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 29 November 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 1 December 2017.

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

(Q2) Mr Andrew Povey asked the Leader if he felt tax payers’ money was spent in the best possible way. It was highlighted that a large number of high street businesses were forced to close and that Government was pressing for 300,000 houses to be built. The Leader of the Council expressed the need for affordable housing in the County and highlighted the importance of building a variety of house sizes.

(Q3) Mr Jonathan Essex asked if it would be appropriate for the Council to respond to the consultation of the Revised Airports National Policy Statement in order to reassert the importance of following commitments and ensuring that they are reflected in the forthcoming strategy. The Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport highlighted that there would be a Member Seminar on the Heathrow Airport expansion on 11 December 2017 and stated that the Council would consider its reply to the consultation.

(Q4) Mrs Hazel Watson asked if details of the settlement would ever be made public and if the Cabinet Member for Health would agree to a scrutiny investigation to ensure flaws are identified and did not reoccur. The Cabinet Member reaffirmed that she could not comment.

(Q5) Mr Stephen Cooksey asked for clarification on timescales and requested that the report be considered by the Environment and Infrastructure Select Committee. The Cabinet Member for Highways confirmed that the report would be considered by Cabinet in early 2018 and that he would be happy for it to be considered at Select Committee.

(Q6) Mr Chris Botten asked the Cabinet Member for Highways to confirm if he trusted Parish Councillors to honour a five year agreement for street lighting. The Cabinet Member expressed that he did trust the work of Parish Councillors but could not exclude Parish Councils from Part Night Lighting due to various issues associated with area boundaries and driver visuals.   

(Q8) Mr Will Forster asked if the Leader was concerned that there would not be sufficient certainty for Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) and County Councils in order to plan for infrastructure if consultations were to take place in spring 2018, and if he would agree to write to Government to bring forward the consultation. The Leader of the Council stated that if Government gave him the opportunity then he would do so.

(Q10) Mr Jonathan Essex asked if plans would be revisited if the removal of £4 million of recycling credits did not accelerate recycling rates in the County. The Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport stated that he did not believe that it would lead to a decrease in recycling and expressed the importance of working together with Boroughs and Districts.

(Q11) Mrs Fiona White asked the Cabinet Member for Adults if he was disappointed that Government did not recognise the need for additional funding for Adult Social Care in the Autumn Budget. The Cabinet Member stated that he was concerned with the rising number of duties and limited funding to the County Council.

(Q12) Mr Robert Evans asked if the Cabinet Member for Property and Business Services would consider producing an annual statement to the Council to highlight the progress being made on becoming a Fair Trade council.

Mr Jonathan Essex asked if Surrey County Council was officially recognised as a Fair Trade Council and highlighted that some coffee provided to Members in the Council was not Fair Trade.

The Cabinet Member for Property and Business Services agreed to provide an update to Council on an annual basis regarding the authority’s progress to becoming a Fair Trade Council. It was highlighted that the Ethical Procurement Statement and Supplier Code of Conduct would soon be published. The Cabinet Member agreed to confirm whether the County Council was already an official Fair Trade Council after the meeting. 

(Q15) Mr Will Forster asked if the Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport could elaborate on his reply. The Cabinet Member highlighted the work the Council had done to maintain many bus services despite the financial issues. It was further stated that the Council had been in discussions with Hampshire on this matter. 

(Q16) Mr Jonathan Essex asked the Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport to confirm where the three additional incinerators would be placed in the County. The Cabinet Member highlighted that this was a consultation and that there would be no commitments until after the consultation had taken place.

(Q17) Mrs Hazel Watson asked if the Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport would review the County Council’s policy to enable people with learning disabilities to retain their concessionary bus passes.The Cabinet Member highlighted that the Council did in some areas give more than they were statutory obligated to do. It was stressed that the Council was in a very serious financial situation.

Mr Will Forster declared a person interest in Question 6 of Members’ Questions as he worked for the European Union. 

Cabinet Member Briefings: These were also published with the supplementary agenda on 4 December 2017.

Members made the following comments:

Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport was asked if parking displacement would be taken into consideration when considering the potential introduction of parking fees to rural car parks in Surrey. He responded by highlighting that the money would be used to protect the Surrey countryside and that Members would be working with Officers to consider parking displacement. 

Cabinet Member for Highways was asked if the technical difficulties had been overcome and if the streetlights would be left on for both Christmas and New Year celebrations. He responded by confirming that the streetlights would be left on for both Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve in order to support residents who are out late for the celebrations.

Cabinet Member for Children was asked how they saw the development of Early Help Boards in each of the Borough and Districts of Surrey through the work of the Local and Joint Committees. She responded by highlighting that Early Help was a critical element for improvement in the County and that it was a way of dealing with problems at the earliest possible stage. Members were said to have the responsibility for developing Early Help in their area as they know their local area best.

Cabinet Member for Children was asked if she could expand on the recent letter received from Ofsted. The Cabinet Member stressed that she was very perturbed by the letter and that it was clear that recent improvements had not had the effects they wanted. There would be an immediate review of all open cases in order to highlight where responsibilities were not being met. The Director of Children Services had recently met with every front line Social Worker to ensure they are aware of their responsibilities in order to create one clear picture of the work that needs to be done.  

Leader of the Council was asked for an update on progress with extra care accommodation for the elderly. The Leader of the Council stated that the Pond Meadow site in Guildford had been earmarked for extra care and that the Council was in the process of tender negotiations.

Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport was asked what he would do if the 166 bus was cut as it was heavily relied upon by both the young and elderly. He responded by stating that the bus was run by Transport for London (TfL) and that the Council was in discussion with them and would work hard to ensure that the route was maintained.