Transcript

Good afternoon, everybody, and welcome to a meeting of the Cabinet of Surrey County Council here at Woodhatch on the 22nd of April. We have a relatively short agenda. There are a couple of important items which we will talk through as we head into the agenda, but there are no members of the public here, so I don't need to read out the Fadra and anything like that and all the rest of the housekeeping matters everybody is very familiar with. So I will move straight to kind of the roll call and the usual way, starting with Claire Curran. Thank you. Hello, Leader. Good afternoon. I'm Claire Curran, the Cabinet Member for Children, Families and Lifelong Learning. Thank you. David Lewis. Yes, thank you. Good afternoon. I'm David Lewis. I'm the Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources. Denise Turner-Stewart. Good afternoon. Denise Turner-Stewart, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Customer Communities. Thank you. Jonathan Hulley. Thank you, Leader. Good afternoon. Jonathan Hulley, Deputy Cabinet Member for Strategic Highways. Thank you. Cabinet Member for Foreign Rescue and Resilience. Mark Newsy. Thank you, Leader. Leader, over quite an ironic day today. As we celebrate Earth Day today, but at the same time we also celebrate the birth of Robert Oppenheimer, father of the atomic bomb and the Manhattan Project, who tried to destroy a great big part of our Earth. But on a brighter note, it's Stephen Lawrence Day, where we should be celebrating unity and inclusivity in our communities. And then if you want something just a little bit happier at Easter, why don't you all celebrate your inner princess as it's National Princess Week. Yes, thank you, Mark. I didn't say who I was, did I? Sorry. Princess Councillor Martin Newsy. Health and wellbeing. More and more obscure every time. Yes, well, you're very welcome, Mark. OK, Marissa Heath. Thank you, Leader. You always make me follow on from that, so you're very dully. I'll just say I'm Marissa Heath, the Cabinet Member for Environment. Thank you. Matt Furness. Thank you, Leader. Matt Furness, Cabinet Member for Highways, Transport and Economic Rights. Thank you very much. Maureen Attawell. Families and lifelong learning. Thank you. Natalie Bramhall. Good afternoon, Leader. Natalie Bramhall, Cabinet Member for Property Waste and Infrastructure. Thank you very much. Paul Deitch. Good afternoon. Paul Deitch, Deputy Cabinet Member to the Leader of the Council. Thank you. Sinead Mooney. Good afternoon. Sinead Mooney, Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care. Thank you. And then finally, Steve Bax. Good afternoon, everybody. Steve Bax, Deputy Cabinet Member for Highways. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. And on a slightly less terrible note, I think we should mark this very sad passing of the Pope yesterday. I thought he was an incredible man and did a lot of good work. So hopefully the election of the new Pope will happen in the very near future. But very sad to see. Item two then, minutes of the previous meeting held on the 25th of February, 2025, and indeed on the 18th of March, 2025. Are those minutes agreed? Agreed. Thank you very much. In relation to the items on today's agenda, does any member have any interest to declare? No? I can't see any hands up. Thank you. Item four then. There were no questions from members or from the public or indeed petitions or representations received on any report to be considered in private. So that takes us item five, which reports from select committees. And there was one report from the, in relation to the rights of way improvement plan from the Communities Environment and Highway Select Committee. There's no, the chair's not here or any of the vice chairs. So the report really is just for noting. But there is a recommendation on page 21. Ah, yes. So, yes. So, yes. It's resolved that the Communities Environment and Highway Select Committee recognises the high level of consultation was achieved, and indeed thanks to the committee for the, the team for their work. Requests that the Cabinet prioritises the actions necessary to maintain our public rights of way, and of course we will be discussing this item. Uh, notes that the Council can't deliver the plan without extensive collaborative working with partners. Uh, requests that the work is, um, and requests the Cabinet reviews the process for informing local members on progress, progress against, uh, the rights of way improvement plan. Um, so, up when Marisa Eve presents the full report. Great. Thank you very much. Okay. Item six then, uh, decision taken by Cabinet members since, uh, the last Cabinet meeting. Uh, there were seven decisions to note. I'll just read them out and if any Cabinet member wants to speak in relation to any of them, then please do. First one was, um, Ranger House, which was, uh, a sale and refurbishment, and that was a decision of the Strategic Investment Board. No, thank you. Uh, secondly, um, nine small holdings, uh, Clock House Lane, Ashford. Decision in relation to that. No. Thirdly then, the Sen Capital Program, and in particular, uh, Brooklands College Post 16 SCN Unit. Claire, thank you. I, I just wanted to say, Leader, I was very pleased to take this decision last month. Um, this is an expansion of the provision at Brooklands College, and a significant enhancement of our, um, post-16 offer to those with additional needs and disabilities. And it is part of a, um, a program, as we all know, of the Sen, of expansion of our maintained specialist estate. And, um, today I took an addition, another separate decision, um, relating to the funding of the development at Hopes Court School, which is our specialist school. Uh, and next month I will be taking three further decisions, uh, relating to contracts on three additional, uh, additional school expansion projects for children with additional needs. Uh, and it's all part of the very significant expansion of our maintained specialist estate, which is good for all involved. Uh, and indeed, yes. I mean, there's a capital budget of 143 million, uh, but we are working our way through and particularly pleased in relation to Brooklands College, as that is in my own division, and I have seen at first hand the great work that they do there with, uh, with children with additional needs. So, that's very good news. Um, item four then, bus service improvement plan phase four. Matt. Thank you, Lisa. Yes, this was, um, the investment plans for the 12 million of, um, bus service improvement funding, uh, which will improve the frequency or coverage, um, of 15 bus services. It delivers yet more DDRT, um, and it supports, uh, children and young persons link card, uh, which we now have, uh, over 15,000 who have signed up to that. And we've seen a particular young people are joining up for our half price discount card. So, we've seen direct correlation there. Um, the other good news is that, um, the DFT has awarded us an additional, uh, 1.7 towards, uh, zero emission buses. Uh, this will go to Falcon and White Bus, where we will see an additional 31 electric buses, uh, on our network. Um, service at the end of April. Thanks. So, yeah, I mean, though, whether we will get to the point where the whole of the, uh, fleet is electric, or hydrogen, we'll, we'll see. But, uh, as some, some, yeah, excellent progress. And those, those, the latest ones will be not in the east or in the west, will they? Uh, yeah, the north. So, they cover from the north down to probably around Guilford-Waverly direction. So, yes. So, we'll have a good one, too. Yeah, exactly. It's, it's, it's wider coverage. Okay, good. Thank you very much. Um, item, uh, five, decision five, relation to highways and transportation asset management strategy update. Uh, and then the, um, the next one is a highway hierarchy policy update, and then the Basingstoke Canal update. If there's anything to add to those. Okay, thank you. Item seven, then, um, our usual monthly report from one of the cabinet members. And this month it is, uh, the privilege, um, for, for you anyway, Kevin, um, and indeed for us to hear from you as the cabinet member for, uh, Farm Rescue and other things. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Leader. The meeting's going so well, so quickly, so I should try and keep it down to a reasonable time. Um, I'm sure you've all read the report with interest, so I should just pick out some of the key points. So, so far and rescue have improved their safe and well visits by 66% over the past two years, with over 84% of these delivered to our most vulnerable residents. Operational crews delivered 777 operational risk visits, which is exceeding our target. And our business safety teams have completed 1,650 fire safety audits. So, so far and rescue also, uh, rolling out the has alert. So has alert. So has alert is a hardware and software solution that uses real time data from emergency vehicles provide alerts to civilian drivers and other responding emergency vehicles. And that's in order to give drivers more time to avoid potential collisions than conventional lights and sirens. This collaboration ensures off the benefits from the latest technology advancements in road safety. So touching on investment, um, as you know, there's been 7 million investment in our fleet, introducing nine new appliances, um, two for training, two for Ford Bridge and Camberley, followed by Paynes Hill, Egham, Walton, Chernecy, Rygate and Dawkins. So a good spread across the county. Um, emergency planning continue to support the planning of key events and works to local and national infrastructure. The Godstone sinkhole is a prime example where 30 properties were evacuated. 700 properties were without water, including the Godstone fire station, a care home and national highways operational center. To manage this multi-agency response, a tactical coordinating group and strategic coordinating group was set up to reduce further impacts on the local area and ensuring the welfare of residents were met. This is now moved into recovery, supported by a technical working group and welfare groups. You can never have too many working groups. So a team also supported the numerous M25 closures and A3 national highways work. As always, SARE is a leading light supporting the military covenant, which was recently re-signed by the chair of the council and Colonel David Kenny. The joint strategic needs assessment includes a chapter understanding the population, their key health and wellbeing needs with focus on education, employment, healthcare and housing provision. The armed forces community includes serving members, reservists, ex-service veterans and their families and focuses on the positive impact that life in the armed forces can bring to our communities. There is a forces app which connects users to local and national organizations, offering support across a broad range of topics. To date, some 6,250 people have been trained. Trading standards is increasing its use of disruptive tactics to tackle criminality rather than the traditional investigate-prosecute approach. The team continued to develop measures for disruption, estimating the financial impact at 2.4 million for the 24-25 year as well as 4.3 million as a result of trading standards interventions. We have now a couple of apprentices as part of the government funding which was linked to the tobacco and vapes enforcement. And these apprentices will provide a source of future qualified trading standards officers, which are extremely difficult to find. Finally, the coroner service which carry out the sensitive investigations of unnatural and unexplained deaths as well as supporting the bereaved families. Last year they received 3,000 referrals. As part of our commitment to safeguarding the dignity of the deceased and improving the post-mortem process, work is underway to deliver a digital post-mortem service across Surrey. This will provide the capability for post-mortems to be carried out using a CT scanner, reducing the number of invasive procedures required. It is anticipated that the service will be up and running by the end of this year. This has been made possible by the recent investment that this Cabinet made to improve the experience of the loved ones at an extremely difficult and emotive time for them. Thank you, Leader. Thank you very much, Kevin. That will be good news to get that scanner system up and running as well. You can speed it welcomed. Yes, Sinead. Thank you. Sorry. Thank you, Kevin. That was a really interesting report. I just want to ask you a question. I think I've probably asked before. Well, first of all, to acknowledge the big improvement to the visits, the safe and well visits carried out by the service. I think that's a really good mark there, 66% improvement in the last two years. I just wondered how the fire service would define the most vulnerable resident. Is that done in partnership with adult social care, for example? Yes, it's done in partnership with them and other voluntary and statutory organisations. So, yes, it's a really good partnership approach. And if I may, can a person refer themselves for one of those visits? Yes, they can. I think the numbers are probably a bit lower from self-reveils, but actually a very good source is councillors ourselves. Thank you. Denise. Thank you. I just wanted to recognise how well this report reflects on the capabilities within Surrey County Council within our fire service. And we look at the achievements of our Trading Standards Service. You know, they've moved to a disruption approach because they actually have... Yes, Marisa. Thank you, Leader. You mentioned trading standards, and I always like to do a bit of a shout out to trading standards because until things go wrong, people don't often notice the work that they're doing. And they do a tremendous amount that obviously we fund and support as a county council, protecting people from crime and all sorts of different things. I vaguely remember a long time ago, there used to be stats sent out on what we'd achieved as trading standards, the kind of investigations we'd undertaken and all of that kind of thing. Are they still doing any comms? And if not, is it something we could look at just so we understand? Because they are a really well-performing part of this authority. I know it's shared service with another authority, but they do a really good job. And it would just be nice to show people what they're achieving. Yeah, there is quite a bit of comms that does go out. But I can sort of just get them to check that it's going out to the right people. I mean, the point you made about the court cases have taken four to five years to actually get through to the Crown Court. And often by the time it gets to that stage, witnesses have passed or, you know, Soviet tactics are cheap and much, much quicker. So, but I will check just to make sure that we're still putting them out. Yeah, there's definitely a newsletter, isn't there? I just probably need to check that everybody is getting that newsletter. And that's what I don't. I don't know if it automatically goes out to members, maybe you should. And that's something we can look at. Yeah, and I think it was what it came out last week, I seem to remember. So, yeah, and it is absolutely an incredible amount of information and detail in there. So, first, if you could just, I mean, I imagine that it go, well, whether it goes to the same circulation list as Surrey matters, I don't know. I don't think it does, but I'm sure. Okay, well, we'll make sure all members are at least signed up for it. Okay, anything else anyone wants to comment on? No? Okay. Well, thank you very much. There's lots of good stuff happening there. Obviously, as we move forward with local government reorganization, that will have an impact specifically actually on trading standards in terms of whether that relationship, the joint relationship with Buckinghamshire Council continues or otherwise, but we'll see. Okay. Right. Thank you very much. Thanks, Kevin. Shall we move then to item eight, which is the other substantive item, really, which is the rights of way improvement plan? Marissa. Thank you, Lida. So, this report is seeking to adopt the rights of way improvement plan for 2025 to 2035, and we call it ROWIP for short, so I will refer to it as ROWIP as we go through. It's a statutory document which must be reviewed every 10 years, and we're also asking today for the ability to delegate decisions on the plan, alongside our annual implementation plans and our performance indicators, which will, of course, also go through select committee and have input from wider members. The national legislation sets out already what one of these plans must consider, and that is the current and future needs of our users, the reasons and opportunities for use and accessibility for blind and partially sighted people and others with mobility issues, which is a key factor that we've considered within this report. But the plan also needs to be aligned and deliver where possible the key strategies that we have set as a county council here under our community vision for 2030. So, you've got health and well-being, you've got climate change mitigation and adaptation, the local nature recovery strategy, local transport plans, local cycling and walking plans, or LCWIPs as we call them, and Vision Zero road safety strategy as well. So, we've tried to make sure that this is an opportunity to include all of that and make sure our rights of way is reflecting what's going on in those other strategies too. Extensive consultation was undertaken for this plan, and I think that's why we don't have members of the public in the gallery today, because actually we've had so many meetings and have really worked through with lots of different people how this plan should look. And actually, the level of engagement on it shows that people really care and value their rights of way. They probably just use them on a daily basis without thinking too much, but when you ask them, they recognize how valuable they are. So, 4,300 responses from our online survey, which I think is one of the highest responses we've ever had for a consultation, and a 17% response rate from the parish councils across Surrey as well. We held an online public survey, we've done a social media campaign, we had a specific survey for the parish councils, and presented to the Surrey Associations of Local Councils, SALC. An online briefing, workshops for Surrey landowners, briefing for members, and workshops with the Surrey Countryside Access Forum and other groups as well, including those of disabilities, sight issues, and those underrepresented. It is clear in the report that we struggled with engagement with younger people, but we have got a plan of how to address that and try and improve it, and we are keen to hear from younger people as to how they think our rights of way should work for them. It is a really lengthy report. I won't go through it, but four themes came out of it, and that was the public rights of way for everyone, so making sure it is meaningful and accessible and usable for every single one of our residents. The maintaining and protecting of the network, which has come up as one of the biggest priorities. People want neat routes to use that haven't got brambles all over them, that have got safe surfaces, etc. Future Surrey, and then the communications and partnerships. I think the report is really readable and easy to understand, and I would like to thank officers who put it together, because actually I read it again last night and thought it is a very comprehensive document, and despite being lengthy, it's not hard-going to go through it. It's a really big piece of work that they've done with their other day-to-day work commitments, and I'd just like to say thank you to them for getting this right, I think, and spending all that time consulting on it. Just to take a couple of points from the document, I think the theme that goes beyond where we are now is really that future Surrey, and it's the one we're all thinking of as we move into local government reform, and this is also in light of things that are going on at national government level as well. So a lot of people are fearful as to what the demands for new housing are going to mean, and we need to make sure that that takes into account rights of way, that development doesn't negatively impact the rights of way, and that we identify really early on where we can put into local plan processes and development proposals. We've got to be more strategic in doing that, basically. I think there's probably, from the district and borough levels, more reason for them to engage in this as well and get it right. We can expand. We can improve our rights of way and get it even better from the stuff that's coming at us through the Labour government's plans for more housing, and that means we've got to be active, and we've got to put a resource into planning processes up front and make sure that whatever the outcomes of local government reform, we have those processes sort of clicked in within the next year to make sure that happens. I think the other thing I would just flag briefly is the real opportunity to achieve positive outcomes by linking the RAYWIP more closely to the health and well-being agenda, and there's been a lot of effort in this plan to outline how we do that and what the opportunities will be, and we have to actually fulfil that vision, not just put it down as writing on a piece of paper. We know that the evidence has shown us that in areas, particularly in North Surrey, for example, they have less access to public rights of way. They also have poorer health and are more likely to be inactive, and there's higher levels of mental health issues as well. So actually, improving rights of way can tackle some of the bigger issues around physical and mental health, and we can also connect them into local transport plans, so people make the choice to walk or cycle to the train station or town, wherever they're going, and in doing so, improve their fitness, which is a win-win in both ways. I think connectivity is one of the most crucial future functions of what we're addressing in this plan. There's a particular issue for cyclists and possibly horse riders too, who get pushed into busy roads to get where they need to go, and I think we can work at where connectivity could be improved and where paths could be upgraded with the input of parish councils, community groups, residence forums, developers, and our countryside access team. Importantly, the feedback indicated strongly the public want improved information provision around the public rights of way and how we communicate. Members of this authority have also indicated the same, so we are looking at how we invest in signage and improving the finger posts and, of course, using technology to provide more information. We have also confirmed to the select committee that we will improve communication to local members on what works have been undertaken in their division on rights of way, so that they can then communicate it outwards to their residents and community groups as well. Delivery of this plan, and delivery is the key word, because it's one thing to put a plan together, it's another to deliver it, and I have heard some people saying that our last plan was pretty good as well, but have we delivered on it? I think we have to an extent, but we can do a lot more. We're going to be doing it through an operation and delivery plan, which will set out the projects and actions that will be taken forward in a much shorter time frame than this 10-year plan, so people don't need to think this is a document that will sit there in year nine, we'll be delivering things. We won't. We're looking to what we can deliver right now, immediately. We're going to produce an annual report, which will set out what has been achieved to deliver the rights of way improvement plan, and we will do that this year, so people can start seeing the action straight away. Lastly, we've clearly noted in the plan that the council cannot deliver this in isolation, the select committee agreed with that. Extensive collaborative partnership working will be required with stakeholders, and again, those stakeholders can be quite varied, parish councils, residence groups, and there will be other partners, I'm sure. We don't need to be restricted in this, and we've got to look for ways we can empower those stakeholders to be part of the plan and give them opportunities to take the lead on it as well if we really want to see a difference in our rights of way, and I think this is a really relevant point considering local government reform and the fact that the district and borough and indeed this county council will not exist in the future. This is a time-proof plan that will move easily into the new unitary authorities, but the eye on delivery and opportunities can really come from the ground level within those residence groups, parishes, community groups, who know their rights of way so well because they use them every day. As I said, I'm not going to go through the report at length. I'm happy to take any questions, but the report has been through many different eyes and many different groups who have provided really helpful critical feedback and have responded on publication of this cabinet report saying they're pleased with the outcomes. So I'd like to thank again the officers for this excellent piece of work and helping us recognise that this new plan will keep rights of way high on the agenda and clicked into that wider strategy. We've got an authority which is all sort of coming together basically and meaning we are delivering on the ground the improvements people want to see. So thank you, Leader. I'll leave it at that. Thank you. Excellent. Thank you very much, Marissa. A couple of comments I'm going to make, but who wants to go first? Yes, Denise. Thank you. If I may, again, it's really important to recognise the investment that we've given to our rights of way network. I mean, it is clear from your report, and it's a very, very comprehensive report, as you say, as to how we are working collaboratively with our partners and with all the stakeholders that we work. Thank you very much. Yes, Denise. Thank you, Leader. Thanks for bringing this, Marissa. Again, I can echo what you said with regards to the officers, a great piece of work, and it's really good to see that significant involvement and engagement because I think this piece of work that you've done is really critical. I mean, when I read through it, I had very much in my mind Staines Mall in my division. Of course, losing the title, Staines. And that is a triple SSI piece of land and the historical importance of Staines Mall. It goes back to 1065. It's incredibly valued by residents. And it's kind of managed in a partnership with an officer at the Borough Council, but the Moormasters, and Denise and I had the pleasure of going to one of their meetings to see recent selections of Moormasters to manage those common ground areas. So I was thinking of the Moormasters, the work that they do, the contribution to these pieces of land that are so important to us, and the habitat as well. There's lots happening on Staines Mall, and it runs right alongside the M25, which makes it even more important when you think of air quality control and pollution and things. So I'm really pleased this has come forward, and really I think it will be well considered at the Staines Common Steering Group as well. So thank you very much. Thanks for being interesting to hear what they say back. I appreciate any feedback. Jonathan. Thank you, Leader. And could I also add my voice in support of this plan and recognise the work you've undertaken, Marisa, and also members of your team in putting together this report? In my view, there is no doubt that this plan will protect, preserve, and enhance our public rights of way over the next 10 years. And I like also the fact that it's a report that focuses on the practical, you know, the cutting back of overgrowth, repairing of surfaces, and also improving signage so that members of the public can benefit from the public rights of way that do exist across our county. I'm also pleased that the report recognises the value and importance of enforcement. I noticed that the report highlighted examples of illegal obstructions of these paths. As a consequence of that, members of the public have been unable to work their way and pick their way through fencing through or around locked gates and also the dumping of rubbish. And I think that given that 21% of the public highlighted the concern about enforcement so that there are examples of where members and landowners in particular have obstructed members of the public to use and access rights of way that the report highlights that where appropriate, you will deploy the enforcement tools at your disposal so that the public can enjoy the full rights of way that we do enjoy across Surrey. So on that note, I'm very happy to add my own voice in support of this plan. Yeah, I think I'd just say I've been communicated. David? Yeah, thanks, Tim. Yes, firstly, just to endorse what everyone else has said, I mean, a really good piece of work. In my division, one of the issues that comes up all the time is this differentiation between footpaths and bridleways and the different usage of those different paths. And it does cause some problems where footpaths, for example, are used by cyclists or by horse riders and that sort of thing. So I really welcome what you said about signage. We have done a bit of work to try and improve signage, but I think it's really important that we make sure that signage is really clear about what can and can't happen on the different pathways because I think most people don't necessarily understand the difference between them. And I think the point about enforcement is also really important. And the final thing, just to say that just this week, in my division, there's actually a public inquiry taking place this week about whether or not a path should be reinstated as a formal footpath or not. And evidence is being taken on both sides. And it's going to be an interesting process. It's taken a long time to get to this stage, but it's an interesting process, and it would be fascinating to see what the outcome of that is. So, again, another example of potential enforcement right the way through to a public inquiry stage, which is the way it works when it comes to the formal footpaths. And I think they have to be formally recorded on the map with a formal number and so on. So, yeah, I'm watching that with interest. Yeah, they do. And it's very interesting because it's usually a history piece then of people who've used that for many generations or something coming through and putting their evidence forward. So they can be quite interesting processes. But on your point about enforcement, as I said, we've just got to be clear where the issues are. And if in your area you're finding people are using the wrong pathways, let us know because then we can prioritize works and make sure we're hitting the target areas more. But for most people, I think it's not knowing. If there's no signage, they will use a path. Otherwise, they tend to self-police because if you ride a horse down a footpath, someone will say to you, hey, you shouldn't be riding a horse down there and you get off it. So I'm sure we can do much better on that. Thank you. As we're putting in plugs for parts of this great county, apart from Stainspond-Thames, I would recommend that anybody that's got a couple of days to spare do the walk to the North Downs, the North Downs way from Farnham to Oxted. It absolutely highlights how great this county is. It's a fantastic scenery. I think this is a really, really good report. I mean, I think they're just picking up on something you said, Marissa, around kind of the health aspects of this. So we know that the wider determinants of health, the things that impact on your life expectancy, absolutely include access to green space. And, you know, if you saw, if you've looked at the recent statistics nationally, we are, our life expectancy generally across the country is decreasing for the first time. And, indeed, more concern is our healthy life expectancy is decreasing by a year or two. So the more, and, you know, building on the preventative agenda and, indeed, on the sort of social prescribing and so on, it's really important that we make it as easy as possible for people to get out into the countryside, whether that's to walk, to cycle or otherwise. Part of the work that we're now doing as part of the reorganization is to promote the establishment of community boards, which, as the cabinet now at least, will be multi-agency boards that will bring in the health system, it will bring in community safety and local government and so on. And that, you know, those are the boards that I would imagine would be picking up in part this report and, you know, doing what they can locally to make sure that those rights away are protected and enhanced and maintained and so on. So I think it's a very timely piece of work and I think one that is really important on that wider agenda of getting real resident engagement in their local area and, you know, enjoying, you know, the fantastic benefits that the county have to offer. Yeah, I mean, just on the point of community boards, I think you're absolutely right. This is a good home for a piece of work like this, bringing it all together into one place rather than it being done in sort of separate groups and separate entities. So that would make a lot of sense. And yes, as you say, very timely then. Okay, good, thank you. So the recommendations are to approve the adoption of the Rights of Way Improvement Plan 2025 to 2035 and secondly to delegate decisions on delivery of the plan to the Executive Director for Environment, Property and Growth in consultation with the Director of Environment and the Cabinet Member for Environment through an annual implementation plans and performance indicators. Are those two recommendations agreed? Excellent. Thank you very much. And thank you, Marissa. Okay, that takes to item nine then, the disposal of the former Chalk Pit Depot in Great Bookham. Natalie. Thank you, Nida. As Cabinet are aware, you have endorsed the rationalisation of our surplus estate. Chalk Pit in Bookham is a depot yard of 0.38 acres with access onto Chalk Pit Lane, which is a boat, a byway open to all traffic. It's no longer required or needed for operational requirements, therefore Cabinet need to declare this asset surplus. The site has an allocation for seven units in the Mole Valley Local Plan. The property was marketed and a full schedule of bids that were received are as set out in the Part 2 Confidential Report. The recommendation, therefore, is to declare the asset surplus to operational requirements, approve the sale of the former Chalk Pit Depot, Great Bookham, to the party outlined in the Part 2 Report, and delegate authority to the Executive Director for Environment, Property and Growth, with the Director of Land and Property, and myself, to finalise the transaction. Thank you. Thank you, Aris. Does the Divisional Member have anything to say? Yes, thank you, Nida. I'm the Divisional Member for Bookham Fetchum West that sits in Bookham. This has been a derelict yard for all the time I've been an elected member, which is now 25 years, and I believe that there will be support for this to be released and redeveloped because it's sat empty for all that time, and it would be good to see it come to positive use. Thank you, Aris. Okay, and there will be a Part 2 item just in terms of the commercial arrangements. I can't see any of the hands up. I think we've had the debate about this before. So the recommendation is to formally declare it surplus, approve the sale of the depot and delegate authority, as you have said. Are those two recommendations approved? Great. Thank you very much. Okie doke. So that takes us to the last item on the public part of the agenda, which is an update at month 11 on our finances. David. Thank you, Nida. So as you say, this report included today is the financial report that takes us to the end of February, month 11 of the last financial year. At the end of month 11, at the end of February, in terms of the revenue budget, we had an overspend, forecast overspend of 15.6 million pounds. That was actually an improvement of a million pounds on the position at the end of January. So the fact that the revenue overspend was forecast to be declining was good news. We don't yet have the final outturn for the end of the financial year, which ended at the end of March. But all the indications that we've had to date are that from a revenue point of view, the improvement that we saw at the end of February will be maintained for the end of the year. So we'll report on that at the next cabinet meeting. But I am optimistic that we will be able to maintain that forecast position. And just as a reminder, we do have a 20 million contingency, which was included in the budget for last year. And so if the final outturn is in that sort of order, we will have some surplus money in the budget. In terms of the forecast overspend, we've got overspends in both adults, children's, and place directorates, about 3 million in adults, 7.4 million in children's, and 6 million in place. I thought perhaps it's worth just focusing a little bit on the children's overspend, which was at 7.4 million at the end of month 11. And as we've mentioned in previous meetings, the majority of that overspend has been in the area of homeschool transport assistance. And at the start of the year, the start of the last financial year, the forecast overspend was 7.4 million against the budget. And a lot of work has taken place over the last 12 months within the team to try and not just to contain and reduce the cost of the homeschool transport service, but also to maintain the big improvement that we've seen over the last couple of years in the level of service that's being provided. And, you know, I'm very pleased that we've, I mean, whilst we still have an overspend, that overspend has actually reduced by 1.5 million pounds during the year. So we're now at a point where the homeschool transport is forecasting an overspend of 5.9 million rather than the 7.4 that was indicated at the start of the year. And that makes a significant contribution to the overall position of the Council. And in terms of looking forward, the budgets that have been set for the next year, I believe, are very realistic. They represent a significant increase in this area. And I think that because of the work that's happened during the year, I'm very, you know, optimistic that we should be able to live within the budget. And for the next financial year. In terms of the capital budget, as you know, we reset the capital budget at the start of the financial year. And we're now forecasting an overspend, sorry, an underspend of just over 14 million. So that's 14 million less than the re-phased budget that we set at the start of the year. Part of that is under budget in land and property. There's been variances in the infrastructure spend, infrastructure program, particularly around the work of the A308. And there's been other slippage in around some infrastructure and so on on the capital program. And there's been an underspend on the home upgrade grants and that's partly due, I believe, to sort of installation capacity. And finally, there was quite a significant under budget on the IT side, which was partly due to delays in rolling out new laptops and reprofiling of the WAN Wi-Fi work and delays to the replacement of hardware. So that's really just to give you a brief update on both the revenue and capital position at the end of February. There are two other items included in this report, which we need to agree on. The first one is a proposal to transfer 10.66 million pounds of funding from the capital pipeline, which we approved when we set the budget. And this money is to enable the maintenance of the waste infrastructure. And as you'll be aware, Surrey County Council is the statutory waste disposal authority. And we are responsible for the transfer, treatment and disposal of all household waste, which is collected across Surrey. We have five waste transfer stations and I think it's 14 community recycling centres. And this budget is for basically the maintenance of those facilities over the next five years. As I say, it was included in the capital pipeline project that we approved. And obviously, going forward, I think the report mentions this, when new unitaries are established under the LGR proposals, this expenditure going forward will have to be taken account of. And the final item for approval is that we have received a request from Waverley Borough Council for reimbursement of the council's share of the additional council tax that was raised in 2023 as a result of implementing changes to the empty home policy. This was a policy which Cabinet approved at the end of 2020 and is now coming to an end. But it does mean that we, as an authority, are returning money back to the districts and boroughs, which enables them to then invest that money. It's money which has been raised on empty homes. And it does enable them to reinvest that money into the services that they provide. And, as I say, Waverley have asked for reimbursement of £623,000. This money was put aside in reserves, so it's all fully accounted for. But under our procedures, anything over half a million has to be approved by this Cabinet. And the amount they've asked for is £623,000. And I think it's something that we should welcome, the fact that this money is going to go back into improving services. But it is the final year of this scheme. So there's three items on the report. One is to note the revenue and budget positions. And the other two items are to approve the transfer, the money from the capital pipeline, and to approve the reimbursement of the money to Waverley. Thank you. Thank you, David. Any comments on any of that? No, I think that's all pretty straightforward. So, as you say, there are three recommendations. Are those agreed? Thank you very much. That brings us then to the end of the public part of this agenda. So, under Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information under the relevant paragraphs of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act. So, on that basis, I will close the meeting. Thank you all very much. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.