Purpose

For the Shadow Executive to consider granting consent to sovereign authority transactions that fall within the Section 24 Direction and are not covered by the agreed General Consents.

Decision

RESOLVED That

(i)         the proposed amendments to the General Consent, as attached at appendix 8 of the report, be approved and the Interim Monitoring Officer be authorised to update the document within the West Surrey Shadow Authority Constitution;

(ii)        consent be provided to Runnymede Borough Council to enter into an agreement for the acquisition of land and the development of affordable housing to be held within the Housing Revenue Account;

(iii)        consent be provided to enter into a Conditional Purchase Agreement for the acquisition of two parcels of land at Hale Road, Farnham, as shown edged blue on the site plan at Appendix 2 of the report, in accordance with the Heads of Terms set out in Appendix 2b of the report, subject to a review of the cash flow integrity by the Interim Section 151 Officer in consultation with the relevant Waverley Borough Council Officer; 

(iv)       consent be provided for a Lease Extension at 34 Killicks from the current 125-year lease at £1 p.a. from 1 November 1985 for a further 90 years with leaseholder premium payable of £3,650; 

(v)        consent be provided for a lease extension at 35 Killicks from the current 125-year lease at £1 p.a. from 1 November 1985 for a further 90 years with leaseholder premium payable of £3,650;

(vi)       consent be provided to external recruitment and new employment contracts for the roles at Guildford and Waverley Councils specified in the appendix to the report;

(vii)       it be noted that Surrey County Council had received the Experts at Hand grant provided by the Department for Education to implement elements of the SEND Reform programme for the 2026/27 financial year, and that both East Surrey and West Surrey Councils would receive an equivalent value of this grant, subject to a formal assessment of the respective needs and resources required to implement the Experts at Hand model, in both 2027/28 and 2028/29;

(viii)      consent be provided to Surrey County Council to enter into employment contracts, following a recruitment process, for a range of expert and support roles aligned to the budget outlined in paragraph 18 of this paper, on a permanent basis, to enable Surrey County Council and latterly both East and West Councils to implement the Experts at Hand model across the county. Authority be delegated to the Head of Paid Service , in consultation with the relevant Portfolio Holder, to flex the resourcing model as required, within the agreed budget allocation;

(ix)       consent be granted to Surrey County Council under Section 24 of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 to commission a specialist outreach offer and Alternative Provision Specialist Taskforce, as part of the Experts at Hand model and to provide a report to the West Surrey Executive on the offer affecting years 27/28 and 28/29; and

(x)        consent be provided to Waverley Borough Council to enter into a contract extension for its Waste Collection and Street Cleansing Contract and procure new vehicles up to a maximum sum of £9 million to deliver the contract.