Councillors and committees

Agenda and minutes

Venue: Committee Room C

Contact: Jisa Prasannan or Huma Younis 

Items
No. Item

1/13

APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE AND SUBSTITUTIONS

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    Minutes:

    ·         Apologies were received from Chris Norman, Christian Mahne and John Orrick. Margaret Hicks substituted for Chris Norman. Mike Goodman substituted for Christian Mahne and Will Forster substituted for John Orrick.

     

2/13

MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING: 11 JULY 2013 & 14 AUGUST 2013 pdf icon PDF 60 KB

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    To agree the minutes as a true record of the meetings.

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    The minutes of 11 July 2013 were agreed by members of the Committee as an accurate record of that meeting.

     

    A member of the committee asked for two extra points of clarification to be noted in respect of the minutes of 14 August 2013. These were:

     

    ·         That a member of the committee asked the Section 151 officer whether a business plan had been put in place. She explained that no business plan had been written or requested.

     

    ·         The Cabinet member for community services made a commitment to come back to the select committee with detailed proposals of the Magna Carta programme as it developed. 

     

3/13

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:

    ·    In line with the Relevant Authorities (Disclosable Pecuniary Interests) Regulations 2012, declarations may relate to the interest of the member, or the member’s spouse or civil partner, or a person with whom the member is living as husband or wife, or a person with whom the member is living as if they were civil partners and the member is aware they have the interest.

    ·    Members need only disclose interests not currently listed on the Register of Disclosable Pecuniary Interests.

    ·    Members must notify the Monitoring Officer of any interests disclosed at the meeting so they may be added to the Register.

    ·    Members are reminded that they must not participate in any item where they have a disclosable pecuniary interest.

    Minutes:

    Cllr Saj Hussain declared an interest in Knaphill library. (As Knaphill Library was not one of the 10 Surrey libraries identified to become a CPL library, this was not a disclosable pecuniary interest for the purposes of item 9 so Cllr Hussain was able to take part in the discussion).

     

4/13

QUESTIONS AND PETITIONS

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    To receive any questions or petitions.

     

    Notes:

    1.  The deadline for Member’s questions is 12.00pm four working days before the meeting (20 September 2013).

    2.  The deadline for public questions is seven days before the meeting (19 September 2013).

    3.  The deadline for petitions was 14 days before the meeting, and no petitions have been received.

    Minutes:

    One question had been received from a councillor and two questions from members of the public. Written responses from the Chairman were tabled at the meeting. The councillor and both members of the public were present at the meeting to ask one supplementary question.

     

    1.    Cllr Robert Evans thanked the Chairman for the response to his question. Cllr Evans then asked the following supplementary question: there are inconsistencies in the financial figures provided and some costs have not been accounted for. Is there a business plan for the total cost of this project?

     

    The Cabinet Member for Community Services explained that the costs and savings for the project had been retained in the libraries overall budget. No savings were made in the overall library budget last year but the project has not been completed as of yet. The library services motive was to work with underperforming libraries that were at risk. Money had been saved through staff savings and the support of volunteers in respect of CPLs, and these savings had been ploughed back into the overall library service budget. The  aim is to improve the sustainability of Surrey’s libraries.  

     

    2.    Mr Lee Godfrey thanked the Chairman for the response to his question. Mr Godfrey then asked the following supplementary question: given that the major justification of the CLP project is cost savings, how is this committee supposed to assess the progress of the CPL project when it doesn't have a grip on the costs? I would like to know what the original budget for the project was, how the council is tracking against that budget and how this committee can ensure that taxpayers are receiving value for money from the CLP project?

    The Library Operations Manager explained that the overall aim of the project was to make savings of £381,000 per annum, this would come from savings on staff costs. The money to convert the libraries into CPLs would come from these staff savings. Surrey County Council would continue to fund overhead costs such as building, books and IT. She explained that for training and governance purposes CPLs  were treated as any other Surrey County Council library. The Library Operations Manager explained that the cost of the support team for the CPLs was not an additional cost as they were already library staff and support of CPLs was just one part of their role. The Library Operations Manager stated the support offered to CPL libraries is of a high quality. The Cabinet Member for Community Services explained that the Council did not wish to close their libraries as was happening in other parts of the Country and CPLs were the solution.

     

    3.    Mr Richard Wilson thanked the Chairman for the response to his question. Mr Wilson then asked the following supplementary question:  Inote that after becoming Community Partnered Libraries, the six CPL’s issuing of books has declined at twice the rate of other comparable libraries. Your answer says that “low and declining use” was the reason for  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4/13

5/13

RESPONSES FROM THE CABINET TO ISSUES REFERRED BY THE SELECT COMMITTEE pdf icon PDF 17 KB

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    A response is included following recommendations made to Cabinet on 23 July 2013.

     

    Minutes:

    Declarations of interest: None.

     

    Witnesses: None.

     

    Key points raised during the discussion:

    1.    It was noted that a Cabinet response to the Select Committee’s recommendations on the Magna Carta Anniversary had been received. 

    Recommendations:

    None.

     

    Actions/further information to be provided:

    None.

     

    Committee Next Steps:

    None.

     

     

6/13

RECOMMENDATION TRACKER AND FORWARD WORK PROGRAMME pdf icon PDF 25 KB

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    The Committee is asked to monitor progress on the implementation of recommendations from previous meetings, and to review its Forward Work Programme.

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    Declarations of interest: None.

     

    Witnesses: None.

     

    Key points raised during the discussion:

    1.    A member of the committee asked for clarification on when the Magna Carta seminar would be held. The Chairman stated the all member seminar would be held on Monday 9 December 2013.

     

    Recommendations:

    None

     

    Actions/further information to be provided:

    None.

     

    Committee Next Steps:

    None.

     

     

7/13

SFRS INCOME GENERATION STRATEGY AND TRADING pdf icon PDF 46 KB

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    Purpose of report: Scrutiny of Services and Budget

     

    This report provides an update to specific issues and risks raised by the Select Committee in July 2013 in response to the Fire and Rescue Services Income Generation Report.

     

    Minutes:

    Declarations of interest:

    None.

     

    Witnesses:

    Kay Hammond, Cabinet Associate for Police and Fire Services

    Russell Pearson, Head of Fire and Rescue, Chief Fire Officer, Surrey Fire and Rescue Service

    Liz Mills, Chief of Staff, Surrey Fire and Rescue Service

    Steve Owen-Hughes, Assistant Chief Fire Officer Operations Support, Surrey Fire and Rescue Service

     

    Key points raised during the discussion:

    1.    The Cabinet Associate for Police and Fire Services briefly introduced the report to members of the committee and explained that questions arising from the previous select committee meeting were answered in the report provided.

     

    2.    A member of the committee asked for clarity around the decision not to use the Surrey Fire & Rescue Service (SFRS) branding for potential trading activity (paragraph 3 of the report). The member asked what the branding would be and asked for assurances that it would be distinctly different from SFRS. The Cabinet Associate for Police and Fire Services stated that there have been legal challenges across the country in using the branding of Fire & Rescue Service’s for trading purposes. She explained that a brand for a future trading arm has not been decided yet and the service will need to develop a business case before any branding can be established. However, she could confirm that as a result of the legal advice the service has received the SFRS brand will not be used. 

     

    3.    A member of the committee raised concerns over staffing levels required for extra income generation activities and questioned if there would be charges for services which were previously free. The Chief of Staff explained that there would be strict separation between core services and business services. The money raised from income generation would go back into core services ensuring that key services would continue to be provided. The Chief of Staff assured the committee that uniformed employees would not be involved in income generation activities but that new staff would be employed for this purpose. She went on to give her reassurance that the service would not charge for services which were previously free, and explained that there are legislative requirements in place to ensure those lines are not blurred. The Chief of Staff explained that the service would use a business plan to ensure any changes were sustainable.          

     

    4.    It was commented on by a member of the committee that the fire service was moving into income generation through business and this appeared to be the general direction of travel for the whole Council. The member queried whether this raised any philosophical concerns as regards the direction of travel of a local authority. The Cabinet Associate for Police and Fire Services explained that the move towards business was not unique to the fire service. The service needed to be innovative in order to meet their statutory duties and provide the best value for money, at a time when funding from central government was being severely reduced. The Cabinet Associate for Police and Fire Services explained that people did not want to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7/13

8/13

CUSTOMER SERVICES OVERVIEW AND PERFORMANCE REPORT pdf icon PDF 176 KB

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    Purpose of report: Scrutiny of Services& Policy Development and Review

     

    The purpose of this report is to give the Communities Select Committee an overview of Customer Services’ role, performance and future plans.

     

    Minutes:

    Declarations of interest:

    None.

     

    Witnesses:

    Mark Irons, Head of Customer Services and Directorate Support

    Helyn Clack, Cabinet Member for Community Services

     

    Key points raised during the discussion:

    1.    The report was introduced by the Head of Customer Services and Directorate Support. He explained the purpose of the report was to introduce customer services and detail each of the teams it contained. The Head of Customer Services explained that historically there were lots of contact numbers for different directorates and no performance measuring. The aim of the centralised customer services team was to reduce cost and increase levels of customer satisfaction.

     

    2.    A member of the committee asked if the contact centre had received more calls with the recent fire service strike. The Head of Customer Services and Directorate Support stated that the contact centre had not received any increased volume of calls.

     

    3.    A member of the committee expressed concern over the misuse of blue badges and asked what could be done to ensure people used them correctly. The Head of Customer Services and Directorate Support explained that the district and boroughs policed the use of blue badges and that SCC issued them. SCC was working with district and boroughs to ensure any concerns were being addressed.    

     

    4.    The Cabinet Member for Community Services offered members the option of visiting the contact centre and learning more about how the contact centre works.

     

    5.    A member of the committee identified a possible income generation opportunity if the contact centre were to make provision for taking calls on behalf of district and borough councils. The Head of Customer Services and Directorate Support explained that a Surrey Contact Centre Group which included representatives from district and boroughs had been set up to discuss the possibility of taking local calls. This is something the service would be interested in undertaking but ultimately the choice rests with the district and borough councils.

     

    6.    In reference to  page 41-42 of the report, a member of the committee asked what happened to complaints that were not answered in 10 working days (i.e. outside the response target). The member asked when these complaints would be answered. The Head of Customer Services and Directorate Support explained that the 10 working days was a statutory target for the council. If complaints were not answered within this timeframe, it did not mean that responses went well beyond the target, in some cases responses just missed out on meeting the target e.g.  11, 12 or 13 days. The Head of Customer Services explained that he could provide exact figures in respect of this.

     

    7.    Some members of the committee raised concerns over the high number of children’s social care complaints which were not answered in the 10 working days response target. The Head of Customer Services and Directorate Support explained that the adult social care and children’s social care teams had their own complaints teams and procedures. The adult social care and children’s social care complaints had been included in the report  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8/13

9/13

COMMUNITY PARTNERED LIBRARIES PROGRESS REPORT pdf icon PDF 204 KB

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    Purpose of report: Policy development and review

     

    To provide the committee with an update on the progress on the implementation of Community Partnered Libraries (CPL’s) across Surrey.

     

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    Declarations of interest:

    None.

     

    Witnesses:

    Susie Kemp, Assistant Chief Executive

    Helyn Clack, Cabinet Member for Community Services

    Peter Milton, Head of Cultural Services

    Rose Wilson, Library Operations Manager

    Gill Woods, Member of Management Committee at Warlingham CPL

    Lesley Harling, Steering Group Representative at Virginia Water CPL

    Judie Knobloch, Volunteer from Virginia Water CPL

     

    Key points raised during the discussion:

    1.    The Chairman welcome county council officers, the Cabinet Member for Community Services and the external witnesses who had come to speak on the progress of the CPL libraries. The external witnesses Gill Woods, Lesley Harling and Judie Knobloch introduced themselves.  Lesley Harling explained that she was originally a volunteer at Virginia Water CPL but now sat on the Steering Group. Judie Knobloch explained that she was a volunteer at Virginia Water CPL. She explained that she had come to this whole project with hesitation but was now completely convinced about it. She described the experience as a great challenge but a huge success. Gill Woods explained that she was from Warlingham CPL and had been involved from the very beginning. She stated that she was on the management committee but was also a volunteer as well as a Parish Councillor. She explained that Warlingham was a victim of their own success with regards to the summer reading challenge which produced some resource issues.

     

    2.    A member of the committee asked how these witnesses had been chosen to speak at committee. The Library Operations Manager explained that she had emailed all the steering group reps and volunteers working in the CPL libraries about speaking at committee. She received a large number of responses but invited those who had not previously spoken at committees. The witnesses at today’s meeting represent the two different CPL models.

     

    3.    A member of the committee asked the external witnesses how they had found the support and training they had received from SCC. Judie Knobloch stated that volunteers at Virginia Water had received superb support. SCC allowed for volunteers to find their own solutions but were always willing to help. There was also a detailed procedures book which was kept regularly updated. Lesley Harling also commented on the great support received, the SCC team were committed and flexible, but stated that during the initial start up there were some communication issues. However, she explained that there have been huge improvements in this regard since and volunteers are enjoying themselves. Virginia Water CPL currently has a volunteer waiting list. Gill Woods echoed Lesley Harling’s comments.

     

    4.    A member of the committee commented on the 20% of CPL opening hours which is shared with an SCC staff member and asked how long this procedure would continue for. The Cabinet Member for Community Services stated that the service was committed to supporting CPL’s and will continue with support staff remaining in the CPL libraries for as long as it was required. The Head of Cultural Services explained that the 20% had been formalised in the MOU (memorandum of understanding) to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9/13

10/13

DATE OF NEXT MEETING

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    The next meeting of the Committee will be held on Thursday 31 October 2013 at 10am.  

    Minutes:

    The next meeting will be held on 21 November 2013.