Agenda and minutes

The Head of Democratic Services and Local Leadership reported that apologies had been received from Mr Lake, Mr Bassam and Mrs Dean who were substituted by Mr Northey, Mr Simmonds and Mr Daley, respectively.  An apology for absence had also been received from Mrs Newell.

RESOLVED that the Minutes of the meeting held on 26 March 2008 are correctly recorded and that they be signed by the Chairman.

A21 and East Kent Access Phase 2

(1)       The Head of Democratic Services advised Members that, at the last meeting of the Cabinet Scrutiny Committee, it was agreed that Dr Eddy would write a letter on behalf of the Committee to the Minister of State for Transport requesting that the existing timetables for these schemes be retained.  Since the meeting Dr Eddy had been able to confirm that the two A21 schemes (Tonbridge to Pembury, and Kippings Cross to Lamberhurst) were indeed listed in the Highway Agency’s Annual Plan for 2008/09 and, therefore, it appeared that the letter had been pre-empted. 

(2)       During a short discussion, Members agreed that Dr Eddy should still send a letter to the Minister of State for Transport urging the Government to progress these important schemes without delay.

(3)       RESOLVED that, following confirmation that the two A21 schemes (Tonbridge to Pembury, and Kippings Cross to Lamberhurst) are listed for development within the 2008/09 Highways Agency Annual Plan, the Chairman be authorised to write a letter to the Minister of State for Transport, urging her to ensure that both of these schemes are implemented without any further delay.

Kent Healthwatch

(1)       The Committee was pleased to note under Cabinet resolution (b) that a monitoring report would submitted to the Cabinet Scrutiny Committee in December of this year.  

(2)       With regard to Cabinet resolution (c), the Committee were of the view that data collection issues and confidentially should be being considered now rather than at some stage in the future.  

(3)       With regard to Cabinet resolution (f), the Committee expressed their thanks to Mr Gibbens for supplying the Committee with a timetable for implementing links.

RESOLVED that the notes of the Informal Member Group on Budgetary Issues, held on 10 April 2008, be noted.

(1)       The Committee was asked to decide which annual unit business plans it wished to scrutinise in further detail later in the municipal year.

(2)       After a short discussion, it was RESOLVED that the following Unit business Plans be agreed for detailed scrutiny during 2008/09:-

1.      Highways Services

2.      Children’s Services (Clusters)

3.      Communication and Media Centre

4.      Direct Payments (part of Adult Social Services)

Mr N J D Chard, Cabinet Member for Finance, and Mr M Austerberry, Director of Property, will attend the meeting from 10.30 am to 11.30 am to answer Members’ questions on this item.

(1)       The Committee welcomed Mr N J C Chard, Cabinet Member for Finance, Mrs E Walker, Head of Asset Management and Disposals (Property Team), and Mr J Wilkinson, Trustee of the Allington Baptist Church to the meeting.

(2)       Mr Wilkinson was invited by the Chairman to set out the nature of his concerns with regard to the proposed disposal of land.  Mr Wilkinson began by stating that, contrary to the description of the church’s premises in the County Council’s planning application, the church was not in a poor state of repair and was, in fact, a timber-framed building with brick sides built on a solid base.  He added that the building was in need of some repairs but that this had not been possible because their lease had not been renewed or extended and had, in fact, expired.  He added that the church organised a range of activities for the community, ranging from Sunday services to parents’ groups and older peoples’ groups.  The church even hosted examinations for a local school.  Mr Wilkinson stated that the church wanted to extend its premises on the existing site and had no desire to move to new premises.  He requested that the Council should either gift the land to the church or grant a long-term lease.  Finally, he stated that, the County Council should withdraw its application for planning permission because of the concern being caused in the community, particularly amongst vulnerable people.

(3)       Mrs Walker stated that the County Council had been in negotiations with the Allington Baptist Church for some 18 months, during which several meetings had taken place.  She stated that the church had agreed in principle to leave their existing site subject to the new site being acceptable to them.  She referred to the tabled plan, which showed the proposed alternative site, located in Bower Mount Road, which was approximately half a mile away from the existing site.  She continued that, in the Council’s negotiations with Maidstone Borough Council, as the planning authority, the County Council would enter into a Section 106 agreement, which would require the Council to provide alternative premises for the Allington Baptist Church.  It was noted that this would involve the County Council gifting an appropriate piece of land on an alternative site.  Referring to the tabled plan, Mrs Walker stated that negotiations were ongoing with the church with regard to the most appropriate design for their new premises and gave assurances with regard to access, parking and services. 

(4)       At the invitation of the Chairman, Mr Curwood addressed the Committee as a local Member.  He stated that there was significant support within the local community for the church to remain in its present location.  He spoke about the wide range of essential services provided by the church to the local community, which were enhanced by its prominent position on a busy road junction, with schools and residential properties nearby. 

(5)       Mr Chard, Cabinet Member for Finance, stated that he recognised fully the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 65.

Mr N J C Chard, Cabinet Member for Finance, and Mr K Harlock, Director of Commercial Services, will attend the meeting from 11.30 am to 12.30 pm to answer Members’ questions on this item.

(1)       The Committee welcomed Mr N J C Chard, Cabinet Member for Finance, and Mr K Harlock, Director of Commercial Services, to the meeting.

(2)       The Chairman stated that, in addition to the briefing note that had been provided by the Director of Commercial Services, he had received and circulated documentation from the trade unions to Committee Members.

(3)       In response to a question from the Chairman, Mr Harlock stated that the total number of deliveries that could be made from the West Malling Depot dropped significantly once drivers had to go beyond the boundaries of Kent and, in particular, through the Dartford Tunnel and into Essex and beyond.  He stated that it was not the intention to use a third party carrier for a delivery that was just over the boundary of Kent but that the outsourcing of deliveries further afield had become necessary to enable the Council to keep to its target of making deliveries the next day.

(4)       In response to a question from Mr Smyth, Mr Harlock stated that a great deal of work had gone into preparing the specification for the outsourced deliveries and he was confident that the third party provider would be able to perform well in relation to next day delivery.  He added that customer satisfaction remained an essential aspect of any outsourcing and he assured the Committee that he would deal effectively with any complaints from customers about poor customer service.

(5)       In relation to a further question from Mr Smyth, Mr Harlock explained that the negotiations and discussions with affected staff had been carried out in accordance with KCC procedures.  He added that the new arrangements were due to commence on 1 June 2008 and that TUPE applied to the affected staff.

(6)       Mr Chard stated that there were enormous practical and environmental benefits for the proposed outsourcing.  He assured Members that the specification for the new arrangements was robust, a clear risk analysis had been completed, all of the relevant negotiations with affected staff had been carried out in accordance with KCC procedures, TUPE applied to affected staff and there were no compulsory redundancies.

(7)       In response to a question from the Chairman, Mr Harlock confirmed that consultation with Members had been minimal as the proposal was regarded as “business as usual” in accordance with the business plan for Commercial Services.  He added that he was a supporter of in-house provision, where appropriate, and that he would have retained this particular service in-house if it could be justified in value for money terms.

(8)       In response to a further question from the Chairman with regard to the environmental aspects, Mr Harlock confirmed that the outsourcing of these services would result in a significant reduction in carbon emissions, possibly up to 60%, although he accepted that this calculation had been made on the basis of a number of assumptions.

(9)       In response to further questions from Members about the affected staff, Mr Harlock confirmed that discussions were ongoing in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 66.