Agenda item

Item ED14038

(The RE Adviser had an interest in this item in respect of the retendering of her current post. SACRE members were in agreement with her remaining in the meeting during the relevant discussion to answer queries which were raised.)

SACRE Members considered a revised draft development plan for April 2014 - March 2015. This had been produced following a meeting of the SACRE Working Party which had been set up following the last SACRE meeting. The plan had been drawn up with due consideration to the statutory duties of SACRE, and had taken into account the reduction in the budget allocated to SACRE for the coming financial year. This would necessitate the number of RE Consultant days being reduced from 35 to 20 per year.

Nina Newell, The Head of Schools and Early Years Commissioning and Quality Assurance, introduced herself and her role as lead officer for SACRE. She had been in post since June 2013 and pointed out that prior to this time the Assistant Director for Education had looked at all contracts and some decisions had already been made.  Mrs Newell commented that the Council had to look very closely at what they had to deliver across all services and all commissioned services were being reviewed. As a public sector organisation the Council had to be transparent, and in order to fulfil the requirement of value for money, the post of RE Consultant would be recommissioned. In the past there had been competitive tendering but a new Dynamic Purchasing System was now being used. The current RE Adviser was aware of this and had completed the first stage of the process. Mrs Newell advised that they were not yet at the stage of the service specification, which would detail the skills and abilities required for the post.

Mrs Newell advised that the maximum budget available for SACRE for the next financial year was £7,000 which would mainly cover the cost of the RE Adviser.

Rachel Archer asked if the Authority would make a decision based on the cheapest bid and Mrs Newell confirmed that they would. She stressed however that there were a lot of quality checks at the outset and several stages to ensure that the service specification was met. In response to a query, the RE Adviser stressed the necessity  of employing someone with an RE background and cited the case of one local authority which had chosen the cheapest quote with adverse consequences, as the person appointed had no RE background or relevant experience. Mrs Newell said that she would ensure the specification would be robust enough to ensure that quality was maintained.

Rev Bristow asked about the timescale for the new process of appointing the RE Adviser. Mrs Newell explained that this could take place very quickly and she was confident that someone would be in post by the beginning of April 2014.

Mr Mahmood asked about the administrative cost of this exercise and if it was going to be carried out every year. He was particularly concerned about the lack of continuity in respect of work undertaken by the RE Adviser, if a different RE Adviser were appointed. Mrs Newell said that she did not know the specific cost but that this would not come out of the SACRE budget. Whilst consideration could be given to an appointment for a longer period, it was difficult to know what the future requirements would be, particularly having regard to the financial position.

Edlene Whitman asked how the budget of £7,000 had been calculated. Mrs Newell said that this figure had already been determined prior to her appointment but she had been assured that the statutory duties of SACRE had been taken into account. Rev Bristow was concerned that this figure had been agreed without any prior discussion with SACRE.  Mrs Newell was unable to comment on this but assured SACRE Members that any further reductions would be done with consultation. 

The Chairman commented that a 45% cut in the SACRE budget was a substantial reduction. Rev Varney did not feel that this was acceptable and considered there had not been proper dialogue and transparency. He did not understand how the figure of £7,000 had been determined and expressed the view that this amount should be reappraised. Mrs Newell said that she could not comment on what had happened prior to her appointment and the officer who had made the decision was no longer employed by the Council. She agreed to make enquiries with the finance officers to see if she could obtain any further information in this regard. (Action - NN)

Sue Polydorou noted that no costings had been included in the draft Development Plan submitted to them and asked if the number of days allocated to the RE Adviser equated to the £7,000 budget.  The Chairman confirmed that it did.

Mrs Newell went on to explain in detail the appointment process for the RE Adviser. The service specification would be written robustly and references would be taken up. Advice from NASACRE on the tasks of professional specialists would be taken into account. It was important to ensure that the right calibre of person was appointed.

Rev Varney asked how a reduction in the number of days worked by the RE Adviser would affect SACRE. The RE Adviser commented that she also worked for Croydon and Southwark SACREs. She was employed by Southwark SACRE for only 12 – 15 days a year and was unable have agenda planning meetings, to carry out school visits and there was no effective monitoring of RE. Rev Varney expressed concern that a reduction in the budget might mean that future SACRE meetings would not be properly structured and planned. Mrs Newell remarked that all council services had to be addressed in terms of budget reductions. She was unable to change the SACRE budget but would try to mitigate future effects and would attend future SACRE meetings. The Chairman commented that it was up to SACRE members to be as effective as possible.

Rev Bristow asked if the appointment process would happen earlier next year. Mrs Newell advised that the new system was supposed to go live at the beginning of January but this did not happen until the beginning of March. The service specification would be finalised as soon as possible and would be sent to the Chairman and Vice-Chairman for comment.

Resolved that the person specification for the RE Consultant be sent to the Chairman and Vice-Chairman for comment.