Hampshire County Council
Councillors:
78
Wards:
76
Committees:
49
Meetings (2025):
165
Meetings (2024):
156
Meeting
Universal Services Select Committee - Hampshire
Meeting Times
Scheduled Time
Start:
Thursday, 26th September 2024
10:00 AM
Thursday, 26th September 2024
10:00 AM
End:
Thursday, 26th September 2024
2:00 PM
Thursday, 26th September 2024
2:00 PM
Meeting Status
Status:
Confirmed; SP25 - Meeting 4
Confirmed; SP25 - Meeting 4
Date:
26 Sep 2024
26 Sep 2024
Location:
Ashburton Hall - HCC
Ashburton Hall - HCC
Meeting Attendees
Liberal Democrats Spokesperson
Liberal Democrats Deputy
Independent Group Deputy
Vacancy
Not required
Committee Member
Councillor Dominic Hiscock
Present, as expected
Independent Group Spokesperson
Agenda
1
Apologies for absence
To receive any apologies for absence.
Minutes
Apologies were received from Councillors David Drew, Barry Dunning, Tim Groves Rupert Kyrle and Sarah Pankhurst
Councillors Martin Tod, Malcolm Wade and Malcolm Wallace attended as substitute Members.
Councillors Martin Tod, Malcolm Wade and Malcolm Wallace attended as substitute Members.
2
Declarations of interest
All Members who believe they have a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest in any matter to be considered at the meeting must declare that interest and, having regard to Part 3 Paragraph 1.5 of the County Council's Members’ Code of Conduct, leave the meeting while the matter is discussed, save for exercising any right to speak in accordance with Paragraph 1.6 of the Code. Furthermore all Members with a Personal Interest in a matter being considered at the meeting should consider, having regard to Part 5, Paragraph 4 of the Code, whether such interest should be declared, and having regard to Part 5, Paragraph 5 of the Code, consider whether it is appropriate to leave the meeting while the matter is discussed, save for exercising any right to speak in accordance with the Code.
Minutes
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 5 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.
3
Deputations
To receive any deputations notified under Standing Order 12.
Minutes
The Select Committee received no public deputations, but the following County Councillors attended and spoke of their concerns on the proposals in the Appendix to Cabinet:
Councillor Mark Cooper Councillor Alex Crawford Councillor Lance Quantrill
Councillor Andy Tree
Councillor Tim Davies
Councillor Bill Withers
Councillor Jackie Porter
Councillor Mark Cooper Councillor Alex Crawford Councillor Lance Quantrill
Councillor Andy Tree
Councillor Tim Davies
Councillor Bill Withers
Councillor Jackie Porter
4
Chairman's Announcements
To receive any announcements the Chairman may wish to make.
Minutes
There were no formal announcements, but the Chairman confirmed that the Task & Finish Working Group Report noted by Committee at the initial meeting was included in the pack for reference.
5
Pre-Scrutiny of SP25 Savings Proposals
To pre-scrutinise the following SP25 savings proposal going to Cabinet:
- Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) (Appendix 7 for Cabinet)
- Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) (Appendix 7 for Cabinet)
Attachments:
- Document Cover Report 18 Sep 2024
- Document Draft Cabinet Report 18 Sep 2024
- Document USSC Working Group Report 18 Sep 2024
- Document HWRC's - Appendix for Cabinet 18 Sep 2024
- Document HWRCS's - EIA 18 Sep 2024
Minutes
The Select Committee considered a report from the Director of Universal Services (item 5 in the minute book) regarding the proposals to Cabinet on Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRC’s).
The Director of Universal Services summarised the appendix, highlighting that fly-tipping was mostly done by commercial businesses rather than residents and not something that was felt at risk of increasing should the proposals be approved. The proposals had been considered for implementation in a structured way and ensured that Hampshire County Council could still meet expected demands.
During questions of officers, Members heard the following:
· The guidance of a 7 mile maximum travel journey was used as part of the criteria, but was not a target and average journey times were looked at rather that just distance.
· Existing capacity at the sites was used and whilst some were predicted to go over the 100% capacity, the system allowed flexibility and to react to demands as necessary.
· Known planned housing developments had been considered and Hampshire would still have the greatest number of HWRC’s compared to many other areas nationally.
· Day closures and hourly reductions had been considered but did not have enough financial impact/benefit.
· Historically it had been difficult to demonstrate when development contributions are required or justified, but they were usually sought.
· Whilst all options had been considered, only those that were close to achieving the required savings had been detailed in the report.
· The Council still awaited government guidance on kerbside recycling and therefore any potential impacts on recycling were difficult to predict at this stage.
An amendment was proposed by Councillor Jackie Branson and seconded by Councillor Malcolm Wade as follows:
1.The Universal Services Select Committee notes the outcome of the 2024 Future Services Consultation in relation to the proposals on the future of the Household Waste and Recycling Centres (HWRCs) network and disagrees with the report and its recommendations and asks Cabinet to consider alternative arrangements keeping Tier 3 and Tier 4 HWRCs open.
2. That alternative arrangement proposals come back to a future meeting of the Universal Services Select Committee, to further scrutinise the outcomes, before any recommendations are made to close any HWRC sites in Hampshire.
and this was considered and discussed during debate.
During debate, Members agreed that some of the costings on alternatives discussed in paragraph 32 of the report could be further explored and felt that the proposals overall were a short-term solution to a long-term problem.
The Committee was also concerned about the potential impacts on recycling as well as fly-tipping and some Members shared their disappointment at carbon assessments and impacts not being explored as much as they could have.
Members were supportive of a more joined-up approach with Parish and District Councils and felt that a collaborative approach was vital going forward and needed further exploration. Some Members also shared reservations on working towards a legal minimum service when there was no statutory guidance as to what this entailed and included. Accessibility was also another consideration and ensuring the impacts on other sites was not detrimental to users should some of them close.
The Chairman thanked the Select Committee for its discussions and acknowledged on behalf of Members the amount of work that had been put in by officers in what was a very difficult problem to solve.
Members voted on the above amendment, which was supported unanimously and put forward as the new resolution for the meeting.
RESOLVED
1.The Universal Services Select Committee noted the outcome of the 2024 Future Services Consultation in relation to the proposals on the future of the Household Waste and Recycling Centres (HWRCs) network and disagreed with the report and its recommendations and ask Cabinet to consider alternative arrangements keeping Tier 3 and Tier 4 HWRCs open.
2. The Universal Services Select Committee agreed that alternative arrangement proposals should come back to a future meeting of the Universal Services Select Committee, to further scrutinise the outcomes, before any recommendations are made to close any HWRC sites in Hampshire.
Following the recommendations being approved, the Executive Lead Member for Universal Services and the Leader of the County Council both addressed the Select Committee thanking Members for their consideration and debate, and how the proposals would be looked alongside the other savings proposals at the Cabinet meeting on the 14 October.
The Director of Universal Services summarised the appendix, highlighting that fly-tipping was mostly done by commercial businesses rather than residents and not something that was felt at risk of increasing should the proposals be approved. The proposals had been considered for implementation in a structured way and ensured that Hampshire County Council could still meet expected demands.
During questions of officers, Members heard the following:
· The guidance of a 7 mile maximum travel journey was used as part of the criteria, but was not a target and average journey times were looked at rather that just distance.
· Existing capacity at the sites was used and whilst some were predicted to go over the 100% capacity, the system allowed flexibility and to react to demands as necessary.
· Known planned housing developments had been considered and Hampshire would still have the greatest number of HWRC’s compared to many other areas nationally.
· Day closures and hourly reductions had been considered but did not have enough financial impact/benefit.
· Historically it had been difficult to demonstrate when development contributions are required or justified, but they were usually sought.
· Whilst all options had been considered, only those that were close to achieving the required savings had been detailed in the report.
· The Council still awaited government guidance on kerbside recycling and therefore any potential impacts on recycling were difficult to predict at this stage.
An amendment was proposed by Councillor Jackie Branson and seconded by Councillor Malcolm Wade as follows:
1.The Universal Services Select Committee notes the outcome of the 2024 Future Services Consultation in relation to the proposals on the future of the Household Waste and Recycling Centres (HWRCs) network and disagrees with the report and its recommendations and asks Cabinet to consider alternative arrangements keeping Tier 3 and Tier 4 HWRCs open.
2. That alternative arrangement proposals come back to a future meeting of the Universal Services Select Committee, to further scrutinise the outcomes, before any recommendations are made to close any HWRC sites in Hampshire.
and this was considered and discussed during debate.
During debate, Members agreed that some of the costings on alternatives discussed in paragraph 32 of the report could be further explored and felt that the proposals overall were a short-term solution to a long-term problem.
The Committee was also concerned about the potential impacts on recycling as well as fly-tipping and some Members shared their disappointment at carbon assessments and impacts not being explored as much as they could have.
Members were supportive of a more joined-up approach with Parish and District Councils and felt that a collaborative approach was vital going forward and needed further exploration. Some Members also shared reservations on working towards a legal minimum service when there was no statutory guidance as to what this entailed and included. Accessibility was also another consideration and ensuring the impacts on other sites was not detrimental to users should some of them close.
The Chairman thanked the Select Committee for its discussions and acknowledged on behalf of Members the amount of work that had been put in by officers in what was a very difficult problem to solve.
Members voted on the above amendment, which was supported unanimously and put forward as the new resolution for the meeting.
RESOLVED
1.The Universal Services Select Committee noted the outcome of the 2024 Future Services Consultation in relation to the proposals on the future of the Household Waste and Recycling Centres (HWRCs) network and disagreed with the report and its recommendations and ask Cabinet to consider alternative arrangements keeping Tier 3 and Tier 4 HWRCs open.
2. The Universal Services Select Committee agreed that alternative arrangement proposals should come back to a future meeting of the Universal Services Select Committee, to further scrutinise the outcomes, before any recommendations are made to close any HWRC sites in Hampshire.
Following the recommendations being approved, the Executive Lead Member for Universal Services and the Leader of the County Council both addressed the Select Committee thanking Members for their consideration and debate, and how the proposals would be looked alongside the other savings proposals at the Cabinet meeting on the 14 October.
6
Work Programme
To review the current work programme for the Universal Services Select Committee.
Attachments:
- Document Work Programme 18 Sep 2024
Minutes
The Select Committee considered the Work Programme (item 6 in the minute book) and it was requested that an update on Parking Management be provided at a future meeting. Members also requested an information item on Project Integra and Authorities working together around waste collection.
RESOLVED
The Universal Services Select Committee discussed and agreed potential items for the work programme, to be prioritised and allocated by the Chairman of the Universal Services Select Committee in consultation with the Director of Universal Services.
RESOLVED
The Universal Services Select Committee discussed and agreed potential items for the work programme, to be prioritised and allocated by the Chairman of the Universal Services Select Committee in consultation with the Director of Universal Services.
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