Agenda and minutes

Prior to the business of the meeting, two statements were made.

The Chair informed the Committee of the recent passing of John Dyer, Grounds Maintenance Officer at Queens Park, who had served the Council for 23 years. The Council’s thoughts and deepest condolences were with his family, friends and colleagues.

The Head of Operations and Contracts also made a statement. Following the tragic dog attack in January at Gravelly Hill, the Council would review how it can enhance public safety whilst protecting businesses engaged in dog walking through a Dog Public Space Protection Order. A report would be taken to the June meeting of the Committee setting out the consultation process and options on the number of dogs that could be walked at one time.

To confirm as a correct record.

The minutes were confirmed and signed as a correct record.

To receive a presentation on Community Safety from Sergeant Dan Kite – Surrey Police (Tandridge) and the Community and Partnerships team.

The Chair invites all Councillors to attend the Committee for this item, which will be allocated an hour’s slot at the meeting.

The Committee received a presentation from the Community Safety and Partnerships Specialist and the Head of Communities and Partnerships which updated Members on the community safety activities in the District.

The Community Safety and Partnerships Specialist explained that the Council operated a partnership approach to reducing crime and disorder through the Tandridge Community Safety Partnership. The four priorities of the Partnership were community support and engagement, tackling community harm, youth engagement and provision, and preventing frauds and scams. 15 themes had been identified to help achieve these priorities.

In the last 12 months it was noted that:

·         51 Tandridge families had accessed the Family Support Programme

·         530 domestic abuse referrals had been made to East Surrey Domestic Abuse

·         32 adults and 7 children had been referred to Surrey for safeguarding

·         100 children attended the Friday Night Project weekly in Oxted and Caterham

·         the animal warden had issued 51 warnings, 17 Community Protection Warnings, and one Community Protection Notice.

The Council would work to implement government priorities, including Martyn’s Law, Serious Violence Duty and the requirements of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021.

The Head of Communities and Partnerships gave further details on the Friday Night Project and how the Council works with partnerships on safeguarding matters. A number of achievements of the Council’s safeguarding work were noted.

In terms of next steps, the Council would focus on reviewing all contracts to ensure safeguarding was included, follow the new Section 11 Self-Assessment process, and continue with staff training and awareness.

Police Sergeant Dan Kite gave a presentation which outlined:

·         the Tandridge Borough Policing Structure

·         Tandridge Crime Data for 2021/22, which saw a reduction in residential burglary by 34.9%, a reduction in Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) by 19.9%, a reduction in vehicle crime and catalytic converter thefts, and a small increase in theft of motor vehicles (TOMV). The solve rate of TOMV had increased to 18.4%

·         how the Police work with partners, including the Council

·         ASB interventions, actions against rural crime, and engagement with youth.

It was also noted that the Police had made a successful Safer Streets bid which resulted in an increase in ANPR in key locations across the District and 400 safety kits provided to residents for garages and outbuildings.

The Police’s priorities for the District were:

·         Protect those most vulnerable in the community

·         Reduce ASB, burglaries, vehicle crime, rural crime and violence against women and girls.

The Committee made the following observations:

·         The importance of seeking to extend youth provision to more rural areas and covering a range of activities

·         The importance of working with partners, including Surrey County Council, on youth provision and community safety

In response to Member questions, Officers and the Police explained:

·         an ASB project was underway to look at ASB policies and procedures across the Council, along with intervention and enforcement tools available to the authority and partner agencies.

·         the importance of the Police being informed of criminal behaviour.

·         that each report into the Police is risk assessed and Police Officers may not attend incidents  ...  view the full minutes text for item 258.

The Committee received a report outlining the financial position of the Committee’s 2022/23 Revenue (£4,051k) and Capital (£1,839k) budgets as of Quarter 3 2023/24.

The report set out a full-year overspend of the Revenue budget of £294k. The was the result of a projected impact of inflation on the Waste Management contract and a shortfall in the expected income in car parking and cesspool emptying. Overall, there was a £30k improvement from the Q2 position as a result of savings on salaries and better than expected income from cemeteries.

The impact of inflation had been anticipated in the 2021/22 financial outturn report to the Strategy and Resources Committee on 30 June 2022 and amounts had been set aside as a corporate contingency to mitigate the risk. The full contingency was being held back due to the possibility of improvement in the committee forecast.

In terms of the Capital budget, spend across the Committee’s schemes at Q3 was £286k, and a forecast full year variance of £1,110k slippage. However, work had started on the Grange Meadow Access Track which would result in spend within the remainder of the year.

During the debate Members asked several questions and Officers responded by explaining that:

·         Officers were considering a report from consultants on the Council’s playgrounds, with a view that improvements would begin in 2023/24. Officers would continue to work with Parish Councils on Parish playground improvements.

·         The Council operated two streetsweepers. However, both had been out of operation recently as one had been involved in a road traffic incident and one had been damaged. An additional Officer had been trained in order to ensure that the sweepers were operating more than 50 weeks a year.

·         A review into the viability of the cesspool emptying service would be undertaken.

·         The Deputy Chief Executive would speak to relevant Officers about Key Performance Indicators being received by the Committee.

R E S O L V E D – that the Committee’s forecast Revenue and Capital budgets positions as at Quarter 3 / M9 (December) 2022 be noted.

The press and public were excluded from this item in accordance with Section 100A (4) of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended) on the grounds that:

i)              the item involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Act; and

ii)             the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

The Committee received a report which set out the progress to date for the service reviews undertaken as part of the Future Tandridge Programme within the scope of the Committee.

In terms of the waste element of the review, Officers explained that there had been evidence of bring bank services being misused and they were recommended for removal. Confirmation had been received that Parish Councils would not be able to fund this service. The full year effect of the saving was £50k, and it was expected they would be removed from May.

In terms of street cleansing, the frequencies of street cleansing had been reviewed and opportunities for reductions had been identified. Approval would allow a new operating model to be developed to identify the future costs of the service and the savings that could be delivered.

Arising from the discussion the Committee agreed that recommendation C and E be amended in accordance with the resolution below.

R E S O L V E D – that:

A.    the extension of the current specialised grounds maintenance contract for a period of 12 months be approved.

B.    in accordance with paragraph 1(C) of the Committee Terms of Reference and following consultation under Standing Order 46, approval be given on behalf of the Housing Committee to the extension of the current specialised grounds maintenance contract for a period of 12 months.

C.   i)    the charging of commercial event organisers for additional cuts outside the revised schedule be approved, and

ii)   the changes to the defined frequency of cuts for sports clubs be approved on a trial basis with a report to come back to Committee setting out the financial impact of additional cuts.

D.   the options for the future delivery of the ground maintenance work in the District be noted.

E.    a report be brought to Committee regarding the reduction in cleansing frequencies to allow the development of a new operating model for street cleansing and to confirm the future costs for the service and savings.

F.    the removal of the bring bank recycling service be approved.