Decisions

RESOLVED

The Cabinet Member agreed the proposed Primary and Secondary Fair Access Protocols for 2018/19.

CSF Schools & Learning is responding to the Department for Education’s consultation on elective home education. The Department is calling for evidence to help assess whether the current arrangements for oversight of elective home education are adequate to fulfil the government’s aspiration that all children in England should receive a good education.

It was AGREED to submit the proposed attached response to the consultation

outlined above.

That the response, attached to this decision sheet as Appendix 1, be approved.

To approve the award of a contract for provision of extra care services and home based care support in extra care scheme at Beechwood Court.

The award will support the Council’s vision for Extra Care Housing which is to offer residents support within modern, purpose-built facilities that help older people retain their independence in the community while offering flexible and responsive care and support arrangements to meet their needs, enhance quality of life and improve outcomes.

It was AGREED that following a competitive tender, a contract be awarded for provision of Extra Care services and Home Based Care support in an Extra Care scheme at Beechwood Court to A2Dominion Housing Group Limited, starting from 3 September 2018 for a period of three years with an option to extend for two periods of up to two years for each period. 

The Local Committee (Waverley) resolved to AGREE that:

The items from 9 March 2018 Local Committee, numbers 10 and 13, should be marked as ‘closed’.

All other decision tracker items shall remain ‘open’.

5(i)       A petition was presented to the Waverley Local Committee by Simon Jaggard which calls for improvements to Amlets Lane in the vicinity of St Joseph’s School.

The Local Committee (Waverley) resolved to AGREE that:

(i)    The Safer Travel Team and key stakeholders including the Police will investigate the issues set out in the petition with reference to Surrey County Councils (SCC’s) ‘Road Safety Outside Schools’ and ‘Setting Local Speed Limits’ policies.

(ii)   The Safer Travel Team will return to the Waverley Local Committee in September 2018 with a report outlining any recommendations resulting from the investigation.

(5ii)      A petition was presented to the Waverley Local Committee by Stewart Edge and Jo Aylwin which calls for improvements to roads in the vicinity of Potters Gate School, Farnham.

The Local Committee (Waverley) resolved to AGREE that:

(i)    Surrey County Council will consult with key stakeholders to investigate the issues set out in the petition and officers will report back to the Waverley Local Committee in September 2018, outlining any recommendations resulting from the investigation.

Reason: Surrey County Council officers will investigate the above issues and will return to the next Local Committee meeting with a report describing the conclusions of the investigation and possible recommendations.

A new recommendation at (iv) was proposed by Mr David Harmer and seconded by Mr Wyatt Ramsdale.  12 members voted in favour; 3 members abstained.  Therefore it was carried.

The Local Committee (Waverley) resolved to AGREE that:

(i)    To note the committee approved works being progressed during 2018/19.

(ii)   To approve that the £78K, 15% top slice of the parking surplus, be equally split between the 9 divisional members equating to £8,666 per member.

(iii)  To approve the revocation of the national speed limit on Stovolds Hill and to approve the new 40mph speed limit on Stovolds Hill from the junction of the B2130 Dunsfold Road up to the entrance of Dunsfold Park, a distance of approximately 1300m as shown on Annex 2.

(iv)Recognising that the majority of lengthsman works arise in the more rural areas, including those semi-rural areas on the outskirts of the towns, to assign the £25,000 central pot for lengthsman schemes equally between the 5 Western divisions and the 4 Eastern divisions, allocations to specific schemes to be agreed among the relevant County Councillors at meetings to be chaired by Victoria Young (East) and David Harmer (West) respectively.

(v)  To delegate to the Acting Area Highway Manager, in consultation with the Chairman and Vice Chairman and Divisional Member, the ability to resolve any problems encountered to facilitate scheme delivery during the year of the schemes identified by the Committee.

Reason: The committee was asked to agree the recommendations to enable early progression of works orders.

The Local Committee (Waverley) resolved to AGREE that:

(i)        The committee’s delegated community safety budget of £3,000 for 2018/19 be retained by the SCC Community Safety Team, on behalf of the local committee, and that the Community Safety Partnership and/or other local organisations be invited to submit proposals for funding that meet the criteria and principles set out in section 3 of this report.

(ii)       Authority be delegated to the SCC Community Safety Manager, in consultation with the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the local committee and divisional members as appropriate, to authorise the expenditure of the community safety budget in accordance with the criteria and principles stated in section 3 of this report.

(iii)      The committee receives updates on the project(s) that was funded, the outcomes and the impact it has achieved.

Reason: The report sets out a process for allocating the committee’s delegated community safety budget of £3,000 to local organisations to achieve the recommendations outlined above.

12 members voted in favour; 3 members abstained.  Therefore it was carried.

The Local Committee (Waverley) resolved to AGREE that:

(i)                The Guildford-Godalming Greenway route (as detailed in Annex B) is adopted into the Waverley Cycle Plan.

The Local Committee (Waverley) resolved to AGREE that:

(i)    Members be appointed to the Safer Waverley Partnership and the Waverley Early Help Advisory Board, as detailed in the report.

(ii)   Members be allowed to bring update reports from the Safer Waverley Partnership and the Waverley Early Help Advisory Board, when relevant.

(iii)  Members note the terms of reference in Annex A and Annex B, for information.

Reason: to enable the Waverley Local Committee to be represented on local partnerships and boards and for Committee members to be able to report back to the Local Committee when relevant.

That the Local Committee [Epsom & Ewell] approves:

The membership of the task groups and appointments to outside bodies, as set out below for the 2018/19 municipal year:

a)           The East Surrey Community Safety Partnership – Bernie Muir

b)           On Street Parking Task Group - County Councillors John Beckett, Jan Mason, substitute Bernie Muir, Borough Councillors Peter O’Donovan, Tella Wormington, substitute Michael Arthur.

c)           Borough Council Joint Infrastructure Group – John Beckett, Jan Mason substitute Tina Mountain if substitutes are permitted.

Reasons: The report proposes local committee task group membership for the forthcoming year to enable the provision of informed advice and recommendations to the committee. The appointment of councillors of the Local Committee to external bodies enables the committee’s representation on and input to such bodies


 

That the Local Committee [Epsom & Ewell] agreed that:

(i)           The committee’s delegated community safety budget of £3,000 for 2018/19 be retained by the Community Partnership Team, on behalf of the Local Committee, and that the Community Safety Partnership and/or other local organisations be invited to submit proposals for funding that meet the criteria and principles set out at paragraph 2.4 of the report.

(ii)         Authority be delegated to the Community Safety Manager, in consultation with the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the local committee, to authorise the expenditure of the community safety budget in accordance with the criteria and principles stated at paragraph 2.4 of this report.

(iii)        The committee receives updates on the project(s) funded, the outcomes and the impact it has achieved.

Reasons: The report sets out a process for allocating the committee’s delegated community safety budget of £3,000 to local organisations.

The Local Committee [Epsom & Ewell] agreed:

To authorise the Area Highway Manager in consultation with the Chairman, Vice Chairman, and relevant Divisional Member(s) to undertake all necessary procedures to deliver the agreed programmes.

Reasons: Committee is asked to provide the necessary authorisation to deliver its programmes of work in consultation with the Chairman, Vice Chairman and relevant Divisional Member without the need to revert to the Committee as a whole.

That the Local Committee [Epsom & Ewell] agreed:

(i)      to the advertising of the proposals in Annex 1, subject to the following amendments:

Drawing 1: additional disabled bays to be added in this area on the same basis as the one currently included;
Drawing 3: The double yellow line should be in Timbercroft in the areas of numbers 9-13 and not The Warren;
Drawing 4: Double yellow lines on corner of Bridle Close to extend 15m in each direction to maintain sight lines;
Drawing 5: Lymington Gardens – additional lines to be added opposite exisiting;
Drawing 12: Ewell By-pass to be amended to read to Kingston Road;
Drawing 16: Double yellow lines to extend 10m into Lansdowne Road;
Drawing 36: Double yellow lines to extend to The Orchard;
Drawing 38: Lines in Horton Hill are no longer required;
Drawing 47: Road description should be Higher Green and not The Green;
Drawing 49: Extend single yellow line across the allotments to corner and around to allow parking adjacent to the allotment.  Double yellow line across footway and entrance;
Drawing 54: Yellow line to be extended further up East Dean;
Drawing 59: Extend double yellow line adjacent to 29 Chartwell Place;
Drawing 72: Double yellow line at the end of Tealing Drive on Tolworth side for first length of verge (add to Drawing 3)

(ii)     That the committee contribute £40,000 funding towards the proposals from the 2017/18 parking review surplus;

(iii)     That the County Council’s intention to make an order under the Road Traffic Regulation act 1984 be advertised and, if no objections are maintained, the order be made;

(iv)    That if objections are received the Parking Strategy and Implementation Group Manager is authorised to try and resolve them, in consultation with the Chairman / Vice Chairman of this committee and the county councillor for the division, and decides whether or not they should be acceded to and therefore whether the order should be made, with or without modifications.

Reasons:  Changes to the highway network, the built environment and society mean that parking behaviour changes and consequently it is necessary for a Highway Authority to carry out regular reviews of waiting and parking restrictions on the highway network.

It is recommended that the waiting restrictions in this report are progressed as they will help to:

·          Improve road safety

·          Increase access for emergency vehicles

·          improve access to shops, facilities and businesses

·          Increase access for refuse vehicles, buses and service vehicles

·          Reduce traffic congestion

·          Better regulate parking

That the Local Committee [Epsom & Ewell] agreed:

To co-opt substitutes for Borough Council members for the municipal year 2018/19.

Reasons: Standing Order 40(f) requires the Committee at its first meeting in the municipal year to agree whether it wishes Borough Council members to be permitted to have substitutes

There were four questions received from three Members. The questions and responses were published as a supplement to the agenda.

In accordance with the Terms of Reference, the Investment Board will provide a report on the investment portfolio and its performance to Cabinet on an annual basis.

RESOLVED:

That the Annual Report of the Investment Board be endorsed.

Reason for Decision:

To inform the Cabinet about the activities of the Investment Board.  The Investment Board were responsible for the delivery of the agreed Investment Strategy.  The Investment Strategy was created by the Council to deliver an ongoing and resilient source of income to provide financial support to the Council’s front line services. 

[The decisions on this item can be called in by the Corporate Overview Select Committee]

It is proposed to create a Joint Committee in place of the current SCC Guildford Local Committee.  This new partnership arrangement will speed up decision making, improve outcomes for residents and strengthen local democracy. 

SCC Cabinet (and Full Council) approval is now sought to establish the Joint Committee. The formation of the Joint Committee will require agreement by Guildford Borough Council in parallel, and it is due to be considered by their Executive on 19 June, and by Full Council on 24 July.

RESOLVED:

1.    That following consideration of the Constitution set out in the Annex A to the minutes, including the Standing Orders under which the Joint Committee would operate it was agreed:   

·         To delegate the executive functions to the Guildford Joint Committee;

·         The extended advisory functions that will come under the remit of the Guildford Joint Committee.

Cabinet recommendations to Full Council:

2.    That Council agrees to the establishment of the Guildford Joint Committee in place of the current Local Committee arrangements to take effect from 19 September 2018.

3.    That Council agrees to the delegation of the non-executive functions to the Guildford Joint Committee.

4.    That Council appoint a Chairman of the newly formed Guildford Joint Committee from 19 September 2018, when the Joint Committee would hold its first meeting.

5.    That Council appoint Mike Goodman, Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport, as the SCC Cabinet Member on the Guildford Joint Committee for the 2018/19 municipal year, subject to Council approval of the Constitution.

6.    That authority be delegated to the Legal Services Manager, in consultation with the Leader of the Council, Cabinet Member and the SCC-appointed Chairman or Vice-Chairman of the Guildford Joint Committee, to agree to any minor amendments to the Constitution, which may be required

Reasons for decisions:

Cabinet and full Council agreement was required to establish a Guildford Joint Committee, to replace the current Local Committee arrangements; to delegate recommended executive functions to the newly formed Guildford Joint Committee; and to agree the Constitution and Standing Orders under which the newly formed committee would operate.

Joint Committees were an innovative two tier response to central government policy initiatives. Positive conversations were being held with other Surrey borough and district councils on the formation of further joint committees with SCC.

The creation of the Guildford Joint Committee builds on a strong track record of joint and collaborative working between the two authorities and provided a platform on which future joint arrangements could be co-ordinated.

This approach had already proved successful in Woking and Spelthorne, where Joint Committees had been operating since June 2014 and January 2017 respectively and had shown to improve partnership working.

The new Joint Committee would simplify and speed-up local decision making processes, enabled for the first time, all functions and budgets delegated to it to be jointly decided upon.

The Guildford Joint Committee proposal was complementary to the work and remit of the current cross-party Local/ Joint Committee Review Group. The review aims ‘to set out the Council’s vision for local governance and engagement including the future role of Local/ Joint Committees in supporting Members in their role as community leaders’, an aim reflected in the ambition of the proposed Joint Committee. The Chairman of the Review Group Councillor Mary Angell was supportive of the Joint Committee proposal.

There is an MTFP requirement to save £180,000 on the Surrey Performing Arts Library budget from 1 April 2018.  Three options for future arrangements have been worked up for decision.

RESOLVED:

1.    That NewSPAL, a new charitable body, be invited and supported to prepare a comprehensive business plan to take on operational responsibility for SPAL be agreed.

2.    That a report on the NewSPAL business plan be brought to Cabinet for decision in the Autumn, 2018 be agreed. 

Reasons for decisions:

A review of the SPAL collections identified a number of measures to improve business operations and options to address issues for its long term sustainability. The option of transferring the function to an independent operator was proposed as it would mean that SPAL could operate outside of the continuing pressures on local government budgets.

Despite considerable work, ultimately no suitable existing organisation confirmed their interest. However a new charity (NewSPAL) had recently been set up for the purpose of taking on SPAL. Potential advantages of the NewSPAL option was that it would be a user-led organisation and have potential to access funding opportunities not available to local authorities.

There would be a robust process in place to test the viability of any transfer of the collections to NewSPAL and a report brought to Cabinet in the Autumn, 2018.

The Communities Select Committee considered options for SPAL and agreed to support in principle NewSPAL taking over the collections.  In the interim, while the NewSPAL proposal was worked up in greater detail, to ensure the cost-effectiveness, coherence and continuity of the service, the collection was to be relocated to Ewell Library.  

[The decisions on this item can be called in by the Adults & Lifelong Learning Select Committee]

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

RESOLVED:

To note that:

1.   As at 31 May 2018, the Council’s overall revenue budget position was as follows:

·      £2.8m forecast year end underspend (Annex, paragraph 1),

·      £65.3m forecast planned savings, against £66.0m target (Annex, paragraph 3),

·      £15m risk of increased service pressures in SEND,

·      Target of £15m additional in year savings in 2018/19.

That the following be approved:

2.   Agreed in principle to continue to use the Waste Sinking Fund to smooth Eco Park construction cost variations across years (Annex, paragraph 34).

3.   Highways & Transport requested to draw down £0.155m from three revenue carry forwards made in 2017/18 to fund committed and in-progress projects including:

·      £85,000 Members’ allocations for bursaries and a school and recycling project;

·      £45,000 for committed bridge assessments; and

·      £25,000 for traffic signals maintenance delayed due to bad weather.

4.   Highways & Transport requested a £0.9m increase to the capital budget to reflect additional pothole grant announced by the Department for Transport on 26 March 2018.

5.   Highways & Transport requested to draw down £4.67m capital carry forwards to fund committed and in-progress projects, including:

·      National Productivity Investment Fund grant-funded Farnham Bridge and A24 Epsom Resilience schemes, plus match funded A23 Local Growth Deal scheme;

·      Highways major maintenance and bridge strengthening schemes.

Reasons for decisions:

This report was presented to comply with the agreed policy of providing a monthly budget monitoring report to Cabinet for approval and action as necessary.

 [The decisions on this item can be called in by the Corporate Overview Select Committee]

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.

A report was deferred for consideration by Cabinet at the April 2018 meeting from the Communities Select Committee relating to the Surrey Performing Arts Library. A response to this was published as a supplement to the agenda.

There was one question received from members of the public. The question and response was published as a supplement to the agenda.

It is recommended that Cabinet approves the award of contracts for the 15 local bus routes which have been competitively tendered.

RESOLVED:

1.    That following consideration of the results of the procurement process in the submitted Part 2 report, to award contracts to the following six operators was agreed:- BETC, Cardinal Buses, C E Jeatt & Son (White Bus), Edward Thomas, Metrobus and Southdown.

2.    To note that the contract length would be three years with the option to extend up to a maximum of eight years as permitted by the 1985 Transport Act (as amended by s.70 Local Transport Act 2008). The total annual value of these contracts would be £1.037m (net of developer funding contribution for one route).

Reason for Decision:

The decision would enable the Council to achieve:

• A net full year saving of £0.125m compared to the previous aggregated cost of the routes.
• A robust bus network delivery of essential public transport to residents of Surrey.
• Services delivered by operators who are reputable and meet the Council’s minimum level of quality.
• Funding arrangements with operators that are sustainable.
• More services being delivered using lower emission Euro VI vehicles.

Ensures the Council complies with the Procurement Standing Orders (PSO), requiring Cabinet approval for those contracts that reach a specified value.

[Decisions on this item can be called in by the Corporate Overview Select Committee or the Environment Select Committee]

The Local Committee (Tandridge):

(i)            AGREED that the committee’s delegated community safety budget of £3000 for 2018/19 be retained by the Community Partnership Team, on behalf of the Local/Joint Committee, and that the Community Safety Partnership and/or other local organisations be invited to submit proposals for funding that meet the criteria and principles set out at paragraph 2.4 of this report.

(ii)           AGREED the authority be delegated to the Community Safety Manager, in consultation with the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the local committee, to authorise the expenditure of the community safety budget in accordance with the criteria and principles stated at paragraph 2.4 of this report.

(iii)          AGREED the committee receives updates on the project(s) funded, the outcomes and the impact it has achieved.

(iv)         APPROVED Rose Thorn represent the committee on the East Surrey Community Safety Partnership, as set out in paragraph 2.8.

The Local Committee (Tandridge):

(i)            NOTED the contents of the report

(ii)          AGREED to express their concerns at lack of flexibility and responsiveness of the current on street parking enforcement arrangements and resolves to endorse the District Councils motion of no confidence.

The Local Committee (Tandridge):

(i)            NOTED  the contents of the report.

(ii)           AGREED to add a feasibility study to the Integrated Transport Schemes (ITS) list for consideration for future funding.  The feasibility study would investigate the possibility of installing a physical width restriction on Chalkpit Lane between the chalkpit entrance and The Ridge.