Hampshire County Council Universal Services Select Committee Meeting

Apologies were received from Councillors Hugh Lumby, Kim Taylor and Rhydian Vaughan. Councillor Rod Cooper attended as a deputy for Hugh Lumby.

Members were mindful that where they believed they had a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest in any matter considered at the meeting they must declare that interest at the time of the relevant debate and, having regard to the circumstances described in Part 3, Paragraph 1.5 of the County Council's Members' Code of Conduct, leave the meeting while the matter was discussed, save for exercising any right to speak in accordance with Paragraph 1.6 of the Code. Furthermore Members were mindful that where they believed they had a Non-Pecuniary interest in a matter being considered at the meeting they considered whether such interest should be declared, and having regard to Part 5, Paragraph 2 of the Code, considered whether it was appropriate to leave the meeting whilst the matter was discussed, save for exercising any right to speak in accordance with the Code.

The minutes of the last meeting were reviewed and agreed.

There were no deputations for the meeting.

It was confirmed that Titchfield Haven would return to Committee at a future meeting and this had been captured as part of the Work Programme.

The Committee received a presentation from the Director of Universal Services that explained the various areas of the directorate along with the key challenges and areas of focus.

During questions, Members learned the following:

-       Many of the property owned and/or maintained by the Council consisted of school buildings and services like depots and country parks;

-       Out of the circa 10,000 buildings, only 150 were offices

-       Recharges were largely done internally between different schemes for efficiency;

-       Highway defects were starting to be prioritised more according to location, with all defects done at the same time. This meant less travel time for contractors and more productivity;

-       Inflation remained a high financial risk for the County Council but it continued to be challenged

-       A lot of work on the County Deal was going through the Hampshire 2050 Directorate, but it was recognised that many services stretched across different boundaries and the operational impacts would be considered by Universal Services.

-       The central government initiative to not charge for DIY waste had a £1million budgetary impact on the County Council;

-       The County Council had been waiting for consistent guidance on waste for over two years, but there was still no timetable for any roll-out of schemes

Officers were thanked for the presentation and their work within the Directorate.

The Select Committee pre-scrutinised a report from the Director of Universal Services (item 7 in the minute book) on the arrangements for the local administration of the Department for Transport Local Transport Fund (LTF) grant issued to all Local Transport Authorities.

Members received a presentation that covered the history of the LTF and the proposals going to the Executive Lead Member for Universal Services for consideration.

During questions, Members learned the following:

·         A bus pass only had to be used once for automatic renewal;

·         Any terms and condition changes in reference to recommendation 5 in the main report would mean a decision having to return to the Executive Lead Member for Universal Services;

·         Rural services were most at risk due to them not being financially sustainable for bus operators, but alternatives were being looked at to minimise the financial burden on the County Council;

·         Before the pandemic there had been an increase in bus usage in Hampshire, going against national trends;

·         Local Transport Scheme Toolkits were available online and used by Town and Parish Councils.[1]

The Executive Lead Member for Universal Services thanked the Committee for their comments and contributions and confirmed that plans were in place to get reliable links in place between the bus services and community transport services.

RESOLVED

The Universal Services Select Committee supported the recommendations being proposed to the Executive Lead Member for Universal Services in paragraphs 2 - 5 of the report

This item was deferred.

The Select Committee considered the Work Programme and provided the following suggestions to be taken so timescales could be considered by the Director of Universal Services in consultation with the Chairman of the Select Committee:

·         Carbon management implementation and analysing progress/outcomes (following work by H250)

·         Impact of the proposed County Deal (following work by H2050)

·         School crossing patrols and other alternatives

·         On-street parking review

·         Waste and recycling to be linked up with an item on Project Integra

·         Highway delivery strategy (pre-scrutiny)