Issue - meetings

(1)       Mr Hill and Ms Honey gave a verbal report looking forward over the next four years and highlighting their key priorities.

(2)       Mr Hill stated that a key theme would be finance, and especially the long term impact that the recession would have on public finance. He emphasised the importance of the services provided by the Communities Directorate especially during the recession. 

 (3)      He identified the following major issues and challenges over next few years:-

• Turner Contemporary: - there would be an update report later in the meeting

• Libraries:- Kent was leading in this area with the modernisation of its library service and it was important to maintain the momentum.

• Adult Education, Apprenticeships and skills training were particular important in the recession.

• The Youth Service had received an outstanding Inspection report. It was important to build on work with partners including those in the voluntary sector, and colleagues in Children Families and Education Directorate in relation to Extended Schools.

• The Olympics and Cultural Olympiad – there was a report on this later in the meeting.

• Community Safety – the success of the Community Wardens Scheme and the desire to work more closely with the police was highlighted.

• Capital programme – it was important to ensure that it was effective and deliverable.  Schemes such as the Kent History Centre and Ashford library would be delivered during the next 4 years.

(4)       Ms Honey referred to their 2007 vision document and highlighted the 3 principles, which were involvement, improvement and impact.  She emphasised the importance of policy-led budgeting. 

(5)       Ms Honey drew attention to the following areas of work :-

• Spotlight sessions – where each of their services was looked at and the management team had a discussion with the heads of service. This included benchmarking to ensure that the services were as streamlined as possible.

• Capital programme – the Directorate had over 300 assets which needed to be utilized effectively, this could involve co-location of services.

• Community Services and private providers – it was important to make sure that the balance was right in relation to each service.

• Communities had a workforce of 4,500.  Work was being undertaken on succession planning and supported development to ensure that it was fit for purpose.

• Use of technology – in the library service there had been a saving of £1.3m from a re-negotiated contract. They would be looking at what IT could achieve across their services.

(6)       Members asked questions and made comments which included the following:-

• The Community Wardens scheme was commended as being an excellent service and good value for money. 

• In relation to the Youth Advisory Group (YAG), Mr Hill confirmed that the paper from the review was currently out to consultation.  He stated that he regarded the YAGs as valuable building blocks and that he wanted to strengthen them.

• In relation to a question on the low revenue stream for youth services, Mr Hill explained that there were other areas, such as the Community Wardens, which added value  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6