Issue - meetings

(Verbal update by Mr K Abbott, Director of Resources and Planning Group and Mr G Ward, Director - Capital Programme and Infrastructure)

(Overview of the Two New Services- and Infrastructure (Items B2 (a) and (b) were taken together)

Mr G Ward, Director Resources

(1)               Mr Ward gave a presentation using overheads, (attached as appendix 1 to these Minutes).  He highlighted the wide range of responsibilities covered by the 135 staff in his division, which included; Building Schools for the Future Group, School Meals, Health and Safety in the KCC Estates and the approval of Outdoor Education eg residential trips.  This activity was covered within a divisional Revenue Budget of £20.5m.  He went on the outline the activities of Capital Investment. Members noted that recent successes included Kent gaining the ISO 14001 Environment Award, and an increase in the take up of waste contracts, introducing recycling.

(2)               In response to a question by Mr Gates on the subject of food recycling, Mr Ward advised that under the current pilot contract for food recycling the schools food waste was taken away and composted.

(3)               In response to a comment by Mr Tolputt, Mr Ward said that he would follow up on the request he made at the last meeting for detailed information on the Academies, and would include information on those academies that KCC had representation on.  In replied to a question raised by Mr Pugh, he highlighted that the Academies were independent state schools. 

(4)               Mr Smith advised that a report would be submitted to a future meeting of the Learning and Development Policy Overview and Scrutiny Committee on standards in schools.

(5)               In response to a question raised by Mr Brazier, Mr Abbott advised that if an Academy started to fail there was no intervention that could be made by KCC.  One of the causes of concerns with the creation of the Young People's Learning Agency (YPLA), with the demise of the Learning Skills Council, was the responsibility for funding being moved to the YPLA, which was part of the new Bill passed last week and how this would operate was not clear at present.

(6)               Mr Cooke undertook to respond to Mr Pugh’s question on the process of admissions to Academies and  the implication for KCC if the Academies operated  an exclusion, of anything up to 10%, to the children in that area, outside the meeting.  

(7)               In response to how Home to School Transport was dealt with for Academies, Mr Ward advised that KCC was responsible for Home to Schools Transport.  The Academies had exactly the same entitlements as any other school.

(8)               The Chairman thanked Mr Smith for his invitation to join the Learning and Development POSC on a visit to an Academy before its next meeting in February 2010.

(9)               Mr Ward concluded his presentation with a film entitled ‘Did You Know?’ which included a host of facts highlighting how our world was changing.