The Mayor called for a Minute silence in memory of Cllr Mark Maddox who had passed away suddenly this week.

The Mayor, Leader of the Council and Leaders of all Groups on the Council and other Members paid tribute to Cllr Maddox for his service to the New Haw ward and borough of Runnymede and passed their sincere condolences to his family.

Father Harrison-Miles from St Mary’s Church, Thorpe attended the meeting and joined the Mayor to light a candle and say a prayer for those affected by the events in Ukraine.

Earlier in the day the Ukrainian flag had been raised outside the Civic Centre as a show of solidarity and support for the Ukrainian people.      

Council noted the Mayoral announcements.

To approve and sign, as a correct record, the Minutes of the Meetings of Council held on 26 January, 2022 and 10 February,2022, as circulated by e-mail on 23 February, 2022.

The minutes of the meetings of the Council held on 26 January 2022 and 10 February 2022 were confirmed and signed as a correct record.

Apologies were received from Councillors Alderson, Anderson-Bassey, Coen, Edis, Lewis, Olorenshaw and Willingale.

If Members have an interest in an item, please record the interest on the form circulated with this Agenda and email it to the Democratic Services Manager by 5pm on the day of the meeting. Members are advised to contact the Corporate Head of Law and Governance prior to the meeting if they wish to seek advice on a potential interest.

No declarations were made.

To receive any petitions from Members of the Council under Standing Order No 19.

No petitions were submitted by Members of the Council under Standing Order No 19

Any Questions received will be circulated separately with this Summons.

Mr Steve Ringham, a local resident, asked the Leader of the Council the following Question:

"On 26th January, 2022 I asked this Council a question relating to the school run around School Lane and issues arising from that situation. One element concerned idling cars and the resultant pollution impact on local air quality. There are several other local hotspots for large numbers of cars idling, primarily either side of Addlestone Station. 

 
The answer I was given by Cllr Prescot, can be summarised that while current legislation, namely The Road Traffic Regulations 2002, has provisions to penalise such behaviour, Runnymede Borough Council does not have the resources to enforce this legislation.

Therefore, my question is what criteria were used to decide not to allocate resources to this problem?"

The Leader of the Council responded as follows:

‘The Council has a finite amount of resources.  Whilst the issue of inconsiderate parking by certain people transporting their children to school has been brought to the Council’s attention and our Parking Services are addressing the issue by visiting locations where the issue has been brought to our attention.  The matter of idling engines at certain school sites has not been raised until Mr Ringham raised the matter in his previous question.  The various problems caused by journeys to schools is not something the Council can resolve on its own as it requires input from other agencies, such as Surrey County Council as Highway Authority, the Police and the schools.  The Council will ask the Joint Committee to consider this issue to see what can be done to resolve the problem.’

In response Mr Ringham reiterated the air quality and environmental issues caused by excessive engine idling and problems caused by queues at Addlestone level crossing and asked that Officers be trained to enforce the legislation.

The Leader of the Council again stated that the Joint Committee was the most appropriate forum to consider the matter.

Question from Councillor S. Whyte to the Leader of the Council:

‘With the lifting of Covid safety restrictions across the country, what measures are Runnymede Borough Council putting in place to protect our more vulnerable residents, such as those who are immunosuppressed, as they will no longer be able to rely on those with Covid symptoms to self isolate?’

Question from Councillor Burton to the Leader of the Council:

‘At the July 15th 2021 Full Council the following motion was passed regarding the SCHOOL TRANSPORT SERVICE:

“To review both the need for the service and also the other projects and priorities to support children and young people within the borough, in order to ensure the current subsidy agreed for the service is spent in the most appropriate way.”

“That in support of families who used the previous school transport service, funding for contributions to public transport costs be made, with a maximum budget of £58,500.

And

That to support families within the borough impacted by the Covid pandemic, a grant of £2,500 is awarded to each secondary school, totalling £12,500, with officers working with the schools to create a hardship grant scheme for the academic year 2021/2022.”

What progress has been achieved to date on these three actions? ‘

Question from Cllr S Whyte:

Cllr S Whyte asked the Leader of the Council the following question under Standing

Order No 13:

‘With the lifting of Covid safety restrictions across the country, what measures are Runnymede Borough Council putting in place to protect our more vulnerable residents, such as those who are immunosuppressed, as they will no longer be able to rely on those with Covid symptoms to self isolate?’

The Leader of the Council responded as follows:

‘Officers had reviewed Council policy in the light of the recent Government announcements on Covid restrictions. When it comes to our vulnerable clients; those in receipt of meals at home or who attend our day centres, we consider it necessary to continue to take precautions and protect people from covid. Therefore, we will be asking staff to continue to wear masks in appropriate settings, to wash their hands regularly and to test on a regular basis. We are in the process of sourcing lateral flow and PCR tests for staff who are working in settings with vulnerable people. As supplies may be limited, we are asking staff to source their own tests as well. Anyone who has symptoms, is being asked to stay at home until tests prove they are negative. I stress this applies to those employees working closely with vulnerable people in certain settings such as day centres, independent retirement living etc.

Any client with covid symptoms, will be asked to inform Community or Housing Services staff (as appropriate) so that we may consider taking adequate precautions.’

In response Cllr S Whyte pointed out that Covid cases were still occurring and that social media should be used to advise residents to continue to take appropriate precautions.

The Leader of the Council commented that whilst SCC was the public health authority and led on communication on Covid, he would ask the Council’s Communications Team to schedule posts in the coming weeks reminding residents to continue to take appropriate precautions.

Question from Cllr Burton

Cllr Burton asked the Leader of the Council the following question under Standing Order No 13:

‘At the July 15^th 2021 Full Council the following motion was passed regarding the SCHOOL TRANSPORT SERVICE:

“To review both the need for the service and also the other projects and priorities to support children and young people within the borough, in order to ensure the current subsidy agreed for the service is spent in the most appropriate way.”

“That in support of families who used the previous school transport service, funding for contributions to public transport costs be made, with a maximum budget of £58,500.

 And

That to support families within the borough impacted by the Covid pandemic, a grant of £2,500 is awarded to each secondary school, totalling £12,500, with officers working with the schools to create a hardship grant scheme for the academic year 2021/2022.”

What progress has been achieved to date on these three actions?

The Leader of the Council responded as follows:

‘We  ...  view the full minutes text for item 492.

To consider the following Minute and recommendation from Corporate Management Committee held on 20 January 2022. The full agenda report was circulated with the agenda for that Committee and is available on the website.

The Committee considered candidates for the office of Mayor for the Municipal Year 2022/23 in accordance with Standing Order 7 of the Council’s Constitution.

The Government in April 2020 had enacted regulations which allowed the continuation in office of any Mayor who had been appointed to office in May 2019. Former Councillor P Sohi, who had been appointed as Mayor in May 2019 and was scheduled to leave office in May 2020 had agreed to remain in office to assist the Council and avoid the need to hold an Annual Meeting to appoint a new Mayor at a time when the country was in lockdown. In October 2020, when the use of remote meeting technology had been developed, former Councillor Sohi had resigned from office of Mayor. Councillor Elaine Gill had been appointed by Full Council as Mayor until May 2021 and Councillor Margaret Harnden had been appointed to the office of Deputy Mayor for the same period.

Councillors Gill and Harnden had been nominated as Mayor and Deputy Mayor in May 2020 but due to the Covid pandemic had been unable to take up those offices. Members had indicated prior to the Full Council meeting in October 2020 that they would support the nomination of Councillors Gill and Harnden for the offices of Mayor and Deputy Mayor for the Municipal Year 2021/22 in acknowledgement of the fact that due to the impact of coronavirus they were unable to be appointed to those roles in May 2020.

At the Annual Meeting of the Council on 19 May 2021, Councillor Gill had been elected Mayor of Runnymede for the Municipal Year 2021/22 and Councillor Harnden had been appointed Deputy Mayor for the Municipal Year 2021/22. The Committee noted that it was the normal custom of the Council for the Deputy Mayor in one Municipal Year to become the Mayor in the next Municipal Year. Accordingly, the Committee nominated Councillor Margaret Harnden for the office of Mayor for the Municipal Year 2022/23.

Recommend to Full Council on 3 March 2022 that –

Councillor Margaret Harnden be nominated for the office of Mayor for the Municipal Year 2022/23.

Council considered a recommendation from Corporate Management Committee held on 20 January 2022 regarding the preliminary selection of Mayor for 2022/23.

Resolved that –

            Councillor Margaret Harnden be nominated for the office of Mayor for the Municipal Year 2022/23.

In accordance with Standing Order 7, Council is asked to consider candidates for the office of Deputy Mayor for 2022/23.

If there is more than one nomination, the selection of Deputy Mayor will be conducted by secret ballot. In the event of an equality of votes on the nomination, the Mayor would exercise a casting or second vote.

The nominee will be put forward as a candidate for the office of Deputy Mayor at the Annual Council meeting on 18 May 2022 providing that they are still a Member of the Council.

(To resolve)

Background Papers

None

In accordance with Standing Order 7, Council considered candidates for the office of Deputy Mayor for 2022/23.

Councillors Adams and Kusneraitis had been nominated.  As there were two nominations, the selection of Deputy Mayor was conducted by secret ballot.  Councillor Adams polled 24 votes, Cllr Kusneraitis 8 votes.  Accordingly, it was

            Resolved that

Cllr Mark Adams be nominated for the office of Deputy Mayor at the Annual Council meeting on 18 May 2022.

To consider the recommendations on the matters listed below from the Corporate Management Committee held on 24 February, 2022.As this summons has been published prior to that meeting, the recommendations will be included on the Supplementary Summons which will be circulated in due course. The full Agenda reports and appendices associated with these recommendations were circulated to all Members with the Agenda for that Committee meeting and are available on the website.

a)         Members’ Allowances – Recommendations of the Independent Remuneration Panel

b)         Council Tax Support Scheme 2022/23

c)         Annual Pay Policy Statement 2022/23

d)         Delivery Model for Future Grounds Maintenance Operations

Council considered the recommendations from the Corporate Management Committee held on 24 February,2022 regarding the recommendations of the IRP on Members Allowances. 

Council accepted the recommendations to increase the Basic Allowance and some Special Responsibility Allowances (SRAs) as recommended by the Panel. 

The recommended increase to the Basic Allowance reflected the increased responsibilities and workload, the skills sets now required of a Councillor in a more commercially driven local authority environment including a large services and property portfolio, the requirement to engage in policy development and direction, the need to challenge proposals and assess risks and the pressures associated with communication with constituents in a digital environment. It also acknowledged the overall time commitment of Councillors and addressed the historical deficit of Runnymede’s Basic Allowance when compared with other local authorities in Surrey and the South East. 

Members hoped that the increased Basic Allowance would make the role of Councillor more viable for persons of working age and those who had family commitments.  The increased allowance also better recognised the social value of the role performed by Councillors and hopefully encouraged greater diversity in membership which would be more representative of the community the Council served.

The Panel had recommended that the SRA for Leader of the Council be increased from £10,368 to £11,000 with the SRA for Deputy Leader being 50% of that, namely an increase from £2,592 to £5,500.  The Panel considered this an appropriate increase which better reflected the workload and responsibilities associated with these high profile roles, would assist succession planning to those offices, and be more in line with SRAs paid in other local authorities for these roles. Council accepted these recommendations.

The Panel had reviewed the restriction placed on Members who served on Corporate

Management Committee.  Currently a Councillor could only receive a SRA of £1,296 for being a member of Corporate Management Committee if he or she was not entitled to any other SRA.  The Corporate Management Committee currently had 12 Members. At the current time, only 2 councillors were eligible for the SRA for serving on that Committee and the remaining 10 Councillors did not get a SRA as they received an SRA for holding other offices. The Panel acknowledged the increased workload and responsibilities involved in serving on this Committee and considered that the restriction should be removed and that all Members of that Committee should be paid an SRA of £1,296 regardless of any other offices that they held. Council accepted this recommendation.

The Panel had reviewed the SRAs for Chairman and Vice-Chairman of Standards and Audit Committee which were low compared to SRAs paid to other Chairmen. In addition, since the last review 3 years ago, the Committee had taken an increased role for the oversight of the governance and financial operation of the Council.  On this basis the Panel considered that the SRA for Chairman and Vice Chairman of this Committee should be increased from £1,710 to £5,184 and from £648 to £2,592 respectively which was in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 495.

Council considered a recommendation from Corporate Management Committee held on 24 February 2022that the Council Tax Support Scheme for 2022/23 to be implemented from 1 April 2022 should continue in its current form with no changes other than statutory changes and uprating.

As the Scheme had been in its current form since April 2019, proposals for a full scale review of the Scheme would be submitted to a future meeting of the Corporate Management Committee, so that the Council’s decision on the Scheme for 2023/24 could be informed by the findings of that review. All Members would have the opportunity to input into the review.

One of the elements of the current Scheme was that Council Tax Support entitlement calculated at less than £10.00 per week was not paid except for those classed as vulnerable and the previous level of £5.00 per week was maintained. Some Members expressed concerns at this element. In order to establish how many persons would be affected by the decision, some Members asked to be provided with the number of persons who qualified as vulnerable and the number of persons who were not classed as vulnerable but would still not receive support. Members asked to be informed of the cost of support if it was provided below the £10 per week threshold. The Leader would provide this information to all Members after the meeting.

Cllr Kusneraitis requested that the names of those voting on the Motion be recorded and the voting was as follows:

For  (20):         Councillors Adams, Balkan, Broadhead, Bromley, Clarke, Cotty, Dennett, Furey, J Gracey, T Gracey, Heath, Howorth, Hulley, N King, Nuti, Prescot,        Snow, Sohi, Walsh  and Wilson

Against (12):   Councillors Burton, Cressey, Gill, Gillham, Harnden, R King, Kusneraitis, Mann, Mullens, D Whyte, S Whyte and Williams.

Abstentions:    (0)

The Motion was passed and it was-

            Resolved that –

the Council Tax Support Scheme for 2022/23 to be implemented from 1 April 2022 continues in its current form with no changes other than statutory changes and uprating.

Council considered the recommendation from the Corporate Management Committee held on 24 February 2022 regarding the Annual Pay Policy Statement for 2022/23 and.

            Resolved that –

                        the Annual Pay Policy Statement 2022/23, as reported, be approved.

The Mayor had given her consent to the Motion below, which was submitted by Cllr Gillham, being dealt with as a matter of urgency under Standing Order 15.3 in view of the emerging situation in Ukraine.

            .

Cllr Gillham moved that:

Runnymede Borough Council expresses its support for the Declaration adopted on 28 February 2022 by the Bureau of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe on the situation in Ukraine as set out below:

CG-BUR(2022)44-22

The Bureau of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities the Council of Europe, held anextraordinary meetingon 28 February2022 and adoptedthe following Declaration:

TheBureau,

1.               condemns in the strongest terms, the armed attack on Ukraine by the Russian Federation,which constitutesa blatantbreach of internationallaw andthe Statuteof theCouncil ofEurope;

2.               urges theRussian Federationto immediatelyand unconditionallycease itsmilitary operations  inUkraine andwithdraw itstroops;

3.               deplores loss oflife, humansuffering anddestruction causedby theRussian aggressionand  expressesits supportto Ukraineand itssolidarity with itspeople;

4.               condemns the recognitionby theRussian Federationof theUkrainian oblastsof Donetskand  Luhanskas independententities and theprevious annexationof Crimea;

5.               expresses its unwavering commitmentto the independence, sovereigntyand territorial integrityof Ukraine withinits internationally recognised borders;

6.               underlines the fundamental role of the Council of Europe, as an organisation founded in the  aftermath of the Second World War, to defend human rights, democracy and the rule of law inEurope, and ensurethe peaceful coexistenceof nationsin Europe;

7.               recalls, in this respect, that the aim of the Council of Europe is to achieve a greater unitybetween its members for the purpose of safeguarding and realising the ideals and principles whichare theircommon heritageand facilitatingtheir economicand social progress;

8.               stresses that the armed attack on Ukraine by the Russian Federation constitutes an attackon the principles and values of democracy, human rights and the rule of law which the Council ofEurope standsfor, promotesand defends;and thatthis warmakes itimpossible forlocal authorities  inUkraine tooperate andinflicts serioussuffering onthe Ukrainianpeople;

9.               underlinesthe roleof theCongress incontributing tothe aimand objectivesof theCouncil of  Europe and in building up local and regional democracy, the values of which are deeply rooted inthe Ukrainiannation, identityand institutions;

10.            calls for the Russian Federation to respect its obligations under the Statute and underinternational law;

11.            considers that itis impossibleto co-operatewith theRussian delegationin theCongress until   the territorial integrity ofUkraine is restored;

12.            welcomes the Committee of Ministers’ decision of25 February2022 tosuspend theRussian   Federation from its rights of representation in the Council of Europe in accordance with Article 8 ofthe Statute of the Council of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 498.

To consider any Motions registered under Standing Order 15

No Notices of Motion had been submitted by Members of the Council under Standing Order 15.

To consider any item of Minority Group Priority business registered under Standing Order 23. Any item of such business will be circulated separately with this Summons.

No items of Minority Group Priority Business had been registered under Standing Order 23.

To consider any items so resolved at the meeting.

By resolution of Council, the press and public were excluded from the meeting during discussion of the following  report under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 on the grounds thatthe report in question would be likely to involve disclosure of exempt information ofthe descriptionspecified in paragraph3 ofSchedule 12Aof theAct.

Council considered confidential recommendations from the Corporate Management Committee held on 24 February 2022 regarding the delivery model for future ground maintenance operations and Council fully supported the recommendations and

           Resolved that –

The recommendations from the Corporate Management Committee,as reported, be approved.