Minutes:
The Leader informed the Council that Surrey Leaders’ Group, along with Surrey Chief Executives, had been discussing the role of boroughs and districts in the County Deal bid being prepared by Surrey County Council (SCC).
Members were reminded that the Executive had recently agreed a funding scheme for charities and not for profit organisations to help set up Warm Banks in the borough. Additional seating was also being provided in the Square. Is was also advised that, by end of September, £2.5m had been distributed to households in Council Tax Bands A-D as part of the Energy Rebate Scheme, and a further £33,000 had been distributed to residents in need as part of the discretionary scheme. The efforts of the Council’s Revenues and Benefits team in distributing these grants was recognised.
The Leader referred to the impact of the Bin Strike in August. He reported that Food Waste and Refuse had continued to be collected during the 2 week period of industrial action and Green Waste customers had received extensions to their contracts to reflect any disruption to the service.
The Council was informed that SCC had confirmed its intention to centralise the operation of its grounds maintenance, including the maintenance of highway grass verges, and the enforcement of on-street parking, which had previously been undertaken by the borough and district authorities. SCC was expecting to have the new arrangements in place by April 2023.
It was reported that the Mindenhurst construction team had received a rating of outstanding following an inspection by assessors from the Considerate Constructors Scheme; the construction team had received maximum scores for all three categories against which it was assessed, which included Respect for the Community, Care for the Environment, and Valuing the Site’s Workforce.
The Leader welcomed Martin Breeden, the new Head of Investment & Development, who had recently joined the Council, and informed Members that Sally Kipping had been appointed to the role of Head of HR, Performance & Communications earlier that month. He also extended his thanks to Louise Livingston, the current Head of HR, Performance & Communications for all of her work and wished her well in her new role at Wokingham BC.