Agenda and draft minutes

In the absence of the Chair and Vice-chair, it was proposed by R Hope seconded by G Taylor and agreed

Decision

That C Sutton be elected Chair for the meeting.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 9 December 2024.

The minutes of the meeting held on 9 December 2024 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

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 either 1 question or 1 statement for each meeting.  You are welcome to attend the meeting in person or via MS Teams to read out your question and to receive the response.   If you submit a statement for the committee this will be circulated to all members of the committee in advance of the meeting as a supplement to the agenda and appended to the minutes for the formal record but will not be read out at the meeting. The first 8 questions and the first 8 statements received from members of the public or organisations for each meeting will be accepted on a first come first served basis in accordance with the deadline set out below.  Further information read Public Participation - Dorset Council

All submissions must be emailed in full to lindsey.watson@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk by 8.30am on 5 March 2025.

When submitting your question or statement please note that: 

• You can submit 1 question or 1 statement.
• a question may include a short pre-amble to set the context.
• It must be a single question and any sub-divided questions will not be permitted.
• Each question will consist of no more than 450 words, and you will be given up to 3 minutes to present your question.
• 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.

There were no questions or statements from members of the public or local organisations.

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 lindsey.watson@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk  by 8.30am on 5 March 2025.

Dorset Council Constitution – Procedure Rule 13

There were no questions from councillors.

To consider the Forward Plan.

The Forward Plan was noted.

To consider a report of the Strategic Commissioner Education.

The Shareholder Committee received a report of the Strategic Commissioner Education, which provided an overview of the position in relation to delivery by the Dorset Centre of Excellence (DCoE) against the commissioning agreement.

Councillors considered the issues arising from the report and during discussion, points were raised in the following areas:

·       Dorset Council officers continued to attend meetings of the Dorset Centre of Excellence Board as observers

·       The rental charge reflecting the lease had been confirmed by DCoE and would be covered in full from the 2025/26 budget

·       Comparisons of cost per placement with the independent sector had been undertaken and represented value for money

·       Work continued to develop the site to meet the growth trajectory required in the business plan. Funding issues were considered and it was noted that the capital programme in the 2025/26 budget approved by Full Council included funding for phase 3, although decisions related to this still needed to be taken

·       The business plan would set out the overall objectives for the wider school. Consideration would also be given to individual packages for specific children where required

·       Both children and the wider community were involved in tree planting

·       Children attending the school came from a wide geographical area across Dorset and work had been undertaken to support children in travelling to school. There was also early consideration of how the school could have a presence in another area of Dorset.

The report was NOTED.

To consider a report of the Chair of the Board.

The Chair of the Board introduced the report, which provided an update on the current situation at the Dorset Centre of Excellence (“the Company”) and the Coombe House School (“the School”). The report included progress made in relation to governance, leadership, staffing, estate, community use and finance.

Councillors considered the report and discussion was focused on the following areas:

·       Feedback received demonstrated the social value provided by the school

·       DCoE was currently reviewing options for delivery of swimming lessons after the provider who had been hiring the pool had chosen to withdraw, but were confident that an alternative could be secured

·       There had been close collaboration with other senior leaders in local education provision, including hosting a head teachers network day, and also networking wider outside of Dorset

·       DCoE would welcome the opportunity to contribute to the leisure strategy to be launched by Dorset Council.

The report was NOTED.

To consider any items of business which the Chair 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 item in view of the likely disclosure of exempt information within the meaning of paragraph x 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.  

There are no exempt items scheduled for this meeting.

There was no exempt business.