Agenda and minutes
PDF 179 KBVenue: Ashcombe Suite, County Hall, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey KT1 2DN
Contact: Dominic Mackie or Sharmina Ullah
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APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE AND SUBSTITUTIONS
Minutes: Apologies were received from Saj Hussain and Ramon Gray Richard Wilson attended as a substitute for Saj Hussain
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MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING:
To agree the minutes as a true record of the meeting. Minutes: Corrections to the minutes to be made; Richard Walsh, not Wash; the date of the next meeting was 19 May, not Thursday 9 May; and Alan Young was in attendance. The remainder of the minutes of the meeting on 17 March 2016 were agreed as an accurate record.
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DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
To receive any declarations of disclosable pecuniary interests from Members in respect of any item to be considered at the meeting.
Notes: · In line with the Relevant Authorities (Disclosable Pecuniary Interests) Regulations 2012, declarations may relate to the interest of the member, or the member’s spouse or civil partner, or a person with whom the member is living as husband or wife, or a person with whom the member is living as if they were civil partners and the member is aware they have the interest. · Members need only disclose interests not currently listed on the Register of Disclosable Pecuniary Interests. · Members must notify the Monitoring Officer of any interests disclosed at the meeting so they may be added to the Register. · Members are reminded that they must not participate in any item where they have a disclosable pecuniary interest.
Minutes: The following declaration of interest was noted:
Jan Mason informed the Board that her son served in the Armed Forces.
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QUESTIONS AND PETITIONS
To receive any questions or petitions.
Notes: 1. The deadline for Member’s questions is 12.00pm four working days before the meeting Friday 13 May 2016. 2. The deadline for public questions is seven days before the meeting Thursday 12 May 2016. 3. The deadline for petitions was 14 days before the meeting, and no petitions have been received.
Minutes: There were no questions or petitions. |
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RESPONSES FROM THE CABINET TO ISSUES REFERRED BY THE SCRUTINY BOARD
There are no responses to report. Minutes: There were no responses to report. |
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RECOMMENDATION TRACKER AND FORWARD WORK PROGRAMME
The Board is asked to monitor progress on the implementation of recommendations from previous meetings, and to review its Forward Work Programme. Additional documents: Minutes: 1. Yvonna Lay and Karan Persand agreed to join the Board’s Libraries Task and Finish Group. 2. The Board discussed the responses received from recommendations from previous meetings. It was commented that some of the responses did not fully address the issues raised. 3. A Member referred to recommendation REB 4/2016 which related to the creation of a social media hash- tag and for it to be adopted an used by Trading Standards, as a channel of communication between residents and consumers to report and follow up on issues and complaints raised with the Services. The Member had the opinion that the response to this recommendation was not satisfactory. The Chairman noted this and informed the Board that a report on Trading Standards communications was planned for the July meeting, and would address the concerns raised. 4. The Vice-Chairman gave an update to the Board about the Performance and Finance Sub-Group meeting which took place on 26 April 2016. The Board was told that a work programme had been agreed and that the Group intended to scrutinise budgets and future planned savings for Key Services within the remit of the Board at meetings across the year. The Chairman recommended that the work programmes be circulated to the full Board. 5. The Chairman reminded the Board of its Extraordinary Meeting on Thursday 30 June that would focus on three Surrey Fire and Rescue Service items. 6. A Member informed the Board of developments at West Horsley Place, and the prospective opening of Grange Park Opera. Members agreed that the development may provide an opportunity to promote the County’s cultural scene.
Recommendations:
1. For the Performance and Finance Sub-Group work programme to be circulated to the full Board.
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SUPPORTING ARMED FORCES COMMUNITY IN SURREY
To highlight the issues facing the armed forces community (including serving personnel and their families, reservists, cadets and veterans) in Surrey, and to provide an update on progress made on implementing actions under the Armed Forces Covenant to help ensure that the armed forces community is not disadvantaged by their service.
Additional documents: Minutes: Declarations of Interest:
Jan Mason informed the Board that her son served in the Armed Forces.
Witnesses: Councillor John Kingsbury - Woking Borough Council Canon Peter Bruinvels – Surrey CC Civilian-Military Liaison Officer Karen Webster -Civil Engagement Officer, 11 Infantry Brigade Major Jodie Kennedy-Smith - SO2 Transition, 11 Infantry Brigade Wing Commander David Bramley -Branch Secretary, SSAFA Surrey James Painter - Community Partnership Manager Sarah Goodman - Community Partnership and Committee Officer ZafarIqbal – Senior Policy Officer, Woking Borough Council
Key points raised during discussion:
1.
Officers introduced the report to the
Board and highlighted some of its key points. It was reported that
Surrey County Council signed the Armed Forces Covenant (the
Covenant) in 2012 and that the Covenant’s main objective was
to ensure that any member of the Armed Forces (AF) community is
treated fairly and not put at a disadvantage. The key areas which
can be an issue for the AF community in Surrey are education,
employment, health, housing, family life, debt, divorce. The
Covenant also aims to further support Cadet units, as well as attracting more adult volunteers
within the Cadets. 2.
The purpose of the review was to raise
awareness on how to refer people effectively, consider actions
going forward the next few years, to ensure the AF community can
benefit and support Surrey’s delivery of the work of the
Surrey Civilian Military Partnership Board. 3.
The Board was informed that service
personnel are encouraged to branch out earlier into civilian
networks and “put down roots” through their service
ahead of resettlement. This new approach is designed to help
veterans transition back into civilian communities. The initiative
aims to remove the barriers associated with resettlement by
promoting integration through effective means. 4. There was a discussion around how the Covenant functions and works to meet its objectives. Witnesses from Woking Borough Council informed the Board how local businesses were encouraged to sign the Covenant and to get involved with, support and to help prevent any discrimination or disadvantage against military personnel. Furthermore, Officers emphasised how the Covenant offered a wide range of benefits to AF personnel. An example given to the Board was the signing of the Armed Forces Covenant by Woking Football Club, which promoted communication and integration between two communities.
5.
Officers also expressed how they were
keen to engage with manufacturing companies to promote the Covenant
and broaden the support and widen the employment opportunities
available to AF personnel. 6.
It was explained to the Board that the
catalyst for creating a more thorough support network for
Surrey’s military population was Surrey County Council
signing the Covenant. Subsequently, the District and Borough
Councils had signed the Covenant and appointed Armed Forces
Champions; some also creating Armed Forces Panels. Officers also
stressed the importance of the work of the Surrey Civilian Military
Partnership Board. 7. Members expressed concerns with homelessness and wanted clarification on how veterans were sought out in these conditions and then supported. Officers explained to the Board, how ... view the full minutes text for item 7/16 |
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BREAK 11:55AM - 12:01PM |
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COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT IN THE LOCAL DECISION MAKING PROCESS
To consider how the resident experience in relation to engagement, local decision making and devolved funding has improved over the last few years, and to consider options for further improvement.
Additional documents: Minutes: 8/16 COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT IN THE LOCAL DECISION MAKING PROCESS [Item 8]
Declarations of Interest:
None
Witnesses:
John Kingsbury – Woking Joint Committee Vice-Chairman and Leader of Woking Borough Council Beryl Hunwicks – Woking Borough Councillor Nick Skellett – Tandridge Local Committee Chairman Sandie Bolger – Senior Practitioner (Woking), Youth Support Team Philip Stubbs – Woking Resident & Chairman of Knaphill Residents Association Victoria Eade – Community Partnership and Committee Officer (Tandridge) Sarah Goodman – Community Partnership and Committee Officer (Woking) James Painter – Community Partnership Manager Jane Last – Head of Community Partnership and Safety Sandra Brown – Community Partnership Team Leader – East Richard Bolton – Local Highways Services Group Manager
Key points raised during discussions:
1. Officers introduced the report and summarised the main objectives of the Community Partnership Team, including engagement, governance & devolution and funding. It was reported that following the Customer Service Accreditation in 2015 there had been a focus to transform the resident experience at Local Committees, and to widen public engagement.
2.
Officers informed the Board that the best way to
improve engagement with residents at Local Committees is to use
simpler terminology and removing any language barriers containing
complex jargon. It was reported that all Local and Joint Committees
had adopted Powerpoint Presentations to
help attendees navigate though meetings. 3.
In relation to communication, a Member of the Board
conveyed that, to help raise awareness, Local Committees would need
to have a good presence on social networks, signposting to meetings
taking place as attendance in the past was, at times, sparse. The
Board was informed that, on top of the established use of Twitter,
Officers were looking at other social networks, such as
Facebook. It was identified that print
advertising could also be more prominent to help promote future
engagement from residents at Local Committee meetings. 4.
There was a discussion around promoting Governance
and Devolution; the Board noted that a decision tracker had been
created so residents were kept informed of the progress made on an
issue raised at Local Committees, until removed from the tracker on
completion. 5.
The Tandridge Local
Committee Chairman commented that the Joint Committee model was
designed to make decisions at local committees more relevant to
residents, as well as also giving more councillors, local and
county, more opportunity to influence decisions. A further
envisaged advantage was to create stronger ties between the County
and District and Borough Councils. 6. Witnesses commented that they believed the Joint Committee model demonstrated a more joined up way of thinking and generally more effective. A given example ... view the full minutes text for item 8/16 |
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DATE OF NEXT MEETING:
The next meeting of the Board will be held at 10:30am on Thursday 30 June 2016. Minutes: The next Resident Experience Board will take place on 30 June 2016 at 10:30am in County Hall. |