AGENDA ITEM 7

CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLES OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY COMMITTEE

28 SEPTEMBER 2010

MERLEY YOUTH CLUB

MERLEY YOUTH CLUB CLOSURE: OUTCOME OF THE INTERNAL AUDIT INVESTIGATION INSTITGATED BY THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE

  1. PURPOSE OF THE REPORT

To inform the Overview and Scrutiny Committee of the finding of the internal audit investigation and lessons learnt.

  1. DECISION REQUIRED

2.1That the Committee note the findings of the Internal Audit review, which were;

(i)The actions of the Strategic Director (Children’s Services) inclosing the Merley Youth Club on the 6 November 2009, taking account of the known circumstances and weather conditions, was entirely appropriate.

(ii)That bettersharing of informationbetween Service Units and the Strategic Directorsmay have ensured parents and the media would have been better informed regarding the circumstances of the closure.

(iii)That the Council responds more promptly and in a more co-ordinated mannerwhen first alerted to issues similar to this case to ensure that business continuity and contingency plans can be developed.

  1. BACKGROUND/INFORMATION

3.1 The Merley Youth Club building is owned by the Borough of Poole and managed by Merley Youth Club trustees. It was transferred to the Borough of Poole under Local Government reorganisation in 1997 at which time it was already sub let to a predecessor of the “Down in the Woods” pre school and was then to be a temporary structure with existing defects and associated wind and weather restrictions in place.

3.2The Council’s obligation under the lease with Merley Youth Club Trustees was to maintain the exterior of the building with the tenants responsible for the interior.

3.3A full structural survey of the building was commissioned by the Property Services Unit of the Borough of Poole in the summer of 2009 in response to defects noted during a visual inspection. The initial findings of the structural survey were subject to clarification which meant that the final report was not received until October 2009. This report imposed greater restrictions on the use of the building in high winds and adverse weather conditions than those previously in place. As winter approached the likelihood of such conditions increased and very poor weather was forecast at the time which prompted Officers to make the Strategic Director (Children’s Services) aware of the existing defects of the building.

3.4Although the results of the structural survey and the risk of closure had been shared with the “Down in the Woods” Pre School as soon as they were known, the Strategic Director (Children’s Services) was not informed nor was any formal assessment of the risk of closure carried out at any time.

3.5Health and Safety implication of the buildings structural condition were not explicitly assessed until November 2009 after the closure decision. Health and Safety Officers were not aware of problems with the building until the closure. Had this information been communicated when concerns were first raised an inspection could have been undertaken earlier providing information of more value to the Strategic Director (Children’s Services) when she was considering the closure decision.

3.6Down in the Woods is an entirely separate organisation to the Council and as such was responsible for its own business continuity arrangements. It was recognised that whilst the Council had a responsibility to ensure there were sufficient childcare places of a suitable type within the local area this did not extend to ensuring the ongoing operation and viability of any particular provider.

3.7As a result it was not for the Council to focus on securing alternative accommodation for Down in the Woods but to investigate existence of nursery provision at other local nurseries and pre schools.

3.8The events time line is detailed below for Members information as this may assist with better understanding of the situation.

2 / EVENTS TIMELINE
Month / Year / Event
1997 / Ownership of Merley Youth Club building transfers to BoP from Dorset County Council under LGR including existing leasing arrangements to Merley Youth Club Trustees (MYCT). At this time, a ‘caution’ had already been raised on the DCC file regarding the structure.
1999 / Lease between BoP and MYCT expires. New lease agreed for seven years including provision to allow MYCT to sub-let the property to the Pre-School (who were already operating from the site).
January 2006 / Asset Condition Survey undertaken by BoP Property Services – no structural deficiencies identified.
March 2006 / New lease agreed with MYCT including a rolling six month termination period and waiver of the Landlord / Tenant Act.
July 2009 / Joint site inspection carried out by BoP Property Services & CYPIS at which concerns are raised about the condition of the building.
Specialist structural engineering firm (AKS Ward) commissioned to undertake detailed survey of the building. CYPIS Asset Management Group advised that the surveyor’s findings could result in the building being deemed unsafe to use.
Late August 2009 / AKS Ward undertake structural survey of building.
9 October 2009 / AKS Ward issue structural survey report specifying that the building should not be used in winds of 45mph or more, gusting for longer than 3 seconds.
BoP Property Services ask AKS Ward for clarification of their report.
22 / 23 October 2009 / AKS Ward undertake follow-up site visit and confirm their recommendations to BoP Property Services.
4 November 2009 / Letter issued to MYCT confirming outcome of structural survey.
5 November 2009 / Head of Children and Young Peoples Services advises Strategic Director( Children’s services) of problems with building.
Decision taken by Strategic Director (Children’s Services) to close the building with effect from the end of Friday 6 November due to health and safety concerns.
6 November 2009 / Decision to close communicated to Down in the Woods management then to parents at a subsequent meeting.

4.CONCLUSIONS

4.1In the light of the information the Strategic Director (Children’s Services) had at the time and her responsibility for child safety the decision to close the pre- school at Merley Youth Club was the right decision. However, the lessons learned from this case are;

  • that better sharing of information between Council Service Units and Strategic Directors may have ensured improved communication with parents and the media
  • an earlier response to the findings of the structural survey may have enabled the Council, MYCT and Down in the Woods pre-school to put in place business continuity and contingency plans.

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