Minutes:
1. Mr Watkins, Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Public Health, provided an update on the following:
(a) Government had announced that there would be additional funding allocated to Kent County Council for the financial year 2024-2025 for both Adult Social Care and Children’s Services. Mr Watkins expressed his thanks to the Leader and Deputy Leader of the Council who had been successful in their lobbying to Ministers. Mr Watkins reminded Members that there remained a £100m demand pressure for the year 2024-2025 due to demographics and rising costs, however, the additional funding was to be gratefully received and the directorate remained committed to bringing transformational projects to fruition with the aim of reducing demand, improving outcomes and reducing spend.
(b) Kent and Medway public health leaders have urged parents and carers to ensure children are up-to-date with their Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccinations. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) declared a national incident following a measles outbreak in the West Midlands and London. The NHS had also launched a national catchup campaign for those children who were unvaccinated. Kent’s rate of MMR vaccinations was 90% for the first dose with Medway at 88%. However, statistics revealed that across Kent and Medway, the second dose dropped to 85%. Mr Watkins urged parents and carers to review their child’s vaccination records and contact their GP to book an appointment.
(c) The Perinatal Mental Health Helpline had recently launched which also featured a text service. Statistics revealed that one in five women experience a perinatal mental health problem with 20% of men suffering from anxiety before or after birth. In Kent it was estimated that 6500 parents required mile to moderate mental health support a year. The new services linked into the Family Hubs Start for Life investment in Kent and Mr Watkins expressed his delight in the rollout of the provision available to Kent families.
(d) Mr Watkins and the Leader of the Council visited the charity-based organisation, Spadework. The charity enabled adults with learning disabilities to develop their independence through a wide range of opportunities. Facilities at the site included a woodwork shop, café, kitchen and garden centre. Mr Watkins commented on the warm welcome received by all encountered.
2. Mrs Chandler, Cabinet Member for Integrated Children’s Services provided an update on the following:
(a) The new Director of Operational Integrated Children’s Services, Ingrid Crisan, had joined Kent County Council, having brought with her a wealth of knowledge and experience from her previous role at Medway Council. Mrs Chandler expressed her thanks to Carolann James, interim Director of Operational Integrated Children’s Services who would remain with the service to oversee the implementation of the Family Hub work.
(b) The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) completed its focussed visit inspection at the Canterbury and Folkestone & Hythe sites. The inspection was carried out under the topic of the Front Door Service and focussed on Child in Need, Child Protection, Children’s entry into Care and 16 -17 year old people who presented as homeless. The findings from the visit were due to be published on 27th February 2024 and the outcome would be shared with Members.
3. Mr Love, Cabinet Member for Education and Skills, provided an update on the following:
(a) The first progress review of Kent’s Special Educational Improvement Plan, the Accelerated Progress Plan (APP), took place in November 2023 and feedback was received in January 2024 from the Department for Education (DfE) and NHS England (NHSE). The letter recognised the considerable work of staff and partners and provided confirmation that KCC had met its commitment to provide a clear plan for improvement, backed up by a permanent, suitably trained, SEND Casework team for sufficient capacity to deliver the service. The review also highlighted the increased evidence of stronger governance and strategic oversight. Mr Love advised that the enhanced relationship with schools had started to positively impact on pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), with improved educational outcomes that were higher than the national average. Mr Love acknowledged that whilst further work needed to be done, he was confident that the Improvement Plan would provide the changes required to ensure a long term, sustainable future for all children and young people with SEND, whilst simultaneously protecting the interest of Kent’s Council Tax payer, through the application of best value for money in the Council’s education service.
(b) Mr Love attended the GCSE awards and presentation evening at Dover Grammar School for Girls and reiterated the inspirational words spoken by guest speaker, Her Honour Judge Catherine Moore, who urged the students not to impose their own limitations on their ambitions and acknowledged that even in a world more mindful than ever of inequality, there were still glass ceilings, and students should never be held back by a glass mirror.
4. Mr Baker, Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport, provided an update on the following:
(a) Comparative data on potholes and general enquiries between December 2022 and 2023 highlighted the following:
|
Enquiry |
2022 |
2023 |
|
Pothole enquiries |
2480 |
2718 |
|
Drainage enquiries |
706 |
947 |
|
Insurance enquiries |
170 |
339 |
|
Street work permits |
1262 |
9337 |
(b) Road Minister, Guy Opperman, attended Aylesford depot to launch Government’s consultation on increased fines for utility companies. The consultation sought to improve traffic flow and fine companies in breach of overrun street works.
(c) The EU Entry/Exit system (EES) was expected to come into force from October 2024. Work was ongoing with the Department for Transport (DfT), including the creation of a number of Task and Finish Groups, to address traffic management enforcement, legislation and welfare, which would be meeting on a regular basis throughout the year, alongside a Steering Group. With no option for advanced registration, all travellers from non-EU countries would be required to register onto the EES prior to travel, creating possible congestion around the port of Dover. A Parliamentary enquiry was due to take place on Wednesday 31st January 2024 which the Leader of Kent County Council would be attending.
(d) Inflation amongst other pressures continued to impact the viability of Kent’s local bus services. The cost of operating buses had significantly risen since the Covid-19 pandemic with driver, vehicle and vehicle spare part costs driven by inflation and the cost-of-living crisis. Whilst Kent County Council had previously utilised DfT funding, the scope for further interventions was severely limited. Dependent on the level of change, more services would likely be withdrawn without the financial resources to support them. Mr Baker advised that the future of public transport needed to be addressed.
5. Mr Hills, Deputy Cabinet Member for Environment, Provided an update on the following:
(a) Making Space for Nature in Kent and Medway had gained momentum . A number of meetings were scheduled to take place over the coming weeks to progress the next stage of the Local Nature Recovery Strategy in Kent and Medway.
(b) Biodiversity Net Gain was due to come into force from 1st February 2024, with at least 10% of planned development land being reserved for nature.
(c) The consultation on Windmills was due to conclude on 29th January. Over 1500 responses had been received to date. Mr Hills urged the public to submit their response to the consultation.
6. Mr Murphy, Cabinet Member for Growth and Economic Development, provided an update on the following:
(a) At the Growth, Economic Development and Communities Cabinet Committee on 18th January, a number of papers were presented for consideration:
· 23/00121 – Kent and Medway Economic Framework – which would replace the Renewal and Resilience Plan
· 2023 Infrastructure Funding statement – an annual and statutory report setting out the financial position in relation to Developer Contributions
· Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) position
Mr Murphy thanked the officers for their work.
(b) Visit Kent had produced an Impact Study for 2022 which highlighted the following statistics:
· There were 61 million combined day and overnight trips to the county (18% increase on 2021)
· The visitor economy in 2022 was estimated to be worth £3.7billion (£4.1b in 2019)
· There were 74,462 jobs within the tourism sector (10% of the total employment of Kent and an increase of 27% compared to 2021)
(c) Thanks and recognition was paid to Mr Steve Grimshaw and his team on the No Use Empty Scheme, with the following work noted:
· The site on London Road in Deal was under refurbishment for residential accommodation.
· The former Age and Son building in Ramsgate had been re-opened for community activity.
· The Baptist Church in Deal was undergoing renovation for high level residential accommodation.
· Conservation Road in Broadstairs provided 10,000 square foot of residential space, a site that had been empty for seven years
· 24 commercial units at Honeywood Parkway had been sold, which provided 70000 square meters of space.
The total investment into the economy was £4.5m.
7. Mrs Bell, Cabinet Member for Community and Regulatory Services, provided an update on the following:
(a) Death registration appointments had increased. The service generally offered over 800 appointments per week with availability kept under review and increased where necessary in line with Kent County Council’s winter planning.
(b) Mrs Bell visited the temporary Folkestone library whereby visitors had access to heritage and local study collections with the availability of public computers. The service had been well received by customers. However, work was underway with potential stakeholders regarding the long-term future of Folkestone library.
(c) Mrs Bell had also visited the Quarrywood site of the Libraries, Registration and Archive service which supported deliveries to residential homes, records management and the accessibility of materials to visually impaired residents.
(d) The Kent History and Library Centre along with Maidstone library housed Kent’s archives and local history collection, along with extensive resources available to the community. Maidstone library was also a Business and Intellectual Property Centre, assisting entrepreneurs with creative ideas.
(e) Major works were underway at Dover Discovery Centre, however the temporary library, located at Dover Gateway was open and had been well received by customers.
(f) The winter mini reading challenge which encouraged children to keep up their reading habits over the winter holidays was due to conclude on 19th February.
(g) The Coroner service had moved to its bespoke facilities at Oakwood House in December 2023. The response received from staff was positive, with positive feedback also received from families who were going through a very difficult time.
(h) Following media coverage concerning the closure of KCC libraries, Mrs Bell issued a statement confirming that despite the financial pressures faced by the Council, there were no plans currently underway to close libraries across the county. KCC would continue to monitor and review the library services to ensure they were sustainable in the future and would be looking at all the options available, including the possibility of working with Parish Councils who had expressed an interest in running a library and KCC were looking at ways to support this.
(i) Government had welcomed the recommendations proposed by Baroness Sanderson following an independent review on library services across England. The review would help to inform governments strategy on libraries which was due to be published later in the year.
8. Mr Jeffrey, Cabinet Member for Communications and Democratic Services, provided an update on the following:
(a) The Council continued to receive a high number of Freedom of Information (FOI) requests (34% increase on figures from 2022). However, thanks and recognition was given to the team for their ability to maintain performance standards whilst operating with the same level of resource despite increased pressure.
(b) The number of calls received by the Contact Centre had fallen, which was indicative of the degree of work that had been done around improved communication and the availability of information to residents.
(c) The target rate for answering calls was exceptional with priority calls answered in less than half a minute (a target of two minutes) and overall daytime response times were answered within one minute (a target of five minutes). Mr Jeffrey highlighted the exceptional performance of the service.
There had been a decrease in the number of enquiries concerning Highways and Transport due to the proactive work that had been done in the service to improve communication. The level of complaints received within the Children’s, Young people and Education directorate had also reduced, due to the extensive work undertaken by the service.
(d) There were currently seven live consultations which had to date received 3200 responses.
9. The Leader thanked the Cabinet Members for their updates.