10 Expansion of Longspee Special School at the Bournemouth Learning Centre
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The purpose of the Report is to provide an
update on Capital project.
Additional documents:
Minutes:
The Chair introduced the item and welcomed the
Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Board who had been invited to
attend for this item. The Education
Consultant presented a report, a copy of which had been circulated
to each Member and a copy of which appears as Appendix 'B' to these
Minutes in the Minute Book.
The Committee discussed the
Report, and comments were made, including:
- The
Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Board advised of the reason
why this Report was coming to Committee and expressed concern that
the Cabinet report of 14 April 2021 had not been appended to the
Report, which meant that adequate scrutiny into the substantial
increase in project costs could not be undertaken. He stressed that the scrutiny issue was not
surrounding the school or quality of work undertaken, which he felt
demonstrated impressive work and value for money, but the way the
project was launched with the initial budget and the subsequent
management of it, including the funding agreement between BCP and
the Ambitions Trust.
- The
Portfolio Holder acknowledged the concerns regarding the governance
of capital projects and apologised that the Cabinet report had not
been circulated to the Committee. She
also sought to reassure the Committee of the new governance process
which would monitor capital projects moving forward
- In
response to a query about the funding agreement, the Committee was
advised that it had not yet been signed as there were some issues
with the lease which meant it could only be signed on completion of
the works
- In
response to a query regarding renewable energy considerations, the
Committee was advised that a previous Report had provided details
of these and could be circulated again for information
(Action)
- The
Committee discussed possible ways forward and felt that it would be
beneficial to receive an update report at a future date including
the difference the project had made for the pupils and fuller
details of the overspend.
- Some
of the Committee advised that they had had an opportunity to visit
the site and were very impressed and the Corporate Director
welcomed visits from other Committee Members
(Action)
- The
Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Board felt it would be
beneficial for the Board to have a higher level of input and
monitoring of costs on Capital projects and felt that a report on
the completion of the project would be beneficial to help learning.
He also felt that the Board may wish to scrutinise the Cabinet
report from April 2021.
The Chair summarised the
discussions as follows:
- The
Committee to receive an update report in Autumn following
completion of project
- The
Overview & Scrutiny Board to consider whether it wants to
scrutinise the April Cabinet report at a future date.
RESOLVED that the
Committee note the Report and request an update Report once the
project is complete.