The minutes of the previous meeting as a true
and accurate record of proceedings.
Minutes:
Councillor Essex commented that whilst there
seemed to be a clear action plan in place to address air quality
issues, this did not seem to be the case with carbon emission
issues and asked for the inclusion of this comment within the 6
September minutes. The Chairman agreed to take this forward with
the Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport who assured the
Committee that recruitment would be taking place to ensure an
officer was in place to support the delivery of both the low
emissions and electric vehicle strategy.
11.
Declarations of Interest
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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); and
·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.
1.The deadline for Member’s questions is 12.00pm
four working days before the meeting (29 November 2018).
2.The deadline for public questions is seven days
before the meeting (28 November 2018).
3.The deadline for petitions was 14 days before the
meeting, and no petitions have been received.
Minutes:
1.
A Member question was received from Councillor Povey. The question
and response is attached to the minutes.
2.
Councillor Povey thanked the Chairman and officers for the response
stating that his local CRC in Cranleigh was under threat of
closure. With regards to the recycling rates for district and
boroughs for 2017/18, Councillor Povey queried why recycling
figures between each of the authorities was so varied.
3.
The Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport stated that
kerbside waste collection was the responsibility of district and
boroughs and these recycling rates had been taken forward with each
authority to understand what could be done to improve rates. Work
was being undertaken by the Surrey Waste Partnership (SWP) to
address this issue. The Cabinet Member added that if recycling
rates increased there would be a bigger saving to be made with
reduced waste disposal costs
4.
The Committee relayed their concerns around the recycling rates for
district and boroughs to the Cabinet Member. Officers agreed to
provide Members with data displaying recycling rates for district
and boroughs over recent years.
Actions:
I.
For officers to provide the Committee with district and borough
recycling rates covering the last five years.
Recommendations from the Select
Committee meeting on 6 September regarding the Low
Emissions Transport Strategy and Electric Vehicle Strategy
were submitted to Cabinet for consideration on 27 November 2018. A
response from the Cabinet Member for Environment and Highways is
attached.
The Chairman informed the Committee that she
had attended the Cabinet meeting where the Low Emissions Transport
Strategy and Electric Vehicle Strategy was considered. She added
that the Committees recommendations regarding the strategies had
been endorsed by the Cabinet Member.
Purpose of the
Report:This report outlines the
concessionary travel funding consultation process to date and gives
an overview of the responses received so far.
The Chairman declared a
personal interest in that her husband holds a disability
pass.
Witnesses:
Paul Millin, Strategic
Transport Group Manager
Jason Russell, Executive
Director for Highways, Transport and Environment
Mike Goodman, Cabinet Member
for Environment and Transport
Key
points raised during the discussion:
A Member of the
Committee stated thatremoving free
concessionary travel for disabled pass holders before 09.30 and
after 23.00 Monday to Friday would impact on those disabled people
who needed to travel to and from work. Those disabled people
receiving the minimum wage would also be impacted by the removal of
this concessionary fare. The Chairman explained that Central
Governments statutory scheme requires that qualifying older and
disabled people be allowed to travel for free on buses after 09:30
and before 23:00 Monday to Friday, plus all day on Saturdays,
Sundays and Public Holidays. It was added that the costs of
providing the additional travel concession on bus services outside
the statutory hours have been subsidised by Surrey tax payers for
many years.
TheStrategic Transport Group Manager explained that as
of 4 December 2018, just over 1,500 responses had been received for
the consultation. Key themes emerging from the consultation are
included in Annex 1 of the agenda report. Discussions would be
taking place with a number of advocacy groups that represent the
views of disabled people to understand the implications of the
potential removal of the two additional concessions and possible
mitigation measures.
There was a short
discussion around the impacts of removing the additional
concessionary fare offer on the state benefit system. It was
queried if officers had information on the number of Surrey
disabled bus pass holders who received state travel benefits.
Officers explained that this was not information they had access to
nor collected.
The Committee agreed
that if there was a removal of free concessionary bus travel for
disabled people then more would need to be done to ensure those
affected were made aware of the state benefits and support in place
for them. The Strategic Transport Group Manager explained that
officers had engaged and publicised the concessionary bus travel
public consultation through a number of different formats including
producing hard copy brochures, large print and easy read documents
and offering residents a text service.
A Member commented
that removing free concessionary bus travel before 09.30 andcompanion passeswould not
support the council’s sustainable travel agenda and would
also impact on elderly people who rely on companions to travel
with. There was a concern that many elderly residents would be left
house bound because of this. In terms of the estimated annual
saving to be achieved from this removal, some Members were of the
view that this saving should be sought elsewhere in the Council.
The Executive Director explained that work was being undertaken by
the service to review areas of statutory and non-statutory spend as
a means of addressing the current budget situation. It was added
that the areas of statutory and non-statutory spend ...
view the full minutes text for item 14.
Jason Russell, Executive
Director for Highways, Transport and Environment
Alan Bowley, Interim Head of
Environment
Mike Goodman, Cabinet Member
for Environment and Transport
Key
points raised during the discussion:
TheCabinet Member provided the Committee with an update
on the ongoing CRC consultation. The Interim Head of Environment
explained that a Resources and Waste Strategy was due for
publication by Defra in late December 2018. It was further
explained that the strategy would have implications for local
authorities waste and recycling policies. It was agreed for a
meeting to take place in January 2019 to consider the CRC public
consultation feedback and receive an update from officers on the
impacts of the Resources and Waste Strategy on Surrey County
Council. The Interim Head agreed to send the Committee the
Resources and Waste Strategy once published.
A Member of
the Committee explained that some of her residents were confused
around the size of the ‘bags’ that could be taken to
CRCs as part of the waste charging scheme. The Cabinet Member
stated that once changes to CRCs were agreed, a communications
campaign would be underway to clarify with residents the policies
in place at CRC’s. It was added that the Surrey Waste
Partnership (SWP) would support this campaign.
A number of
questions and comments were raised by the Committee. Officers
agreed to provide a response to the questions raised. The following
questions were asked, and comments made,
It was
queried if there was an opportunity for a volunteer or community
group to operate a Surrey CRC as the Charity Newmarket Open Door
had done in Suffolk,
Has the
authority considered that charging for construction wood will lead
to increased fly-tipping,
It would be
useful for Members to be provided with a breakdown of recycling
rates for each Surrey CRC and operating costs at each
CRC,
In relation
to paragraph 7 in the report, can officers explain how
‘reasonably accessible’ is measured in relation to
accessing CRCs in Surrey and theimpact of
CRC closures on residents who use public transport to access the
CRCs,
For Members
to be provided with enforcement and prosecution numbers for
fly-tipping in each Surrey district and borough,
Members
welcomed extended opening hours in larger CRC’s if some
smaller CRC’s were too close,
Has the
Council ever considered a free kerbside collection as is done by
Yarra Ranges Council in Melbourne,
Australia,
With the
possible closure of CRC’s, it was important that traffic
measures at each of the remaining CRC’s is reviewed with the
possible increase in traffic movements.
Resolved:
I.That the Committee review the CRC public
consultation feedback and receive an update from officers on the
impacts of the Resources and Waste Strategy on Surrey County
Council in early January 2019.
II.The Interim Head to send the Committee the Resources
and Waste Strategy once published.
III.Officers provide a response to the questions raised
(a-h) by Members in the meeting.
Purpose of the Report:To provide the committee with details of the
transformation programme being undertaken within the Surrey Fire
and Rescue Service to ensure that the service is aligned with good
practice for a modern Fire and Rescue Service.
Steve Owen-Hughes, Director of
Community Protection and Emergencies
Jason Russell, Executive
Director for Highways, Transport and Environment
Denise Turner-Stewart, Cabinet
Member for Community Services
Key
points raised during the discussion:
The
Director of Community Protection and Emergencies presented the
Committee with a presentation which detailed proposals for service
wide transformation of the Surrey Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS). A
detailed presentation is attached as Annex 1 to the minutes. The
Committee were informed that the publication of Her Majesty’s
Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services
(HMICFRS) inspection report on the Surrey Fire and Rescue Service
had been delayed to 14 December 2018.
Councillor Heath left the meeting at 12.30
The
Chairman raised concerns around plans to consult the public on a
new Integrated Risk Management Plan (IRMP) during the purdah period
in 2019. To ensure the service improves and
savings are achieved, the Executive Director explained that
transformation work would need to take place as a matter of
urgency. It was agreed that details and timelines for the public
consultation would be shared with the Committee once
finalised.
There was a
short discussion around possible income generating opportunities
for the SFRS and activities that could be charged for. The Director
of Community Protection and Emergencies explained that one of the
key responsibilities of Fire and Rescue Authorities is to protect
life and it was therefore difficult to charge for activities when
risk of life was paramount.
Although
there had been a reduction in the number of fires over the last ten
years, the Director of Community Protection and Emergencies
explained that this number was now increasing.
With
regards to Initial Response Vehicles (IRVs), it was explained by
officers that these vehicles were widely used all over Europe.
Surrey County Council had been using these on a trial basis but
this model of service delivery was not supported by the Fire
Brigades Union (FBU). Although the concept was still valid, IRVs
would not be utilised by Surrey going forward. The Executive
Director further added that £6m savings enlisted for the
service had been predicated on the introduction of
IRVs.
The Cabinet
Member recognised that a number of changes were required to improve
SFRS and these were supported by the Cabinet. There would be
investment made to the service to ensure improvements could take
place. The Cabinet Member reinforced the importance of scrutiny
during the period of transformation.
It was
explained that the Fordbridge fire station in Ashford would be
opening in January 2019 and both Staines and Sunbury fire stations
would be vacated by this date.
The
Chairman proposed that a Member Reference Group is convened to
support the SFRS transformation programme.
A Member of
the Committee stated that the Summary Full Business Case included
within the agenda item was very high level and a simpler version
should be made available for public consumption. The Director of
Community Protection and Emergencies confirmed that a copy of the
Full Business Case had been shared with ...
view the full minutes text for item 16.
The
Select Committee is asked to review its Actions and Recommendations
Tracker and approve its draft Forward Work Programme, providing
comment as required.
1.
The Actions and Recommendations Tracker & Forward Work
Programme were agreed by the Committee. The Chairman added that the
transformation projects within the Committees remit would be mapped
alongside the 2019 Select Committee work programme.
Resolved:
That Committee agreed
its forward work programme and reviewed its recommendation
tracker.
18.
Date of the Next Meeting
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The
next meeting of the Select Committee will be held on 22 February
2019 in the Ashcombe Suite at County Hall.
Minutes:
The next meeting of the Environment Select
Committee will be held on 22 February 2019 at 10.00am in the
Ashcombe Suite, County Hall, Kingston upon Thames.
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