Agenda and minutes

The General Counsel reported apologies from Mr Daley, Miss Dawson, Mr Koowaree and Mrs Stockell.  Mr Butler, Mr Farrell and Mr Simkins gave their apologies for the afternoon session.

(1)          The Chairman declared an interest in item 8 on the agenda as he received a pension from the Australia and New Zealand Bank group who were mentioned in the report.  Mr Bartlett also declared an interest in item 8 as he is an employee of the Bank of New York and one of the funds listed in the report was managed by an affiliate of the Bank of New York.  He stayed in the meeting but did not participate in the discussion of the item.

(2)          Miss Morton declared an interest as she had recently taken up employment as a nurse vaccinator with the Kent Community Health Foundation Trust which worked in partnership with Kent County Council.

(3)          During item 10 Mr Burden declared an interest as he was chairman of Age UK Northwest Kent.  He did not take part in the discussion relating to question 6 from Ida Linfield to the Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Health about funding for Age UK branches in Canterbury.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meetings held on 10 December 2020 and 11 February 2021 be approved as a correct record subject to a correction to minute 268 from December 2020 to show that Mrs Hohler had not voted on the item.

(a)       Corporate Director for Growth, Environment and Transport

The Chairman said Barbara Cooper, the Corporate Director for Growth, Environment and Transport, would be retiring on 31 March, after almost twelve years with Kent County Council. He said Mrs Cooper had joined the Council in 2009 from Swale Borough Council and had worked in local government for over 20 years. She had been a stalwart supporter of growth in Kent and had worked tirelessly for the good of the county, including on projects such as the Thanet Parkway, the Creative Estuary and the Production Corridor.  He said Mrs Cooper had risen to the particular challenges of Brexit and the coronavirus pandemic over the last twelve months with characteristic enthusiasm, knowledge, and good humour.  He said she was described by her colleagues as a truly inspirational leader with amazing levels of energy and commitment to getting the job done.  He concluded by saying she would be greatly missed and asked members and officers to join him in wishing her all the very best for her future endeavours.

(b)       Director of Public Health

The Chairman said that Andrew Scott-Clark, Director of Public Health, would be retiring in June.  He thanked him for his hard work and his support over many years and in particular for his support during his term as cabinet member with responsibility for public health. He said Mr Scott-Clark had worked in public health for around 20 years, but the last 12 months had been an unparalleled challenge. He asked members to join him in thanking Mr Scott-Clark for everything he had done for the county and in wishing him well for his future endeavours.

(c)        Mr Balfour       

The Chairman said that Mr Balfour was in hospital following an injury to his ankle and sent him best wishes for a speedy recovery.

In accordance with Sections 14.15 to 14.22 of the Constitution, six questions were asked and replies given. A record of all questions put and answers given at the meeting is available online with the papers for this meeting.

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

(2)          Mr Gough said he would like to associate himself with the Chairman’s words about Barbara Cooper and Andrew Scott-Clark who had both given outstanding service to the county and to the council and in particular during the last most testing year.  He also recognised that this meeting would be the last for many members and thanked the Chairman for his friendship and support over many years as well as his grace and good humour in chairing meetings of the county council.  He paid tribute to the group leaders, Mr Bird and Mr Whybrow, who were not seeking re-election. He said it had been a pleasure to work with them and congratulated Mr Whybrow on being the first Green party member elected to Kent County Council.  He thanked colleagues from his own party, including Mr Northey and Mr Pugh, who had made significant contributions to both the county council and the communities they served over many years. 

(3)          Mr Gough then considered how circumstances had changed since the county council meeting in December.  At that time, he had reported that the authority was looking to set up its first symptom-free coronavirus testing sites in Thanet and Swale and he was pleased to report that since then almost 400,000 tests had been conducted in a network of sites across the county.  He said that a few weeks after the meeting in December, the seven-day rate of Covid-19 infections in Kent had peaked at just under 900 cases per 100,000 of the population and that the rate currently stood at 37.2 per 100,000.  He said the reduction in the rate of infection and the roll out of the vaccine meant that the journey to normality could begin.  He said the road map to recovery including  school return and local outbreak control plans would be considered at an all-member briefing on the 12 March and he hoped that as many members as possible would be able to attend.

(4)          Mr Gough said that a few weeks after the meeting of the county council in December a decision of the French government to block channel crossings for 48 hours had a huge impact on the east of the county and, in particular, on the town of Dover.  He said officers and members had responded well at the time and it was intended to reflect on lessons learned and look to future at the Cabinet meeting scheduled for 15 March.  He also said the Cabinet would consider the Reconnect programme designed to support young people in Kent as part of the recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.  He said it was an exciting programme but that he did not want to pre-empt the discussion at Cabinet by saying too much now.

(5)          Mr Gough then turned his attention to the items which he thought would be in the in-tray for the new administration following the elections in May. Firstly, he referred to finance.  He  ...  view the full minutes text for item 279.

(1)          Mrs Prendergast proposed and Mr Oakford seconded the motion that:

“The County Council endorses the Pay Policy Statement.”

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

For (65)

Mrs Allen, Mr Angell, Mr Balfour, Mr Barrington-King, Mr Bartlett, Mrs Bell, Mrs Beresford, Mrs Binks, Mr Bird, Mr Bond, Mr Booth, Mr Brazier, Mr Butler, Miss Carey, Sir Paul Carter, Mrs Chandler, Mr Chittenden, Mrs Cole, Mr Collor, Mr Cook, Mr Cooke, Mr Cooper, Mrs Crabtree, Mr Dance, Mrs Dean, Mrs Game, Mr Gough, Mrs Hamilton, Mr Hill, Mr Hills, Mrs Hohler, Mr Holden, Mr Homewood, Mr Hook, Mr Horwood, Mr Hotson, Mrs Hurst, Mr Kite, Mr Lake, Ida Linfield, Mr Long, Mr Love, Mr Lymer, Mr Manion, Mr Marsh, Mr McInroy, Mr Messenger, Miss Morton, Mr Murphy, Mr Northey, Mr Oakford, Mr Ozog, Mr Pascoe, Mr Payne, Mrs Prendergast, Mr Pugh, Miss Rankin, Mr Rayner, Mr Ridgers, Mr Simkins, Mr Sweetland, Mr Thomas, Mr Whiting, Mr Whybrow, Mr Wright

Against (6)

Mr Burden, Mr Clinch, Mr Farrell, Mr Harman, Mr Lewis, Dr Sullivan

Abstain (0)

Motion Carried.

(3)          RESOLVED that the County Council endorses the Pay Policy Statement.

(1)          Mr Oakford proposed and Mrs Crabtree seconded the following motion:

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

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

(3)          RESOLVED that the report be noted.

(1)          Mr Gough proposed and Mrs Bell seconded the following motion:

“County Council is asked to note and comment on activity undertaken by KCC and partners to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and prepare for recovery.”

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

(3)          RESOLVED to note the activity undertaken by KCC and partners to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic and prepare for recovery.

(1)          Mr Oakford proposed and Mr Gough seconded the following motion:

“The County Council is asked to note the report and support the proposal to create the Covid-19 Local Recovery Fund for 2021-22 under part (a) of the Helping Hands Support Scheme via Executive Decision 21/00024.”

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

(3)          RESOLVED that the County Council notes the report and supports the proposal to create the Covid-19 Local Recovery Fund for 2021-22 under part (a) of the Helping Hands Support Scheme via Executive Decision 21/00024.

Proposer: Ida Linfield

Seconder: Trudy Dean

Background information

According to Kent Carers Matter, 1 in 9 adults in Kent are carers for people of all ages at any one time. This equates to over 151,000 people. 3 in 5 people in Kent will become a carer at some point in their life. A quarter of carers have reported not having had a day off for 5 years. 

There are currently over 200 registered providers of respite care and short breaks across Kent. Many of these are community services available to everyone without assessment, and for those with more specialist needs, there are a range of targeted options.

Motion

This Council notes the many benefits to health and wellbeing that respite services and short breaks provide to carers. However, it is clear that even before the current pandemic many carers in the county were not accessing any support. These numbers are likely to have increased markedly, and stress levels amongst carers are known to be very high. 

The Council commits to actively promoting respite breaks for all carers across Kent by launching a new publicity campaign to raise awareness to those carers who have yet to take advantage of the short break and respite services to which they are entitled.  

Promoting respite services in Kent

(1)          Ida Linfield proposed and Mrs Dean seconded the following motion:

“This Council notes the many benefits to health and wellbeing that respite services and short breaks provide to carers. However, it is clear that even before the current pandemic many carers in the county were not accessing any support. These numbers are likely to have increased markedly, and stress levels amongst carers are known to be very high.

The Council commits to actively promoting respite breaks for all carers across Kent by launching a new publicity campaign to raise awareness to those carers who have yet to take advantage of the short break and respite services to which they are entitled”.

(2)       Mrs Bell proposed and Miss Morton seconded the following amendment:

“This Council notes the many benefits to health and wellbeing that respite services and short breaks provide to carers. However, it is clear that even before the current pandemic many carers in the county were not accessing any support. These numbers are likely to have increased markedly, and stress levels amongst carers are known to be very high. 

The Council commits to actively promoting respite breaks for all carers across Kent by launching a new publicity campaign to raise awareness to those carers who have yet to take advantage of the short break and respite services to which they are entitled.

The Council congratulates the administration on the Making a Difference Every Day programme. The Council further supports the determination of the administration to continue and expand on the work to improve engagement with carers, to raise awareness of the services available to carers, and to actively promote these services via the KCC Comms Team, as well as our partners in Primary Care, the voluntary sector, district councils and others, to ensure that carers across Kent are able to benefit from the short break and respite opportunities and other support available to them.”

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

For (54)

Mrs Allen, Mr Angell,  Mr Barrington-King, Mr Bartlett, Mrs Bell, Mrs Beresford, Mrs Binks, Mr Bond, Mr Booth, Mr Bowles, Mr Brazier, Miss Carey, Sir Paul Carter, Mrs Chandler, Mr Chard, Mrs Cole, Mr Collor, Mr Cook, Mr Cooke, Mr Cooper, Mrs Crabtree, Mr Dance, Mrs Game, Mr Gough, Mrs Hamilton, Mr Hill, Mr Hills, Mrs Hohler, Mr Holden, Mr Homewood, Mr Horwood, Mr Long, Mr Love, Mr Lymer, Mr Manion, Mr McInroy, Mr Messenger, Mr Monk, Miss Morton, Mr Murphy, Mr Northey, Mr Oakford, Mr Ozog, Mr Pascoe, Mr Payne, Mrs Prendergast, Mr Pugh, Miss Rankin, Mr Rayner, Mr Ridgers, Mr Sweetland, Mr Thomas, Mr Whiting, , Mr Wright

Against (11)

Mr Bird, Mr Burden, Mr Chittenden, Mr Clinch, Mrs Dean, Mr Harman, Mr Hook, Mr Hotson, Ida Linfield, Dr Sullivan, Mr Whybrow

Abstain (0)

Amendment carried.

(4)       The Chairman put the substantive motion set out in paragraph 2 above to the vote  ...  view the full minutes text for item 284.

The Chairman thanked members for their support and help during the life of the administration. He paid tribute to the leaders of the opposition groups and thanked them for their help in making virtual meetings work.  He also thanked the Vice-Chairman, Mr Northey for his counsel and advice during the year.  He thanked officers for their support and advice over the last four years and, in particular, over the last twelve months for their efforts in facilitating the move to virtual meetings of the council without any detriment to the democratic process.  He concluded by thanking members who were not seeking re-election for their input and he wished those who were standing for re-election the best of luck.