Agenda and minutes

The Chairman stated that the sad and untimely death of Mr John Law, former Conservative Group spokesman on this Committee, was a great shock for everyone and added that he would be very much missed. Members sat in silence as a mark of respect.

Mr Hart declared a personal interest in item D1 on the agenda (Outcome of formal consultation on the modernisation of East Kent Mental Health Day Services) as he was a candidate for election to the Board of the Kent and Medway NHS & Social Care Partnership Trust.

Dr Eddy declared a personal interest in item D1 on the agenda (Outcome of formal consultation on the modernisation of East Kent Mental Health Day Services) as he was a voting Member of the NHS Foundation Trust.

Mr Chell stated that he was present at the meeting held on 23 July and asked for his name to be included in the list of Members present.

Mr Truelove asked for clarification of the final sentence of item 81 (2), relating to the management of motorways and trunk roads in Kent, Surrey and Sussex, as the impression being given by the current wording was possibly not what the Cabinet Member for Environment, Highways and Waste had intended. Mr Sass stated that the word “no” should appear between the words “be” and “adverse” in the penultimate line of that paragraph, so that the final sentence should read: “He assured the Committee that, in the event of the bid being successful, there would be no adverse impact on any of KCC’s existing highways services.”

Mr Cowan stated that his comments on the Working Neighbourhood fund for Thanet had not been reflected in the minutes. Mr Sass undertook to check his notes and add suitable comments to the minutes, in consultation with Mr Cowan.

Mr Hart asked whether the draft Strategy for the Working Neighbourhood Fund for Thanet, which had been reported to TDC’s Cabinet in August, could be reported to this Committee for information and comment. He also stated that a sum of £100,000 had been “top-sliced” from the WNF funding. Mr Sass undertook to follow these two issues up and inform Members accordingly.

RESOLVED: That, subject to the name of Mr Chell being added to the list of Members present, the agreed amendment to item 81 (2) referred to above and Mr Cowan’s comments on the Working Neighbourhood Fund for Thanet being added, the minutes of the meeting held on 23 July 2008 be approved and the Chairman be authorised to sign them as a correct record.

Mrs Dean expressed her disappointment that the Cabinet had merely noted this Committee’s decisions, adding that it would be helpful if the Cabinet could give an indication as to whether they either supported/endorsed the Committee’s comments or otherwise, giving appropriate reasons. The Chairman echoed Mrs Dean’s comments.

RESOLVED: That the action taken by the Cabinet on the Committee’s recommendations be noted and the Cabinet be requested to provide more meaningful feedback in future.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the Informal Member Group on Budgetary Issues held on 31 July 2008 be noted.

Mrs Dean referred to item 4 (Local Area Agreement – Reward Grant) and suggested that the word “virtual” in the second line of paragraph 3 should read “virtuous”.

Mr Smyth referred to item 5 (Impact of Housing Market on Development Contributions) and stated that, on balance, he was content for such reports to continue to be submitted to the IMG on Budgetary Issues, but he reserved the right to ask this Committee to reconsider the position if the volume and frequency of such reports started to impact adversely on the IMG’s proper consideration of financial and performance monitoring and other similar reports. He also stated that the relevant local Member(s) should be invited to attend the IMG, whenever a report relating to developer contributions was considered.

RESOLVED: That, subject to the amendment to item 4 referred to above, the notes of the Informal Member Group on Budgetary Issues held on 11 September 2008, be noted.

Mr P B Carter, Leader of the Council; Mr N J D Chard, Cabinet Member for Finance; Mr P Gilroy, Chief Executive; and Ms L McMullan, Director of Finance, will attend the meeting from 10.15 am to 11.15 am to answer Members’ questions on this item.

The Chairman welcomed Mr A King, Deputy Leader of the Council, Mr N J D Chard, Cabinet Member for Finance, Mr P Gilroy, Chief Executive, Ms L McMullan, Director of Finance and Mr Ben Smith, Group Finance Manager, to the meeting.

Mr Chard introduced the report, stating that the current 3-year settlement was welcome in terms of financial planning, but it was agreed before the impact of the current global economic situation had been realised. Accordingly, the Council was facing challenging decisions to maintain all services at their current levels against increased demands. Specifically, he mentioned the impact of the housing market and developer contributions on the growth agenda; Dedicated Schools Grant; and the as yet unresolved issue of asylum costs. Mr Chard also drew the Committee’s attention to the interaction of services with the NHS, financial planning risks, key assumptions and the adequacy of the Council’s reserves.

In response to a question from Mr Chell, Ms McMullan confirmed that, with the exception of asylum, there were no other significant sums outstanding to be paid to KCC that she didn’t expect to be settled in the current financial year.

In response to a question from Mr Northey, Mr Chard stated that KCC had moved very quickly to address the impact of the global economic situation on the Council’s services and the PEF2 would assist in maintaining essential capital investment, which put KCC in a fortunate position in that regard. He added that the additional costs facing the authority, because of the fluctuating oil price for example, would be equalised over the medium term. Ms McMullan stated that action had already been taken to address some of the inflationary pressures following the Cabinet meeting on 4 August, but that further action would be necessary as part of the forthcoming budget and medium term planning round. She added that the Council’s policies on treasury management were being examined to ensure that any potential risks were minimised and the Superannuation Fund Committee was currently examining the impact of the current economic conditions on the pension fund.

With regard to Asylum, Ms McMullan stated that the Government’s commitment to fund KCC’s asylum costs in writing was still awaited. She added that if KCC did not receive its full settlement for previous years, the Council’s exposure would be up to £4m in the current year. Mr Gilroy stated that he had written to the Home Office following recent meetings and added that he was certain that the Minister wanted the matter resolved to the satisfaction of all parties.

Mr Gilroy commented that price inflation had to be responded to quickly as there was a serious impact on the Council’s procurement activity. Suppliers were also feeling the pinch and KCC needed to address those issues constructively and responsibly. He also stated that the wider community of government in Kent would be coming together at a summit meeting in November to discuss ongoing and future strategies to work together to ameliorate the situation as best as possible,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 89.

Mr P B Carter, Leader of the Council; Mr N J D Chard, Cabinet Member for Finance; Mr P Gilroy, Chief Executive; and Ms L McMullan, Director of Finance, will attend the meeting from 11.15 am to 12.15 pm to answer Members’ questions on this item.

The Chairman welcomed Mr A King, Deputy Leader of the Council, Mr N J D Chard, Cabinet Member for Finance, Mr P Gilroy, Chief Executive, Ms L McMullan, Director of Finance and Mr Ben Smith, Group Finance Manager, to the meeting.

Mr Chard introduced the report, commenting that the Council had been able to vire £5.111million from the 2007/08 underspend for the current economic situation and he reiterated his thanks to all Officers for that achievement. He referred to table 1a on page 47 of the agenda, stating that the net projected variance against the combined portfolio revenue budgets was a pressure of £0.543m after management action (excluding asylum). Mr Chard referred to the various key activity graphs included in the annexes to the report, which showed better correlation than previously. Finally, he referred to the proposed realignment of budgets within the Kent Adult Social Services portfolio, as detailed in sections 1.1.1 and 1.1.2 of annex 2.

Referring to paragraph 1.1.4.2 (c) on page 81 of the agenda, Mr Smyth remarked that, whilst he supported the work being done to reduce reliance on residential care, some domiciliary care packages for clients with dementia were as expensive as residential care. Mr Gilroy stated that a number of clients, particularly those with dementia, would have no option but to go into residential care.

Referring to paragraph 3.4.3.1 on page 52 of the agenda, Mr Northey stated that it appeared odd that the existing cost of sending waste to landfill was currently a cheaper means of disposal than the waste to energy plant at Allington. He sought assurances that, on environmental grounds, KCC was doing all it could to ensure that the Allington plant was operating effectively as quickly as possible and asked for further information about the differences in cost of each method of disposal and over what period of time the proposed increases in landfill tax would affect the current situation. Mr Chard stated that the relevant officers would provide a written answer to Committee Members.

Referring to paragraph 2.1 on page 68 (number of children receiving assisted SEN and mainstream transport to school), Mrs Dean asked why the budget had not been adjusted for the higher numbers of children receiving transport to school, some of which were awarded on appeal that perhaps would have been granted in any event had the budget been sufficient. Ms McMullan stated that a written note would be provided for Committee Members, which would comment upon a budget savings proposal that didn’t come to fruition.

Referring to paragraph 1.1.4.6 (b) on page 83 of the agenda, Dr Eddy asked whether the authority was, in effect, contributing to the inability of the NHS to deliver assessment and related services in the North West of the County as a result of the “vacancy management necessary to offset the pressure within residential care.” He suggested that management action was undermining a policy decision in this vital area. Ms McMullan undertook to ensure that the Managing Director of KASS  ...  view the full minutes text for item 90.

The Chairman and Spokespersons have agreed that there is no need for the attendance of any officer or Cabinet Member for this item.

The Committee was advised that the Chairman and Spokespersons had agreed that there was no need for the attendance of any Cabinet Member or Officer for the consideration of this item.

The Chairman stated that he wanted to be assured that there were clear monitoring arrangements in place.

RESOLVED: That we ask that the Children, Families and Education Policy Overview Committee consider this matter to ensure that the progress of the Unit review in lead schools is closely monitored to ensure successful outcomes for all children and young people.

The Chairman and Spokespersons have agreed that there is no need for the attendance of any officer or Cabinet Member for this item.

The Committee was advised that the Chairman and Spokespersons had agreed that there was no need for the attendance of any Cabinet Member or Officer for the consideration of this item.

The Chairman stated that he wanted to be assured that the modernisation and development of these important services were properly monitored by Members.

RESOLVED: That we ask that the Adult Social Services Policy Overview Committee consider this matter to ensure that the future provision of these vital services is maintained to the highest possible standard and that the impact on the dependency on statutory social services is closely monitored.