Agenda and minutes

The Committee was advised of apologies from Councillors Bilal Akhtar, Sallie Barker, Geoff Davis, Steven Lee, and Katie Steel.  Councillors Philip Brooker and Vanessa King attended as substitutes for Councillors Sallie Barker and Steven Lee respectively.  

In accordance with the local Code of Conduct, a councillor is required to disclose at the meeting any Disclosable Pecuniary Interest (DPI) that they may have in respect of any matter for consideration on this agenda. Any councillor with a DPI must not participate in any discussion or vote regarding that matter and they must withdraw from the meeting immediately before consideration of the matter.

If that DPI has not been registered, the councillor must notify the Monitoring Officer of the details of the DPI within 28 days of the date of the meeting.

Councillors are further invited to disclose any non-pecuniary interest which may be relevant to any matter on this agenda, in the interests of transparency, and to confirm that it will not affect their objectivity in relation to that matter.

There were no disclosures of interest.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 22 July 2024.

The minutes of the meeting held on 22 July 2024 were approved.

A question session with Councillor Catherine Houston, Lead Councillor for Commercial Services.  Councillor Houston’s areas of responsibility: Building Control, Events, Heritage, Leisure, and Off-Street Parking.

The Chair introduced the Lead Councillor for Commercial Services, Councillor Catherine Houston.

During the ensuing discussion a number of questions were asked, and clarifications offered:

·       With reference to the energy use and ageing appearance of the Spectrum leisure centre, a member of the Committee asked about the options under consideration for the centre and suggested the value in scheduling the matter for review by an overview and scrutiny committee.  In response, the Lead Councillor for Commercial Services advised that the Spectrum had been built in the 1990s and received continued investment and upgrades throughout its life.  She indicated that the current contract ended in October 2025 and the appointment of a new operator was the first step in deciding the future of the facility.  The Lead Councillor for Commercial Services advised the meeting of possible grant opportunities to reduce energy usage at the leisure centre and the introduction of carbon-reduction measures.  She indicated that making the Spectrum more carbon neutral would be a key aspect of the new contract.

·       The Lead Councillor indicated the value in increasing the membership of the overview and scrutiny Leisure Partnership Agreement working group to help ensure a cross-party input into the procurement process.  In response to a question about the commitment involved in membership of the working group, the meeting was advised that it was expected the group might meet three or four times a year.  The Assistant Director, Commercial Services, indicated that the remit and expansion of the overview and scrutiny working group was to be considered later in the meeting.  He advised the Committee of the outline timetable for the procurement of an operator for the Council’s leisure facilities and indicated that the first meeting would take place the next day.

·       In reply to a question, the Lead Councillor for Commercial Services and the Assistant Director, Commercial Services, advised the meeting of current efforts to reduce energy usage at the Spectrum, including the installation of pool blankets and shower aerators.  The Assistant Director, Commercial Services, indicated that the life expectancy of the Spectrum building exceeded the period of the new 10-15 year contract.

·       In reply to a question about pavement parking, the Lead Councillor for Commercial Services confirmed that the issue was the responsibility of Surrey County Council and suggested that residents affected raise the issue with their county councillor.  The Lead Councillor for Commercial Services suggested the value of the former Guildford Joint Committee in dealing with such issues.

·       In response to a question about a petition for year-round-swimming at the Lido and the financial viability of such a proposal, the Lead Councillor for Commercial Services advised that the Lido ran at a loss of £140k per year and keeping the facility open for winter swimming would be challenging.  She advised the Committee of current works fitting new boilers at the Lido, in addition to the installation of pool blankets and winter maintenance.  The Lead Councillor for Commercial Services indicated that she hoped out of season activity at the  ...  view the full minutes text for item OSS18

The Lead Councillor for Community and Organisational Development apologised for attending remotely.  The Assistant Director, Community Services, introduced the report submitted to the Committee.  She advised that the Council participated in supporting refugees through three central government led schemes: ARAP (Afghanistan Relocation and Assistance Policy), Community Sponsorship, and the Homes for Ukraine Scheme.  The Assistant Director, Community Services, explained the role of the Council’s refugee and resettlement team.  With reference to the closure of an asylum bridging hotel in the east of the Borough, the Committee was informed that the next central government asylum dispersal scheme was unknown but due to the constant nature of the issue an initiative was to be expected. 

The Assistant Director, Community Services, indicated that the Council’s refugee and resettlement team employed a number of Ukrainians, which helped in particular with the Homes for Ukraine scheme. 

During the ensuing discussion a number of issues were raised and responded to:

·       The Committee was informed that the Council’s refugee and resettlement team consisted of two staff members, plus an additional staff member from regulatory services completing relevant housing compliance checks and a housing officer working specifically on the resettlement schemes.

·       In reply to a question about the resourcing of the refugee schemes, the Assistant Director, Community Services, advised that the funding of the refugee schemes as such was not the main issue, rather there was a need for central government to adequately support statutory services such as education and mental health services.

·       A Committee member thanked the Assistant Director, Community Services, and the Family Support Team Leader – Refugee and Resettlement Lead, for their work at the East Horsley hotel used to house asylum seekers. 

·       In reply to a question, the Committee was advised that Guildford Borough had one of the highest intakes of refugees within Surrey.  The meeting was informed that an increase in refugees from Ukraine was expected during the winter.  The Assistant Director, Community Services, praised Guildford’s church network and indicated that many of the refugee hosts belonged to church communities. 

·       With reference to support for Ukrainian children, a member of the Committee questioned the Council’s involvement with schools.  In reply, the Assistant Director, Community Services, stated that direct involvement with schools was limited to occasions when issues arose.

·       In reply to a question about the Council’s efforts to encourage host families for refugees, the Assistant Director, Community Services, suggested the reduction in hosts could be attributed to the cost of living crisis and the impacts from dealing with the traumatic experiences of refugees.  In addition, the meeting was advised that many of the Ukrainian refugees wanted independence and had viewed staying with a host as a stepping stone.

·       The Assistant Director, Community Services, stated that while there was continuous marketing to attract people to be hosts, coverage of events in the news tended to encourage potential hosts to come forward.  The Lead Councillor for Community and Organisational Development spoke of the efforts across the local area to help refugees and suggested the report  ...  view the full minutes text for item OSS19

The Senior Democratic Services Officer (Scrutiny) introduced the item.  He indicated that the report submitted to the Committee outlined the work undertaken by overview and scrutiny (O&S) during the past municipal year and the ongoing work programmes of the Council’s two O&S committees.  In addition, the Senior Democratic Services Officer (Scrutiny) advised the meeting that the four decisions taken during the past municipal year under the urgency provisions were outlined in section 11 and detailed in appendix two of the report. 

The Senior Democratic Services Officer (Scrutiny) advised that on 10 September the Overview and Scrutiny Committee – Resources had considered the O&S Annual Report and agreed to the suggestion at section 18.3; namely, that all key decisions taken as a general exception would be reported by the Leader of the Council at the next ordinary meeting of full Council.  The Committee was informed that this change would improve confidence that key decisions are made under the general exception provisions only when there were good reasons for doing so.

With reference to the resourcing of O&S, the Committee was informed that the Overview and Scrutiny Committee – Resources had recommended to full Council that the O&S budget of £5k be re-established.

With reference to the discussion during the Lead Councillor question session item, the Committee was reminded of the need to widen the remit of the O&S working group setup to scrutinise the monitoring of the Leisure Partnership Agreement contract to include looking at the tender process for the new contract.

A member of the Committee questioned whether, following the meeting of the Corporate Governance and Standards Committee on 26 September, Section 106 contributions and related issues would be reported to overview and scrutiny.  In response, the meeting was updated on the outcome of the Corporate Governance and Standards Committee meeting on 26 September and informed that further discussions were to be held regarding the appropriate forum for the reporting and monitoring of Section 106 funds. 

RESOLVED:  (I) That the report submitted to the Committee be commended to full Council as the Overview and Scrutiny Annual Report, 2023-24.

(II)  That the current rules relating to call-in and the urgency provisions remain unchanged, subject to the addition that whenever the general exception provisions are used to take key decisions in accordance with Access to Information Procedure Rule 15 the details of those decisions shall be reported by the Leader to the next ordinary meeting of the Council.

(III)  That an Overview and Scrutiny budget of £5k per annum be re-established.

(IV)  That the remit of the overview and scrutiny Leisure Partnership Agreement working group be expanded to include scrutiny of the process of procuring the new leisure contract and that nominations for additional members be sought.