Agenda and minutes

Members and officers must declare any pecuniary or personalinterest in any business on the agenda. They should also make declarations at any stage such an interest becomes apparent during the meeting. Consideration should be given to leaving the meeting if the nature of the interest warrants it.  If in doubt please contact Democratic Services before the meeting.

23.1   No declarations were made.

The Committee is asked to agree the minutes of the meeting held on 30 September (cream paper).

24.1     In reference to page 6, 14.3, Cllr Quinn spoke in support of the pilot booking system at Crawley household waste recycling centre and reported that it has been well-received by local residents. It was suggested that the arrangement should be monitored and feedback sought from the local authority every six months.

24.2     The Chairman advised that this should be raised as a regular item at the Committee’s Business Planning Group and any subsequent emerging trends could be considered as a main agenda item.

24.3   Resolved - that the minutes of the meeting held on 30 September 2021 be approved as a correct record, and that they be signed by the Chairman.

The Committee is asked to note the responses to recommendations made at the 30 September meeting.

25.1   In reference to page 3, point 5, it was questioned why the response specifically focuses on riparian ownership and not address drainage systems within the County Council’s remit. 

25.2   The Chairman clarified that the County Council is the Local Lead Flood Authority for general drainage and riparian ownership, as well as being responsible for its own drainage infrastructure.

25.3   The Committee noted the response to recommendations made at the 30 September 2021 meeting from the Cabinet Member for Environment and Climate Change and the Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport.                                                           

The Committee is asked to scrutinse the current partnership approach to tackling domestic and sexual violence and abuse in West Sussex in order to obtain a more coherent and detailed picture of the threats, harms, risks and vulnerability that impact our residents.

26.1     The Committee considered a report and presentation on the County Council’s partnership approach to Domestic and Sexual Violence and Abuse (DSVA) (copies appended to the signed minutes).

26.2     Summary of responses to members comments and questions: -

·       Measuring the effectiveness of ongoing outreach work includes; asking victims and survivors questions about their safety and security, visibly improved trust and confidence among victims coming forward and seeking support and a reduction in the number of repeat victims that use the service.

·       Communication channels were made more accessible during lockdown through; extended service hours on weekdays, weekends and bank holidays, closer partnership-working with the police and children’s social care colleagues and virtual sessions held with GPs and referred patients. Partners have also developed remote ways of working with clients to continue support and be more available for those seeking help.

·       The West Sussex Education for Safeguarding (E4S) curriculum is voluntary and not a statutory requirement (56% take-up among schools). The Safer West Sussex Partnership (SWSP) has identified the 44% of non-participating schools and has prioritised working with them to adopt the curriculum. Members were encouraged to engage with schools in their divisions and help promote E4S.

·       Operation Encompass is a police-led awareness initiative which urgently notifies schools of reported incidents of domestic abuse involving their pupils.

·       Information-sharing agreements and respective duties are clearly understood by agencies and partners without barriers. 

·       SWSP can work with and support providers to reduce the demand on partners working over-capacity, but unable to commission or fund services.

·       There is a risk that children who are exposed to domestic abuse become victims or perpetrators themselves in adulthood or become involved in other types of criminality.

·       SWSP is working proactively to engage with ethnic minority communities and build trust and confidence to overcome language barriers and cultural differences with the aim of making services more accessible.

·       It was suggested that, in liaison with district and borough councils, public sector vehicles should be utilised to promote public service messaging more frequently.

·       The Domestic Abuse Act’s newly imposed duty to provide safe accommodation will have resource implications on the service. The findings of the draft needs assessment consultation and the final strategy will be published in January.

·       Services reliant on short-term funding have contingency/exit plans in place to ensure delivery is met by working collaboratively with other service providers.

·       SWSP local services do support male victims and give the option of working with a male Independent Domestic Violence Advocate (IDVA) if they prefer. The County Council does not provide a dedicated service for male victims.

·       Pharmacies are recognised nationally as safe spaces and Sussex Police is working to identify and visit popular public places to determine their suitability for safe space status and grow the number of locations countywide.

26.3     Resolved – that the Committee: -

i.            Approved of the scope and range of work being carried out to address the issues of DSVA and reduce harm.

ii.           Approved of the range and scope of work to engage with all  ...  view the full minutes text for item 26.

The Committee is asked to scrutinise the draft Energy Strategy 2030, which the Cabinet Member for Environment and Climate Change plans to adopt in due course.

The Committee is in particular asked to consider:

(1) Whether the rationale for the chosen scenario is justified and if it is the best fit for the County

(2) How have the County Council’s priorities changed in relation to climate change matters since the implementation of the previous strategy agreed in 2016?

(3) What support the County Council is providing to households affected by fuel poverty and what does the future look like if central government funding is cut?

(4) Whether the strategy is deliverable and sufficiently ambitious?

27.1   The Committee considered a report and presentation on the County Council’s draft Energy Strategy 2030 (copies appended to the signed minutes).

27.2   Summary of responses to members’ questions and comments: -

·       The strategy is a high-level document and action points will be included and expanded upon in detail in the subsequent action plan following consultation with district and borough councils.   

·       The strategy promises to strengthen the partnership working set out in the 2016 strategy and involves local authorities promoting energy efficient schemes and funding streams for low-income households in fuel poverty. 

·       The County Council works closely with the West Sussex Fuel Poverty Co-ordinator at Arun District Council to ensure public messaging is joined up and consistent between all tiers of local government.

·       70 local schools were identified to undergo structural roof surveys with the aim of installing photovoltaics (PV) and battery systems. The County Council will explore alternative options if survey results find certain schools unsuitable.

·       In reference to page 41, the Service welcomed the suggestion of including a section on Training and Skills. The County Council has an adopted approach with its existing solar farms where local education institutions are invited to teach awareness of public-owned assets as learning resources.

·       The Service gave reassurance that they are working to ensure the County Council’s own future joint venture developments will be retrofitted where necessary.

·       The County Council is an advocate of embedding indicators, criteria and specifications within its procurement process when going out to tender for service providers.

·       The Service is aware of some County businesses leading in design and development in their field and the County Council aims to work with local suppliers and service providers where possible. 

·       The strategy is in line with the Local Electricity Bill in terms of procuring electricity generators to become local energy suppliers.

·       The strategy is not intended to influence or steer local planning authority policy.

27.3   Resolved – that the Committee: -

i.            Agreed that the rationale for the chosen scenario is justified and therefore the best fit for the County. 

ii.           Agreed that the County Council’s climate change priorities have evolved to a degree since its 2016 strategy in response to the ever-developing international and national landscape.

iii.          Noted future concern of potential funding cuts to local authorities in recognition of the challenges faced by central government in balancing varying priorities.

iv.         Agreed that the strategy is significantly ambitious and that its deliverability will need to be assessed following the provision of further detail about its implementation and at the conclusion of the consultation period in early 2022.

Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs) are legal orders that support the enforceable restrictions and movements on the public highway. In West Sussex, requests for TROs are received from communities each year to deal with matters such as speed limits, parking controls and moving traffic offences. These requests are known as Community TROs. The Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport seeks to ensure the way in which Community TROs are prioritised, approved and delivered is fit for purpose and responds appropriately to community demand.

The Committee is asked to scrutinise the draft Assessment Framework, delivery mechanism and governance arrangements.

28.1   The Committee considered a report and presentation on the County Council’s review of community Traffic Regulation Orders (copies appended to the signed minutes).

28.2   Summary of responses to members’ questions and comments: -

·       As part of the new TRO Assessments, credit is awarded to applications when external funding is available for the delivery of TRO works. This is likely to help applications that, in the past, might not have been progressed as they didn’t quite meet the threshold score. All schemes must be assessed as safe and make sense in terms of traffic management. Assurance was given that the rolling programme option eliminates queue jumping as applications would instead be assessed as and when they are submitted.

·       A six-month review has been factored in by the service for the rolling programme option in order to monitor workload capacity and any arising delays.

·       As part of the rolling programme, any underspend in the annual TRO budget allocation can be rolled over to the following financial year (subject to capital programme governance).

·       The service clarified that applicants are required to gain the support of their local town, parish or neighbourhood council. It was deemed unreasonable to request district or borough council support. 

·       The service confirmed that there are no geographical restrictions in place for individuals wishing to object to a proposed scheme.

·       Proactive communications will be carried out with town and parish councils after the Cabinet Member decision is taken in January 2022 to make them fully aware that their support is required at the beginning of the application process in order to expedite a scheme. This information would also be made publicly available on the County Council’s website.

·       Records are kept of all reported damage to street furniture and repairs are covered under the service’s budget for general maintenance. Partial costs are collected from damage caused by third parties where there is a police record.

28.3   Resolved – that the Committee: -

i.            Agreed that their preferred option is the rolling programme.

ii.           Agreed that the existing number of five objections is a reasonable threshold at which the decision to proceed with a TRO would be referred to the Cabinet Member.

iii.          Agreed that the new timeframes for delivering a community TRO are realistic.

A report by the Director of Law and Assurance, setting out the finance and performance position as at the end of September 2021.

The Committee is asked to note the report.

29.1   The Committee considered the end of September (Quarter 2) Quarterly Performance and Resources report (copy appended to the signed minutes).

29.2   Summary of responses to members’ questions and comments: -

·       What impact does the repairs works at the A285 at Duncton have on Highway’s budget for the remainder of 2021/22? The Director of Highways and Transport was not present but will provide a retrospective answer in due course.

29.3   Resolved – that the Committee noted the report.

Forward Plan dated 1 November 2021 – attached.

An extract from any Forward Plan published between the date of despatch of the agenda and the date of the meeting will be tabled at the meeting.

The Committee is asked to consider whether it wishes to enquire into any of the forthcoming decisions with in its portfolio.

30.1   Resolved – that the Committee noted the Forward Plan of Key Decisions.

The Committee is asked to review its current draft work programme for the remainder of the County Council term. The work programme attached reflects the outcome of discussions at the Committee’s Business Planning Group meeting on 5 November 2021.

The Committee is asked to review the Forward Plan entries relevant to its remit (Appendix A) and mention any items which they believe to be of relevance to the business of the Scrutiny Committee. If any member puts forward an item for scrutiny, the Committee’s role at this meeting is to assess, briefly, whether to refer the matter to its Business Planning Group (BPG) to consider in detail.

31.1   The Committee considered its work programme and possible items for future scrutiny.

31.2   Resolved – that the Committee agrees the following changes to its work programme: -

·       Ninesh Edwards, Senior Advisor, informed the Committee that two additional items concerning the final reports of the Gatwick Northern Runway Project and On-Street Parking Management Task and Finish Groups will be heard at the next meeting of the Committee in January 2022.

·       Ninesh Edwards informed the Committee that a further item has been added to the agenda for the March 2022 meeting which will allow members an early opportunity to influence the Road Safety Strategy. 

·       The Chairman highlighted to the Committee that the next potential opportunity to debate the County Council’s proposed response to National Highways’ A27 Arundel Bypass project may be arranged during the statutory public consultation period, between January and March 2022.

The next meeting of the Committee will be held on 19 January 2022 at 10.30 am at County Hall, Chichester. Probable agenda items include:

·       Local Transport Plan

·       Strategic Options for Waste Disposal

Any member wishing to place an item on the agenda for the meeting must notify the Director of Law and Assurance by Friday 7 January 2022.

32.1   The next meeting of the Committee will be held virtually via Microsoft Teams on 19 January 2022 at 10.30 am.