Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies were received from Councillor Rupert Kyrle and Councillor Gary Hughes.

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

It was noted that the apologies appeared in the minutes twice. Apart from this, the minutes of the last meeting were reviewed and agreed.

To receive any deputations notified under Standing Order 12.

It was confirmed that there were no deputations for this meeting.

To receive any announcements the Chairman may wish to make.

The Chairman confirmed the new poll voting method to the Select Committee and how this would operate throughout the meeting. Officers were also thanked for their hard work over the past few months during the Covid-19 outbreak.

For the Economy, Transport & Environment Select Committee to pre-scrutinise a report regarding Transport for the South East’s Proposal to Government to establish a statutory sub national transport body for the South East, to be known as Transport for the South East (TfSE). This will be considered at Cabinet on 14 July 2020.

Councillor Forster declared an interest as an advisor to Central and Local Government on Electric Vehicle Charging (EVC)

The Select Committee pre-scrutinised a report from the Head of Economy, Transport and Environment (item 6 in the minute book) regarding the establishment of a sub national transport body for the South East, to be known as Transport for the South East (TfSE) and Transport Strategy. The report was due to go to Cabinet on 14 July 2020.

The officer introduced the item and explained how TfSE would have the powers and responsibilities required to deliver its Transport Strategy. Not only would a statutory sub-national transport body for the South East give the region a stronger voice at national level, but would also enable the County Council to influence the prioritisation of national transport investment in a way that has not been possible in the past.

The County Council had been proactive in helping to develop TfSE’s Transport Strategy which was based on sound evidence and applied a clear methodology.  The strategy provided a strong economic, social, and environmental policy framework for future transport planning up to 2050 and, was therefore considered appropriate to adopt into the County Council’s own policy framework, alongside the Hampshire Local Transport Plan.

During questions, it was acknowledged that public transport to London from the south did take longer than other cities further away, but that there was less pressure to compete with other journey times to London due to 90% of journeys starting and ending in the TfSE area not involving travel to London. Connectivity between towns and cities within the TfSE and improving rail across the south remained a priority.

Members queried when investment may start to be received and whether bids were required and it was confirmed that some funding had already been received from the Department for Transport (DfT) for development of the strategy. Funding for large schemes would be a competitive process against other national transport bodies.

There was a lot of discussion around zero carbon and whether 2050 was soon enough to take serious action, and the abilities to bring forward that timescale. Whilst it was acknowledged that it would be beneficial to bring forward the date, TfSE also recognised that it was not solely within their ability and gift to achieve this and so 2050 was more pragmatic. A lot of research was being done around hydrogen technology and electric vehicle charging points being increasingly rolled out across the county but progress also depending on national government action and legislation.

The Chairman invited the Executive Member for Economy, Transport and Environment, Councillor Rob Humby, to comment on discussions to formally add a recommendation in the report around accelerating the 2050 target for zero carbon. Councillor Humby confirmed the importance of partnership working within TfSE and how 2050 was agreed by the partnership as a target, but inevitably hoped to achieve this sooner and that the Strategy gave flexibility to do this. The Select Committee were thanked  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

For the Economy, Transport & Environment Select Committee to pre--scrutinise the proposals regarding the work undertaken through the Hampshire Waste Partnership programme in the context of the recently reintroduced Environment Bill and the impact that this will have on waste management in Hampshire. The report updates on the work done to review potential collection systems and consider the implications of these on the waste and recycling infrastructure. The report provides information on the various infrastructure options, the associated financial implications of the options and how they fit the expected legislative changes that are coming forward and will be considered at the Decision Day of Executive Member of Economy, Transport and Environment on 2 July 2020.

Councillor Martin Tod declared an interest as a portfolio holder for waste management at Winchester City Council

The Select Committee pre-scrutinised a report from the Director of Economy, Transport and Environment (item 7 in the minutes book) regarding the proposals for the business case for a single co-mingled Materials Recycling Facility (MRF). The report was due to be considered by the Executive Member for Economy, Transport and Environment on the 2 July 2020.

he officer summarised the report, highlighting the work that had been done so far and subsequent modelling. Investigations so far had speculated that a single MRF would cost the County Council around £4.6million for the remainder of the contract, and therefore it was felt necessary to look at other options alongside the MRF, which were detailed within the report (paragraph 36) and drawn to Members attention. A good working relationship with District and Borough Council’s was crucial in identifying the best way forward.

During questions, it was confirmed that gasification wasn’t something being considered and that other waste disposal methods were preferred, that would be more cost effective for the tax payer. From a recycling perspective, Kerbside sorting appeared to be the cheapest option but not favoured by local Councils across the County.

With regards to recycling capacity, the two MRF’s operating at the moment were receiving around 100,000 tonnes of dry mixed recyclables, and whilst they were able to process up to around 150,000 tonnes, this was unlikely to be achieved due to the strict quality criteria required to sell these recyclable materials. A capacity of 125-130,000 tonnes to allow for pots, tubs and trays would be the ideal with potential for cartons and would account for additional housing growth in the County.

The Executive Member for Economy, Transport and Environment confirmed that things were changing quite rapidly and that it was important to not invest in infrastructure until more guidance came from Central Government.

RESOLVED

The Select Committee supported the recommendations being proposed to the Executive Member for Economy, Transport and Environment in paragraphs 2 and 3 (pages 1-2) of the attached report.

To receive a presentation from the Assistant Director for Economic Development on the impacts of Covid-19 on the Hampshire economy.

The Select Committee received a presentation from the Assistant Director for Economic Development on the impact of the Covid-19 outbreak on the Hampshire economy and recovery.

The impact on the Hampshire economy so far had been severe, with 283,000 jobs requiring support from Government schemes and the tourism industry being significantly impacted, with 450 job losses announced at cruise operator Carnival and other attractions such as Marwell Zoo requiring loans to survive. Ports had also suffered, with an initial 50% reduction in freight and a temporary stoppage of cars being exported. There had also been impact on manufacturing businesses (including the marine sector) and at Southampton Airport.

More recently, export and freight had started to recover and Southampton Airport was offering some domestic flights. Many visitor attractions also had plans to reopen, which was a positive development.

Looking ahead to challenges in the longer term, it was important to maintain private sector confident to invest in Hampshire and also support people as the furlough scheme came to an end. Brexit also remained a challenge for the County.

It was important that small businesses continued to be supported and buying local was also more important than ever in driving demand for Hampshire businesses. In the longer term, capital projects will contribute to rebuilding the economy and recovering from the pandemic.

An important message was to use the outbreak as an opportunity to reflect on the most effective approaches to supporting future economic recovery and growth, especially in relation to the green recovery agenda and wider social impacts of economic growth opportunities.

The Chairman thanked the Economic Development team for all the work they had done over the past few months and assistance provided to businesses across the County.

Members agreed that Brexit remained an unknown in terms of impact on the economy but there were some fundamentals that remained important, which included monitoring areas of the economy that supported national and international markets, which had not been assisted by Government as much as some of the more local market serving sectors.

Significant levels of government grant money had been distributed across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, but £60million still remained unallocated, and central government were being lobbied in the hope it could be pooled to be used elsewhere in areas that had been effected by the outbreak. The County Council had been very proactive in working with Districts and Boroughs on accommodating queuing, eating and drinking outside and funding allocations to assist high street shops and restaurants. Hampshire also continued to be active on social media and in communicating with businesses and members of the public to keep them informed as situations changed and public places were prepared to accommodate people again safely.

The Select Committee thanked the Assistant Direct for Economic Development and his team for their work.

To discuss and agree the work programme of topics to be considered by the Select Committee in future.

The Work Programme was discussed and it was acknowledged that many items required reallocating to meetings following the Covid-19 outbreak.

Walking and cycling remained on the agenda to reassess and it was agreed that this would return to Committee in 2021.

RESOLVED

The Work Programme was approved by the Select Committee