1. THE ISSUE

1.1 The purpose of this report is to seek the Executive's agreement to the Statement of Priorities (SP) for submission to the Department for Education and Skills (DfES).

1.2 The Statement of Priorities 2002-2006 summarises the LEA's priorities for the use of capital funds available to the Authority and its schools which will deliver our educational objectives. The Statement requires annual revision and is assessed by the DfES as part of the Asset Management Plan appraisal process. The deadline for submission to the DfES is 19^th December 2003.

1.3 RECOMMENDATION

The Executive is recommended to;

1. Suggest any amendments it may wish to make to the Statement of Priorities and agree a draft version to be sent to the DfES by the December deadline.

2. Refer the document to Council for approval and final submission of the document to the DfES.

2. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

2.1 There are no financial implications arising directly from this report although a successful appraisal of the documents by the DfES is directly linked to capital funding allocations.

3. THE REPORT

3.1 In 2002 both the Asset Management Plan Local Policy Statement and Statement of Priorities were submitted to the DfES as required under the annual appraisal arrangements. The Statement of Priorities (SP) sets out strategic priorities for capital investment in schools while the Local Policy Statement (LPS) explains how the processes underpinning the SP such as consultation, assessment of buildings and prioritisation etc, work in practice.

3.2 Members will be pleased to note that both documents were appraised by the DfES to be satisfactory scoring 3 on the 0-4 assessment scale. The LEA's documents have also been cited as examples of good practice on the DfES Asset Management Plan web page. Those LEA's scoring 3 or more have also been granted an exemption in that they are not required to submit a Local Policy Statement this year.

3.3 The Statement of Priorities agreed last year established the LEA's capital investment strategy for 2002 -2006 and showed how it will deliver specific projects with explicit links to LEA plans such as the Education Development Plan, School Organisation Plan and also other Council and Government strategic objectives. It does not therefore require extensive revision but needs to be updated to reflect progress and recent local and national developments.

3.4 To assist members, listed below are some sections of the document which may be of particular interest.

Section 7 - Establishes the direct links with other LEA plans and major reviews

Para 7.7 and 10.3 - Refers to the potential impact of Building Schools for the Future

Paras 9.1 & 9.2 - Sets out the expectations of governors on use of devolved capital

Appendix A - Provides details of improvement targets previously established

4 OTHER POSSIBLE OPTIONS

4.1 The Executive can request amendments to the document prior to submission to the DfES.

5 CONSULTATION

5.1 The Asset Management Forum will be consulted and their comments will be reported to Members prior to final approval of the document by Council. The final document will placed on the Council Information Service under Useful Documents and schools' attention has been drawn to the most useful/relevant sections for them to consider.