Agenda and minutes

There were no apologies for absence.

Resolved that the minutes of the meetings held on 14 December 2020 and 11 January 2021 are correct record and that they be signed by the chairman.

1) Mrs Bell provided an update regarding Covid-19 testing and vaccinations.  The national booking service had been extended to people aged 55 and over which meant that vaccinations were being rolled out to the 8^th group of the 9 priority vaccination groups.  It was anticipated that invitations would be extended to the 9^th group, those aged 50 to 54.  Those who had received a vaccination in the first weeks of the programme were due to receive their second dose and it was important that people attended for their second appointments.

As of 7 March, 670,834 vaccinations had been delivered across Kent and Medway.  89% of the population aged 65 plus had at least one dose of the vaccine and therefore, the vaccination programme had been successful. However, continued testing was considered important as 1 in 3 people with the virus did not experience symptoms of Covid-19.

The symptom free testing programme was to remain place until June 2021.  There were to be changes to the sites and to operating hours.  On 30 March, the centres at Detling, Kemsley and Fairfield were to close. From 31 March, the centres at Sheerness and Swanscombe were to extend their hours to between 9am and 7pm.  All sites were to be closed on Good Friday, Easter Sunday and Easter Monday but would be open on Easter Saturday.

The Director for Public Health had recommended a change in the frequency of testing. From 15 March, those living or working in Kent were recommended to take a symptom-free test twice weekly, as this would give more accurate results and it was important that symptom-free testing continued as the national restrictions were eased.

As of 10 March, 422,051 tests had been conducted across Kent with 2572 positive tests identified, meaning these individuals were able to isolate immediately and break the chain of transmission.

2) Mrs Chandler said that she had attended the Spirit of Try Angle Awards ceremony which had taken place virtually.  The Try Angle Awards were in their 26^th year; they recognised and rewarded the outstanding efforts and achievements of young people and groups.  The Awards recognised the achievements of young people during particularly challenging times.  The recording of the virtual awards ceremony was available on the website and Members were encouraged to watch the ceremony to hear about the young people and their achievements.

Between 20 November and 18 December 2020, local authorities were invited to submit applications for funding to support them with costs incurred as a result of caring for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children and former unaccompanied asylum-seeking children who were care leavers during the pandemic.  Submissions had been assessed and in February, confirmation was received from the Department for Education that KCC had been successful in securing £794,333 from the government’s Covid-19 fund.

There had been a slow and steady rise in new UASCs since the new year and there had also been a trickle of transfers of UASCs out of Kent. Close work had continued with the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 211.

1) Mr Oakford said the January forecast revenue position excluding schools and Covid-19, showed a £14million underspend. All directorates had continued to report underspends, with the largest in the financing items. The reported Covid-19 spending position showed an underspend of £11.8million which was compared against £72.2million of Covid-19 related budgets. Included in the Covid-19 position was £16million which had been committed for the Helping Hands scheme.  It was anticipated that around £5million would be spent during the current financial year and the remaining £10million was to be spent in 2021-22.

2) The overall underspend was forecast to be £25.8million but Members were asked to note that this was an unprecedented year and this level of underspend was a ‘one-off’.

3) The Capital forecast showed an underspend of £201.5million, of which £197.2million related to re-phasing and £4.3million real underspend. The forecast underspend has increased by £52.1million.

4) Resolved that the recommendations in the Revenue and Capital Budget Monitoring Report be agreed.

Matt Dunkley, Corporate Director, CYPE and David Adams, Reconnect Programme Manager were in attendance for this item.

1) The Leader introduced the report advising that the programme sought to address many of the issues that had arisen for children and young people during the pandemic.  The programme was being developed at pace and work was to continue during the pre-election period.  It was hoped that the work could be taken forward following the election.

2) Mrs Chandler introduced a video regarding the Reconnect Programme and outlined the agenda report.  She said that she shared Members’ concerns about the impact of the pandemic on children and young people and core Children’s Services have been working to address some of those issues.  The Reconnect Programme was not an extension of core services but was about additionality and positivity. Thanks were given to the young people who had communicated that this was the emphasis they wanted for the programme and the views of children were to be at the heart of programme. Parents, carers, teachers and CYPE staff had worked on home learning for children during the pandemic but children had still missed out. The programme was to be ‘universal’ to all children and young people in Kent.  The 5 themes for the programme were: health and happiness; friends and community; sports activities and the outdoors; and economic well-being.

All Members were to have opportunities for their input into the programme and for conversations to take place with all of the group leaders. Partnership work with charities and all local councils was part of the programme and everyone was asked to give a year to the children.

It was intended that Reconnect would run until August 2022 and there was to be a dedicated programme team led by David Adams.

3) Mr Long said that he endorsed the Reconnect Programme and hoped that all partners would cooperate to help children reconnect with learning and with their lives outside the home.   

4) Mr Bird said the initiative should be welcomed by everyone in Kent as it was important for children their development.  He regretted that it did not come earlier and that similar schemes had been proposed by opposition Members at an earlier stage. The Reconnect Programme was wide ranging and there was a risk that it might become difficult to manage and work needed to be done on focussing activities and looking at how best to measure their success.  KCC should ensure there was provision throughout the county as it was a universal programme.  Volunteers were being sought and there were concerns around provision of volunteers in areas of Kent where the need would be the greatest.  It was important that there was engagement with those parents and their children who would not have normally participated and it was therefore important that work was done through schools and other services to make sure every child was encouraged to take advantage of the scheme.  School staff have had an increased workload and had faced  ...  view the full minutes text for item 213.

Barbara Cooper, Corporate Director for Growth, Environment and Transport and Mark Scrivener, Corporate Risk Manager were in attendance for this item.

1) Mr Scrivener introduced the report and raised the following points:

·       Mr Scrivener’s team had been asked to produce the report as the ‘debrief’ for the major incident which happened in December 2020 as they were not involved with the response. 

·       The report was written from the KCC perspective, although it was noted that KCC were a key part of the multi-agency response. A similar process would have been undertaken by the Local Resilience Forum.

·       The views of key individuals involved with the response and those affected by the incidents had been sought as well as the views of Members.

·       Detailed planning had been undertaken in the run up to the end of the EU transition period, which had helped the response but there were unique challenges presented by the incident.

·       There were learning points for KCC but also involving partners.

2) Mrs Cooper raised the following points:

·       Detailed work had been undertaken with Dover District Council (DDC) and Highways England on how to keep the roads clear moving forward and agreement around signage, tree removal, improving sightlines, adding maintenance bays on roundabouts in Dover and looking at the A258 Castle Hill when there was congestion in future. In the longer term, ANPR cameras on box junctions and an A2 ‘tap at the Lydden traffic signals were being looked at with DDC and Highways England.

·       There had been a reduction in numbers of HGVs crossing the English Channel in comparison to previous years but numbers were increasing.  The French authorities had changed their requirements in regard to Covid-19 testing for HGV drivers which had reduced the amount of testing having to be carried out in Kent. Therefore, HGVs crossing the Channel would no longer be directed to the centre at Manston but the site was able to be ‘stepped up’ if required. There was to be an overnight closure on 20 March to change signage and configuration.

·       The planned introduction of import controls had been delayed by 6 months by central government in order for businesses and traders to be prepared.

·       The HMRC had moved into the Sevington Inland Border Facility and there were proposals for White Cliffs Inland Border Facility going through the planning process.

·       Traffic management was being looked at with the Department for Transport moving forward as Manston would only be available until the end of June 2021. The later stages of Operation Stack had been compromised by the Sevington Inland Border Facility and therefore, close work was being undertaken on future traffic management for congestion relating to the Straits of Dover.  It was hoped that sites could be found outside of the county to reduce congestion and this was to be a key project in the following months.

3) Mr Payne said since 1 January 2021, the suite of tactical options such as Manston and the Quick Moveable Barrier on the M20 had been available  ...  view the full minutes text for item 214.

Rachel Kennard, Senior Intelligence Analyst was in attendance for this item.

1)    Rachel Kennard outlined the report with results of 35 key performance indicators (KPIs) up to the end of December 2020.  KPIs were rated red, amber or green based on the most recent performance against targets.  Overall, the position was positive despite the ongoing challenges presented by the pandemic, 20 of the KPIs were ‘RAG’ rated as green, 11 rated as amber and 4 performing below target rated as red.

2)    The 3 areas that had been ‘RAG’ rated as red in quarter 2 were the same for quarter 3 and the fourth area rated as red was under Customer Services on complaints responded to within timescale. The floor target was 80% and performance had fallen to 78% for the period September to December 2020. This was due to increased complaint numbers, increased complexity of complaints and staff availability.

3)    The picture presented by the performance indicators reflected a positive position, particularly given the challenges faced by KCC over the period. The following were highlighted as examples:

·       The Kent.gov website had continued to be very popular in terms of visitor numbers and an increasing number of transactions were being completed online.

·       The KPIs relating to economic development covering the ‘No Use Empty’ Scheme and the Developer Contributions had continued to perform well and over £32 million of funding from the ‘Getting Building’ Fund was agreed by the South East Local Enterprise Partnership.

·       Greenhouse gas emissions had been on a downward trend and were ahead of target.

·       The time taken for adoptions had reduced and the number of Looked After Children had been reduced.

·       The proportion of ‘front door’ contacts where a decision was made within 3 working days had increased.

·       In Adult Social Care, targets had been met with regard to those discharged from hospital remaining at home 91 days after discharge.

·       In Public Health, health visiting and drug and alcohol treatment continued to meet targets, despite the need to adapt services for reduced face to face contact.

4)    Members noted that the KPIs rated red needed to be addressed but overall it was felt that the outlook presented by the KPIs was positive.

5)    Resolved that the Quarterly Performance Report – Quarter 3 be noted.

Stephen Gasche, Rail Project Manager was in attendance for this item.

1)    Mr Payne introduced the report and thanked the Scrutiny Committee for their discussion on the Kent Rail Strategy. The Scrutiny Committee’s input had reinforced the importance of improving connections between Maidstone and London with the Minister of State for Transport.

2)    Mr Gasche said that the agenda report had set out the amendments to the Kent Rail Strategy proposed by the Scrutiny Committee, which had strengthened the case for an initial service between Maidstone and Blackfriars, retaining the ambition of working towards a through-service going through Blackfriars and St Pancras to Cambridge.

3)    Members thanked and paid tribute to Mr Gasche on the occasion of his retirement from KCC.

4)    Resolved to note and approve the Scrutiny Committee’s amendments to Kent Rail Strategy 2021.