Agenda, decisions and minutes

To take any questions from members of the Public.

Please note: Members of the Public are requested to inform the Democratic Services Officer before the meeting begins if they wish to ask a verbal question to the Committee.

No questions were asked or had been submitted by members of the public.

No questions were asked or had been submitted by members of the public.

Members are asked to declare the existence and nature of any Disclosable Pecuniary Interests in respect of any item of business to be considered at the meeting.

No declarations of interest were made by Councillors in items on this agenda.

No declarations of interest were made by Councillors in items on this agenda.

The Committee is asked to confirm as a true record the Minutes of the Meeting of the Committee held on 14 June 2016 (attached) and to authorise the Chairman to sign them.

The Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 14 June 2016 were agreed as a true record and signed by the Chairman.

The Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 14 June 2016 were agreed as a true record and signed by the Chairman.

This report presents the Community & Wellbeing Committee with the Report of the Scrutiny Review Task Group on its Review of Venues – Bourne Hall and Hook Road Arena, approved by the Audit, Crime & Disorder and Scrutiny Committee.

Following consideration, the Committee:

(1)          Received the Report of the Scrutiny Review Task Group on Bourne Hall and Hook Road Arena (approved by the Audit, Crime & Disorder and Scrutiny Committee 11 October 2016);

(2)          Agreed to establish a working party comprising the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Community & Wellbeing Committee and Officers to undertake any agreed further investigations into securing improvements at Bourne Hall and Hook Road Arena;

(3)          Supported the £82,000 refurbishment of the kitchen at Bourne Hall from the repairs and renewals fund as contained within the 2016/17 revenue budget and noted that the Strategy and Resources Committee would be requested to consider this release of funds;

(4)          Agreed to receive a fully costed business case identifying the funding sources for each project prior to the commencement of any improvement works at Bourne Hall.

The Committee received a report produced by the Scrutiny Review Task Group with regard to its review of venues – Bourne Hall and Hook Road Arena. The Scrutiny Review Task Group’s report had been approved by the Audit, Crime & Disorder and Scrutiny Committee at its meeting of 27 October 2016.

The Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Audit, Crime & Disorder and Scrutiny Committee were in attendance, and provided the meeting with a verbal summary of the Scrutiny Review Task Group’s report.

The Committee considered the report and the following matters were noted:

a)            Scrutiny Reviews of Epsom Playhouse and Ewell Court House. It was noted that the Scrutiny Review Task Group would undertake reviews of Epsom Playhouse and Ewell Court House during 2017.

b)            Bourne Hall Museum. It was noted that the Scrutiny Review Task Group had recommended that the Bourne Hall Museum should continue to be operated as it was under current arrangements, and felt that it was a valuable asset to the Borough. The Committee noted that it was not currently possible to accurately measure the number of visitors to the museum. The possibility of introducing a voluntary donation for visitors was raised.

c)            Bourne Hall catering contract  arrangements. The Committee considered that confirmation of event and banquet catering arrangements for Bourne Hall was of great importance to the commercial success of the venue. Officers informed the Committee that it was intended to have new catering arrangements formalised and in place by April 2017.

d)            Bourne Hall kitchen refurbishment. The Committee was informed that works to refurbish the kitchen at Bourne Hall would cost £32,000 more than the initial estimate included within the committee report, of £50,000. The cost of the works were therefore estimated to be £82,000. The Committee was informed that this additional cost was due to the need to replace the wiring, extraction and drainage systems for the kitchen and undertake asbestos removal. It was noted that if the Committee supported the proposed refurbishment of the kitchen at £82,000, it would be necessary to request the Strategy and Resources Committee to approve the release of the additional funding required.

It was noted that if the refurbishment was approved, a formal tender exercise would be undertaken, and that the works would be project managed by the Council’s Head of Venues and Facilities. It was anticipated that if approved, the works would begin in January 2017 and be completed by the end of February 2017.

Following consideration, the Committee:

(1)          Received the Report of the Scrutiny Review Task Group on Bourne Hall and Hook Road Arena (approved by the Audit, Crime & Disorder and Scrutiny Committee 11 October 2016);

(2)          Agreed to establish a working party comprising the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Community & Wellbeing Committee and Officers to undertake any agreed further investigations into securing improvements at Bourne Hall and Hook Road Arena;

(3)          Supported the £82,000 refurbishment of the kitchen at Bourne Hall from the repairs and renewals fund as contained within  ...  view the full minutes text for item 13.

This report considers the general future support of voluntary organisations in 2017/18.

Following consideration, the Committee:

(1)          Approved the proposed support for voluntary organisations in 2017/18, as detailed in Annexe 1 to the report.

Note: The Committee noted that the Chairman and Vice Chairman would write to Surrey County Council to express the Committee’s support for Carers of Epsom and its concerns that services to residents could be adversely affected if the County Council decided that it would take an alternative approach to service provision.

The Committee received a report requesting its consideration of proposed support for voluntary organisations in 2017/18.

The following matter was considered:

a)            Changes to support provided by Surrey County Council to Carers of Epsom. Members of the Committee had been informed that Surrey County Council was considering a review of its support for Carers of Epsom. The Committee expressed its support for Carers of Epsom, and the services which it provided residents of the Borough. It was noted that the Chairman and Vice Chairman would write to Surrey County Council to express the Committee’s support, and its concerns that services to residents could be adversely affected by the review.

Following consideration, the Committee:

(1)          Approved the proposed support for voluntary organisations in 2017/18, as detailed in Annexe 1 to the report.

East Surrey Outreach Service (e.S.O.S) is an assertive outreach service for rough sleepers and non-priority-need homeless people.

Current funding for the project finishes on 31 March 2017 and further funding of £25,000 is required to continue the service for 2017/18. The three other partner local authorities are seeking further approval for match funding.

Following consideration, the Committee:

(1)          Requests the Strategy and Resources Committee, as part of the 2017/18 budget setting process, to consider a growth bid in relation to the 2017/18 Budget of up to £25,000 to enable the ESOS Outreach Service to continue.

The Committee received a report requesting approval to funding for the continuation of the East Surrey Outreach Service (e.S.O.S.) in 2017/18. Funding of up to £25,000 was requested for the continuation of the service.

The following matters were considered:

a)            Availability of external funding. The Housing Operations Manager informed the Committee that it was hoped that funding for the continuation of the service would be received from Government grant, as a fund of £10m had recently been announced. If such grant funding was received, it would reduce the funding required from the Council.

b)            Agreement of local authorities. The Committee noted that e.S.O.S. was currently funded by (and operated in) Mole Valley, Epsom and Ewell, Reigate and Banstead and Tandridge Boroughs/Districts. Each Council would consider whether it wished to continue to support the service. The Committee was informed that if an authority withdrew its support for e.S.O.S., Officers anticipated that the service would continue and would be reduced in size to operate only in those areas which provided funding.

Following consideration, the Committee:

(1)          Requested the Strategy and Resources Committee, as part of the 2017/18 budget setting process, to consider a growth bid in relation to the 2017/18 Budget of up to £25,000 to enable the ESOS Outreach Service to continue.

This report details the performance to date and the potential year end outturn of the Venues income & Subsidy.

Following consideration, the Committee:

(1)          Noted the update in regards to the Venues income & subsidy.

(2)          Agreed that this report no longer be presented at each meeting of the Committee, and that information regarding venues income and subsidies instead be provided to Members on a quarterly basis via the quarterly monitoring report and Members’ Update document.

The Committee received a report providing details on performance of the Council’s venues, and a potential end-of-year outturn with regards to income and subsidy.

The following matters were considered:

a)            Consideration of venues income and subsidy updates in the future. Officers proposed that information regarding venues performance be directly provided to Members of the Committee via email and the “Members’ Update” document in future, rather than as a Committee report. This would enable the information to be provided to Committee Members in a more timely manner.

b)            Ewell Court House steps. The Committee was informed that the steps onto the lawn area at Ewell Court House had still not been completed. Concern at this had been raised with the managing director of the contractor responsible for the works, and the importance of the works to the local community had been communicated. The contractor had undertaken to provide Officers with an emergency plan for completion of the works within the next 24 hours.

Following consideration, the Committee:

(1)          Noted the update in regards to the Venues income & subsidy.

(2)          Agreed that this report no longer be presented at each meeting of the Committee, and that information regarding venues income and subsidies instead be provided to Members on a quarterly basis via the quarterly monitoring report and Members’ Update document.

This report informs the Committee of the Council’s revenue budgets targets approved by the Strategy & Resources Committee.  The report seeks support for changes to services and any further guidance on the preparation of the Committee’s service estimates for 2017/18 and for the next 2 financial years.

Following consideration, the Committee:

(1)          Noted the implications of the budget targets approved by the Strategy & Resources Committee;

(2)          Supported the changes to services and savings identified in section 3.3 of the report and that these be included within the budget presented to the Committee in January 2017, subject to the item “Venues service review” (£64,000) being removed from the list;

(3)          Supported in principle the future savings options as set out in 3.4 of the report for further work and inclusion in the Medium Term Financial Strategy;

(4)          Endorsed the work streams as set out in 3.6 of the report;

(5)          Noted the approach to be taken in the identification of additional savings to be generated to address the Council-wide funding gap of £220,000 as identified in section 3.8 of the report.

The Committee received a report informing it of the budget targets approved by the Strategy and Resources Committee, and seeking guidance on preparation of its service estimates.

It was noted that an entry for “Venues service review” (valued at £64,000) included in Table 1, paragraph 3.3 of the report should be removed from the list of savings for 2017/18.

Following consideration, the Committee:

(1)          Noted the implications of the budget targets approved by the Strategy & Resources Committee;

(2)          Supported the changes to services and savings identified in section 3.3 of the report and that these be included within the budget presented to the Committee in January 2017, subject to the item “Venues service review” (£64,000) being removed from the list;

(3)          Supported in principle the future savings options as set out in 3.4 of the report for further work and inclusion in the Medium Term Financial Strategy;

(4)          Endorsed the work streams as set out in 3.6 of the report;

(5)          Noted the approach to be taken in the identification of additional savings to be generated to address the Council-wide funding gap of £220,000 as identified in section 3.8 of the report.

This report provides an update against our Key Priority Performance Targets for 2016 to 2017, under our new Corporate Plan.

Following consideration, the Committee:

(1)          Noted the performance reported in Annexe 1 to the report, and did not identify any areas of concern.

The Committee received a report providing an update against Key Priority Performance Targets for 2016/17.

Following consideration, the Committee:

(1)          Noted the performance reported in Annexe 1 to the report, and did not identify any areas of concern.

The references to Officers outstanding as at 8 November 2016.

The Committee noted the outstanding references detailed in the Annexe to the report.

The Committee received and noted the outstanding references to Officers.