Agenda and minutes
Venue: Council Chamber, County Hall, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey KT1 2DN
Contact: Joss Butler 020 8541 9702
Media
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APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
The Chairman to report apologies for absence. Additional documents: Minutes: Apologies for absence were received from Stephen Spence, Ben Carasco, Liz Bowes, Amanda Boote, Paul Deach, Stephen Cooksey, Colin Kemp, Marsha Moseley and David Goodwin.
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To confirm the minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 5 February 2019.
(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 minutes of the meeting of the County Council held on 5 February 2019 were submitted, confirmed and signed.
In regards to Item 7 (minute 7/19), a Member of the Council stated that going forward it would be beneficial to share responses from Cabinet Members to supplementary questions that were responded to after 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: Cllr Rachael I Lake declared a non-pecuniary interest for item 9 as her son works for Surrey County Council.
Mr Nick Darby declared a non-pecuniary interest on item 9 as his daughter works for Surrey County Council.
Mr Keith Witham declared a non-pecuniary interest on item 9 as his step-daughter works for Surrey County Council.
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CHAIRMAN'S ANNOUNCEMENTS
Recent visits and events
Additional documents: Minutes: The Chairman:
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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: The Leader made a detailed statement. A copy of the statement is attached as Appendix A.
Members raised the following topics:
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MEMBERS' QUESTION TIME PDF 101 KB
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 Democratic Services by 12 noon on 13 March 2019).
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: Questions:
Notice of seven questions had been received. The questions and replies were published in a supplementary agenda on 18 March 2019.
A number of supplementary questions were asked and a summary of the main points is set out below:
(Q3) Mr Robert Evans not did ask a supplementary question.
Mr Mallet asked the Cabinet Member for Environment and Waste to circulate the relevant documents outlined in the response.
The Cabinet Member stated that he would ensure the latest information was available to Members but noted it would take time as the consultation feedback was still being reviewed.
(Q5) Mrs Fiona White asked the Cabinet Member for Community Safety, Fire & Resilience if feedback from Fire & Rescue staff would be given additional weight due to their experience and knowledge on the subject.
The Cabinet Member stated that the consultation was being taken seriously and that all views would be taken into consideration. It was noted that extensive staff engagement was being conducted and that staff recognised the value of the proposals.
(Q6) Mrs Hazel Watson did not ask a supplementary question.
Mr Townsend asked the Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Families for further clarification on the section of the response which stated that the Council would maximise the potential of youth centre buildings wherever possible.
Mr Essex asked if the Cabinet Member agreed that at least some of the gaps referred to in the response were due to the service halving the number of youth workers in the county and, in order to address this, the Council would need to reinstate some youth workers in Surrey.
Mr R Evans asked if the Cabinet Member shared his concerns on the reduction in youth services at a time when young people faced increasing issues related to knife crime and radicalisation.
Mrs Curran urged the Cabinet Member to look into re-providing youth services at the Bookham Youth Centre.
Mrs Jan Mason asked if the Cabinet Member had fully understood the implications of the withdrawal of youth centres on deprived areas.
The Cabinet Member highlighted that there was an ongoing review of the service so she was therefore unable to give extensive details. The Cabinet Member went on to state that the youth offer review was a review in partnership with key stakeholders and would be shaped around the things that young people value the most. It was confirmed that there would be a meeting on 1 April 2019 with the Voluntary, Community and Faith Sector (VCFS) to discuss the future of the Edge Youth Centre in Watersedge, Epsom. It was further confirmed that a drop-in session would be held on 16 April 2019 for Members to discuss with officers the youth offer in their individual divisions.
(Q7) Mr Robert Evans asked the Cabinet Member for Community Safety, Fire and Resilience if they shared his concern that reducing fire cover at night time would lead to a higher risk of danger to citizens. He further asked for confirmation on when ... view the full minutes text for item 18/18 |
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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 18 March 2019).
Additional documents: Minutes: There were none. |
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ORIGINAL MOTIONS
Item 8 (i)
Mr Chris Botten (Caterham Hill) to move under Standing Order 11 as follows:
This Council:
- believes in the importance of equitable wage ratio; - notes the 60+ consultants currently appointed on interim contracts; - recognises that interim contracts are often far more costly than those of permanent staff, with the Programme Manager currently being recruited for with a potential salary of £98,000/year on a two year fixed term contract; - acknowledges that many residents within Surrey are struggling to make ends meet and facing higher Council Tax bills; - notes the ongoing cuts to essential Council services including children’s centres, Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) provisions and bus subsidies; - notes that a number of senior appointments are not being approved by the People, Performance and Development Committee (PPDC) where they ought to be;
This Council therefore resolves to:
- adopt a policy of recruiting to permanent positions where appropriate; - impose a pay cap on its salary costs (allowing for incremental drift); - work with the Surrey Boroughs and Districts to share talent and resource where possible to contain the overall Surrey payroll costs.
Item 8 (ii)
Mr Jonathan Essex (Redhill East ) to move under Standing Order 11 as follows:
Full Council believes that:
Full Council to:
Additional documents: Minutes: Item 8(i)
Under Standing Order 12.3 the Council agreed to debate this motion. Under Standing Order 12.1 Mr Chris Botten moved the motion, which was:
This Council:
· believes in the importance of equitable wage ratio; · notes the 60+ consultants currently appointed on interim contracts; · recognises that interim contracts are often far more costly than those of permanent staff, with the Programme Manager currently being recruited for with a potential salary of £98,000/year on a two year fixed term contract; · acknowledges that many residents within Surrey are struggling to make ends meet and facing higher Council Tax bills; · notes the ongoing cuts to essential Council services including children’s centres, Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) provisions and bus subsidies; · notes that a number of senior appointments are not being approved by the People, Performance and Development Committee (PPDC) where they ought to be.
This Council therefore resolves to:
· adopt a policy of recruiting to permanent positions where appropriate; · work with the Surrey Boroughs and Districts to share talent and resource where possible to contain the overall Surrey payroll costs.
Mr Botten made the following points:
The motion was formally seconded by Mr Forster, who reserved the right to speak.
Mr Kington moved an amendment, which was formally seconded by Mr Darby.
The amendment was as follows (with additional words in bold and deletions crossed through):
This Council:
· believes in the importance of equitable wage ratio; · notes the 60+ consultants currently appointed on interim contracts; · recognises that interim contracts are often far more costly than those of permanent staff, with the Programme Manager currently being recruited for with a potential salary of £98,000/year on a two year fixed term contract; · acknowledges that many residents within Surrey are struggling to make ends meet and facing higher Council Tax bills; · notes the ongoing cuts to essential Council services including children’s centres, Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) provisions and bus subsidies; · notes that a number of senior appointments are not being approved by the People, Performance and Development Committee (PPDC) where they ought to be.
This Council therefore resolves to:
· adopt a policy of recruiting to permanent positions where appropriate; · work with the Surrey Boroughs and Districts to share talent and resource where possible to contain the overall Surrey payroll costs. · amend the Terms of Reference of the PPDC to provide for the monitoring of the costs of senior management salaries, interim appointments and redundancies.
Mr Kington made the following points ... view the full minutes text for item 20/18 |
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SURREY PAY POLICY STATEMENT 2019/20 PDF 119 KB
To approve a revised Pay Policy Statement for 2019/20. Additional documents: Minutes: The Leader of the Council introduced the report and stated that a large amount of work had been put into creating a fair policy.
Cllr Rachael I Lake, Mr Nick Darby and Mr Keith Witham all declared non-pecuniary interests in this item.
RESOLVED:
That the Pay Policy Statement for 2019/2020 be agreed.
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The strategy details the vision and ambition for children’s emotional wellbeing and mental health in Surrey. It replaces the previous strategy which expired in 2017. County Council is asked to approve the strategy.
Additional documents: Minutes: The Leader of the Council introduced the report and stated that mental health was a key part of the Surrey Health Plan. It was noted that pages 73 & 74 of the agenda outlined outcomes which measured how Surrey would make an impact. The Leader of the Council undertook to ensure that the strategy would be regularly reviewed by the Health and Wellbeing Board.
Members made the following comments:
RESOLVED:
The Council approved the strategy. |
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REPORT OF THE CABINET PDF 72 KB
To receive the report of the meeting of the Cabinet held on 26 February 2019 which includes details for information / discussion in respect of:
· Surrey Performing Arts Library- Evaluation Of NewSPAL Business Plan · Surrey County Council Preparations For Exiting The European Union (Brexit)
Additional documents: Minutes: The Leader presented the report of the Cabinet meeting held on 26 February 2019.
Reports for Information/ Discussion
A) Surrey Performing Arts Library – Evaluation of NewSPAL Business Plan B) Surrey County Council Preparations for Exiting the European Union (Brexit)
RESOLVED:
That the report of the meeting of the Cabinet held on 26 February 2019 be adopted.
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MINUTES OF CABINET MEETINGS PDF 350 KB
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 18 March 2019.
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. |