Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Peter Graves and Cllr Hassan Akberali

  (i)       To receive declarations of disclosable pecuniary and other interests from Members in respect of any item to be considered at the meeting.

 (ii)       In accordance with the Officer Employment Procedure Rules, the Strategic Director - Corporate Resources, Kevin Foster, declares a disclosable personal interest (non-pecuniary) in any items concerning the companies of which he is a Council-appointed director.  The companies are listed in the attached schedule.  The interests are such that Mr Foster may advise on those items.

(iii)       In accordance with the Officer Employment Procedure Rules, the Head of Transformation, Digital and Customer Services, Adam Walther, declares a disclosable personal interest (non-pecuniary) in any items concerning the companies of which he is a Council-appointed director.  The companies are listed in the attached schedule.  The interests are such that Mr Walther may advise on those items.

The interests of the Strategic Director – Corporate Resources, Kevin Foster, and the Head of Transformation, Digital and Customer Services, Adam Walther, were referred to in the agenda. No further interests were declared.

To approve the minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 3^rd December 2024 as published.

It was noted that Councillor Akberali raised a point in the previous minutes regarding temporary CCTV in the Robin Hood Woods area. Beverley Kuchar clarified that the action was to review the possibility of enhancing CCTV, not to provide it. It was agreed that various options would be explored, and a further update would be provided to Councillor Akberali.

RESOLVED

That the minutes of the meeting of the Scrutiny Committee held on 3 December 2024 be approved and signed as a true and correct record.

To consider any business that the Chair rules may be dealt with under Section 100B(4) of the Local Government Act 1972.

There were no items of Urgent Business under Section 100B(4) of the Local Government Act 1972.

To review the Committee’s work programme, the draft Executive forward plan, and the recommendations and actions tracker.

Reporting Person: Cllr John Morley

Councillor Leach requested that the item regarding St John's Footbridge be added to the Work Programme for EPSC.

Councillor Kuipers queried on the actions arising for Thames Water subsequent to their attendance at the meeting on December 3, 2024. The Chair confirmed that he was still awaiting an update from Thames Water.

Following a query raised regarding action 19, Beverley Kuchar acknowledged that the terms of the Task and Finish Group had not been fully drafted.  It was noted that this would be progressed in future.

Regarding action 20, discussions with UK100, Councillor Kuipers expressed an interest in pursuing this, as this was an area of interest to her.

Please refer to your electronic copy of the most recent Performance Management Report.

Reporting Person: Cllr John Morley

No updates or topics for discussion were raised on this item.

For members to raise questions ahead of the Shareholders Executive meeting.

Reporting Person: Cllr John Morley

The Chair noted members' frustration that Sir Robert McAlpine representatives declined the invitation to attend the meeting and address safety concerns regarding the Hilton Hotel.  Instead the committee were requested to direct any enquiries regarding the Hilton Hotel to Victoria Square Woking Ltd directly.

Members discussed and suggested conducting an independent assessment of the building's safety and cladding panels, with Woking Borough Council selecting the assessor at Sir Robert McAlpine's expense. Other items raised included the prospect of compensation for businesses affected by the road closures.  It was also requested for Sir Robert McAlpine to provide all reports and information currently held regarding the building's safety to the Committee. Beverley Kuchar explained that the committee needed to be aware of not breaching any contractual obligations.

The Vice-Chair questioned whether there was any scope to maintain use of the road whilst preventing potential injury, along with the possibility of blacklisting companies in the future, and whether this was an option for Sir Robert McAlpine. Beverley explained that the wind speeds around the building had been monitored, and both Woking Borough Council and Surrey County Council's Highways teams  have been following processes to attend the site if required and to ensure swift action if needed, with Building Control responsibilities taking precedence. With regards to blacklisting companies, this would need to be raised with Legal Services.

The Chair asked whether a non-defamation clause was in place in the contract with Sir Robert McAlpine, given the tone of communications from the Council.  Kevin Foster could not comment on the specifics of the contract between Victoria Square Woking Ltd and Sir Robert McAlpine, however, all council contracts follow standard frameworks. Regardless of the clause, the Council will maintain a professional approach to communications. It was also emphasised that the Council needed to facilitate transparency while clarifying where responsibility lies. 

Beverley Kuchar  gave an update on the current status of the site. It was reported that Building Control were working with Sir Robert McAlpine daily, and were in a position where if the Council were unhappy with the pace of works taking place, it would step in and take immediate remedial action. At this stage this was not necessary as the Council were satisfied with the investigations being carried out. An oversight group had also been formed, and social media monitoring was taking place.

Councillor Martin queried about restricting cladding on future buildings in the borough to prevent further such incidents happening.  Beverley Kuchar explained that the use of cladding and specifics around building materials were controlled by national building safety regulations and enforced by Building Control. Within this framework, a discussion could be had for future developments, however the Council did not have ultimate control.

RECOMMENDED to the Shareholder Executive Commitee:

1.     That the Shareholder Executive Committee ask the following questions of Victoria Square Woking Limited in the next Shareholder Executive Committee meeting:

                           I.          What contractual assurances and guarantees will SRM offer regarding future issues and associated compensation.

                         II.          What compensation are SRM giving to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

To consider the approach to the re-procurement of waste contract.

Reporting Persons: Mark Tabner, Woking Borough Council & Steve Read, Joint Waste Solutions

A presentation by Steve Read from Joint Waste Solutions was held, in which the various options for waste collection provision were outlined, along with benefits and drawbacks of each. From this, the option to begin the reprocurement process was recommended as the lowest cost and risk option.

The strong working relationship between Woking Borough Council and Joint Waste Solutions was praised, as was the consideration in the report of reducing residual waste collection to encourage recycling. It was noted that of the four Councils included in the partnership, Woking is the only one who currently hold an alternative provision for street cleaning, and it was asked whether this should be factored into future costings in case of local government reform. Steve Read identified that a number of the other partners are also considering alternative provision for waste collection, and so the variation for both options would be costed.

The Vice-Chair raised the possibility of using either electric waste vehicles or previously owned vehicles, and asked about the impact this would have on the cost. Steve explained that the cost of a normal vehicle is around £250,000, however this would be approximately doubled for an electric vehicle, including the required charging infrastructure. This would, however, be discussed with potential service providers, along with the use of previously owned vehicles, provided they are not likely to face issues during the later stages of the contract.

The Chair asked for clarity on whether the recommendations from Joint Waste Solutions were definitely in the best interest of Woking, and not simply the majority of members of the partnership. Mark Tabner explained that this approach has worked well in the past, and that the recommendations were definitely in Woking's best interest.

A concern was raised regarding the tight timeline for the procurement process and the potential for contingency plans, including those involving the current provider. Steve explained that in the unlikely event that no providers expressed interest in the contract, this would be clear by the end of 2025 and the steps to form a LATCo would then be followed.  It was unlikely that Amey, the current provider, would wish to continue in any contract without a sizeable cost increase, above the rate the reprocurement process would require. Furthermore, the other councils in the partnership had serious reservations about continuing with the current provider.

The Chair asked whether there had been any scrutiny from the other partner authorities. Steve clarified that Mole Valley had expressed no concerns following their scrutiny process, Elmbridge is taking the discussion straight to full Council, and that Mole Valley had a scrutiny meeting due to take place in the coming days.

RESOLVED:

that the Procurement recommendation outlined by Joint Waste Solutions should be supported.

To report on the service plans of Environmental Health and Housing Standards

Reporting Person: Emma Bourne

Emma Bourne presented a report consisting of information from the three Environmental Health Service Plans these related to Food Safety, Health & Safety and Housing Standards.  The reports highlighted current demand, examples of existing enforcement work, current resources, future plans, and potential improvements.

Following a query regarding  the use of resources within the Environmental Health  team, Emma Bourne explained that whilst Housing Standards officers had a separate workstream, qualified Environmental Health officers worked across both Health & Safety and Food Safety, as well as several other areas. This allowed officers to be flexible and placed onto projects as needed. It was noted that there were other authorities who had dedicated teams for each workstream, with the resources Woking had available the flexibility was beneficial, however, additional officers were needed.

A further question concerned repeat offenders with regards to food hygiene, and any trends in enforcement. Emma explained that since the pandemic, there were some premises whose hygiene practices have fallen due to a reduction in staffing and less inspections. There were also premises that fluctuated in their compliance of food hygiene regulations, however this would be reflected in their public rating.

Councillor Leach queried if Brexit had impacted food safety for Woking residents. Emma explained that with food service staff returning to their home countries following Brexit, and reduced checks on products traveling to the UK through EU countries, some unsuitable food products may have slipped through the net.

A question was raised concerning reports of health & safety compliance issues identified within mortuaries in the area, following well-documented cases in the Midlands in recent months.  Emma confirmed that any issues identified in the borough  were minor and following revisits from Health & Safety officers, had now been rectified.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

To provide an update on the Directorate Risk Register.

Reporting Person: Beverley Kuchar

Beverley Kuchar presented the report to be taken as read. One area was highlighted as being high risk and increasing, which concerned the potential lack of suitable available Natural Green spaces. This was a requirement for both current and future housing developments to be progressed. The intention was to manage this risk down over the next quarter.

The Chair raised one query about the general risk of having the resources to deliver statutory services across the borough.  Beverley acknowledged this and expressed that this was a common risk among local authorities, and was being consistently managed.

RESOLVED

That the report be noted.

“That the press and public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of items 12 and 13 in view of the nature of the proceedings that, if members of the press and public were present during these items, there would be disclosure to them of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A, to the Local Government Act 1972.

Paragraph 3 – Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information).”

PART II – PRESS AND PUBLIC EXCLUDED

The Chairman moved, and the Vice-Chairman seconded that the press and public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of items 12 and 13.

RESOLVED:

That the press and public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of items 12 and 13 in view of the nature of the proceedings that, if members of the press and public were present during these items, there would be disclosure to them of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12a, to the Local Government Act 1972.

Paragraph 3 -Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information).

To consider the approach to the re-procurement of waste contract, with a focus on the appendices.

Reporting Persons: Mark Tabner, Woking Borough Council & Steve Read, Joint Waste Solutions

RESOLVED:

That the resolve be set out in the confidential minutes agreed.

To provide an update on the Directorate Risk Register.

Reporting Person: Beverley Kuchar

RESOLVED:

That the resolve be set out in the confidential minutes agreed.