Community Wellbeing and Housing Committee
Decisions taken at the meeting held on Tuesday, 29 September 2026.
Meeting Time:
7.00 pm
Meeting Venue:
Council Chamber, Council Offices, Knowle Green, Staines-upon-Thames TW18 1XB
PRESENT:
|
4. Review of Community Safety Partnership Plan & Priorities 2026
|
|
|
|
The Committee resolved to receive the progress update contained in the report. |
|
5. Leisure Operating Contract Review April 2025-March 2026
|
|
|
|
The Committee resolved to receive Places for People Leisure (PfP) Annual Report for the period April 2025 to March 2026 and acknowledge the performance against the Leisure Operating Contract. |
|
6. Procurement Framework for Nightly-Paid Accommodation
|
|
|
|
The Committee resolved not to make a recommendation to Council on this item and agreed that further details would be communicated to all members through an all member briefing before going onto Council.
|
|
7. Community Grants Mapping Across Surrey Authorities: Section 24 Position and Decisions Required from Sovereign Authorities*
|
|
|
|
The Committee resolved to:
1. Approve the continuation of the Council’s existing Community Grant Programme (as approved for 2026/27) into 2027/28 for the currently funded strategic community organisations identified with Appendix 1; and
2. Agree that grant awards are made on the basis of existing funding principles and approved budget provision, subject to normal grant agreements and monitoring arrangements.
|
|
8. Disabled Facility Grant Policy Update*
|
|
|
|
The Committee resolved to:
1. Note the outcome of investigations undertaken following the June 2026 Committee Meeting,
2. Note that advice received from MHCLG and Foundations confirms that no mechanism exists to transfer underspent Disabled Funding Grant (DFG) funding between authorities and must be returned through the relevant Government funding arrangements,
3. Approve the amendment of the Council’s Disabled Facilities Grant Policy to move discretionary means test exemptions for level access showers,
4. Approve the introduction of means testing for this adaptation type in line with statutory DFG requirements under the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1966,
5. Approve the reduction of the aids and adaptations disregard from £2000 to £1000,
6. Delegate authority to the Group Head of Community Wellbeing, in consultation with the Chair and Vice Chair to implement minor operational changes required to enact the revised policy; and
7. Note the intention to align Spelthorne’s DFG Policy with other Surrey Authorities in advance of Local Government Reorganisation.
|
|
9. Housing Needs - Governance Assurance
|
|
|
|
This item was deferred to the next meeting of the Committee on 17 November 2026. |
|
10. Community Wellbeing and Housing Committee KPI Update
|
|
|
|
This item was deferred to the next meeting of the Committee on 17 November 2026. |
|
11. Forward Plan
|
|
|
|
This item was deferred to the next meeting of the Committee on 17 November 2026. |
NOTES:-
(1) Members are reminded that the “call-in” procedure as set out in Part 4b of the Constitution, shall not apply to the following matters:
(a) Urgent decisions as defined in Paragraph 9. of the Call-in Scrutiny Procedure Rules;
(b) Decisions to award a contract following a lawful procurement process;
(c) Those decisions:
i. reserved to full Council
ii. on regulatory matters
iii. on member conduct issues.
(2) Those matters to which Note (1) applies, if any, are identified with an asterisk [*] in the above Minutes.
(3) Within three working days of the date on which this decision is published, not less than three members from two or more political groups by submission of the standard call-in pro-forma, may ask for that decision to be referred to a meeting of the Corporate Policy and Resources Committee for review (call-in). The completed pro-forma must be received by the Proper Officer by 5pm three working days after publication of the decision.
(4) The members exercising the right of call-in must not be members of the Committee which considered the matter.
(5) When calling in a decision for review the members doing so must demonstrate the following exceptional circumstances:
a. Evidence which suggests that the decision maker, did not take the decision in accordance with the principles set out in Article 11 (Decision Making); or
b. Evidence that the decision fails to support one or more of the Council’s Corporate Plan priorities to the detriment of the majority of the Borough’s residents; or
c. Evidence that explicit Council Policy or legal requirements were disregarded.
(6) Once the request for ‘call-in’ has been deemed valid by the Monitoring Officer the matter will be suspended until the call-in procedure has been exhausted.
(7) The Chief Executive, in consultation with the relevant officer, will determine if the interests of the Council or Borough would be prejudiced by a delay in implementing a decision such that the call-in cannot wait until the next ordinary meeting of the Corporate Policy and Resources Committee.
(8) Where the call-in cannot wait until the next ordinary meeting, the Monitoring Officer will arrange an extraordinary meeting of the Corporate Policy and Resources Committee to review the decision subject to call-in at the earliest possible opportunity.
(9) In exceptional cases, where there is clear evidence that a delay to the implementation of a decision would lead to a specific and significant financial or reputational harm to the Council, a call-in request may be refused by the Chief Executive following consultation with the Chair and Vice-Chair of Corporate Policy and Resources Committee.
(10) In reviewing a matter referred to it under the call-in scrutiny procedure rules, the Corporate Policy and Resources Committee shall follow the procedure for dealing with call-in scrutiny at its meetings as set out in Part 4b of the Constitution.
(11) The deadline of three working days for "call in" in relation to the above decisions by the Committee is the close of business on 05 October 2026..