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 July 2018).

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.

Questions:

Notice of 10 questions had been received. The questions and replies were published in a supplementary agenda on 9 July 2018.

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

(Q1) Mr Robert Evans asked if the Cabinet Member for Community Services was concerned with the number of short-staffed Fire Stations in the County.

Mr Hussain confirmed details of various fire safety measures which had been incorporated into the residential high-rise buildings in Woking.

Mr Harrison asked for confirmation on how many high-rise buildings there were in Surrey and how many raised similar cladding concerns as those raised during the Grenfell Tower enquiry.

Mr Gardner asked if the Cabinet Member agreed that all Surrey Fire Stations had full cover due to the cooperated approach from neighbouring fire services. 

The Cabinet Member for Community Services confirmed various emergency situations where neighbouring fire stations mobilised with the Surrey Fire Service to deal with a fire event in a coordinated approach. She also stated that the Surrey Fire Service was equipped and capable of dealing with emergency events in Surrey. Mr Harrison would receive a response to his question outside the meeting.

(Q2) Mr Chris Botten requested clarification on when a partner health organisation had imposed a change following advice from Ofsted.

Mrs Curran asked if the Leader of the Council agreed that it was also a Member role to hold partner organisations to account. 

The Leader of the Council confirmed that the Improvement Board would now be independently chaired by the Chief Executive of Hampshire County Council in order to provide increased challenge to partners and services.

(Q3) Mr Stephen Cooksey asked if he could be informed once a final date was set to commence works on the former Education Building on Dene Street. The Cabinet Lead Member for Place confirmed that he was happy to liaise with the Local Member and that the build was now part of the Joint Venture.

(Q5) Mrs Hazel Watson asked for confirmation on when Members would be informed of which Council properties would be developed. The Cabinet Lead Member stated that details could be found in the Cabinet papers and that work was still ongoing.

(Q6) Mr Jonathan Essex asked if it would still be possible to receive the data on how many pupils were placed in non-maintained and independent schools outside of Surrey for each of the last 10 years.

The Leader of the Council stated that officers should not be spending a significant amount of time collating information that would not be helpful.

The Cabinet Member for All-Age Learning clarified that data was still being collated and that she would contact the Member with further information outside the meeting. It was stated that the Council was aware that too many children with Special Educational Needs and Disability were being sent out of the county for services and that they were working to improve this.

(Q7) Mr Robert Evans asked if the Cabinet Lead Member for Place was aware that many potholes were not being repaired when in the same vicinity as others being repaired.

Mr Essex asked if it would be possible to amend the protocol for potholes being repaired to ensure more are filled sooner.

Mr Harrison asked for clarification on the inspection process to ensure pothole repairs were fit for purpose.

Mr Hawkins asked if the Cabinet Member was disappointed with the number of signatures on the petition to Government on fairer funding for Surrey’s roads.

The Cabinet Member stated that the pothole repair contractor had achieved a large number of repairs in a very short amount of time. He further stated that the overall reason for the issues on Surrey’s roads was because they were underfunded. In response to Mr Hawkins, the Cabinet Member stated that he was disappointed with the number of signatures on the petition and that he would be doing further work to promote it. In response to Mr Harrison, the Cabinet Member said that he would confirm the information outside the meeting. 

(Q9) Mrs Hazel Watson noted that the number of tenant voids were at 5% and asked how it would affect the County Council financially. It was also asked if the risks for investing in the commercial sector were included in the Council’s risk register. The Leader of the Council said that it was inevitable that investment statistics would fluctuate throughout its preliminary timeline.

Cabinet Member Briefings: these were also published with the supplementary agenda on 9 July 2018.

Members made the following comments:

Cabinet Member for Environment and Planning: on the current status of the Crossrail 2 project. The Cabinet Member recognised the significance of the project and confirmed he would continue to urge Central Government to make it a priority.

It was also asked if the Cabinet Member had been involved in the review of the Surrey Area of Oustanding Natural Beauty (AONB). The Cabinet Member said that he had been involved with the consultations and that he would also continue to work towards the area being recognised as a national park.

Members also made comments on the status of the Eco Park project. The Cabinet Member confirmed that they were now in the position to commission and that it would be operational later in the year.

Cabinet Lead Member for Corporate Support: on the vision for Surrey in 2030 and the importance of consulting with residents. The Cabinet Member agreed and confirmed that there were a number of ways Members could promote the consultation with residents.

Members also made comments on the positive work of the Blue Badge Team and the possible consequences of opening the blue badge scheme to people with hidden disabilities. The Cabinet Member raised the importance of digital transformation.

Cabinet Lead Member for Place: on the benefits additional £20m investment in Surrey’s roads.