There are two Notices of Motion for consideration by Council.

NOTICE OF MOTION ONE

Proposed by Councillor BA Durkin and seconded by Councillor J Stone.

This Council welcomes the Government’s intention to introduce a national funding formula for schools from 2015-16.

Herefordshire funding is £244.10 per pupil below the national average despite the additional costs we face in maintaining a network of small schools to support our rural communities.

We are anxious to see greater fairness and consistency in the way schools and academies are funded and support the approach taken by the Cabinet Member for Children’s Wellbeing, working with local authority colleagues through the f40 group, in seeking a national funding formula as the way to achieve this.

We  believe that the funding formula should:

·         Have at its core a basic unit of funding per pupil that is based on a clear expectation of what schools are expected to deliver.

·         Allow a degree of local discretion to cover those local circumstances that a formula covering more than 24,000 schools cannot be expected to embrace.

·         Include support for rural primary schools through a lump sum and a an allowance for ‘sparsity’.

We join with the Cabinet Member for Children’s Wellbeing in urging the Government to work closely with local authorities, and the f40 group in particular, in developing an appropriate funding model for schools.

We acknowledge that a redistribution of the budget for schools will need to be implemented over time in order for the change to be manageable for those areas where funding is currently more generous.

NOTICE OF MOTION TWO

Proposed by Councillor PM Morgan and Seconded by Councillor ARC Chappell.

This Council resolves to amend the Constitution, with immediate effect, so that a named vote at Council will only be required if 8 or more members present so request it. 

There were two Notices of Motion for consideration by Council.  The Chairman proposed that the second Motion be taken first.  This was agreed unanimously.

Proposed by Councillor PM Morgan and Seconded by Councillor ARC Chappell.

This Council resolves to amend the Constitution, with immediate effect, so that a named vote at Council will only be required if eight or more members present so request it. 

The Cabinet Member, Health and Wellbeing said that she had proposed this motion as she was responding to concerns from members that the named vote system was proving unwieldy.  Accountability could still be achieved either by a specified number of members requesting a named vote and/or an individual member requesting that their vote be recorded.  The Vice Chairman added that he could think of no other local authority that had a named vote system of this nature.

·         In the ensuing debate a number of members expressed the view that the Council needed to be seen to be democratic, and as a result it was important to know who had voted for items on the Agenda at meetings.

Councillor TM James proposed an amendment that ‘a named vote at Council will only be required if five or more members present so request it’.  The amendment was not moved.

After further discussion, the Motion was carried.

For the motion 38                                            Against:  10                 Abstained:1

RESOLVED:  That with immediate effect, the Constitution be amended so that a named vote at Council would only be required if 8 or more members present so requested it. 

Proposed by Councillor BA Durkin and seconded by Councillor NP Nenadich.

This Council welcomes the Government’s intention to introduce a national funding formula for schools from 2015-16.

Herefordshire funding is £244.10 per pupil below the national average despite the additional costs we face in maintaining a network of small schools to support our rural communities.

We are anxious to see greater fairness and consistency in the way schools and academies are funded and support the approach taken by the Cabinet Member for Children’s Wellbeing, working with local authority colleagues through the f40 group, in seeking a national funding formula as the way to achieve this.

We  believe that the funding formula should:

·         Have at its core a basic unit of funding per pupil that is based on a clear expectation of what schools are expected to deliver.

·         Allow a degree of local discretion to cover those local circumstances that a formula covering more than 24,000 schools cannot be expected to embrace.

·         Include support for rural primary schools through a lump sum and a an allowance for ‘sparsity’.

We join with the Cabinet Member for Children’s Wellbeing in urging the Government to work closely with local authorities, and the f40 group in particular, in developing an appropriate funding model for schools.

We acknowledge that a redistribution of the budget for schools will need to be implemented over time in order for the change to be manageable for those areas where funding is currently more generous.

Councillor B Durkin said that whilst schools in the county performed well, they should be provided with realistic budgets that would allow them to focus on teaching.

Councillor NP Nenadich added that whilst funding for schools was below the national average, Herefordshire operated in a global economy and the business development of the county should be considered as paramount.  The presence of an able and capable young workforce would be important in attracting businesses into the business development zone.

RESOLVED: That the Motion be unanimously agreed.