The minutes of the meeting of the Management Committee held on 4 January 2024 were received and noted.

Resolved that –

the press and public be excluded from the meeting during discussion of the
following report under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 on
the grounds that the report in question would be likely to involve disclosure
exempt information of the description specified in paragraph 3 of Part 1 of
Schedule 12A of the Act.

Councillor Abby King declared an Other Registerable Interest in the item on awarding funding from the S106 Englefield Green Major Projects Fund to, amongst others, the Journey Church of which she was a member.  Councillor King abstained from voting on the recommendation that concerned the Journey Church.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Max Darby.

The Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 4 January 2024 were confirmed and signed as a correct record.

To record that Councillor Jon Wilson substituted for Councillor Scott Lewis.

The Committee’s approval was sought for the Community Services Area Plan for 2024/25 and relevant key performance indicators.

In accordance with the corporate business planning process, Officers provided detail with regard to the objectives proposed for the 2024/25 Community Services Service Area Plan.

Members noted a summary of the process and the considerations given in writing the service area plan for the forthcoming year.

Officers advised that owing to the Council’s financial position no budgetary growth had been requested for 2024/25.  Instead, the objectives and direction of Community Services was to maximise existing budgets and resources, and create efficiencies where possible. 

Officers asserted however, that the Council’s challenges had not impaired the ambition of the team, who through the Service Area Plan, showed their commitment and aspiration to making improvements and enhancements in communities and to the lives of individual residents.

The Committee noted that on average, Service Area Plans in other business centres had approximately 25 objectives for the year.  However, the Community Servies Plan had 54 objectives, including those carried forward from the current municipal year.

It was agreed that the number not only reflected the ambition, but also the breadth of services under the Community Services umbrella.  However, Officers were keen to stress that it might not be possible to complete all 54 objectives in the year ahead, when considering day to day activity and service need, resources available and further priorities coming forward throughout the year.  Where there were further objectives or work strands, consideration would have to be given to the impact of this on the service area plan as drafted.

Members noted that in the event that any of the objectives required investment of funding to achieve them, this would have to be provided from within service budgets, if possible, given the no growth position adopted by the Council.

Officers advised that the plan was in essence a two-tier approach; split into primary and secondary objectives, with the primary objectives being the minimum expectation for the year ahead, of which there were 22.  The primary objectives could be considered the “must do” objectives for the year ahead, against which departmental and individual performance would be monitored. 

Officers intended that in progress report to future meetings, the primary objectives would be reported on, as well as any secondary objectives where work had commenced. 

The proposed service KPIs that would be reported to Community Services Committee in 2024/25 were also outlined in some detail.  These largely mirrored those used for 2023/24, and targets/baselines would be set following the completion of Quarter 4. 

Members commended the plan and were confident the business centre could rise to the challenge accordingly.

Resolved that:

i)             the 2024/25 Service Area Plan for Community Services, be approved; and

ii)            the 2024/25 Service Area Key Performance Indicators, be approved

The Committee’s approval was sought for a set of recommendations on funding applications to the Youth Development Fund for 2024/25 and reflecting on projects supported in 2023/24 totalling £215,000.

Members highlighted a number of projects from 2023/24, including the ACE Youth Project, self defence classes and Sportability.

A panel had met to discuss the applications and suggest which projects should be supported from the allocation of £168,000 in the 2024/25 budget.  There were 15 projects it was agreed to fund plus a contingency fund.  Some of these were a continuation of projects from 2023/24.  However, there were some new projects including a Runnymede Sport Festival, Girls’ Football, Nature Makers classes and Climate Change Awareness in schools.  Officers in Community Services confirmed that a report would be submitted to the meeting of the Committee in March 2025 on the funded projects in 2024/25.

Approval was also given to delegate authority to the Corporate Head of Community Services in consultation with the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Committee to award a ringfenced grant in the sum of £5,000 to Egham Cricket Club once some outstanding issues had been resolved.

Members were also keen to promote Mental Health Support for all ages and sought opportunities to do this with Health partners who could access a Mental Health Innovation fund.  Some Members also expressed a wish to become more involved with youth mental health initiatives and Officers would explore this.

Thanks were extended to Officers across Community Services for their contribution.

Resolved that –

i)             The proposed expenditure plan, as set out in paragraph 2.3 of the report, for the Youth Development budget in 2024/2025, be approved;and

ii)            Members approve the delegated authority to award a grant to Egham Cricket Club, following ongoing discussion and as outlined, to theCorporate Head of Community Services, in consultation with the Chair and Vice-Chair of Community Services Committee.

The Committee’s approval was sought to award, ringfence and reject funding to a number of organisations that had applied to the Section 106 Englefield Green Minor and Major Project Funds.

Members recalled that sums derived in connection with the development of the Runnymede campus at Coopers Hill Lane in Englefield Green (planning ref: RU.17/1649) consisted of the following schemes and values:

The Committee had previously approved funding totalling £48,901 to 8 organisations leaving a remaining balance against the minor projects contribution of £36,352.

Members discussed the findings of the Councillor/Officer panels that had met to determine which projects should be supported and agreed that the application submitted by St Jude’s Church for £3,500 for church lighting be approved.  It was agreed that an application from Browns Community Services be rejected because the application lacked detail on project partners and previous successes.  It was also agreed to ringfence an amount of £5,000 FOR Coopers Hill Tennis Club, pending some further project details being received.

Officers in Community Services confirmed that the funding allocated to a bike ramp at Kings Lane had been returned to the funding pot, making a total of £349,288 from which to award funding, and the remaining balance in the Major Projects Fund once recommended grants had been approved would be £51,487.  Officers were keen to resume dialogue with the Egham Hollowegians Rugby Club and mindful of assistance that would be needed from colleagues in different business centres to come to a resolution on various matters.

In terms of Major Projects, the Committee noted that although they supported funding a replacement play area on Englefield Green in the sum of £35,899, this was subject to the approval of the Englefield Green Committee, both to determine whether to replace the play equipment and if so, how to fund it.

Members agreed with the Panel to reject the Council’s application in respect of the Cherrywood playground and to ringfence funding for The Village Centre (£29,940), pending their submission of more information, including three quotes for the kitchen refurbishment and to delegate a decision on this to the Corporate Head of Community Services and the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Committee.

In respect of the Journey Church it was also considered sensible to ringfence a sum up to a maximum of £200,000 for 18 months because this was a large financial commitment which required a further report to the Committee to determine whether the application should be supported.  The Committee also agreed to ringfence a sum of £31,962 for the Council’s Kings Lane Community Garden and to review this in 12 months’ time.  Officers assured the Committee that by ringfencing these three projects there was sufficient time to allocate funds before the expiry of the S106 pot which would only happen after 7 years from when the last unit was let.

Officers in Community Services were asked to liaise with colleagues in Planning concerning the input of the National Trust in progressing the Coopers Hill bicycle route.  Members were keen that this was followed up given the speed of traffic in the area.

Resolved that –

i)     the recommended successful applications to the s106 Minor and Major Projects Fund be approved, noting that a replacement play area at The Green on Englefield Green and how that is funded is subject to the approval of the Englefield Green Committee; 

ii)     Members agree to ringfence the requested amount relating to the Village Centre and Runnymede Borough Council applications, where further discussion or information is required, and that the decision to award a grant be delegated to the Corporate Head of Community Services, in consultation with the Chair and Vice Chair of Community Services Committee; and

iii)  Members agree to ringfence the requested amount relating to the application by Journey Church, for a period of 18 months and final approval and award of any grant sum to Journey Church is subject to a further report to Members, where project detail, mirroring the requirements of Your Fund Surrey, is to be presented, to enable Members of Community Services Committee to make a final decision to make a grant award

The Committee reviewed the Service Area Plan progress report and key performance indicators up to the end of Quarter 3 2023/24.

Members noted that as with other plans, a RAG system had been applied to easily identify current performance against targets.  Officers reminded the Committee that not all KPIs were set targets at the start of the financial year, and that these KPIs were recorded and reported to show breadth of activity within the business unit.  For example, Community Safety and Safer Runnymede.

The Committee was advised that the following were areas of improvement from Quarter 2 to Quarter 3, where a concern had previously been identified.  Officers highlighted positive moves at Chertsey Museum, Meals at Home and Social Prescribing.

[After the meeting it was confirmed that the lift at Chertsey Museum was fully functional again]

Officers reported that Social Prescribing operated at full capacity, however, the ability to accept referrals was in part impacted by the increasing complexity of cases and therefore the time taken to provide support to residents.  Officers were asked to facilitate a mechanism to include a representative from Social Prescribing in East Berkshire on the Homesafe+ platform to be more inclusive for residents in Englefield Green.  Officers also stated that some well-being activation measures were being looked at for Social Prescribing.

With regard to Homesafe Plus specific referrals regarding RBC were positive and generating an uptake in both free at point of access and paid for services of approximately 60%.  However, it was agreed that changes to arrangements relating to employment of staff involved, the positions of boroughs in delivering services could be a reason for the overall reduction.

With reference to the Home Improvement Agency referrals number, Officers confirmed that the difference against the target was 1 referral, which given the Christmas period alone, could account for this.  However, Members were reassured that there were some positive outcomes being reached through grant applications that would be shared in a future information report to the Committee to include some interesting case studies. 

Officers had agreed to monitor usage of the Eileen Tozer Day Centre and explore further initiatives for further promotional activity.  The number of visitors was also being monitored to assess if there was any unmet need or if lower returning numbers was to be expected.  Officers commented on the tireless efforts of the small team running this service.

In noting the report the museum at Egham were congratulated for a recent Lottery Fund award which would help augment their staffing arrangements with a new part time curator.

Thanks were extended to all staff in the Community Services Business Unit for their continued efforts, commitment and dedication to the services provided.

The Committee noted the Quarter 3 update on the Community Services Area Plan for 2023/24.

Members’ attention was drawn to the report’s appendix which provided a summary of all work priorities within the service area plan, and showed that of the 32 objectives listed, 18 had been completed so far with 14 continuing to be in progress with an update given on each.

Officers advised that all the objectives within the Service Area Plan were underway with a number of objectives that were marked as completed in Quarter 3.  For example implementation of the new Armed Forces Covenant, moving the Council’s Safeguarding Policy into new ‘business as usual’ and achieving full GDPR compliance to work with Surrey Heartlands and Alliance partners.  The Runnymede Health and Wellbeing Partnership would be launched in March 2024.

The main part of the report gave an overview of progress against the outstanding objectives.  Of the 14 objectives that remained to be completed, Members were advised that a number of items were always intended to roll into the next municipal year.  These included Chertsey Museum Digitisation, the Better Care Fund demonstrator wet room, digitalisation of the telecare services, and the Egham Hythe Centre Community Hub – viability work, as well as improvements to the play areas, Runnymede Pleasure grounds and the Community Safety Strategy.  Therefore, focus was on 9 objectives that were aspired to be completed in 2023/24. 

Members observed that Community Services had been tasked with the addition of the Citizens Panel as an objective.  Work on this objective had moved forward and an update would be provided in due course.  Officers confirmed that populating the panel would focus on participants with an interest in the various subjects rather than being service area experts.

The Committee duly noted the report and looked forward to progress reports in due course.

The Committee noted an update on the project to tackle period poverty, initiated by Councillor Abby King and taken forward by Officers in Community Services, to whom thanks were extended by the Chair.

Officers confirmed that with the benefit of a waiver from the relevant contract standing orders, the Council was entering into a partnership with a social enterprise organisation called ‘Hey Girls’ to provide goods and services free to people facing period poverty.  Hey Girls was considered to be the most suitable in terms of cost, experience of working with local government, maximising social value and environmental impact.  Products and information would be available at 19 venues across the borough. 

The Council’s Communications Team would also be involved in promoting and raising the profile of the project which was aligned with the Council’s Health and Wellbeing Strategy as well as supporting sustainability and equalities as demonstrated by the full equalities impact assessment which was presented to the Committee.

The Committee noted that as agreed previously there was £24,000 available across the next three years.  Officers in Community Services would be monitoring the project’s success and building up an evidence base with the intention to secure future funding which Members agreed was an exciting and worthwhile project.

A member of the public attending the meeting objected to being excluded from the meeting.  However, the Chair explained that the report contained confidential financial contractual information.

Resolved that –

the press and public be excluded from the meeting during discussion of the following reports under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 on the grounds that the reports in question would be likely to involve disclosure of exempt information of the description specified in paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act.

The Committee noted the implications of recent case law affecting the taxi and private hire sector in respect of the contractual relationship for Private Hire Operators.

Officers outlined the case of Uber London Ltd v Transport for London and others [2021] EWHC 3290 (Admin).  Members were advised that the Divisional Court ruled in order to operatelawfully under the Private Hire Vehicles (London) Act 1998 a licensed operator who accepted a booking from a passenger was required to enter as principal into a contractual obligation with the passenger to provide the journey which was the subject of the booking.  This case required the operator concerned to change its business model to contract directly with passengers rather than classifying itself as an agent.  This helped confirm driver status as workers with statutory protections and also had VAT implications.  Members noted that although this was predominantly a case relating to workers’ rights, it also carried implications for all London based operators in respect of their operating model by placing the operator under an obligation to enter into a contract with the passenger as principal, where a passenger mad a booking, and affected theirresponsibilities under that contractual relationship.

The Committee was informed that Uber sought a declaration at the High Court to the one imposed on it for London to cover the rest of England and Wales where Operators are governed by the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976.  Officers advised that the most recent case was Uber Britannia Limited v Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council & Others judgement on 28 July 2023.  This had resulted in the Court agreeing with Uber and declared that this did cover the rest of England and Wales and applied to all Private Hire Vehicle Operators in England and Wales, regardless of how many vehicles and drivers were available to them.

Members noted that all Private Hire Operators following the judgement were required to comply with the obligation and fulfil their responsibilities under private hirelegislation.  These responsibilities included:

·         a Licensed Private Hire Operator must itself accept bookings from its passengers, rather than anyone else (for example a driver) doing so;

·         a Licensed Private Hire Operator must itself take responsibility for the journeyfrom point A to point B, rather than anyone else (for example a driver) doing so;

·         the booking must be carried out in a licensed Private Hire Vehicle (licensedby the same Council as where the Operator is licensed) (or taxi) driven by a licensed driver (again licensed by the same authority); known as the ‘triple lock’

·         the booking must be carried out for a fare which was either agreed or forwhich an accurate estimate was provided in advance.

It was noted that an operator could still sub-contract a booking to another licensed operator but the contract with the operator who initially accepted the booking remained.  Officers confirmed that all operators were required to comply with the obligation including those without written contracts.

Following the ruling, Officers advised that is was likely to be an expectation that Local Licensing Authorities took steps to ensure that all licensed Private Hire Operators under their jurisdiction were aware and compliant with their obligations.  This could be achieved by the addition of a licence condition to be included in all licenses
issued under section 55.

Officers suggested that the additional condition could state:

“The operator shall enter into a contractual obligation as principal with the person making the private hire booking to provide the journey, which is the subject of the booking, and any such contractual obligation must be consistent with the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976.”

However, Members agreed that as leave to appeal had been given to this decision and theGovernment had stated a consultation would be held in early 2024 on the levying of full VAT on private hire operators it would be prudent not to update the Council’s policy at this time but await the outcome which might result in further guidance being issued.

The report was duly noted.

Before introducing this item, the Chair wished to place on record the Committee’s thanks to Mr Robert Smith, Senior Licensing Officer, who would shortly be retiring from the Council after 11 years.

The Committee’s approval was sought to increase the taxi fare tariffs, following a survey of the Trade which had been in favour of a review.

Members noted that fares had not been increased since June 2022 when there was an increase of 7.8% for the pull off rate, 11.1% for the second mile and 13.6% for subsequent miles.  There had been no increase in waiting time.

The survey had attracted a good response of 27 drivers out of the total 61 and Members noted the comments made alongside the survey replies.

The Committee was advised that a clear preference had emerged for a maximum charge of £5 for the first mile, £3.30 for the second and £2.80 for subsequent miles.  There was no proposal to increase the waiting time.

Members noted that Runnymede’s rates remained competitive and represented good value for money and it was agreed that the increase in fares was sensible in the current climate, taking into account inflation and the other costs facing drivers.

Officers would arrange for a public notice to be published, and subject to there being no objections received, the fares would come into effect from 8 April 2024

Resolved that -

the fare tariffs are increased in line with this report (Appendix ‘D’) to be effective from 8 April 2024. Subject to there being no objections to the proposed increases.

There were no Declarations of Interest.

The Minutes of the Meeting of the Committee held on 3 January 2024 were confirmed and signed as a correct record.

Officers reported to the Committee that The Broadway, in New Haw was the only consent street in the Borough and therefore street traders could apply to trade at that location. 

An application had recently been received for a stall to sell hot gourmet food up to seven days a week between the hours of midday – midnight.

However, during a recent street trading application it was clear that any application to trade at The Broadway was highly likely to refused due to concerns from various bodies including the Police, Surrey Highways and Local Councillors.  The concerns raised were around parking, litter, noise, antisocial behaviour, and impact on local businesses.   Officers, therefore, would suggest that The Broadway being a consent street be reviewed and reconsidered.

Resolved that –

1)    The application for street trading be refused for the following reason:-

The noise and nuisance which is anticipated resulting in hot food trading at this particular location would be detrimental to the peace and quiet enjoyment of residents in the vicinity, have a detrimental impact on other businesses in the area and increase the prospect of antisocial behaviour.

2)     Officers present a report to the next meeting of this Committee in order for 
 this Committee to consider and recommend to Full Council that:-

The Corporate Head of Law and Governance be authorised to review the designation of consent streets in the borough pursuant to its powers under Schedule 4 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982 and proceed with public consultation to re-designate The Broadway, New Haw from a consent street to a prohibited street.

The Committee received a report on the delivery of the 2023/24 Environmental Services Service Area Plan and a summary of the Service Area Plan to be delivered during 2024/25 for approval.

The Committee was pleased to note that after a shaky start the new grounds maintenance arrangements had greatly improved. 

It was noted that the main challenges for 2024/2025 would be:

·         Recruitment of new Officers established in the 2023/2024 restructure of Environment Services

·         Interim operation of the depot whilst alternative options for delivering a compliant and effective site and accommodation were explored

·         Delivery of the proposed fleet and fuel strategy which would offer increased efficiency and reduce RBC scope one emissions

·         Review of licensing and enforcement options for Houses in Multiple Occupation

·         Review of street cleansing service

·         Review of cemetery conditions

Resolved that -

The 2024/25 Service Area Plan for Environmental Services be approved.

Officers reported that Surrey County Council (SCC) operated a 2-tier structure, whereby the Boroughs and Districts were responsible for waste collection and SCC were responsible for its treatment and disposal.

The end destination of the recycling and waste was controlled by SCC.

Since the introduction of recycling in 2008, Runnymede Borough Council’s (RBC) recycling performance had increased from 20% (2008/09) to 49% (2021/22).   This placed RBC 79^th out of 333 authorities.

In July 2020 the Environment and Sustainability Committee approved a Household Recycling and Waste Kerbside Collection policy.  This policy has served the Council well and offered a framework for provision and collection of refuse and recycling bins for households.

The 2022 policy did not, however, specify bin provision for either Houses of Multiple Occupation (HMOs) or for flats.   The new proposed policy included this provision. 

Officers already worked with students from Royal Holloway University by educating students on what bins were used for what waste.  It was agreed that most problems relating to problems were around lack of education and unwillingness to comply.  It was noted information tags would be attached to bins in the Englefield Green offsite student areas at the start of the autumn term.

It was reported that a new development of flats in the Borough was having ongoing problems with contaminated waste.   It was noted that in some cases recycling bins had had to be removed from flats due to continued contamination.   Officers reported that bin collectors could now take photos of contamination and upload to the bartec system.  

It was reported that a recent meeting it had been agreed that the distribution of hard copies of the waste and recycling schedules would be ceased.  The cost of producing the leaflet was considerable and it was felt residents now used other channels to check when they were due a bin collection.

Officers would speak to the Council’s Communications team regarding promoting the new waste and recycling policy on the Council’s website and social media channels.

Resolved that –

The 2020 Household Recycling and Waste Kerbside collection policy be revoked and a new Waste and Recycling Policy which expands the remit of the former policy to include Housing in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) and blocks of flats be introduced.

The Committee was advised that the Sustainable Fleet Management Strategy (SFMS) sought to streamline and coordinate the Council’s activities associated with the management of its fleet. 

The Council’s fleet was made up of 79 vehicles including Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGV), mini-buses, vans and specialist equipment, as well as approximately 34 pieces of hand-held machinery and equipment.   With the exception of the leased Meals at Home vehicles, the Council owed all of the fleet assets.

In the calendar year 2023, the Council spent £698.349.87 operating its fleet (this figure included fuel, maintenance, parts, leasing and insurance costs).

The SFMS sets out to provide an environmentally sustainable operational fleet which delivers safe, reliable services to the community and was affordable to the Council,

The three guiding objectives of the strategy were:

·         Safe and Compliant,

·         Fit for purpose and offers value for money

·         Environmentally friendly

The SFMS contained an action plan.  This set out the proposed short term actions (to be implemented between 2024 and 2026).

The Committee was advised that central to delivering on the Strategy vision and objectives was the proposal for the Council to move to a ‘one fleet approach’.  This meant the organisation and coordination of the Council’s fleet would be centralised.  The current approach meant operational ad strategic responsibilities were split between various services areas, mainly the Community Services, Customer, Digital and Collection Services, Housing and Environmental Services Teams.  Moving forward, the central Fleet Management team would sit within Environmental Services.

The Committee welcomed this step forward and were pleased to note the proposed introduction of a ‘one fleet approach’ which would no doubt simplify the process if a shared service was ever considered.

Resolved that –

1)    The Sustainable Fleet Management Strategy for Runnymede Borough Council, as attached at Appendix A in the agenda pack, be endorsed by the Environment and Sustainability Committee

    
      2)  This Committee recommends that the strategy be endorsed by the Corporate

           Management Committee at the meeting of 21 March 2024.

      3)  Subject to endorsement of the strategy by the Corporate Management
           Committee on 21 March 2024, the strategy be recommended to Full Council
           for adoption.

The Committee was presented with, for information,  the draft Air Quality Action Plan (AQAP) for 2024.

Air quality was accessed against objectives for various pollutants.   Where a local authority identified that an air quality objective for a particular pollutant was unlikely to be met in a particular area and where there was relevant public exposure, they must designate the area as an Air Quality Management Area (AQMA).   The major source of air pollution affecting the RBC area was due to road traffic.  An AQMA covering the route of the M25 through the borough was declared in 2001.  An AQMA covering the junction of the High Street, Station Road, Brighton Road and Church Road was declared in 2008.   Both areas were declared for the pollutant, Nitrogen Dioxide.

Data since 2019 indicated that the air quality was improving and that both AQMAs could be revoked.  However, due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and associated travel restrictions the monitoring data for 2020 and 2021 may not be representative of long-term trends.  To ensure that the AQMAs are not revoked prematurely the Council intends to continue to monitor these areas for at least another two years, as well as continuing to review air quality in potential pollution hotspots in Chertsey and near the Ottershaw roundabout.

Air quality objectives were achieved across the Borough in 2022 with a general trend towards improvement in air quality.

The Committee was advised that the next step in relation to the Action Plan was to undertake a full consultation.   Once the final AQAP was available it would be brought back to this Committee.  

The Committee was pleased to note that the Surrey Air Alliance were currently undertaking a trial on monitoring air quality inside schools.  

Concerns regarding the increasing use of wood burners due to the cost of living crises was raised.   Officers would circulate to the Committee information on the proposed public information campaign on wood burning. The campaign would be looking at educating residents on safer fuel use.

Resolved that -

the press and public be excluded from the remainder of the meeting during discussion of the following reports under Section 100A (4) of the Local Government Act 1972 on the grounds that the reports in question would be likely to involve disclosure exempt information of the description specified in paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act.

No declarations of interest were made.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor R Bromley.

The minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 11January 2024 were confirmed and signed as a correct record.