Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies were received from Councillor’s Lulu Bowerman, David Drew, Gary Hughes and Hugh Lumby. Councillor’s Zoe Huggins and Graham Burgess attended as deputies for the meeting.

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.

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

It was confirmed that Councillor Andy Tree attended the meeting as a deputy for Councillor Louise Parker-Jones. The minutes of the last meeting were then reviewed and agreed.

To receive any deputations notified under Standing Order 12.

A deputation was received from Phil Gagg on behalf of Winchester Action on the Climate Crisis Transport Group, who welcomed the proposals within the Local Walking and Cycling Infrastructure Plans but requested that strategic tools being put in place going forward to look at how the modal shift could be changed.

To receive any announcements the Chairman may wish to make.

The Chairman confirmed that the 20mph Speed Limit Policy Task and Finish group review would report back to the January Select Committee meeting in light of the number of responses that had been received following an informal consultation.

There was also an update on the Solar Together initiative, which offered high-quality solar photovoltaic (PV) panels and battery storage to Hampshire residents. In the initial phase alone,  1,800 panels will had been installed by and an estimated 4,000 tonnes of carbon would be saved over 25 years (guaranteed system lifetime) which was the equivalent to more than 2,000 cars off the road. Registration for the second scheme closed at 12,910 for solar PV and 906 for retrofit battery storage, totalling 13,816, compared to 8,104 in the 2021 scheme.

The Chairman also congratulated the County Council’s Highways team for their success at the national Highways industry awards which took place on 18^th October in London. Hampshire County Council along with their partner contractor Milestones, won the Environmental Sustainability Award as well as the Special Merit Award, both against stiff competition from other local authorities and private sector organisations.

To receive a presentation from the Director of Economy, Transport and Environment and Senior Finance Business Partner with an update on SP23.

The Chairman introduced the item and thanked Stuart Jarvis, the Director for Economy, Transport and Environment and Sue Lapham, Senior Finance Business Partner for their contribution to the Select Committee ahead of their retirements at the end of the year.

The Select Committee received an update on SP23 savings, which summarised the significance of governement funding decisions, progress to date and traffic management enforcement.

The Select Committee learned that:

·         Reductions in the base budget enable savings to be sustainable going forward;

·         Inflation was an issue with ongoing projects but a contingency was in place to ensure they were completed;

·         Timescales around a national direction for waste services were still anticipated to change and it was agreed that work would continue with Districts and Boroughs;

·         There had been a very small reduction in staff numbers, which had been managed through the capital programme.

To pre-scrutinise a report going to the Executive Lead Member for Transport and Environment Strategy on 7 November 2022 regarding the Passenger Transport Consultation carried out earlier in the year and how £800,000 savings on Hampshire County Council’s passenger transport budget could be achieved and implemented.

The Select Committee pre-scrutinised a report for the Executive Lead Member for Transport and Environment regarding the Passenger Transport consultation that had taken place earlier in 2022.

The Select Committee received a deputation from Councillor Rod Cooper who requested an extension to a local bus service whilst an alternative was found due to the reliance on the service by residents in attending medical appointments.

The officer summarised the report and during questions, Members learned the following:

·         A lot of work and engagement had been done with bus operators;

·         A large proportion of those who responded to the consultation said they would prefer to pay to travel than have services removed, but this was something that would need to be progressed nationally as required a change in legislation;

·         Conversations had already taken place with providers and funding partners following the consultation;

·         Dial-A-Ride didn’t historically do hospital appointments but there would be more flexibility as options were looked at going forward;

·         Inflation and the impacts of it would be monitored;

·         There was currently a significant shortfall in taxi and bus drivers, which also had an impact on services;

·         In response to Councillor Cooper’s concerns raised in his deputation, it was confirmed that there was a voluntary car scheme available, another bus service and there was also a Dial-A-Ride that could be booked for GP appointments up to six days in advance;

·         Patronage levels were still low in some areas and still slow to recover following Covid.

In debate, an additional recommendation was proposed by Councillor Martin Tod and seconded by Councillor Kyrle:

That, in the light of central government's failure to adequately fund local government and public transport, including funding for community transport, the Executive Lead Member for Transport & the Environment Strategy write to the Secretary of State for Transport, the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and Hampshire's MPs highlighting the consequence of this failure to provide adequate funding, particularly its impact on the most vulnerable and ask for urgent action to address it.

This recommendation was put to the vote but not supported by the majority of the Select Committee.

A quorum of the Committee requested that the final recommendations be done as a recorded vote, which was taken forward by the Chairman.

RESOLVED

The Transport and Environment Select Committee supported the recommendations being proposed to the Executive Lead Member for Transport and Environment Strategy in paragraphs 2-10. of the report

Vote:

Councillor Graham Burgess: For
Councillor Curnow-Ford: For
Councillor Barry Dunning: For
Councillor Mike Ford: For
Councillor Tim Groves: Against
Councillor Zoe Huggins: For
Councillor Rupert Kyrle: Against
Councillor Derek Mellor: For
Councillor Stephen Parker: For
Councillor Louise Parker-Jones: Against
Councillor Martin Tod: Against
Councillor Rhydian Vaughan: For

To pre-scrutinise a report going to the Executive Lead Member for Transport and Environment Strategy on 7 November 2022 regarding newly developed Local Cycle and Walking Infrastructure Plans (LCWIPs) for the boroughs of Eastleigh, Fareham, Gosport, Havant, the Waterside part of New Forest district and the southern part of the Borough of Test Valley.

The Select Committee pre-scrutinised a report for the Executive Lead Member for Transport and Environment regarding newly developed Local Cycle and Walking Infrastructure Plans (LCWIPs) for the boroughs of Eastleigh, Fareham, Gosport, Havant, the Waterside part of New Forest district and the southern part of the Borough of Test Valley.

The report was summarised and it was highlighted that following an open public consultation, comments would continue to be monitored and incorporated as part of a live document.

Members learned:

·         The County would continue to work closely with Boroughs and Districts on implementation, particularly where work went across borders;

·         Planning tools were put in place for cyclists and officers were looking at developing standard design standards;

Officers were thanked for their work and readiness for implementation.

RESOLVED

The Transport and Environment Select Committee supported the recommendations being proposed to the Executive Lead Member for Transport and Environment Strategy in paragraphs 2.-10. of the report.

To review and approve the current work programme for the Economy, Transport and Environment Select Committee.

The Work Programme item was postponed until the next meeting.