Issue - meetings

Councillor Mrs Vivienne Chapman referred Members to the elements of her brief as Community Portfolio Holder. She noted that the Council would continue to face a number of challenges in her areas of responsibility, notably around funding streams, the projected increase in the proportion of the community over 85 and most services being discretionary. She highlighted, in particular, the following:

Community Services – The Council was expanding a successful telecare package, including community alarms, pill dispensers, an extensive range of sensors and detectors including gas, CO2, fall and smoke alarms, plus GPS tracking and care calls for people with dementia. In addition, the Council ran a growing ‘meals at home’ service, 365 days a year and a well-used ‘Dial a Ride’ service, for which there were a number of plans for expansion.

The Windle Valley Day Centre was now providing day care, Monday to Friday, 8.30 a.m. to 4.30 p.m. with a combination of trained carers and volunteers, plus a hairdresser and foot health practitioner. A Saturday Club had now been opened for both people living with dementia and their carers.

Members were advised that, if they were aware of any residents who would benefit from a befriender service, they should contact the Operations Manager for Community Services.

Members highlighted concerns on the impact of future funding cuts. It was, however, noted that the Council was working with other councils and partner organisations to mitigate any impacts. The Executive Head of Community agreed to circulate details of funding streams for the period up to 2020.

Environmental Health – The Council had a team of 7 Environmental Officers covering a range of duties, including food safety, health and safety, air quality monitoring, statutory nuisance investigation and control, dog control and pest control, including an out of hours service. The Home Improvement Agency would be transferring to Regulatory Services, to have all functions under one service.

Recycling and Refuse – In 2014/15, the Council had recycled or composted 63% of municipal waste produced, making the Authority the top performing Council in Surrey and 4^th in the UK. In dry recyclables, the Council was the top performing Council in the UK. This area would be the subject of a report later in the agenda.

The Council was participating in a Joint Waste Contract, with Woking, Mole Valley, Elmbridge Borough Councils and Surrey County Council and was in an advanced stage of negotiations with 3 tenderers.

Traveller Sites – The Council currently managed 2 sites on behalf of Surrey County Council (SCC), but SCC would be taking back management in September 2016.

Members queried what contingency plans were in place for illegal incursions. The Executive Head of Community referred Members to the close work in this area between Environmental Heath Officers, the Council’s Legal Services Team and Surrey Police. The Executive Head of Regulatory Services outlined the measures in place for incursions onto Council Land. She emphasised, however, that the Council had no powers over private land.

Councillor Chris Pitt reported on the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3