Agenda, decisions and draft minutes

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 24 March 2026 as a correct record.

The minutes of the meeting held on 24 March 2026 were agreed as a correct record of proceedings.

To receive any disclosures of interest from Councillors in accordance with the Council’s Code of Conduct for members.

Cllr Sexton advised that she was also a Surrey County Councillor.

Councillors Bateson and Sexton both advised that they were councillors on the West Surrey Unitary Shadow Authority.

The Chair, or their nominee, to answer any questions raised by members of the public in accordance with Standing Order 40.

At the time of publication of this agenda no questions were received.

There were none.

To consider the Forward Plan for committee business.

The Forward Plan for this committee was agreed.

Committee is asked to:

1.    Approve the Environmental Health General Enforcement Policy 2026;

2.    Approve the Housing Enforcement Policy 2026;

3.    Approve the Civil Financial Penalty Policy 2026;

4.    Delegate authority to the Group Head of Place, Protection and Prosperity, in consultation with the Monitoring Officer, to make minor non-material amendments to the policies where required by changes in legislation or statutory guidance.

Committee resolved to:

1.    Approve the Environmental Health General Enforcement Policy 2026;

2.    Approve the Housing Enforcement Policy 2026;

3.    Approve the Civil Financial Penalty Policy 2026; and

4.    Delegate authority to the Group Head of Place, Protection and Prosperity, in consultation with the Monitoring Officer, to make minor non-material amendments to the policies where required by changes in legislation or statutory guidance.

The Committee considered a report from the Joint Senior Environmental Health Manager (JSEHM) that sought to ensure that the Council had a legally robust and up-to-date enforcement and penalty policies that aligned with the Renters’ Rights Act 2025.

The JSEHM advised that committee that all the districts and boroughs that make up the new West Surrey Unitary Authority had agreed that, with members’ agreement, will adopt these policies.

The Committee were reassured that these policies would provide a greater degree of protection for tenants.  

Committee resolved to:

1.    Approve the Environmental Health General Enforcement Policy 2026;

2.    Approve the Housing Enforcement Policy 2026;

3.    Approve the Civil Financial Penalty Policy 2026; and

4.    Delegate authority to the Group Head of Place, Protection and Prosperity, in consultation with the Monitoring Officer, to make minor non-material amendments to the policies where required by changes in legislation or statutory guidance.

Cllr Geach entered the Council Chamber at 19.33.

Committee is asked to:

1.    Approve the Council entering into an inter-authority agreement with Runnymede Borough Council for the delivery of CCTV monitoring and maintenance services, for a term of two (2) years with an option to extend for a further one (1) year, subject to mutual agreement between both parties;

2.    Approve a maximum contract value referenced in 3.1 and as detailed with (exempt) Appendix A, in accordance with the appropriate level of delegation as set out in the Spelthorne Borough Council Constitution;

3.    Delegate authority to the Group Head Corporate Governance to finalise and enter into the agreement and any ancillary documentation, including any minor amendments.

Appendix A contains exempt information within the meaning of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972, as amended by the Local Government (Access to Information) Act 1985 and by the Local Government (Access to Information) (Variation) Order 2006 Paragraph 3 – Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information) and in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information because, disclosure to the public would prejudice the financial position of the authority in any lease, contract or other type of negotiation with the tenant or developer, who could then know the position of the Council

Committee resolved to:

1.    Approve the Council entering into an inter-authority agreement with Runnymede Borough Council for the delivery of CCTV monitoring and maintenance services, for a term of two (2) years with an option to extend for a further one (1) year, subject to mutual agreement between both parties and subject to delegating authority to the Chair and Vice-Chair of Community Wellbeing to approve the Key Performance Indicators and the Service Level Agreement by 30 June 2026,

2.    Approve a maximum contract value referenced in 3.1 and as detailed with exempt Appendix A, in accordance with the appropriate level of delegation as set out in the Spelthorne Borough Council Constitution; and

3.    Delegate authority to the Group Head Corporate Governance to finalise and enter into the agreement and any ancillary documentation, including any minor amendments

The Committee were advised that the contract that the Council had with Runnymede Borough Council for CCTV monitoring and maintenance of the equipment had ended in March 2026 and therefore approval was sought to enter into a new contract for a period of 2 years with an option to extend for a further 1 year.

The Committee expressed concern that there were no KPIs or Service Level Agreements included with the report and that they would be unable to make an informed decision without these. The Group Head Neighbourhood Services advised that she would be able to provide these within 2 weeks. The Committee considered whether the item should be deferred until the next meeting of the Committee or whether delegated authority be given to the Chair and Vice Chair of the Committee to agree the KPIs outside of the meeting.

It was proposed by Councillor Sexton, seconded by Councillor Gyawali and resolved by the Committee to amend the report recommendation to include delegated authority given to the Chair and Vice Chair of the Committee to agree proposed Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).

Committee resolved to:

1.     Approve the Council entering into an inter-authority agreement with Runnymede Borough Council for the delivery of CCTV monitoring and maintenance services, for a term of two (2) years with an option to extend for a further one (1) year, subject to mutual agreement between both parties and subject to delegating authority to the Chair and Vice-Chair of Community Wellbeing to approve the Key Performance Indicators and the Service Level Agreement by 30 June 2026,

2.     Approve a maximum contract value referenced in 3.1 and as detailed with exempt Appendix A, in accordance with the appropriate level of delegation as set out in the Spelthorne Borough Council Constitution; and

3.     Delegate authority to the Group Head Corporate Governance to finalise and enter into the agreement and any ancillary documentation, including any minor amendments

Committee is asked to consider an amendment to the Council’s Disabled Facilities Grant Policy.

Committee resolved to defer this item to the next meeting in September 2026.

The Committee considered a report that sought agreement from the Committee to:

1.     Approve the amendment of the Council’s Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) Policy to remove discretionary means test exemptions for level access showers,

2.     Approve the introduction of means testing for this adaptation type in line with statutory DFG requirements under the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996,

3.     Approve the reduction of the aids and adaptations disregard from £2,000 to £1,000,

4.     Delegate authority to the Group Head of Community Wellbeing, in consultation with the Chair, to implement minor operational changes required to enact the revised policy; and

5.     Note the intention to align Spelthorne’s DFG policy with other Surrey Authorities in advance of Local Government Reorganisation.

The Committee were advised that the grant available to provide level access showers would, if the current demand continued, be depleted before the end of the year and any future applications might not be able to be considered. Committee members acknowledged that there was a need to save money but had concerns that these new proposals would disadvantage vulnerable residents within the borough. The Committee were advised that the proposed means testing criteria would only look at income the household received but would not consider any assets held. This would align Spelthorne with the other districts and boroughs within the West Surrey Unitary Authority.

The Committee asked whether additional funding could be found to top up the grant so that future applications did not need to be means tested and that all applications meeting the current criteria would be approved for the remainder of the financial year.

It was proposed by Councillor Bateson, seconded by Councillor Arnold to defer making any decision on this item until the next meeting of the committee and requested that officers investigate whether additional funding could be found.

Committee resolved to defer this item to the next meeting in September 2026.

The meeting was adjourned at 21.05

The meeting reconvened at 21.15

Committee is asked to agree the targets set out in the Nightly Paid Accommodation Delivery Plan, and to make a recommendation to Corporate Policy and Resources Committee.

Committee resolved to:

1.    Agree the targets set out in the Nightly Paid Accommodation Delivery Plans as follows:

Target 1 – reduce the total number f households in nightly paid accommodation to fewer than 35 by April 2027- the target for budgetary purposes is 50 to allow for contingency in the 2026/27 budget’

Target 2 - reduce the average nightly cost of accommodation by 5%

Target 3 – the average length of time households spend in nightly paid accommodation to reduce from 215 days in 2025/26 to 120 days by March 2027; and

2.    Recommend to Corporate Policy and Resources Committee that the anticipated savings of £600k arising from the Nightly Paid Accommodation Delivery Plan be incorporated into the overall Budget Savings Plan for 2026/27

Committee resolved to:

1.    Agree the targets set out in the Nightly Paid Accommodation Delivery Plans as follows:

Target 1 – reduce the total number of households in nightly paid accommodation to fewer than 35 by April 2027- the target for budgetary purposes is 50 to allow for contingency in the 2026/27 budget’

Target 2 - reduce the average nightly cost of accommodation by 5%

Target 3 – the average length of time households spend in nightly paid accommodation to reduce from 215 days in 2025/26 to 120 days by March 2027; and

2.    Recommend to Corporate Policy and Resources Committee that the anticipated savings of £600k arising from the Nightly Paid Accommodation Delivery Plan be incorporated into the overall Budget Savings Plan for 2026/27

This report is on the agenda for the Corporate Policy and Resources Committee and may be recommended to this meeting.

A copy of the report and appendices can be viewed here.

The Corporate Policy and Resources Committee has recommended the Community Wellbeing and Housing Committee consider the proposed Council Transitional Plan and provide comments on any areas relevant to the Committee’s remit.

The Committee were advised that a proposed new Council Transitional Plan for 2026/27 was endorsed by the Corporate Policy and Resources Committee on 26 May 2026 and it was resolved that all service committees would be asked to look at the items on the plan that came under the remit of their individual committee. Any feedback received would then be collated into one report and presented to the Corporate Policy and Resources Committee to make a recommendation to Council before it was fully adopted.

The Committee were advised that all the items on the proposed new plan had been incorporated within the current budget for 2026/27. Any additional items that the Committee might want to add would need to be accommodated within the current budget or additional funding sourced from outside of the Council. Any feedback would need to be received by 26 June 2026 to be incorporated within the report for Corporate Policy and Resources Committee.

The Committee will receive a presentation on the MHCLG Deep Dive into Homelessness.

Committee agreed to note the presentation

The Committee received a presentation from the Group Head Community Wellbeing and Housing.

The Committee were advised that the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) were invited into the Council to look out how the homelessness service was performing. They produced a balanced report that highlighted areas that they felt the Council could improve, such as too much reliance on nightly accommodation, more collaborative working with the private rental sector and better reporting of what measures the Council has in place to reduce homelessness in the borough. Overall, the report was very positive and made reference to the excellent and accessible service provided, the positive team culture, excellent support from the Senior Leadership Team and councillors, and the training provided to officers to enable them to progress their skills and provide a better service for the homeless within the Borough.

Committee agreed to note the presentation

It was proposed by Councillor Bateson, seconded by Councillor Sexton and resolved by the Committee to suspend Standing Order 38.3 to continue beyond 10pm to consider the remaining item on the agenda.

To move the exclusion of the Press/Public for the following item, in view of the likely disclosure of exempt information within the meaning of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972, as amended by the Local Government (Access to Information) Act 1985 and by the Local Government (Access to information) (Variation) Order 2006.

It was proposed by Councillor Bateson, seconded by Councillor Sexton and resolved by the Committee to exclude the public and press for the discussion of the remaining items, in view of the likely disclosure of exempt information within the meaning of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 as amended by the Local Government (Access to Information) Act 1985 and by the Local Government (Access to Information) (Variation) Order 2006.

Committee is asked to approve the commissioning of survey and investigatory work to optimise the performance of the existing ventilation system at the Eclipse Leisure Centre.

The Report and Appendix contains exempt information within the meaning of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972, as amended by the Local Government (Access to Information) Act 1985 and by the Local Government (Access to Information) (Variation) Order 2006 Paragraph 3  – Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information) and in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information because, disclosure to the public would prejudice the financial position of the authority in any contract or other type of negotiation with a prospective purchaser who could then know the position of the Council.

Committee resolved to approve the recommendations as outlined in the exempt report

Committee resolved to approve the recommendations as outlined in the exempt report