment to the SEND Co-production Charter.

Equalities implications

A full Equalities Impact Assessment (EqIA) will be completed as part of the Joint Commissioning Strategy, to help us to consider the potential impact of a proposal, and how to make things as fair as possible for anyone who is likely to be affected. The level of detail required for an EqIA depends on how complex the proposal is, and to what extent people are likely to be affected by it.  We believe this will have far reaching implications and therefore full EqIA will be required.

DPIA (if relevant)

A DPIA checklist will be completed in due course as part of the commissioning plan to ensure KCC and partners ability identify and minimise the data protection risks within this commissioned activity. As this is a major project which requires the processing of personal data, the DPIA Assessment will therefore:

• describe the nature, scope, context and purposes of the processing;
• assess necessity, proportionality and compliance measures;
• identify and assess risks to individuals; and
• identify any additional measures to mitigate those risks.

Proposed decision:

Subject to the outcome of public consultation to withdraw KCC subsidy for the support of the Gravesend to Tilbury Ferry service.  

Reason for the decision:

If taken, the decision will likely lead to the withdrawal of a service that has a high social value for users. 

Background:

There is a long history of a passenger boat service operating on the River Thames between Gravesend in Kent and Tilbury in Thurrock.  Since 2000, the service has operated with financial support from Kent County Council (KCC) and Thurrock Council.

The service operates 6 days per week offering a sailing every 30 minutes and over 100,000 passenger journeys are made on the ferry each year by users which include commuters from both Kent and Thurrock and school children attending schools in Gravesend.

The cost of running the service has increased due to fuel, staffing and other costs and this has increased the subsidy required to support the contract. At the same time, the pressure on Local Government finances has increased and the costs of supporting the ferry have become more difficult to sustain. 

In October 2023, Thurrock Council advised KCC that they could not afford an increase to the contract cost and may struggle to commit to funding for the service in the longer term. KCC have supported the continuation of the service in the immediate term and are currently meeting the cost of the subsidy in full, without a contribution from Thurrock.   However, KCC is not sure that we can cover all the costs in the longer term and the funding that we can make available would not be enough to support the service without Thurrock’s contribution.

This means there is a doubt about the future of the service beyond the current contract which expires at the end of March 2024. 

Options (other options considered but discarded):

To maintain subsidy but only at current (Kent only) levels.   

To have ceased the contract with immediate effect in light of the loss of funding from Thurrock.

To let contract expire in March 2024 without public consultation on impacts

How the proposed decision supports Framing Kent’s Future 2022-2026: (https://www.kent.gov.uk/about-the-council/strategies-and-policies/corporate-policies/our-council-strategy)

Under priority 2: Infrastructure for communities there is a stated commitment is to ensure residents have access to viable and attractive travel options that allow them to make safe, efficient and more sustainable journeys throughout Kent.

However due to the current financial pressures, in line with the budget recovery strategy; Securing Kent’s Future, the level of investment need to support the ferry service has to be proportionate to ensure other supported bus services can continue to operate.

How the proposed decision supports Securing Kent’s Future: Securing Kents Future - Budget Recovery Strategy.pdf

Under objective 2: Delivering savings from identified opportunity areas to set a sustainable 2024/25 budget and MTFP allcontracts that are expiring within the next 12 months are required to be reviewed to ensure they meet Best Value.

Under objective 3: Policy choices and scope of Council’s ambitions all discretionary spending is to be reviewed.

Proposed decision:

The Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance, Corporate and Traded Services to agree to the implementation of a new Independent Consultancy Services Framework to support the delivery of the Capital Works Programmes over a 6-year (4-year+1+1) contract period to include the following disciplines:

•              Lot 1 – Multi-discipline (client delegated duties)

•              Lot 2 – Project Manager (including client delegated Quantity Surveying duties)

•              Lot 3 – Supervisor

•              Lot 4 – Technical Advisor

•              Lot 5 – Construction Design and Management Advisor

Reason for the decision

The Kent County Council had previously appointed consultants on a project-by-project basis via the Property Services Consultancy Framework, to provide professional consultancy services to support construction projects. However, the Framework expired in June 2020 and procurement of such services has since been conducted on a project-by-project basis, tendered or direct award procurements in-line with Spending the Council’s Money Policy and Public Contract Regulations.

The current method of procuring consultancy services is time consuming and resource intensive and requires a more efficient approach. In addition, a new professional consultancy services framework that aligns to the new construction partnership framework (already in place) and proposed minor work construction partnership framework (subject to procurement).

Options

There are 3 options to consider for the ongoing procurement of consultancy services:

•              Insource of consultancy provision.

•              Continuing with current arrangement of tendering/direct award for each requirement

•              Establishing a new Construction Consultancy Framework.

Option 3, to establishing a new Construction Consultancy Framework is the preferred option, as this would provide a pre-qualified framework of consultants to efficiently support the projects procured via the new Construction and proposed Minor Works Partnership Frameworks on behalf of Kent County Council. It is likely that the Frameworks will work on a rotational basis so that all suppliers get equal allocation of works (performance and project dependant).  In addition to this the facility to undertake mini tenders will be included.

It is envisaged that the new Independent Construction Consultancy Services Frameworks will commence by October 2023.

How the proposed decision supports the Interim Strategic Plan

The proposed decision will support the objectives of Strategic Delivery Plan 2020 – 2023 by:

•              Supporting the delivery of the Council’s Infrastructure Capital Delivery Programme

•              Supporting the delivery of the Kent Commissioning Plan for Education Provision 2020-2024, including the Basic Need programme

•              Supporting the KCC Corporate Estate maintenance programme.

•              Supporting the KCC Education Estate maintenance programme.

Proposed Decision:

To award a 12 month extension to the contract for the provision of post mortem (PM) facilities to Dartford & Gravesham NHS Trust.

Background

The Coroners and Justice Act 2009 places a duty on Coroners to investigate deaths that are referred to them if they have reason to think that:

• The death was violent or unnatural;
• The cause of death is unknown; or
• The deceased died while in prison, police custody or another form of state detention eg where a Deprivation of Liberty Safeguard Order (DoLS) is in place

In some cases the Coroner will order a PM to establish the cause of death and in such cases the deceased is taken to one of 5 NHS mortuaries across Kent and Medway located at Margate, Ashford, Dartford, Tunbridge Wells and Gillingham.

On behalf of the Senior Coroners, KCC ensures there is adequate storage capacity for coroner’s bodies and that the oroners have access to PM facilities.  KCC does not have its own public mortuary facility, and so like many other coroner areas across England and Wales it has no choice but to use local NHS hospitals which have the necessary facilities for this purpose; there are no private sector providers of PM facilities anywhere in England and Wales.

The contract with Dartford & Gravesham NHS Trust expired on the 30^th September 2021 and it has been necessary to put a contract extension in place to secure this critical service until such time as the proposed Digital Autopsy facility at Aylesford opens for business, currently estimated for August/September 2022. The Trust is agreeable to extend the contract for 12 months as this will guarantee that all their fixed and variable costs are met, which is an understandable approach.  It has therefore been agreed that the contract will be extended from 1 October 2021 to 30 September 2022 and if need be, can be terminated early by KCC serving six months’ notice.

Proposed decision

Following a review of the 2016 Kent Minerals and Waste Local Plan, to approve and publish for public consultation (Regulation 18) proposed changes to the Kent Mineral and Waste Local Plan 2013-30 (the 2021 Review).

Background

The County Council has a statutory responsibility to plan for future minerals supply and waste management within Kent as set out in the National Planning Policy Framework 2021 (NPPF) and the National Planning Policy for Waste 2014 (NPPW). This responsibility is realised through the preparation of a Local Plan, in line with the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012 (The Regulations).

The Kent Minerals and Waste Local Plan 2013-30 (KMWLP) was adopted by Full Council in July 2016 and subject to an early partial review of a limited number of policies in 2020 represents the planning policy framework for minerals and waste development in Kent. The KMWLP contains a number of policies relating to strategic planning for minerals supply and waste management capacity, as well as Development Management policies against which planning applications for these types of development should be assessed. The Plan also includes a number of policies related to the safeguarding of mineral resources and waste management facilities. 

The Regulations require Local Planning Authorities to review their Local Plans every 5 years.  This is to ensure that the policies remain relevant, conform to national policy and guidance and satisfactorily address the needs of the local community. Policies must be both legally compliant and sound, and in order to be considered sound they should meet the tests of being positively prepared, justified, effective and compliant with national policy. The Plan was partially reviewed in 2020 in the KMWLP Early Partial Review 2020. 

In accordance with plan making requirements set out in the Regulations, the Council has undertaken a 5 year review of the 2016 adopted KMWLP and identified a number of policies as outdated or no longer meeting the tests of soundness. This assessment is set out in detail in the Review of the Kent Minerals & Waste Local Plan 2021. The identified changes needed to the 2016 Kent Mineral and Waste Local Plan form the basis for the next plan making cycle.

Revisions are proposed to the Local Plan to principally reflect changes in national policy and guidance since 2016. These include amongst others changes to the National Planning Policy Framework, government policy and guidance on the achievement of a circular economy and those concerned with climate change and protection and enhancement of the natural environment. Revised draft policy and supporting text has been prepared. To satisfy the requirements of the Plan Making Regulations, consultation is now required on the proposed revisions to the adopted Plan so as to inform and influence future local plan work and the version that the Council will ultimately submit for examination to the Planning Inspectorate.

How the proposed decision meets the objectives of ‘Setting the Course’: Kent County Council’s Interim Strategic Statement (December 2020)

The Kent Minerals and Waste Local Plan delivers the Council’s adopted Mineral and Waste planning strategy and policies and is important in the determination of planning applications in Kent. A local plan is in accordance with national planning policy and guidance and provides a local perspective.  It supports the County Council’s corporate policies contained within the Council’s Setting the Course – Kent County Council’s Interim Strategic Plan 2020, which sets the Council’s priorities until 2022.

Kent’s mineral and waste planning policies support and facilitate sustainable growth in Kent’s economy. In addition, they support the protection and creation of a high-quality environment, with accessible local services that reflect the needs of the community. The proposed revised policy will reflect recent changes to the environmental agenda including mitigation and adaptation to climate change and Kent’s Climate Change Statement and measures to support covid recovery.

Proposed decision –

Contracts to be awarded to successful providers for the provision of Community Support Services (Care and Support in the Home) for Disabled Children and Young People following a recent procurement exercise linked to the Adults Care and Support in the Home contract.

Delegate decisions on the implementation to the Corporate Director of Children, Young People and Education, or other Officer, in consultation with the Corporate Director of Adult Social Care and Health as appropriate.

Further information –

Decision 20/00102 - Community Support Services for Disabled Children & Young People was taken on 19 March 2020 and allowed officers to follow a competitive procurement process for children’s community support services within the Adults ‘Care and Support in the Home’ contract. 

Following the competitive procurement process a further decision is required to award the contracts to the successful providers. 

Proposed Decision

To award 12 month extensions to the contracts for the provision of post mortem (PM) facilities to East Kent Hospitals NHS Trust and Medway NHS Trust.

Further Information

The Coroners and Justice Act 2009 places a duty on Coroners to investigate deaths that are referred to them if they have reason to think that:

• The death was violent or unnatural;
• The cause of death is unknown; or
• The deceased died while in prison, police custody or another form of state detention eg where a Deprivation of Liberty Safeguard Order (DoLS) is in place

In some cases the Coroner will order a PM to establish the cause of death and in such cases the deceased is taken to one of 5 NHS mortuaries across Kent and Medway located at Margate, Ashford, Dartford, Tunbridge Wells and Gillingham.

On behalf of the Senior Coroner, KCC ensures there is adequate storage capacity for Coroner’s bodies and that the Coroner has access to PM facilities.  KCC does not have its own public mortuary facility and so like many other coroner areas across England and Wales it has no choice but to use local NHS hospitals which have the necessary facilities for this purpose; there are  no private sector providers of PM facilities anywhere in England and Wales.

The contracts with these two NHS Trusts expire on the 30^th September 2021 and it is necessary to put in place contract extensions to secure this critical service until such time as the proposed Digital Autopsy facility at Aylesford opens for business, currently estimated for July 2022. Discussions have been held with each of the Trusts and whilst they are happy to extend the contracts they have insisted this must be for 12 months to guarantee that all their fixed and variable costs are met, which is an understandable approach.  It has therefore been agreed that the contracts will be extended from 1 October 2021 to 30 September 2022 and if need be, can be terminated early by KCC serving six months notice.  

Financial Implications

The contract with East Kent NHS Trust is a fixed fee regardless of activity levels and is paid in 12 equal installments.  At the point where the DA facility opens, all deceased that would normally have undergone an invasive PM will be scanned, so dependent on if and when notice is served to end the contract extension, KCC could potentially be liable for both DA scanning charges and the monthly charge for PM’s even though no PM’s will be taking place in the East Kent area.  To mitigate this scenario, the move over to DA will be phased with deaths in the East Kent area not being scanned until the contract extension comes to an end.  Based on 2020 activity levels the estimated cost of the East Kent contract extension is within the budgeted revenue cost for 2021-22.

The contract with Medway NHS Trust is based on a cost per PM, so if there are no PM’s, there are no costs to KCC.  This means that at the point where the DA facility opens, KCC will only have to meet the scan charge.    Based on 2020 activity levels the estimated costs of the Medway contract extension is within the budgeted revenue cost for 2021-22. 

Proposed Decision:

a)            Approve a programme of works to deliver a range of projects to ‘clean up’ Kent and to improve the public realm  across Kent

b)            Approve the proposed funding allocations and project development arrangements required to support and deliver the programme; and

c)            Delegate authority to the Corporate Director for Growth Environment and Transport to take relevant actions, including but not limited to, entering into relevant contracts, legal arrangements or other arrangements, as necessary to implement this decision.

Background:

Kent’s Future, Our Priority’ will become Kent County Council’s new 5 Year Plan, to replace the previous strategic statement ‘Increasing Opportunities, Improving Outcomes (2015-2020)’. The Plan is structured around seven outcomes which reflect the key things that residents and businesses said were essential to a good quality of life in Kent. One of the seven outcomes is,  ‘A cleaner and greener Kent.’  

A key message from the recent public consultation was that residents care about the places they live in, they are proud of where they live, and want to protect these places by looking after the quality, maintenance and cleanliness of our physical environment, especially town centres, local streets, beaches, public rights of way and green spaces.

Options:

It was also clear from the public consultation that residents wantedthe County to be clear how it will deliver the plan. This detail is contained within the 5-Year Plan objectives including working with partners to improve the quality of Kent’s public realm.  It is intended that a range of physical improvements will be developed, in conjunction with local stakeholders to reflect different priorities  but will be targeted at cleaning up and improving the quality and appearance of the public realm.

Proposed Decision:

·         Kent County Council be the administration and funding decision authority for the £5.3m allocation from SELEP’s Growing Places Fund;

·         KCC draws down capital funds of £5.3m from the Growing Places Fund;

·         KCC makes available loan finance of up to £5.3m from the Growing Places Fund to support works at Discovery Park to build a spine road and associated infrastructure to enable the building of 500 new residential homes;

·         Authority be delegated to the Director of Economic Development to take appropriate actions, including but not limited to, entering into legal agreements as necessary to implement this decision.

Provided that:

1.    Kent County Council is able to agree a satisfactory loan agreement from Essex County Council as the accountable body for SELEP’s Growing Places Fund; and

2.    The receipt of a satisfactory application for loan finance for the works at Discovery Park subject to the rules of the Growing places Fund and the findings of an independent financial appraisal.

Background:

KCC shall invite applications for loan finance of up to £5.3m for infrastructure at Discovery Park. This £5.3m will be obtained from the Growing Places Fund (GPF), which is administered by the South East Local Enterprise Partnership (SELEP). Applications will then be appraised and considered through the same process as that which is currently used to determine applications for loans from the Kent and Medway Business Fund (KMBF). This means that any application will be required to submit a full business plan, be subject to independent appraisal and be considered by the KMBF Investment Advisory board before a decision is made by KCC. The owners of the Discovery Park site are aware of this proposed process and we anticipate that an application will be forthcoming when the process is launched. In parallel with this process, KCC shall seek to enter into a loan agreement with Essex County Council (the Accountable Body for GPF). These terms have been discussed with Essex County Council and have received an in-principle agreement. However, they will need to be formalised when an agreement to lend to a borrower have been reached.  

Options (it is a legal requirement (2012 Executive Arrangements regulations) to outline other options considered)

The alternative would be for Kent County Council not to act as an agent for SELEP for the £5.3m Growing Places Fund loan. There is no evidence that this would be a more effective way of achieving the outcome of securing investment in Discovery Park, and there is a risk if the funding allocation is returned to SELEP that it is no longer ring-fenced for investment in Discovery Park or the wider Kent area.

Approval to the Director of Infrastructure to progress with and enter into the necessary documentation to complete the disposal of the aforementioned property in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Corporate and Democratic Services. The Decision will seek legal agreements to be actioned to complete the sale of the relevant properties.