Apologies were received from:

·         Councillor John Dehaney, substituted by Councillor Joan Henry

·         Councillor David Williams, substituted by Councillor Michael Bull

·         Councillor Imran Uddin, substituted by Councillor Agatha Akyigyina

·         Councillor Hamish Badenoch, substituted by Councillor Suzanne Grocott

·         Co-opted members Geoffrey Newman and Colin Powell.

Apologies were also received from Posey Furnish, Chair of Governors at Joseph Hood School and from the Education Funding Agency.

The Chair expressed regret that the Education Funding Agency, a key partner, had been unable to attend.

There were no declarations of pecuniary interest for the public part of the meeting.

The Chair announced that the meeting would have two parts – a public session (minuted here) and a private session (minuted in an exempt document).

The Chair invited Councillor James Holmes to explain why he had requested a call-in on this matter. Councillor Holmes said that although he recognised that there were no easy answers to finding an appropriate site, he had concerns over the small size of the proposed site and the implications this posed for delivery of a full curriculum including sports. He also had concerns for pupil safety because the proposed site is surrounded by busy roads.

Councillor Holmes questioned the grounds on which alternative sites had been rejected and said that the decision making process had not been as open as it should have been, particularly in terms of his own involvement as lead opposition councillor and consultation with parents and potential pupils. He stated that he had found some of the reports misleading.

The Chair drew members’ attention to the letter submitted by Posey Furnish, Chair of Governors at Joseph Hood School, set out on page 205 of the agenda. The Chair said that, in summary, the letter expressed surprise that the councillors who had called-in in this matter had not been in contact with the Headteacher or chair of governors, that the plan (to site the new school temporarily in the old Adult Education building in Whatley Avenue adjacent to Joseph Hood Primary School) is not ideal but represents the best possible scenario for the school community and that they had had constructive meetings with senior council officers. Councillor Oonagh Moulton added that she had spoken to Posey Furnish and was aware of the concerns and issues that the school has regarding the site. Members noted the invitation to visit Joseph Hood School.

The Chair invited Peter Walker to address the meeting. Peter Walker laid round a written statement (published with these minutes). He asked the Commission to reject the proposed site in favour of expanding existing secondary schools, using split sites and through schools. He urged the council to open a new secondary school in the east of the borough. He said that the proposed location was in the wrong place, too small for sport and would not be ready in time to meet the rising demand for secondary school places.

In response to questions from members, Peter Walker said that when he was Cabinet Member for Education, Harris had been in the driving seat, that the findings of a cross party review of potential locations had been ignored and that, as far as he knew, headteachers had not been involved in the decision on the proposed site.

The Chair invited officers to respond to the points made by Councillor Holmes and Peter Walker.

Paul Ballatt, Assistant Director, Commissioning, Strategy and Performance, said that projection figures of school places change and were now lower than when Peter Walker was Cabinet Member. This is due to a smaller proportion of Merton primary  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.