Present:-

Devon County Council

Councillors McInnes (Chairman), Marsh, Sanders and Sellis

Devon Association of Parish Councils

Councillor Dumpleton

Apologies

Councillors Clish-Green and Garton

*31 Election of Chairman and Vice-Chairman

Councillor McInnes and Sellis were duly elected Chairman and Vice-Chairman respectively for the ensuing year.

*32 Minutes

RESOLVED that the Minutes of the meeting held on 8 April 2010 be signed as a correct record.

*33 Federating Schools in Devon

The Committee noted that this item has been placed on the agenda at the request of Mr Dumpleton. Mrs Claire Wessen, Head Teacher of St Rumon's Church of England (VC) Infants School, Tavistock and Mr Tim Jones, Chair of the Tavistock Church Schools Federation Governing Body, spoke to the Committee about Federating between the two schools and about Federating Schools in general.

Mr Jones gave a brief outline of the situation in Devon where there were 12 school Federations in place and others planning to join. Next year 1 in 10 schools would be in a Federation in Devon. The drivers behind schools going into a Federation were budgetary advantages, access to quality leadership and the availability of a full range of curricular and extra-curricular activities for pupils. Schools in a Federation retain their individuality and budgets and while they don t necessarily have to have a single head they have to be governed by a single governing body. Mr Jones said that it was up to schools themselves to carry this forward. Governing bodies were the decision makers and a six week consultation period was a standard requirement. Foundation status gave schools increased opportunities for pupils, shared staffing, shared sporting facilities and involvement with school trips etc. Mrs Wesson gave her perspective on the key drivers for Federating and explained her role as a leadership coach to a leadership team of four whom she felt were being prepared as heads of the future. It was an interesting and challenging job and gave her the opportunity to work closely with parents who were very supportive. The Tavistock Church School Federation was reviewed in September 2009 after one year s operation and the agreed opinion was that there were no downsides.

Members asked questions and made statements in relation to the following:-

whether Federation of schools works between schools of very different sizes or in widely separated locations;

possible advantages for feeder primary schools Federating with their secondary school;

the good reasons for Federating between small rural primary schools;

the forthcoming Holsworthy event where schools could talk through the issues arising from Federation;

Federating schools network and open days;

Federation between church schools and non-church schools;

Did Federation have any effect on staff sickness levels and were there any savings on administrative staff?

The Chairman thanked Mr Jones and Mrs Wesson for their presentation and willingness to answer questions.

*34 Feedback/Representations

(a) Consultation on Maternity Services

Councillor Sellis reported on the NHS Devon Roadshow which was taken to Honiton, Okehampton and Tiverton where the public were invited to listen to the changes and have their questions answered. The Okehampton meeting was mainly attended by mothers with children and the meetings in general were well attended and very interesting.

(b) Older People and Mental Health Task Group

Councillor Sanders handed round a copy of Older People Mental Health Services, the work of the Task Group appointed by the Health and Adults Services Scrutiny Committee. He directed Members attention to the conclusions at the conclusion of the document, especially the recommendation for early diagnosis of dementia by GPs.

(c) Winter Maintenance Task Group

Councillor McInnes referred to the report by the Task Group on Winter Maintenance which had 35 recommendations. The overall conclusion was that Devon did very well in the recent very severe winter conditions. He touched on the tonnage of salt used, communications between County, District, Town and Parish Councils, emergency plans, the published map of roads the County Council was committed to salting and an audit of all grit bins across the County. Cabinet accepted the report and asked officers to implement recommendations were possible.

*35 Tavistock Conservation Area Management Plan

The Committee noted that a Conservation Area Character Appraisal and Conservation Area Management Plan for Tavistock had been produced by West Devon Borough Council and partners providing a framework for actions which although primarily the responsibility of the Borough Council depended on the co-operation and enthusiasm of partners such as Devon County Council for their successful implementation.

Mr Bill Horner, Deputy Archaeologist, Tavistock Conservation Area Management Plan, made a brief presentation on how the Management Plan was produced and that it was the Borough Council s remit to adopt the Plan, not the County Council s.

Members asked questions and made statements in relation to

whether the Tavistock Town Council had in fact adopted the Plan as stated in the document;

the Town Council s concern regarding the reduction in car parking facilities proposed in the Plan;

the perceived DCC Big Brother attitude to historic buildings in the town;

the likely disposal of the Guildhall by the Police Authority;

the extension of the Conservation Area;

the poor condition of the Town as part of a World Heritage Site.

The Chairman thanked Mr Horner for his presentation.

*36 West Devon County Committee Locality Budget 2009/10 Outturn and Spend to Date for 2010/11

The Committee considered the report of the County Community Strategy Officer (CX/10/83 - text onlyCX/10/83). Mr Grainger, County Community Strategy Officer, drew Members attention to the Outturn for 2009/10, the savings made by processing payments by BACS and the further detail included in the chart in Appendix 2 showing spending decisions included at Members request.

It was MOVED by Councillor McInnes, SECONDED by Councillor Sellis and

RESOLVED

(a) that the position regarding the outturn for 2009/10 be noted;

(b) that the Committee confirms approval of new spending proposals;

(c) that the current budget position for 2010/11 be noted.

*37 Property Update

Mr Matthew Jones, Senior Asset Manager, attended and distributed a Corporate Asset list for the area (excluding schools or farmland) around the Committee for information and discussion. Mr Jones briefly explained the work of the Asset Management group and advised Members that a refreshed Corporate Asset Management Plan was approved by Cabinet at it s meeting on 14 July 2010. The County was looking to make better use of its portfolio and making savings of 1m by sharing costs with partner agencies and looking at synergies between front line services. He reminded Members that the Corporate Asset list was available on the DCC website and was updated quarterly.

Members asked questions about renegotiation of leases, the lease for the new library at Princetown and the current use of the Throwleigh Resource Centre.

*38 Member Development Steering Group

The Committee noted the minutes of the meeting held on 19 May 2010, placed on the agenda for information.

*39 Forward Plan

The Committee decided that the following items be considered for future meetings of this Committee:-

Vision for this Committee;

Implications of future budget cuts for the CYPS Directorate;

Presentation on Nursing Homes in the West Devon area such as Harewood House;

Impact of the new government policies on the health service;

Invite local GPs to send a representative to discuss new proposals giving GPs power over NHS budgets.

*40 Date of Next Meeting

The Committee noted that the next meeting on the DCC web calendar is due to be held on Friday 19 November 2010 at 2pm at Okehampton Town Council Offices, Okehampton.

*DENOTES DELEGATED MATTER WITH POWER TO ACT

The meeting started at 2.00pm and finished at 4.10pm

The Minutes of this Committee are published on the County Council's Website at:-