The Waverley Borough Council meeting included a discussion about a new gambling policy for the borough, the adoption of the new Corporate Strategy 2024-2028, and the proposed changes to the council's constitution.

Gambling Policy Review

The meeting included a discussion of a report about the proposed changes to the Gambling Policy 2025-2028.

The report, by Paul Hughes, the Licensing and Environmental Enforcement Manager, says that the Licensing and Regulatory Committee was being asked to consider the responses from the public consultation on the Gambling Policy and to make recommendations to the Council for changes to the policy.

The committee received two responses to the consultation. The first was from GamCare, which describes itself as an independent charity and the leading provider of information, advice, and support for anyone affected by gambling harms. In their response GamCare welcomed the council's proactive approach to gambling but suggested they develop a local picture of the level of gambling harms, in order to best target resources and tailor service provision. The response also recommended the council commit to a public health approach to gambling.

The second response to the consultation came from Councillor Steve Williams, who suggested that the policy consultation should include engagement with relevant agencies concerned with gambling addiction such as the NHS. Mr Hughes's report says that the NHS Healthy Surrey team had been contacted and informed about the consultation.

The report also includes a draft of the revised Gambling Policy for the period 2025-2028, which includes a number of changes from the previous policy. The changes include updates to take into account the Gambling Commission guidance to Licensing Authorities published in April 2021, updated guidance published in April 2023, and the responses to the public consultation.

According to the report, the proposed policy will both guide the Council in exercising its licensing functions under the Gambling Act 2005 and provide clarity for applicants for licensing and for residents and others, including interested parties.

Proposed Changes to Local Choice Functions

The Council were asked to consider a report concerning proposed changes to the Local Choice functions.

Local Choice functions’ were those which may be the responsibility of either the Council or the Executive, under the Local Authorities (Functions & Responsibilities) (England) Regulations 2000. They were prescribed in legislation and each local authority had to set out in its Constitution who would have the responsibility for exercising them.

The report says that the proposed changes are intended to align Waverly's Local Choice functions with those of Guildford Borough Council where appropriate.

The report also says that Waverley Borough Council had previously included a paragraph in their Local Choice functions:

to allow their appeals panel to hear all staffing appeals.

The report says that this is not in accordance with legislation, and that:

staffing was not a ‘Local Choice’ function as it was a matter for the Head of Paid Service under their statutory role, other than for matters which related to Chief Officers/Deputy Chief Officers.

Corporate Strategy 2024-2028

A report about the new Corporate Strategy for the period 2024-2028 was included for discussion.

According to the report, the strategy sets out:

the priorities and ambitions through to 2028 and was crucial to shaping service delivery and the allocation of resources to these priorities.

The report says that the strategy had been considered by the Overview & Scrutiny Committees and the Executive, and that the Executive recommends that it be adopted.

Review of Numerical Allocation of Seats on Committees to Political Groups

A report was provided that asked the Council to:

agree the numerical allocation of committee seats to political Groups in line with the overall political proportionality of the Council and appoint Councillors to the Committees established by Annual Council on 21 May 2024, in accordance with the statutory requirements for political balance.

The report says that the Council was required to review the allocation of seats on Committees to political groups:

as soon as reasonably practicable following any change in the political constitution of the Council.

Interim Approach to Creating Joint Posts

A report was included for discussion concerning the introduction of Joint Posts between Waverley and Guildford Borough Councils.

The report says that Joint Posts were being introduced as part of a restructure in the Legal and Democratic Services department, and that:

there was a dependency on a salary benchmarking exercise to confirm what salary uplift should be applied to these new joint posts.

It also says that the restructure was taking place alongside a review of the Transformation and Collaboration Programme.

The report says that the:

creation of joint posts presented a further enhancement in the collaborative working across both councils.

It also says that:

Joint Posts could deliver additional resilience, reduced risk and improved service delivery and resident/customer experience.

Report of the Independent Remuneration Panel on Members' Allowances

The meeting included a discussion of a report on the recommendations of the Independent Remuneration Panel (IRP) on councillors' allowances. The panel's recommendations are attached as an appendix to the report.

The report says that the Council is:

to consider the IRP’s recommendations for a new scheme of allowances, together with the amended recommendations of the Executive, prior to determining a new scheme of councillors’ allowances to come into effect on 1 April 2025.

The Executive's amended recommendations are:

• An increase in the basic allowance for all 50 councillors from £5,844.84 to £6,200.06.
• Removing the current tax-free status of the first £633 from the basic allowance.
• Enhancing the roles of Chair of Scrutiny Committees, Chair of Planning Committee and the Principal Opposition Leader to 100% of the basic allowance.
• Introducing a new role of Political Group Leader at Tier 6, but this would only be payable if they were not undertaking another SRA role.
• Updating the current percentages to the Tier system to demonstrate clarity and transparency.
• Including a new Dependents' Carers' Allowance in the scheme of allowances.
• Co-optees to the Council would receive 5% of the Basic Allowance for their duties.

The report also notes that:

The purpose of the scheme of allowances is to create a schedule of remuneration that will support and enable councillors to execute their roles across a range of governance duties and responsibilities. A successful scheme will enable any local person, regardless of their income and status, to be able to stand for election and fulfil the roles of office without experiencing the deterrent of financial disadvantage.

Motion - Remote Meetings

Councillor Victoria Kiehl gave notice of a motion about remote meetings.

The motion notes that:

The Local Government Act 1972 currently does not permit councillors to participate in council meetings unless they attend in person.

It also notes that:

during the COVID-19 pandemic, the temporary ability to hold remote council meetings under the Coronavirus Act 2020 demonstrated the effectiveness and increased accessibility of such arrangements.

The motion therefore resolves that the Council should:

work alongside other like-minded local authorities and representative bodies to lobby the UK Parliament and the Government, requesting an amendment to the Local Government Act 1972, to delegate power to councils to conduct hybrid (in person and remote) council meetings, based on their judgment and specific needs.

The motion also asks that the Leader writes to Jeremy Hunt MP, Greg Stafford MP, and Chris Coghlan MP:

requesting they raise this issue in the House of Commons via any relevant mechanisms.

Finally, the motion asks that if the law is changed, the Council request:

a report from officers on the next steps and options for Council to consider and discuss.

Motion - Carbon Capture

Councillor Liz Townsend gave notice of a motion concerning Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage.

The motion commends the Government's efforts to meet UK climate targets. However, it goes on to say that:

while welcoming the ending of the ban on on-shore wind, we consider that the allocation of £22 billion alone for Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage is misdirected.

The motion then outlines the Council's view that:

carbon capture does not mitigate against the need for decarbonisation projects leading to direct reductions in carbon emissions;

the technology is not proven to be cost-effective or scalable enough to address the climate crisis;

given the budgetary limitations, resources could be more effectively deployed by expenditure on measures such as improving the energy efficiency of buildings and the generation of renewable energy.

The motion therefore proposes that the Leader of the Council should write to Sarah Jones, the Minister of State at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, and the Department for Business and Trade. The motion proposes that the letter requests:

a significant proportion of the proposed UK government expenditure on carbon capture is diverted into climate-related projects utilising known technologies that will provide reductions in our carbon footprint;

the government provides subsidies for the insulation and retrofitting of homes to improve their energy efficiency and reduce energy bills;

the government provides additional financial support to councils to enable them to retrofit their existing social housing stock and build new social housing stock to the highest standards of energy efficiency.

Finally, the motion reiterates the Council's previous request:

for the allocation of earmarked funding to support local authorities which have declared a climate emergency, have adopted a net zero carbon emissions target and have produced a clear and costed climate action plan in pursuit of this target.