Agenda item

(1)       Mr Hill and Ms Honey updated Members on the issues listed in the paper circulated with the agenda and answered questions from Members.

Police & Crime Panel and Commissioner

(2)       Mr Hill reminded Members that the election for the Police and Crime Commissioner for Kent was being held tomorrow. A lot of hard work had been undertaken to set up the Police and Crime Panel for Kent and Medway which was being hosted by the County Council. A Shadow Panel had been producing the draft protocols for the Panel which would hold its first meeting on 29 November 2012. The Panel consisted of 20 members, one from each of the 14 Councils in the County of Kent, plus 2 independent members and 4 other Councillors to provide a political balance. He expected the Panel to have an intensive early work programme as they had a remit to scrutinise the Police Budget and the Annual Police Plan. Although this Panel did not come under the remit of this Committee he undertook to keep the Committee informed of progress.

Visit by Nick Hurd MP, Minister for Civil Society

(3)    Mr Hill informed the Committee that Mr Hurd had visited Kent during the previous week to see how Kent was administering the Big Society Fund. There had been a very constructive meeting with the Minister and representatives from the Voluntary Sector regarding working together.

Future Library Service

(4)    Mr Hill stated that Parish Councils, District Councils and Locality Boards plus other organisations had been working together with the County Council to look at ways of having a more efficient and effective library service in their area. This would benefit local communities and save the County Council money. It was early days yet but the progress so far was encouraging.

(5)    Members spoke positively about the work going on in their areas to look at the library service with local organisations.

Integrated Youth Service

(5)    Mr Hill reported that 221 tenders for commissioned work from 50 organisations had been received. The tenders had been being evaluated by a team which included young people, officers and Locality Boards with the final decisions being signed by Ms Slaven. The organisations that had failed to be awarded a contract had been informed and there was a cooling off period which was due to end on 19 November 2012 after which the successful tenderers would be informed. He commended officers for the work they had carried out in relation to this difficult process.

Trading Standards

(6)    Ms Honey referred to the ‘deep dive’ report at the previous meeting and a recent successful prosecution of a market trader in Sheerness who had been ordered to pay over £100,000 in relation to trading in counterfeit goods. It had been a team effort between Trading Standards and Legal Services, but it had taken a lot of time. The Chairman reminded Members of the option to sign up for email alerts from Trading Standards.

Contact Centre

(7)    Ms Honey informed the Committee that the Contact Centre had come second in the most improved category in this year’s Top 50 Contact Centres Awards. These awards compared both public and private sector organisations and the competition had been intense. She reported that for the week commencing 22 October 2012 the contact centre had achieved all service levels and answering rates.

(8)       It was agreed that a letter of congratulations be sent on behalf of the Committee to Mr C Smith - Operations Manager Contact Point regarding the Contact Centres recent award.

Triangle Awards

(9)       Ms Honey referred to the annual Triangle Awards which had been running for over 10 years in Kent. These awards were important as they provided an opportunity to recognise the important contribution made by young people and to put forward in the press a positive image of young people. This year’s awards were held on 14 October 2012 at the Ashford International. These awards were now run by the young people themselves and it had been a great evening. 

RESOLVED that the update, and any comments made by Members, be noted.