Agenda item

1. The item was introduced by Mr Collins and Jamie Henderson, Cabinet Member for Environment, Coastal Regeneration and Public Health, who presented the Executive Response to the Water Supply Short Focused Inquiry. Members were advised that all recommendations contained within the Inquiry report had been accepted and that work was progressing with relevant partners to support implementation.

2. In response to questions and comments from Members, discussion covered the following:

a)    Mr Henderson reported that a number of the previously agreed actions had now been completed, with progress updates set out in the report. He highlighted the inaugural Kent Water Resilience meeting scheduled for 8 October, as well as recent engagement between the Leader and John Halsall, the newly announced Chief Executive Officer of South East Water. Mr Henderson welcomed positive collaboration between Thanet Earth and the Environment Agency, confirming that licenses had been granted for further water extraction and outlining that this partnership approach was being encouraged through the Council’s correspondence with relevant organisations.

b)    Mr Watts advised that future monitoring of the recommendations could be undertaken through the Flood Risk and Water Management Committee, with matters returning to Scrutiny Committee where appropriate.

c)    The Leader of the Council advised that she had recently met with the Chief Executive of South East Water and had raised concerns regarding the company’s lack of statutory consultee status in relation to housing developments. She assured the Committee that the potential for KCC to have greater input into the planning application process remained under consideration and that discussions on possible next steps were ongoing.

d)    Mr Watts acknowledged that progress updates would continue to be reported through the appropriate channels and indicated that a further report to the Committee was likely in due course. He also advised that officers would consider the suggestions made regarding KCC’s role in the planning process, including any statutory or other constraints on what the authority could and could not do.

3. Following the questions, the Chair welcomed comments and views from the Committee about the report. These included:

a)    A Member highlighted the importance of ensuring that the work undertaken through the Inquiry continued to progress and was not adversely affected by future LGR arrangements, including through collaboration with other relevant groups where appropriate.

b)    A Member suggested that future progress reports include indicative target dates for implementation, where appropriate, to assist ongoing scrutiny and accountability.

c)    A Member raised that KCC could play a strategic role in bringing together local planning authorities in water- stressed areas to make coordinated representations to Government on challenges of meeting housing targets where water infrastructure capacity is strained.

d)    A Member reiterated the absence of timescales within the report and suggested that these be included to assist with monitoring progress. They further suggested a more comprehensive update report be brought back to the Committee in six months’ time to enable further scrutiny of the progress against the actions identified.

e)    A Member highlighted concerns about insufficient investment in water infrastructure and requested that the Water Resilience Partnership continue to encourage water companies to invest in and maintain their assets to improve resilience.

4. The Chair welcomed the positive response from the Executive and thanked Members, officers and stakeholders who had contributed to the Inquiry. The Chair proposed to note the Executive response to the recommendations made by the Water Supply Short Focused Inquiry. This was agreed by the Committee.

RESOLVED that the Scrutiny Committee note the Executive Response to the recommendations made by the Water Supply Short Focused Inquiry.