Agenda and minutes
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Contact: Angela Guest Email: angela.guest@surreycc.gov.uk
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APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
To receive any apologies for absence and substitutions. Minutes: An apology was received from Councillor Sir Beville Stanier. |
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MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING [4 March 2022]
To agree the minutes of the previous meeting. Minutes: The minutes were agreed as a true 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.
Minutes: There were none. |
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PROCEDURAL ITEMS
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Members' Questions
The deadline for Member’s questions is 12pm four working days before the meeting (03/11/2022). Minutes: There were none. |
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Public Questions
The deadline for public questions is seven days before the meeting (03/11/2022). Minutes: There were none. |
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Petitions
The deadline for petitions was 14 days before the meeting and none have been received. Minutes: There were none. |
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FORWARD PLAN AND ACTION TRACKER
The Committee are asked to note the workplan and action tracker. Additional documents: Minutes: Resolved:
That the forward work plan and action tracker be noted. |
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PERFORMANCE, HALF YEAR SERVICE REVIEW AND JOINT SERVICE BUDGET
The Joint Committee is asked to note the performance of the service for quarters one and two of 2022-23 and the latest forecast for the outturn for 2022/23. Additional documents: Minutes: Key points from the discussion:
Steve Ruddy (Head of Trading Standards) and Amanda Poole (Assistant Head of Trading Standards) introduced the report. The following key points were made regarding the service budget: a) A shared service budget overspend of £218,000 was forecast for the financial year 22/23. This was down from the previous years’ prediction of a £263,000 overspend in 22/23. Forthcoming changes to the rate of National Insurance may further alter that figure, but this had not been incorporated into the budget, due to the way in which each authority accounted for and planned their budgets around factors such as National Insurance and Pay Inflation this forecast leads to an overspend in Buckinghamshire and an underspend in Surrey. b) The overspend reduction had come in part due to a £43,000 government grant issued to carry out work related to the introduction of legislation regarding allergen labelling on foods pre-packed for direct sale (known as ‘Natasha’s Law), as well as a reduction in spending related to legal costs with numerous cases adjourned due to pressures on the court system. A plan was in place to further reduce the overspend over the following 2–3-year period. c) A Board meeting would be held in January, at which the details of the 23/24 budget would be discussed including changes to the income and expenditure of the service, as well as the proposed plans to further reduce the overspend.
The following key points were made regarding the performance and service update:
d) A process was underway to review and assess the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) against which the future performance of the service was assessed. Further details would be provided at the January Board meeting with an opportunity for members to provide feedback. e) £1,342,971 had been saved for residents as a results of Service interventions during Q1 and Q2 of financial year 22/23. This put the service on track to exceed each of the previous three financial year’s total savings should the same rate continue throughout Q3 and Q4. This figure was an estimated saving based on the average loss incurred by various scams per person in accordance with national research conducted by Trading Standards National Scams Team working with economists. Further funding had been secured from the Police and Crime Commissioners locally and the Home Office nationally for additional call blocking units to assist with this intervention work, and communications were being circulated to encourage members of the public who could afford to, to purchase their own call blockers and doorbell cameras. Those issued by the service itself were free of charge and taken from an allocation given as a result of a regional funding bid. f) It was estimated that for every £1 spent on a call blocker, £32 would be saved. For every £1 spent on a doorbell camera, £39 would be saved. g) The service continued to work closely with a wide range of partners in both local authority areas to ensure that the residents most vulnerable to scams ... view the full minutes text for item 21/21 |
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DATE OF THE NEXT MEETING
The 2023 dates of the Buckinghamshire County Council and Surry County Council Joint Trading Standards Service Committee will be held on 4 April 2023 and 21 September 2023. Minutes: The Committee noted that its next meeting will be held on 4 April 2023. |