Agenda and minutes

The Democratic Services Officer drew attention to the emergency evacuation procedure.

Apologies for absence were received from the following Members of the Panel:

·  Councillor Sarah Bevan  (Councillor Nathan Hartley was her substitute)

·  Councillor Loraine Morgan-Brinkhurst (Councillor Jeremy Sparks was her substitute)

·  Mrs Tess Daly (Mr Peter Bradshaw was her substitute)

·  Mr Chris Batten (no substitute)

·  Mr Peter Mountstephen (no substitute)

·  Andrea Arlidge (no substitute)

The Panel also received an apology from Ashley Ayre (Director of Children’s Services).

At this point in the meeting declarations of interest are received from Members in any of the agenda items under consideration at the meeting. Members are asked to indicate:

(a) The agenda item number in which they have an interest to declare.

(b) The nature of their interest.

(c) Whether their interest is a disclosable pecuniary interest or an other interest,  (as defined in Part 2, A and B of the Code of Conduct and Rules for Registration of Interests)

Any Member who needs to clarify any matters relating to the declaration of interests is recommended to seek advice from the Council’s Monitoring Officer before the meeting to expedite dealing with the item during the meeting.

The Chairman informed the meeting that the Panel received two statements from members of the public in advance of the meeting.

Both statements are held in Democratic Services.

The Chairman advised the Panel that one of the statements, which was about the provision of the transport to Norton Hill School for some 6^th formers, is not relevant for the subject of this meeting.

This report sets out the call-in by 11 Councillors of a Cabinet decision relating to the decision for a phased withdrawal of subsidised home to school transport for new starters.  The role of the Panel is to consider the issues raised by the call-in and to determine its response.

The Chairman informed the Panel that the meeting will run in the following order (according to the Running Order circulated in the Council Chamber):

·  Statement from the Lead Call-In Member - Councillor Gabriel Batt

·  Questions from the Panel to the Lead Call-In Member

·  Statement from the Cabinet Member for Early Years, Children & Youth – Councillor Dine Romero

·  Questions from the Panel to Cabinet Member

·  Statements from Councillors Eleanor Jackson and John Bull

·  Comments and/or statements from anyone else who was in the room but didn’t register to speak

·  Closing statement from the Cabinet Member

·  Closing statement from the Lead Call-In Member

·  Members of the Panel to debate the matter

·  Panel’s decision.  The Panel may either:

o  Dismiss the Call-In – in which case the decision shall take effect immediately, OR

o  Uphold the Call-In and refer the decision back to the decision makers for reconsideration, setting out why it has decided that the decision should be reconsidered, or

o  Refer the matter to Council to itself undertake the role of the Panel (NB: the ultimate decision still remains with the original decision maker/s).

Statement from the Lead Call-In Member - Councillor Gabriel Batt

The Chairman invited Councillor Gabriel Batt, the Lead Call-In Member, to read his statement.

Councillor Batt read out the following statement:

‘Madam Chairman and Members of the Panel, I would like to declare that I am Foundation Governor of St Gregory’s Catholic College.  I believe that the decision taken by the Cabinet on 10^th April was fraud.  Your Panel was asked by then Cabinet Member for Early Years, Children and Youth, Councillor Nathan Hartley, to consider a review on home to school transport in order to make some financial reductions as part of the 2013/14 budget setting process.  You Panel recognised that doing nothing was not an option and that the school transport system needs to be more effective.  I would like to point to a bit of inefficiency related to the home to school transport that is happening in my Ward.  Two children, both from primary school age, attend two different schools and they are taken to their schools by two different taxis,  paid for by the Council.  Your Panel, in 2013, almost unanimously recommended to the Cabinet to accept the recommendation 3C (of the review).  This is where the denominational subsidy is kept but reduced.  The Panel also confirmed their recommendation at March 2013 meeting.  This recommendation was not being available to the Cabinet at their meeting in April 2013 and not at the Council’s website.  If the subsidy is removed it would cost the Council more.  For example, if the pupil from Peasedown St John who attends St Gregory's School and pays part of the transport cost is now attending Writhlington School then Council would have to pay for the whole of the transport cost. 

Your Panel asked for the cost neutral option to be investigated.  I think this was considered with ambiguity on what the cost neutral option means – was it  ...  view the full minutes text for item 101.