Agenda item

Any other items of business, which the Leader agrees to consider as a matter of urgency.

The Leader approved consideration of the following items as urgent business as the matters could not wait until the next scheduled meeting owing to revised timescales from the Department for Education.

Primary Schools at East Trowbridge and Tidworth NEQ - Preferred Bidders

Cllr Richard Gamble, Portfolio Holder for Schools, Skills and Youth presented a report which invited Cabinet to recommend two organisations as preferred bidders to run the following schools:

·      East Trowbridge – primary school with 210 places (with scope to expand to 420 places)

·      Tidworth NEQ – primary school with 315 places (with scope to expand to 420 places)

Cllr Gamble provided background on the location of the schools, the process undertaken to evaluate bidders and how the schools would be funded. The various options open to the Council were included in the report presented.

Resolved: (subject to consideration of further information under the following item):

a)        That following the evaluation process, Cabinet agrees to recommend to the Department for Education (DfE) of Wiltshire Council’s preferred bidders to run the new schools at East Trowbridge and at Tidworth NEQ.

b)        That following the agreement to recommend the two Academy providers, Cabinet also agrees to forward the paperwork from all 6 bidders (Trowbridge) and 6 bidders (Tidworth), as well as the Council’s evaluation of the bids to the DfE. 

c)        That Cabinet also recognises that the DfE will make the final decision on the successful bidders to run the new school and may overturn the Cabinet decision in favour of another academy provider.

Reason for decisions

Following guidance issued by the DfE, the LA undertook an Academy Provider competition for both schools from 2 March 2013 to 22 April 2013 to find their preferred bidder to recommend to the DfE.  The LA received 6 bids for each school and after holding a short-listing exercise, two bidders were invited to formal interview for each school.  After the interviews on 20 May 2013 (Trowbridge) and 24 May 2013 (Tidworth), the panels agreed to recommend to Cabinet that Provider A be invited to run the new school in Trowbridge and that the provider B be invited to run the new school in Tidworth.

Exclusion of Press and Public

Having complied with paragraphs 6(a) and 7 of the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings and Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2012 in respect of the intention to take the following item in private,

Resolved:

To agree that in accordance with Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 to exclude the public from the meeting for the following item of business because it is likely that if members of the public were present there would be disclosure to them of exempt information as defined in  paragraph 3 of Part I of Schedule 12A to the Act and the public interest in withholding the information outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information to the public.

Reason for taking item in private:

Paragraph 3 - information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information).

No representations had been received as to why the item should not be held in private.

Primary Schools at East Trowbridge and Tidworth NEQ - Preferred Bidders – Part II

Cllr Richard Gamble presented confidential information in relation to the evaluation of the bidders.

Resolved:

That following consideration of the information presented, Cabinet confirms its decisions as follows:

a)        That following the evaluation process Cabinet agrees to recommend to the Department for Education (DfE) of Wiltshire Council’s a preferred bidders to run the new schools at East Trowbridge and at Tidworth NEQ as detailed in the report presented.

b)        That following the agreement to recommend the two Academy providers, Cabinet also agrees to forward the paperwork from all 6 bidders (Trowbridge) and 6 bidders (Tidworth), as well as the Council’s evaluation of the bids to the DfE. 

c)        That Cabinet also recognises that the DfE will make the final decision on the successful bidders to run the new school and may overturn the Cabinet decision in favour of another academy provider.

d)        To approve the recommendation at paragraph (d) of the report presented.

Reason for decisions

Following guidance issued by the DfE, the LA undertook an Academy Provider competition for both schools from 2 March 2013 to 22 April 2013 to find their preferred bidder to recommend to the DfE.  The LA received 6 bids for each school and after holding a short-listing exercise, two bidders were invited to formal interview for each school.  After the interviews on 20 May 2013 (Trowbridge) and 24 May 2013 (Tidworth), the panels agreed to recommend to Cabinet that Provider A be invited to run the new school in Trowbridge and that the provider B be invited to run the new school in Tidworth.