Decisions

Use the search options at the bottom of the page to find information regarding recent decisions that have been taken by the council’s decision making bodies.

Forthcoming decisions to be taken by the Cabinet and Cabinet Members for the next 28 days and beyond can be found in the Notice of Decisions.

Decisions published

28/01/2025 - Reports from Select Committees, Task Groups and other Committees of the Council ref: 5834    Recommendations Approved

Decision Maker: Cabinet

Made at meeting: 28/01/2025 - Cabinet

Decision published: 29/01/2025

Effective from: 28/01/2025

Decision:

RESOLVED:

 

The referred motion from Council was debated. In line with Standing Order 12.6, Cabinet will report upon the motion to the next ordinary meeting of the Council.

 

 


28/01/2025 - TECHNOLOGY ENABLED CARE AND HOMES (TECH) ref: 5845    Recommendations Approved

Decision Maker: Cabinet

Made at meeting: 28/01/2025 - Cabinet

Decision published: 29/01/2025

Effective from: 06/02/2025

Decision:

RESOLVED:

 

  1. That Cabinet notes progress made to date to review current pilot technologies.
  2. That Cabinet notes benchmarking and profiling of our service, including our need to improve outcomes tracking and benefits realisation approaches.
  3. That Cabinet agrees our strategic ambition for developing technology enabled care and homes (TECH).
  4. That Cabinet approves our commissioning and procurement approach
  5. That Cabinet approves our priority areas and phasing of technology roll out to support staff with culture growth and technology adoption.
  6. That Cabinet agrees the financial investment required for first 2 years of delivery.
  7. That Cabinet notes the intention to return to Cabinet in 2026 to set out 5 to 10-year strategic delivery plan and strategy.

 

Reasons for decisions:

 

Whilst benefits have already been achieved through our current TECH offer in Surrey, there is considerable opportunity for greater growth and benefits realisation. This paper sets out a more ambitious delivery model with clear commissioning and procurement approaches that maximise opportunity and reduce risk to the Council.

 

Our recent review of the current offer has highlighted some key focus areas. We must improve our internal processes and enable easier identification of TECH solutions. We must also improve our systems and outcomes tracking if we are to be able to demonstrate TECH benefits more quickly and clearly.

 

Our strategic ambition is to embed TECH as a core part of social care delivery. By demonstrating outcomes more clearly, we will be better placed to identify future investment from partners to grow our offer and align with other TECH, AI and digital programmes. We will also develop a strong self-funder and front door offer for residents.

 

With no new funding we must target our core delivery of TECH to the areas of highest need and greatest impact. Prioritisation will therefore be based upon corporate transformation, demand management and high-cost areas.

 

Prioritisation is also key to ensuring staff can be supported to embed the culture growth required to see TECH succeed. Members shared that they felt TECH would fail if it was to be used everywhere, with all staff from the start. A recent review demonstrated staff knowledge and confidence was generally low across the organisation and varied considerably from team to team across Surrey. Positively, the majority of staff spoken to so far seem excited about TECH and want to engage so we must use this interest to progress.

 

The Contract Management Advisory Service (CMAS) were asked to support the TECH team to assess the options for the provision of TECH in Surrey. Commissioning, operations, IT&D, finance and the TECH team were involved in the process. Three options, detailed later in this paper, were explored with one preferred and recommended to help further our ambition.

 

Given the above we intend to outsource a core commissioned service for a minimum of two years. This will allow us to gather more robust data and evidence to develop a better offer for TECH with greater evidence of staff learning and engagement. The recommendation for a longer-term strategy is based upon national comparators and benefits realisation timeframes.

 

(The decisions on this item can be call-in by the Adults and Health Select Committee)

 

 


28/01/2025 - EVERYDAY LIVING OPPORTUNITIES ref: 5849    Recommendations Approved

Decision Maker: Cabinet

Made at meeting: 28/01/2025 - Cabinet

Decision published: 29/01/2025

Effective from: 06/02/2025

Decision:

RESOLVED:

 

1.    See Exempt Minute E-03-25

 

2.    See Exempt Minute E-03-25

 

Reasons for decisions:

 

See Exempt Minute E-03-25

(The decisions on this item can be call-in by the Adults and Health Select Committee)

 

 

 


28/01/2025 - EVERYDAY LIVING OPPORTUNITIES ref: 5844    Recommendations Approved

Decision Maker: Cabinet

Made at meeting: 28/01/2025 - Cabinet

Decision published: 29/01/2025

Effective from: 06/02/2025

Decision:

RESOLVED:

 

1.      That Cabinet approves the commissioning strategy for supporting everyday living for adults and young people in transition with eligible needs, through a Light Touch Regime procurement process under The Public Contracts Regulations 2015 or the Procurement Act 2023, as appropriate.

2.      That Cabinet approves that the ELO tender be commenced in quarter 4 of financial year 2024/25.

3.      That Cabinet approves delegated authority to the Executive Director, Adults, Wellbeing and Health Partnerships in consultation with the Cabinet Member of Adult Social Care. for awarding the contract/s.

4.      That Cabinet notes the outcome of the formal consultation on the AHWP Travel Policy and to approve and agree to publish the AWHP Travel Policy as an integral document that supports the aims and desired outcomes of the Everyday Living Opportunities Tender.

Reasons for decisions:

Most community services are currently commissioned via individual spot contracts, which offer a limited overview of equity, quality or price. With population growth, an ageing population, greater numbers living with disability, and financial constraints, more cost-effective approaches to procuring high quality support for people with eligible needs must be established.  

The Travel Policy is an important enabler for this work, playing a central role in facilitating increased independent travel and supporting people who draw on services (and their families) to understand eligibility criteria and independently consider their travel options when accessing support with everyday living.  The policy is an important tool for communicating with Surrey’s residents.

(The decisions on this item can be call-in by the Adults and Health Select Committee)

 

 

 


28/01/2025 - 2024/25 MONTH 8 (NOVEMBER) FINANCIAL REPORT ref: 5848    Recommendations Approved

Decision Maker: Cabinet

Made at meeting: 28/01/2025 - Cabinet

Decision published: 29/01/2025

Effective from: 06/02/2025

Decision:

RESOLVED:

 

1.    That Cabinet notes the Council’s forecast revenue budget and capital budget positions for the year.

Reasons for decisions:

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

(The decisions on this item can be called-in by the Resources and Performance Select Committee)

 


28/01/2025 - 2025/26 FINAL BUDGET AND MEDIUM-TERM FINANCIAL STRATEGY TO 2029/30 ref: 5837    Recommendations Approved

Decision Maker: Cabinet

Made at meeting: 28/01/2025 - Cabinet

Decision published: 29/01/2025

Effective from: 06/02/2025

Decision:

RESOLVED:

 

That Cabinet makes the following recommendations to Council on 4 February 2025.

 

Cabinet recommends that County Council: 

  1. Approves the net revenue budget requirement be set at £1,264.1 million (net cost of services after service specific government grants) for 2025/26 (Annex B), subject to confirmation of the Final Local Government Financial Settlement.
  2. Approves the total Council Tax Funding Requirement be set at £972.3 million for 2025/26. This is based on a council tax increase of 4.99%, made up of an increase in the level of core council tax of 2.99% and an increase of 2% in the precept proposed by Central Government to cover the growing cost of Adult Social Care (Annex E).
  3. Notes that for the purpose of section 52ZB of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, the Council formally determines that the increase in core council tax is not such as to trigger a referendum (i.e. not greater than 3%).
  4. Sets the Surrey County Council precept for Band D Council Tax at £1,846.35, which represents a 4.99% uplift, a rise of £1.69 a week from the 2024/25 precept of £1,758.60. This includes £286.61 for the Adult Social Care precept, which has increased by £35.17. A full list of bands is as follows:

A green and white table with numbers and text Description automatically generated

5.    Notes that underlying General Fund reserve balances are projected to increase to £50.5 million as of 1 April 2025, based on the current year forecast. 

6.    Approves the Total Schools Budget of £738.7 million to meet the Council’s statutory requirement on schools funding (as set out in Section 9 of the 2025/26 Final Budget and Medium-Term Financial Strategy to 2029/30).

7.    Approves the overall indicative Budget Envelopes for Directorates and individual services for the 2025/26 budget (Annex B) and that the Corporate Leadership Team be required to meet the revenue budget for the delivery of Council services.

8.    That the Corporate Leadership Team be required to deliver the revenue saving plans as set out in Annex A.

9.    Delegate powers to the Leader and Deputy Chief Executive & Director of Resources (Section 151 Officer) to finalise budget proposals and recommendations to County Council, updated to take into account new information in the Final Local Government Finance Settlement;’

10.  Approves the total £1,398.8 million proposed five-year Capital Programme (comprising £1,016.8 million of budget and £382.0 million pipeline), including the £406.3 million annual Capital Budget for 2025/26 (Annex C).

11.  Approves the Capital and Investment Strategy (Annex F - Sections 1 to 3), which provides an overview of how risks associated with capital expenditure, financing and treasury will be managed as well as how they contribute towards the delivery of services.

12.  Approve the Treasury Management Strategy and Prudential Indicators (Annex F – Section 4) which set a framework for the Council’s treasury function to manage risks, source borrowing and invest surplus cash, as considered by the Audit & Governance Committee on 22 January 2025.

13.  Approves the policy for making a prudent level of revenue provision for the repayment of debt - the Minimum Revenue Provision (MRP) Policy (Annex G).

14.  Approves and reviews the re-set of the Earmarked Reserves, as set out in Annex D.

15.  Notes that the investment in Transformation required to deliver improved outcomes and financial benefits is built into the proposed Medium-Term Financial Strategy (as set out in section 3 of 2025/26 Final Budget Report and Medium-Term Financial Strategy to 2029/30).

Reasons for decisions:

 

Council will meet on 4 February 2025 to agree a budget and to set the Council Tax Precept for 2025/26. Cabinet is required to recommend a budget to Council for consideration at this meeting. The budget directs available resources to support the achievement of the Council’s ambitions and priorities in the 2030 Vision and the Refreshed Organisation Strategy.

The budget will also support the delivery of the continuing transformational changes that are required to ensure that the Council can improve priority outcomes for residents, while managing growing demand for services and ensuring future financial sustainability.

 

 


28/01/2025 - DISPOSAL OF QUADRANT COURT, 35 GUILDFORD ROAD, WOKING, GU22 7QQ ref: 5847    Recommendations Approved

Decision Maker: Cabinet

Made at meeting: 28/01/2025 - Cabinet

Decision published: 29/01/2025

Effective from: 06/02/2025

Decision:

RESOLVED:

 

  1. That Cabinet formally declares the asset surplus to operational requirements.

 

  1. See Exempt Minute E-04-25

 

  1. See Exempt Minute E-04-25

 

  1. That Cabinet delegates authority to the Executive Director for Environment, Property and Growth, in consultation with the Director of Land & Property to finalise the transaction and conclude all associated legal agreements.

 

Reasons for Decisions:

 

To enable thedisposal, Cabinet is to formally declare an asset surplus to operational requirement under the Council’s Constitution.

 

(The decisions on this item can be called-in by the Resources and Performance Select Committee)

 


28/01/2025 - DISPOSAL OF QUADRANT COURT, 35 GUILDFORD ROAD, WOKING, GU22 7QQ ref: 5846    Recommendations Approved

Decision Maker: Cabinet

Made at meeting: 28/01/2025 - Cabinet

Decision published: 29/01/2025

Effective from: 06/02/2025

Decision:

RESOLVED:

 

  1. That Cabinet formally declares the asset surplus to operational requirements.

 

  1. That Cabinet approves the sale of Quadrant Court, Guildford Road, Woking to the party and upon the terms outlined in the part 2 Report.

 

  1. That Cabinet delegates authority to the Executive Director for Environment, Property and Growth, in consultation with the Director of Land & Property to finalise the transaction and conclude all associated legal agreements.

 

Reasons for Decisions:

 

Quadrant Court is deemed surplus to operational requirements and to enable the disposal, Cabinet is to formally declare the asset surplus under the Councils Constitution.

 

(The decisions on this item can be called-in by the Resources and Performance Select Committee)

 

 


28/01/2025 - ADMISSION ARRANGEMENTS FOR SURREY’S COMMUNITY AND VOLUNTARY CONTROLLED SCHOOLS FOR SEPTEMBER 2026 AND SURREY’S RELEVANT AREA ref: 5843    Recommendations Approved

Decision Maker: Cabinet

Made at meeting: 28/01/2025 - Cabinet

Decision published: 29/01/2025

Effective from: 06/02/2025

Decision:

RESOLVED:

 

It is recommended that Cabinet make the following recommendations to Full Council on 4 February 2025:

 

Recommendation 1

That the Published Admission Number (PAN) for Year 3 at Reigate Priory is reduced from 150 to 120 for 2026 admission, as set out in Appendix 1 of Annex 1.

Reasons for Recommendation

  • It is supported by the Headteacher and Governing Body of the school
  • It is supported by Surrey’s Education Place Planning team
  • There will still be sufficient places for local children if the PAN is decreased
  • It will help the school maintain financial viability as they will be able to operate with just four classes  

·         It will have no impact on children who are currently on roll at the school 

·         The decision is not related to the future provision of places in Reigate

Recommendation 2

That a Published Admission Number (PAN) is not introduced for admission to Year 3 at Audley Primary School for 2026 admission.

Reasons for Recommendation

·         There are spaces at other schools in the area which negates the need to introduce a Year 3 PAN at Audley Primary School

·         Although a small number, the introduction of a Year 3 PAN of 2 at Audley Primary School could have a detrimental impact on other schools in the area

·         It will have no impact on children who are currently on roll at the school 

Recommendation 3

That the Published Admissions Number (PAN) for Reception at Earlswood Infant School is reduced from 120 to 90 for 2026 admission, as set out in Appendix 1 of Annex 1.

Reasons for Recommendation

·         It is supported by the Headteacher and Governing Body of the school, having been requested by them

·         It is supported by Surrey’s Education Place Planning team

·         There will still be sufficient places for local children if the PAN is decreased

·         It will help the school maintain financial viability as they will be able to operate with just three classes

·         It will have no impact on children who are currently on roll at the school

 

Recommendation 4

That the Published Admission Numbers (PANs) for September 2026 for all other community and voluntary controlled schools (excluding Year 3 at Reigate Priory and Reception at Earlswood Infant School, which are covered by Recommendations 1 and 3) are determined as they are set out in Appendix 1 of Annex 1.

Reasons for Recommendation

  • Most other PANs remain as they were determined for 2025 which enables parents to have some historical benchmark by which to make informed decisions about their school preferences for 2026 admission
  • The PANs provide for the sufficiency of places at community and voluntary controlled schools

·         The Education Place Planning team supports the PANs

·         Each community and voluntary controlled school were given the opportunity to comment on the proposed PAN if they wished 

Recommendation 5

That all other aspects of Surrey’s admission arrangements for community and voluntary controlled schools for September 2026, for which no change has been consulted on, are agreed as set out in Annex 1 and its appendices.

Reasons for Recommendation

·         The local authority has a duty to determine the admission arrangements for 2026 for all community and voluntary controlled schools by 28 February 2025

·         The admission arrangements are working well

·         The arrangements enable the majority of pupils to attend a local school and in doing so reduce travel and support Surrey’s sustainability policies

·         The arrangements are compliant with the School Admissions Code

·         Section 20 of Annex 1 has been amended to remove reference to an offer of a place being withdrawn ‘even if the child has already started at the school’. This is because registered pupils may only be removed from roll in the limited circumstances set out in regulation 9 of the School Attendance (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2024, as amended.

·         Section 21 of Annex 1 has been updated to include the following wording in relation to travel assistance, which ensures it reflects the recent changes to Surrey’s travel assistance policy:

‘To be considered for travel assistance to a school that is not your nearest, you will normally be required to demonstrate that you have applied for and been refused a place at any nearer schools….’.

Recommendation 6

That Surrey’s Relevant Area is agreed as set out in Annex 4.

 

 

Reasons for Recommendation

·         The local authority is required by law to define the Relevant Area, within which admission authorities must consult with other schools on their admission arrangements

·         The Relevant Area must be consulted upon and agreed every two years even if no changes are proposed

·         Setting a Relevant Area ensures that any schools who might be affected by changes to the admission arrangements for other local schools will be made aware of those changes

·         No change has been made to Surrey’s Relevant Area since it was last determined in February 2023

 


28/01/2025 - COMMUNITY RISK MANAGEMENT PLAN (CRMP) 2025-2030 ref: 5838    Recommendations Approved

Decision Maker: Cabinet

Made at meeting: 28/01/2025 - Cabinet

Decision published: 29/01/2025

Effective from: 06/02/2025

Decision:

RESOLVED:

 

1.    That Cabinet approves the CRMP for 2025-2030, ensuring that SFRS can begin implementing the service-wide strategy from April 2025 in a staged approach.

Reasons for decisions:

 

  • SFRS has consulted both its staff and the public on the seven CRMP proposals, details of which were shared with them via a thorough communications and engagement campaign.
  • The plans set out how the service will prevent, protect and respond to emergencies during 2025-2030, aligning resources to the right locations, ensuring vital equipment is appropriate and effective, and supporting the wider health and wellbeing agenda.
  • The feedback gained during this consultation has shown that there is a majority positive ‘approval rating’ for the six proposals requiring an agreement/disagreement level, ranging between 62% to 76%. The analysis report (annex 3) was created by Surrey County Council’s (SCC) Research Intelligence Unit (RIU) following the consultation period.
  • An audit of SFRS’s CRP (annex 2) has been conducted by Nottingham Trent University (NTU) to ensure accuracy and robustness. NTU are leaders in public research who led on the National Fire Chiefs Council’s (NFCC) National Risk Methodologies, reviewed the data and evidence used to develop the CRMP’s strategic aims and proposals. They confirmed that “…Surrey FRS has undertaken a robust process to develop the CRMP for Surrey”.

 

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

 

 


28/01/2025 - FORMER PLAYING FIELD, SURREY HILLS, ALL SAINTS C OF E PRIMARY SCHOOL, ABINGER LANE, ABINGER COMMON, DORKING, RH5 6HZ ref: 5839    Recommendations Approved

Decision Maker: Cabinet Member for Property, Waste and Infrastructure Decisions

Made at meeting: 28/01/2025 - Cabinet Member for Property, Waste and Infrastructure Decisions

Decision published: 28/01/2025

Effective from: 05/02/2025

Decision:

The Cabinet Member for Property, Waste, and Infrastructure:

1.   Formally declared the asset surplus to operational requirements in consultation with The Leader and Deputy Leader.

2.   Approved the sale of Former playing field, Surrey Hills. All Saints C of E Primary School, Abinger Lane, Abinger Common, Dorking, RH5 6HZ to the party, at the price and subject to the conditions, noted in the part 2 report.

3.   Delegated authority to the Director of Land and Property in consultation with the Executive Director for Environment Property and Growth to finalise the transaction and enter into all associated legal agreements.


28/01/2025 - FORMER PLAYING FIELD, SURREY HILLS ALL SAINTS C OF E PRIMARY SCHOOL, ABINGER LANE, ABINGER COMMON, DORKING, RH5 6HZ ref: 5840    Recommendations Approved

Decision Maker: Cabinet Member for Property, Waste and Infrastructure Decisions

Made at meeting: 28/01/2025 - Cabinet Member for Property, Waste and Infrastructure Decisions

Decision published: 28/01/2025

Effective from: 05/02/2025


28/01/2025 - SURREY FIRE & RESCUE SERVICE STATEMENT OF ASSURANCE ref: 5841    Recommendations Approved

Decision Maker: Cabinet Member for Fire and Rescue, and Resilience Decisions

Made at meeting: 28/01/2025 - Cabinet Member for Fire and Rescue, and Resilience Decisions

Decision published: 28/01/2025

Effective from: 05/02/2025

Decision:

The Cabinet Member for Fire and Rescue, and Resilience approved the annual Surrey Fire & Rescue Service Statement of Assurance for publication.


28/01/2025 - PROPOSAL TO CREATE A SEN UNIT AT THAMES DITTON INFANT SCHOOL ref: 5842    Recommendations Approved

Decision Maker: Cabinet Member for Children, Families and Lifelong Learning Decisions

Made at meeting: 28/01/2025 - Cabinet Member for Children, Families and Lifelong Learning Decisions

Decision published: 28/01/2025

Effective from: 05/02/2025

Decision:

The Cabinet Member for Children, Families and Lifelong Learning determines the statutory notice published for the proposal thereby bringing into effect the formal commencement of the proposals.

The Cabinet Member for Education and Learning:

Approved the proposal without modification.


24/01/2025 - Disposal of Coxbridge Farm, West Street, Farnham ref: 5850    Recommendations Approved

§  Following the above Cabinet Approval (25/7/2023) and subsequent Delegated Officers’ approvals, Surrey County Council (SCC) entered into a contractual commitment to jointly sell their Coxbridge farm holdings in Farnham alongside the Kenward family (as former tenant and adjacent landowner) in January 2024 to Cala Management Ltd (Cala) for £30.756m.  

 

§  All payments due to the SCC are payable in three tranches over a 24 month period from January 2023; the first payment of £11,060,670was secured in January 2024, with £7,878,207 due now and £11,817,311 due in January 2026.

§  Various additional legal papers have been prepared, and recommended by SCC’s external lawyers DAC Beachcroft as part of the second tranche payment mechanism, largely around the extent of charges needing to be held over the land following payment of two tranches, together with other associated legal documentation.

§  Attached to this note is a summary recommendation from DAC Beachcoft and we seek your approval to finalise same as we secure the second tranche payment (which is now held by DAC Beachcroft pending formal completion of the recommended documents).

§  As a result of the updated request for legal documentation, which needs to be signed/sealed, SCC Legal Property has recommended that as this is now an additional step/ material change to what was previously envisaged, so further Delegated Officers Approval is now requested and obtained.

 

Once SCC Legal has executed the above documentation it will be dispatched to DAC Beachcroft who will then be able complete the legal formalities and immediately arrange transfer of funds to SCC of £7,878,207 comprising: (i) £7,001,000 tranche payment now due from CALA (relating to SCC’s land sale to Cala & (ii) £877,207 tranche payment now due from Kenwards (relating to restrictive covenant payment obligations to SCC). 

 

A map of a city Description automatically generated

Decision Maker: Deputy Chief Executive and Executive Director Resources

Decision published: 27/01/2025

Effective from: 24/01/2025

Decision:

Decision made:

 

It was AGREED:

 

1.    To conclude report.

 

Delegated authority request is duly recommended to enable the relevant legal documentation to be completed; the Director of Land & Property will then have relevant approval in place to ensure conclusion and ensure capital payments due to SCC as of January 2025 and January 2026. 

 

 

Lead officer: Colin Galletly