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A decision made (15/08/2008) regarding: Community Safety Fund - Part-Time Speed Limits at Schools.

Decision Reference: MD-T-2008-0076
Decision Summary Title :	Community Safety Fund – Part-time Speed Limits at Schools		Date of Decision Summary:	12 August 2008
Decision Summary Author:	Caroline Anderson Director of Transport		Decision Summary: Public or Exempt? (State clauses from Code of Practice booklet)	Public
Type of Report: Oral or Written?	Written		Person Giving Oral Report:	N/A
Written Report Title :	Community Safety Fund – Part-time Speed Limits at Schools		Date of Written Report:	6 August 2008
Written Report Author:	Caroline Anderson Director of Transport		Written Report : Public or Exempt? (State clauses from Code of Practice booklet)	Public
Subject: Community Safety Fund – approval to fund part-time speed limits at schools
Decision(s): The Minister approved that the implementation of part-time speed limits at schools be funded from the Community Safety Fund; and that the nine schools listed in the report be progressed as the first phase of implementation
Reason(s) for Decision: Part-time speed limits at schools fulfil the criteria for allocating funds from the CSF, as they will be beneficial to the community at large, and there is no revenue or capital funding available.
Resource Implications: The balance of the CSF, currently £223,019, is available for distribution.
Action required: Progress implementation of part-time speed limits at schools, initially at sites already identified.
Signature:		Position:
Date Signed:		Date of Decision (If different from Date Signed):

Community Safety Fund - Part-Time Speed Limits at Schools.

TRANSPORT AND TECHNICAL SERVICES

COMMUNITY SAFETY FUND – PART-TIME SPEED LIMITS AT SCHOOLS

Purpose of the Report

To seek the approval of the Minister for Transport & Technical Services that the implementation of part-time speed limits near schools be funded from the Community Safety Fund

Background

In June and December 2007, interim arrangements for considering applications for, and awarding grants from, the Community Safety Fund, for small but important initiatives, were approved by the Minister (MD-T-2007-0058 and MD-T-2007-0112) pending an agreed process for disbursing the remainder of the funds.

The criteria approved by the Minister for considering applications and awarding grants in the interim are:-

The proposal should be beneficial to the community at large;
For one off items of expenditure directly related to community safety;
Island based;
For proposals that would significantly enhance or raise awareness of community safety and for which there is no or insufficient public funding;
A maximum interim award of £10,000 per project.

Currently, the balance of the fund (£223,019) is held in a TTS / DVS Business Unit and is reported as part of the Department’s overall revenue account. The Minister requested that this fund be placed in a separate bank account to earn interest and not be considered as part of the department’s revenue budget but this would be ultra vires to the Finance law. TTS has ring-fenced this Fund within its own budget but it is not within the overall States finances and it is not, therefore, known whether any balance remaining at the end of this financial year will be allowed to be carried forward.

Discussion

The relevant law amendments to allow the implementation of part time 20 mph speed limits at schools has now been approved (MD-TTS-2008-0074 and MD-TTS-2008-0075 refers). The Minister is keen to see this initiative progress but there is no revenue funding within the TTS budget. However, these schemes are directly related to community safety and it is known that they are well supported by local residents and politicians. For this reason, it is recommended that these schemes be funded from the CSF.

A list of nine primary school sites has already been investigated and agreed with the Education, Sport and Culture Department and, if approved, TTS will progress these as soon as possible. The nine schools are:
- Trinity
- La Moye
- Mont Nicolle
- Springfield
- St John
- St Saviour
- St Lawrence
- Victoria College Preparatory
- Plat Douet

It is difficult to assess the total expenditure over these sites as the requirements will be different but initial estimates suggest somewhere in the region of £60,000 - £70,000. Once these preliminary sites have been implemented, other schools will follow assuming that funding remains available from the CSF.

The overall funding for this initiative exceeds the Minister’s previously agreed limit of £10,000 per project but there are nine separate schemes in this initial tranche and there is wide support for this community safety initiative.

Recommendation

It is recommended that the Minister agrees:

that the implementation of part-time speed limits at schools be funded from the Community Safety Fund; and
that the nine schools listed in the report be progressed as the first phase of implementation.

Reason for Decision

Part-time speed limits at schools fulfil the criteria for allocating funds from the CSF, as they will be beneficial to the community at large, and there is no revenue or capital funding available.

Resource Implications

The balance of the CSF, currently £223,019, is available for distribution.

Action Required

Progress implementation of part-time speed limits at schools, initially at sites already identified.

Written by:	Caroline Anderson, Director of Transport

Approved by:	John Richardson, Chief Officer

12 August 2008