Agenda and minutes

The Committee’s membership is set out below:

Cllr Albury

Cllr Baldwin

Cllr Britton

Cllr N Dennis

Cllr Hillier

Cllr Kenyon

Cllr Kerry-Bedell

Cllr N Jupp

Cllr Oakley

Cllr Payne

Cllr Quinn

Cllr Sharp

The Committee is asked to elect a Chairman for 2024-25.  If the election is contested, a secret ballot will be held in accordance with Standing Order 2.17.

1.1        Cllr Britton was proposed for the position for Chairman for one year by Cllr Albury and seconded by Cllr N Jupp.

1.2        Resolved – That Cllr Britton is duly elected as Chairman of the Communities, Highways and Environment Scrutiny Committee for a period of one year.

The Committee is asked to elect a Vice-Chairman for 2024-25.  If the election is contested, a secret ballot will be held in accordance with Standing Order 2.17.

2.1           Cllr Oakley was proposed for the position of Vice-Chairman for one year by Cllr Albury and seconded by Cllr Quinn.

2.2           Resolved – That Cllr Oakley is duly elected as Vice-Chairman of the Communities, Highways and Environment Scrutiny Committee for a period of one year.

Report by the Director of Law and Assurance.

The Committee is asked to review the membership of the Business Planning Group in view of the Chairman and Vice-Chairman appointments.   Since 23 January 2024 the membership has been Cllr Britton (Chairman), Cllr Oakley (vice-Chairman) and Cllrs Kenyon, Kerry-Bedell and Quinn (covering for Cllr Sharp).

3.1        Resolved – That the Committee appoints the following members to its Business Planning Group: Cllrs Britton, Oakley, Kenyon, Kerry-Bedell and Quinn.

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.

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

4.2        Cllr Burgess declared a personal interest as a councillor for Crawley Borough Council, under agenda item no 11.

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.

5.1     No urgent matters were raised.

The Committee is asked to agree the minutes of the meeting held on 4 March 2024 (cream paper).

6.1        Resolved – That the minutes of the meeting held on 4 March 2024 be approved as a correct record and be signed by the Chairman.

The Committee is asked to note the responses to recommendations made recent meetings.

7.1        That the Committee noted the responses to recommendations made at previous meetings.

7.2        Operation Watershed: A member thanked the Cabinet Members for the response but asked whether outputs of the dialogue could be made visible to the BPG or the Scrutiny Committee, e.g. were there any changes to the Terms of Reference to reflect how climate change and highway drainage might be forthcoming?

7.3        Additional funding needed going forward: A member felt there could have been a better response than “Noted”.  The Chairman agreed to take up with the Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport as to whether there is an appropriate time for the Scrutiny Committee to be able to monitor this through the setting of the 2025-26 budget.

7.4        Establishment of a steering group following a major incident: Members considered this response was not complete.  The Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport was asked to respond to the Scrutiny Committee by the next meeting on why they thought this was not necessary.

7.5        School Streets Project: Members asked for confirmation of when they would be able to see the outputs from the trial.

Report by the Assistant Director (Communities).

The Committee is asked to review the funding, how effectively it was spent, consider any learning and how this can best be taken forward.

Key Lines of Enquiry:

What support can the County Council offer to low income households in the event no more funding is forthcoming under this scheme

Whether the networks established with partners (particularly those in the third sector) be maintained once the remaining funds have been spent?

What the impact will be on our third sector partners once the remaining funds have been spent?

Under this item the Committee is also asked to scrutinise the sections of the report under item 11 relevant to the Community Support portfolio.

Members are reminded that only the performance data on Community Support in Section 4 (Community Support, Fire and Rescue Portfolio) falls within the remit of this Committee.

8.1        The Cabinet Member for Community Support, Fire and Rescue, Cllr Crow, introduced the report highlighting that the report covered the four previous rounds of Household Support Fund (HSF), and the current round five due to end on 30 September 2024 with no current indication of any continuation. 

8.2        Members of the Committee gave comments and asked questions and a summary of those questions and answers follows.

8.3        It was acknowledged that HSF funding levels had not kept up with the increase in inflation and rising costs.  This had been fed back to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).  The funding had been profiled to make it last throughout the full year as the demanding winter months come at the end of the funding period.  An increase in the number of children receiving free school meals had taken more from the funding for school holiday support.  The Cabinet Member highlighted that in addition to HSF funding, there had been other elements of Government help to residents, e.g. help with energy bills, the energy price cap, Universal Credit, etc, that residents were able to access. 

8.4        It was difficult to quantify if there had been an increase in demand, but the general feeling was that there had been.  Information collected for the DWP on fund spend was by a high-level numerical count rather than the profile of a person, but school data was per pupil.  Schemes such as the toiletries packs were anonymous, and no data was obtained.  It was acknowledged that households could have access to multiple funding options.

8.5        Communications with groups such as pensioners had been targeted with information through relevant organisations and there had also been other Government schemes, such as cost of living payments, to give them additional support.

8.6        HSFs 4 and 5 had included an option for the funding to be used for supplementary advice services and this had been welcomed as it was felt difficult to fully support residents without the advice offer.  It was hoped that with the reductions in inflation and cost-of-living pressures that demand would ease.

8.7        A member asked why there appeared to be a large difference between need and delivery, particularly in the Horsham area.  Officers reported that every district and borough was different, and the level of need varied.  Actions: Officers to provide more information on Horsham district.  Officers also agreed to provide some additional material by district and borough areas, on variations but it might take some time.

8.8        Information on the conclusion of HSF4 could be incorporated into the report on the Community Hub coming to the September meeting of the Scrutiny Committee.  Officers confirmed that it was hoped to maintain the Community Hub advice service. The County Council had no plans to engage with those who had received funds to assess how they would find alternative means of support going forward.  Work would take place with partners to understand if certain cohorts would be more significantly impacted. It was hoped that there were  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

Report by Assistant Director (Environment and Public Protection).

The Committee is asked to review the CAAP, including an update on progress against the Climate Change Strategy.

Key Lines of Enquiry:

Is the Council justified in not including Scope 3 emissions in our carbon baseline?

Have the unknown long-term financial implications of achieving and maintaining a carbon neutral position been adequately mitigated for?

Given that 96% of local authority carbon emissions arise from their supply chains, is there sufficient focus on reducing carbon emissions from within our supply chain?

Under this item the Committee is also asked to scrutinise the sections of the report under item 11 relevant to the Environment and Climate Change portfolio.

9.1        The Cabinet Member for Environment and Climate Change, Cllr Urquhart, introduced the report highlighting that the CAAP would be the key element in the delivery of the Climate Change Strategy to get County Council operations to carbon neutral by 2030. 

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

9.3        The County Council aspired to be carbon neutral by 2030 and it was felt this remained a realistic target. Currently there was no viable estimate on how much this might cost. The first three years of work is about improving understanding and sources of funding available to help. 

9.4        The County Council Procurement Team was collaborating with external suppliers to ensure they worked to reduce their carbon emissions, and many larger suppliers were already on the journey to carbon neutral, smaller businesses might need assistance.  The use of a carbon accounting tool was being considered with several options being available in the marketplace. 

9.5        The CAAP included several scenarios, including carbon offsetting and carbon credits. The aim was to work on reducing emissions at source, but the option of high-quality offsetting was available. The County Council estate would always be the first option for offsetting, then local offsetting followed by wider options. The cost of offsetting options is likely to increase in the future as demand grows. The County Council estate would not provide enough options to cover its own needs, so it was unlikely to be able to provide carbon credit for other organisations.  A Land Use Policy is being developed and at a suitable time will be available for the Committee to scrutinise.

9.6        It was hoped that investment in nature recovery would help with emissions and make land more resilient to flooding events. The County Council is looking to invest in nature recovery and sees this as a long-term investment to help with climate change. Work is also underway with local stakeholders such as the South Downs National Park authority, to create a joined-up landscape. Residents want to see options like this rather than decarbonisation of buildings. Work is underway with the Property and Assets team looking at parcels of County Council owned land which may be suitable for renaturing, and this would be an ongoing process as other parcels of land become available.

9.7        Over 300 Electric Vehicle (EV) charging points have been installed.  Currently Traffic Road Orders (TROs) have not been issued so spaces can be used by EV and non-EV users. Once EV charging demand rises TROs will issued so those charging/parking spots can only be used by EV vehicles.

9.8        The responsibility for approving planning applications for new housing developments rests with district and borough councils in West Sussex. It is up to them to negotiate with developers to encourage carbon reduction elements such as insulation, solar panels, etc. The ideal scenario would be for the Government to declare that all new build houses should be carbon neutral.

9.9        The County Council currently uses the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

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

The Committee is asked to review the progress of the policy.

Key Lines of Enquiry:

Are the draft recommendations for changes or amendments to the scheme (at Appendix A) the right ones?

Under para 7.1, what are the consequences for the Council if successful applicants to the Surplus Fund are unable to complete a scheme within the funding envelope?

Have the significant positive outcomes listed under 2.1 been noticed by users of the road network?

Are the schemes listed within Appendix B the right ones?

Should the Lane Rental network be expanded (currently 7% of roads within the County) be expanded? Or reduced?

10.1     The Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport, Cllr J Dennis, introduce the report and highlighted that an independent assessment of the scheme considered it to be running at an excellent level.

10.2     Members of the Committee gave comment and asked questions and a summary of those questions and answers follows.

10.3     The Lane Rental Scheme (LRS) covered 7% of the West Sussex road network, including A, B and C classified roads.  Actions: Officers to circulate to Committee members a link to the list of the roads currently included in the LRS on the County Council website and the criteria used in establishing which lengths of road should be included in the scheme. The roads included in the scheme had been decided following consultation with district, borough and parish councils.  A member asked what level of response there had been from parish councils. Action: Officers to investigate the level of parish council responses and report back.

10.4     The criteria of the scheme was being reviewed to look at the road network included and expand the road lengths included. Several members were very keen that some of the critical C roads in rural areas be considered. The scheme had encouraged utility companies and their contractors to be more proactive in how they undertake road works, e.g. not working during key commuter travel times, using new technology to reduce the need for large excavation work, intelligent traffic signals.

10.5     There was no evidence to suggest that utility companies working on parts of the highway network not covered by the LRS were taking longer because contractors were prioritising on areas falling within the LRS. The draft Network Management Plan considers the management of the entire highway network.

10.6     The Surplus Funds scheme is guided by the Department for Transport’s (DfT) aspirations and bids can be made. A member suggested a bid to establish a monitoring database. A DfT consultation had taken place with all local authorities to see if there would be support for using the funds on road maintenance.

10.7     A member asked, if £2,500 was the maximum charge per day, what was the average charge per day being charged? Action: Officers agreed to supply that figure to the Committee members.

10.8     A member asked if, with the introduction of the scheme, improvement had been anticipated and what level improvement was at e.g. below anticipated, above anticipated?  Action: Officers said any reduction was a success but would respond back to the member outside of the meeting.

10.9     A member asked, if the road network included in the LRS was increased to 10%, would there be sufficient staffing levels to deal with the additional work? The Cabinet Member reported that in recent months there had been a significant improvement in the number and quality of candidates coming forward with the necessary skill sets.

10.10  Resolved – That the Committee:

1.   Welcomes the update on the Lane Rental Scheme and considers that the scheme is working well and that the County Council is a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

Report by Director of Finance and Support Services, setting out the finance and performance position as at the end of March 2024.

The Committee is asked to examine the County Council’s corporate performance, finance, savings delivery and business performance for services within the remit of this Committee and to make any recommendations for actions to the relevant cabinet member.

Under this item the Committee is also asked to scrutinise the sections of the report under item 11 relevant to the Highways and Transport portfolio.

11.1     Members reviewed the Quarter 4 Performance and Resources Report and members of the committee asked questions and a summary of those questions and answers follows.

Communities

11.2     KPI33 - A member congratulated the Library Service on the dramatic increase in the use of virtual/digital library services by residents.

11.3     KPI34 – There was no single specific reason for the reduction in contacts at the Community Hub, however many residents now had greater knowledge of how to access support and there had been a reduction in the numbers of Ukrainian guests.

Finance

11.4     Coroner’s Service – Officers explained there were some costs around pathology as fewer people were entering the profession, making it difficult to find skilled pathologists instead requiring the use of agency-based pathologists.  Lobbying was underway to encourage pathology as a career path.  Investigations were also taking place into the possibility of employing a dedicated pathologist for the county. The service was also exploring non-invasive post-mortems but this would require a significant amount of start-up capital. Once investigations were completed information could be shared with the Committee. Inquests can take place for a complex variety of reasons, and it was difficult to pin down whether any pro-active health prevention work would help.  Lessons learned from inquests are shared as part of a formal legal process, although they largely applied to partners rather than the County Council.

11.5     Gypsy, Roma and Traveller Sites – Costs remained high because the County Council purchases energy at the business energy rate but supplies to residents at the domestic energy rate, absorbing the difference, along with increasing costs for sewerage arrangements in terms of frequency and market costs.

11.6     Resolved – That the Committee:

1.   Congratulates the Library Service for being shortlisted for two prestigious national libraries sector awards.

2.   Notes the problems in the Coroner’s Service relating to pathology services and looks forward to hearing more in the future about ways to lower costs, including the potential of employing a county-based pathologist.

3.   Recognises the dramatic positive increase under KPI33.

4.   Congratulates on the underspend on the 2023-24 budget.

Environment and Climate Change

11.7     KPI22 CO2 emissions from WSCC activities – A member asked why the figure was so high compared to the target, almost 35% over?  Officers reported the target had not been amended to reflect the new baseline.  The targets would be revised for the year 2024-25.  The member hoped the new target would be achievable, that the CAAP would help to move to the new target, and that it should demonstrate ambition and commitment.

11.8     Waste disposal tonnage – A member highlighted the significant impact the ‘switch off’ in early 2024 had made on tonnages and asked how often this happened, how much notice was given, and could it have been incorporated into the figures?  The Cabinet Member reported that the MBT was nearly 10 years old so whilst maintenance was planned there were also unplanned breakdowns that needed to be dealt with. 

11.9     Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) –  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11.

The Monitoring Officer received a request for call-in of the proposed decision by the Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport concerning Highways, Transport and Planning Delivery Programme 2024-25 HT01 (24/25) – decision published the Executive Decision Database on 4 April 2024.  The Monitoring Officer declined the request because a delay to the programme would have harmed the interests of the Council, and the decision became effective on 16 April 2024.

The Committee is asked to consider any value in its involvement in the development of the 2025-26 programme.

12.1     The Committee reviewed the report on the call-in of the decision on the Highways, Transport and Planning Delivery Programme 2024-25 HT01(24/25) taken by the Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport.

12.2     The Cabinet Member felt the call in had been raised as some members felt some geographical areas were getting more projects than others. However, the Cabinet Member reinforced that this changed each year and the programme was based on technical need. 

12.3     Resolved – That the Committee asked the Cabinet Member that, as the Work Programme is available on the County Council website, more background information should be linked to the Programme list to set out generic criteria for prioritising schemes.  

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

13.1     The Committee reviewed the Work Programme and the Forward Plan of key decisions and:

Future Meetings:

13.2     November 2024 – Serious Violence – A member asked whether this item should be later to feed into the Policy and Crime Commissioner’s (PCC) Strategy.  It was agreed that any outcomes from the discussion in November could be fed through as an opportunity to influence the PCC Strategy.  It was agreed it would be a good idea to invite the County Council representative on the PCC along to the meeting.  It was also suggested that the Committee be reminded of their responsibility in relation to crime and disorder scrutiny.

Issues yet to be Timetabled:

13.3     Flood Risk Management Strategy - The text box needs updating and there was concern expressed at the timescale.  An Executive Task and Finish Group (TFG) has been set up and it was hoped they would be in a position report by the end of 2024.

The next meeting of the Committee will be held on 16 September 2024 at 10.30 am at County Hall, Chichester.  Probable agenda items include:

·       Performance and Resources Report – Quarter 1 – 2024-25

·       Community Hub

·       Halewick Lane Battery Storage site

Any member wishing to place an item on the agenda for the meeting must notify the Director of Law and Assurance by Monday 2 September 2024.

14.1     The date of the next meeting would be held on 16 September 2024 at 10.30am.