Issue - meetings

Burnley College Loan

Meeting: 04/11/2020 - Full Council (Item 54)

Burnley College Loan

To consider a loan application.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

With reference to Minute 49 of the Executive (26th October 2020) consideration was given to an application from Burnley College for a loan of £4m payable over a period of 15 years.

 

RESOLVED

 

 

That approval be given to the borrowing and budget set out in the financial implications section of the report.

 


Meeting: 26/10/2020 - Executive (Item 49)

Burnley College Loan

To consider a loan application.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Purpose

 

To consider an application from Burnley College for a looa of £4m payable over a period of 15 years.

 

Reason for Decision

 

To ensure that the loan agreement is financially viable and contains appropriate safeguards to protect the Council`s interest in this matter.

 

The delivery of this project will have benefits to both the College and the wider district.  The loan will generate additional income for the Council over the 15 years which makes this proposal both positive financially and for economic growth.

 

The implications for not providing the loan to the College would be to turn away over 800 16-18 year old students, stop plans to deliver a sport therapist degree and a strength and conditioning degree, reduce the number of elite athletes that study at Burnley college and limit the growth of the College`s university, apprenticeship, and business training courses due to the knock on impact on the available capacity of the existing buildings.

 

To enable the College to continue to undertake work to support local businesses around upskilling and their requirements to aid the economic recovery and future developments.

 

To maintain the retention rates of 16-18 year old students and to achieve increasingly higher grades year on year.

 

That the College will look to employ local labour and apprentices in the construction of these buildings.

 

Decision

 

That the Executive:

 

     I.        Authorise the Head of Finance and Property to agree the terms of the loan agreement in consultation with the Chief Operating Officer and Executive Member for Resources and Performance Management; and

 

    II.        Authorise the Head of Legal and Democracy to complete all necessary Legal documentation for the loan agreement and any charge against the property.

 

  III.        Recommends to Full Council to approve the borrowing and budget set out in the financial implications section of the report. (This additional recommendation was introduced by The Head of Finance and Property and approved at the meeting).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Meeting: 22/10/2020 - Scrutiny Committee (Item 8)

Burnley College Loan

To consider a loan application.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

At this point, Councillor Tom Commis joined the meeting.

 

Howard Hamilton-Smith, Head of Finance and Property presented a report which was also to be presented to a meeting of the Executive on Monday, 26th October 2020.  The report was requesting that the Executive consider an application from Burnley College for a loan of £4m over a period of 15 years.

 

The report recommended that the Executive consider the application of a loan by Burnley College and if approved to:

 

     I.        Authorise the Head of Finance and Property to agree the terms of the loan agreement in consultation with the Chief Operating Officer and Executive Member for Resources and Performance Management; and

    II.        Authorise the Head of Legal and Democracy to complete all necessary Legal documentation for the loan agreement and any charge against the property.

 

Grounds for the recommendations were highlighted as follows:

 

To ensure that the loan agreement is financially viable and contains appropriate safeguards to protect the Council`s interest in this matter.

 

The delivery of this project would have benefits to both the College and the wider district.  The loan would generate additional income for the Council over the 15 years which made the proposal both positive financially and for economic growth.

 

The implications for not providing the loan to the College would be to turn away over 800 16-18 year old students, stop plans to deliver a sport therapist degree and a strength and conditioning degree, reduce the number of elite athletes that study at Burnley College and limit the growth of the College`s university, apprenticeship, and business training courses due to the knock on impact on the available capacity of the existing buildings.

 

To enable the College to continue to undertake work to support local businesses around upskilling and their requirements to aid the economic recovery and future developments.

 

To maintain the retention rates of 16-18 year old students and to achieve increasingly higher grades year on year.

 

That the College will look to employ local labour and apprentices in the construction of these buildings.

 

In response to a question raised by Councillor Tom Commis, Lukman Patel confirmed that if approved by the Executive, it would be recommended by the Executive to Full Council.  Full Council would then approve the budget.

 

Howard Hamilton-Smith referred to the due diligence of the college and advised that it was one of the best performing financial colleges in the country.

 

IT WAS AGREED

 

That the Scrutiny Committee recommend approval of the loan application to the Executive.