Cabinet Member decisions

The Kent Waste Disposal Strategy (2017-2035) was adopted in February 2017 and sets out the overarching ambition for KCC Waste Management. Analysis has shown that the current waste infrastructure will not cope with the expected levels of waste growth anticipated as a result of the forecast population increase. Before considering any potential funding for added infrastructure, officers are developing projects and policy changes designed to reduce demand on site, create revenue streams and create clearer intelligence that will enable stronger and more successful enforcement actions against individuals defrauding the Authority through illegal disposal of trade and commercial waste.

As Cabinet Member for Planning, Highways, Transport and Waste, I agree to introduce disposal charges for soil, rubble, hardcore and plasterboard at the KCC HWRCs, with charges and limits as follows:

·         Soil, rubble and hardcore: £4 per bag (or part bag)/ item (a bag being up to the size of a standard black sack); (Appendix B)

·         Plasterboard: £6 per bag (or part bag)/ sheet (a bag being up to the size of a  standard black sack); and

·         A daily limit on soil, rubble and hardcore, of a maximum of 5 bags/ items per day

In 2014 the Education Cabinet Committee resolved that a new 2FE primary school at Cheesman’s Green, Ashford, would be commissioned and a competition to secure a sponsor was held. The Stour Academy Trust was appointed to sponsor the School by the Secretary of State for Education and in 2015 a funding agreement for a 2FE school was signed between the Trust and the Secretary of State.

The primary school, known as Finberry Primary School, opened in September 2015 in a temporary facility.

Planning permission for the 2FE permanent school was secured with the permanent site opening for pupils and staff in September 2017. 2FE of infrastructure was delivered but only sufficient classrooms for 1FE of pupil. The classrooms needed to accommodate the 2^nd FE of pupils will be required from September 2020.

The Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Education is asked to:

a) Release £2,800,000 from the Children, Young People and Education Capital budget to allow an 8-classroom block to be added to Finberry Primary School to enable the school to accept 2FE of primary aged pupils (60 pupils per year) in line with the Academy’s funding agreement.

Kent County Council has a statutory responsibility under The Care Act (2014) to meet peoples assessed eligible needs, this includes specific duties related to people with sensory impairments.  The proposal to implement new arrangements for the provision of these statutory assessment and rehabilitation services will allow for the development of a sensory operating model that is flexible, improves outcomes for people with sensory impairments and that can be aligned with other pathways across Adult Social Care and Health.

Therefore, the proposed decision is to implement new arrangements for the provision of statutory assessment and rehabilitation services for sight impaired adults, statutory assessment and rehabilitation for sight impaired children and statutory equipment assessment and rehabilitation for hearing impaired older adults aged 65 years and over.

The Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care is asked to:

a)    IMPLEMENT a new arrangement for the provision of statutory assessment and rehabilitation services for sight impaired adults, assessment and habilitation for sight impaired children and statutory equipment assessment and rehabilitation for hearing impaired older adults aged 65 years and over; and

b)    DELEGATE authority to the Corporate Director of Adult Social Care and Health, or other nominated officer, the undertake the necessary actions to implement the decision.

The Adult Social Care and Health Being Digital Strategy 2018- 2021 has been developed to set out the strategic direction for, and help to enable the delivery of, digital innovation and technology to transform and support the new operating models for the Adult Social Care and Health Directorate.  The strategy is focused on five themes: digitally enabled people, place, practice, product and partnerships.

An Implementation Plan has also been created to outline how the visions and aims of the strategy will be delivered by 2021; this includes several existing digital projects and new proposed ideas.

The Cabinet Member is asked to agree:

a)    APPROVE the Adult Social Care and Health Being Digital Strategy 2019-2021 and the high-level implementation plan;

b)    DELEGATE authority to the Corporate Director of Adult Social Care and Health, or other nominated officer, to undertake the necessary actions to implement the decision; and

c)    NOTE that an update will be presented to the Adult Social Care Cabinet Committee in September 2019 with a revised implementation plan and details on the financial implications including savings and investment.

To implement new arrangements for the provision of interpreting services for d/Deaf and Deafblind people, including an in-house interpreting service and a framework contract.

The Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Public Health is asked to:

a)    APPROVE the reprovision of interpreting, translation and transcription services for d/Deaf and deafblind people; and

b)    DELEGATE authority to the Corporate Director of Adult Social Care and Health, or other nominated officer, to undertake the necessary actions to implement the decision.

The budget for 2018/19 saw a reduction in funding for supported bus services of £455K.  This reduction in funding would require a reduction in the number of services supported.  KCC committed to delivering any reduction through partnership working with operators, to identify opportunities where existing commercial services could mitigate changes or commercial initiatives could be implemented.

For background, bus services in Kent fall into two categories:

·Commercially (profit-making) operated services.

·Subsidised (KCC funded) services.

Since bus privatisation in 1985, operators in Kent run routes on a commercial basis, where there are enough passengers to fund the service. Around 97% of journeys in Kent run in this way – with around 40 operators covering 600 services – without any funding from Kent County Council (KCC).  But not all of Kent’s bus services are run on a purely commercial basis. For the last 30 years, KCC has funded some routes which, while not commercially viable, have been considered important to the needs of the communities and passengers they serve.

Operators have presented KCC with proposals that will enable KCC to reduce spend, whilst being able to protect school services and ensurethose communities currently served still have access to transport.  These proposals were presented to ETCC on the 20^th March 2018 and approval was granted to go to public consultation. 

As Cabinet Member for Planning, Highways, Transport and Waste, I agree to the implementation of changes to selected bus services in Thanet and Sevenoaks effective from April 2019.

KCC will work with the CCG to review and vary the existing contracts, potentially terminating the section 76 agreement and putting in place arrangements which allow KCC to directly manage the KCC funded NELFT contracts.

Background

KCC, Children, Young People and Education (CYPE) Directorate, Public Health and the 7 Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) across Kent have worked together since 2015 to implement a county wide Children and Young People Mental Health service partnership model. This model includes the provision of universal education services, early intervention services for children and young people experiencing early stage wellbeing difficulties, targeted services for those with a high complexity of need and specialist services for those young people with complex and serious mental health conditions.

To work together in the integrated model the Council entered into a Section 76 (S.76) arrangement with West Kent CCG (North, West and East Kent) and Thanet CCG (East Kent), for the NELFT contract to provide services to support:

•      Priority assessment for Looked After Children;

•      Work in Early Help Units, to intervene early and stop escalation into Tier 3 mental health services;

•      Children at risk of, or subject to, the effects of harmful sexual behaviour; and

•      Kent Health Needs Education Service (KHNES)

In April 2017, NELFT were awarded the contract to run CYPMHS for 5-years from 1st September 2017 with a total contract value of £82,504,977 over 5-years (£15,964,287 p.a.). Of this KCC fund four key areas; Early Help (£1.2m); Children in Care (£1m); Kent Health Needs Education Service (£240k); and Children at risk of or subject to harmful sexual behaviour (£217k) total £2.657m p.a. over 5-years.

Other options were considered in terms of how best to better manage the KCC elements of the CYPMHS.  These included:

-           Setting up additional contract management processes, with support from the CCGs,

-           Establishing an alternative model of provision and ending the current arrangements.

Having considered the above options, including discussing them with Cabinet Committee, working with the CCG to vary the contract, with the potential for terminating the s76 agreement so that KCC would be managing NELFT directly for the Council’s new model of contracts, as proposed in this forthcoming decision, was identified as the most appropriate option to progress.

KCC is committed to working in partnership with the NHS and the provider to manage the challenges that are facing mental health services for children and young people. KCC wishes to retain a partnership approach with the NHS and to review how to make the model work in the interests of children and young people.

However, KCC also has to ensure that the contribution it makes to the contracts in place are delivering the expected outcomes that the Local Authority is responsible for.

By reviewing the contract KCC can make the necessary changes to ensure that the people of Kent get the best outcomes and receive more effective services.

The Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Education agrees to:

a)    End the existing Section 76 agreement and establish a new agreement which reflects Kent County Council as the commissioning lead for the Kent County Council elements of the service; and

b)    Establish these new contract monitoring arrangements, with immediate effect.

The Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Education agrees to the coordinated schemes for primary and secondary schools in Kent and admission arrangements for infant, junior and primary and secondary community and voluntary controlled schools 2020/21.

The existing Thanet District Transport Plan was adopted in 2005. Many of the measures that were identified 13 years ago have been implemented successfully. However, the growth proposed within the emerging Thanet Local Plan has instigated a review of the existing transport challenges within the district and a new strategy is now required to meet the future needs of the local highway network.

As Cabinet Member for Planning, Highways, Transport and Waste, I agree the revised Thanet Transport Strategy for subsequent consideration through the Thanet Local Plan examination process.

To adopt and publish documents concerning highways asset management and our implementation of Well-managed Highway Infrastructure, to maximise Incentive Fund resource and continue to be well placed to defend claims.

As the Cabinet Member for Planning, Highways, Transport and Waste, I agree to:

(i)            the Asset Management strategy documents that, once formally adopted and published, will form the basis of evidencing a Band 3 Incentive Fund rating and secure Department for Transport capital funding of £4.6m in 2019/20; and

(ii)          the proposed Service Level Risk Assessments which record our current approach to highway maintenance and associated risks which, once formally adopted and published, will complete our initial implementation of the new Code of Practice. In turn this supports KCC ability to put forward a special defence in accordance with S58 of the Highways Act.