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RESOLVED:
 

That Cabinet approves
the reprofiling of the total Capital Funding approved by Full
Council in February 2024 and reflected as a total of £189m
budget in the Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) for the
Council’s Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)
Capital Programme and the Alternative Provision (AP) Capital
Programme for 2024/25 to 2027/28.

 

That Cabinet agrees redirection of
resources totalling £5.3m from the approved SEND budget
allocation of £148.86m to the approved AP budget allocation
of £40.09m for 2024/25 to 2027/28, thereby providing
£143.6m for the SEND capital budget and £45.4m for the
AP capital budget for 2024/25-2027/28 overall. This enables
committed and planned SEND and AP programmes delivery within the
approved budgets.

 

That Cabinet approves
withdrawal of six planned projects from the SEND Capital Programme
which are not
affordable within the 2024/25-2027/28 budget allocation for SEND
capital.

 

That Cabinet agrees
to the acceptance of capital liabilities for the new 150 place
Special Free School awarded to the Council by the Secretary of
State for Education on 13 May 2024 to be funded and delivered by
the Department for Education by 2028/29, and addition of four new
20 place specialist Resourced Provisions in maintained mainstream
secondary schools and academies (‘Centres’) which are
affordable within the 2024/25-2027/28 budget allocation for SEND
capital.

 

That Cabinet approves
the delegation of authority to allocate resources from the approved
SEND and AP Capital budgets required for individual projects to the
Cabinet Member for Children, Families and Lifelong Learning,
following Capital Property Panel’s (CPP) financial scrutiny
and endorsement. This is in line with Full Council approved amended
Financial Regulations from March 2023.

 

That Cabinet
delegates authority to the Section 151 officer, in consultation
with the Director of Land and Property, to finalise and approve the
terms of all associated legal contracts and agreements to
facilitate the recommendations in this paper and approves
procurement of the supply chain for the delivery of all associated
services required, in accordance with the Council’s
Procurement and Contract Standing Orders.

 
Reasons for
Decisions:
 

·        
Continued investment in the Council’s Special
Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Capital Programme and the
Alternative Provision (AP) Capital Programme 2024/25 to 2027/28
delivery tranches will generate a positive impact on outcomes for
Surrey resident children with complex additional needs and
disabilities, as well as improving the Council’s financial
sustainability.
This is
aligned with Surrey’s partnership Inclusion and Additional
Needs strategy, Safety Valve Agreement with the Department of
Education and local area post-inspection improvement
plans.
 

·        
The 33 remaining committed and planned SEND capital
projects and five AP capital projects that are proposed to progress
are business critical to ensure Surrey County Council (the Council)
discharges its statutory duties under Section 3 of the Local
Government Act 1999, Sections 13 and 14 of the Education Act 1996
and Part 27 Section 3 of the Children and Families Act
2014.
 

·        
The additional capital liabilities for the proposed
new special free school, four new mainstream secondary age
specialist Centres and confirmed cost increases against 15
committed and planned SEND capital projects and five AP capital
projects are affordable within the total Capital Funding approved
by Full Council in February 2024 and reflected as a total of the
£189m budget in the Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) for
the Council’s Special Educational Needs and Disabilities
(SEND) Capital Programme and the Alternative Provision (AP) Capital
Programme for 2024/25 to 2027/28.
 

·        
As all project budgets are above the current
threshold for £1m, Cabinet’s delegated authority is
required to enable the Cabinet Member for Children, Families and
Lifelong Learning to approve budgets and allocate resources from
the approved Capital budget allocations for the Special Educational
Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Capital Programme and the Alternative
Provision (AP) Capital Programme to individual projects following
Capital Programme Panel (CPP) scrutiny and endorsement of financial
business cases.
 
·        
To that end, agreement is sought for the proposed
change to scope and use of defined resources to enable project
progression against the Procurement Forward Plan, so that committed
and planned capital projects’ contracts can be awarded to
facilitate target delivery timescales between 2024/25 and
2027/28.
 
(The
decisions on this item can be called-in by the Children, Families,
Lifelong Learning & Culture Select Committee)