Decisions

On 26 May 2022 the government announced, as part of a number of measures to provide help with global inflationary challenges and the significantly rising cost of living, that the £421m Household Support Fund (HSF) would be extended from 01 October 2022 to 31 March 2023. As has been done for previous schemes, the fund will be made available to County Councils and Unitary Authorities in England to support those most in need. Local authorities (LAs) have discretion on exactly how this funding is used within the scope of the grant determination and guidance. Surrey County Council’s allocation of the funding is £5,290,829.72, based on the population of each authority weighted by a function of the English Index of Multiple Deprivation.

The expectation is that The Fund should be used to support households in the most need; particularly those who may not be eligible for the other support government has recently made available but who are nevertheless in need. Energy bills may be of particular concern to low income households during the period of The Fund and LAs should prioritise supporting households with the cost of energy. Authorities should also consider providing support to disabled people in their area. Disabled people in particular may be facing acute challenges due to the disproportionate impact that rising costs bring for the additional services they need in order to manage their conditions, remain independent and avoid becoming socially isolated. Authorities have the ability to deliver the scheme through a variety of routes including providing vouchers to households, making direct provision of food or goods, or issuing grants to third parties (with the exception of grants for advice provision). Every area must operate at least part of their scheme on an application basis.

Payment of the grant allocation is on an arrears basis and is subject to the submission of two Management Information (MI) returns to DWP outlining the authority’s grant spend and the volume of awards for period 1 October – 31 December 2022 (due January ‘23 ) and for the period 1 October – 31 March 2023 (due April ‘23).

Decision made:

It was AGREED that:

The following allocations would be made, to be funded by Surrey County Council’s allocation of the Household Support Grant:

It should be noted that the issue of food vouchers during the May half term and the payments set out above to food banks and the VCF sector were made under delegations contained in the scheme of delegation, to ensure funds could be distributed as quickly as possible to ensure they reached vulnerable households.

The Woking Joint Committee agreed that:

(i)    The application submitted by Ward Councillors for Canalside Ward to install an ANPR/CCTV at Woodham Waye Estate does not meet the requirements to approve it agreed by the Joint Committee for the reason given in the report;

(ii)   If Members are minded to support the application contrary to recommendation (i) above, the Strategic Director of Place be authorised to approve payment for the total cost of the project when the works have been undertaken and the invoices have been submitted to the Council. The total cost of the project is estimated at £24,580 and will be drawn from the total CIL income available for community infrastructure project in Canalside Ward, this currently stands at £232,548.

Reasons for decisions:

The application does not meet CIL requirements.

Woking Joint Committee agreed that:

(i)    The application submitted by Ward Councillors for Canalside Ward to secure £40,000 to install underfloor heating at the All Saints Church, Woodham in Canalside Ward be approved.

(ii)   The Strategic Director of Place be authorised to approve payment for the cost of installing the underfloor heating when the works have been undertaken and the invoices have been submitted to the Council. The total cost of procuring and installing the underfloor heating is estimated at £40,000 and will be drawn from the total CIL income earmarked and available for Canalside Ward, this currently stands at £272,548; and

(iii)  The Ward Councillors for Canalside Ward be asked to oversee all works relating to the procurement and installation of the underfloor heating in accordance with their project plan, project specification, costs and quality control.

Reasons for decisions:

The application satisfies CIL requirements.

Woking Joint Committee agreed that:

(i)    The application submitted by Ward Councillors for Mount Hermon Ward to secure £8,000 to install automated doors at the United Reformed Church in Mount Hermon be approved.

(ii)   The Strategic Director of Place be authorised to approve payment for the cost of replacing the automated doors when the works have been undertaken and the invoices have been submitted to the Council. The total cost of procuring and installing the automated doors is estimated at £8,000 plus VAT and will be drawn from the total CIL income earmarked and available for Mount Hermon Ward, this currently stands at £173,262.75; and

(iii)  The Ward Councillors for Mount Hermon Ward be asked to oversee all works relating to the procurement and installation of the automated doors in accordance with their project plan, project specification, costs and quality control.

Reasons for decisions:

The application satisfies CIL requirements.

·         The Cabinet report dated 20 July 2021 (River Thames Scheme Collaboration Agreement Principles), made the three resolutions as set out above.

·         In January 2021, Cabinet approved a recommendation that SCC should be a joint applicant with the Environment Agency and, in July 2021, agreed the principles of Collaboration.

·         The detailed terms of the First Track Collaboration Agreement (“First Track CA”) are confidential to the Parties and as such are a Part 2 item and contained in Annexe 1

·         The terms of the First Track CA are believed to be in accordance with the principles approved by Cabinet on 20 July 2021.

·         This document is a record of the acknowledgment and approval taken under delegated powers relating to resolution 2 referred to above to enter into the First Track CA.

Decision made:

It was AGREED that:

1.    The Separation of Responsibilities document be acknowledged.

Surrey County Council required an external support to accelerate Future Transformation initiatives and approaches that focus on sustainable efficiencies that can simultaneously improve outcomes. The transformation work is an urgent requirement to assist with the Medium-Term Financial Plan and efficiencies to support the organisations budget gap. This requirement evolved out of the need for pipeline opportunities in both transformation and the twin track programme to support with mitigating demand and inflationary pressures within the department.

It was AGREED that:

1.           A contract is awarded to Impower Consulting Limited under the ESPO Framework Consultancy Services 2021 664_21 Lot 1 – Business Services.

The date of the next meeting was Thursday 22 September 2022 and would be hosted by Buckinghamshire Council.

Surrey Online School (SOS) is an innovative county council service that provides an online, high-quality learning experience in a live, safeguarded environment for vulnerable children and children with additional needs countywide.

To meet the statutory obligation of the county council, Surrey Online School provide quality assured learning experiences online for vulnerable children and children with additional needs. Examples include: 

• children with medical needs accessing live lessons at home or in hospital that assists them to continue learning and make progress when unable to attend school;  
• complementary provision for children accessing alternative provision such as Access to Education (A2E) to ensure a broad and balanced curriculum is available; 
• children that are awaiting a school placement with Special Educational Needs (SEN) and/or children in care to maintain continuity of learning during periods of change and transition;   
• school refusers access continuity and routine to become confident learners; 
• children at risk of permanent exclusion have “time out” with the support and continuation of learning they require to maintain their school placement.  

In addition, Surrey Online School provide a successful traded service that provides a variety of packages from Key Stage 1 -4 to support school leaders to rapidly respond to children’s additional needs through an enhanced and bespoke offer. The traded offer includes a GCSE timetabled offer, a targeted GCSE offer, GCSE revision lessons, English as an Additional Language offer to non-native speaking children and an Enrichment curriculum offer.  

The contract is due to commence on 1^st September 2022 and will be in place for 3 years. There is also an available extension period of 2 years (+1, +1)

To award a contract for the provision of Surrey Online School Services to Tute Education Limited.