Councillors and committees

Agenda and minutes

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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16/22

MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETINGS: 16 SEPTEMBER 2021, 15 DECEMBER 2021, 21 JANUARY 2022, 7 FEBRUARY 2022 pdf icon PDF 180 KB

17/22

QUESTIONS AND PETITIONS

    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.


    Notes:

    1.    The deadline for Member’s questions is 12.00pm four working days before the meeting (2 March 2022).

     

    2.    The deadline for public questions is seven days before the meeting(1 March 2022).

     

    3.    The deadline for petitions was 14 days before the meeting, and no petitions have been received.

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    None received.

     

18/22

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); 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.

19/22

YOUR FUND SURREY UPDATE pdf icon PDF 486 KB

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    Purpose of report:

     

    This report presents an update on Your Fund Surrey and is presented for scrutiny.

     

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    YOUR FUND SURREY UPDATE  [Item 5]

     

    Witnesses:

    Mark Nuti, Cabinet Member for Communities

     

    Marie Snelling, Executive Director for Customer & Communities

    Jane Last, Head of Community, Partnerships & Engagement

    James Painter, Communities Partnerships Manager

     

    Key points raised during the discussion:

     

    1.    The Chairman observed that Your Fund Surrey (YFS) had yet to accomplish the level of bids expected by Members and questioned if Officers were confident that the fund could realistically match expectations on the numbers of approved projects. The Head of Community Partnerships and Engagement explained that Your Fund Surrey was a new fund, and the process was developed to support communities through the process, allowing the Council to adapt by learning from communities and to develop new guidance and support through its life. It was noted that YFS was just through the first year of operation and the team had supported many applicants through to final bid. YFS had been launched during COVID-19 and therefore the on the ground Communications campaign was not as it would have been in normal times, despite this a large number of applications had come through which the team would expect to recommend for funding

     

    2.    The Chairman stated that progress had been slower than expected and asked if the future approval rate would be set as per the expectation anticipated when the Fund was set up i.e. around 100 per annum. The Cabinet Member for Communities confirmed that applications were being processed more quickly with planned communications, engagement and advertising expected to maximise applications.

     

    3.    A Member commented that the sharing of Your Fund Surrey information with Members needed to be prioritised to allow them to communicate the benefits of the scheme with residents. The Cabinet Member for Communities noted the information was available on the Members’ Portal and said that work would take place with Members to ensure they had the information required to engage with their communities.   

     

    4.    A Member asked how areas without community groups or voluntary activities could access this funding, particularly considering the Council’s ambition to ‘leave no one behind.’ The Cabinet Member for Communities confirmed that communities that would benefit from extra support and encouragement to submit applications were being identified. Guidance was being offered, as were one-to-one sessions and support from the voluntary sector in some cases.

     

    5.    A Member noted that the application process was causing delays and that they had been approached by organisations reporting a lack of communication from the Council once bids were submitted. The Executive Director explained that a balance had to be struck between a robust application process and being able to approve as many bids as possible, that there were no targets on application throughout, rather the emphasis was on supporting communities through the process at their pace. Members were encouraged to highlight any applicants that had encountered a lack of communication regarding the progression of their submissions.  

     

    6.    A Member, part of the Your Fund Surrey Advisory Panel, sought to reassure the Committee that the Fund, although  ...  view the full minutes text for item 19/22

20/22

OUTLINE BUSINESS CASE FOR THE RE-PROCUREMENT OF WASTE TREATMENT & DISPOSAL SERVICES - UPDATE pdf icon PDF 402 KB

    Purpose of report:

     

    To seek feedback on the Outline Business Case (OBC) approach for the re-procurement of waste treatment and disposal contracts which are to commence in September 2024.

     

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    OUTLINE BUSINESS CASE FOR THE RE-PROCUREMENT OF WASTE TREATMENT & DISPOSAL SERVICES - UPDATE  [Item 6]

     

    Witnesses:

    Natalie Bramhall, Cabinet Member for Property & Waste

     

    Carolyn McKenzie, Director of Environment

    Alan Horton, Programme Manager

    Richard Parkinson, Resources & Circular Economy Group Manager

     

    Key points raised during the discussion:

     

    1.    A Member asked how targets included in the business case were selected and how they compared to other councils. The Cabinet Member for Property & Waste confirmed that targets were drawn from the Surrey Climate Change Strategy 2020 and although no specific benchmarking had taken place, the targets were ambitious.

     

    2.    A Member asked how seriously the in-house option to treat and dispose of Surrey waste had been considered and what research had been undertaken into multiple contracts.  The Cabinet Member for Property & Waste explained that the Council did not have the infrastructure and expertise to carry out all waste treatment requirements such as the disposal of residual waste, the composting of green waste or the recycling of road sweepings and it would not be possible to create a new infrastructure to manage these operations by September 2024. It would be possible to manage some operations around Community Recycling Centres (CRC), waste transfer stations and associated transport operations as well as the operation of food waste as they would be Council owned, however the Council would not have the expertise required for this and would have to rely on transferred staff or buy in. A single contract would result in the contractor having full responsibility; however, it was unlikely that one contractor would provide all services. Disaggregating would result in greater competition and value for money. The Resources & Circular Economy Group Manager confirmed that other councils manage multiple contracts successfully and no difficulties were expected.

     

    3.    A Member asked what work had been done with district and borough councils and any possible efficiencies from working in partnership. The Resources & Circular Economy Group Manager said that contamination was a costly problem for the Council and the greatest savings relate to unifying collection arrangements.   

     

    4.    A Member asked if the carbon footprint of each bid would be balanced against financial savings. A Member asked if the carbon footprint of each bid would be balanced against financial savings. The Cabinet Member for Property & Waste stated that the carbon footprint of the current waste treatment and disposal service had been baselined and that a carbon impact assessment tool would be used to analyse the impact of the various bids when submitted

     

    5.    A Member asked if new contracts might result in extended opening hours for CRCs. The Cabinet Member for Property & Waste explained that current reduced hours were the result of efficiencies from 2015. Pricing options to increase opening hours for the CRCs would be included as part of the re-procurement in addition to the possibility of developing pedestrian access at some locations.

     

    6.    A Member asked if the Council could veto shipping waste material abroad. The Cabinet Member for Property & Waste explained that there were insufficient  ...  view the full minutes text for item 20/22

21/22

ADOPTION OF MOVING TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT POWERS pdf icon PDF 181 KB

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    Purpose of the report:

     

    To update the committee about new powers being provided by Government, allowing local highway authorities in England to carry out Moving Traffic Enforcement on the highway network.

     

     

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    ADOPTION OF MOVING TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT POWERS  [Item 7]

     

                Witnesses:

                Matt Furniss, Cabinet Member for Transport & Infrastructure

     

    Katie Stewart, Executive Director for Environment, Transport & Infrastructure

    Lucie Monie, Director, Highways & Transport

    Richard Bolton, Highways and Operations Infrastructure Group Manager

    David Curl, Parking & Traffic Enforcement Manager

     

     

    Key points raised during the discussion:

     

    1.    A Member asked if items currently on the Integrated Transport Scheme (ITS) list would be revaluated with any requirement to reconfigure a location considered for camera installation instead. The Cabinet Member for Transport & Infrastructure confirmed this and that assessment of the busiest junctions would be prioritised. The Parking & Traffic Enforcement Manager added that if no low-cost solution could be implemented with engineering solutions an enforcement camera could potentially be used instead.   

     

    2.    A Member requested clarification regarding the process to raise locations of concern. The Cabinet Member for Transport & Infrastructure gave highways@surreycc.gov.uk for reporting concerns and noted that the adoption would not come into force until June 2022.

     

    3.    A Member asked if a solution to enforcing pavement parking restrictions would continue to be looked at. The Cabinet Member for Transport & Infrastructure confirmed that there had been no response from the Government following their consultation on pavement parking and that an update would be requested. 

     

    4.    A Member queried if cycle lanes would be included in any forthcoming ban on pavement parking. The Cabinet Member for Transport & Infrastructure confirmed that new rules would apply to mandatory cycle lanes, identified by a solid line.

     

    5.    The Chairman asked what the outcome might be of the review of yellow box junctions. The Parking & Traffic Enforcement Manager confirmed that surveys had been conducted in the previous week and were being analysed for areas suitable for enforcement camera use.

     

    6.    The Chairman asked Officers to consider presenting an All-Member Seminar on this subject. The Cabinet Member for Transport & Infrastructure agreed that a seminar could be presented to members in late summer after powers come into effect in June 2022.

     

    7.    A Member asked if there was a cost to the Council when a camera was turned off. The Cabinet Member for Transport & Infrastructure explained that cameras were not turned off but if they ceased to act as a deterrent, an alternative location would be identified for their use. The cost of cameras covered the technology of image processing software for continual operation. 

     

    8.    A Member asked if the adopted powers would be used across the county so that residents could see that the issue was being tackled. The Cabinet Member for Transport & Infrastructure said that proof was required by the Department for Transport that specific criteria were being followed but when powers had been adopted they could be spread throughout the county as required, following the process set out in the report.

     

    Resolved:

     

    The Select Committee:

     

    1. Supports the draft recommendations to Cabinet outlined in the report.

     

    1. Asks the Cabinet Member/Service to consider arranging an all-Member Seminar on this topic (Adoption of Moving Traffic Enforcement Powers)covering the changes, practical implications, selected sites,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 21/22

22/22

APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE AND SUBSTITUTIONS

    To report any apologies for absence and substitutions.

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    Apologies were received from Paul Deach and Andy Macleod, Helyn Clack substituted for David Harmer, Robert Hughes substituted for Jonathon Hulley

     

23/22

RECOMMENDATIONS TRACKER AND FORWARD WORK PROGRAMME pdf icon PDF 94 KB

24/22

DATE OF THE NEXT MEETING: 14 JUNE 2022

    The next public meeting of the committee will be held on 14 June 2022.

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    The Committee noted its next meeting would be held on 14 June 2022.