Councillors and committees

Agenda, decisions and minutes

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Contact: Vicky Hibbert or Anne Gowing  020 8541 9938 Email: anne.gowing@surreycc.gov.uk

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No. Item

82/17

Apologies for Absence

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    Minutes:

    Apologies were received from Mr Mel Few and Mr Tim Oliver.

83/17

Minutes of Previous Meeting: 27 April 2017

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    Minutes:

    The minutes of the meeting held on 27 April 2017 were agreed as a true record of the meeting.

84/17

Declarations of Interest

85/17

Procedural Matters

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85/171

Members' Questions pdf icon PDF 251 KB

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    Decision:

    Two questions were received from Mrs Hazel Watson and responses are attached at Appendix 1.

    Minutes:

    Two questions were received from Mrs Hazel Watson and responses are attached at Appendix 1.

     

    Mrs Watson asked a supplementary question regarding her second question asking the Leader to confirm whether the County Council will be submitting evidence to the Government on any adverse impacts of a ‘dementia tax’ on Surrey residents. The Leader stated that the Council will respond to any consultations on this matter in the best interests of the residents of Surrey.  

86/17

Public Questions

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    There were none.

87/17

Petitions

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    Minutes:

    No petitions were received.

88/17

Representations received on reports to be considered in private

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    None received.

89/17

Reports from Select Committees, Task Groups, Local Committees and other Committees of the Council

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    Minutes:

    No reports were received.

90/17

Proposed De-commissioning of Externally Commissioned Young People's Early Help Services pdf icon PDF 205 KB

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    Decision:

    RESOLVED:

     

    The Cabinet agreed to de-commission Neighbourhood Local Prevention Grants so funding ceases on 31 August 2017.

     

    Reasons for decisions

     

    This is recommended so that the Council delivers the change to grants necessary for the required savings in the Medium Term Financial plan for 2017/18 and 2018/19, whilst protecting investment in the most strategically critical services, and preparing for the wider transformation of early help.

     

    [The decisions on this item can be called in by the Children and Education Select Committee.]

    Minutes:

    The Cabinet Member for Children introduced the report and informed the Cabinet that this was a difficult paper to present but it was necessary due to the difficult financial circumstances. She explained that the Council and its partners were currently working together to look at how Early Help was provided and the outcomes being delivered. She stated that there was a need to provide value for money services that met the needs of children and that it was with regret that this paper sought approval to de-commission the Early Help services that were currently commissioned through the Local Committees.

     

    Members were informed that this would achieve a £250,000 saving in the current year and more over the longer term. It was also confirmed that this would not impact on the 1-1 Local Prevention support or the Year 11/12 Transition.

     

    Mrs Kay Hammond, Chairman of the Overview and Budget Scrutiny Committee was in attendance and asked a question regarding the consultation period and whether this was in line with the Surrey Compact agreement and the Monitoring Officer confirmed that the work undertaken was Compact compliant.

     

    The Equalities Impact Assessment was discussed in depth and Members queried what support that would be provided to vulnerable children. It was confirmed that this was only one part of the range of services provided and that Looked After Children and disadvantaged children were a particular group that would be targeted as a priority. Members were also told that signposting to other services would take place.

     

    Members expressed concern as to whether the named organisations set out within the submitted report would be able to continue to deliver services with the de-commission occurring.  They were informed that the Council owed a great deal of thanks to these providers for the work they had done to date and it had been confirmed that they would continue to run as businesses if this decision was implemented.

     

    RESOLVED:

     

    The Cabinet agreed to de-commission Neighbourhood Local Prevention Grants so funding ceases on 31 August 2017.

     

    Reasons for decisions

     

    This is recommended so that the Council delivers the change to grants necessary for the required savings in the Medium Term Financial plan for 2017/18 and 2018/19, whilst protecting investment in the most strategically critical services, and preparing for the wider transformation of early help.

     

91/17

Part Night Street Lighting - Alternative Funding Model pdf icon PDF 138 KB

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    Decision:

    RESOLVED:

     

    1.         That the Cabinet approved the implementation of a mechanism (as detailed in paragraphs 16-19 of the submitted report) to allow District/Borough Councils to enhance the level of service and request all lights in their area be excluded from Part Night Lighting and to reimburse the County Council the full value of savings that would be realised by switching them off.

    2.         That authority be delegated to the Head of Highways and Transport, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Highways, to enter into specific agreements with requesting District or Borough Councils.

     

    Reasons for Decisions

     

    District and Borough Councils have their own budgets and across the County will have differing local priorities.  Enabling them to request lights be excluded from Part Night lighting allows them to respond to those differing priorities by enhancing the level of service provided over and above that delivered by the County Council.

    [The decisions on this item can be called in by the Environment and Infrastructure Select Committee.]

    Minutes:

    The Cabinet Member for Highways reminded Members that the Cabinet had approved the implementation of Part Night Street Lighting in October 2016.  He said that many other authorities had also taken similar action and all of the lights selected had focussed on non-traffic routes and had been risk assessed against a number of “Avoidance Criteria” which if present would mean the lights would be left on. 

     

    He went on to explain that there was a process in place to ask for roads to be reassessed and stated that there was currently a delay with processing these and he requested that residents note that this was due to Surrey Police and the Council’s Road Safety Team needing to examine each situation on a case by case basis.

     

    He highlighted that the £210,000 saving would pay for 1 kilometre of major repair on the highway or 5 kilometres of surface dressing.

     

    He explained that since the implementation of Part Night Lighting, some partner councils had expressed an interest in covering the cost of keeping the lights were currently included in Part Night Lighting programme on. He stated that the report sought authority to start conversations with those interested in this with a view to drawing up five year agreements with invoices to be issued twice a year.

     

    The environmental effect of CO2 was discussed and it was confirmed that this would equate to a 2% reduction in carbon taxes.

     

    Members agreed that it was important to listen to residents views however there was a need to ensure that the full cost of officer time involved in the programme needed to be incorporated into the overall charges. It was also reflected that there have been a number of comments made by residents who are in support of having the lights turned off with reasons including being able to see the night sky, improved sleep as the streetlight near a bedroom window and a positive impact on wildlife.

     

    The Cabinet Member for Highways stated that to date, only one borough had expressed a wish to take this approach forward and that was largely due to its vicinity to Heathrow Airport and having a large number of shift workers living in this area.

     

    RESOLVED:

     

    1.         That the Cabinet approved the implementation of a mechanism (as detailed in paragraphs 16-19 of the submitted report) to allow District/Borough Councils to enhance the level of service and request all lights in their area be excluded from Part Night Lighting and to reimburse the County Council the full value of savings that would be realised by switching them off.

    2.         That authority be delegated to the Head of Highways and Transport, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Highways, to enter into specific agreements with requesting District or Borough Councils.

     

    Reasons for Decisions

     

    District and Borough Councils have their own budgets and across the County will have differing local priorities.  Enabling them to request lights be excluded from Part Night lighting allows them to respond to those differing priorities  ...  view the full minutes text for item 91/17

92/17

Leader / Deputy Leader / Cabinet Member and Investment Board Decisions Taken Since the Last Cabinet Meeting pdf icon PDF 83 KB

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    Decision:

    RESOLVED:

     

    That the Cabinet noted the decisions taken by Cabinet Members / Investment Board since the last meeting as set out in Annex 1 of the submitted report.

     

    Reasons for Decision

     

    To inform the Cabinet of decisions taken by Cabinet Members / Investment Board under delegated authority.

    Minutes:

    RESOLVED:

     

    That the Cabinet noted the decisions taken by Cabinet Members / Investment Board since the last meeting as set out in Annex 1 of the submitted report.

     

    Reasons for Decision

     

    To inform the Cabinet of decisions taken by Cabinet Members / Investment Board under delegated authority.