The Mayor provided an update on the events and engagements that she had attended since the last Council, as well as upcoming events, encouraging nominations for the Runnymede Civic Awards.

To confirm and sign, as a correct record, the minutes of the Council held on:

·       19 October 2023 (special meeting)

·       19 October 2023 (ordinary meeting)

The minutes of the 19 October 2023 special meeting and 19 October 2023 ordinary meeting were confirmed and signed as a correct record.

Apologies were received from councillors Berardi, MD Cressey, Cunningham, Furey, Gillham, Harnden, Kettle, R King, Mullens and Wilson.

If Members have an interest in an item, please complete a member interest form and email it to Democratic.Services@runnymede.gov.uk 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 of interest were made.

Any questions received will be circulated separately following the deadline for submissions of questions from members of the public.

There were no public questions or speaking.

To receive any petitions from members of the Council under Standing Order 19.

There were no petitions.

a)      Question from Councillor Don Whyte to the Leader of the Council:

A year ago at the 2022 December Corporate Management Committee it was identified that RBC needed to make savings of £5.2m by the end of March 2026 in order to deliver a balanced budget for the municipal year 2026/2027.  Can I ask the Leader, why no progress been made by his Administration in identifying any of the required £5.2m savings?

a)    Councillor Don Whyte asked the Leader of the Council the following question:

“A year ago at the 2022 December Corporate Management Committee it was identified that RBC needed to make savings of £5.2m by the end of March 2026 in order to deliver a balanced budget for the municipal year 2026/2027. Can I ask the Leader, why no progress been made by his Administration in identifying any of the required £5.2m savings?”

The Leader replied that a significant amount of work had been done to help inform the decisions over the next few years, and in preparing for budgets for 2024/25 focus had been on allocating resource where it was needed. 

Year on year underspend and earmarked reserves had been reviewed to ensure the Council was holding reserves in the most efficient way, whilst progress had been made in reviewing the establishment, ICT infrastructure, fleet, and the commissioning of contracts across professional services.

The Leader concluded that the revised Medium Term Financial Forecast would be presented to the following week’s Corporate Management Committee, which would set out a plan to deliver a balanced budget over multiple years through a mixed package of savings, efficiencies and cost avoidance.

Councillor D. Whyte added that nothing had been received through committees or member working parties to crystalise any of those savings, and felt there was nervousness around the chamber, particularly in the context of the financial struggles of other authorities.  Councillor D. Whyte went on to ask if there was a target date to identify the full £5.2m savings.

The Leader replied that no date had been set, but it would be identified as soon a possible and emphasised the positive financial position Runnymede was in compared to other local authorities, which was evident during a recent county-wide financial resilience review where Runnymede were close to leading the way in some areas, largely due to decisions taken over a prolonged period in relation to the investment strategy and decisions to regenerate and place shape in Addlestone and Egham town centres, which both provide income streams to help address current financial challenges.

Councillor S. Whyte emphasised the need to know about the overall financial position of the Council when needing to make any kind of financial decision, and sought reassurance that the Leader would brief all councillors on the financial position as soon as possible.

The Leader reiterated that the Medium Term Financial Forecast would be available as a part one item and encouraged all members to attend the meeting to understand the issues.  The Leader encouraged the avoidance of alternative budgets requesting spend on additional uncosted items that had not gone through the appropriate budgetary process.

The report associated with this item was circulated to all members with the agenda for the 21 November 2023 meeting of the Standards and Audit Committee.

At its meeting on 21 November 2023, the Standards and Audit Committee was asked to review the draft Risk Appetite Statement and statements for each category of risk and make a recommendation for their approval by full Council in December 2023.

The full report can be seen here.

Set out in the table attached at Appendix A is a summary of the discussion along with the recommended levels of risk tolerance for the thirteen risk categories.

The Committee reached consensus on all but one of the risk categories, and Members are asked to determine what opinion they wish to ascribe to the ‘Commercial’ risk category.

Members are asked to note that a report regarding the Risk Register will be submitted to the next scheduled meeting of the Standards and Audit Committee in January 2024.

Recommended to full Council on 7 December 2023 that –

the overarching Risk Appetite Statement for 2024/25 and supporting risk appetite statements for each risk category be agreed.

At the November Standards & Audit Committee a thorough debate had resulted in consensus across the committee for the status of all but one of the thirteen risk categories, with ‘commercial risk’ the only category that remained outstanding and subject to Full Council agreement.

Whilst the full range of options was debated at Standards & Audit Committee, opting for minimal commercial risk had been ruled out due to the committee believing in the need for member input.

During the debate several members commented that an open approach and therefore embracing innovation being appealing, however in the context of inflation and the cost of living crisis innovation in this context should currently be avoided unless necessary.

Members voted on whether to adopt cautious or open for the commercial risk category, and voted by majority in favour of cautious.

Resolved that –

The overarching Risk Appetite Statement for 2024/25 and supporting risk appetite statements for each risk category was agreed.

The report associated with this item was circulated to all members with the agenda for the 16 November 2023 meeting of the Environment and Sustainability Committee and also considered at Corporate Management Committee on 23 November 2023.

The Planning Policy and Climate Change Manager outlined the referral from the Environment and Sustainability Committee and asked the Committee to consider recommending that Runnymede Borough Council declares a climate emergency.

Members stated that this motion was welcome, and thanked officers for their actions in creating a clear strategy to tackle climate change but some expressed regret that this had not been declared sooner.

The Committee recommended to full Council that:

A Climate Emergency is declared in Runnymede in line with the wording recommended at paragraphs 5.16 to 5.18 of the report

In moving the recommendation the Leader acknowledged that the report had been a long time coming, with the initial motion on the subject tabled in 2019, adding that delays were largely down to the pandemic absorbing officer time and resources, as well as the focus of the climate change member working party being on the delivery of the climate change strategy that formed an integral part of the corporate business plan.

The Leader added the development of the climate change strategy and objective of bring a net zero council by 2030 and net zero borough by 2050 meant that confidence could be placed in the plans developed and Runnymede was in a position to declare a climate emergency as per wording in the report.

Several members commented on the time taken to bring about the report, and sought reassurance that sufficient funding and resources would be in place in next year’s budget to further the claims of the climate change strategy.  The Leader reiterated how critical the climate change strategy was to the overall corporate business plan and confirmed measures would be in place to ensure it was suitably funded and resourced in future years.

Resolved that –

A Climate Emergency was declared in Runnymede in line with the wording recommended at paragraphs 5.16 to 5.18 of the report

The report associated with this item was circulated to all members with the agenda for the 23 November 2023 meeting of the Corporate Management Committee.

The Assistant Chief Executive outlined the context in which the Council Tax Scheme was proposed. She outlined the proposed scheme which would use universal credit data to assess entitlement, introduce a flat rate non-dependent deductions for claimants, and reduced the weekly entitlement from £10 to £5. This had the benefit of ensuring the team had greater capacity to process claimants, and more people were able to benefit from the scheme.

It was recommended that the current scheme be continued into the next financial year to allow for a full year’s data to assess its effectiveness. This would ensure that should any amendments be required in the future, that they were based off of data from a full financial year.

Whilst members welcomed the reform, one member felt that they could not support the scheme as it did not go far enough to support the most vulnerable families. They stated that 62% of those who are eligible for support take it up, which meant that 38% do not, and asked if there were plans to create take up scheme to publicise the support available and encourage those who are eligible to take it up. The Assistant Chief Executive agreed to look into this with the Corporate Head of Customer, Digital and Collection Services upon her return. 

The Assistant Chief Executive also clarified that it was not possible for residents to obtain 100% council tax relief, and that the amount of relief received was proportionate to a resident’s income. She agreed to clarify what the maximum income for council tax relief was.

It was recommended to full Council that: 

1.     The Council Tax Support Scheme be continued for the 2024/25 financial year, including the provision to automatically apply legislative changes for the annual uprating of the prescribed applicable amounts for 2024/25 financial year as set by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP).

The Leader welcomed the fact that the council delivered on everything from the previous Council Tax Support Scheme, with a reduction in processing time enabling the creation of the administration of the Household Support Fund.  The recommendation sought to continue with the current scheme whilst building up data to allow for further recommendations or amendments for 2025/26.

The scheme received unanimous backing, however there was a claim that the scheme did not go far enough, with many residents believed not to be claiming for what they were entitled to, whilst praise was given to Cllr Mullens for her efforts to  reduce the minimum weekly entitlement from £10 to £5 for all working age groups.

Resolved that –

The Council Tax Support Scheme to be continued for the 2024/25 financial year, including the provision to automatically apply legislative changes for the annual uprating of the prescribed applicable amounts for 2024/25 financial year as set by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP).

The report associated with this item was circulated to all members with the agenda for the 23 November 2023 meeting of the Corporate Management Committee.

The Planning Policy and Climate Change Strategy Manager outlined the Electric Vehicle Strategy.

A member raised concerns about the car club, a venture set up to enable residents to rent fuel-efficient, hybrid and electric vehicles. They believed that it was not publicised well and there were concerns that diesel cars were using the allocated parking spots. The Planning Policy and Climate Change Strategy Manager agreed to contact Enterprise to check the minutiae of the agreement.

Another member asked about provision for an electric vehicle strategy for staff of Runnymede Borough Council. They were assured that such provisions were in the corporate strategy and would begin in earnest when the new Corporate Head of HR began.

It was resolved that:

1.     The Electric Vehicle Strategy for Runnymede Borough Council was endorsed.

The Committee recommended to the Council that:

1.     The Electric Vehicle Strategy be adopted with an implementation date of 14^th December 2023.

The Electric Vehicle strategy formed an important component of the climate change strategy and the Leader praised the cross-party collaboration of the climate change member working party, as well as the insight of Cllr Berardi into the EV market.

Resolved that –

The Electric Vehicle Strategy was adopted with an implementation date of 14 December 2023.

The report associated with this item was circulated to all members with the agenda for the 23 November 2023 meeting of the Corporate Management Committee.

The Chief Executive outlined the Reserve Forces Policy. He firstly drew members’ attention to the provisions on p.211 of the agenda and clarified that an administrative error had not allowed the fourth bullet to separate from the third, but that it was to ‘ensure that reservists are not disadvantaged by their role as reservists.’ He then stated that this policy was intended to allow the Council to pursue its ambition to secure a Gold Armed Forces Covenant Award. He stated that the Council’s submission would be viewed more favourably by implementing the changes as suggested.

A member asked how many employees of Runnymede Borough Council serve in the Reserve. The Chief Executive stated that there was only one employee who, to their knowledge, was part of the reserve forces, although he emphasised that members of the reserves are not obliged, subject to a waiver system, to inform their employers.

The Chief Executive also clarified that there was a special leave policy for employees who are part of other voluntary organisations.

It was recommended to full Council that:

1.     The revised policy be adopted.

The recommendation sought to advance the Council beyond gold standard accreditation as a high quality defence veteran employer, providing paid leave for staff who choose to be adult cadet volunteers, providing important opportunities for young people.

Council welcomed the recommendation, with several members speaking of their own positive personal experiences with uniformed youth organisations in their younger days.

Resolved that –

The Reserve Forces Policy was adopted.

The report associated with this item was circulated to all members with the agenda for the 23 November 2023 meeting of the Corporate Management Committee.

The Corporate Head of Law and Governance outlined a minor amendment to the Constitution that would allow for a Standing Council Tax Setting Committee to be established. They clarified that its only function would be to approve the appropriate council tax setting motion, and this would only happen should the relevant precept authority have not provided the figures required to set the Council Tax by the date when Runnymede Borough Council holds its Council Tax setting meeting.

It was resolved that: 

1.     The Corporate Head of Legal and Governance be delegated authority to make further necessary amendments to the Constitution, to give effect to the amendments proposed in the report.

It was recommended to full Council that:

1.     A standing Council Tax Setting Committee be approved.

The proposed amendment was a minor technical modification that would enable the convening of a special council tax setting committee in the event that the relevant precept authority had not provided the figures required to set the Council Tax by the date when Runnymede Borough Council holds its Council Tax setting meeting.

Resolved that –

A Standing Council Tax Committee was approved.

To receive and consider any notices of motion from members of the Council under Standing Order 15.

Motion a) From Councillor Sam Jenkins

Adopting a Net Zero Carbon Toolkit in Runnymede

Motivation:

This motion is being brought forward to encourage local developers to go above and beyond towards building energy efficient, zero carbon homes that will reduce overall Borough emissions and contribute towards tackling the climate crisis.

This council notes:

Due to uncertainty around the Government’s policy direction, the decision was made at Planning Committee in June 2023 to pause the review of the Runnymede Local Plan until the new plan making regime is introduced. This is not expected to take place until late 2024 at the earliest and it could take a further 30 months from there to introduce a new Local Plan.

In May 2023, it was reported that the Earth is likely to break the key temperature limit of 1.5C between now and 2027 as a result of human activity (see note 1). Therefore an urgent need exists to promote and actively encourage sustainable development that supersedes the speed at which any new Local Plan can be implemented.

Adopting a Net Zero Carbon Toolkit enables interim measures to be put in place to encourage energy efficient, zero carbon developments whilst underpinning the core principles of the existing Local Plan until it can be reviewed. It also provides Councillors with an opportunity to put the knowledge gained from recent Carbon Literacy training into action, by encouraging developers to build zero carbon homes and to retrofit existing properties, thereby reducing overall Borough emissions. 

Cotswold District Council, in collaboration with West Oxfordshire District Council and Forest of Dean District Council worked with leading technical experts from Etude, the Passivhaus Trust, Levitt Bernstein and Elementa Consulting to produce a Net Zero Carbon Toolkit template (see note 2).The template provides best practice guidance for small-to-medium sized builders, architects and developers to deliver new-build net zero homes or retrofits of existing homes.

The template is available under Creative Commons for any authority to adapt as they wish, to make it specific to the needs of their local area. One example of a local authority who has adapted the toolkit in this way includes Somerset Council (see note 3).

There are a number of ways that Runnymede Borough Council could adapt this template to suit the needs of our local area, such as by:

·       Adding RBC branding and relevant images.

·       Amending the introduction – setting out Runnymede’s climate goals, referring to existing planning policies and relevant planning guidance (e.g. Design SPD / Green and Blue Infrastructure SPD).

·       Making minor changes throughout the document to reference Runnymede’s Climate Change Strategy / Action Plan / Local Plan.

·       Introducing a couple of pages on ‘beyond energy’ issues – to consider wider sustainability issues such as sustainable transport and drainage, and gigabit capable connectivity (e.g. refer to Surrey County Council’s Healthy Streets guidance and Sustainable Drainage Systems guidance).

It is important to note that a Net Zero  ...  view the full agenda text for item 68.

On introducing the published motion Cllr Jenkins sought to make a small alteration to one of the proposed resolutions, which received the consent of both the Mayor and Cllr Gates as seconder.

Adopting a Net Zero Carbon Toolkit in Runnymede

Motivation:

This motion is being brought forward to encourage local developers to go above and beyond towards building energy efficient, zero carbon homes that will reduce overall Borough emissions and contribute towards tackling the climate crisis.

This council notes:

Due to uncertainty around the Government’s policy direction, the decision was made at Planning Committee in June 2023 to pause the review of the Runnymede Local Plan until the new plan making regime is introduced. This is not expected to take place until late 2024 at the earliest and it could take a further 30 months from there to introduce a new Local Plan.

In May 2023, it was reported that the Earth is likely to break the key temperature limit of 1.5C between now and 2027 as a result of human activity (see note 1). Therefore an urgent need exists to promote and actively encourage sustainable development that supersedes the speed at which any new Local Plan can be implemented.

Adopting a Net Zero Carbon Toolkit enables interim measures to be put in place to encourage energy efficient, zero carbon developments whilst underpinning the core principles of the existing Local Plan until it can be reviewed. It also provides Councillors with an opportunity to put the knowledge gained from recent Carbon Literacy training into action, by encouraging developers to build zero carbon homes and to retrofit existing properties, thereby reducing overall Borough emissions. 

Cotswold District Council, in collaboration with West Oxfordshire District Council and Forest of Dean District Council worked with leading technical experts from Etude, the Passivhaus Trust, Levitt Bernstein and Elementa Consulting to produce a Net Zero Carbon Toolkit template (see note 2).The template provides best practice guidance for small-to-medium sized builders, architects and developers to deliver new-build net zero homes or retrofits of existing homes.

The template is available under Creative Commons for any authority to adapt as they wish, to make it specific to the needs of their local area. One example of a local authority who has adapted the toolkit in this way includes Somerset Council (see note 3).

There are a number of ways that Runnymede Borough Council could adapt this template to suit the needs of our local area, such as by:

·       Adding RBC branding and relevant images.

·       Amending the introduction – setting out Runnymede’s climate goals, referring to existing planning policies and relevant planning guidance (e.g. Design SPD / Green and Blue Infrastructure SPD).

·       Making minor changes throughout the document to reference Runnymede’s Climate Change Strategy / Action Plan / Local Plan.

·       Introducing a couple of pages on ‘beyond energy’ issues – to consider wider sustainability issues such as sustainable transport and drainage, and gigabit capable connectivity (e.g. refer to Surrey County Council’s Healthy Streets guidance and Sustainable Drainage Systems guidance).

It  ...  view the full minutes text for item 68.

No minority group priority business has been registered under Standing Order 23.

There was no minority group priority business.

To consider any items so resolved at the meeting.

By resolution of full Council, the press and public were excluded from the remainder of the meeting during the consideration of the remaining matters under Section 100A (4) of the Local Government Act 1972 on the grounds that the discussion would be likely to involve the disclosure of exempt information of the description specified in paragraph 3 of Schedule 12A to Part 1 of the Act.

The report associated with this item was circulated to all members with the exempt agenda for the 15 November 2023 meeting of the Housing Committee.

The Head of Housing & Business Planning outlined the importance of the schemes in enabling the Council to meet its target of 125 new housing units over five years. To ensure the success of these schemes, a Clerk of Works and Employers Agent would need to be procured to monitor the programme for each site and manage contractual matters. They would also ensure health and safety and building regulations compliance.

It would be intended that the properties affected would be let on affordable rents in the region of 65% of the market rent at the time which would benefit working families and ensure viability of the scheme in the long term.

A member questioned if the development would count towards the Council’s target of 125 homes if the units were classified as affordable housing rather than social housing. This would be clarified in January’s meeting. 

Further questions arose around the viability of keeping rents at 65% of market level. It was explained that affordable housing always aimed to stay below market level, and this was comparable to other London rents. The Chair assured members that should the 65% figure prove unviable, he would bring the matter back to Committee rather than agreeing delegated authority function.

The Committee resolved that:

1.     The proposed tenure mix for each scheme as detailed in the report was agreed.

2.     The Council’s bid to Homes England for Capital Grant Funding and the financing of the schemes as set out in the report was agreed.

3.     The procurement route proposed for a Clerk of Works/ Employers Agent to assist with both schemes, the cost of which was included within the total budgets was agreed.

4.     Delegated authority was given to the Corporate Head of Housing or Assistant Chief Executive (Place) to agree, in consultation with the Chair and Vice Chair, the rent level for each scheme.

The Committee recommended to Council that:

1.     The budget and subsequent procurement of the first piece of land and the completed scheme in line with the planning approval (if obtained) and agreed specification be approved.

2.     The budget and subsequent procurement of the second piece of land and the completed scheme in line with the planning approval and agreed specification be approved.

3.     Subject to the approval of Recommendation 1 and 2 above, Full Council were recommended to approve funds from the total budget to be utilised within the financial year 2023/24 to commence the legal process for each of the schemes, to be financed from HRA Reserves.

Resolved that –

1.   The budget and subsequent procurement of the first piece of land and the completed scheme in line with the planning approval (if obtained) and agreed specification was approved.

2.   The budget and subsequent procurement of the second piece of land and the completed scheme in line with the planning approval and agreed specification was approved.

3.    Funds from the total budget were approved to be utilised within the financial year 2023/24 to commence the legal process for each of the schemes, to be financed from HRA Reserves.

The report associated with this item was circulated to all members with the exempt agenda for the 9 November 2023 meeting of the Community Services Committee and was also considered by Corporate Management Committee at its meeting on 23 November 2023.

The Corporate Head of Community Services outlined the referral to upgrade the Careline equipment in Runnymede and Surrey Heath to digital alarms. This would cover both the refresh of digital equipment for residents to ensure connectivity and connectivity, and the digitalisation of Safer Runnymede as the monitoring centre.

A member asked for clarification why this referral was in part two when there was no budgetary information in the report. The Corporate Head of Law and Governance clarified that the item was placed into part two to enable members to discuss more thoroughly items, but agreed to look into alternatives such as putting parts of reports into a part two appendix to allow greater transparency.

It was recommended to full Council that: 

1.     A supplementary capital estimate in the sum reported to the Community Services Committee for the purchase and installation of digital community alarm equipment be funded from the Better Care Fund over the next year.

2.     Approval to be given to enter into a procurement process for the purchase of digital community alarm equipment on behalf of both Runnymede and Surrey Heath Borough Councils up to a potential total value in the sum reported to Community Services Committee.

Resolved that –

1.    A supplementary capital estimate in the sum reported to the Community Services Committee for the purchase and installation of digital community alarm equipment be funded from the Better Care Fund over the next year was agreed.

2.    Approval was given to enter into a procurement process for the purchase of digital community alarm equipment on behalf of both Runnymede and Surrey Heath Borough Councils up to a potential total value in the sum reported to Community Services Committee.