BOROUGH OF POOLE

CABINET DECISION BY PORTFOLIO HOLDER

Name of Portfolio Holder:Councillor Sorton

Portfolio: Resources

Date of Decision: 3 December 2007

Democratic Services Officer present:Lee Baron

Decision Venue: Room 151, Civic Centre, Poole

Title: Capital Development of Canford Heath Children’s Centre in partnership with Bournemouth and Poole PCT

Decision(s) Taken:Approval to give consent for the Borough to take an Agreement for lease, lease and licence from the Bournemouth and Poole PCT for accommodation to form a new Children’s Centre at Canford Heath subject to the proposed Heads of Terms as detailed in Appendix 1 to the report.

N.B.The negotiations with the Bournemouth and Poole PCT have taken longer than expected and the contract price for the necessary construction works is only valid until 3 December 2007. The contract price will increase if the order for the works is not placed by this date and there is also a risk that the contract would need to be re-tendered which would further delay the construction start date by another 8-10 weeks. The Sure Start funding is allocated by the Department of Children, Schools and Families and is monitored by them with clear timescales for completion of any projects. As this project must be completed within those timescales the intention is to act on the decision immediately.

Status: Service Delivery

Key Decision: Yes

Published in Forward Plan: No

Reason for the Decision: To assign the lease.

Declaration of Interests: N/A

Report/Information considered: Report attached.

Discussions/Options/Alternatives: See report.

Budget Implications: See report.

Contact Officers: Vicky Wales, Karen Stratford and Kevin Judd

Present at decision making:

Councillor: Sorton

Officer:Lee Baron, Principal Democratic Support Officer

Public:None

Signed …………………………………………………………

Councillor Sorton

Dated: 3 December 2007

CONFIDENTIAL COPYRIGHT RESERVEDNOT FOR PUBLICATION

BOROUGH OF POOLE

REPORT TO COUNCILLOR SORTON, PORTFOLIO HOLDER FOR RESOURCES

3 December 2007

REPORT ON THE CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT OF CANFORD HEATH CHILDREN’S CENTRE IN PARTNERSHIP WITH BOURNEMOUTH & POOLE PCT

  1. PURPOSE

1.1 The purpose of this report is to provide an up-date on the development of Canford Heath Children’s Centre and seek Portfolio Holder approval, on behalf of Cabinet, on the lease arrangements between Bournemouth and Poole Primary Care Trust (PCT) and the Borough of Poole.

  1. DECISION REQUIRED

2.1That the Portfolio Holder give consent for the Borough to take an Agreement for lease, lease and licence from the Bournemouth and Poole PCT for accommodation to form a new Children’s Centre at Canford Heath subject to the attached proposed Heads of Terms (Appendix 1).

2.2The negotiations with the Bournemouth and Poole PCT have taken longer than expected and the contract price for the necessary construction works is only valid until 3 December 2007. The contract price will increase if the order for the works is not placed by this date and there is also a risk that the contract would need to be re-tendered which would further delay the construction start date by another 8-10 weeks. The Sure Start funding is allocated by the Department for Children, Schools and Families and is monitored by them with clear timescales for completion of any projects. As this project must be completed within those timescales the intention is to act on the decision immediately.

  1. BACKGROUND

3.1 The Children’s Act 2004 and the Childcare Act 2006 created the legislative framework for developing more effective and accessible services focused around the needs of children and their families. This legislation requires local authorities, National Health Service and Job Centre Plus to work together to improve the well being of children and their families through the delivery of integrated services.

3.2Children’s Centres are at the heart of the Government’s Every Child Matters: Change for Children Programme and the National Service Framework (NSF) for Children, Young People and Maternity Services. Both policies outline plans to improve outcomes for children and their families and to reduce inequalities narrowing the gaps between those who do well and those who do not.

3.3In Poole the delivery of an integrated service for children and young people is outlined in the Children and Young People’s (CYPP) Plan 2006-09. The Plan identifies priorities and plans to develop three localities each with two Children’s Centres.

  1. RATIONALE FOR DEVELOPING A CHILDREN’S CENTRE IN CANFORD HEATH

4.1 Canford Heath has around 320 children under 5 living in 270 families. The Centre will also serve a wider reach area of approximately 800 children 0 to 5 and their families. An analysis of need shows these children, in particular children living mainly to the north of Canford Heath Road, are at risk of poor outcomes. On Income Deprivation that affects children, Canford Heath falls within the 25% of Super Output Areas (SOA) that are the least deprived areas nationally.

4.2 Families living in deprived areas are less likely to access services. One

of the main barriers is the cost of transportation and the ability of families to access services. A further cause of poor access is the location of key services relative to people who need to access them. The 'Geographical Barriers’ sub-domain of the Census data uses four indicators: road distances to GP premises, to post offices, to shops, and to primary schools to assess geographical accessibility. Canford Heath has been identified as an area that is remote to key services.

4.3 The Revised CYPP shows that it also has:

  • One of the highest concentrations of children with additional needs in Poole.
  • Significant pockets of children with additional health needs.
  • A high proportion (almost 25%) of children referred to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services.
  • High concentrations of children whose safety maybe at risk.
  • A high number of children at risk of low attainment.
  • Experienced the largest increases in exclusions from schools.
  1. LOCATION

5.1 The Canford Heath Children’s Centre will share a building with the Canford Heath Health Clinic which is located near a GP surgery, a Church with a pre-school and a small shopping area which includes an Asda and several shops.

5.2 This is a prime location which is also close to schools making it easier for parents to access a wide range of services within a walking distance.

  1. BENEFITS OF A PARTNERSHIP WITH BOURNEMOUTH & POOLE PCT

6.1 Both the Public Health White Paper – Choosing Health and the NSF provide an opportunity to promote and deliver preventative strategies to improve the health of children and their families. Health services play a vital role in the earliest years of children’s lives. They are often the first point of contact with parents even before the birth of a child. They are therefore in a unique position to establish trusting relationships with families and to influence parenting practices and promote healthy lifestyles at a point where parents are open to change.

6.2 Children’s Centres will offer significant opportunities for improving children’s health and ensuring that families are able to access the information, support and services they need to help their children to thrive and achieve their full potential.

6.3 Developing a shared building will enable children and families to

access a wide range of services in one centre. The Children’s Centre will operate alongside and in cooperation with the Canford Heath Health Clinic.

  1. THE CHILDREN’S CENTRE

7.1 The Children Centre will accommodate 20 children under 5 and

adaptable facilities for up to 18 adults and 4 members of staff. It will offer basic services and signpost families to appropriate services in the area.

7.2 Families will have access to:

  • Information on childcare and early years provision
  • Information on access to a wide range of services
  • Information and advice to parents
  • Support for child minders
  • Drop in sessions for early years provision
  • Links to health services
  • Links to Job Centre Plus.
  1. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

8.1 The capital costs will be met exclusively from the General Sure Start Grant Phase 2 Capital funding.

8.2The Borough of Poole has received notification of the General Sure Start Grant revenue funding for 2008 to 2011.

  1. PROPERTY CONSIDERATIONS

9.1To facilitate the proposal for the new Children’s Centre it is necessary for the Borough to take an Agreement for lease from the Bournemouth and Poole PCT to construct the building. The new building will form an extension to the existing clinic premises.

9.2On completion of the construction the Borough will be given a 25 year lease of the new building at a peppercorn rent. The Borough will be responsible for all revenue costs relating to the space.

9.3The lease will contain a break clause so that the lease can be brought to an end on set dates by either side. This is to retain flexibility. However, this does provide some risk to the Borough but this is considered to be within acceptable parameters.

9.4In addition to the new extension the Borough will be using rooms within the existing clinic to supplement the accommodation. The Borough will take a 5 year licence from the Bournemouth and Poole PCT in this respect and will pay a licence fee of £5,000 per annum to cover all these occupation costs.

John Nash

Strategic Director

Vicky Wales

Head of Children and Young People’s Integrated Services

John Paton

Acting Head of Property Services

NAME AND TEL NO OF CONTACT OFFICERS

Vicky Wales – Tel 262251

Karen Stratford – Tel 261934

Kevin Judd – Tel 261295

Appendix 1

Proposed Heads of Terms

  1. The Bournemouth and Poole PCT will grant the Borough an Agreement for Lease on the land identified for the extension to the main building to form a new Children’s Centre.
  2. The Borough will construct the extension to the main building in accordance with the building specification included in the Agreement for Lease.
  3. Within 30 days of the completion of the construction of the new Children’s Centre the PCT will grant the Borough a 25 year lease at a peppercorn rent.
  4. To retain flexibility the lease to be subject to a break option on either side in years 10, 15 and 20 subject to 6 months notice.
  5. The Borough will be responsible for the payment of all outgoings relating to the premises including heating, lighting, maintenance, insurance and any rates specifically attributable to the use.
  6. The permitted use will be that of Children's Centre services including educational and parenting services and offices ancillary thereto.
  7. Assignment or subletting will be permitted subject to Landlords consent (not to be unreasonably withheld).
  8. Each side will be responsible for its own costs in connection with the preparation of the lease/Agreement for lease.

Shared Use of existing building to be subject to a separate Licence on the following terms:-

  1. The Bournemouth and Poole PCT will grant the Borough a 5 year licence to make use of the rooms within the existing clinic building subject to 6 months notice on either side.
  2. The Borough will pay a fee of £5,000 per annum to cover all costs of occupying the space including heating, lighting, building maintenance, insurance and electricity and rates.
  3. The Borough will have a right to make use of these rooms between the hours of 8am and 6pm Monday to Friday.
  4. The permitted use will be in connection with the adjoining Children’s Centre only.
  5. The licence will be personal to the Borough and will not be assignable or sublettable.
  6. Each side will be responsible for its own costs in connection with the preparation of the Licence.

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