Agenda item

1.    The Leader of the Council or the appropriate Member of the Cabinet or the Chairman of a Committee to answer any questions on any matter relating to the powers and duties of the County Council, or which affects the county.

(Note:  Notice of questions in respect of the above item on the agenda must be given in writing, preferably by e-mail, to Democratic Services by 12 noon on Wednesday 4 October 2017).

2.    Cabinet Member Briefings on their portfolios

These will be circulated by email to all Members prior to the County Council meeting, together with the Members’ questions and responses.

There will be an opportunity for Members to ask questions.

Notice of 17 questions had been received. The questions and replies were published as a supplementary agenda on 9 October 2017.

A number of supplementary questions were asked and a summary of the main points are set out below:

(Q1) Mr Robert Evans asked how many firefighters and engines would be deployed from Fordbridge Station and what the timescale was for its operation. The Cabinet Member for Communities reported that the station would be operating from summer 2018 and discussions were taking place regarding operations.

(Q2) Mr Chris Botten asked if Surrey maintained schools were better off than academy trusts.  The Cabinet Member for Education explained that when a school became an academy the Council kept the deficit.  She also explained that Surrey had a family of schools that worked together on a voluntary basis and did not wish to set them against each other.

(Q3) Mrs Angela Goodwin asked what the knock on effects of reduced Housing Related Support funding were. 

Mr John O’Reilly asked if the Cabinet Member for Adults had anything further to say with regard to the response given to Mr Botten at Cabinet about the willingness to be flexible on the implementation of the scheme.

Mr Andy MacLeod asked if this was an excellent example of what Members should be talking to MPs about.

Mr Jonathan Essex stated that if this was found to have a detrimental impact on individuals that services could be restored and other sources of funding found.

The Cabinet Member for Adults stated that he would be feeding back and would ensure that there was no one unattended.  Of the 4,000 receiving housing support, 553 of those received support under Adult Social Care. 30% of the saving had been held back as a reserve for any additional people requiring services under the eligibility criteria.  He also stated that flexibility was limited and that he supported Members speaking to MPs.

(Q5) Mrs Fiona White asked if the Council should apologise to service users for the lack of an adequate consultation and would the Cabinet Member monitor delivery of family planning advice for young people.

Mr Chris Botten asked if the Cabinet Member was concerned that there were now situations whereby only one provider was coming forward and was this an indication that services could not be offered safely under the contract offer.

The Cabinet Member for Health stated that public health was underfunded and urged Members to include public health when writing to MPs.  She stated that broad consultation did take place and the chosen providers had an excellent track record. She was content that whilst delivery would be monitored she would report back to council in due course.

(Q6) Mr David Goodwin asked what was to happen following consultation on the future of the Surrey Performing Arts Library and requested that results go back to select committee before going to Cabinet.

Mr Richard Walsh asked if the Cabinet Member for Communities would consider a private or commercial organisation, with volunteers, to take on this library.

The Cabinet Member for Communities confirmed that a report with the responses would be going to the select committee and all Members will have an opportunity to feed into the process as will all groups and residents.

(Q7) Mr Stephen Cooksey asked when would there be a more comprehensive list of savings available and how far had agreement been reached with borough and district councils on the abolition of recycling credit payments.

The Cabinet Member for Environment & Transport explained that at the last meeting Mr Cooksey had asked for the consultation to be reviewed and that is what happened.  He had asked Members to put forward their ideas on how savings could be made and he did not receive anything from the Liberal Democrats.  He also stated that the council were continuing to work with borough and district councils to increase recycling rates. There was £3m to £4m savings to be made on credits which would not have been possible but for the borough and district councils working with SCC, for which he thanked them. 

(Q8) Mr Will Forster asked the Cabinet Member for Economic Prosperity if he thought it appropriate for the five expressions of interest to have been submitted without any consultation, or notification, of elected Members.  The Cabinet Member responded that it took a long time to put bids together and all five bids were on the table and being discussed and agreed to go forward by the borough and district councils.  He also went on to say that expecting the Council to have to bid for Government funding against other councils was not right and that there should be fairer funding.

(Q9) Mrs Penny Rivers asked how George Watts would have prioritised, with limited funds, either funding an art gallery or sheltered housing.  The Leader responded that Mary Watts was also a great reformer and was the first to look after the first batch of apprentices.  He also explained that it is a relatively small investment to reach so many to learn about the arts and should be commended.

(Q10) Mr Jonathan Essex asked for reassurance that public consultation would take place before a decision was made on the disposal of county council-owned sites.  He also asked for confirmation that none of the sites had already been sold as the CBRE website stated that the Longmead site in Redhill had been sold.  The Cabinet Member for Property & Business Services stated that there would not be a public consultation on the sites but discussions were taking place with borough and district councils where relevant.  The Council’s focus was for the optimisation, rather than sale, of these sites.

(Q11) Mr Robert Evans requested that Council reconsider the £27m tied up in tobacco companies as this was sending out the wrong message, especially to young people.  The Chairman of the Surrey Pension Fund Committee stated that he would be happy to go through the Environmental Social Governance and Responsible Investment Policy with Mr Evans, or any other Member.  The Cabinet Member for Property & Business Services thanked and accepted the offer from the Chairman of the Surrey Pension Fund Committee to respond to Mr Evans.

(Q12) Mrs Hazel Watson asked the Leader if other county councils shared the view of the Leicestershire County Council funding model.  The Leader responded that he did not agree with the model put forward by Leicestershire County Council and that the case for fairer funding needed to be put forward.

(Q17) Mr Jonathan Essex requested the same information in relation to the fire service.  The Cabinet Member for Property & Business Services stated that he would see if that was possible.

Mrs Fiona White declared a personal interest in question 9 of Members’ questions as she was the Council’s nominee on the management committee of the Watts Gallery Trust.

The Chairman declared a personal interest in question 6 of Members questions as he was a user of the Performing Arts Library.

Cabinet Member Briefings: these were also published with the supplementary agenda on 9 October 2017.

Members made the following comments:

Cabinet Member for Environment & Transport was asked if he had written to the Government regarding the delay in Crossrail 2 and had the Council been involved in the consultation on the South Western Railway timetable which has a significant impact on Woking residents.  He would write to Mr Forster after the meeting about consultations that had taken place.

The Leader of the Council was asked for an update on Coast to Capital to which he responded that a number of projects were being discussed at the Investment Board.

Cabinet Member for Wellbeing and Health was thanked and praised for bringing World Mental Health day to Members’ attention.

Cabinet Member for Economic Prosperity was asked about funding for the Employment and Skills Board and what was hoped to be achieved in terms of maximising the impact of the apprentice levy.  He responded that learning and skills was a major problem for businesses nationally.  In conjunction with Hampshire CC a one year project was underway to look at skills needed by business and to understand the barriers.  At the end of the year SCC will ask businesses to support and to take the apprentice levy.

Cabinet Member for Children was asked to consider further training on the Prevent Agenda for Members of the council and those of district and borough councils and responded that she would look into this.

Cabinet Member for Property and Business Services was asked about results and savings borne of the investment into Orbis and its three year business plan.  He responded that savings were within the Medium Term Financial Plan.  The next business plan would be considered at the joint committee on 16 October.  Whilst there was a three year plan most of the focus would be on the next 18 months and proposed more integration.