This meeting covered the acceptance of grants, regeneration projects and the provision of services for children with special educational needs. It also included a number of confidential items about housing and regeneration.

Mayor of London Universal Free School Meals Funding

The council considered whether to accept a grant of £4,556,768 from the Mayor of London to fund the provision of universal free school meals for children in Key Stage 2 at state-funded primary schools. The money was provided with the intention of funding 90% take up of school meals at £2.65 per meal. Should a school achieve above 90% take up, additional funding would be made available. If the full amount of funding were not to be spent on school meals, another meeting would need to be held to decide what to spend it on. The report notes that

Currently the Government provides universal free school meals to all infants and to some older children that meet strict eligibility criteria. It goes on to say that Whilst this is a voluntary scheme with no obligation on any borough to sign up, the consequence of not signing up is that it limits non-maintained schools’ ability to access these funds as they cannot access it without the Borough entering into the scheme; and may lead to dissatisfaction from Multi-Academy Trusts etc which have a strong interest in making this provision available. The report concludes that The cost-of-living crisis is very much on the public’s mind at present - a decision to decline this funding opportunity may be looked upon unfavourably. You can read the full details of the grant and what the money was for here: Mayor of London Grant Funding for Universal Free School Meals Academic Year 202324

Budget allocation for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Information and Advice Support (SENDIAS) Service and Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Local Offer

The council considered whether to allocate £300,000 per year for three years to fund additional staff on the council's SENDIAS team and to cover the cost of a relaunch of the SEND Local Offer. The SENDIAS team provides information, advice and support to parents of disabled children and children with special educational needs. The SEND Local Offer is an online resource providing information about services available for children with special educational needs in Hounslow. The report notes an Ofsted inspection that found that

‘poor communication and lack of co-production’ relating to the provision of services for children with SEND. It also explains that functionality issues with the current platform were highlighted by the Government Digital Services (in Dec 2023) which results in the site not being accessible. The report seeks to allocate £300,000 per annum for 3 years from the budget allocation approved in the SEND and Alternative Provision (AP) Programme Strategic Business Case by Cabinet to provide additional operational capacity and goes on to list the positions that the money will fund. To assign budget for SEND Local Offer and Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Information

Section 278 agreement - 100 Jersey Road

The council considered whether to enter into a section 278 agreement with Brentford Football club to allow the club to complete the construction of a new pedestrian entrance to their training ground. Section 278 of the Highways Act 1980 allows developers to make agreements with councils that allow them to carry out works to public highways. The work proposed in this instance is to encourage people to walk to the training ground from Osterley tube station. According to the report

The reason for providing the new pedestrian access at the south-eastern end of the site, which is closest to Osterley Underground Station, is to encourage more people to travel to the site by tube and supports the Council’s wider ambitions to promote active and sustainable travel. Section 278 agreement 100 Jersey Road

Approval for additional funding for the Convent Way Delivery Strategy

The council considered whether to approve an additional £25,000 of funding to develop a plan to deliver a regeneration scheme on the Convent Way estate. The money would pay for the appointment of a consultant to develop the scheme to the point that the council could seek a development partner. The report notes that

In September 2023, a budget of £150,000 was approved via a Chief Officer Decision, for a Development Advisor (£75,000) and Design Consultants (£75,000) to explore alternative delivery options for the proposed Convent Way Regeneration to Stage 1 because there is insufficient capacity in the current 30- year HRA Business Plan. Approval for additional funding for the Convent Way Delivery Strategy

Structural Changes to School Crossing Patrol Service

The council considered whether to make two school crossing patrol officers redundant following the decision by two schools to stop paying for school crossing patrols outside their schools. The council had previously stopped paying for school crossing patrols in 2017, but continued to offer the service to schools that were willing to pay for it. The report explains that For this New Academic Year 2024/25, a decision was made to increase the cost from £7,000 to £8,000 per year as a result of increasing costs for the School Crossing Patrol service, the first increase since 2017. It goes on to say that Due to school budget restraints two schools have advised they will no longer be able to purchase the contract for the new Academic Year 2024/25 resulting in loss of funding for the posts, and the need for two posts to be deleted. The total redundancy cost is expected to be £16,500. The report describes attempts to avoid making the redundancies by offering to redeploy the officers to different roles and attempting to find other schools willing to pay for the service. It also details the road safety measures that are already in place at the two schools affected. Changes to School Crossing Patrol Service_v1

Approval of application to Sport England Swimming Pool Support Fund

The council considered whether to accept a grant of £42,500 from the second phase of the government's Swimming Pool Support Fund. The council had originally applied for funding to carry out energy efficiency works at three pools, but the government subsequently restricted funding to a single pool per local authority. The £42,500 grant would pay for the installation of pool covers at Heston Pool. Sport England Swimming Pool Support Fund_v2

Western International Market - P72 Licence for Alterations

The council considered whether to grant H&J Veg Ltd permission to install a mezzanine floor in their unit at Western International Market. Western International Market P72 Licence for Alterations

Western International Market - F2-F4 Licence for Alterations

The council considered whether to grant Valimex Food Service permission to install a mezzanine floor in their unit at Western International Market. Western International Market F2-F4 Licence for Alterations_v1

Western International Market - P6b-P7 Licence for Alterations

The council considered whether to grant Langley Fruit & Veg Ltd permission to install a mezzanine floor in their unit at Western International Market. Western International Market P6b-P7 Licence for Alterations_v1

Western International Market - P33 Licence for Alterations

The council considered whether to grant UK Fresh Vegetables Ltd permission to install a mezzanine floor in their unit at Western International Market. Western International Market P33 Licence for Alterations

Confidential Items

The meeting also included consideration of a number of items that were not made public. You can see the full list of confidential items discussed on the agenda for the meeting: Agenda frontsheet Friday 30-Aug-2024 12.00 Chief Officer Delegated Decisions.