Minutes:
(1) The Leader commented on the recent district and borough elections that were held across Kent and Medway on 4 May 2023 and the scale of change that had occurred as a result. Mr Gough commiserated with Conservative colleagues who had lost their seats but looked forward to working with the new administrations across the county.
(2) Mr Gough spoke about the situation at Galley Hill where, on the evening of 10 April 2023, a chalk cliff collapsed on the northern side of Galley Hill Road in Swanscombe resulting in a major water leak. He said Kent Highways had taken control of the site and the road remained closed. The Council was working closely with Dartford Borough Council to ensure local communities and businesses were kept informed and a dedicated KCC webpage included information on diversion routes, changes to bus routes and points of contact for enquiries. He said it was a complex engineering issue which the Council was working hard to resolve, and the road was expected to remain closed for the foreseeable future. Mr Gough recognised the major difficulties this caused for residents and businesses and said the Council would seek to ensure effective communication with residents and with Mr Harman as the local Member.
(3) The Leader noted that although there had been two consecutive bank holiday weekends without the need for Operation Brock, it had been utilised over the Easter weekend and strong demand was expected at the Port of Dover and Eurotunnel for the Whitsun bank holiday weekend. Mr Gough said this was a reminder of the scale of the pressures the Council faced and noted that demand had returned to pre-pandemic levels. He said the Council continued to work closely with the Department for Transport and other government departments to address these issues and the implementation of the EU’s Entry/Exit System.
(4) Mr Gough said almost 26,000 pothole enquiries had been received during the last year and the amount received during December to March was over five times that of equivalent periods in the previous year. Since the beginning of April 2023, almost 5,000 potholes had been repaired and nearly 6,000 square metres of longer-term patching had been replaced. Although the Council would deploy the £6million in extra government funding announced in the budget there were severe limits to the Council’s resources. He said he was pressing government, along with other Southeast Leaders, for further funding to address the severe situation on the county’s roads. Mr Gough confirmed that a summer programme of resurfacing and surface treatments had commenced, and this would see investment of around £40million into the network in 2023/24 with a further £3million spent on footways and £4.5million capital investment into highway drainage renewals and repairs.
(5) The Leader reported that on 30 March 2023 the Council received an allocation of over £12million from the local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Fund to deliver charging infrastructure to 40% of households without off-street parking. The scheme, which ran to 2030, would build on the existing work KCC had been carrying out and was a fundamental step change in terms of scale and deployment. Mr Gough stressed that this was a difficult and challenging area.
(6) The Leader turned to economic development and the ceasing of Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) by March 2024. He said the Council, along with other local authorities, were working with the Southeast LEP to manage the transition.
(7) On 19 April 2023 Mr Gough joined Mr Damien Collins MP and the Leader of Folkestone & Hythe District Council, in a positive meeting with Mr Andrew Bowie MP, regarding new nuclear technology at Dungeness.
(8) Mr Gough commented on the importance of the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill which was currently in report stage in the House of Lords. He said this was an area of importance, and concern, for the Council in relation to the proposals to fund and deliver infrastructure and confirmed that a detailed response to the consultation would be submitted.
(9) The Leader was pleased that Miss Carey and Members of the Environment and Transport Cabinet Committee had formed a task group for the Household Waste Recycling Centres Review. He recognised the difficulty of the issue and said the savings, included in the budget, reflected the severity of the financial position that the Council, like other comparable authorities, faced.
(10) Mr Gough explained that the draft Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Accelerated Progress Plan had been submitted to the Department for Education and their initial response was awaited. Mr Gough said the Ofsted Chief Inspector, Ms Amanda Spielman, made a positive visit to the Council in May 2023. He acknowledged that progress on improvements had only just begun, and a continued focus was required.
(11) During May 2023 the Kent Youth Justice team participated in a Ministry of Justice sponsored thematic inspection by HM Inspectorate of Probation and Ofsted, the feedback of which, Mr Gough said, had been very positive.
(12) Finally, the Leader said a positive Integrated Care Partnership development session took place in April 2023. He emphasised the importance of the Partnership in serving Kent residents better and addressing some of the biggest structural problems facing the Council. Building on the successful Kent Care Summit last year a further event would be held on 21 June 2023 in Margate.
(13) The Leader of the Labour Group, Dr Sullivan, responded to the Leader’s remarks. She said the situation at Galley Hill was having a significant impact on Gravesham and Northfleet residents and called for a resolution as quickly as possible. She also highlighted that there was concern for the security of numerous cliffs in Northfleet and around the Ebbsfleet area.
(14) Dr Sullivan wished good luck to all the students that were taking summer exams, which for some would be their first public examination, and referred to the pressure and effects on the mental health of young people.
(15) Dr Sullivan highlighted the importance of providing support to children with SEND to enable them to have opportunities and choices. She commented that opportunities were reducing due to travel and financial barriers, especially for those from deprived communities and families with special educational needs. Dr Sullivan said Members had a role in ensuring the strategies and policies of the Council were meeting the needs of its most vulnerable young people and condemned comments made by some Members at the recent SEND Sub-Committee. Dr Sullivan commented that the Accelerated Progress Plan had been submitted to government without the opportunity for scrutiny by Members or families.
(16) Dr Sullivan congratulated those who were elected at the recent borough and district elections and sympathised with those who were not successful. She said the people of Kent had sent a clear message for investment in public services and the end of austerity. Dr Sullivan said if the public of Kent wished to put their trust in Labour, they would see a step change with new ideas. She said her group would prioritise Kent residents over commissioned profits and the time of commissioning and outsourcing would end.
(17) Finally, Dr Sullivan commented on the Household Waste Recycling Centre Review and referred to a Member of the Conservative group who was taking action against the closure of one of the sites. She hoped that the consultation would not cost as much as previous consultations and commented that decisions regarding savings were a matter of choice.
(18) Mr Lehmann, Leader of the Green and Independent Group, congratulated the Chairman and Vice-Chairman on their appointments.
(19) Mr Lehmann congratulated those who had been successful in the recent elections and commented that Labour and the Liberal Democrats had doubled the number of seats in Kent in the past eight years. He said the Green Party had tripled the number of seats they took in Kent four years ago and every single district in Kent that elected Green Party seats in 2019 elected more in 2023. Mr Lehman hoped the Green Party would continue to grow particularly in consideration of recent news that there may be temperatures 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels at some point in the next five years. He noted that not a single G20 country had met the commitments of the Paris Agreement and the lack of action in the past decade would only make the coming decades more challenging.
(20) Mr Lehmann turned to the Household Waste Recycling Centre Review and stated he felt it was a false economy to close any of the sites. He welcomed the opportunity to join the task group to present alternative suggestions but noted this was reliant on access to data. He said a limited set of options were presented at the recent Environment & Transport Cabinet Committee which did not include how sites which remained open would cope with additional waste. Mr Lehmann commented on the proposed saving of £1.5million and provided Members with some figures in respect of the Faversham area, which included the number of affected households who would lose their nearest recycling site, the additional miles of car journeys per week and the cost of additional petrol. He said if the Faversham site was closed, most journeys to Sittingbourne, as a result, would go through an Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) and Mr Lehmann estimated there would be an extra 123 tonnes of carbon. Mr Lehmann suggested that focusing on saving £1.5million could result in a further step towards breaching the 1.5 degrees limit and asked that an alternative saving be found.
(21) Mr Hook, Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group, congratulated Canterbury Resident, Mr Hari Budha Magar, who on Friday 19 May 2023, reached the summit of Mount Everest, 13 years after he lost both legs in Afghanistan. He was the first ever double above the knee amputee to reach the top of Mount Everest.
(22) Mr Hook congratulated all those elected on 4th May 2023, sent commiserations to those who were not and recognised that there were many factors involved in elections and the results of which were not always a reflection on an individual. He said it was clear from the results that there was an appetite for a change in political direction and in his group’s view it was time for a new parliament and a fresh mandate. He was pleased that across Kent 70 Liberal Democrats were elected to borough or district councils, up from 32 in 2019, and felt there was still room for growth. Mr Hook welcomed that several councils in Kent were now in no overall control and said his group’s view was that a multi-party administration was better than single party. Mr Hook felt, like in Scotland and Northern Ireland, that England should have proportional representation for local government where the seats were based on the percentage of votes.
(23) Mr Hook strongly welcomed comments made about local electric vehicle infrastructure and noted that EV charging for people who did not have off street parking was difficult. He hoped that the new funding would help with that and provide, for example, lamppost-based charging which existed in other parts of the country.
(24) Mr Hook said his group remained concerned that Members were taking an active role in the SEND groups that had been set up and were particularly concerned that the safety valve required a financial constraint that may be unrealistic against the growing population and growing number of children.
(25) As summer approached, Mr Hook said Operation Brock was a concern, as was the threat of more extensive European border controls and the cost that went with them.
(26) Mr Hook turned to the Household Waste Recycling Centres Review and said in his group’s view, the plan to close four sites was a mistake for reasons which were highlighted at the Environment and Transport Cabinet Committee on 23 May 2023. He said he felt that insufficient information had been provided to make the financial case, including in relation to business rates, redundancy costs and Air Quality Management Areas. He said more information was required to enable the Council to scrutinise both the financial and environmental aspects.
(27) Finally, Mr Hook highlighted that June was Pride month and he hoped the Pride flag would fly again over County Hall as it had in previous years, and that Members would support Pride events in their area.
(28) The Leader responded to comments made regarding Galley Hill and stressed the importance of keeping Members informed, particularly local Member Mr Harman.
(29) Mr Gough thanked Dr Sullivan for her good wishes to all those taking their GCSEs and A levels in the coming weeks.
(30) Mr Gough responded to Dr Sullivan’s point regarding available resources and said he was under the impression that Labour’s message recognised the national constraints. He said he thought, whoever was in power nationally, a strong case to government would always be sought regarding the need for resources, and that would remain should there be any national change of administration.
(31) Mr Gough responded to comments made regarding SEND and said in terms of scrutiny, and in particular the Accelerated Progress Plan, there were two bodies which received and reviewed the plan, namely the SEND Sub-Committee and the Strategic Improvement and Assurance Board. Mr Gough believed that the Council’s response to the service shortcomings experienced by several families in Kent, and the safety valve, were closely related, and involved ensuring that the right support for children was provided in the right place. He said the Council remained deeply committed to improvement of the service and confirmed that the SEND Sub-Committee and the Strategic Improvement and Assurance Board would scrutinise the work that was done.
(32) In relation to the Household Waste Recycling Centres Review, the Leader acknowledged the comments that had been made, and the significant process of work to be undertaken, and welcomed, again, the formation of a task group to shape the nature of the consultation.
(33) Mr Gough agreed with the points that had been made in relation to the Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Fund and reiterated that this was a complicated and difficult issue, not only in terms of adjudicating between the different interests of different residents, but also in relation to a continual change in technology.
(34) Mr Gough thanked the Group Leaders for their fair and generous comments on the election results which recognised that individual councillors of whatever party or group put in an enormous amount of work and very often their fate was decided by something outside their control.
(35) RESOLVED that the Leader’s update be noted.