Agenda and minutes

To confirm the Minutes of the Meeting held on 12 September 2017 (to be laid on the table 30 minutes before the meeting).

The Minutes of the Meeting held on 12 September 2017 were confirmed as a correct record and signed.

To receive apologies for absence and note any substitutions.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Denis Leigh.

To receive from Members declarations of interests in relation to any items included on the agenda for this meeting, in accordance with Waverley’s Code of Local Government Conduct.

There were no declarations of interests in connection with items on the agenda.

The Chairman to respond to any written questions received from members of the public in accordance with Procedure Rule 10.

There were no questions from Members of the Public.

To receive a presentation from Kelvin Mills, the Head of Communities and Adele O’Sullivan, the Centre Manager for Waverley Training Services on the main risks associated with the delivery of the service and to review the mitigations that may be in place.

The Committee received a presentation from Kelvin Mills, the Head of Communities and Adele O’Sullivan, the Centre Manager for Waverley Training Services on the main risks associated with the delivery of Waverley Training Services and the mitigations that had been put in place. The slides are attached to these minutes.

The Committee was provided with some background to the Service which was currently based at the Pump House in Farnham and would shortly be moving to the new Farnham Memorial Hall. Members were advised that the Service provided apprenticeships, study programmes, privately funded qualifications and was the lead provider for a number of sub-contracted provision.

The Committee was advised about the Apprenticeship Levy which was a tax on all large UK employers with a pay bill of over £3million per annum. They were required to pay 0.5% of their annual payroll into the levy and these funds could be used to pay for new apprenticeships. The Levy was part of the Government’s plan to increase the quantity and quality of Apprenticeships and came into effect in April 2017.   Funds could only be used towards the costs of apprenticeship training. They could not be used on other associated costs such as apprentice wages, travel and subsidiary costs or the costs of setting up an apprenticeship programme.

The Committee was presented with the performance statistics for 2016/17 and it was noted that they were attracting more apprentices and the total number on the study programme had also increased. However, the latest ofsted report had indicated that there were areas that needed to be improved and, consequently, they needed to make some changes. A new Business Plan would be put in place and a new marketing and communication plan to further improve its image and get more people using the Services it offered. It was a period of big change for the Service. It was agreed that there should be put in place improved communication of the role of the service with key stakeholders and promotion in the community of the service’s benefits for young people and would like to see the business plan at its next meeting.

The Community Overview and Scrutiny Committee, is responsible for managing its work programme.

The work programme (Annexe 1) includes items discussed at the O&S Co-ordinating Board and takes account of items identified on the latest Executive Forward Programme (Annexe 2) as due to come forward for decision.

Recommendation

Members are invited to consider their work programme and make any comments and/or amendments they consider necessary, including suggestions for any additional topics that the Committee may wish to add to its work programme.

The Work Programme was received and noted.

To receive a brief verbal update on the progress made in the health inequalities task group sessions.

The Chairman provided the Committee with an update on the Health Inequalities Working Group which had recently met to hear evidence from a range of witnesses about the impact that negative life style behaviours, e.g. smoking, alcohol consumption, drug misuse and obesity, had on health, wellbeing and life expectancy. The group also discussed what successful prevention looked like and how this could be applied in policy at a local level. The next meeting would take place in January and a report would come back to the Committee in March.

At 8.10 pm it was

RESOLVED  that pursuant to Procedure Rule 20, and in accordance with Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following item on the grounds that it is likely, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings, that if members of the public were present during the item, there would be disclosure to them of exempt information (as defined by Section 100I of the Act) of the description specified in Paragraph 3 of Part I of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972, namely:-

                                    Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information).

To receive a presentation from Kelvin Mills, the Head of Communities and Fotini Vickers, the Leisure Contracts Manager on the SLC Feasibility Study and the proposals for a further programme of investment in the Council’s leisure centres.

The Committee received a presentation from Kelvin Mills, the Head of Communities on the leisure feasibility report which had recently been completed. The presentation outlined future options for the Council’s Leisure facilities and officers would work with Town and Parish Councils to develop these options further.