Agenda and minutes

Following the Cabinet re-shuffle and subsequent change in membership of the Shareholder Committee, a new Vice-Chairman is to be appointed by the Leader of the Council.

The Chairman advised that in his capacity of Leader of the Council, he had appointed Cllr Byron Quayle to be Vice-Chairman of the Shareholder Committee.

To confirm the minutes of the previous meeting.

The minutes of the meeting held on 13 March 2023 were confirmed as a correct record.

To disclose any pecuniary, other registrable or non-registrable interest as set out in the adopted Code of Conduct. In making their disclosure councillors are asked to state the agenda item, the nature of the interest and any action they propose to take as part of their declaration.

If required, further advice should be sought from the Monitoring Officer in advance of the meeting.

There were no declarations of interest.

Representatives of town or parish councils and members of the public who live, work, or represent an organisation within the Dorset Council area are welcome to submit up to two questions or two statements for each meeting.  Alternatively, you could submit one question and one statement for each meeting.  

All submissions must be emailed in full to chris.harrod@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk by 8.30am on Wednesday 31 May 2023.  

When submitting your question(s) and/or statement(s) please note that: 

• no more than three minutes will be allowed for any one question or statement to be asked/read  
• a question may include a short pre-amble to set the context and this will be included within the three-minute period 
• please note that sub divided questions count towards your total of two 
• when submitting a question please indicate who the question is for (e.g. the name of the committee or Portfolio Holder) 
• Include your name, address and contact details.  Only your name will be published but we may need your other details to contact you about your question or statement in advance of the meeting. 
• questions and statements received in line with the council’s rules for public participation will be published as a supplement to the agenda 
• all questions, statements and responses will be published in full within the minutes of the meeting.   

Dorset Council Constitution Procedure Rule 9 

No public participation requests had been received.

To receive questions submitted by councillors.  

Councillors can submit up to two valid questions at each meeting and sub divided questions count towards this total.   Questions and statements received will be published as a supplement to the agenda and all questions, statements and responses will be published in full within the minutes of the meeting. 

The submissions must be emailed in full to chris.harrod@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk  8.30am on Wednesday 31 May 2023

Dorset Council Constitution – Procedure Rule 13 

No councillor questions had been received.

To note the Terms of Reference for the Shareholder Committee.

The Terms of Reference were noted.

To consider the report.

The Corporate Director for Commissioning, Quality and Partnerships introduced the report which set out an updated position for the school since the previous update in March.

In the absence of any questions from Committee Members for the Corporate Director, the Chairman thanked her for the report and commended all involved for the work that had been undertaken by commissioners and the school.

Noted

To consider the report.

The Chairman of the Board for Dorset Centre of Excellence introduced the report, which set out the operational progress made and the successes of the school since the previous update in March 2023.

Officers responded to Members’ comments and requests for clarification, details included:

• There was huge promise for the leisure offering and many approaches were now being made to the school, particularly from two of the local swimming schools, both of whom were looking to commence using the swimming pool on-site from June onwards.
• The open day recruitment event that had recently been held was focussed towards recruiting a range of staff members across the board, which had proved to be very successful and had resulted in several teaching assistants, as well as teachers, being recruited. As this event had been successful, it would be repeated together with looking at additional marketing opportunities for recruitment.

The Chairman thanked the DCoE team for their comprehensive report which drew out the issues and set out the progress that had been made.

Noted

To consider the Forward Plan.

The Forward Plan was noted.

To consider any items of business which the Chairman has had prior notification and considers to be urgent pursuant to section 100B (4) (b) of the Local Government Act 1972. The reason for the urgency shall be recorded in the minutes.

There were no urgent items

To move the exclusion of the press and the public for the following items in view of the likely disclosure of exempt information within meaning of paragraph 3 of schedule 12 A to the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended)

The public and the press will be asked to leave the meeting whilst the item of business is considered.

It was proposed by Cllr B Quayle and seconded by Cllr L Beddow:

Decision

That the press and the public be excluded for the following 2 items in view of the likely disclosure of exempt information within the meaning of paragraph 3 of schedule 12 A to the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended).

To consider the Business Plan.

Please note: At time of publication the Business Plan is awaiting final approval by the Board of Directors and will be published as a supplement to this agenda as soon as practicable.

The Managing Director for Dorset Centre of Excellence introduced a report which set out the need to adopt the Business Plan that was appended. A brief slideshow was displayed to highlight the key themes to be included within the plan, which were as follows:

• Vision
• A Strong Investment
• Security from Uncertainly
• Recovery and Growth
• Prudence vs. Ambition
• Strength and Depth
• Core/Additional

The plan was designed to be quality-led and robust to ensure that Coombe House School was both stable and successful in terms of its offering to its pupils and assisting the Council in delivering its objectives.

Officers responded to Members’ comments and requests for clarification, detail included:

• Flexibility was a key part of the business plan as it would allow the school to grow and develop to meet its pupils needs, together with those commissioning needs of the Council as and when they evolved.
• The Board had been balanced in setting its required leadership structure within the school, which was designed to be efficient and fit for purpose.
• The Board remained committed to developing a training centre for teaching staff as the business grew.

RESOLVED

That the Shareholder Committee approves the proposed business plan and continues its support for the Company, particularly with regard to the priority of provision of pupil places for September 2024, and further approval is subject to further reassurance as set out below:

The business plan is based on a number of assumptions for other areas of delivery beyond the September 2024 pupil places, which as the plan states are finely balanced and need careful monitoring and mitigation. The business plan states that the Company intends to test and explore these in further detail to firm up the assumptions over time. The Shareholder Panel looks forward to receiving further the outcomes of this work, for its approval, including the master planning, survey information, cost and market information that is planned.