Kingston Conservative Councillors

Council

The Lib Dem Executive takes most of the decisions in the running of the Borough but the Council sets the policy and budgetary framework within which the Executive operates. All Members attend this meeting, which is chaired by the Mayor, and is open to the public.

Council meetings are held at 7:30pm in Guildhall.

The start of the meeting takes the following format

1. Minutes
2. Mayoral Announcements
3. Topical Statements Each Statement is restricted to a maximum of four minutes and contributions will then be taken from up to five speakers one of which will be the Leader (or nominated representative) of the Party Group making the request. The Member making the statement will then have an opportunity to respond to the debate.
4. Petitions A Member of the Council or a member of the Public may present a petition to the Council on a matter in relation to which the Council has powers, duties or which affects the Royal Borough.
5. Motion One Motion will be debated per Council meeting which has been put forward by the Opposition.
6. Questions These may be addressed to the Mayor, Executive Members, the Leader of the Council, the Leader of the Opposition, Chairs of the Overview Commission and Scrutiny Panel, Standing and Neighbourhood Committees and Members representing the Council on Outside Bodies.

Most recent Council Meeting:

MEETING OF THE COUNCIL 27th April

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Adrian Holder, Umesh Parekh, Kate Stinton and Yogan Yoganathan.

Declarations of interest

The following councillors declared an interest in Minute 2a below (Petition in relation to expansion of Primary Schools):

Councillor Alan Dean (personal interest)

Reason: Councillor Dean’s wife works in Christ Church Primary School, New Malden

Councillor David Edwards (personal and prejudicial interest)

Reason: Councillor Edwards lives near Christ Church Primary School, New Malden

Councillor David Ryder-Mills (personal interest)

Reason: Councillor Ryder-Mills is a Governor of Christ Church Primary School.

[Councillor David Edwards withdrew from the meeting during consideration of the petition item.]

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 1 March 2011 be agreed as a correct record.

The Mayor expressed best wishes to former councillor Janet Bowen-Hitchings who was, unfortunately, again unwell and therefore not able to attend the Council meeting to be installed as an Honorary Alderman. It was hoped to arrange another convenient occasion.

The Mayor wished a happy retirement to Kingston Town Centre Manager, Graham McNally, who would be leaving after 10 years of service, initially with Kingston Town Centre Management and then with Kingston First. The Mayor also wished Rob Dickson well who would be leaving the Council’s service after 8 years with the Royal Borough, most recently as Director of Environment, to take up a similar role with the Scottish Borders Council. A grateful response had been received from Wootton Bassett Town Council to the congratulations which the Mayor had sent on the announcement of the conferring of the title of Royal Wootton Bassett on the town for their services in honouring the Armed Services.

Congratulations were extended to the following councillors:

- Councillor Andrea Craig on her birthday

- Councillor Marc Woodall on having run the London Marathon

- Councillor Yogan Yoganathan on having become a grandfather.

Members were reminded of the three remaining Mayor’s Charity fundraising events

Ten Pin Bowling – 28 April

Garden Party, Fircroft gardens - 7 May

Music and Comedy Night, Rose Theatre - 8 May

All Members were warmly invited to the Mayor’s Civic Service which would be held in the morning of 8 May at the John Bunyan Baptist Church in Kingston.

There were no Topical Statements.

1.The following petition was presented in accordance with Standing Order No.7:

Kingston Hospital

Mr Max Freedman, Chair of the Kingston Borough Labour Party, presented a petition which had received 596 signatureswhich stated“We call on the Royal Borough of Kingston Council to oppose promptly and unequivocally the proposed cuts to services at Kingston Hospital, in keeping with its resolution of 30 March 2010 that “This Council … unequivocally supports Kingston Hospital and will not support any loss of services especially Maternity and Accident and Emergency.”

Under the provisions of the Council’s Petition Scheme [that petitions with more than 500 signatures will, if possible, be debated by full Council at its next meeting], the Council agreed to debate this petition at its next ordinary meeting on 12 July 2011.

2.The following petitions which each received over 500 signatures were debated by the Council:

(a) ‘Stop Expansion of Schools on Unsuitable Sites’

Mrs Lynne Finnerty had presented a petition at the Council meeting on 18 January 2011 with 854 signatures (and 54 signatures on the RBK e-petitions system) which requested that the Council “halt all proposals to increase capacity at Christ Church Infant and Junior Schools and Corpus Christi Primary School in New Malden’ and ‘find alternatives, including looking for a site for a new school”.

In a response to this petition, it was reported that, following a change in the way local authorities will receive capital funding for school expansion, the Council’s phase 2 plans for Primary School expansion have been stopped. Future plans will require the Council to undertake all the appropriate consultations afresh and the Council does not anticipate receiving sufficient funding to proceed with the original plans. It is still anticipated that extra school places will be needed in New Malden and, when funding is made available, plans wills be developed with schools to provide sufficient places within the resources available. All possible options for locations will continue to be explored, including any potential for a new school.

(b) Petition to oppose the sale of battery farmed dogs in Kingston

Mr John Robinson, supported by Councillor Tim Dennen, presented a petition with 725 signatures (and with 843 supporters on Facebook) which requested the Council “to adopt stringent licensing conditions for pet shops to ensure that the sale of battery farmed and poorly bred puppies is not sanctioned by council licence” asking that “Kingston Council follow the examples set by Wokingham and Swindon councils and, in particular, that licence requirements include:

.local sourcing – puppies should be bought directly from the breeder and no further than 30 miles from the pet shop location

.health testing – puppies and /or breeding stock must have all relevant health tests recommended by the British Veterinary Association and Kennel Club

.traceability – all puppies be microchipped before sale, all breeding stock to be DNA profiled, breeders must be open to visits from prospective buyers”

It was reported, in response to this petition, that while a few local authorities appear to have adopted such conditions in their requirements, it is understood that these have yet to be applied to a licence and have not been subject to legal challenge by the licensed trade, and there would therefore be a risk of incurring legal costs in introducing such licensing conditions in Kingston. The Council will therefore support lobbying to change the law at a national level to regulate the trade in battery farmed dogs. At a local level, the terms of the petition will be discussed in more detail at a forthcoming Licensing Committee to consider what action can be taken, particularly in relation to traceability.

(c) Causeway and Crescent Centres

Mrs Mary Clark presented a petition which had received 1825 signatures which stated:

“We, the service users of the Causeway Resource Centre, petition the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames to continue to maintain the service which has proved to be highly supportive and vital to the everyday living of the users, and to their independence. We believe that the proposal to close the service that has historically been a lifeline to all who have used it is not justifiable and would result in most users being confined to their homes, which would be most detrimental to their healthy living. We believe that the implemented consultation to be inadequate:

1. no option offered within the consultation questionnaire whether or not the user (or others) agree or disagree with the proposal to close the causeway

2. during the 3 month consultation period, the only venues for the public meetings are in New Malden which does not give all users across the borough a fair opportunity to put their views.

3. the public as potential future users of the service should also have the opportunity to put their views we call upon this council to abide by the Executive Committee’s resolution of the 5th December 2006, that the Causeway and the Crescent be re-provided.”

In response to the petition, it was reported that the consultation which is currently underway relates to changes to Day Services for people with Learning Disabilities which were agreed as part of the Budget process.

Full details of the consultation and schedule of meetings can be found at: http://www.kingstonld.info/default.aspx?page=25278 The consultation runs from 7 March 2011 to 7 June 20011 and covers the day services for both people with learning disabilities, provided at the Causeway Centre and the day services for people with physical disabilities, provided in the Crescent Resource Centre. Both of these services are based in a large building in Cocks Crescent in New Malden and the consultation meetings have therefore been held in New Malden. The consultation is with users of Day services, carers and other stakeholders and seeks to get people’s views on the model of Day Care going forward. Each individual service user is being consulted about their future wishes and plans. Contributions to the consultation are welcome from anyone who is interested, but the focus is people with learning disabilities and their families.

The Council has been looking at re-providing the day services for over ten years. Use of the existing centre has been falling for many years, which is a trend across the country as a whole. In future, people will be offered individual budgets and be supported to choose their own patterns of care and support. The building at Causeway is in poor condition and is expensive to maintain. It would be very expensive to bring up to an acceptable standard. It is very likely that the development of more personalised models of support will not require the use of the existing building.

The petition and comments made at the Council meeting will be taken into consideration when the responses to the consultation are being considered.

By Councillor Karen George

To Councillor Derek Osbourne, Leader of the Council, with Executive responsibility for Environment and Climate Change

Question

Please advise what the arrangements are for collecting rubbish at weekends from the riverside footpath in Kingston?

On Sunday 20 March at approximately 4pm every bin was overflowing, with beer cans, plastic cups and litter across the footpath and by the side of the bins. Bearing in mind that in the summer months a larger number of people will be gathering around the riverside, this situation will be made significantly worse. The response from Council officers on this subject failed to provide an adequate explanation as to how frequently you will be monitoring the area.

Reply

Thank you, Madam Mayor. Thank you, Karen. During November to March the riverside is cleansed each morning once the main town centre area has been completed. An additional riverside sweeper is employed between April and October to cleanse the riverside area from 6am `til 12pm and 2pm `til 8pm.

Due to unseasonably good weather (given that I can remember that these weeks, when I was a kid, often had snow on the ground in late March), the riverside was heavily used earlier in the year than the normal contractual arrangements allow. As a result, on 20 March, it did take longer, you are quite right, than expected to restore the area to a good standard of cleanliness using only the winter season cleansing staff.

As a consequence of this experience, it was agreed that the cleansing regime would be changed so that at weekends the riverside would be cleaned at an earlier time and the additional summer staff would commence work immediately rather than wait until April.

The continued good weather has ensured the riverside has been well-used in recent weeks. Riverside sweeping is currently taking place between 6am and 8pm continuously to ensure the area remains clear.

Additional litter bins have also been placed in the area to ensure visitors are able to dispose of their litter appropriately.

Additional monitoring of the riverside by Veolia and Street Scene staff has been agreed, in order to ensure that any litter problems on the riverside can be addressed quickly, and Kingston Council street scene inspectors are monitoring the riverside regularly during the weekend and additional supervision is also being undertaken by Veolia. In addition to that, the Kingston First staff also have a role in keeping the riverside clean and tidy and will alert us into those circumstances, and this monitoring will inform future decisions regarding any additional resource that may be required along the riverside, which we will provide if circumstances require, and how existing resources can best be targeted at the busiest times during the week. Thank you.

Supplementary

I am delighted that this has been done clearly as a result of the question I tabled tonight. Thank you very much.

Reply

Madam Mayor, if I may take that as a supplementary, the matter was being addressed because of the issue, not merely because (although I dare say this will be how it will be put in ‘In Touch’) - not simply because Councillor George raised it.

By Councillor Marc Woodall

To Councillor Rolson Davies, Executive Member for Finance and One Council

Question

The Council has recently announced a shared services programme that is reported to deliver a total saving of £5m for Kingston, Sutton and Merton over the next ten years. Can the Council reassure us that those who provide services in Kingston will continue to be fully answerable to its residents?

Reply

Thank you for the question. Yes, I can confirm that our approach to commissioning our services will be and is rooted in local democratic accountability.

The strength of expectations for Kingston, combined with the financial imperative, means that we need to implement new ways of working, which ensure good outcomes, as well as achieving savings. Working more collaboratively with our neighbouring authorities offers an opportunity to commission services together and achieve economies of scale. This recognises the role of Councillors on behalf of our communities to articulate vision and ambition, to set standards and to commission services. On the other hand, it enables the way services are provided to be reshaped in a more efficient and effective way.

In your question, you have referred to the procurement of the new payroll service and Human Resource system by Kingston and Sutton and Merton - that was the earlier part of your question. This approach was endorsed by the Executive on 6 June 2010 who approved the award of the contract on 11 January 2011. By working together with Sutton and Merton, we will have a better system at reduced costs. The normal contract agreements and governance arrangements are in place to ensure that expectations are realised.

There are also a number of other additional initiatives, which we are working on, which will generate better value for our residents in the near future.

By Councillor Michael Burden

To Councillor Derek Osbourne, Leader of the Council

Question

Will this Council consider the recommendations set out by the Royal British Legion and the Local Government Information Unit, in a report titled ‘Honouring the Armed Service Community’? The report proposes low cost, real and practical policy suggestions for helping serving members, reservists and former members of our Armed Forces living in the borough.

Reply

Yes, thank you for the question. I am happy to say that the Council should indeed look at the recommendations set out in the report from the Royal British Legion and the Local Government Information Unit. The report, as you say, sets out twelve steps that a Council can take to provide help for the Armed Services community, and I will be asking officers to consider which of those might be appropriate to us.

Quite clearly, some of those steps are more appropriate where there is an area of concentration, such as North Yorkshire (which is highlighted within the report) where there are extensive barrack complexes and living areas, which is not applicable to us, but nevertheless many of the principles do apply and, yes, we will be taking that forward.

But whilst I am speaking on that and taking the opportunity, can I remind you all that, in a couple of months’ time, we have another opportunity to honour current members of our armed forces, when the Princess of Wales’ Royal Regiment will be exercising their Freedom of the Borough, and this, I am sure, will be as successful an occasion as the Freedom Parade we held last summer for our own City of London (Field Hospital) Territorial Army Regiment and I trust that I will be seeing many Councillors there on the day.

Supplementary

Thank you Madam Mayor and thank you for those words of support you show for looking at the recommendations and also, Madam Mayor, thank you for the letter you wrote [to Wootton Bassett].

In the spirit of the evening, I offer my confession. I was a member of the RAMC, which was the Regimental Corps honoured by yourselves last year, and I am sure that it is greatly appreciated across the Regiment I served in. If I can, however, in my question, pin you down to a time frame, if I may. There are some serious concerns - I am sure you know about homelessness for ex members of the armed forces. They make up a higher percentage of homeless people of almost any other group around and there are obviously issues attached to that, and also that armed forces suffer disadvantage within their communities. They are quite often invisible when they leave the forces or are posted to places like Kingston (which is quite rare in my experience for a posting as a serving member), and certainly when they leave. So can I pin the Council down on a time-scale, or some kind of rough estimate? Thank you.

Reply

Yes, thanks for that. It is difficult to pin me down to an exact time frame because I have not had detailed discussions with officers on how much work is needed to actually produce something sensible, and to which Committee that would go, and when. So if you can leave that with me, I will be happy to come back to you on that, when there is a time frame that I can be clear that I can deliver appropriately.

The issue of former servicemen who are homeless was picked up by Councillor Ian McDonald when he was Mayor last year, and he did a considerable amount of work highlighting that particular issue, and the charity that he set up I know, particularly, concentrated on that. Again, I would like to look into that, or rather, actually, I will get Frances to look into that (as that is within her portfolio area) to get back to you to specifically deal with that issue.

By Councillor Stephen Brister

To Councillor Derek Osbourne, Leader of the Council

Question

What steps have Kingston Council taken to help local people hold street parties and other events in celebration of this week’s Royal Wedding?

Reply

You must understand that this is, actually, within Simon James’ portfolio. I am often accused of being a Republican, which I am not. Simon James, however, is, so, therefore, I am answering this question. So, following the clear lead given by national politicians to simplify the process to hold events for the Royal Wedding, the Council has supplied residents with a new, easy to follow, guidance document on organising street parties and events for the Royal Wedding. Everybody knows that the bureaucracy involved in street parties traditionally has been appalling.

The document was sent out by request and was also made available on the borough’s internet site, along with other useful guidance documents and links to other sites. The completion of one simple form is all that has been required to apply for a street party or event.

As opposed to the standard events forms, the request for organisers to buy a Public Liability Insurance was removed, no formal road closures were required, nor charges applied. The Council notifies the closures of streets to all emergency services and has made every endeavour to avoid any Utility Company works being scheduled in the streets holding parties, although if you are a street off Kingston Road that is a bit of a challenge. Currently officers have offered practical advice to organisers on the physical closures of the roads (signing, barriers, distance between guests and barriers, and allowing emergency access and so on), including meeting the organisers in their streets where required.

The Council has promoted self-responsibility by giving advice on ways to share duties such as cleaning and collecting rubbish with all the participants, and officers have dealt with any objections to street parties in as sensitive manner as they can, and to date any matters have been successfully resolved.

The Council has continued to process and approve all street party applications received after the deadline of 25th March. In addition, the Council aims to minimise the potential disruption caused to those residents who do not wish to take part in the celebrations by:

.asking that the street parties end at 9 o’clock;

.ensuring that every resident can access their property (especially in areas where several roads are closed for street parties) and, if necessary, through a suitably signed diversion; and

.ensuring that all organisers understand that the streets have to be cleaned after the parties.

In all correspondence, we have reminded the organiser that we are here to help and that they can contact us for any additional information or advice. Thank you.

By Councillor Trevor Heap

To Councillor Simon James, Executive Member for Sustainable Place

Question

In the light of the Coalition Government announcement of extra funding for pot-holes, on top of that announced earlier in the year, can the Executive Member for Sustainable Place confirm the basis for allocation to neighbourhoods and how much each will receive?

Reply

Thank you, yes, indeed I can. The Council will receive an additional £189,000 for road repairs this year, and most surprisingly and indeed welcome, it is being given as an additional grant that is not being rolled up within the existing grant system, so we are not losing it all into the floor as we have done with other grants in the past. So, that is certainly something to be welcomed. Initially the money was put in from an underspend from the Department of Transport budget and that has been increased further during the budget speech by the Chancellor earlier this year. Obviously, this came through fairly late in the budgetary process coming as it did from the national government budget, so the Leader has signed an SO32 authorisation in order that we can get on with spending this money as soon as possible.

Now the amount of money that the borough received was allocated on the basis of the road condition and length and we have used a similar procedure for then allocating that to neighbourhoods, based on road condition and length, as indeed we have in the general budgets for the roads as well – that, as a result, will mean Kingston Town receives £41,580 extra, Maldens and Coombe £71,820 extra, South of the Borough £43,470 extra and Surbiton £32,130 extra.

Regulations under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 require that a Partnership Plan drawn up on behalf of the “Responsible Authorities” includes a strategy for the reduction of crime and disorder, for combating substance misuse and for reducing re-offending. Regulations also require that the Crime and Disorder Reduction Strategy is approved by the full Council.

The Strategy Group of the Safer Kingston Partnership has drawn up a Plan for the three year period 2011/14 which will be updated annually if priorities change. The Executive at its meeting on 8 March recommended this Partnership Plan to the Council and requested that Neighbourhood Committees take the priorities in this Plan, if approved, into account in their decision-making and share with their Neighbourhood Community Panels the Partnership’s priorities as they impact on their respective localities.

RESOLVED that

1. the Safer Kingston Partnership Plan 2011/14 be approved and, pursuant to Regulation 4 and Schedule 3 of the Local Authorities (Functions and Responsibilities ( England) Regulations 2000, (as amended)), the Crime, Disorder, Substance Misuse and Reducing Re-offending Strategy for 2011/14 (which is incorporated in the Partnership Plan) be adopted; and

2. authority be delegated to the Director of Finance, following consultation with the Executive Member with responsibility for Community Safety and, where appropriate, the relevant Responsible Authorities, to make any consequential adjustments to the Plan and Strategy to reflect any new areas of community safety policy which emerge from reviews currently being undertaken by the Coalition Government.

Reason for the decision

To meet the legal obligation to formally update the strategy for the reduction of crime, disorder, for combating substance misuse and for reducing re-offending for 2011/14, as part of the Safer Kingston Partnership Plan for 2011/14.

The Council adopted a motion at its meeting on 19 October 2010 requesting the Executive to bring forward proposals for a more democratic style of decision making to increase the involvement of Councillors in the process. Accordingly, over two meetings, the Constitutional Review Working Group gave consideration to the development of new arrangements for the Council’s formal decision making process, reintroducing some aspects of the former Committee structure that worked reasonably well, whilst retaining certain aspects of the ‘modernising’ arrangements introduced by the Local Government Act 2000. The Executive at its meeting on 5 April 2011 agreed recommendations to the Council for proposed changes to the Council’s formal decision making process. Full details of the changes proposed are set out in the report to the Executive.

The revised arrangements, based on the reintroduction of three Strategic Committees, will be introduced from the municipal year 2011/12, initially on a transitional basis pending the enactment of the Localism Bill [currently before Parliament - which envisages allowing local authorities to change their governance arrangements following the next Local Elections in May 2014]. During this transitional period, a mechanism for Executive ‘ratification’ of Strategic Committee decisions will still be required, and for ratification process there will be a quorum of two Executive members.

The Executive agreed to consider at a future meeting how best to improve the links between the Council’s formal decision making processes and the Kingston Strategic Partnership and its partnership machinery.

RESOLVED that

1.the following changes be adopted to the Council’s formal decision making processes, to take effect from the beginning of the Municipal Year 2011/12:

a) the creation of three Strategic Committees with the remits set out in Annex 2 to the report at Appendix C to the agenda.

b) the Executive to continue to meet to ratify decisions of the Strategic Committees during the transitional phase.

c) the size of the Scrutiny Panel be reduced from 16 to 9 members, recognising the likely reduction in its role under the new arrangements.

d) the Health Overview Panel continue in existence, with further consideration being given to its precise role as the changes proposed by the Health and Social Care Bill become clear.

e) the Overview Commission be discontinued.

f) no change be made in relation to Neighbourhood or Regulatory Committees, but further consideration be given to the precise role of the Standards Committee in the light of the changes nationally to the standards regime.

g) the enhanced role for full Council, through the potential for more issues to be referred there for debate and “decision”, be noted.

2.the consequent detailed changes to the Council’s Constitution set out in the report at Appendix C be approved;

3.the changes to Article 12.01 of the Constitution (set out in Annex 1 to the report at Appendix C) consequent upon recent changes to the senior management structure be approved; and

4.the Head of Democratic Services and Partnership, in consultation with the Leader of the Council, be authorised to make any further necessary consequential changes to the Council’s Constitution arising from these decisions.

Reason for the decision

In order to revitalise the Council’s formal decision making processes and provide a greater role for backbench Members.

At the Council meeting on 20 March 2001 it was agreed that, other than in an Election Year, the Mayor should be elected at the Ordinary Council meeting immediately preceding the Annual Meeting.

One nomination for the position of Mayor had been received from the Conservative Group, in the name of Councillor Patrick Codd. There being no other nominations, the Mayor duly declared Councillor Patrick Codd elected as Mayor of the Royal Borough for the Municipal Year 2011/12.

The formal installation of Councillor Codd as Mayor will take place at the Annual Meeting on 11 May.

Tuesday 1st March 2011, 7:30pm

Minutes

Resolved that the minutes of the meeting held on 18th January 2011 be confirmed as correct record.

Mayor's Announcements

The Mayor wished everyone present, particularly any Welsh Members, a happy St David's Day.

Fundraising Events

The Mayor informed members of forthcoming fundraising events for the Mayor's Charity, including:

• Charity Bazaar and Fashion Show, Tolworth Recreation - Saturday 19th March 6pm for 6:30pm
• Evening Party Cruise on the new Southern Belle from Turks Mooring point, Thameside - Thursday 24th March 7pm
• Kingston Breakfast Run - 27th March
• Great Kingston Charity Bike Ride from Guildhall to Bushy Park - Sunday 3rd April 8:30am
• Charity Golf Day, Coombe Wood Golf Club - 7th April, from 9am
• The Mayor's Charity Ball, Shiraz Mirza Manor Park Hall - Friday 8th April 7:15pm
• Football Tournament, Kingsmeadow - 17th April
• Ten Pin Bowling - 28th April
• Garden Party, Firecroft gardens - 7th May
• Music and Comedy Night, Rose Theatre - 8th May

Destination Kingston - Medium Term Service and Financial Plan - 2011/12 to 2014/15 - Capital Programme, Budget and Council Tax 2011/12

The Executive had considered destination Kingston, the Medium Term Service and Financial Plan for 2011/12-14/15, together with the Budget proposals for 2011/12 at its meeting on 8th February 2011. The Executive's recommendations were set out in Appendix A to the Council. Additional information at the Council meeting set out the position on the Wimbledon and Putney Commons Conservators' levy and the GLA precept, the Local Government Finance Settlement, relevant petitions and comments from: the Scrutiny Panel meeting on 15th February; Housing Consultative Committee; Neighbourhood Committees; Non-Domestic Ratepayers; online consultation; and Chair of the Schools Forum.

In order for the proposals to be presented in detail by the Executive Member for Finance and One Council, Councillor Rolson Davies, and for a detailed response from the Shadow Executive Member, Councillor Priyen Patel, in accordance with Standing order 16, the Mayor moved the suspension of the appropriate Standing Order, and it was resolved that Standing Order 10(9) be suspended to allow these Members to speak for longer than 4 minutes.

On being put to the meeting, following debate, the Executive's recommendations to the Council were declared carried and it was therefore resolved that:

1. the comments of the Scrutiny (as set out in Annex 1 to the report) be noted;
2. the comments of Kingston Town Neighbourhood Committee be noted;
3. the members' Allowances scheme for 2011/12 as set in Annex 16 of Appendix A to the Executive agenda be approved;
4. the Medium Term Service and Financial plan destination Kingston 2011-15, and the detailed budget proposals, be approved;
5. officers be authorised accordingly to take the necessary action to deliver the agreed budget changes including, in consultation with the Executive Member for Finance and One Council and the appropriate Portfolio Holders:

• to agree an appropriate approach for using the amount available from the reduction in the Council's contribution to the London Borough Grants Scheme to achieve the necessary development and continuation of local voluntary sector service delivery
• to conclude negotiations for a new 5 (and a quarter) year funding agreement with Kingston Theatre Trust for the operation of Rose Theatre at a reduced rate to provide for ongoing certainty of funding for the Theatre's operation
• to allocate the £0.7m growth for Highways Maintenance to address the required improvements for the Olympic events and test events and to address significant requirements arising from deterioration of roads following the severe winter weather,
• to implement the various increases in fees and charges needed to achieve the increased targets for income included in the budget.

1. the additions to the Capital programme as set out in Annex 8 of