Agenda item

(1)      The Cabinet Member referred to the Troubled Families programme.  He described it as a programme which was high on the political agenda, both nationally and locally.  Ms Honey, Corporate Director of Customer and Communities spoke about a conference that had taken place on the 9^th July 2013 which had been attended by over 400 managers and practitioners and at which Louise Casey, Director General at the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) and lead on the Troubled Families Programme, had endorsed the work being undertaken by Kent County Council.  The Council had committed to working with over 2000 families and had appointed lead workers in order that every family would have one named worker.  Ms Honey urged that the Troubled Families Programme should not be viewed as a pilot scheme but that it should and would be integrated as part of the Council’s core business

(2)      Mr Hill spoke about the Integrated Youth Service; he stated that a substantive report would be brought to the December Cabinet Committee meeting on the transformation of Youth Services when more detailed information would be available.  Figures for the first quarter were encouraging and the newly commissioned providers had settled in well with all 47 of them now operational.  Progress had been made in the major refurbishment of the youth hubs in Tonbridge and Folkestone and these would be completed by the end of September.  Good progress had also been made in Deal.  Difficulties continued in Tunbridge Wells, but temporary facilities for the delivery of services had been found, and work towards a permanent solution continued.  He asked Ms Honey to provide for the Committee, details of the work of Kent Integrated Adolescent Support Service (KIASS)

          Ms Honey explained that KIASS was a process bringing together Council services for adolescents, first across the County Council and then moving toward working with partners to provide a more streamlined and integrated system for users.  Pilots were underway and making good progress and adolescent work formed a key building block in the Transformation: Facing the Challenge paper that was on the agenda for the full Council meeting the next day.

(3)      Mr Hill announced that in August Turner Contemporary had received its millionth visitor and that, to celebrate this milestone 20 Nebuchadnezzar of champagne had been produced.  He expressed his satisfaction that a million visitors had been received in just over two years and described this as an extraordinary success. 

(4)      Building on the success of Turner Contemporary he spoke of the design by Guy Holloway for the Rendezvous site in Margate. The launch had been held at Turner Contemporary and he was sure that the planned hotel would be a valuable asset for all partners

(5)      Ms Honey continued on the cultural theme, stating that the Council’s UK City of Culture 2017 bid had not been successful.  She said that the bid had been very strong and emphasised that preparation of the bid had created a legacy that would be built on in the future, as all the organisations  from across East Kent had come together to work on the bid.  The partnerships created would be continued.  In response to a question, Mr Crilley informed Members that Hull, Leicester and Swansea had been shortlisted

(6)      Comments were received congratulating the Turner Gallery on its success and it was suggested that in the future a report on the benefits realised would be welcomed.  Reports were received of the good cultural work going on elsewhere in the County, in particular, several recent festivals. Mr Hill confirmed that a new exhibition at Turner Contemporary was due to start in October.  It was the Turner, Gainsborough and Constable exhibition which had been exhibited at the Royal Academy in London, where it had been very well received

(7)     Mr Hill stated that one of the main planks of the Olympic campaign, which had started in 2005 and continued until 2012, had been the creation of lasting positive outcomes for Kent.  The Legacy Plan had been launched in March of this year, at the same time as the Volunteering Charter. A small Cross-Directorate Cabinet Committee had been set up to govern the Legacy Plan and, six months in, the progress reports were very good.  The Kent School Games were now firmly embedded as a core part of the County Council’s activities and would continue every second year for the foreseeable future.  30,000 young people now took part in 35 sports and the majority of the schools in Kent now participated.

(8)     Mr Hill reported that Government money and grants had been secured as part of the Legacy Plan, with £2m from the Places People Play Sports Programme and almost £1m from the Schools Funding Forum for school sports.  Kent Greeters continued to do good work across many venues in the County. He had asked officers that a report be brought to the March meeting of the Cabinet Committee with details of the Legacy Plan one year after its launch and the progress that had been achieved.

8.        Touching briefly on the Transformation Plan, Mr Hill stated that it would affect the Communities Directorate which delivered a large number of small services and that these would be reviewed to ensure that they were delivered in the most efficient and effective ways.

Comments were received from members of the Committee as follows:

Mr Neaves reported that he had visited the Folkestone Youth Hub and that young people there were positive about the work being done on their behalf. 

Mr Maddison welcomed the work reported on the Olympic Legacy.  Mr Clarke also commented on this matter, he believed that more work might be undertaken to communicate the legacy more widely.  Mr Burrows, Director of Communications and Engagement responded.  He reported that a communications plan had been in place to deliver news about the legacy when new initiatives took place, in addition work had been undertaken with schools.