To receive a verbal update from the Cabinet Members for Environment & Transport, Community Services and Commercial & Traded Services and the Corporate Director for Growth, Environment & Transport on the following:
· Minerals and Waste Local Plan (MWLP)
· Response to the Airports Commission Consultation on second runway proposals at Gatwick
· Outcomes of the ‘Facing the Challenge’ Service Review (Outline Business Case/shortlisted models stage) of Kent Country Parks
· Update on Young Persons Travel Pass – half year renewal
· Local Bus Tenders – April 2015
· Thanet Parkway Station
· Emergency planning training
· Capital Maintenance Block Grant
Minutes:
(1) The Cabinet Member for Environment & Transport, Mr Brazier, gave an update on the following:
Young Person’s Travel Pass Renewal
1.1 The academic year 2014/2015 was the first year for the new Young Person’s Travel Pass, which had replaced the previous scheme the Kent Freedom Pass. Under the new scheme the pass could be purchased for a full year for £200 or in two half-yearly portions of £100 each. There were 24,991 passes in circulation, of which 8,580 were half-yearly purchases.
1.2 The half-yearly passes expired on 22 February 2015. The renewal period opened on 24 November 2014, with an email to all half-yearly card holders, explaining that for a new pass to be available for the new term on 23 February, applications needed to be received by 9 January 2015. To date there had been 3,407 renewals.
1.3 Applications received after 9 January would be processed but there was no guarantee that new cards would be available on 23 February due to the lead time for production of the smartcards.
1.4 An update would be considered by the Environment & Transport Cabinet Committee at its next meeting in April.
Airports Commission Consultation on options for an additional runway at either Gatwick or Heathrow
1.5 The response to the Airports Commission’s consultation, which closed on 3 February 2015, would formally state Kent County Council’s opposition to a second runway at Gatwick as agreed by Cabinet in December.
1.6 A verbal statement on KCC’s position was made to the Airports Commission at the public discussion in Crawley on 16 December and this would be confirmed in KCC’s written response to the consultation.
1.7 The Commission’s consultation asked for views on three options: a second runway at Gatwick; a third runway at Heathrow; and an extended northern runway at Heathrow. The Commission also asked for views on its appraisal process and methodology for sustainability assessments. Any views on these issues would be expressed in KCC’s response which would focus on the reasons for opposing a second runway at Gatwick.
Facing the Challenge: Country Parks
1.8 The Transformation Advisory Group (TAG) received the Outline Business Case for the Kent Country Parks’ Facing the Challenge Service Review on 4 December. The continuous improvement of the service, and in particular since 2008, had been emphasised. The service had moved from an original budget of £800,000 to a budget of £505,000 in 2014/15. The financial transformation had been achieved primarily from:
a) income generation;
b) restructuring (including the increased use of volunteers, currently 16,000 hours annually); and
c) disposal of smaller sites.
1.9 Mr Brazier referred in particular to:
a) the intrinsic value of country parks in offering residents the opportunity to enjoy Kent’s natural environment and outdoor spaces;
b) the weather, which had a significant impact on visitor numbers;
c) the finite number of interventions that could be made before the parks ceased to be a countryside experience;
d) the stretched Medium Term Financial Plan target faced by the service that would reduce its budget to £355,000 in 2017/18; and
e) the wooded nature of the parks which limited the potential to generate income, with five parks wholly within the Kent Downs AONB, and 33% of the land being legally protected because of its international ecological importance.
1.10 Eight potential models for the future delivery of the service had been presented to TAG. It had been agreed that, the current model, “Retain in house” be further developed to deliver the MTFP savings target and, at the same time, to explore three further models by using a PIN Notice to test the market. These models were
a) Partnership (joint venture) with an external provider;
b) Partnership with a Not for Profit partner; and
c) Commission through one or more of the total facilities management providers.
1.11 Following an independent visitor economy analysis of the parks’ customer offer, which had identified the marketing ‘reach’ as a challenge for the service, it had also been agreed that the service would externalise its marketing approach.
1.12 It had been agreed that different parks might benefit from different solutions. Progress on the service review would be monitored monthly by the Corporate Portfolio Office, and reported in detail to the GET Portfolio Board in April 2015.
(2) The Cabinet Member for Community Services, Mr Hill, gave an update on the following:
Facing the Challenge: Trading Standards and Community Safety
2.1 The outline business cases for the Facing the Challenge reviews of Trading Standards and Community Safety had been presented to TAG on 4 December 2014.
2.2 Recommendations to keep Trading Standards in-house and build on the innovative work of the past three years and the recent re-structure were endorsed. Closer working and possible integration with neighbouring authorities and support for further development in e-crime capability had also been fully supported.
2.3 Existing work to meet the significant MTFP savings target in Community Safety was also endorsed including closer working and joint management of the Community Safety Unit with the Kent Fire and Rescue Service and Kent Police.
Emergency Planning and Resilience Training
2.4 A fundamental review of key emergency response roles had been undertaken and training of senior KCC staff on emergency planning and resilience had been rolled out in accordance with the recommendations in the Christmas and New Year 2013/2014 Storms and Floods Lessons Learnt report.
2.5 156 KCC personnel had completed an e-learning Resilience and Emergencies course. Making completion of this course mandatory was being considered. The DCLG had promoted this course as an example of best practice in the Local Authorities’ Preparedness for Civil Emergencies – A Good Practice Guide (DCLG / SOLACE) which had been published in October 2014.
2.6 25 directors and senior managers were undergoing strategic-level training in emergency response, including the Corporate Management Team who had been trained prior to Christmas. 70 senior managers were undertaking tactical-level training including 20 who had been trained prior to Christmas.
2.7 86 community wardens and highways staff had undertaken refresher training for the incident liaison officer role. A further 53 officers would attend such training.
2.8 Flood wardens had been trained by the Environment Agency (EA) in collaboration with the Kent Resilience Team.
(3) The Corporate Director for Growth, Environment and Transport, Barbara Cooper, gave an update on the following:
Local Bus Tenders
3.1 On 19 November 2014, the latest round of tenders for socially necessary bus services had been issued to the operators on the KCC framework. Submissions were received by 17 December 2014 and the Public Transport Team would meet shortly to discuss tender responses, evaluate value for money and, where possible, award contracts. Alternative approaches would be considered for tender submissions that did not represent value for money. Contracts awarded would commence on 12 April 2015.
Capital Maintenance Block Grant 15/16 – 20/21
3.2 The capital maintenance settlement from government based upon network length, de-trunked road length, streetlights over 40 years old, and the number of bridges requiring strengthening or structural maintenance would change with effect from 2015/16. The new grant would have three components;
· a formula grant award, based upon asset volumes and network length plus cycle lanes
· A Department of Transport (DfT) assessment of the operational efficiency of the local highway authority
· a Challenge fund which would consider bids from local highway authorities for funding for specific schemes costing between £5m - £20m and for schemes worth £20m or more for a three-year period.
3.3 The formula grant would be reduced over the next six years with a greater requirement for highway authorities to bid for funds and demonstrate efficiency. This was part of the DfT’s drive to allocate capital funding to authorities that adhere to asset management principles and demonstrate the most efficient use of funds. No additional grants for pinch points, severe weather or pothole repair would be available.
3.4 Highways, Transportation & Waste had a good track record of applying and receiving such awards, however, it was likely that securing any additional finance would become a greater challenge.
Strategic Planning and Policy
3.5 Pre-consultation engagement with parish and town councils and joint transportation boards on the Thanet Parkway Station had taken place during December. The consultation exercise, as part of the project development work, would take place between 2 February and 27 March 2015.
Minerals and Waste Local Plan Update
3.6 Kent County Council had formally submitted the Kent Minerals and Waste Local Plan (MWLP) 2013-30 Submission Document to the Planning Inspectorate on the 3 November 2014 for public examination. It was anticipated that the public hearings, as part of the examination process, would be held in February/March 2015, when the Inspector would engage with the Council and involve stakeholders to test the soundness of the MWLP.
(4) In response to questions raised and comments made the Committee received the following further information from officers:
· A letter had been sent to all Members on 9 January with details of the Library, Registration and Archives consultation including website details and the venues of the roadshows, two of which were being held in each district.
· No rebate was expected in the tenders for buses as a result of the reduction in fuel prices because KCC did not pay for fuel separately. A quarter of the tenders were renewed annually and it was intended to monitor prices for future tenders.
· There were approximately 200 subsidised bus routes with a budget of £6m. Members requested details of these routes.