Agenda, decisions and minutes

To receive declarations of any Disclosable Pecuniary Interests or other registrable or non-registrable interests from Members in respect of any item to be considered at the meeting.

No declarations of any Disclosable Pecuniary Interests or other registrable or non-registrable interests were made by Members in respect of any items considered at the meeting.

Under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the Committee may pass a resolution to exclude the public from the Meeting on the grounds that the business involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Act (as amended) and that pursuant to paragraph 10 of Part 2 of the said Schedule 12A the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

The Committee unanimously agreed that Press and Public be excluded from the meeting in accordance with Section 100A (4) of the Local Government Act 1972 on the grounds that the business involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Act (as amended) and that pursuant to paragraph 10 of Part 2 of the said Schedule 12A the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighed the public interest in disclosing the information.

During the Committee’s debate on item 2 of the agenda (RELATE funding 2025/26), the Committee considered that due to the sensitivity of the information contained within Appendix 2 to the report, an exclusion of the Press and Public would be necessary in order to enable effective debate on the matter in question.

The Chair proposed a motion that the Press and Public be excluded from the meeting in accordance with Section 100A (4) of the Local Government Act 1972 on the grounds that the business involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Act (as amended) and that pursuant to paragraph 10 of Part 2 of the said Schedule 12A the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighed the public interest in disclosing the information.

The Committee agreed unanimously in favour of the motion.

This report considers options for future funding arrangements for RELATE Mid and East Surrey for 2025-2027.

The Committee resolved (6 for, 2 abstaining) to:

(1)          Agree to Option 3.

The Committee received a report considering options for future funding arrangements for RELATE Mid and East Surrey for 2025-2027.

The Committee considered the following matters in public:

a)            General Clarifications. In response to questions from Members, the Head of Housing and Community confirmed that RELATE, who also operated in Mole Valley and Reigate & Banstead, did not receive subsidised rent from either of those Councils. He stated that RELATE had confirmed that the data they had provided, as seen at appendix 1 to the report, was in respect of Epsom & Ewell residents only.

b)            Delay in Receiving Service Data from RELATE. In response to a question from a Member, the Head of Housing and Community suggested that the delay in receiving service data from RELATE was likely on account of a clerical error on their part, as the Council’s original request for the information coincided closely with a change in management within RELATE.

The summary of the Committee’s debate that took part following the exclusion of the Press and Public is recorded in a separate (not for publication) restricted minute.

Following consideration, the Committee resolved (6 for, 2 abstaining) to:

(1)          Agree to Option 3.