Decision details

Background:

In the Growth Deal announcements in July 2014 (Round One), January 2015 (Round Two), and February 2017 (Round Three) the Government allocated £570 million from the Local Growth Fund to capital projects across the South East Local Enterprise Partnership (SELEP) area.

As the end of the Growth Deal (March 2021) approaches, a number of projects throughout the SELEP region have experienced difficulty with delivery. To date, £33.396m of funding has been returned to SELEP for reallocation to projects which have demonstrated they can be delivered by March 2021.  Through this process, an allocation has been made available for the Kent and Medway Medical School (KMMS).  This scheme is being delivered by external partners (The University of Kent and Canterbury Christchurch University).

KCC will transfer the LGF funding to the third parties for the delivery of the scheme. A Legal agreement has been prepared between KCC and the Universities which will transfer all the LGF spend and project management responsibility to them.  This includes updating Kent County Council monthly on project progress and spend; as well as completing the post scheme monitoring required by SELEP.

The KMMS will be delivered in line with the current governance arrangements under the Local Growth Fund (KCC and SELEP). Therefore, the scheme will carry out necessary consultation and equality impact assessments as part of the scheme progression.

The business case for the first phase of the Kent and Medway Medical School (£4m) was approved at SELEP Accountability Board on 15^th November 2019.  The second phase (a further £4m) does not require funding until 2020/21 and therefore will be considered by SELEP Accountability Board on 15^th May 2020.

Before the legal agreement can be finalised for KMMS, a key decision is required.  The LGF cannot be drawn down until the Key Decision is in place.

·         Options –

The options considered for the KMMS are set out in the business case document which can be accessed here:

Kent and Medway Medical School (pages 33-37)

https://www.southeastlep.com/app/uploads/2000/01/KMMS-Full-Business-Case.pdf

·         How the proposed decision meets the objectives of ‘Increasing Opportunities, Improving Outcomes: Kent County Council’s Strategic Statement (2015-2020)’

The scheme has a strong fit with all three objectives. The state-of-the-art Medical School will provide enhanced training and academic opportunities for young people and mature students in Kent.  In addition, it will attract and retain medical students into Kent to fill the GP gap which is currently prevalent within the County; giving all residents of Kent (and particularly older and vulnerable residents) a better opportunity to stay healthy and live independently.

As Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport, I approve the progression, via KCC’s Local Growth Fund arrangements, for the Kent and Medway Medical School (KMMS), allowing it to progress to the stages of development and delivery to enable the scheme funding to be spent by March 2020.

Specifically, tis comprises approval for:

-       KCC to act as the accountable body for the project

-       KCC to enter into a Local Growth Fund (LGF) funding agreement; and

-       KCC to enter into legal agreements with the relevant third parties delivering the schemes to transfer the conditions of the LGF spend and project management to them

I also agree to delegate authority to the Corporate Director of GET, in consultation with the Corporate Director of Finance and Procurement, to enter into relevant legal agreements and take other actions necessary to implement this decision.