PRESENT: Councillors Burbage (Chairman), Mrs Bateson (Vice-Chairman), Holness, Mrs Quick and D Wilson

Also in attendance: David Bell (Atlantic), John Chetter (Maidenhead Chamber of Commerce), Kevin Clarke (Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service), Asa Cunniff (Federation of Small Businesses) Andy Mancey (Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service) and Gary Whitworth (Fire-stat).

Officers: Michael Beaven, Harjit Hunjan, David Oram, Andre Walker, and Karen Williams.

16/09 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

None were received.

17/09 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST


Councillor Mrs Bateson declared a Personal interest in the RBWM Fire Provision item, due to being a member of the Fire Authority.

Councillors Burbage and D Wilson declared Personal interests in the Chamber of Commerce – Business Support item, due to being members of the Maidenhead Town Partnership Board.

Councillor Mrs Quick declared a Personal interest in the Chamber of Commerce – Business Support item, due to being a member of the Windsor & Eton Town Partnership Board.

18/09 PROPOSAL UPDATES

Royal Borough Fire Provision

The Business and Community Partnerships Manager introduced David Bell from Atlantic, who had been working on the application for the Royal Borough Fire Provision. Mr Bell advised that, for the SCA application to be successful, the Secretary of State would need to be persuaded to revoke or vary provisions within the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004. He believed that the application was in line with the aims of the SCA to devolve powers to local people to enable them to set priorities relating to social and economic well-being. The basis of the application was that the proposals currently tabled by the Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service (RBFRS) did not take into account the historical ambience or economic benefits of tourism for the Borough, which was valued at £499m. The Royal Borough’s application recognised the importance of a fire service that was able to respond to an incident at one of the Borough’s iconic attractions and properties.

Members noted that the RBFRS proposal would result in a 19% withdrawal of service. Research recently undertaken illustrated that the local population was very aware of the proposal to withdraw the night-time service in Windsor. Results showed that 66% of respondents would prefer the local authority to run the fire service provision in the Borough, whereas 12% supported the current model. Mr Bell believed this provided a very strong mandate for the SCA application.

To support the application, issues of practicality, sustainability and affordability needed to be addressed. In relation to practicality, the proposal would go against the trend of greater scale in fire service provision. However, there were numerous examples of small fire services operated by local authorities in industry (e.g. Heathrow Airport). In relation to affordability, financial modelling had been undertaken to identify risks. Such risks predominantly arose in areas where the Borough would not already have sufficient budget and resources to maintain a fire and rescue service, for example equipment and vehicles. Mr Bell advised that this type of risk could be addressed by due diligence. Members noted that one significant area of risk would be in relation to pension and insurance liabilities. Mr Bell advised that costs would arise during the transition period, but it was likely that the proposal would end up being cost neutral.

The Chairman emphasised that smaller fire services were the historical norm, for example at one time there had been a Windsor Town Brigade and a Bray Parish pump. All parties were now advocating increased localism.

Councillor Holness suggested that, alongside the argument in relation to protecting the economic assets of the Borough, it should be highlighted that the application would serve to protect the life and property of Borough residents. The Chairman agreed with this suggestion.

Gary Whitworth commented that it was usual practice to have arrangements for special attendance in the event of an incident at a listed building. He gave the example of the National Trust, which had recently undertaken risk assessments on all its properties.

Councillor D. Wilson suggested that, under section 3 on page 3 of the application, reference be made to guesthouses and houses in multiple occupation which were often of Victorian or Edwardian design and therefore at greater fire risk. The Chairman agreed that this was a particular issue, as such properties did not always show up as multiple-occupancy on the electoral register. Councillor Mrs Quick also suggested that the numerous large boarding schools in the Borough should also be referred to in this section.

Mr Bell advised that sections of the application were restricted by word limits. The issue of petitions in relation to both the proposal to withdraw the whole service from Windsor and just the night service, were covered in the section on consultation. This section could not be finalised until 15 July when the public consultation closed. It was confirmed that the Panel of Representatives meeting scheduled for 15 July was part of the formal requirements for a proposal.

Members suggested that paragraph 2.6 should read ‘….With the Royal Borough directly running most of the service it is expected that the budgetary implications would be broadly cost neutral.’

The Business and Community Partnerships Manager reported that he had received an email from Unlocking Democracy, a SCA support group, that suggested an application requiring additional funding would not be excluded from the process if a strong case were made.

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY: That the draft proposal proceed to the Panel of Representatives for consideration.

Chamber of Commerce – Business Support

The Business and Community Partnerships Manager explained that this proposal focussed on business support available to Royal Borough businesses. The proposal, which had originated from the Maidenhead Chamber of Commerce (MCofC) and was supported by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), acknowledged that small businesses in the Borough made a significant contribution to the local area and were an important part of the success of a sustainable community. Currently, business support was available through a number of regional and national bodies. The proposal requested that some of this support be transferred to the local level.

The External Funding Officer advised Members that Business Link currently provided an information, diagnosis and brokerage service. The government was currently moving towards business support on a regional level; as of 2012 Business Link would have a contract for the whole of the southeast. The application proposed that services at the local level would be more flexible, responsive and appropriate as they would be accountable to a Local Business Board to include the FSB and Chamber of Commerce representatives. The External Funding Officer had met with Business Link and SEEDA to discuss the proposal; their view had been that business support was generic and therefore a local level was not required. He explained that the key issue was the difficulty in determining the level of funding for the area, as the contract with Business Link was Berkshire-wide. It was estimated that £400,000 should be spent in the Borough, but it was unlikely that this was currently happening. When the contract was moved to a regional level, this would be even harder to determine. A consultation on the proposal had just begun.

John Chetter from MCofC stated that Windsor and Maidenhead was not receiving its fair share of the budget and with the government’s stated move towards regional contracts, the situation would get worse. He believed that ‘one size fits all’ was the wrong approach. He confirmed that informal support had been received from Windsor Chamber of Commerce, and that he would seek this support in writing. The Business and Community Partnerships Manager would also check that the entire Borough was covered by the two Chambers of Commerce, in advance of the Panel of Representatives meeting scheduled for 15 July.

Asa Cunniff stated the FSB’s support of the proposal as it was felt that SEEDA and Business Link spent money in Slough and Reading to the detriment of businesses in the Royal Borough.

The Business and Community Partnerships Manager confirmed to Members that the original proposal had looked at the transfer of business support form a wider range of providers, including the Learning and Skills Council (LSC). However, the LSC was undergoing a restructure and would cease to exist by 2010 therefore it would be difficult to include this funding stream in the proposal. However, Memebrs were assured that Royal Borough advisers would have access to the full range of services to guide local business, which would include the LSC’s Train to Gain programme. John Chetter agreed that the current proposal was achievable, whereas the original proposal had been too wide.

The Chairman requested that Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce be notified that the application was being made. It would also be important to make larger business aware of the proposal. Asa Cunniff confirmed that small business was defined as one with up to 200 employees. 95% of businesses in the UK were deemed to be in this category; 50% of whom were one-man-bands.

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY: That the draft proposal proceed to the Panel of Representatives for consideration.

19/09 DATES OF NEXT MEETINGS

Cross Party Panel: Monday 20 July 2009 at 8.30am, Ascot/Bray Room, Town Hall Monday 27 July 2009 at 8.00am, Ascot/Bray Room, Town Hall

Panel of Representatives: Wednesday 15 July 2009 at 6.00pm, Council Chamber, Town Hall

The RBFRS representatives advised that the Fire Authority would need to meet to consider the proposal, and that this may be difficult to achieve given the short time scales involved.

20/09 MEETING

The meeting, which began at 5.05pm, concluded at 5.55pm.


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