Agenda and draft minutes
- Attendance details
- Agenda frontsheet
PDF 195 KB
- Agenda reports pack
- Supplementary Agenda - Item 12 PDF 230 KB
- Supplementary Agenda - Item 13 PDF 352 KB
- Supplementary Agenda - Item 6 PDF 763 KB
- Supplementary Agenda - Item 1: Annex A - Approval Of County Councillor Absence PDF 154 KB
- Printed draft minutes
PDF 225 KB
Venue: Woodhatch Place, 11 Cockshot Hill, Reigate, Surrey, RH2 8EF
Contact: Amelia Christopher Email: amelia.christopher@surreycc.gov.uk
Media
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APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE (including Annex A - Approval of County Councillor Absence)
The Chair to report apologies for absence. Additional documents: Minutes: Apologies for absence were received fromJohn Beckett, Amanda Boote (remote), Stephen Cooksey, Chris Farr (remote), Will Forster, John Furey, Jonathan Hulley, David Lewis (Camberley West), Cameron McIntosh (remote), Rebecca Paul, Chris Townsend. The Assistant Director - Governance and Democratic Services noted a major incident on the motorway which meant that several Members would be late. The Chair referred to Annex A - Approval of County Councillor Absence published yesterday in the fourth supplementary agenda.
RESOLVED:
That John Furey may continue to be absent from meetings until October 2024 by reason of ill health. The Council looks forward to welcoming him back in due course.
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To confirm the minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 21 May 2024. Additional documents: Minutes: The minutes of the meeting of the County Council held on 21 May 2024 were submitted, confirmed and signed.
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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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CHAIR'S ANNOUNCEMENTS
His MajestyThe King’s Awards for Surrey Residents - Birthday Honours 2024
I am delighted to start today’s meeting by congratulating Surrey’s recipients of HM The King’s Birthday Honours 2024. 21 residents across the county were recognised for their significant contribution across a range of services in our county and country.
May I take this opportunity to offer my heartfelt congratulations to all recipients, particularly Tim Oliver, Leader of the Council, and Rachael Wardell, Executive Director for Children, Families and Lifelong Learning at Surrey County Council, who have both been awarded Orders of the British Empire (OBE). Tim received his Honour as Councillor and Leader for services to Local Government and Rachael for services to children’s social care.
Both Rachael and Tim work exceptionally hard to greatly improves the lives of Surrey residents and are highly deserving of their awards. Very well done to you both and please keep up the excellent work!
A full list of Surrey’s Honours awardees can be found on the Surrey Lieutenancy website: The Honours System - Surrey Lieutenancy
Celebrating Our Armed Forces, Past and Present
6 June this year saw the 80th anniversary for the D-Day landings in Normandy, which marked the beginning of the liberation of France and western Europe. I joined the Freedom Parade in Guildford, one of many events taking place across the county and country to mark this historic occasion, and we remembered and paid our greatest respects to those remarkable veterans who fought and died for the freedoms we all enjoy today.
Armed Forces Week took place across the UK from 24-31 June and, as Chair of the Surrey Civilian-Military Partnership Board and of Surrey County Council, I hosted our annual ‘Armed Forces Day Flag Raising Ceremony’ on 24 June in our Memorial Garden at Woodhatch Place.
It was a great privilege to welcome currently serving members of Surrey’s military, Veterans, Reservists, Ex-Service Personnel, representatives from the Royal British Legion, SSAFA and ABF The Soldiers’ Charity, for a flag raising and one minute silence.
We honoured the exceptionally brave men and women who have served and continue to serve in our Armed Forces to defend and protect our great country.
On 26 June we spent the day celebrating Surrey’s Reservists and raising awareness of what Reservists do and the supportive policies that Surrey County Council has in place. Soldiers from 4th Battalion Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment (‘4PWRR’) had a weapons display stand here at Woodhatch Place and we heard from Col Richard Smith OBE, the newly appointed Deputy Commander of HQSE and Commander of SE Reserves, about the value Reservists bring to employers.
Thank You Finally, thank you as always to staff and Members for all that you do for our residents. You make an immeasurable difference to our residents – particularly our most vulnerable. Thank you.
Additional documents: Minutes: The Chair:
· Congratulated Surrey’s recipients of His Majesty The King’s Birthday Honours 2024. Twenty-one residents across the county were recognised for their significant contribution across a range of services in Surrey and the country; including Tim Oliver, Leader of the Council, and Rachael Wardell, Executive Director for Children, Families and Lifelong Learning at Surrey County Council, who had both been awarded Orders of the British Empire (OBE). · Congratulated Rebecca Paul and Will Forster, newly elected Members of Parliament for Reigate and Woking respectively, and wished them success. · Paid homage to those Members who stood in last week’s General Election but were unsuccessful, recognised their efforts in putting themselves forward for public service to stand up for the rights of others. · Asked Members to put former Members in touch with the Chair’s Office should they wish to be kept updated of Council news. · Noted that the rest of his announcements could be found in the agenda.
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The Leader to make a statement.
There will be an opportunity for Members to ask questions and/or make comments.
Additional documents: Minutes: Liz Bowes, Fiona White and Keith Witham arrived at 10.10 am.
Carla Morson arrived at 10.13 am.
The Leader of the Council made a detailed statement. A copy of the statement is attached as Appendix A.
Members raised the following topics:
· Congratulated the Leader and Executive Director for Children, Families and Lifelong Learning for their OBEs; and to the two Members who had been elected to Parliament, and all those who stood for election. · Hoped for positive change at Westminster that would address some of the issues the Council was struggling with. · Noted the failure of the processes for assessing and meeting need for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). · Noted that schools were struggling to meet that need, early intervention was vital to address the increased demand and complexity of need. · Highlighted the ageing population and more SEND children transitioning into adulthood, a secure funding system was needed to enable the building of the right accommodation and support attracting the required staff. · Stressed that strategies were needed to reduce climate change by decreasing the use of fossil fuels by generating more green energy and efficient homes, and by improving resilience to climate change by not building on flood plains. · Hoped for systems and processes to become more efficient and more effective, removing unnecessary bureaucracy. · Noted negative changes during the current Council term: removal of Local Committees, verge cutting and on-street parking enforcement brought back in-house, and the restructuring of the highways teams. The Council had become increasingly reactive with issues reported by residents not being resolved. · Welcomed the additional Educational Psychologists, but correspondence with parents, carers and schools, and the delivery and support for places for children and young people was inadequate. · Welcomed the significant capital investment programme: building new children's homes, extra care housing for older residents and those with Autism Spectrum Disorder, building more SEN schools and increasing provision in others. · However, noted that the level of scrutiny was disappointing, the scoping, local Member engagement and project management was poor, leading to ineffective, delayed and costly delivery; called for Members’ skills to be utilised.
Angela Goodwin, Julia McShane and Liz Townsend, arrived at 10.24 am.
· Welcomed that there were two more people in Parliament with experience of local government who could highlight the struggles faced. · Noted that Members must now refocus energy on their remit, a new government would not be able to solve the problems faced for many years quickly, called for working collectively to tackle the challenges. · Highlighted a case where the Council was instructed to pay compensation to the family of a boy with complex medical needs who lost twenty-seven days of education and special needs provision after his school transport was cancelled. · Was horrified by the decisions made regarding Home to School Transport, the Council must use its resources efficiently to not disadvantage more children.
John Robini arrived at 10.26 am.
· Noted that the Council had to pay out more than £540,000 of compensation in the last year ... view the full minutes text for item 53/24 |
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MEMBERS' QUESTION TIME
1. The Leader of the Council, the Deputy Leader 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 Democratic Services by 12 noon on Wednesday 3 July 2024).
2. Cabinet Member and Deputy 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: Questions:
Notice of twenty-three questions had been received. The questions and replies were published in the third supplementary agenda on 8 July 2024.
A number of supplementary questions were asked and a summary of the main points is set out below:
(Q1) Joanne Sexton asked whether the message that she was to deliver to residents was that they should be thankful that the Council would meet its climate change target in 2050 by reducing the number of cuts per annum. That expectations were too high for the Council to accommodate and only some of the complaints had merit. That cuts would not be to the same standard as those made by residents to their own garden or as good as Spelthorne Borough Council used to cut the grass verges.
Robert Evans OBE asked whether the Cabinet Member personally met with Ringway which had been given the contract in Spelthorne. If so, what was discussed, what assurance did he seek from them and what assurances were gained.
The Deputy Cabinet Member for Highways noted that previously the borough and district councils helped the Council in cutting the verges which resulted in a better service for residents, the onus was now on the Council alone so there would be fewer cuts. The four cuts per year had been increased to six and further improvements had been made since last year based on the feedback of the task and finish group. The Council had also improved the identification of areas it was responsible for, technology solutions were in place to monitor what was being done. He acknowledged that residents want a high standard of service, which the Council was working towards using the resources it has.
Responding to Robert Evans OBE, he noted that he would check with officers about the discussions with Ringway. He had spoken to the assistant director who noted that Ringway would be an additional resource, providing the Council with flexibility to be able to send in an additional contractor to areas where it was falling behind.
(Q3) Tim Hall asked whether the Cabinet Member would agree with the need to link in other networks and partners going forward. He noted that the Family Centre in North Holmwood must be linked to other communities such as Box Hill and Leatherhead North.
Jonathan Essex asked how the figure of 1,282 families supported in the first course of the contract by the eleven Family Centres compared to the number of families supported when there were 58 Children’s Centres across Surrey.
The Cabinet Member for Children, Families and Lifelong Learning agreed with the need to have a close community-based network of Early Help across the county, not just in Mole Valley. The Early Help networks help to keep families safe and stop problems escalating. She noted that the Council had worked hard over the last few years to strengthen the Early Help offer to families with children of all ages. The former 58 Children's Centres were focused on families with young children, ... view the full minutes text for item 54/24 |
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STATEMENTS BY MEMBERS
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 Democratic Services by 12 noon on Monday 8 July 2024).
Additional documents: Minutes: Nick Darby (The Dittons) referred to highway markings, mentioning several roads in or around his division which did not appear to be included on the list provided to Members. He noted that the following roads were dangerous, needing urgent attention: Scilly Isles roundabout where the lane markings had disappeared, another roundabout near the Imber Court roundabout where the keep clear marking was missing, by Thames Ditton train station there was a short section where the no entry markings had disappeared and it was also a bus route, at the end of that road the junction of Speer Road and Summer Road the mini roundabout’s markings had disappeared and it was also a bus route, and Effingham Road on the boundaries of Long Ditton and Thames Ditton a bus stop where the yellow markings had disappeared. Such issues had been reported many times but had not been resolved.
Buddhi Weerasinghe (Lower Sunbury and Halliford) commended the Lower Sunbury Hedgehog Project launched this year led by the Lower Sunbury Residents’ Association (LOSRA) and Friends of Sunbury Park. It was an example of a community driven effort to address the decline in the local hedgehog population. He used his Member’s Allocation to support the hedgehog survey and the project aimed to create a hedgehog friendly community by improving their habitats and increasing their numbers. A significant impact could be made through small adjustments in gardens creating hedgehog highways, residents could also record sightings. The project aimed to spread the message through schools, neighbourhood watch groups and local organisations. There was a dedicated Facebook page and resources on the LOSRA website for residents to get involved, he called on Members to support it.
Joanne Sexton (Ashford) noted that parents in her division and Spelthorne with children and young people with SEND were unhappy that the Council had received an honour in His Majesty’s The King’s Birthday Honours 2024 list. She noted that the Council made the process painful and costly, parents should not have to pay for therapy and legal fees to secure a school place; parents win 97% of their cases highlighting the Council's failure to comply with the law. Even after securing a school place, many parents continued to fight for appropriate transport and to keep their children in school.She noted that over 350 councils in England had fewer than 50 complaints annually, whereas Surrey and Kent had over 150 complaints annually. The Council paid around £500,000 in compensation to the families. She highlighted the tragic deaths of Oscar Nash in 2020 and Jen Bridges in 2023, the Coroner noting the Council’s failures in their care. Parents and carers want their voices heard.
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ORIGINAL MOTIONS
None received.
Additional documents: Minutes: None received.
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SCRUTINY ANNUAL REPORT 2023/24
For Council to review the Scrutiny Annual Report 2023/24 at Annex A offering feedback and comments as appropriate.
Additional documents: Minutes:
Paul Follows and Penny Rivers left the meeting at 11.54 am.
The Chairman of the Adults and Health Select Committee, called on Members to support recommendation two. He noted NHS England’s decision to move the Primary Treatment Centre for paediatric cancer care from the Royal Marsden Hospital - working with the Institute of Cancer Research and Saint George's Hospital, Tooting - to the Evelina Hospital in central London. The change risks damage to the level of care given, families faced travelling from Surrey into central London with seriously ill children, with significantly higher costs and lesser family accommodation than that proposed by St George’s. The Evelina Hospital did not provide serious paediatric cancer care and would still require ambulance transfers between multiple centres. The South West London and Surrey Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committeeunanimously agreed that the decision was damaging to the health services.
A Member thanked the select committee members for their work, noting particular thanks to the CFLLC Select Committee for its work and analysis to lobby for the increase in the budget envelope of £30 million. Also, for its support to get the community-based play and leisure scheme for children with SEND that lost funding in the 2023/24 budget reinstated; and thanked the Leader and the Cabinet for their support. The Member noted disappointment that despite reassurances that it would be the case, the Cabinet agenda last month reflected that the schemes lost had not been reinstated and funding had been allocated to different parts of those services. Whilst the hours had broadly been reinstated, missed provision would not be gotten back and there was nothing to address waiting lists. Those schemes provided children and young people with a relaxing and safe place, and provided their families and carers with respite. She hoped that the SEND Capital Programme and the roll out of the Foster Carers’ Charter would be scrutinised effectively over the coming year, with support from officers in sharing information.
A Member praised yesterday’s finance training session with the CfGS and welcomed a repeat of it following ... view the full minutes text for item 57/24 |
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MEMBER DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY REVIEW 2024
To review the Member Development Strategy (Annex A) and agree suggested changes from the Member Development Steering Group. Additional documents: Minutes: The Chairman of the Member Development Steering Group (MDSG) noted that he was appointed as chair of the MDSG at the start of the new municipal year, he thanked the former chairman, Mark Nuti for his work. He noted that the MDSG was cross-party and had worked with officers to review and update the Member Development Strategy, to ensure it aligns with the Council’s organisational priorities and supports the needs of elected Members for the next two years. The revised strategy included the induction plans for 2025. He noted that feedback from one-to-one meetings between Members with senior officers from Democratic Services was fed into the work to update the strategy, around what approaches work best for Members and upcoming training opportunities they would like. Provision for specific skills identified as being key for Members: IT and Digital, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, and Member-Officer relationships; and external support for Members had been included. He highlighted the round table meeting with county councils in the South East to discuss their approaches to Member development, their ‘Be a Councillor’ campaigns and plans for Member inductions following next year’s elections; as well as how training feedback was gathered and sharing best practice. He noted that similar challenges were faced and the MDSG would review the ideas discussed.
RESOLVED:
Approved the revised Member Development Strategy and its appendices.
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AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION
It is the Council’s responsibility to approve changes to the Council’s Constitution. Amendments to Executive functions are the responsibility of the Leader and are brought to Council to note.
This report sets out proposed changes to:
These changes are brought to Council for formal approval in accordance with Articles 4.09, 5.02 and 13.01(a) of the Council’s Constitution.
Additional documents: Minutes: The Chair noted the proposed changes to Parts 3 and 4 of the Constitution.
RESOLVED:
1. Approved the amendments to Part 3, Section 3, Part 3A of the Constitution as set out in Annex 1 of this report. 2. Approved the amendments to Part 4 of the Constitution as set out in Annex 2 of this report.
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REPORT OF THE CABINET
To receive the report of the meeting of the Cabinet held on 25 June 2024.
(Note: report to follow)
Additional documents: Minutes: The Leader presented the report of the Cabinet meeting held on 25 June 2024.
Recommendations on Policy Framework Documents:
A. Youth Justice Plan
RESOLVED:
Approved the 2024/25 Youth Justice Plan.
B. School Organisation Plan 2024
RESOLVED:
Approved the School Organisation Plan 2024.
Reports for Information/Discussion:
25 June 2024:
C. Delivering For Surrey Through Strategic Partnerships D. Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Capital Programmes and Specialist Sufficiency to 2031/32 E. 2023/24 Outturn Financial Report
F. Quarterly Report on Decisions Taken Under Special Urgency Arrangements: 14 May 2024 – 2 July 2024
RESOLVED:
1. Noted that there had been no urgent decisions since the last Cabinet report to Council. 2. Adopted the report of the meeting of the Cabinet held on 25 June 2024.
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MINUTES OF CABINET MEETINGS
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 Democratic Services by 12 noon on Monday 8 July 2024.
(Note: minutes to follow)
Additional documents: Minutes: No notification had been received by the deadline from Members wishing to raise a question or make a statement on any matters in the minutes.
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