Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence.

No apologies were noted.

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 the circumstances described in 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 Non-Pecuniary interest in a matter being considered at the meeting should consider whether such interest should be declared, and having regard to Part 5, Paragraph 2 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.

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.

To confirm the minutes of the previous meeting

The minutes of the last meeting were reviewed and agreed.

To receive any deputations notified under Standing Order 12.

There were no deputations for the meeting.

To receive any announcements the Chairman may wish to make.

The Chairman reminded Members that the cycling working lunch was due to take place following the Committee meeting and Members were welcome to stay.

The Committee were informed that the Resources and Waste Strategy for England was published on the 18 December and could be accessed via the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/resources-and-waste-strategy-for-england . The Chairman highlighted Chapter 3 in the summary document as being of particular relevance for the Committee.

It was confirmed that Katy Sherwood would be taking over supporting the Select Committee from Marie Mannveille. Marie had worked with the Select Committee for over five years and was thanked for her work.

For the Economy, Transport and Environment Select Committee to pre-scrutinise the Economy, Transport and Environment Department 2019/20 Revenue Budget proposals for:
A) Economic Development, set out in the attached report which is due to be considered at the Decision Day of the Executive Member for Economic Development at 1.00pm on 15 January 2019.

B) Environment and Transport, set out in the attached report which is due to be considered at the Decision Day of the Executive Member for Environment and Transport at 2.00pm on 15 January 2019.

The Select Committee received a presentation from Stuart Jarvis and Sue Lapham, which covered both the Revenue Budgets for Economic Development and Environment and Transport, as well as the Proposed Capital Programme for Economy, Transport and Environment. 

Members heard that:

·         There were £140m of savings planned in the current programme;

·         One off funding was in place to meet potential gaps as a result of possible delay in cash release;

·         There would be a 2.99% council tax increase going forward;

·         In the Local Government Finance Settlement, Hampshire County Council would receive £1.8m to account for the business rate levy surplus;

·         Pilots were going ahead with Local Authorities keeping 75% and 100% of business tariffs as opposed to the current 50% and these would be reviewed at a later date;

·         There was no change to the New Homes bonus, with remained at £4.9m;

·         The Reserves Strategy was summarised with £115.7m (17.9%) being immediately available to support one-off spending;

·         The approved £15.805m savings proposals for Tt2019 were highlighted, which included parking, street lighting and agency agreements.

·         Highways maintenance and waste would continue to be a key challenge going forward as there were elements of fixed of costs that would need to be supported despite a shrinking revenue budget.

·         The Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) would be of crucial importance going forward as the costs increase, with two thirds of waste costs falling on Hampshire County Council. Discussions would continued with Government as to a sustainable way forward.

·         The Capital Programme and one-off funds available (like the Pothole Fund grant) meant that planning ahead was difficult.

·         Only the funding that had been allocated was shown and there were further bids and developer funding to come going forward.

·         Funding still existed from the Stubbington Bypass, consisting of both Capital Grant money and that from the Solent LEP.

·         There were too many variables to plan anything for Brexit, but it was appreciated that there would be an impact in some areas.

·         A short consultation was anticipated regarding MRF’s, which Hampshire County Council would respond to.

·         Food waste disposal was an area that would need further focus going forward, but there was currently spare capacity in anaerobic digesters so no issue with dealing with it locally.

Members queried as to whether money had been put aside to cover the potential risks resulting from Brexit, however it was confirmed that there were too many variables at this stage to plan effectively. Officers were, however, very conscious of potential impacts.

Members discussed the benefits of visiting an aerobic digester and MRF.

The Select Committee was informed that pooling restraints had been eased regarding 106 agreements. This was of benefit as SIL funding was released at trigger points for larger developments, which did not work as well for the County Council.

RESOLVED:

a) In regards to the revenue budget for Environment and Transport, the

Select Committee supported the recommendations being proposed to the Executive Member for Environment and Transport that the revised revenue budget for 2018/19, as set out in Appendix  ...  view the full minutes text for item 72.

For the Economy, Transport and Environment Select Committee to pre-scrutinise the proposals for the Economy, Transport and Environment Capital programme for 2019/20, 2020/21 and 2021/22 (see report attached due to be formally considered by the Executive Member for Environment and Transport at 2.00pm on 15 January 2019).

This item was considered alongside Item  6 on the agenda.

RESOLVED:

The Economy, Transport and Environment Select Committee: supported the recommendation to the Executive Member for Environment and Transport that the proposed capital programmes for 2019/20, 2020/21 and 2021/22 totalling £194.275million, as set out in the attached report and its appendices, be put forward for approval to the Leader and Cabinet.

To receive a presentation from David Fletcher regarding the Hampshire economy, featuring information produced for the 2050 Commission.

The Select Committee received a presentation from David Fletcher; Assistant Director of Economy regarding the Hampshire economy.

Members heard that:

·         Hampshire faced challenges that were both national and Hampshire specific. These included a shortage of grade A office space and lack of digital skills.

·         Despite challenges, Hampshire had a generally prosperous economy worth around £50bn, despite manufacturing decreasing by around 7%.

·          A thriving economy was about getting a good mix of high productivity and employment to achieve the best economic output. Transport links also needed to be exploited.

·         Urban centres were aimed at attracting young people and creating a mix of jobs and a good cultural environment. It was important that people were able to live and work in the same area.

·          Most successful City Centres need 50% of commercial development dedicated to office space, and at the moment Southampton had 20% and Portsmouth 25%.

·         Hampshire was the most export intensive county and looked to build on being a gateway for the UK economy as a whole.

·         Gosport has sites coming forward for development/redevelopment with deep water access and it was important that these were utilised to drive the marine and maritime economy in the local area.

Members agreed that there would be multiple benefits to the LEP’s working more closely together.

The Select Committee was shown a presentation by John Till, Director of Thinking Place on branding and marketing Hampshire. (Video can be seen at https://youtu.be/V2kPhFlGkhs)

RESOLVED:

Members noted the information provided by David Fletcher and thanked him for his ongoing work.

To receive a presentation from Steve Clow in Culture, Communities and Rural Affairs, updating Members on Electric Vehicle Charging (EVC) across Hampshire.

The Select Committee received a presentation from Steve Clow; Assistant Director of Property Services, and Paul Roebuck; Engineering Team Leader regarding Electric Vehicle developments in Hampshire.

Members heard that:

·         Electric vehicles formed part of the overall energy programme, which was delivering significant reductions in energy and carbon.

·         So far the cumulative saving on energy had been £30 million, inclusing school and corporate buildings.

·         Initiatives had included Solar Voltaic panels, updated boiler controls and LED lighting proposals.

·         Hampshire County Council (HCC) were looking to have an electric vehicle fleet going forward with 54 vehicles anticipated by the end of 2020. There had been investment in 14 charging point and each year had seen a 25% growth each year in both rapid and fast charges.

·         Hybrid vehicles had seen a 23% growth, with 8% of annual sales being low emission vehicles

·         Electric vehicles cost 1p a mile compared to 11p a mile with conventional fuel, and there were also savings to be made regarding vehicle maintenance with electric cars.

·         Hampshire had developed an Electric Vehicle Framework, in which approximately 30 organisations had so far joined and was free to Local Authorities.

·         On-street parking was the biggest challenge and charging vehicles at the side of the road, and a strategy was being developed to look at this.

·         There were three different types of charging. Slow charging was for cars parked all day or overnight, fast charging was for short visits whilst shopping as a top-up and rapid charging was like that at a service station where you would be with the vehicle.

·         Councillor Mel Kendal attended the meeting and informed Members of the history of getting electric vehicles part of the energy programme. He was thanked for championing the work undertaken to date.

RESOLVED:

Members fully supported the energy programme and the modern, clean image of Hampshire it portrayed. Officers were thanked for their investment in the project.

To receive an update on the Government 25 year Environment Plan strategy, following it being discussed at the Select Committee in April 2018.

The Select Committee received a presentation from Chris Murray, Head of Strategic Planning, updating Members on the Government 25 Year Environment Plan.

Members were taken through the main themes within the Plan, subsequent government policy and consultation and the County Council’s response to the aims in the Plan, on issues such as waste management (including the plastic and food waste challenge), biodiversity, flood management and air quality.

Members heard that:

· There were plans for 11 million trees to be planted by 2060 to support landscaping and declining species.

· An Ecological Network had been produced to help protect threatened species and reduce decline in biodiversity.

· Better partnership arrangements were being sought around flood and water management

· The Clean Air Strategy had been published and could be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/clean-air-strategy-2019.  Climate change and air quality implications had been discussed at Cabinet in November 2018.

Members enquired regarding initiatives to help protect wildlife by having dog free areas in national parks and other protected areas. This was acknowledged as an issue but would be something for the individual National Parks and other planning authorities to manage through planning policy.

RESOLVED:

Members noted the information and thanked Chris Murray for his presentation.

To consider the work programme of topics to be considered by this Select Committee in future.

The work programme was approved by Members.