Epsom Refugee Network welcomes the promised increase in cash to those local residents who take into their homes individuals and families who have had to flee Ukraine. It is hoped the extra money will attract more hosts in an increasingly difficult situation. Jo Sherring, leader of the Epsom Refugee Network, told Epsom and Ewell Times: “As we launch an appeal for new sponsors in the area, we welcome the news of the increased thank you payments which we hope may encourage more families to consider offering a place of safety to a family fleeing Ukraine.  We are also desperate to find sponsors for families who are already in the UK and are having to move on from their first sponsor and find a new host family. If you are thinking of hosting and have questions please, please get in touch”. www.epsomrefugeenetwork.org 

Surrey County Council and local district and borough councils who are managing the “Homes for Ukraine” scheme locally have agreed an additional thank you payment, to be paid monthly to host families from end of November 2022 to March 2023.  This is acknowledging that the financial circumstances faced by host families in Surrey, who welcomed Ukrainians into their homes, will have changed from the time they agreed to host Ukrainian families to our current economic situation in the UK.

Currently, host families are paid £350 a month for being sponsors, this payment will be increased by £250 to £600 a month from end of November 2022.  This is to compensate for the rise in energy, food and fuel bills in this cost-of-living crisis. This applies to existing hosts who are already in receipt of thank you payments, and new hosts who complete all the checks satisfactorily going forward. This funding comes from DLUHC (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities) via the County Council to the district and borough councils to pay the sponsors directly once they have passed all the relevant housing, DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) and safeguarding checks.

Surrey County Council leader Cllr Tim Oliver said “We are forever grateful for the unerring warm welcome and support that communities, charities, and district and boroughs continue to offer our Ukrainian guests here in Surrey. But in particular to those sponsor families who have opened their homes up to welcome Ukrainian families to live alongside them and their families. As if this sacrifice were not enough, we now need to ensure that they are not being penalised financially and can continue to offer support as sponsors in this current economic climate. Unfortunately, the conflict in Ukraine continues and so there is still a need for host families. SCC has taken the decision to increase the thank you payments after fears many people wouldn’t be able to afford to extend their current six-month agreements as winter approaches and the cost-of-living bites.”

Additional reporting from Surrey County Council news.

Local Epsom and Ewell Liberal Democrats announce local candidate and former Captain in the Royal Military Police Helen Maguire has been selected as the Liberal Democrat Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Epsom & Ewell. Helen has lived in Surrey with her husband and 3 children for over 11 years. In the British Army, she served in Iraq and Bosnia. Helen now runs an award-winning charity fundraising consultancy, delivering vital funding to charities nationwide. She recently won ‘service Leaver of the year’ in the British Ex-Forces in Business awards 2022. In her spare time Helen can be found running on Epsom Downs. She has represented Epsom & Ewell Harriers Athletic Club for over 10 years.

Image: Helen Maguire (2nd from left) with supporters in Epsom High St

Helen was a key campaigner in Esher & Walton during the 2019 General Election where she played a pivotal role in increasing the Liberal Democrat vote by 18,000 with the largest swing in the country of 27.7%. Repeating this in Epsom & Ewell would result in Helen winning the seat from the conservatives.

According to the Liberal Democrat’s press release “Helen is a local community champion, volunteering her spare time to numerous charities within the constituency, an activist who fights for local issues to be heard. Following her selection earlier this month, Helen has been actively campaigning in Epsom, including protesting against the Tory plans to allow Fracking in Surrey and knocking on doors to listen to and understand first-hand about the local issues such as the Chalk Pit fiasco.”

Helen Maguire stated: “I am absolutely honoured to be selected as the Liberal Democrat prospective Parliamentary candidate for Epsom & Ewell. I am standing for honesty and integrity, and a fairer society for all.”

See Gina Miller’s recent announcement of her ambition to stand for Parliament in Epsom and Ewell reported HERE

Thursday 27th October’s meeting of Epsom and Ewell’s Licensing Committee was taxed by emission standards for the Town’s black cabs. Over the summer the Council had circulated a draft hackney carriage and private hire vehicle and driver policy for consultation. One local response was “Black diesel cabs have the highest emissions of any vehicle and they regularly travel up and down my road polluting the air. The most common black cab models in London are polluting the streets with nitrogen oxide (NOX) emissions up to 30 times the level of personal petrol cars of the same age.”

In London since 1 January 2018, taxis presented for licensing for the first time have needed to be Zero Emission Capable. This means having CO2 emissions of no more than 50g/km and a minimum 30 mile zero emission range. First-time taxi vehicle licences are no longer granted to diesel taxis. ZEC taxis with petrol engines need to meet the latest emissions standard (currently Euro 6). Transport for London offers £7500 payments to support taxi-drivers making these changes.

Cllr Julie Morris (LibDem College Ward) asked why the proposed new taxi policy could not require all new applications for hackney and private hire vehicle licences to be ULEZ compliant (ultra-low emission zone). Despite issues of emissions being raised during the consultation the draft policy had not specifically proposed such a requirement. The Council officer stated that 12 months would be required to undergo a legally necessary consultation. Ms Morris went on to claim that the Council was lacking in leadership over the climate emergency.

The draft policy requires new vehicle licence applications to comply with Euro 5 (the standard from 2011) rather than the London standard of Euro 6 (applicable to new vehicles from 2015). The officer explained that implementing London’s higher standards would risk reducing the provision of black cabs in Epsom as the income of local black cab drivers was lower than their London counterparts.

The committee’s chair Steven McCormick (RA Woodcote) indicated that he would work with officers and endeavour to achieve the required consultation and bring back a revision on emissions standards within 6 months. The committee approved the new policy to go for decision by the Full Council in due course.

The Local Government Association advises that consultations should last between 6 to 8 weeks and possibly shorter in urgent situations.

Click HERE for the full report to the committee – pages 11-138 re taxis.

Borough budgets are difficult to follow. However, a practice adopted this year presents to Council committees an overview of budget plans. Without savings being made in the budgets for 2023/2024 onward the Council is predicted to face a loss of £2.6 million by 2025/2026. [Small compared with Woking Borough Council’s Black-Hole of a debt of £2.4 billion – see our report on their debt HERE]

Thursday 27th October’s Licensing Policy and Planning Committee received a report from the Council’s Finance Department. The overview and recommendations provided to the Councillors is helpful and highlights are reprinted with some edits below. Full REPORT HERE (see pages 7 – 10). The recommendation approved by the Committee that “growth items” must be funded from existing budgets means that some items will not grow but will diminish. Cuts might be avoidable if recommended rises in various chargeable services are sufficient to pay.

Report to Councillors:

“The Council is facing a great deal of uncertainty, with sufficient information unlikely to be available to reliably predict the medium-term impact of elevated inflation and the cost-of-living crisis on Council services before the end of 2022. As such, the report to Strategy & Resources Committee modelled 3 scenarios – optimistic, neutral and pessimistic – to forecast the Council’s future budget position.

In the neutral scenario, adopted for financial planning purposes, the Council faces a projected budget deficit of £2.6m by 2025/26.

Budget targets include:

Excluding any new growth in expenditure, a level of savings of £2.6 million is needed to achieve a balanced budget over the next three year financial planning period to 2025/26.

Recommendations:

That estimates be prepared including the delivery of savings already identified in the Financial Plan for 2023/24 totalling £215,000.

That at least £396,000 additional revenue be generated from an increase of 6% on discretionary fees and charges in 2023/24.

That a provision for pay award is made of £524,000 that would allow for a 3% cost of living increase.

That the homelessness service be set a target to reduce net costs by £243,000 per annum.

That any additional new growth items supported by Policy Committees will need to be fully funded from existing budgets.”

An NHS chief executive has never in her career seen employee relations cases of the “volume and a complexity” as at her current troubled ambulance trust. South East Coast Ambulance Service (SECAmb), the NHS trust which covers Surrey, is on an improvement journey, after an “inadequate” rating for how the service was led in June and a report this week which downgraded its overall rating.

The trust’s interim chief executive, Siobhan Melia, said though she was not happy with the pace of the progress on improving the culture at the trust, she understood why it was not moving quickly. She told a board meeting on Thursday (October 27): “I have never in my career seen a volume and a complexity of [employee relations] cases that we are dealing with.” She said she understood why limited staff resources and an “incredibly high case load” were contributing to this.

The meeting heard what progress was being made against two warnings given in the June report, which found a culture of “bullying, harassment and sexualised behaviour” at the trust.

A report published this week by the Care Quality Commission downgraded the trust’s overall rating, finding that staff were “burnt out”, working beyond their hours and not always getting breaks. But the area of “caring” was given a “good” rating in the latest report, with patients found to be treated with kindness and compassion.

Thursday’s meeting focused on the two warning areas of four highlighted in the June report, namely risk, clinical governance and quality improvement, and of a culture of bullying. The latest report will be addressed at future board meetings of the ambulance trust, which covers Surrey, Kent, Sussex and parts of Hampshire.

According to meeting documents, the trust’s planned outcome for concerns around culture centred on a “significant reduction in bullying and harassment”, and staff feeling empowered and supported to raise concerns.
The interim chief executive said there needed to be “absolute clarity” on there being zero tolerance on behaviours that did not align with trust values, and a “decisive position” taken that sexually inappropriate behaviour would not be tolerated.

She said the backlog of cases meant people were getting “frustrated” at the length of processes because the trust was “running to catch up”. Ms Melia said she had found herself “challenged” as a woman chief executive in 2022 to have taken a sexual safety workshop in the last week. She added: “I’m listening to the lived experiences of female members of staff at SECAmb, who are talking quite openly in that workshop about some of the things that are happening. So we simply have to get more decisive, more strong in the actions that we take and continually say: ‘We will protect you as we should when you’re an employee of SECAmb’.”

Saying decisions on sanctions in proven cases needed to be “much faster”, she added that the trust needed to “deliver the actions in a much more overt way” to match words and communications that were being put out.

The trust’s executive director of human resources and organisational development, Ali Mohammed, said that 25 per cent of employee relations cases involved bullying, harassment or sexual safety.

He said once the initial work had been done on meeting targets set out after the CQC report and clearing the backlog of cases, more of a “learning culture” needed to be brought in at the trust. But he said ultimately it would be the staff that would be able to tell leaders if things had changed for the better. He said: “Are we winning in terms of people feeling that there’s a different culture within the organisation? That’s the key thing in the end, asking the individuals themselves because they are the best judge of it.” He said there was an “individual and collective responsibility” on all board members, managers and “every single individual within the organisation” to push the same message and the same culture. He added: “This isn’t something one person could do in isolation. I think it’s a test we should hold ourselves to as a board, and as a senior management community, that it is something that we personally will be pushing forward.”

The board’s chairman David Astley said the trust needed to “root out” inappropriate behaviour. He said all staff needed to feel confident and safe at work, whether on the front line or in other areas. Mr Astley added: “They’ve got to feel safe, so they can do the best job they can for their colleagues, and more importantly, the patients.”

A £40 million project to improve education facilities for some of Surrey’s most vulnerable children has moved to its next stage. Surrey County Council is currently not providing enough spaces in its “alternative provision” schools, which cater for children who have been excluded from mainstream schools or have additional educational needs. [Ed. SEND = special educational needs and disability.]
The current facilities are also described by the council as in “extremely poor” and “dilapidated condition”.
It is hoped that being able to provide places in council-run facilities will unlock more than £1m a year because the cost of a place with private providers is around £30,000 more per year than in an authority setting.
A meeting of Surrey County Council’s cabinet on Tuesday (October 25) heard from the authority’s cabinet member for education and learning that the new and redeveloped sites would be “first class”.
Councillor Clare Curran (Conservative, Bookham and Fetcham West) outlined plans for sites across Surrey which would be redeveloped, demolished or built from scratch to aim to increase the authority’s capacity.
Currently, according to council documents, the authority can only provide 196 spaces, out of a total of 240 that are required by law.
Legally, the county council must secure suitable, full-time alternative education for children who, because of reasons including illness or exclusion, would not be in education unless it was arranged for them.
It must also make sure there is provision for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) who have Education, Health, and Care Plans in place.
Alternative provision is often a short-term solution until a child can return to mainstream education or move to a dedicated school, but in some cases is a longer-term solution.
Cllr Curran said the new sites would provide an environment where children would feel valued, could access high quality curriculum and get the emotional, health and well-being support they needed.
She said: “These short-stay schools can include some of the most vulnerable and marginalised children and young people that are in the county. We really want to ensure that we’re providing them not only with first-class accommodation, but a first-class learning experience.”
The plans, which would add 44 alternative provision places, include new sites in Elmbridge, on a council-owned site at Thamesfield Farm North, in either Surrey Heath or Runnymede and a new school on a new site for Reigate Valley College.
There are also plans to demolish the current Fordway School in Spelthorne, with the school relocating temporarily to Wey Valley College in Guildford while a new school is built, and plans to requires remodel and expand the Wey Valley College site.
The targets for the school sites are autumn and winter 2024.
An officers’ report said: “The current assets are in extremely poor condition and lack capacity to provide adequate places in appropriate locations across the county. Existing accommodation across the current nine buildings is significantly undersized and the buildings are in a dilapidated condition which is likely to render them unusable within the next two years. As such, the existing accommodation does not enable the provision of a full statutory educational offer that meets the educational needs of Surrey’s most  vulnerable learners.”
Cabinet members approved the £43.2m budget for the project, which should also generate £5.77m in capital receipts when current council land is sold off.
The officers’ report showed that the average cost of a child going to an independent facility was around £52,000 per year, compared to £22,000 per year for a place at a maintained specialist school.
The additional places in council-run schools would mean a difference of £1.32m a year to the council’s budget.

Citizens Advice Epsom & Ewell has teamed up with the Rotary Clubs of Epsom and Ewell to bring Project Wenceslas to the Borough for the sixth year running. Project Wenceslas enables those who receive, but do not need, the Government’s Winter Fuel Payment to donate it to either Rotary Club of Epsom or Rotary Club of Ewell. This money will be distributed to people in critical need of assistance with energy bills, much needed during the Cost of Living crisis. All monies donated are redistributed 100% without any deductions for costs or expenses.

If you would like to know more about donating your Winter Fuel Payment, please contact Epsom Rotary via their website or Ewell Rotary via their website and search for Project Wenceslas.

If you are struggling with fuel bills, then contact Citizens Advice Epsom & Ewell on 0808 278 7963 (Mon-Fri, 10am – 4pm) or see the CAB website : www.caee.org.uk

On 2nd February 2022 the Government published its Levelling Up White Paper which laid out an agenda for tackling inequality across the country. It outlined the future landscape for devolution in the UK and provided a blueprint for improving opportunity and outcomes in education, the economy, infrastructure, transport, and health by The White Paper also set out a commitment to bring devolution in the form of County Deals ‘to every part of England that wants one by 2030’.

The Government’s Levelling Up White Paper presents a rare opportunity for the Surrey County Council to pursue a devolution deal for Surrey that will bring new powers, freedoms and flexibilities, better enabling the council to deliver for residents against the 2030 Community Vision, the council’s four strategic priorities (Growing a sustainable economy; Tackling health inequality; Enabling a greener future; and Empowering communities), and work towards the overarching ambition of No One Left Behind.

In April 2022, Surrey County Council’s Cabinet was presented with a paper that outlined the key implications of, and opportunities within, the Government’s Levelling Up White Paper for Surrey, particularly in relation to the devolution framework and a County Deal for Surrey. Within this, it set out the initial ideas being explored and developed in partnership with stakeholders that would form proposals within a County Deal.

More recently the government have announced two Level 3 devolution deals to establish the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority and East Midlands County Combined Authority. Both deals align closely with the wording set out in the Devolution Framework and have provided a useful basis from which to compare with the proposals being considered for Surrey’s County Deal.

Despite securing these devolution deals, progress has slowed in government due to a number of factors, including the ongoing challenges with the cost-of-living crisis, the Conservative Party Leadership contest to elect a new Prime Minister and then the death of Queen Elizabeth II. Capacity within the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities is limited, so until the first set of early County Deals are agreed they are unlikely to start negotiating with new areas.

Once negotiations begin, there is a chance that the “core” proposals set out in a Council Report will evolve and new proposals could emerge as part of discussions. The intention before any final County Deal is agreed is for the details of the deal to be brought back to the Cabinet to endorse and for wider members to have appropriate opportunities to comment, scrutinise, and approve.

Key areas subject to proposals and consultations include:

Housing Strategy

The Cabinet agreed with the recommendations outlined in a report on a single, unifying housing strategy for Surrey.

Housing is fundamental to people’s wellbeing and life chances, but there is not currently a joined-up housing strategy for the county.

The council is working with partners in district and borough councils, Registered Social Landlords, developers, businesses and health providers to provide ambition, focus, direction and alignment across the whole Surrey housing system.

The full report is available here.

Surrey Skills Plan

The Cabinet endorsed the Surrey Skills Plan, which aims to help deliver the skills, jobs and opportunities for Surrey’s economy to thrive.

The Skills Plan will officially launch at the Surrey Skills Summit on 10 November at Sandown Racecourse.

The full report is available here.

Healthy Streets for Surrey

Cabinet endorsed the new healthy streets planning guide, which aims to support the creation of high quality, attractive, safe, accessible and sustainable developments.

The developments outlined in the guide will bring a raft of benefits, including:

• More cycling and walking
• Streets where children can play safely
• Improved air quality
• Reduction in residents’ transport carbon footprint
• Creation of attractive and popular streets that will require less long-term maintenance.

The full report is available here.

Bus Services in Surrey

Cabinet agreed to the recommendations outlined in a report on the council’s response to the National Bus Strategy (Bus Back Better).

As part of this Cabinet approved a consultation about the future for bus services in Surrey.

The council will be seeking residents’ views on investment proposals, the introduction of more on-demand buses and possible alterations to some existing bus routes.

The consultation will run from 3 November – 6 January 2023.

The full report is available here.

Surrey County Council News with edits by Epsom and Ewell Times

Surrey Fire and Rescue Service have appointed Dan Quin as their new permanent Chief Fire Officer. Dan has been acting-up as Chief Fire Officer since June 2022, prior to that he was the county’s Deputy Chief Fire Officer since October 2019.

He has served his whole career within Surrey Fire and Rescue Service since joining over 23 years ago in 1999 as a firefighter at Leatherhead Fire Station and takes on the role following a robust interview process.

Dan is also the Vice-Chair of the United Kingdom Rescue Organisation who are the industry leads in advancing professional rescue skills nationally.

Speaking of his new appointment, Dan said: “I am absolutely delighted to have been appointed as Surrey’s permanent Chief Fire Officer and very much looking forward to building on the plans I put in place during the last few months as Acting Chief. As someone who has been in the service for the whole of my career, I am aware of the many strengths as well as the areas we need to improve upon. I am dedicated to making Surrey one of the best fire and rescue services in the industry and I know we have the people to help see that through.”

Council Leader Tim Oliver said: “I’m pleased to welcome Dan as Chief Fire Officer. After a very positive spell leading Surrey Fire and Rescue Service on an interim basis, Dan was clearly a very strong candidate for the job. I’m confident he will be a great leader of the service – knowledgeable, experienced and approachable to staff and partners across Surrey. He will continue on the improvement journey that is well underway and I’m confident SFRS is in good hands to continue its journey to being an excellent service.”

Cabinet Member for Communities and Community Protection, Denise Turner-Stewart said: “Having worked with Dan before and very recently too, I am very pleased to hear that he has been made our Chief Fire Officer and am looking forward to continuing to work closely alongside him. Dan brings a wealth of experience from serving the residents of Surrey for over 20 years already and it gives me great confidence that Surrey Fire and Rescue Service and the safety of residents are in good hands.”

Surrey County Council news

Surrey County Council launches Surrey Skills Plan at Skills Summit November 10. A landmark event in Surrey next month will bring together education providers and businesses in a bid to turbo charge Surrey’s local economy.

The Surrey Skills Summit at Sandown Racecourse on 10 November will give leading local businesses the opportunity to outline what skills they need in the years to come. Education providers including colleges and universities will be on hand to discuss tailoring vocational offers and training, with a view to developing Surrey’s workforce of the future.

The event will also launch the Surrey Skills Plan, including recommendations and actions to help deliver the skills, jobs and opportunities for Surrey’s economy to thrive.

The Summit will also include:
 Presentations from experts on the national skills landscape, including developments and their implications for Surrey businesses and training providers.
 Case studies from Surrey businesses who have taken creative approaches to meeting their recruitment, retention and skills needs
 The chance for businesses to have their voice heard to help build a world class skills system in Surrey that meets the needs of all businesses and residents.

Learn more and register here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/surrey-skills-summit-tickets-
415842374737

Matt Furniss, Surrey County Council Cabinet Member for Transport, Infrastructure and Growth, said:
“Surrey has the UK’s second largest GDP after London and for decades has been a natural home for companies from across the world. As competition for talent becomes tougher and skills shortages become more pronounced, it’s essential for Surrey to become more proactive in planning for the future. The Skills Plan and events like the Skills Summit are essential for growing a sustainable economy for Surrey. We need to come together to provide the right conditions for business to thrive, delivering skills, jobs and opportunity for all.”

Surrey County Council News