Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies were received from Mr Eustace, for whom Mr Harrison was substituting, Mr Truder for whom Mrs Lawes was substituting, Mr Defriend for whom Mr Paul was substituting, Mr Hood for whom Mr Jeffery was substituting, Mrs Hudson for whom Mr Rayner was substituting, Mr Roper for whom Mr Swansbury was substituting and the Parent Governor Representatives.

There were no declarations of interest.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 11 June 2026 were a correct record and they be signed by the Chair.

1.    The item was introduced by Brian Collins, Deputy Leader, who presented the Revenue and Capital Budget Monitoring Report Outturn 2025-26 and highlighted that the report related to the first full financial year under the current administration.

2.    In response to questions and comments from Members, discussion covered the following:

a)    Mr Collins advised that Adult Social Care (ASC) continued to represent one of the most significant financial pressures facing local authorities nationally. He explained that work was ongoing to strengthen financial management arrangements and manage increasing demand pressures. Whilst no guarantees could be given regarding future overspends, every effort was being made to minimise the requirement to draw on reserves.

b)    Mr Collins explained that the ASC overspend reflected a combination of factors, including increasing demand, procurement challenges and the non-delivery of planned savings. He highlighted that the level of overspend had reduced during the latter part of the financial year.

c)    Mr Collins stated that the General Fund reserve stood at 4.31% at the end of 2025-26 and was forecast to increase to 6.37% during the current financial year. He explained that the Council continued to work towards maintaining reserves within the recommended range of 5-10%.

d)    Mr Collins advised that Delivery of Local Government Efficiency (DOLGE) activity had become embedded across the Council and expressed confidence that this work would contribute to future savings and improved financial performance.

e)    The Chair reminded Members that questions should relate to the report and that political debate would be addressed separately.

f)     Mr Collins expressed confidence in Council officers and the relevant teams and stressed that the forecasts had been prepared under the previous administration. He also highlighted the appointment of the new Corporate Director for Adult Social Care and Health and referred to the ongoing work being undertaken to minimise avoidable suffering for residents.

g)    Mr Collins highlighted the administration’s achievement in reducing the Council’s debt through measures such as early repayments, resulting in annual revenue budget savings of approximately £1.3 million per year.

h)    Mr Collins expressed that there would be no benefit in reinstating the Treasury Management Group, citing its previous lack of results when arrangements allowed for Member participation.

i)     Brendan Arnold, Corporate Director of Finance, advised that the Council had submitted the required Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Reform Plan to the Department for Education (DfE) and continued to work closely with Government advisers. He indicated that there was no reason to believe Kent would be less successful than other authorities participating in the process and that a decision was anticipated later in the year. He added that SEND pressures continued to be experienced nationally and that Kent continued to work with Government and partners to manage the associated financial risks.

j)     Mr Collins highlighted the difficulty in predicting future overspends, stating that significant financial pressures remained within ASC and Children, Young People and Education (CYPE) services and that budget movements between financial years could occur.

k)    Mr Collins highlighted that significant emphasis was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 63.

1. The item was introduced by Mr Collins and Jamie Henderson, Cabinet Member for Environment, Coastal Regeneration and Public Health, who presented the Executive Response to the Water Supply Short Focused Inquiry. Members were advised that all recommendations contained within the Inquiry report had been accepted and that work was progressing with relevant partners to support implementation.

2. In response to questions and comments from Members, discussion covered the following:

a)    Mr Henderson reported that a number of the previously agreed actions had now been completed, with progress updates set out in the report. He highlighted the inaugural Kent Water Resilience meeting scheduled for 8 October, as well as recent engagement between the Leader and John Halsall, the newly announced Chief Executive Officer of South East Water. Mr Henderson welcomed positive collaboration between Thanet Earth and the Environment Agency, confirming that licenses had been granted for further water extraction and outlining that this partnership approach was being encouraged through the Council’s correspondence with relevant organisations.

b)    Mr Watts advised that future monitoring of the recommendations could be undertaken through the Flood Risk and Water Management Committee, with matters returning to Scrutiny Committee where appropriate.

c)    The Leader of the Council advised that she had recently met with the Chief Executive of South East Water and had raised concerns regarding the company’s lack of statutory consultee status in relation to housing developments. She assured the Committee that the potential for KCC to have greater input into the planning application process remained under consideration and that discussions on possible next steps were ongoing.

d)    Mr Watts acknowledged that progress updates would continue to be reported through the appropriate channels and indicated that a further report to the Committee was likely in due course. He also advised that officers would consider the suggestions made regarding KCC’s role in the planning process, including any statutory or other constraints on what the authority could and could not do.

3. Following the questions, the Chair welcomed comments and views from the Committee about the report. These included:

a)    A Member highlighted the importance of ensuring that the work undertaken through the Inquiry continued to progress and was not adversely affected by future LGR arrangements, including through collaboration with other relevant groups where appropriate.

b)    A Member suggested that future progress reports include indicative target dates for implementation, where appropriate, to assist ongoing scrutiny and accountability.

c)    A Member raised that KCC could play a strategic role in bringing together local planning authorities in water- stressed areas to make coordinated representations to Government on challenges of meeting housing targets where water infrastructure capacity is strained.

d)    A Member reiterated the absence of timescales within the report and suggested that these be included to assist with monitoring progress. They further suggested a more comprehensive update report be brought back to the Committee in six months’ time to enable further scrutiny of the progress against the actions identified.

e)    A Member highlighted concerns about insufficient investment in water infrastructure and requested that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 64.

1. The item was introduced by Linden Kemkaran, Leader of the Council, who presented a report outlining the challenges and progress made during the administration's first year in office. The report covered the Council's financial position, Adult Social Care, SEND, water resilience and highways, together with preparations for LGR.

2. In response to questions and comments from Members, discussion covered the following:

a)    The Leader advised that a key priority for the remainder of the administration was to ensure that the authority was handed over in the strongest possible position ahead of LGR, whilst continuing to maintain service delivery and financial stability.

b)    The Leader explained that she had prioritised work on the Council's finances and operations since taking office, rather than attending Scrutiny Committee meetings, and stated that this reflected a different leadership approach from previous administrations rather than an evasion of scrutiny. She added that she had confidence in her Cabinet Member to attend and respond on portfolio matters, citing regular communication across the administration.

c)    The Chair encouraged Members to maintain a balanced and constructive debate and reminded them to keep their questions relevant to the report and directed to those present and able to respond.

d)    The Leader expressed the view that the Council had inherited significant financial and service pressures from the previous administration, including high levels of debt and pressures with ASC, and outlined actions taken by the current administration to address these issues and improve performance.

e)    Christopher Hespe, Cabinet Member for Local Government Efficiency and Local Government Reorganisation, reiterated that the Council had inherited significant financial challenges, including high levels of debt, budget overspends, savings targets and contractual issues. He also stated that the DOLGE programme had helped to mitigate financial pressures, deliver savings and support a culture of value for money and organisational improvement across the Council.

f)     Mr Hespe clarified that the £14 million figure referenced in the report represented one element of a wider programme of savings achieved during the year and indicated that a breakdown of the figure could be provided separately if required. Mr Collins added that the figure represented the reduction between the Q3 forecast overspend and the year- end return.

g)    The Leader confirmed that the administration intended to submit an Expression of Interest to become a Foundational Strategic Authority, following central Government’s confirmation of its preferred devolution option for Kent.

h)    Mr Collins provided context regarding the reported overspend figures, indicating that comparisons should be considered in light of the previous administration’s forecast position and the year-end outturn reported.

i)     Helen Gillivan, Director of Adults and Integrated Commissioning, advised that risk matrixes were now in place for individual contracts and that lessons learned from a national provider failure and the subsequent audit had informed improvements to the Council’s approach to assessing and managing provider risk.

j)     Mr Watts acknowledged that performance against certain audit metrics had declined over the period referenced, recognising that performance could vary over time and should be considered within the context of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 65.

1.    It was agreed that LGR related matters would initially be considered by the relevant Cabinet Committee and could subsequently be brought to Scrutiny if considered appropriate.

2.    The Chair advised that requests for scrutiny on the decision to cease accepting refrigerators and freezers at Household Waste Recycling Centres would be more appropriately considered through the relevant Committee or agenda setting process.

3.    RESOLVED that the Scrutiny Committee note the Work Programme.