The motion was moved by Councillor Oonagh Moulton and seconded by Councillor James Holmes

The Labour amendment, as set out in item 18 was moved by Councillor Martin Whelton and seconded by Councillor Jeff Hanna.

The Labour amendment was then put to the vote and was carried – votes in favour 38, and 0 votes against with 21 abstentions.

RESOLVED:

That this Council notes the importance of its Strategic Partners in delivering both services to and enhanced life changing experiences for its residents in Merton. The Community Plan 2013 sets out a vision to meet the needs of the community and, in particular amongst its partners, enhancement is provided by:

·         the Clinical Commissioning Group (NHS)

·         the Merton Chamber of Commerce

·         Merton Voluntary Service Council

·         the Jobcentre Plus

·         South Thames College

·         The Community Engagement Network

Within the reduced funding available from central government and the resulting £32m of savings required over the next four years, the Council acknowledges its responsibility to equip residents - young and old - to:

·         take advantage of access to and understand the advice of healthcare professionals

·         enjoy enrichment by being able to participate fully in the life of the community

·         enable engagement with higher education

·         be eligible to find employment

Council is deeply concerned by the government’s cuts to the Skills Funding Agency (SFA) which have resulted in Merton’s funding for adult skills being cut by £436,865 since 2009/10. Furthermore, in the 2013/14 academic year the funding formula has changed impacting on the council’s costs. We were also advised by the SFA in December that our grant will be reduced by another £35,000 in year - this will be on top of the above figure. Further funding changes are expected to be made in March 2015. We expect this to signal a further reduction in the grant. This is due to the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) in which the Skills Funding Agency (SFA) sits being a non ring-fenced department and therefore being responsible for delivering a large amount of the reduction in Government spending announced in the 2014 budget and autumn statement. 

In this context it makes sense for the council to plan how we will continue to deliver adult learning in the context of much reduced central government funding.  As part of this council thanks the Sustainable Communities Scrutiny Panel for their comprehensive engagement with this process, including their recent pre-decision scrutiny of the options for achieving an affordable service. 

Council notes that the scrutiny panel particularly welcomed the proposed Commissioning Principles which Cabinet will consider on 16 February.  Council commends these principles to cabinet, as follows:

(i)              That commissioning should look to continue the same breadth of courses currently provided. This does not mean that the courses must be the exact same year to year as needs change but that the breadth and variety should be maintained.

(ii)             That courses should continue to be delivered within the borough

(iii)           That the economic development and skills agendas of the council should be prevalent through the commissioning process

(iv)           That TUPE regulations will be followed and every effort made to retain the highly valued tutors.

(v)            That the environment and support of each provider should be assessed as part of the commissioning process

(vi)           That adults with disabilities and their carers should be involved in the commissioning process for courses specifically tailored for them

(vii)         That discussions about the provision of facilities for art and craft courses should involve user representatives from those courses

(viii)        That a focus on wellbeing and aging well and on helping learners to gain employment should be key elements of the commissioning process to go alongside any focus on qualifications and learning

(ix)           That hobbies, crafts and non-vocational skills courses should still be commissioned in line with SFA funding

(x)            That fees should be set by the council as part of the commissioning process and controlled accordingly

(xi)           That effort should be made to ensure provision is spread around the borough and not just located at one site, although quality and cost will remain key considerations.

(xii)         That, where possible, services should be commissioned with not-for profit organisations

(xiii)        That the outcomes for learners should be closely monitored to ensure that job prospects, well-being, support for vulnerable learners and safeguarding aspects are all considered as part of the commissioning cycle.

The council’s core objectives are to do all it can to make the service financially viable for council tax payers so that we can continue to offer adult education services in the borough, despite government cuts.

In order to achieve these objectives the Council resolves:

·         not only to meet its statutory obligations to provide education for the young, but also to provide education to adults of every age, by continuing to offer an Adult Education Service which takes full account of the much reduced funding available to it from central government, and in line with the commissioning principles proposed.

·         to require the Cabinet to:

Ø   as planned, review again the economics of maintaining the Adult Education Centre at Whatley Avenue and all aspects of the adult education service, at its meeting on 16 February

Ø   as planned, spell out in that report how it intends to meet the delivery of Adult Education in Merton in the period 2015-18 and meet its partnership obligations, in particular in light of the proposed commissioning principles.