Agenda, decisions and draft minutes
PDF 218 KBVenue: Council Chamber, Surrey County Council, Woodhatch Place, 11 Cockshot Hill, Reigate, Surrey ,RH2 8EF
Contact: Huma Younis or Sarah Quinn
Media
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Apologies for Absence
To receive any apologies for absence. Additional documents: Minutes: Apologies were received from Paul Deach. |
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Minutes of Previous Meeting: 27 May 2025
To agree the minutes of the last meeting as a correct record of the meeting. Additional documents: Minutes: These were agreed as a correct record of the meeting. |
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Declarations of Interest
All Members present are required to declare, at this point in the meeting or as soon as possible thereafter:
(i) Any disclosable pecuniary interests and / or (ii) Other interests arising under the Code of Conduct in respect of any item(s) of business being considered at this meeting NOTES:
· Members are reminded that they must not participate in any item where they have a disclosable pecuniary interest · 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) · Members with a significant personal interest may participate in the discussion and vote on that matter unless that interest could be reasonably regarded as prejudicial. Additional documents: Minutes: There were none. |
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Procedural Matters
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The deadline for Member’s questions is 12pm four working days before the meeting (18 June 2024).
Additional documents: Minutes: There were five member questions. A response to these questions was published in a supplementary agenda. There were no supplementary questions.
The Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Customer and Communities explained that the intention was to have 11 registration offices around the county to bring services closer to residents. The Cabinet Member had visited the registration office in Epsom on Saturday and Farnham and Woking would be next in line. Members would be notified as the offices were being rolled out. The Leader stated that these would not be stand alone offices but would be placed in exisiting council buildings such as libraries. |
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Public Questions
The deadline for public questions is seven days before the meeting (17 June 2025).
Additional documents: Minutes: There were none.
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Petitions
The deadline for petitions was 14 days before the meeting, and no petitions have been received.
Additional documents: Minutes: There were none.
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Representations received on reports to be considered in private
To consider any representations received in relation why part of the meeting relating to a report circulated in Part 2 of the agenda should be open to the public. Additional documents: Minutes: There were none.
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Reports from Select Committees, Task Groups and other Committees of the Council
To consider any reports from Select Committees, Task Groups and any other Committees of the Council. Additional documents: Minutes: There were none.
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To note any delegated decisions taken by the Leader, Deputy Leader, Cabinet Members, Strategic Investment Board and Committees in Common Sub-Committee since the last meeting of the Cabinet. Additional documents: Minutes: Cabinet Members gave an update on decisions that had been taken since the last Cabinet meeting including decisions relating to extra school places as part of the SEND Capital programme and approvals relating to a Your Fund Surrey application.
RESOLVED:
That the decisions taken since the last Cabinet meeting were noted.
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Cabinet Member of the Month
To receive an update from Cllr Marisa Heath, Cabinet Member for Environment. Additional documents: Decision: RESOLVED:
That the Cabinet Member of the month update be noted.
Minutes: A Cabinet Member of the month update was given by Cllr Marisa Heath. The following key points were raised:
· In 2021 the council put together an ambitions climate change plan. The first five years of the plan was one in which this organisation tok several actions to cut carbon, to enhance and protect our countryside and to help residents cut their energy bills and to invest in green energy across our estate. The second part of the climate change delivery plan would be updated and would focus on how we go further to support our communities to cut carbon, how we set up the foundations for nature recovery, how we invest in climate adaptation, how we tackle flooding, wild fires and air quality issues. · The council will continue to focus on making the county cleaner and greener but this may be impacted as a result of government funding. · The council would support communities across the county to take action towards a greener future, whilst making sure we continue to fight for investment and funding. · The Nature Recovery Strategy had been drafted and would now head into a consultation process to ensure it is robust and forward thinking. Cabinet would be asked to sign of this strategy later in the year. The council had invested in its own team of ecologists to support with this important work. To date 769,000 trees had been planted as part of the 1.2 million the council was aiming for. · An update was given on planning which was new to the Cabinet Members portfolio. The Cabinet Member expained that the government had a target to increase the number of homes in the country but this should not be done at the detriment of the rich history of Surrey. The county council and district council had recently worked together to successfully defend a decision to refuse a housing scheme in Ashtead. The scheme sought to demolish a house from c1700 which was locally listed and replace it with a large housing block. · Enforcement action would be a priority for the Cabinet Member over the coming months. In Caterham there were currently 70 enforcement cases. Action would be taken against those who cause significant harm to our environment, such as illegal waste sites and tearing up of well established trees and greenland. · There was recognition that Your Fund Surrey applications had supported the councils greener future agenda as the projects and buildings supported net zero policies including solar and eco comliant buildings. · Members welcomed the report and recognised the positive impact of the greener futures agenda and the environment on communities across Surrey.
RESOLVED:
That the Cabinet Member of the month update be noted.
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CHILDREN'S SERVICES OFSTED ILACS FINDINGS
This report summarises the results of the recent full inspection of Surrey’s children’s services by Ofsted that took place in March 2025. The report includes the overall judgement (or grading) for Surrey’s children’s services, the strengths and areas for improvement identified and the next steps following this inspection.
(The decisions on this item can be called-in by the Children, Families, Lifelong Learning & Culture Select Committee)
Additional documents: Decision: RESOLVED:
Reasons for Decisions:
The positive progress made since the last full inspection of Surrey’s children’s services in January 2022 has been recognised by Ofsted within their report. Ofsted have acknowledged that senior leaders within the Children, Families & Lifelong Learning directorate know their services well and understand which aspects of practice need further development.
We know there is still more to do and we are focused on our areas for development and improvement, to continue to provide even better care for children and young people in Surrey.
(The decisions on this item can be called-in by the Children, Families, Lifelong Learning & Culture Select Committee) Minutes: The report was introduced by the Cabinet Member for Children, Families and Lifelong Learning who summarised the results of the recent full inspection of Surrey’s children’s services by Ofsted that took place in March 2025. Ofsted had judged the overall effectiveness of Surrey’s services for children and families to be ‘good’. The report covered the strengths and areas for improvement and the next steps following the inspection. It was explained that at the last full Ofsted inspection of Surrey’s children’s services in January 2022, services were judged to be ‘requiring improvement to be good’. This followed overall judgements of ‘inadequate’ in the two prior inspections in 2015 and 2018. The service had worked hard to improve practice and support for children, young people, families and carers through continuous improvement and a range of transformation projects and programmes. The Cabinet Member thanked the directors, leadership and colleagues in the service for achieving a positive judgement from Ofsted. The focus would now be on improving the SEND service from ‘inconsistent’ to ‘good’.
The Deputy Cabinet Member for Children, Families and Lifelong Learning recognised the hard work of staff and the leadership of the Children’s service. It had been a long journey but fudemental improvements had been made. Ofsted noted the strength of the virtual school and the work of the user voice and participation team which has allowed the voices of users to shape future services.
Members welcomed the report and Ofsted’s findings. The skill and passion of staff was recognised as a key driver to improvements in the service. Special thanks was paid to Dave Hill, Joanna Killian and Rachael Wardell along with staff in Children’s services. The Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care noted that the CQC had also rated Adult Social Care services in Surrey as ‘good’. The Leader stated that there was no room for complacency and officers and members would continue to drive improvements children and families across Surrey.
RESOLVED:
Reasons for Decisions:
The positive progress made since the last full inspection of Surrey’s children’s services in January 2022 has been recognised by Ofsted within their report. Ofsted have acknowledged that senior leaders within the Children, Families & Lifelong Learning directorate know their services well and understand which aspects of practice need further development.
We know there is still more to do and we are focused on our areas for development and improvement, to continue to provide even better care for children and young people in Surrey.
(The decisions on this item can be called-in by the Children, Families, Lifelong Learning & Culture Select Committee) |
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SCHOOL ORGANISATION PLAN 2025
Cabinet is asked to consider the Surrey School Organisation Plan covering the academic years from September 2025-2035 and recommend it to Council for publication. (The decisions on this item can be called-in by the Children, Families, Lifelong Learning & Culture Select Committee)
Additional documents: Decision: RESOLVED:
Reasons for Decisions:
The School Organisation Plan is a key document used by schools and education stakeholders in considering medium- and long-term plans. Sufficiency of high-quality school places is a key statutory duty and underpins a great education for all and therefore, it is necessary to review the plan to ensure that the best and most up to date information is published for use in this process. This will encourage collaborative and collegiate planning and will provide greater transparency and understanding to local communities.
(The decisions on this item can be called-in by the Children, Families, Lifelong Learning & Culture Select Committee)
Minutes: The report was introduced by the Cabinet Member for Children, Families and Lifelong Learning who explained that Cabinet were being asked to endorse the Surrey School Organisation Plan covering the academic years from September 2025-2035 and recommend it to Council for publication. The School Organisation Plan set out the policies and principles underpinning both mainstream and specialist school organisation in Surrey. The county council had a statutory responsibility to ensure that there was a sufficient number of school places for all pupils who require one. The council had created over 10,000 additional places over the last five years in mainstream and specialist provision.As of the end of the 2024/25 academic year, completed projects across 31 different schools had provided an additional 1,129 specialist school places. In addition, there were a further 22 projects in contract or with a contractor appointed that will ultimately provide a further 1,159 places on completion.Some projects were still in development, but it was anticipated that the number of additional specialist school places in Surrey would exceed 2,000 by 2029.
The Deputy Cabinet Member for Children, Families and Lifelong Learning explained that school place planning team did a lot of modelling to help plan school place provision. This included reviewing future birth rate figures, planning permissions for housing developments and reviewing school place applications over the last 12 months.
RESOLVED:
Reasons for Decisions:
The School Organisation Plan is a key document used by schools and education stakeholders in considering medium- and long-term plans. Sufficiency of high-quality school places is a key statutory duty and underpins a great education for all and therefore, it is necessary to review the plan to ensure that the best and most up to date information is published for use in this process. This will encourage collaborative and collegiate planning and will provide greater transparency and understanding to local communities.
(The decisions on this item can be called-in by the Children, Families, Lifelong Learning & Culture Select Committee)
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STREETWORKS TASKFORCE UPDATE
To provide an update on how Surrey County Council is trying to reduce the impact of roadworks on residents, and in particular the work of the Streetworks Taskforce, set up in 2024, that has been responding to objectives initiated by the Communities, Environment and Highways Select Committee. (The decisions on this item can be called-in by the Communities, Environment and Highways Select Committee) Additional documents: Decision: RESOLVED:
Reasons For Decisions:
Street works have an impact on Surrey residents’ journeys every day and are regularly reported as a source of concern or frustration. Whilst legislation determines how street works are undertaken and coordinated, Surrey County Council is keen to improve the experience, and reduce the impact, for residents and as such, has progressed a range of interventions and activities to try and achieve this.
(The decisions on this item can be called-in by the Communities, Environment and Highways Select Committee)
Minutes: The Cabinet Member for Highways, Transport and Economic Growth introduced the report explaining that Surrey faced exceptional pressure with utility works and had approximately 72 works starting daily. Gas works lasted for an average of 44 days for major projects and water companies accounted for 64% of all emergency works on the network which caused disruption to residents and businesses. In 2024 a Streetworks Task Force was developed with key utility providers working in Surrey on how we could improve work being undertaken on the highways network. The initiative emerged from scrutiny sessions from the Select Committee and looked at improving coordination, communication and strategic planning between all parties. As a result of the discussions the county council was looking to develop and implement a shared mapping tool based on the successful tool developed by the Greater London Authority. The aim of the tool will be to improve visibility of forward programmes of work of all organisations who carry out work on the Surrey Highway network to improve coordination and identify opportunities for collaboration. The county council had successful discussions with Thames Water and UKPN who had agreed to work with SCC to develop the tool and to be early adopters and promoters of the tool for other utility providers.
Another key opportunity to be able to improve the coordination of road works is for the county council to have more advance information, where possible, on utility provider emergency works. As a result of the taskforce discussion, several Utility providers have agreed to start providing SCC with lists of “planned” emergency works so that a minimum level of coordination may be undertaken to help mitigate the impact of these types of work on the network. The council had been lobbying the DfT for legislative changes in particular to improve emergency works management. The council had been invited Surrey to join a working group to discuss this.
An ongoing Communications workstream Group with communications representatives from SCC and utility companies has also been implemented to discuss best practice and work towards agreed joint Communications Protocols. This group would be looking to improve signage templates and increase social media use to inform residents of work being undertaken on the network. The council had also increased its inspection regime which saw a 66% increase in the average number of live site Streetworks Inspections per month of utility works between 2023 and 2025 and a 78% increase in the average number of total Streetworks Inspections per month between 2023 and 2025. This had led to a reduction in highways occupation and just under 10% reduction in resident complaints about emergency works. The council also operated a lane rental scheme. The surplus from this was used to fund innovative solutions on the highway.
The Leader commended the task group, Cabinet Member for Highways, Transport and Economic Growth and Cabinet Member for Children, Families and Lifelong Learning on the work undertaken and the focus on raising road works issues at a national level. Members recognised the ... view the full minutes text for item 100/25 |
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Devolution and Local Government Reorganisation
This report updates the Cabinet on preparations for Surrey’s devolution and local government reorganisation (D&LGR) programme. It sets out key developments sinceSurrey County Council submitted a Final Plan for local government reorganisation (LGR) in Surrey to government on 9 May 2025.
Cabinet is asked to note the government’s approach to consultation on the LGR proposals under consideration, how the council is beginning to ready services for the anticipated changes, and an update on work to develop a strengthened community engagement model that will shortly be piloted to bring public services and communities closer together to promote preventative activity and support thriving communities.
This item was dealt with under the General Exception rule as it had not had the required 28 days’ notice on the Forward Plan. The Chairman of the Resources and Performance Select Committee was notified of the intention to make this decision.
(The decisions on this item can be called-in by the Resources and Performance Select Committee) Additional documents: Decision: RESOLVED:
Reasons for Decisions:
As Surrey transitions through this historic change to its local government, we are committed to being open and transparent with residents and wider partners on D&LGR work. This includes sharing any opportunities that wider stakeholders may have to influence the process, so their views are taken into account by government in their decision-making process.
(The decisions on this item can be called-in by the Resources and Performance Select Committee) Minutes: The Leader presented the report confirming that the Cabinet and officers would continue to focus on the delivery of every day services for residents. The government had launched a seven-week consultation with stakeholders across Surrey to gather their views on two of the proposals for Local Government Reorganisation (LGR), starting on 17 June 2025 and closing on 5 August 2025. The Leader encouraged everyone to complete this consultation which was comprised of 9 questions. Elmbridge, Mole Valley and Surrey County Council had put forward a proposal for 2 unitary councils and Epsom and Ewell, Guildford, Reigate and Banstead, Runnymede, Spelthorne, Surrey Heath, Waverley, Woking, and Tandridge had put forward a proposal for 3 unitary councils. The Leader explained that the submission supporting the proposal for 2 unitaries would save more money than the proposal for 3 unitaries. A cost would be incurred for disaggregating services but once LGR had completed there would be annual savings of £25m if there were 2 unitaries whereas the 3 unitary model it would cost £16m per annum more on our analysis. With regards to the issue of the Woking debt, the government have stated that they would provide exceptional financial support for 2026/27. The council had asked for irrecoverable debt to be written off and government have confirmed they will continue to engage with Surrey councils to find a solution.
The Leader addressed the outcome of the settlement and the allocation of funding to each of the departments explaining that for any new money coming into local government over the next three years, 76% of this will be funded on the assumption that the Council increases its Council tax by 5% each year for the next three years. A brief update was given on the fair funding review and how this potentially meant less money for Surrey. It was therfore important to continue to find areas for savings and deliver efficiencies.
Government had also clarified their expectations around community engagement models for areas going through LGR. Government expect LGR to facilitate better and sustained community engagement with a clear and accountable system of local area-working and governance. They describe a model of place-based engagement and leadership which is very similar to our Community Boards model, called Neighbourhood Area Committees. Four pilot schemes would be set up for these Neighbourhood Area Committees, one in the east, one in the north, one in the south, one in the west.The pilot Neighbourhood Area Committees in Surrey will bring together local partners to understand the key issues affecting a place, agree priorities and drive collaborative action that promotes preventative activity and supports thriving communities where everyone can access effective early support, fulfil their potential and no-one is left behind.
A "Let's Talk" live session which will provide residents with an opportunity to ask the council about local government reorganisation was being held on 7 July 2025. More details could be found on the county council website. There would be a question and answer session during the event. ... view the full minutes text for item 101/25 |
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EXCLUSION OF THE PUBLIC
That under Section 100(A) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information under the relevant paragraphs of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act. Additional documents: Minutes: RESOLVED: That under Section 100(A) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information under the relevant paragraphs of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act.
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PUBLICITY FOR PART 2 ITEMS
To consider whether the item considered under Part 2 of the agenda should be made available to the Press and public. Additional documents: Minutes: It was agreed that non-exempt information may be made available to the press and public, where appropriate. |