Minutes:
(1) Mrs Chandler said that conversations with the Home Office and the Department for Education had continued since the authority’s decision on 17 August not to accept any more unaccompanied asylum-seeking children arriving at the port of Dover. She also said the Government was consulting on the National Transfer Scheme which was currently voluntary; however, cabinet members and directors of children’s services in the south-east of England agreed with KCC’s view that the scheme should become mandatory and would respond to the consultation accordingly.
(2) Mr Long acknowledged that the summer had been an uncertain time for many young people, as they waited for GCSE and A Level results and thanked parents and students for their patience. He was pleased the Government had decided to allow pupils to receive the higher of the grades from OFQUAL’s algorithm or from Centre Assessed Grades. In the lead up to that announcement, the authority had been preparing to make representations to the Government on behalf of the young people affected. The confusion about results had an impact on young people in accessing their first-choice university, college or work placements and the authority’s skills and employability service was continuing to provide support and advice. Mr Long also said that detailed Government guidance on transport and examinations was received late in August and thanked officers who had worked tirelessly to ensure pupils could return to school safely. He concluded his update by saying that detailed planning for the Kent Test, which would take place in October, was underway and thanking school staff for making sufficient resources available to facilitate all those who wished to take the test.
(3) Mrs Bell said the Government had published its Adult Coronavirus (Covid-19): Adult Social Care Action Plan which set out the key challenges and actions for local authorities and other care sector providers in controlling the spread of infection in care and communities settings. She also said an additional £546 million had been provided to extend the Infection Control Fund to March 2021. She said that a meeting with the Kent Integrated Care Alliance and other providers, chaired by the Leader, would take place later in the week. Mrs Bell further said that: demand for Covid-19 tests exceeded the processing capacity of laboratories; only those with symptoms should book appointments for testing; and no one with symptoms should go to Accident and Emergency departments of doctors’ surgeries to be tested.
(4) Mr Payne said he had embraced the opportunity created by the Government’s Active Travel Fund and that KCC’s bid for funding from the first tranche of funding had been successful. He said the schemes being delivered to increase walking and cycling should not disadvantage other road users; however, many had been introduced quickly to comply with the funding conditions and to capture improvements in air quality experienced during the lockdown. The schemes had also been implemented to the Government’s deadlines with the result that residents had not been consulted. He said the schemes would be reviewed and would cease if they were not working. He said a scheme at Somerset Road and Mace Lane in Ashford had ended over the weekend as it was not working as intended.
(5) Mr Whiting said the Kent and Medway Economic Renewal and Resilience Plan, accompanied by an Economic Impacts Evidence Base report, had been launched in August and the first meeting of the Employment Task Force, chaired by the Leader of the Council, would take place on 1 October. He also said the Kent and Medway Business Fund had been relaunched to support local businesses. He said Visit Kent had reported that hotels and self-catering holiday accommodation were doing well, and work was underway to ensure that continued even if there was a second wave of Covid-19 infections. He said the Eat Out to Help Out scheme had encouraged people to support their local pubs, restaurants, and producers. He also said he had attended an event on 15 September to celebrate the campaign, ‘Support Your Local’, which was the brainchild of Produced in Kent and Visit Kent, to encourage people to support their local hospitality businesses. The campaign was supported by Shepherd Neame, who had donated a £100 voucher for the #caringcustomer award won by Gemma Keith from Marden. Mr Whiting concluded his update by thanking the chief executive of the London Resort Company for his virtual presentation, to KCC members, about plans to develop a theme park in Swanscombe. He welcomed the development which would create jobs in the area.
(6) Miss Carey said that a booking system had been introduced to control numbers and keep staff and visitors safe at household waste and recycling centres. The numbers of slots that could be booked had increased from 22,000 to 32,770 per week and each household could now book up to four visits per month. Demand, however, varied across sites with under 50% of slots being booked at New Romney, which was the quietest, and more than 90% of the slots for centres at Tovil, Tunbridge Wells and Folkestone being filled. Miss Carey also said that letters had been sent to 100,000 household asking if they wished to participate in the Solar Together project which would facilitate the installation of solar panels on domestic dwellings or enable those who already had such panels to increase their battery storage. Using KCC’s buying power a reverse auction was planned for 6 October and only after that, when the cost was known, would householders be asked to commit to the scheme. So far, 1,887 households had registered interest in the scheme. Miss Carey concluded by saying that this was a good example of projects underway to reduce energy costs and emissions.
(7) Mr Hill said that 30 libraries would be open by the end of September with a further two scheduled to re-open in October. These libraries were able to offer socially distanced browsing as well as the popular ‘select and collect’ facility. He thanked the Libraries and Registration staff for clearing the backlog of over 4,000 birth registrations that had built up during the lockdown period.
(8) Mrs Prendergast said it had been a very busy time for the People and Communications team and that the agenda for the Cabinet meeting reflected the many challenges faced by the authority, as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as the efforts of staff to maintain quality services for residents and businesses. The focus of the team was to keep residents and staff informed, engaged, supported, and safe through the provision of timely information relating to public health and service updates. Updates were provided on the authority’s website, using social media, press releases, traditional broadcast channels and by the provision of a weekly emailed update to which increasing numbers of residents had subscribed. She said the authority’s offices were re-opening where it was safe, however, staff, who could, continued to work from home. She also said that it was important to ensure staff remained healthy and supported including providing flu vaccinations which were particularly recommended this year. Mrs Prendergast referred to the staff survey conducted in June, which had provided a snapshot of staff feelings and concerns at that time, and said it would be followed up with a further survey to be launched at the end of September. She thanked the staff for their work and commitment.
(9) Mr Oakford said that the last meeting of the County Council had approved a revision to the budget, including £12.8million savings, and work had started on next year’s budget. He said that, although it was challenging, it was important to prepare for the future and address known pressures. He said work was underway to make KCC’s buildings Covid-secure and 111 of them would be re-opened by the end of the month. He thanked staff for their work in bringing this about.
(10) Mr Gough said he had been invited to give evidence to the House of Commons, Select Committee on Unaccompanied Child Migrants and had taken the opportunity to present the situation in Kent and press KCC’s view that the National Transfer Scheme should become mandatory. He also said that the cross-party committee had commented favourably on the commitment and service provided by KCC, particularly its social work teams, in responding to the crisis. Mr Gough said that Active Travel schemes could only proceed with the support of local communities, and concerns about individual projects were being listened to and acted on as they had been in Ashford where an unpopular scheme had been terminated. He also said the economic recovery of the county would remain a key focus of the authority and that it was intended to provide as much support as possible to businesses and employees especially with the likelihood of further disruption and uncertainty as a result of the rising number of Covid-19 cases and the potential for further restrictions to be imposed by the Government.