Decisions

The Local Committee agreed:

      i.        To note the officer’s comment

     ii.        That a proposed scheme for a formal pedestrian crossing where National Cycle Network Route 21 crosses Wheatfield Way be added to the Integrated Transport Scheme (ITS) List for consideration for future funding.

Reason for decision:

The above decision was made to enable the scheme to be included on the ITS to be considered for implementation when funding becomes available.

The Local Committee agreed:

General

    i.       To note that the Local Committee’s devolved highways budget for capital works in 2019/20, subject to approval by full Council on 10 December 2019, is £211,111

   ii.       That the devolved capital budget for highway works be used to progress both capital improvement schemes and capital maintenance schemes.

  iii.       To note that should there be any changes to the programme of highway works as set out in this report, a report will be taken to a future meeting of Reigate and Banstead Local Committee to inform members of the changes.

Capital Improvement Schemes (ITS)

  iv.       That the capital improvement schemes allocation for Reigate and Banstead be used to progress the Integrated Transport Schemes programme set out in Annex 1;

   v.       To authorise that the Area Highway Manager, in consultation with the Local Committee Chairman and Vice-Chairman, be able to vire money between the schemes agreed in Annex 1, if required;

  vi.       That the Local Committee Chairman, Vice-Chairman and Area Team Manager, together with the local divisional Member are able to progress any scheme from the Integrated Transport Schemes programme, including consultation and statutory advertisement that may be required under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, for completion of those schemes. Where it is agreed that a scheme will not be progressed, this will be reported back to the next formal meeting of the Local Committee for approval.

Capital Maintenance Schemes (LSR)

 vii.       That the capital maintenance schemes allocation for Reigate and Banstead be divided equitably between County Councillors to carry out capital maintenance works in their divisions, and that the schemes to be progressed be agreed by divisional members in consultation with the Area Maintenance Engineer.

Revenue Maintenance

viii.       To note that members will continue to receive a Member Local Highways Fund allocation of £7,500 per county member to address highway issues in their division; and

  ix.       That the Member Local Highways Fund be managed by the Area Maintenance Engineer on behalf of and in consultation with members.

Reason for decisions:

The above decisions were made to agree a forward programme of highways works in Reigate and Banstead for 2020/21 – 2021/22, funded from the Local Committee’s devolved budget.

The Local Committee agreed to:

      i.        Allow the county councils Safer Travel Team to investigate concerns raised by the petition using the Road Safety Outside Schools Policy

     ii.        The outcome of the safety assessment being reported to the school and local divisional member as well as the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the local committee, containing the results of the road safety education assessment and a description of any potential highway improvements and estimated costs.

Reason for decisions:

The above decisions were made to enable the SCC Safer Travel Team to conduct a Road Safety Outside Schools Assessment and report back their findings and recommendations for improvements that could be implemented, if appropriate.

The Local Committee (Surrey Heath) agreed that:

(i)    Authorisation is given to advertise a notice in accordance with the Traffic Regulation Act 1984, the effects of which will be to revoke any existing traffic orders necessary and introduce a 20mph speed limit to the lengths of road in Camberley Town Centre indicated on the plan in Annex 5; and

(ii)   any objections to the Traffic Regulation Order should be considered and resolved by the Area Team Manager for Highways in consultation with the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Local Committee and the local Divisional Member, and that this issue only be returned to Committee if any objections prove insurmountable; and

(iii)  the Order be made once any objections have been considered and resolved.

Reason for Decision:  to improve safety and accessibility for pedestrians on routes within Camberley town centre.

RESOLVED: That under Section 100(A) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information under the relevant paragraphs of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act.

RESOLVED:

That the decisions taken by Cabinet Members / Investment Board since the last meeting as set out in Annex 1 to the submitted report be noted.

Two reports were received from:

a)    Moving Closer to Residents Task Group (Resources & Performance Select Committee) – linked to items 10 & 14 on the agenda.

b)    Surrey’s Greener Future Task Group (Communities, Environment & Highways Select Committee).

The Cabinet response to the reports was published in the supplementary agenda.

The minutes of the meeting held on 29 October 2019 were agreed as a correct record.

To consider the month end budget report and make any recommendations as appropriate.

RESOLVED:

1.    That the highway repairs expenditure be funded from capital was approved.

2.    That the School funding increase (c£7.3m) due to Teacher Pension contribution grant and Teachers Pay grants from the Department for Education was approved.

3.    That procurement of new fire appliances could proceed was authorised.

4.    That the Council’s forecast revenue and capital budget positions for the year was noted.

Reason for decision:

This report complied with the agreed policy of providing a monthly budget monitoring report to Cabinet for approval of any necessary actions.

[The decisions on this item can be called in by the Resources and Performance Select Committee]

To endorse the decision to undertake public consultation.

RESOLVED:

1.    To undertake public consultation on whether Surrey County Council enables the voluntary community and faith sector to use the youth centres for the benefit of young people at little or no cost be agreed.

2.    To consult on whether Surrey County Council delivers universal open access youth work be agreed.

3.    That authority be delegated to the Executive Director Children, Lifelong Learning and Culture to work with Cabinet member for Children, Young People and Families to agree and implement the local solutions following the conclusion of the consultation.

Reason for decision:

Transforming the existing universal youth work model and improving the access to youth centres required formal consultation. The options and solutions for each youth centre needed to be considered at a local level as part of the local engagement during the consultation.

[The decisions on this item can be called in by the Children, Families, Lifelong Learning & Culture Select Committee]

To review parking charges.

RESOLVED:

1.    That all charges relating to parking at all Countryside Estate car parks currently managed under lease by Surrey Wildlife Trust be removed, with effect from 1 April 2020 be agreed.

2.    That authority be delegated to the Executive Director of Highways, Transport and Environment, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Community Safety, Fire and Resilience, the development and implementation of a plan to deliver recommendation 1.

3.    That proposals be developed for the introduction of a voluntary payment scheme be agreed.

Reason for decision:

The Countryside Estate service operated 15 car parks across the county, where charges were made for parking to residents and visitors wishing to access the countryside.  Following the implementation of the charges in July 2018 it was agreed that a review of the impact of car park charging would be undertaken after 12 months of operation.  This review has concluded that the original policy of charging visitors to park when visiting the countryside estate had not delivered the significant financial contribution and was no longer aligned with the council’s overarching Vision 2030.

[The decisions on this item can be called in by the Communities, Environment and Highways Select Committee]

Cabinet to approve the Library and Cultural Services strategy and future model for the library service.

Cabinet to agree to delegating authority to the Executive Director Children, Life Long Learning and Culture to work with Cabinet member for All-Age Learning to proceed to consultation where necessary over the next 12 – 18 months, as and when the specific proposals for each area become clearer following a process of codesign with local people and key stakeholders.

RESOLVED:

1.    That the Library and Cultural Services strategy and future model for the library service was approved.

2.    That authority be delegated to the Executive Director for Children, Life Long Learning and Culture to work with the Cabinet Member for All-Age Learning to proceed to consultation where necessary over the next 12 – 18 months, as and when the specific proposals for each area become clearer following a process of co-design with local people and key stakeholders.

Reason for decision:

Surrey County Council established its strategic principles for the delivery of Library and Cultural services in January 2019, following a comprehensive consultation exercise. Concurrently, the Council had additionally developed a new organisational strategy, ‘Vision 2030’, setting out the priorities for Surrey County Council and the outcomes it is sought to achieve. Using both of these, a detailed community profile had been prepared through 2019.  It was clear that the way in which people were using libraries was changing. There was a pattern of falling usage amongst the adult population, with fewer regular users borrowing more books, while usage amongst children was growing. We must also look beyond how libraries respond to demand reactively, and consider whether they can make a greater contribution, proactively, to Surrey’s corporate priorities.  Within this context we have developed a new strategy which seeks to set a direction for the modernisation of our Libraries and Cultural Services which maximises their contribution to the priorities of the Vision 2030 and ensures that we continue to deliver our statutory responsibility to provide “a comprehensive and efficient library service for all persons desirous to make use there of”, as set out in Section 7 of the Public Libraries and Museum Act 1964.

[The decisions on this item can be called in by the Children, Families, Lifelong Learning & Culture Select Committee]

Cabinet will be asked to approve the programme of work required to deliver the Moving Closer to Residents business case and introduce new ways of working across the council, including the location of the new Civic Heart in the context of the future corporate estate.

RESOLVED:

1.    That the importance of this programme to our successful transformation plans and delivery of the Community Vision 2030 and Organisation Strategy be noted.

2.    That, subject to Council approval, the acquisition of Midas House, Woking on the terms set out in this report as the County Council’s new Civic Heart be approved.

3.    That subject to full Council approval of the acquisition of Midas House, Woking on the terms set out in the submitted report, authority be delegated for the completion of the requisite legal processes and documentation relating to the acquisition of Midas House, in accordance with the Heads of terms set out to the Executive Director for Transformation, Partnerships and Prosperity, in consultation with the Leader of the Council.

4.    That the establishment of a Member Task Group to support the planning and design of Civic spaces and functions, including for full Council meetings and associated Member facilities be approved.

5.    That a design and build contractor for fitting out the new Civic Heart in order to facilitate modern, agile working practices be procured.

6.    That the importance of supporting staff through the implementation of more agile working practices and move from County Hall, Kingston to a Civic Heart in Woking and the need for a change management programme to ensure a positive outcome for them, with a similar programme tailored to Members’ needs be acknowledged.

7.    That the investment in the information and digital technology required to effectively support agile working, as contained in the capital programme, with a roadmap for implementation presented to Cabinet in February 2019 be endorsed

Reason for decision:

The council had a commitment to being closer to residents in all that it does and to enable new, modern ways of working for the council. The Moving Closer to Residents (MCTR) programme of rolling out agile working across the council was underpinned and advanced by confirmation of a new Civic Heart premises at Midas House, Woking.  The MCTR work was not simply about acquiring a building and making a value for money judgement on the associated costs, alone. The programme will deliver on a range of other benefits – including demonstrable productivity improvements from better use of technology, reduced travel costs, new talent pools and attracting new staff, contributing to our carbon neutral ambitions; plus a number of important non-quantifiable benefits, including advancing the shift in organisational culture.

[The decisions on this item can be called in by the Resources and Performance Select Committee]

The Cabinet is asked to endorse an updated Corporate Policy and Protocol on the use of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) by council services. The proposed policy provides an updated framework to ensure that the authority continues to comply fully with the requirements of RIPA surrounding the acquisition of Communications Data in line with recent legislative changes. The proposed policy includes amendments which reflect the recommendations and observations made by the Inspector following the recent RIPA inspection.

RESOLVED:

1.    That the proposed new Corporate Policy and Protocol on the application of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 was endorsed.

2.    That authority be delegated to the Cabinet Member for Community Safety Fire and Resilience in consultation with the relevant Director to approve the Corporate Policy and Protocol on the use of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 and any subsequent changes to this and that the Director of Law and Governance be authorised to make the necessary changes to the Council’s Scheme of Delegation and the Constitution be updated accordingly.

Reason for decision:

Following the RIPA Inspection carried out in February 2019, recommendations and observations were made to the Corporate Policy and Protocol on the use of RIPA which has led to the requirement to make some minor amendments to the Policy.

The inclusion of the updates within the Corporate Policy and Protocol will provide an updated framework to ensure that the authority continues to comply fully with the requirements of RIPA. The updates ensure that Surrey County Council is operating in accordance with the latest legislation.

Allowing future changes to the policy to be authorised by the relevant Cabinet member using delegated powers will prevent this policy repeatedly being placed before full Cabinet for consideration.

[The decisions on this item can be called in by the Resources and Performance Select Committee]

 The Education service is currently supported by a collection of systems with Capita One as the largest with 16 different modules in use. In addition there are systems from Servelec Synergy, Open Objects, Welfare Call and one that has been developed in house.  These systems do not integrate or share information and are not highly regarded by users. The vision is to have a single view of a child’s record.

A procurement exercise was run under the terms of the Crown Commercial Service Data and Application Solutions framework RM3821 as a mini-competition under Lot 5b Academic Scheduling and Management Solutions. This received two bids but only one bid met the Council’s criteria and specification.

The Joint Committee (Runnymede) agreed:

(i)            the proposed amendments to on-street parking restrictions in Runnymede in the report with the addition in Chertsey of the extension of yellow lines along Fordwater Road (B387) at the junction of Paddocks Way to enable safe exit onto main road.

(ii)           that the Joint Committee allocates funding as detailed in paragraph 5.1 of the report to proceed with the introduction of the parking amendments.

(iii)          with the intention of the County Council to make an order under the relevant parts of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 to impose the waiting and on street parking restrictions in Runnymede as shown on the drawings in annex A is advertised and that if no objections are maintained, the orders are made.

(iv)         that if there are unresolved objections, they will be dealt with in accordance   with the County Council’s scheme of delegation by the parking strategy and implementation team manager, in consultation with the chairman/vice  chairman of this committee and the appropriate county councillor.

(v)          with the intention of the County Council to advertise the making of a consolidation Order (without change) of the existing Traffic Regulation Orders to Runnymede is approved, and that approval for future consolidations, when they become necessary, can be granted by the committee chairman.

Reasons:

1.    These decisions give parking officers the authority to proceed with the legal process to implement these measures.

2.    These parking restrictions will make a positive impact towards:-

·         Road safety

·         Access for emergency vehicles

·         Access for refuse vehicles

·         Easing traffic congestion

·         Better regulated parking

·         Better enforcement

Witnesses:

Gemma Sefton – Hymans Robertson

Neil Mason – Strategic Finance Manager (Pensions)

Key points raised during the discussion:

1.    The Committee heard from the representative from Hymans Robertson, who provided an update on the delivery of the 2019 actuarial valuation and highlighted the next stages.

2.    Members viewed a graphic that showed the change in membership makeup from 2016 and were told that the Fund was continuing to grow in size, with 20% more records at the 2019 valuation and a continued growth in payroll and the amount of benefits that are paid out each year.

3.    The representative from Hymans Robertson explained that the Fund was in a healthy place and was 96% funded, with much of that being as a result of asset returns. She went on to highlight the assumed investment return and the funding level that mapped to, as well as showing Members a graphic that illustrated how the Fund’s assets and liabilities had changed since 2016.

4.    Members went on to view changes to the funding strategy and other policy areas that were under review. The representative from Hymans Robertson explained that everything included in the 2019 valuation was in draft until 31 March 2020 and further consultation would take place before then.

5.    Responding to a request from the Chairman, the representative from Hymans Robertson expanded on the McCloud Judgement and GMP equalisation and the potential impact these could have.

6.    Referring to the whole fund funding position graphic provided to Members and the assumed future investment return, the representative from Hymans Robertson explained that an asset model that contained long-term assumptions about all of the asset classes held by the Fund over 20 years had been run in order to formulate the figures.

7.    The Committee heard that conversations would be had with employers about multiple investment strategies and that the intention would be that no one would be moved without their understanding. There was a need to be pragmatic and proportionate to make sure everything had an appropriate award for employers and that different funding objectives were kept in mind.

8.    A Member of the Committee asked for information about how other Funds had approached similar strategies and names of these funds would be provided to the Strategic Finance Manager by the representative from Hymans Robertson so they could be contacted on the Fund’s behalf. The Strategic Finance Manager also informed the Committee that case studies were included in the funding strategy statement paper.

Actions/further information to be provided:

The representative from Hymans Robertson is to provide the Strategic Finance Manager with names of pension funds that had approached similar investment strategies so that they can be contacted on the Fund’s behalf.

Resolved:

The Pension Fund Committee:

1.    Noted progress on the delivery of the 2019 actuarial valuation of the Pension Fund.

2.    Approved for officers to work with the investment consultant and the actuary to implement multiple investment strategies for employers.