Issue - meetings

(1) Mrs Dean updated Members on the situation regarding gulley-emptying

schedules, including the fact that Mr Burr had provided information on the all the gulleys in each Member’s division. The Committee would receive a further report in the Autumn after Mr Burr had explored how the emptying schedules would be tackled with the new tenderers for the work.

(2) Mrs Law commented that Mr Burr had undertaken at the previous meeting to provide information on utility companies’ use of some of the gulleys in her division, but she had not yet received this information. The Chairman explained that the gulley-emptying schedules item would remain in the recommendations until the further report had been received from Mr Burr.

(3) On the Kent Design Guide, the Chairman explained that the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government announced that the maximum number of parking spaces in any new development would be abolished. Approximately half of Kent’s District Councils had signed up to Guide, and Mr Burr would be reassessing whether it should be adopted on a countywide basis.

(4) Regarding the Review of SEN Units, the Chairman explained that the letter to the Secretary of State was distributed on 6 January 2011. She informed Members that Mr Feltham had asked her to endorse the letter, to which she had agreed. The Chairman stated that she would like to draw the delay in discharging the recommendations to the Group Managing Director’s attention.

(5) The Chairman informed Members that the paper related to Safeguarding would be considered at the end of the meeting, because it would have to be debated in closed session. Post meeting note: Due to the length of the debate, it was resolved that this would be considered at the next substantive meeting of the Cabinet Scrutiny Committee.

(6) On Inspection of Safeguarding and Looked After Children Services, the Chairman informed Members that the development of the improvement plan had not been concluded, therefore this item would not be pursued at this meeting.

(7) On Bold Steps for Kent – The Medium Term Plan to 2014, there were two

outstanding recommendations:

1. Ask the Leader that any data on the increase in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) accessing contracts be made available (The Chairman explained that the aim was to know if staff working on regeneration were effective in helping small business.)
2. Ask the Leader that ways of engaging members of the public in the Big Society who are not members of Local Strategic Partnerships or other similar bodies be addressed in the Medium Term Plan. (The Chairman explained that she expected a report on this work to be provided to Members)

RESOLVED: that the Cabinet Scrutiny Committee note the follow-up items report and responses to previous recommendations.