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MAIDSTONE BOROUGH COUNCIL
CABINET MEMBER FOR COMMUNITY SERVICES
REPORT OF THE ASSISTANT DIRECTOR FOR CUSTOMER SERVICES AND PARTNERSHIPS
Report prepared by Kate Pomphrey and Michelle Fowler
Date Issued: 14 January 2010
1. Review of the Hotfoot Summer and Easter Play Schemes
1.1 Issue for Decision
1.1.1 The Cabinet Member is asked to consider the review of the Council’s provision of the Hotfoot summer and easter play schemes and the options presented within it (attached as Appendix 1).
1.2 Recommendation of the Assistant Director for Customer Services and Partnerships
1.2.1 It is recommended that the Cabinet Member note the review and consider
which of the options for the future of the Hotfoot play scheme should be pursued.
1.3 Reasons for Recommendation
1.3.1 Following the call-in April 2009 of the Hotfoot play scheme fees and charges 2009-2010 by the External Overview and Scrutiny Committee the Cabinet Member requested that a full review of the service be carried out.
1.3.2 The Hotfoot Play Scheme is run under the Council’s power of promoting wellbeing. It is designed to promote the personal and social development of children with a particular focus on the child’s role in respect of the wider community of Maidstone. It is open to all children and special support is available to enable a wide range of children to attend. By integrating children from a wide variety of backgrounds the scheme actively promotes social cohesion within the borough.
1.3.3 The review attached sets out to:-
i.Establish a clear purpose for the Hotfoot play scheme and its links to priorities in the Council’s Strategic Plan;
ii.To consider if the scheme meets current need and represents value for money.
iii.To review practice and identify alternative funding streams, and;
iv.To consider for the future of the Hotfoot play scheme.
1.3.4 In order to produce the report data has been obtained from historic Hotfoot records, from information received from a number of other schemes running in the Borough and in neighboring Boroughs, from Ofsted records and from recent parent/carer responses to the scheme. The Council’s Geographic Information Management team within the Information Technology Section have helped analyse spatially in order to establish patterns of demand across the borough.
1.4 Alternative Action and why not Recommended
1.4.1 The Council could chose not to run its Hotfoot play schemes which contribute to a number of national and local performance indicators as set out in the Sustainable Communities Strategy.
1.5 Impact on Corporate Objectives
1.5.1 The review identifies how the Hotfoot play scheme contributes to the priorities and objectives of the Council as laid out in its strategic plan.
1.6 Risk Management
1.6.1 Without this review there is a risk that the Hotfoot play scheme would not be aligned to corporate priorities and that there would be consequent lack of clarity regarding the purposes of the scheme and to what extent it was offering value for money. It would be difficult to make an informed decision regarding future options for the scheme without the data supplied in the review.
1.7 Other Implications
1.7.1
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1. Financial
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2. Staffing
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3. Legal
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4. Equality Impact Needs Assessment
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x
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5. Environmental/Sustainable Development
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6. Community Safety
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7. Human Rights Act
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8. Procurement
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9. Asset Management
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1.7.2 The review deals with financial matters associated with the running of the scheme.
1.7.3 The review considers the support offered to children with disabilities and to children from priority areas.
1.8 Background Documents
1.8.1 None
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NO REPORT WILL BE ACCEPTED WITHOUT THIS BOX BEING COMPLETED
Is this a Key Decision? Yes No
If yes, when did it appear in the Forward Plan? _______________________
x
Reason for Urgency
[State why the decision is urgent and cannot wait until the next issue of the forward plan.]
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