Venue: Surrey County Council, Woodhatch Place, 11 Cockshot Hill, Reigate, Surrey, RH2 8
Contact: Kunwar Khan, Scrutiny Officer Email: kunwar.khan@surreycc.gov.uk
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APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE AND SUBSTITUTIONS
Purpose of the item:
To report any apologies for absence and substitutions.
Additional documents: Minutes: Victor Lewanski substituted for Keith Witham. |
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MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETINGS: 15 DECEMBER 2021 PDF 242 KB
Purpose of the item:
To review the minutes of the previous meeting. The minutes will be formally agreed as a true and accurate record of proceedings at the next public meeting of the Select Committee. Additional documents: Minutes: The minutes of the Communities, Environment and Highways Select Committee held on 15 December were reviewed. The minutes will be formally agreed at the 8 March 2022 Committee Meeting.
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DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
Purpose of the item:
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. Additional documents: Minutes: None received. |
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QUESTIONS AND PETITIONS
Purpose of the item:
To receive any questions or petitions.
The public retain their right to submit questions for written response, with such answers recorded in the minutes of the meeting; questioners may participate in meetings to ask a supplementary question. Petitioners may address the Committee on their petition for up to three minutes. Guidance will be made available to any member of the public wishing to speak at a meeting.
1. The deadline for Member’s questions is 12.00pm four working days before the meeting (17 January 2022).
2. The deadline for public questions is seven days before the meeting(14 January 2022)
3. The deadline for petitions was 14 days before the meeting, and no petitions have been received. Additional documents: Minutes: None received. |
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Purpose of report:
To update the committee on the outcomes of Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services 2021 Inspection Report and the service’s response. Additional documents: Minutes: Witnesses: Kevin Deanus, Cabinet Member for Community Protection
Dan Quin, Deputy Chief Fire Officer Bernadette Beckett, Chief of Staff
Key points raised during the discussion:
1. The Chairman acknowledged the progress made and appreciated that the Service was on a continued journey of improvement. The Chairman said the Report (page 56) noted that response times up to March 2020 were slower than the average for services, like Surrey, that cover both urban and rural areas’ and queried if response times have improved since and asked whether the ten-minute target set was unambitious. An Officer confirmed that current figures were resting at an average of seven minutes and 12 seconds. Benchmarking takes place among Fire and Rescue services and was a helpful in many ways, albeit it causes challenges in terms of how rural and urban services were differentiated. Surrey was reflected as predominantly urban only at borough and districts level, however if the benchmarking were more exact, Surrey would be reflected as predominantly rural. As part of the Making Surrey Safer plan, the Service aimed to keep the target whilst demonstrating that changes being applied were not having a detrimental effect on services or a negative impact on the ability to perform against that commitment. Reviews of the response standard were continual with the balance of meeting targets whilst ensuring safe and appropriate responses to calls.
2. A Member asked if there were plans to conclude the ongoing issues concerning relationships with staff and the dispute with the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) observing that the media battle between the FBU and the Fire Service had been direct and at times harmful to the reputation of the Service. An Officer confirmed that the trade dispute had continued for a number of years. Work was continuing with colleagues in the FBU and with that agreement on one item had been removed from ongoing discussions recently. Although the Service was meeting the FBU frequently, it was becoming evident that it would be impossible to resolve all matters in the trade disputes and it was time for honest discussions with trade union partners. A Joint Committee for Consultation and Negotiation had been set up to include all locally recognised trade unions, resulting in a significant improvement in engagement between the trade unions. This committee, in addition to ACAS training and conversations, had agreed the implementation of open letters by the Chief Fire Officer and were confident that this would culminate in a final agreed policy on how to work together.
3. A member noted the new initiatives to encourage better relationships with staff and the continuing dispute with the trade unions and asked how they reflected on each other. An officer explained that the Service was actively encouraging an honest dialogue with staff to seek their views, irrespective of representation. Engagement was being expanded by supporting and empowering staff. Station visits were being conducted to encourage face to face conversations although this had been more difficult during the COVID-19 pandemic. A newsletter including feedback, ... view the full minutes text for item 5/22 |
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SURREY ELECTRIC VEHICLE PUBLIC CHARGEPOINTS PROGRESS AND PREFERRED PROCUREMENT OPTION PDF 313 KB
Purpose of report:
To propose how Surrey County Council (SCC) can support the transition to Electric Vehicles (EVs) in Surrey; to explain the procurement options for an EV public chargepoint roll-out; and to gain feedback on the preferred option of procuring a long term sole supplier agreement for the installation and operation of a pubic chargepoint network across Surrey.
Additional documents: Minutes: Witnesses: Matthew Furniss, Cabinet Member for Transport and Infrastructure
Katie Stewart, Executive Director – Environment, Transport & Infrastructure Jonathon James, Electric Vehicle Project Manager Lee Parker, Director – Infrastructure Planning and Major Projects
Key points raised during the discussion:
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COMMUNITY RECYCLING CENTRE POLICY CHANGES PDF 231 KB
Purpose of report:
The report is intended to address three policy issues at the Community Recycling Centres (CRCs) now that they have returned to near normal operations after the removal of social distancing measures. Two of the proposed policy changes will contribute towards Enabling a Greener Future by either allowing more material to be recycled through our sites or by reducing the journey distances involved in residents transporting their waste Additional documents: Minutes: Witnesses: Marissa Heath, Cabinet Member for Environment
Katie Stewart, Executive Director for Environment, Transport & Infrastructure Richard Parkinson, Waste Group Manager Carolyn McKenzie, Director of Environment
Key points raised during the discussion:
Resolved:
In supporting all three policy changes listed in the report, the Select Committee:
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FORWARD WORK PROGRAMME AND RECOMMENDATIONS TRACKER PDF 94 KB
Purpose of report:
For the Select Committee to review the attached recommendations tracker and forward work programme, making suggestions for additions or amendments as appropriate. Additional documents: Minutes: The Select Committee noted the Recommendation Tracker and the Forward Work Programme.
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DATE OF THE NEXT MEETING: 8 MARCH 2022
The next public meeting of the committee will be held on 8 March 2022. Additional documents: Minutes: The Committee noted its next meeting would be held on 8 March 2022. |