Agenda and minutes

Venue: County Hall, Chichester, PO19 1RQ

Contact: Ann Little on 033 022 22654  Email:  ann.little@westsussex.gov.uk

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Items
No. Item

39.

Declarations of Interest

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.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

39.1     In accordance with the County Council’s code of conduct the following declarations were made:

 

39.2     Cllr Oakley declared a personal interest as a member of Chichester District Council, the responsible authority for litter clearance, under agenda item no 6, and also under agenda item no 7.

 

39.3     Cllr Sharp declared an interest as a member of Chichester District Council, under agenda item no 7.

40.

Committee and Business Planning Group Membership

At the County Council meeting on 16 December 2022 the political representation on the Committee was amended in view of the results of a review of proportionality.  This resulted in Cllr Sharp being appointed to the Committee and Cllr Oxlade standing down. 

 

As a result of Cllr Oxlade leaving the Committee there is a vacancy on the Business Planning Group (BPG) membership.  Since June 2022 the membership has been Cllr Britton (Chairman), Cllr Oakley (Vice-Chairman) and Cllrs Kenyon, Milne and Oxlade.

 

In accordance with the Constitution, two of the five BPG members shall be minority group members.

 

The Committee is asked to review and agree the membership of the BPG, following the change in the Committee’s membership.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

40.1     The Chairman reported that following the review of proportionality approved at County Council on 16 December, Cllr Oxlade had stood down and Cllr Sharp was welcomed to the Scrutiny Committee.  The Committee agreed that Cllr Sharp should now join the Business Planning Group.

41.

Urgent Matters

Items not on the agenda which the Chairman of the meeting is of the opinion should be considered as a matter of urgency by reason of special circumstances, including cases where the Committee needs to be informed of budgetary or performance issues affecting matters within its terms of reference, which have emerged since the publication of the agenda.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

41.1     No urgent matters were raised but the Chairman did ask that the recent severe weather and road conditions be addressed under agenda item number 6 on the Highways Maintenance Contract Performance report.  The Chairman also sought a report to the Committee in the fullness of time on lessons learnt, planning ahead and what could be done to mitigate against unusual weather events going forward.

42.

Minutes of the last meeting of the Committee pdf icon PDF 103 KB

The Committee is asked to agree the previous minutes of the meeting.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

42.1     The Committee were asked to agree the revised minutes of the meeting held on 21 September 2022.

 

42.2     Resolved – that the minutes of the Committee meeting held on 21 September 2022 be approved as correct record and that they be signed by the Chairman.

 

42.3     The Committee were asked to agree the minutes of the meeting held on 18 November 2022.

 

42.4     Resolved – that the minutes of the Committee meeting held on 18 November 2022 be approved as a correct record and that they be signed by the Chairman.

43.

Responses to Recommendations pdf icon PDF 89 KB

The Committee is asked to note the responses to recommendations made at previous meetings of the Committee.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

43.1     The Committee noted the response to recommendations made at previous meetings.

44.

Highways Maintenance Contract Performance Report pdf icon PDF 187 KB

Report by Assistant Director (Highways, Transport and Planning).

 

The Committee is asked to scrutinise the performance of the services and works delivered through the contracts for Lots 1 to 6 and progress of the new contract model for West Sussex Highways Services through 2021-22.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

44.1     The Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport, Cllr Dennis, introduced the report and informed the Committee that she was pleased to see a significant improvement in performance over the last year thanks to new ways of working, improving processes, etc.

 

44.2     The Assistant Director Highways Transport and Planning gave an updated presentation to the one given to the Committee in September 2021, giving an overview of the delivery model.  The Committee were also joined by Mr Walsh, Area Director for Balfour Beatty. 

 

44.3     Members of the Committee asked questions and a summary of those questions and answers follows.

 

44.4     The pothole jet packer machinery was only useable in weather conditions which suited the infill material used.  Work was being done on a new approach with a smaller pothole pro machine for use in smaller locations.  Emergency defects would receive a 2-hour response time for teams to decide whether a short-term fix was suitable or whether the defect needed to go onto the list for a larger or permanent repair.  This would be decided on based on the safety of highway network users.  The trials had helped the service understand how best to utilise the machinery which it was expected would be back in use from April 2023.

 

44.5     Roadside grass verges were usually cut three times a year in rural areas and five times a year in urban areas.  Some communities ask that verges were not fully cut to support flora and fauna.  Within the South Downs National Park area there was only one cut a year.  Unusually dry conditions in July 2022 had meant that one routine cut had been dropped from the schedule and contractors were redeployed to other work.  The service shared the grass cutting schedule with district and borough colleagues so that they had the opportunity to undertake litter picks before verges were cut.

 

44.6     Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) – The KPIs in the report were primarily used for operational purposes to monitor the performance of the contracts and had evolved over several years.  They had been agreed between the County Council and contractors as useful and effective measures.

 

44.7     KPI 6.1 Amount of construction and demolition waste reused and recycled – The Assistant Director agreed to provide some figures to the Committee on this KPI.

 

44.8     KPI 5.2 and 5.3 Make Safe and Repair – Whilst the performance to March 2022 showed to be below target, officers were pleased to report that since May 2022 all targets had been met or exceeded.  Targets were still expected to be met despite the recent adverse weather conditions as close observation was being kept on volumes and resources adjusted accordingly.

 

44.9     It was acknowledged that some areas of the highways network presented challenges for those with disabilities or particular needs, e.g. pushchairs, mobility vehicles.  Designs were looked at within disability guidelines and safety criteria, but more work could be done with the disabled community to make areas more accessible.

 

44.10  The service did envisage extra investment would  ...  view the full minutes text for item 44.

45.

Electric Vehicle Strategy Delivery Update pdf icon PDF 91 KB

Report by Assistant Director (Environment and Public Protection)

 

The Committee is in particular asked to consider how the Council is progressing with the following:

1.   Delivery of the aims and actions outlined in the EV Strategy to support residents within West Sussex transition to electric vehicles.

2.   The West Sussex Chargepoint Network and whether there is more that can be done to engage with residents and gain greater support for the programme.

3.   The transition to EV within its own fleet.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

45.1     The Cabinet Member for Environment and Climate Change, Cllr Urquhart, introduced the report saying that whilst the initial strategy had been put in place by her team, they were now working closely with the Highways Service who are leading on the roll out phase. 

 

45.2     The Committee received a presentation from the Assistant Director (Environment and Public Protection) on progress so far and the Committee asked questions and a summary of those questions and answers follows.

 

45.3     Committee members asked if the 25% discount for low emission vehicles on residential permits across West Sussex could be increased to provide a greater incentive.  It was reported that the discount was part of the fees and charges which were regularly reviewed, and it could be looked at with a view to increasing or decreasing in line with market values.

 

45.4     The focus for residential areas was to use slower chargepoints, which were cheaper to use, with rapid chargepoints in public areas e.g car parks.  An initial investigation had been undertaken by the contractor into rolling out rapid chargepoints.

 

45.5     The first batch of consultations for the on-street placement for chargepoints had raised some objections.  Officers were reviewing objections to pick out common threads and apply this learning to future placement proposals.  The biggest objection currently was the loss of parking space.  Members were keen that officers kept communities onside for these proposals and visited sites at various times of the day to assess them.

 

45.6     The plan for placement of on-street chargepoints would be on pavements or verges and the guidance on the minimum pavement width was that there should be 1.8m of useable space behind a chargepoint to allow mobility scooters and prams room to pass.  These chargepoints would have dedicated spaces covered by a TRO for electric vehicle charging only and could be enforced by civil enforcement officers. 

 

45.7     Members were keen that users had options to use contactless direct payment as well as apps and pre-registered RIFD cards.  Officers reported that operators were looking at how they could offer a range of easy payment options.

 

45.8     Concern was raised at the number of broken charging points generally within the national network and officers confirmed that maintenance was included in the contract and when chargepoints were broken they show up on an app and this could be highlighted to the maintenance operators.  Currently reliability is very high for Connected Kerb chargepoints. 

 

45.9     Members were advised that the transition to an electric vehicle fleet for the County Council would be a longer-term plan as there were currently 9–12-month lead times for the purchase of electric vehicles.  Calculations had shown, when looking at upfront capital leasing costs, fuel, and maintenance costs, that there was little difference between electric vehicles and internal combustion vehicles.  Calculations re-run recently showed figures still looked comparable despite the current high cost of electricity.  Consideration also had to be given to where staff would be able to charge the vehicles.  Some staff who needed to get straight  ...  view the full minutes text for item 45.

46.

Energy Strategy Progress Report pdf icon PDF 121 KB

Report by Assistant Director (Environment and Public Protection).

 

The Committee is asked to in particular consider:

 

1.   Delivery of the aims and actions outlined in the Energy Strategy and particularly their alignment with, and contribution to, County Council objectives around decarbonisation, financial resilience and green skills.

 

2.   Whether any changes in the societal/economic (cost of energy) context since adoption of the Energy Strategy might merit revisions to the Strategy or the proposed sequencing of action.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

46.1     The Cabinet Member for Environment and Climate Change, Cllr Urquhart, introduced the report which updated on activities over the past year and ambitions going forward.  The biggest constraint for the County Council, and others nationally, was capacity on the electricity grid.  The long time-span and the cost to get connections was making projects unviable.  The County Council, along with the Local Government Association, County Councils Network and other organisations, had been lobbying Government for at least a year and the Skidmore Net Zero independent review had highlighted this as a key issue for the country as it tries to move towards net zero.  It was hoped that the Government would respond soon.

 

46.2     Members of the Committee asked questions and a summary of those questions and answers follows.

 

46.3     The use of large-scale onshore wind and tidal energy was not a suitable option for the County Council. To work best on land, wind turbines would have to be located on high ground, much of which falls in the South Downs National Park and that would most likely be difficult to achieve.  The current Government moratorium on onshore windfarms was limiting options although the Rampion offshore wind farm was looking to expand.

 

46.4     Income generated from the Solar Together project was put into a fund for emergency fuel vouchers which were distributed by Citizen’s Advice to residents facing a financial crisis.  District and borough councils were involved in retrofitting some of their social housing to help households and under the Warmer Homes Scheme households could apply for funded energy efficiency improvements.

 

46.5     Carbon offsetting would be a last resort for the County Council. The County Council wanted to make a genuine difference by focussing on reducing its emissions rather than simply offsetting its carbon footprint. Primarily work planned is to offset the authority’s own emissions.

 

46.6     Good practice was being shared from the Local Energy Community scheme at Manor Royal BID with other areas and the County Council had been approached by a business association in Burgess Hill.

 

46.7     As mentioned by the Cabinet Member, the availability of National Grid capacity to enable future connections was the biggest challenge ahead and could hinder the development of future plans.  The Government was looking to local authorities to produce evidence which could be presented to OFGEM to inform the network operators business cases for improvements to the grid.

 

46.8     The County Council was grappling with a growing list of options for the use of land, whether it be for sale, development, energy production, nature recovery or other opportunities.  A clear strategy would assist with decision making.  A member questioned whether the County Council should be looking at any significant land disposals given the lack of clarity over where priorities laid.  The Cabinet Member said she would welcome a recommendation from the Committee around developing a strategic approach for this.

 

46.9     Officers reported that the supply chain for Lithium batteries had been affected by price increases and long lead in times (all batteries  ...  view the full minutes text for item 46.

47.

Work Programme Planning and Possible Items for Future Scrutiny pdf icon PDF 43 KB

The Committee is asked to review its current draft work programme taking into account the Forward Plan of key decisions and any suggestions from its members for possible scrutiny taking, into account the attached scrutiny checklist (attached at Appendix A).

Additional documents:

Minutes:

47.1     The Committee reviewed the most recent Forward Plan of key decisions and work programme.  The Committee were updated that since the agenda papers had been despatched National Highways had announced a consultation on small scale options on the A27 at Worthing and at Lancing and the Committee agreed to add the County Council’s draft consultation response to the agenda of the meeting on 6 March 2023.

 

47.2     A member questioned why the fragmentation of Public Rights of Way combined with the Active Travel item had moved to June 2023 when Planning and Rights of Way key decisions were coming up in March/April.  The Committee were informed that the June timing was in line with the progress of the Active Travel work.

 

47.3     Members asked what they could scrutinise in relation to flooding and it was agreed that the County Council’s riparian duties enforcement policies could be focussed on as part of the Local Flood Risk Management Strategy.

48.

Requests for Call-in

There have been no requests for call-in to the Scrutiny Committee and within its constitutional remit since the date of the last meeting.  The Director of Law and Assurance will report any requests since the publication of the agenda papers.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

48.1     There had been no request for call-in to the Scrutiny Committee within its constitutional remit since the date of the last meeting.

49.

Date of Next Meeting

The next meeting of the Committee will be held on 6 March 2023 at 10.30 am at County Hall, Chichester.  Probable agenda items include:

 

·       Performance and Resources Report Quarter 3

 

Any member wishing to place an item on the agenda for the meeting must notify the Director of Law and Assurance by 20 February 2023.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

49.1     The next meeting would be held on 6 March 2023 at 10.30am.