Agenda item

RESOLVED:

1.    That Cabinet agree to the transfer of all executive highway functions from Local and Joint Committees with effect from the 1st of April 2022.

2.    That Cabinet agree that all executive functions previously delegated to Local and Joint Committees relating to highways are delegated to Officers in consultation with the relevant Divisional Member with effect from the 1st of April 2022.

3.    That Cabinet agree the proposed changes to the Integrated Transport Scheme (ITS) within the Local Highway Schemes budget and the Individual Member Highways Allocations (Capital and Revenue budgets) from April 2022 as set out in this report.

4.    That Cabinet note the proposed involvement of the Communities, Environment & Highways Select Committee in the development of the criteria that will be used to assess projects coming forward for funding from the countywide ITS budget, ahead of the Cabinet Member agreeing such criteria.

5.    That Cabinet agree to delegate authority to the Executive Director of Environment, Transport and Infrastructure and the Director for Highways and Transport in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Transport and Infrastructure to make all necessary changes to existing highway budgets, criteria, and relevant policies to support the effective transition to these new arrangements.

6.    That Cabinet agree that the Director of Legal and Governance works in conjunction with democratic service officers from Guildford, Runnymede, Woking, and Spelthorne Borough Councils to update their respective Joint Committee constitutions which are in place with the County Council.

7.    That Cabinet agree the Director of Legal and Governance in consultation with the Leader of the Council makes the relevant changes to the Council’s Executive and Officer Scheme of delegation as set out within this report.

Reasons for Decisions:

The recommendations within this report will support more efficient local decision making, whilst ensuring that there is transparency and proper scrutiny. These proposals will enable more people to be heard and participate in decision making, leading to better outcomes for our residents.

This is a joint initiative coming from Communities and ETI Directorates consistent with residents’ expressed desires to be more involved in what the Council is doing but through events and conversations and not through boards and meetings. This proposal directly supports the commitment the Council made in 2020 to Empowering Communities:

‘Reinvigorate our relationship with residents, empowering communities to tackle local issues and support one another, whilst making it easier for everyone to play an active role in the decisions that will shape Surrey’s future.’

Research in the past year has shown that far more residents have been able to communicate with the Council through a wider range of mechanisms than has been the case historically using traditional local and joint committee processes. For instance, in 2021/22, 11 online engagement sessions reached over 50,000 members of the public, whilst in comparison only 650 residents attended LC/JCs between 2019 and 2021 which included councillors from Parish, Districts and Boroughs if they attended to hear proceedings.

(The decisions on this item can be called-in by the Communities, Environment and Highways Select Committee)

The report was introduced by the Cabinet Member for Transport and Infrastructure who explained that Cabinet were being asked to change amend executive highway functions, transferring them away from a local and joint committees and delegating them down so that officers can make the decisions in direct consultation with the relevant divisional councillor. The proposed changes would come into force from April 2022 and would sit alongside new engagement methods which were being developed. The proposals would empower divisional councillors by giving them the delegated highways functions that currently sit with local and joint committees. The budget allocation for each county councillor will be raised from £23,000 capital up to £50,000 capital and the revenue will remain at £7,500.

The Vice Chairman of the Communities, Environment and Highways Select Committee spoke on the item and was of the view that the local and joint committees worked well and gave residents the opportunity to voice concerns they had. The changes being made were unclear and nobody wanted to travel to Reigate to ask a question or present a petition. There had been no consultation with the leaders group and the local and joint committees would fade away as highways decisions was a core part of the work they covered. The Leader explained that the matter had been raised with the Surrey leaders group but the budget being discussed sat within the county councils remit and therefore the county council was responsible for accounting how this was spent. The Cabinet Member for Transport and Infrastructure would set out how the questions and petitions process would work and would provide support to members. He added that since 2018, 87% of the petitions received were requests or items that members of the public could just log online or towards their county councillor rather than having to go through the committee cycle.

Some Members commented that the public did not engage fully with the local and joint committees and the number of residents attending the meetings were low. The way the committees functioned needed to be reformed.

RESOLVED:

1.    That Cabinet agree to the transfer of all executive highway functions from Local and Joint Committees with effect from the 1st of April 2022.

2.    That Cabinet agree that all executive functions previously delegated to Local and Joint Committees relating to highways are delegated to Officers in consultation with the relevant Divisional Member with effect from the 1st of April 2022.

3.    That Cabinet agree the proposed changes to the Integrated Transport Scheme (ITS) within the Local Highway Schemes budget and the Individual Member Highways Allocations (Capital and Revenue budgets) from April 2022 as set out in this report.

4.    That Cabinet note the proposed involvement of the Communities, Environment & Highways Select Committee in the development of the criteria that will be used to assess projects coming forward for funding from the countywide ITS budget, ahead of the Cabinet Member agreeing such criteria.

5.    That Cabinet agree to delegate authority to the Executive Director of Environment, Transport and Infrastructure and the Director for Highways and Transport in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Transport and Infrastructure to make all necessary changes to existing highway budgets, criteria, and relevant policies to support the effective transition to these new arrangements.

6.    That Cabinet agree that the Director of Legal and Governance works in conjunction with democratic service officers from Guildford, Runnymede, Woking, and Spelthorne Borough Councils to update their respective Joint Committee constitutions which are in place with the County Council.

7.    That Cabinet agree the Director of Legal and Governance in consultation with the Leader of the Council makes the relevant changes to the Council’s Executive and Officer Scheme of delegation as set out within this report.

Reasons for Decisions:

The recommendations within this report will support more efficient local decision making, whilst ensuring that there is transparency and proper scrutiny. These proposals will enable more people to be heard and participate in decision making, leading to better outcomes for our residents.

This is a joint initiative coming from Communities and ETI Directorates consistent with residents’ expressed desires to be more involved in what the Council is doing but through events and conversations and not through boards and meetings. This proposal directly supports the commitment the Council made in 2020 to Empowering Communities:

‘Reinvigorate our relationship with residents, empowering communities to tackle local issues and support one another, whilst making it easier for everyone to play an active role in the decisions that will shape Surrey’s future.’

Research in the past year has shown that far more residents have been able to communicate with the Council through a wider range of mechanisms than has been the case historically using traditional local and joint committee processes. For instance, in 2021/22, 11 online engagement sessions reached over 50,000 members of the public, whilst in comparison only 650 residents attended LC/JCs between 2019 and 2021 which included councillors from Parish, Districts and Boroughs if they attended to hear proceedings.

(The decisions on this item can be called-in by the Communities, Environment and Highways Select Committee)