Massive Swindon schools investment confirmed

Launching the North Swindon schools PFI project, from left to right, John Cann, Director of Equion plc, Councillor David Nash, shadow cabinet and Labour education spokesman, Councillor Garry Perkins, cabinet lead member on education and Conservative education spokesman, Director of Education Hilary Pitts

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Swindon Borough Council has announced that, after several months of rigorous evaluation and negotiation with bidding teams from three different companies, it has selected the consortium led by Equion plc as its 'Preferred Bidder' to design, build, finance and operate seven new schools in North Swindon.

The seven schools include a new secondary, and two new primary schools for North Swindon (S4 at Haydon End and S6) and replacements for Brimble Hill and Uplands Special Schools, Hreod Parkway secondary school and a new primary school for Moredon replacing the existing infant and junior schools.



One of the exciting aspects of the project is a four school 'Learning Campus', a 32 acre site located in North Swindon, which will house the new secondary school (designated S1) incorporating community and sports facilities, a new primary school (S6) and Brimble Hill and Uplands Schools.

The Council had been awarded credits by the Government worth £62.8m towards the cost of the project under the Private Finance Initiative (PFI).

Under the Private Finance Initiative the Government expects high quality buildings and services to be provided so this scheme gives the Council a great opportunity to raise the standard of school buildings in the Borough, which will have a positive impact on achievement of pupils. The management of the facilities such as cleaning, maintenance and catering by the Council's Preferred Bidder will leave teachers and support staff free to concentrate on education rather than day-to-day accommodation issues.

Chief Executive of Swindon Borough Council, Simon Birch is delighted to reach this stage. He said: "We believe that a partnership approach is the best way forward and look forward to working with Equion plc to bring about a successful long term partnership that will allow the schools involved to develop and flourish further. We don't know what the future may hold for education but together, we will design schools that are flexible, inclusive and personal to the local community. These schools will showcase the best of the design and construction industry in this country. The buildings will be inspirational and encourage the whole community to continue learning."



Headteacher Andrew Fleet views the model for the new Hreod Parkway School

The Preferred Bidder, Equion plc, currently operates schemes across the UK including secondary schools in the London Boroughs of Newham and Enfield, Glasgow and Edinburgh. The chosen consortium for the Swindon project is led by Equion plc, who will manage the project and will also be the equity investor, and joined by architects, Architects Co-Partnership (ACP), building contractor Laing O'Rourke, facilities management delivery Equion FM and funder Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein.

Equion plc, a wholly owned subsidiary of John Laing plc, is a specialist investor in, and manager of, projects entirely focused on the PFI and PPP serviced accommodation sector. The company's focus is on public projects in education, health and defence. They work closely with clients to develop, finance and manage new, refurbished or regenerated public facilities in these and other sectors.

They pride themselves on delivering exceptional service and consistently high performance. Directing their breadth of skills and experience towards working in partnership with their clients to meet their requirements and those of the communities that they represent.

John Cann, Director of Equion plc said: "In replacing Hreod Parkway and Moredon Infant and Junior schools with new modern schools and in providing North Swindon with a state of the art Learning Campus that encompasses facilities for children with special needs, we are proud to be partners with Swindon Borough Council in this exciting initiative that will improve the educational opportunities for all the people of Swindon."



The project has been led by the Council's Corporate Project Team and has involved over 40 councillors, officers, headteachers and governors over the last two years from the development of the Council's tender documents through to the bid/design development process and throughout the evaluation. It is due to all their hard work, dedication and cross-departmental co-operation that the Council has reached this current position.

Note: Preferred Bidder means that from a shortlist, the council has chosen Equion plc as the company that has most fully met the Council's requirements as stated in the tender documents and in particular opportunities to work together to develop the schools. The Council and Equion plc will continue to negotiate the final details of the contract before signature.



North Swindon PFI project
Questions and answers to Swindon Council

1. Why did you choose this particular company to build and run these schools?
The procurement process for a Council to let a contract of this size is set down in European and UK legislation. It has strict procedures that start with the contract being advertised at a European level.

The Council selected a short list of 3 companies from the several responses to the Council's advert, and invited them to bid for the project. The Council then issued an Invitation to Negotiate document of around 1000 pages detailing the requirements for each site in terms of design and facilities management services. The companies then had 16 weeks to develop and submit their proposals. These were then evaluated against over 500 criteria covering everything from quality of design, proposed construction methods, cost and how they would look after the facilities management staff and deliver these services.


2. Who chose the company that won the contract?
The evaluation process took place over 23 weeks, involving a project team of some 40 councillors, officers, headteachers and governors. Many clarifications were sought from the three bidders during this period and a final decision was made based on which company most closely demonstrated that they could meet the Council's requirements. One of the key objectives was to find a partner with the needs of both the schools and the community at its heart.

A unanimous recommendation from this project team was presented to Cabinet and endorsed by councillors. During the coming weeks the Council will negotiate and finalise the terms of the contract with Equion.


3. What is Private Finance Initiative (PFI)?
PFI is a mechanism where the Government gives public sector organisations such as health trusts, police and Council's financial support to provide new buildings and facilities management services, e.g. schools, hospitals, police headquarters etc. This enables not only the construction of 21st Century facilities but also ensures they are maintained to the highest of standards for the duration of the contract.

The philosophy of the PFI is to construct buildings that will inspire learning, that are flexible, inclusive and personal to the community while at the same time establishing a long term partnership with the Preferred Bidder that will enable the schools to develop and mature further as successful educational establishments.


4. When will it be possible to see the designs of the schools?
Indicative early designs of the various schools are available today, however, further development work in the coming weeks may see some modifications in the final building designs. The designs displayed today represent the proposed approach to each school site. We will hold a road show at each of the existing school sites. This will give the local community an opportunity to view the current indicative designs. As you will appreciate the designs will need further development work to prepare them for submission to the Planning Authority.


5. Does the contractor have to seek planning permission?
Yes. They are expected to start applying for planning permission for all sites by the middle of next month. They will have to follow all the usual statutory planning processes.


6. Does this mean the planning is just a "rubber stamping" exercise?
Not at all. The planning process is set down clearly in legislation. All the normal public consultation will be undertaken and planning officers at the Council will evaluate the application against planning policy, guidelines and the local plan before reaching their recommendation. Elected councillors at a Swindon Borough Council Planning Committee meeting will then assess the applications and a final decision should be reached some time in the late summer of this year.


7. Is the Council expecting any opposition to the Planning Applications?
The Council welcomes all feedback on any planning proposals and will consider this when reviewing the planning applications as part of the statutory process. Representatives from the Planning, Highways and Landscape sections have been involved in design development to date.

However, the consultation which will take place following submission of the applications may well raise comments (either positive or negative), as is common with most applications for this scale of development.


8. How many schools will be built through the PFI and when will they be opened?
There are seven new schools included in the North Swindon Schools PFI scheme. These are:

• Hreod Parkway
  A new rebuild on the land adjacent to the west of the existing school buildings, on the site south of Akers Way. The new school is due to open in 2006.The new building will replace the existing split site facilities either side of Akers Way.
  
  
• Moredon Primary School
  This is a new school to replace the existing Moredon Infant and Junior schools. The new Primary school is due to open in 2006. The new school is to be built on the site north of Akers Way, off Moredon road.
  
  
• Brimble Hill and Uplands Special Schools
  These are new buildings replacing and relocating the existing Brimble Hill and Uplands Special schools. The new school buildings will be located on the Learning Campus providing the opportunity for greater inclusion and facilitating closer links between primary and secondary special needs pupils. The two special schools will also be located next to a Multi Agency Unit that will provide facilities such as a hydrotherapy pool and specialist teaching areas including speech therapy facilities. Both schools are due to open in 2006.
  
  
• New Secondary School (S1)
  A new secondary school is to be built at the Learning Campus and is due to open in September 2007.
  
  
• New Primary School PS6
  A new primary school is to be built at the learning Campus and is due to open in 2006.
  
  
• New Primary School PS4
  A new primary school is to be built adjacent to Haydon End Lane and is due to open in 2006.

9. Now that you aren't building the proposed primary school (PS7) in the north west of the area, where will children from that area go to school?
The Education Department has recently conducted a review of its designated areas for primary schools within the northern sector. As new primary schools are being built through the PFI, there will be a need to further redefine the designated areas for the primary schools in the northern sector area. This redefinition will be undertaken by the Council in consultation with the schools in the area.

Parents have a right to express a preference to which school they wish to send their child/children. The Education Department considers each application in line with the current admissions policy, which is available on the Council's web site. This year for allocations for 2004, 97% of first choice preferences were met.

The Council has reviewed the projected pupil numbers for the area and, based on this, it is confident that there will be enough primary school places to meet the needs of the Swindon community. The decision not to build PS7 is based on this evidence. This recommendation was taken to the Council's Cabinet and it was approved.

Under the provisions of the Section 106 Agreement between the Council and the housing developers for North Swindon, a site is set-aside for PS7, which could still be built if projected pupil numbers change significantly in the future.


10. What happens to pupils at Hreod and Moredon Infant and Junior schools while building is underway?
All three schools will operate as normal during the building period and at all three schools the construction will be kept totally separate from the current schools. The Health and Safety of the pupils, staff and parents will be paramount during this period. The Council has discussed this issue with the Preferred Bidder at great length to ensure that they can meet this requirement.

The Preferred Bidder is also required to ensure that noise and the working environment do not adversely interfere with the day to day running of the schools during the construction period.


11. What is meant by Facilities Management (FM) services and what exactly will the Preferred Bidder be responsible for?
At a general level the FM service covers all the non-educational aspects of the running of the schools including:

1. Maintenance of the buildings
2. Cleaning
3. Catering
4. Grounds maintenance (grass cutting/gardening)
5. Caretaking
6. Site security
7. Utilities management
8. Furniture, fixtures, fittings and equipment (supply, maintenance and replacement)

12. What happens to the staff that currently undertake these duties?
The Council's Cabinet determined at its meeting on 28th April 2004 that staff currently undertaking these duties would be subject to a transfer to the new provider under TUPE (Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 1981) legislation which provides protection of employment. Staff will transfer to the new employer, Equion, under the TUPE legislation.

The Council has consulted with the appropriate Trades Unions about the PFI changes and how they affect staff. The Council will ensure that as part of the ongoing communications process all staff affected by the changes will have the opportunity for individual discussion about how the changes will affect their employment. Consultation processes are prescribed by TUPE legislation but in any event the Council and Equion will be committed to keeping employees informed.


13. What will be the impact for staff that work in a school local to their homes that is being relocated and have no transport?
The Council will be considering the implications for all staff and will be talking to the people concerned and assessing available options in line with current policies. This is an ongoing process and the Council will endeavour to address these at the earliest opportunity.


14. Do the Council foresee any issues with recruiting enough teaching staff to support the needs of the new schools?
It is hoped that the new schools will prove attractive to potential and existing teachers. The Education department together with the Governing Bodies of the schools will aim to secure good quality teaching staff for all the schools. The Council will explore all opportunities in order to fill the places available within the project timescale.


15. What will happen with the schools facilities out of school hours?
The schools have many excellent facilities that will be made available by Equion to local people for a variety of uses like sports facilities. This will provide the community with the opportunity to access a range of facilities. This will not compromise any extra curricular use requirements of the schools as the Council has already safeguarded the facilities for such purposes.


16. Will the public be charged for use of these facilities and if so where will the profits go?
Equion will be responsible for the hiring of these facilities and there will be charges as with all other Borough Community/sports facilities to cover the costs associated with the hire of these facilities. Any profits will be shared equally between the Council and Equion.


17. Will the PFI credits cover the entire cost of the project and if not how will the extra money that is needed be raised?
The PFI credits are only given towards the Capital cost of the scheme, although the Government knows they do not cover the full cost of building the facilities and expect Local Authorities to make up the remainder. The schools will contribute from their delegated budgets towards the running costs of the schools, as they do now.


18. What will happen at the end of the PFI contract?
At the end of the contract the schools will be returned to the Council in the condition specified in the contract, reflecting the ongoing maintenance that must be carried out over the 25 years to ensure that all the buildings can continue to operate as schools once the contract with Equion has expired. 


19. Why were Jarvis and Key Stage Solutions rejected as the Preferred Bidder?
All three bidders were evaluated against strict criteria laid out by the Council. A team of councillors, officers, headteachers and governors were asked to assess each of the bids against these criteria. At a final evaluation meeting there was unanimous agreement that Equion had met the Councils requirements the most fully and had provided the most economically advantageous bid. It was also felt that they would provide the Council with an excellent partner in building schools for the future and that they understood the educational needs and issues of Swindon's community.


20. Why has the Council chosen the PFI route?
Successive Governments have encouraged local authorities to provide a range of building facilities through PFI rather than allow high levels of borrowing.

In addition, the PFI process will enable the development of a large number of new schools in a short period of time. These new schools will allow the children of North Swindon to have access to an education locally within their immediate community and will mean that other schools in nearby areas will not become over populated. PFI has also provided the means to rebuild schools that desperately need improvement in order to more effectively deliver the curriculum. Without the PFI assistance these improvements could not take place within such a short timescale.


21. What is happening to other schools?
The Council is about to invite tenders for a contract to undertake a condition survey of all schools within the Borough. This will assist the Council in prioritising the capital investment required for schools. The Government have outlined a new agenda for investment into secondary schools the 'Building Schools for the Future' programme. The Council has submitted its application for funding and awaits a response in the near future to facilitate this programme.