Councillors and committees

Agenda and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber, County Hall, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey KT1 2DN

Contact: Anne Gowing  020 8541 9938

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No. Item

11/15

APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

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    The Chairman to report apologies for absence.

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    Apologies for absence were received from Mrs Bowes, Mr Brett-Warburton, Mr Few, Mr Gardner, Mr Hussain, Mr Ivison and Mrs Moseley.

12/15

MINUTES pdf icon PDF 308 KB

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    To confirm the minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 10 February 2015.

     

    (Note: the Minutes, including the appendices, will be laid on the table half an hour before the start of the meeting).

     

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    The following amendments were noted:

     

    (i)         Mr Robert Evans voted against the budget recommendations

    (ii)        Mr Kington abstained from the budget vote

    (iii)       The Mole Valley figures in recommendation (6) on the Budget report should read: £49,846,761.76

     

    The minutes of the meeting of the County Council held on 10 February 2015, as amended, were submitted, confirmed and signed.

13/15

CHAIRMAN'S ANNOUNCEMENTS

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    The Chairman to report.

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    The Chairman made the following announcements:

     

    (i)         He presented a Fellowship Award from the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply to Laura Langstaff, Head of Procurement across Surrey County Council and East Sussex County Council. Ms Le Gal, Cabinet Member for Business Services was invited to say a few words in support of this achievement.

     

    (ii)        Related Party Disclosures- he reminded Members that it was a legal requirement to complete their forms and return them to Finance by the end of March.

     

    (iii)       He reminded Members about the charity concert on 18 March 2015 for Keepout and the Yehudi Menuhin School and thanked those Members who had already bought tickets or made a contribution.

     

    (iv)       He said that his most notable engagement since the last County Council meeting had been the Royal visit by HRH, the Earl of Wessex to the Surrey Youth Support Service. This had taken place at High Ashurst and had been a wonderful occasion and he expressed thanks to those staff who had organised the event. 

14/15

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

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    To receive any declarations of disclosable pecuniary interests from Members in respect of any item to be considered at the meeting.

     

    NOTES:

     

    ·           Each Member must declare any interest that is disclosable under the Relevant Authorities (Disclosable Pecuniary Interests) Regulations 2012, unless it is already listed for that Member in the Council’s Register of Disclosable Pecuniary Interests.

    ·           As well as an interest of the Member, this includes any interest, of which the Member is aware, that relates to the Member’s spouse or civil partner (or any person with whom the Member is living as a spouse or civil partner).

    ·           If the interest has not yet been disclosed in that Register, the Member must, as well as disclosing it at the meeting, notify the Monitoring Officer of it within 28 days.

    ·           If a Member has a disclosable interest, the Member must not vote or speak on the agenda item in which it arises, or do anything to influence other Members in regard to that item. 

     

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

     

    Mr Page and Mr Skellett declared a pecuniary interest in Item 8(i), the original motion standing in the name of Mr Ian Beardsmore and relating to Heathrow and Gatwick airports and did not participate in that part of the meeting.

     

    The following Members declared non-pecuniary interests in Item 8(i), the original motion standing in the name of Mr Ian Beardsmore and relating to Heathrow and Gatwick airports:

     

    Mr Bennison, Mrs Clack, Mrs Ross-Tomlin, Mrs Marks, Mr Page, Mr Skellett, Mr Walsh, Mr Wilson.

     

15/15

LEADER'S STATEMENT

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    The Leader to make a statement.

     

                There will be an opportunity for Members to ask questions.

     

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    The Leader made a statement. A copy of his statement is attached as Appendix A.

     

    Members raised the following topics:

     

    ·         Reference to the proposed cuts for Services to Young People and whether part of the £4.6m extra funding received from Government could be used to mitigate this reduction.

    ·         Issues concerning the Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) funding allocated for improvements to Epsom town centre and the consultation that had taken place and whether the scheme had the support of the local committee.

    ·         Concern about the possible closure of up to 10 Children’s Centres and the effect on the health and wellbeing of their users.

    ·         Partnership working between SCC Highways officers with Boroughs / Districts, to ensure that sufficient infrastructure was in place for new housing developments.

16/15

MEMBERS' QUESTION TIME pdf icon PDF 174 KB

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    (1)        The Leader of the Council or the appropriate Member of the Cabinet or the Chairman of a Committee to answer any questions on any matter relating to the powers and duties of the County Council, or which affects the county.

     

    (Note:  Notice of questions in respect of the above item on the agenda must be given in writing, preferably by e-mail, to Anne Gowing in Democratic Services by 12 noon on Wednesday 11 March 2015).

     

    (2)        Cabinet Member Briefings on their portfolios

     

    These will be circulated by email to all Members prior to the County Council meeting, together with the Members’ questions and responses.

     

    There will be an opportunity for Members to ask questions.

     

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    Notice of 14 questions had been received. The questions and replies are attached as Appendix B.

     

    A number of supplementary questions were asked and a summary of the main points is set out below:

     

    (Q2) Mr Robert Evans asked the Cabinet Member for Environment and Planning if he considered that having two similar incinerators within 10 miles of each other was unwise and would he like an incinerator in his area. The Cabinet Member said that the decision on the Eco Park at Charlton Lane would be taken by Cabinet in April 2015, after full consideration of the Value for Money information.

     

    (Q3) Mr Cooksey said that he was seeking assurance from the Cabinet Member for Highways, Transport and Flooding that Members be consulted on all new major schemes coming through Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs). The Cabinet Member said that, as stated in his written response, the timetable for bidding could be changed by Government at short notice and in these cases it was not possible to share the details of the schemes with Members. However, future opportunities would allow for greater levels of engagement with local committees.

     

    (Q4) Mrs Watson asked the Cabinet Member for Children and Families what measures would be in place to raise the awareness of Surrey residents in relation to Child Sexual Exploitation. The Cabinet Member provided Members with a detailed verbal response, stating that the County Council was working closely with partners, including Surrey Police, to raise awareness of this issue.

     

    (Q5) Mr Mallett queried whether the restructure of staff within Surrey libraries should have been considered by the Communities Select Committee. The Cabinet Member for Community Services confirmed her support for Surrey libraries but said that staff re-organisation was an operational issue and not a Member issue.

     

    (Q6) Mr Jenkins asked the Cabinet Member for Highways, Transport and Flooding why Surrey County Council had not conducted a specific investigation into the flooding of the River Ash in February 2014. Both the Leader of the Council and the Cabinet Member consider that this supplementary question had been answered in the written response.

     

    (Q7) Mr Harrison said that the Local Committee Chairmen met in private and requested that the minutes of the meeting where the part of the capital maintenance budget under the control of local committees was discussed, were published.

    Mr Kington asked when the decision to reduce the Member Allocations was made and whether it had been published.

    Mr Mallett expressed concern about the reduction in these allocations and considered that the decision should have been printed in the Budget papers.

    The Leader of the Council advised Members that the details were in the Medium Term Financial Plan report, which had been published as part of the Cabinet agenda papers and would be considered at its meeting on 24 March 2015.

     

    (Q9) Mr Beardsmore asked the Cabinet Member for Environment and Planning for clarification on whether the internal officers were Spelthorne BC or Surrey CC officers and was informed that it was Surrey  ...  view the full minutes text for item 16/15

17/15

STATEMENTS BY MEMBERS

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    Any Member may make a statement at the meeting on a local issue of current or future concern.

     

    (Note:  Notice of statements must be given in writing, preferably by e-mail, to Anne Gowing in Democratic Services by 12 noon on Monday 16 March 2015).

     

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    There were no local Member statements.

18/15

ORIGINAL MOTIONS

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    ITEM 8 (i)

     

    Mr Ian Beardsmore (Sunbury Common and Ashford Common) to move under Standing Order 11 as follows:

     

    ‘This Council agrees to:

     

    (i) oppose additional runways at Heathrow and Gatwick in view of the adverse impact this additional capacity will have on Surrey residents, on Surrey’s already congested roads and on Surrey’s environment and Green Belt;

     

    and

     

    (ii) call on the Leader of the Council to lobby all Surrey MPs, the current and future Governments regarding the Council’s opposition to additional runways at Heathrow and Gatwick.’

     

    ITEM 8 (ii)

     

    Mr Will Forster (Woking South) to move under Standing Order 11 as follows:

     

    In light of the recent significant fall in oil prices, Council calls on the Leader of the Council and the Cabinet to ensure the Transport Review and negotiations with bus operating companies are conducted to preserve bus services throughout Surrey.’

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    ITEM 8(i)

     

    Under Standing Order 12.3, the Council agreed to debate this motion.

     

    Under Standing Order 12.1, Mr Ian Beardsmore moved the motion, which was:

     

    ‘This Council agrees to:

     

    (i) oppose additional runways at Heathrow and Gatwick in view of the adverse impact this additional capacity will have on Surrey residents, on Surrey’s already congested roads and on Surrey’s environment and Green Belt;

     

    and

     

    (ii) call on the Leader of the Council to lobby all Surrey MPs, the current and future Governments regarding the Council’s opposition to additional runways at Heathrow and Gatwick.’

     

    The motion was formally seconded by Mrs Watson.

     

    Mr Beardsmore said that:

     

    ·         This motion was about logistics and expansion and whether Surrey and the South East could absorb any further expansion at these airports

    ·         He referred to an advertisement that he had seen on a bus stop stating that expansion at Heathrow would create 120K jobs, however, additional housing and infrastructure would be required

    ·         Passenger numbers would increase at Heathrow and Gatwick regardless of any expansion due to larger planes

    ·         He acknowledged that 10% of his division depended on employment opportunities at the airport and supported Heathrow as it was now

    ·         He considered that Heathrow and Gatwick would continue to be successful, whether they expanded further or not.

     

    Mr Johnson moved an amendment, which was tabled at the meeting. This was formally seconded by Mrs Windsor.

     

    The amendment was as follows (with additional words underlined):

     

    ‘This Council agrees to:

     

    (i) oppose additional runways at Heathrow and Gatwick in view of the adverse impact this additional capacity will have on Surrey residents, on Surrey’s already congested roads and on Surrey’s environment and Green Belt, without detriment to the already stated position of the Council, that these two airports retain their role as the nation’s hubs.

     

    and

     

    (ii) call on the Leader of the Council to lobby all Surrey MPs, the current and future Governments regarding the Council’s opposition to additional runways at Heathrow and Gatwick.’

     

    Both Mr Beardsmore and Mrs Watson agreed to accept the amendment to this motion and therefore it became the substantive motion.

     

    Twelve Members spoke on the substantive motion, with the following points being made:

     

    ·         The County Council had debated the expansion of Heathrow and Gatwick two years  ago and had agreed to say no to expansion without the required infrastructure in place

    ·         This was the wrong time to debate this issue because submissions to the Davies Commission had now closed and their findings would not be reported until later this year

    ·         Support for expansion at both airports

    ·         Issue of alternative development for the Heathrow site if the airport closed and an estuary airport was developed

    ·         The County Council had a duty to residents already employed at Heathrow and Gatwick

    ·         It was regrettable that the decision on the future for Heathrow and Gatwick would be made public after the general election

    ·         Heathrow had been allowed to evolve in a densely built up area and the country should be looking at innovative ways for  ...  view the full minutes text for item 18/15

19/15

REPORT OF THE CABINET pdf icon PDF 220 KB

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    To receive the report of the meeting of the Cabinet held on 24 February 2015 and to agree two recommendations in respect of:

     

    (i)         Admission Arrangements for September 2016 for Surrey’s Community and Voluntary Controlled Schools, Coordinated Schemes and Relevant Area

     

    (ii)        Surrey Waste Strategy

     

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    The Leader presented the report of the Cabinet meeting held on 24 February 2015.

     

    (1)        Statements / Updates from Cabinet Members

     

    There were none.

     

    (2)        Recommendations on Policy Framework Documents

     

    A       Admission Arrangements for September 2016 for Surrey’s Community and Voluntary Controlled Schools, Co-ordinated Schemes and Relevant Area

     

    The Cabinet Member for Schools and Learning was invited to present the report.

     

    RESOLVED:

     

    That the following Admissions Arrangements for September 2016 for Surrey’s Community and Voluntary Controlled Schools, Co-ordinated Schemes and Relevant Area be approved:

     

    (1) That, subject to Connaught Junior School also agreeing to introduce a reciprocal sibling link with Bagshot Infant School, a reciprocal sibling link for Bagshot Infant School be introduced with Connaught Junior School so that Bagshot Infant School would be described as operating shared sibling priority with Connaught Junior School for 2016 admission.

    (2)That a new criterion for Hammond Community Junior School  be introduced for September 2016 to provide priority for children attending either Valley End or Windlesham Village infant schools as follows:

     

    a.      Looked After and previously Looked After Children

    b.      Exceptional social/medical need

    c.      Children attending Lightwater Village School

    d.      Siblings not admitted under c) above

    e.      Children attending either Valley End CofE Infant School or Windlesham Village Infant School

    f.       Any other children

     

    (3) That a feeder link from Meath Green Infant to Meath Green Junior School be introduced for September 2016 as follows:

    a.      Looked After and previously Looked After Children

    b.      Exceptional social/medical need

    c.      Children attending Meath Green Infant School

    d.      Siblings not admitted under c) above

    e.      Any other children

     

    (4) That, in line with the tiered arrangements that currently exist at both schools, a tiered feeder link be introduced from Wallace Fields Infant School to Wallace Fields Junior School for September 2016 as follows:

    a.      Looked after and previously looked after children

    b.      Exceptional social/medical need

    c.      Siblings for whom the school is the nearest school to their home address

    d.      Children attending Wallace Fields Infant School for whom the school is the nearest school to their home address

    e.      Other children for whom the school is the nearest school to their home address

    f.       Other siblings for whom the school is not the nearest school to their home address

    g.      Other children attending Wallace Fields Infant School for whom the school is not the nearest school to their home address

    h.      Any other children  

     

    (5) That admission criteria be introduced for Year 3 entry to Worplesdon Primary School for September 2016 as follows:

    a.      Looked after and previously looked after children

    b.      Exceptional social/medical need

    c.      Siblings

    d.      Children attending Wood Street Infant School

    e.      Children for whom the school is the nearest to their home address

    f.Any other children

     

    (6) That the Year 3 Published Admission Number for Cranleigh Primary School be removed for September 2016.

     

    (7) That the own admission authority schools to be included in the assessment of nearest school be decided each year according to the policy set out in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 19/15

20/15

Surrey Pay Policy Statement 2015 - 2016 pdf icon PDF 135 KB

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    To approve a pay policy statement for publication on the Council’s external website.

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    The Leader of the Council introduced the report by stating that, in line with the Localism Act, the County Council was required to approve a Pay Policy Statement for publication on the Council’s website.

     

    Mr Young asked if future Surrey Pay Policy Statements could also include mean figures as well as median. The Leader of the Council said that, providing the Regulations stated that it should be included, he would consider the request.

     

    RESOLVED:

     

    That the Pay Policy Statement, Annex A to the submitted report, to be published on Surrey County Council’s external website with effect from 1 April 2015.

     

21/15

Report of the Audit and Governance Committee pdf icon PDF 88 KB

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    To approve the 2014 Annual Report of the Audit and Governance Committee.

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    The Chairman of the Audit and Governance Committee introduced the report and highlighted the following points:

     

    ·         Working with select committees

    ·         The Strategic Risk Register

    ·         The New Models of Delivery projects, including any joint arrangements with other counties

    ·         The obligations of Statutory Officers

     

    Finally, he thanked Members of the committee for their work, this was reiterated by the Leader of the Council.

     

    RESOLVED:

     

    That the Audit and Governance Annual Report 2014, as attached as an Annex to the submitted report, be approved.

22/15

Formation of a new Surrey Local Pension Board pdf icon PDF 201 KB

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    Under the provisions of section 5 of the Public Service Pensions Act 2013 (“the 2013 Act”) and regulation 106 of the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) Regulations 2013 (as amended) (“the Regulations”) each LGPS Administering Authority must establish a new Local Pension Board for the purposes of assisting the Administering Authority in all aspects of governance and administration of the LGPS, including funding and investments. The Local Pensions Board will be constituted separately to the Surrey Pensions Board which has delegated authority to carry out pensions functions for the Council as the Administering Authority. Local Boards must be established no later than 1 April 2015.

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    The Cabinet Member for Business Services was invited to introduce this report and began by drawing Members attention to the tabled amendments to this report. (Appendix D), which were formally seconded by Mr Tim Evans.

     

    She said that full Council had approved the formation of a Surrey Pension Fund Board on 19 March 2013 and since then, the Local Government Pension Scheme had produced a revised set of regulations, including the recommendation that the scrutiny function was undertaken by a separate body.

     

    She confirmed that this Board would not have any decision making powers and would only have the powers to assist the Surrey Pension Fund Board in the exercise of its functions. She also drew attention to the new Governance Structure, as at 1 April 2015, as set out in the submitted report.

     

    Mr Pitt proposed including the word ‘nominated’ in paragraph 4.6, Annex 1 so that it read ‘nominated substitutes will be permitted to attend...’ and the Cabinet Member for Business Services agreed to consider this request outside the meeting.

     

    RESOLVED:

     

    1.         That the Local Pension Board be established, in accordance with the Public Services Pensions Act 2013 and the Local Government Pension Scheme Regulations 2013 (as amended), with the Terms of Reference, as set out in Annex 1 to the submitted report, with effect from 1 April 2015.

     

    2.         That authority be delegated to an appointment panel of officers and Members as set out in the submitted report, to oversee the Local Pension Board recruitment process and for the People, Performance and Development Committee to appoint members of the Local Pension Board, following recommendations from the appointment panel.

     

    3.         That the Terms of Reference, as set out in Annex 1 to the submitted report, be approved for adoption by the Local Pension Board.

     

    4.         That authority be delegated to the Director of Finance, in consultation with the Chairman of the Pension Board to create such policies and documents to assist the Local Pension Board.

               

    5.         That the Local Pension Board receive committee support from the Council’s Democratic Services team.

     

    6.         That any consequential amendments be made to the Council’s Constitution as required.

     

23/15

Formation of a new Local Pension Board for the Firefighters Pension Scheme pdf icon PDF 296 KB

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    Under the provisions of section 5 of the Public Service Pensions Act 2013 (“the 2013 Act”) the Surrey Fire and Rescue Authority (the Scheme Manager) is required to establish a new body known as a Local Pension Board to assist the Scheme Manager in its management and administration of the Firefighters’ Pension Scheme (FFPS) in line with relevant legislation, and in particular the 2013 Act and The Firefighters’ Pension Scheme (England) Regulations 2014 (as amended) (the Regulations). Regulation 4A of the draft Firefighters’ Pension Scheme (Amendment) (Governance) Regulations 2015 require each Scheme Manager to establish a new Local Pension Board for the purpose of assisting the Scheme Manager in its compliance  with the Regulations and any other legislations relating to the administration of the Scheme. This Local Pensions Board must be established no later than 1 April 2015.

     

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    The Cabinet Member for Business Services also introduced this report and confirmed that the establishment of a Surrey Local Pension Board for the Firefighters Scheme was a statutory obligation and that the Board must be established no later than 1 April 2015 She confirmed that this was a statutory unfunded public service pension scheme, unlike the Surrey Local Pension Board (item 12 on the agenda) and it would not have any decision making powers, it would only have the power to assist the Scheme Manager in an advisory capacity.

     

    RESOLVED:

     

    1.       That the Surrey Local Firefighters’ Pension Board be established, in accordance with the Public Services Pensions Act 2013 and the Firefighters’ Pension Scheme Regulations 2014 (as amended), with all matters as set out in Annex 1 to the submitted report, as its terms of reference with effect from 1 April 2015.

     

    2.       That authority be delegated to an appointment panel of officers and Members, as set out in the report to oversee the Local Pension Board recruitment process and for the People, Performance and Development Committee to appoint members of the Local Pension Board following recommendations from the appointment panel.

     

    3.       That the Terms of Reference, as set out in Annex 1 to the submitted report, be approved for adoption by the Local Pension Board.

     

    4.       That authority be delegated to the Director of Finance in consultation with the Chairman of People, Performance and Development Committee to create such policies and documents to assist the Local Pension Board.

             

    5.       That the Local Pension Board receive committee support from the Council’s Democratic Services team.

     

    6.       That any consequential amendments be made to the Council’s Constitution, as required.

     

24/15

Minutes of the Meetings of the Cabinet pdf icon PDF 574 KB

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    Any matters within the minutes of the Cabinet’s meetings, and not otherwise brought to the Council’s attention in the Cabinet’s report, may be the subject of questions and statements by Members upon notice being given to Anne Gowing in Democratic Services  by 12 noon on Monday 16 March 2015.

     

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    No notification had been received from Members wishing to raise a question or make a statement on any of the matters in the minutes, by the deadline.