Agenda and minutes

The General Counsel reported apologies from Mr Bird, Mrs Howes, Mrs Hohler, Mr Parry, Mr Terry and Mr Vye.

Item 7 – The Sustainability and Transformation Plan for Kent and Medway

(1)          The Chairman stated that Members who were non-executive directors of NHS trusts could declare this interest and were able to take part in agenda item 7.

(2)          Mr King declared an interest in item 7 as a non-executive director of the Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust.

(3)          Mr Chard declared an Other Significant Interest in item 7 as a Director of Engage in Kent who had delivered the Healthwatch programme.

Item 9 – Local Government Pension Scheme Pooling and Item 11 – Pay Policy Statement 2017

(4)          Mr Hotson and Mrs Stockell declared Other Significant Interests in item 9 as they were in receipt of KCC Pensions.

(5)          Mr Caller declared an Other Significant Interest in items 9 and 11 on the agenda as his son was a KCC employee.

(6)          Mr Maddison declared an Other Significant Interest in items 9 and 11 on the agenda as his son was a KCC employee

(7)          Mrs Brivio declared an Other Significant Interest in items 9 and 11 on the agenda as her son was a KCC employee and she was in receipt of a KCC Pension.

(8)          Mrs Whittle declared an Other Significant Interest in items 9 and 11 on the agenda as her husband was a KCC employee.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meetings held on 26 January and 9 February 2017 be approved as a correct record, subject to the amendment of typographical errors.

(a)          Kent Invicta Award

(1)          The Chairman stated that it was his intention to present the Kent Invicta Award to Mr Emson immediately prior to lunch and therefore it might be necessary to amend the order of business.

(b)          La Légion d’honneur

(2)          The Chairman had on behalf of all Members congratulated the seven Kent service men and women who were presented with La Légion d’honneur for their part in military operations for the liberation of France between 1944 and 1945.  Recipients included a former sister with the Imperial Military Nursing Service, a Lancaster navigator, a naval gunner and a platoon sergeant with the Royal Army Service Corps.  The presentations had taken place at the Battle of Britain Memorial near Folkestone on 24 February 2017.

(3)          The Chairman thanked those that had been honoured and all those who fought for their country.

(c)          FareShare Kent

(4)          The Chairman expressed gratitude and appreciation, on behalf of Craig Brown of FareShare Kent, to Members for all their support since FareShare’s launch in July 2014. Member’s community grants had generously provided some of the foundation needed to establish this fantastic operation.  Last year alone, FareShare had redistributed 325 tonnes of surplus food to frontline charities across Kent. This equated to over 700,000 meals.  

In accordance with Procedure Rule 1.17(4), 13 questions were asked and replies given.  A record of all questions put and answers given at the meeting were available online with the papers for this meeting.

(1)          The Leader updated the Council on events since the previous meeting.

(2)          Mr Carter welcomed the Chancellor of the Exchequers recent announcement of an additional £2 billion for social care across the Country. Kent County Council had received the second largest allocation of £18 million phased over 3 years and guidance was awaited regarding the use of this money.  He identified areas in which this money should be invested including increasing capacity and strengthening the care market and delivering support to reduce pressure on hospitals in relation to admissions and discharges.  He stated that the Cabinet Member and senior officers would be meeting with care providers across the County to discuss capacity, costs and the recruitment and retention of employees in care provision across the County.   He made reference to the role of the enablement service in supporting the timely discharge of patients from hospital.

(3)          Mr Carter referred to the Chancellors decision regarding not making changes to National Insurance contributions for the self-employed. 

(4)          Mr Carter highlighted the “Made in Kent” campaign to encourage businesses to offer more apprenticeships on the basis that training grants for new trainees had removed the age barrier and with the aim of doubling the number of young apprentices. He stated that currently there were 1,000 young people looking for apprenticeships starting in the new academic year.

(5)          Mr Carter mentioned the “Keep Kent Clean” campaign and the co-ordination of the efforts of District/ Borough Councils, Town/Parish Councils and  Highways England and expressed his thanks to those partners.  

(6)          Mr Carter referred to the extra half a million pounds for pothole repairs and stated that “Find and Fix” would be launched shortly.

(7)          In conclusion Mr Carter referred to current Ofsted inspection of children’s services and expressed the hope that the report would reflect the effort and hard work of staff over the past 7 years to achieve improvements in the service.

(8)          Mr Latchford, the Leader of the Opposition, welcomed the increase in government grant for care of the elderly.  In relation to delayed discharges from hospital he expressed the view that this was a Central Government responsibility.  A strategic approach was needed to address the issue of long term sustainable funding which had been acknowledged by the Chancellor.  He referred the Cabinet Member to the successful scheme that had been introduced in Mansfield and Ashfield.

(9)          Mr Latchford referred to the new apprenticeship scheme and expressed the hope that this would lead to job creation and learning skills for the future without further cost and pressure on employers.

(10)       Mr Latchford welcomed the opportunity that the current Ofsted inspection of Children’s Services provided to showcase the hard work of officers and the Select Committee on Corporate Parenting chaired by Mrs Wiltshire.

(11)       Mr Latchford mentioned the reference made by Mr Carter to potholes, and sought an assurance about the quality of repairs.  

(12)       In conclusion Mr Latchford paid tribute to officers for their dedication, commitment and support of Kent in general  ...  view the full minutes text for item 64.

(1)          Mr Carter moved and Mr Gough seconded the following motion:

“The County Council is asked to endorse the approach being taken towards the development of the Kent and Medway Sustainability and Transformation Plan.”

(2)          Following the debate the Chairman put the motion as set out in paragraph (1) to the vote and the voting was as follows:

For (40)

Mrs A Allen, Mr M Angell,  Mr M Balfour, Mr D Brazier, Miss S Carey, Mr P Carter, Mr N Chard, Mrs P Cole, Mr G Cooke, Mrs M Crabtree, Mr A Crowther, Mrs V Dagger, Mr M Dance, Mr J Davies, Mr T Gates, Mr R Gough,  Mr M Hill, Mr S Holden, Mr P Homewood, Mr E Hotson, Mr M Horwood, Mr A King, Mr J Kite, Mr R Long, Mr G Lymer, Mr S Manion, Mrs D Marsh,  Mr P Oakford, Mr J Ozog, Mr C Pearman, Mr L Ridings, Mr J Scholes, Mr C Simkins, Mr C Smith, Mrs P Stockell, Mr B Sweetland, Mrs C Waters, Mr J Wedgbury, Mrs J Whittle, Mr A Wickham

Against (35)

Mr M Baldock, Mr H Birkby, Mr N Bond, Mr A Bowles, Mrs P Brivio, Mr L Burgess, Mr C Caller, Mr I Chittenden, Mr B Clark, Mr G Cowan, Mr D Daley, Mrs T Dean, Dr M Eddy, Mr J Elenor, Mrs M Elenor, Mr G Gibbens, Mr P Harman, Ms A Harrison, Mr M Harrison Mr M Heale, Mr C Hoare, Mr G Koowaree, Mr R Latchford, Mr T Maddison, Mr F McKenna, Mr B MacDowall, Mr A Marsh, Mr M Northey, Mrs E Rowbotham, Mr W Scobie, Mr T Shonk, Mr D Smyth, Mr N Thandi, Mr R Truelove, Mr M Whybrow

Abstain (2)

Mr J Simmonds, Mrs Z Wiltshire 

Motion carried

(3)       RESOLVED that the approach being taken towards the development of the Kent and Medway Sustainability and Transformation Plan be endorsed.

(1)          Mr Balfour moved and Mr Pearman seconded the following motion:

“The Select Committee be thanked for its work and for producing a relevant and balanced document.

The witnesses and others who provided evidence and made valuable contributions to the Select Committee be thanked.

County Council’s comments be noted and the report be submitted to an

appropriate meeting for further discussion.”

(2)          Following the debate the motion as set out in paragraph (1) was agreed without a formal vote.

(3)     RESOLVED that the Select Committee be thanked for its work and for producing a relevant and balanced document; the witnesses and others who provided evidence and made valuable contributions to the Select Committee be thanked; the County Council’s comments be noted and the report be submitted to an appropriate meeting for further discussion.

(1)          The Chairman welcomed Mr Emson to the meeting to receive the Kent Invicta Award for 2017.  The Kent Invicta Award recognised residents of Kent who had achieved excellence in their chosen field or who had provided exceptional service to the County. The Chairman outlined the many contributions made to Kent by Mr Emson.

(2)          The Chairman stated that he was delighted that the Group Leaders had agreed unanimously that the Award should be presented to Mr Emson and it gave him great pleasure, on behalf of all KCC Members, to present him with the award and cheques for a total of £5,000 for his chosen charities, the Young Lives Foundation, Kent Community Foundation and Maidstone Town Centre Youth Café. 

(3)          Mr Carter congratulated Mr Emson on his award and outlined the contribution he had made in particular to the lives of young people in Kent. In accepting this award, Mr Emson responded and expressed his thanks to Members.

(1)          Mr Scholes moved and Mr Daley seconded the following motion:

          “Council is asked to agree:

a)    That authority is delegated to the Corporate Director Finance and Procurement, in consultation with the Chairman of the Superannuation Fund Committee to agree the approach to pooling that County Council will take, based upon the Government’s responses to the two options put forward by the ACCESS Pool and the views of the local authorities that make up the ACCESS Pool.

b)     the Corporate Director Finance and Procurement, in consultation with the Chairman of the Superannuation Fund Committee agrees to adopt pooling based on the use of a Collective Investment Vehicle (CIV) Operator, then authority is delegated to the Corporate Director Finance and Procurement in consultation with the Chairman of the Superannuation Fund Committee, to finalise and agree the terms of an Inter-Authority Agreement (IAA) to implement this model, and the Council resolves to delegate the functions to the Joint Committee as specified in Appendix 2 with effect from the date of execution of the IAA;

c)    If the Corporate Director Finance and Procurement, in consultation with the Chairman of the Superannuation Fund Committee agrees to adopt pooling based on Collaborative Joint Procurement, then authority is delegated to the Corporate Director Finance and Procurement in consultation with the Chairman of the Superannuation Fund Committee to finalise and agree the terms of an IAA to implement this model and the Council resolves to delegate the functions to the Joint Committee as specified in Appendix 3 with effect from the date of execution of the IAA; and

d)    That authority is delegated to the General Counsel to make consequential amendments to the County Council’s Constitution to reflect the agreed approach to pooling and the creation of the Joint Governance Committee.  Any amendments to the Constitution will be reported to a future meeting of the County Council.”

(2)          Following the debate the Chairman put the motion as set out in paragraph 1 to the vote and the voting was as follows:

For (59)

Mrs A Allen, Mr M Angell,  Mr M Balfour, Mr N Bond, Mr D Brazier, Mr L Burgess, Miss S Carey, Mr P Carter, Mr N Chard, Mrs P Cole, Mr G Cooke, Mr G Cowan, Mrs M Crabtree, Mr A Crowther, Mrs V Dagger, Mr D Daley, Mr M Dance, Dr M Eddy, Mrs M Elenor, Mr T Gates, Mr G Gibbens, Mr R Gough, Mr P Harman, Ms A Harrison, Mr M Hill, Mr S Holden, Mr P Homewood, Mr E Hotson, Mr M Horwood, Mr A King, Mr J Kite, Mr G Koowaree, Mr R Latchford, Mr G Lymer, Mr B MacDowall, Mr T Maddison, Mr S Manion, Mr A Marsh, Mrs D Marsh, Mr M Northey, Mr P Oakford, Mr J Ozog, Mr C Pearman, Mr L Ridings, Mrs E Rowbotham, Mr J Scholes, Mr T Shonk, Mr C Simkins, Mr J Simmonds, Mr C Smith, Mr D Smyth, Mrs P Stockell, Mr  ...  view the full minutes text for item 68.

(1)     Mr Simmonds moved and Mrs Crabtree seconded the following motion:

“Members are asked to consider and comment on the report.”

(2)          Following the debate the motion as set out in paragraph (1) was agreed without a formal vote.

(3)     RESOLVED that the report and comments be noted.

(1)          Mr Cooke moved and Mr Carter seconded the following motion:

“County Council endorses the attached Pay Policy Statement.”

(2)          Following the debate the motion as set out in paragraph (1) was agreed without a formal vote.

(3)          RESOLVED that the Pay Policy Statement 2017 be endorsed.

(1)          Mr Cooke moved and Mr Carter seconded the following motion:

“That the County Council approve the changes to the Constitution as detailed in paragraph 3 of the report.”

(2)          The motion as set out in paragraph (1) was agreed without a formal vote.

(3)          RESOLVED that the changes to the Constitution as detailed in paragraph 3 of the report be approved.

(1)          Mr Cooke moved and Mr Gough seconded the following motion:

“The County Council is asked to note the report, celebrate the impact and added value that the outcomes of the Select Committee reports provide for Kent residents and agree that further monitoring of the recommendations from these Select Committees be carried out either on a six monthly or annual basis, as considered appropriate by the County Council.”

(2)          Following the debate the motion as set out in paragraph (1) was agreed without a formal vote.

(3)      RESOLVED that the report be noted, the impact and added value that the outcomes of the Select Committee reports provide for Kent residents be noted and agree that further monitoring of the recommendations from these Select Committees be carried out either on a six monthly or annual basis, as considered appropriate by the County Council.