Issue details

Background:

Kent County Council has longstanding memoranda of understanding with the French Hauts-de-France region, the Pas-de-Calais Département, and the Belgian Province of West Flanders. These relationships have led to many joint initiatives over time – often supported by cross-border funding mechanisms - in areas such as trade, tourism, education, social care, transport and the environment.

Over the last three years, meetings between Kent County Council, its continental partners and other continental authorities have shown a desire to continue local-to-local cooperation where it may be of mutual benefit. Kent was encouraged by the UK diplomatic service to formalise this into a new relationship and, on 5^th February 2020, Kent County Council signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with neighbouring French, Belgian and Dutch local authorities to create the Straits Committee.

The MOU commits the partners to develop a shared, forward-looking vision for the Straits area where cooperation may achieve tangible results. This may be in any area but the partners will pay particular attention to joint work on economic development and fluidity of trade, addressing climate change and clean growth, and supporting young people.

The MOU setting up the Straits Committee commits each authority to designating a cabinet member to take part in a cross-authority working group that will meet up to four times a year. This working group, known as the “Executive Committee”, is supported by officers in each participating authority who will prepare meetings and follow up agreed actions. In addition, the MOU also commits the signatory authorities to holding an annual public conference that will be open widely to stakeholders from across the Straits area and will look at opportunities for the area. The first conference is planned for 2021 and is due to take place in Kent.

Options: 

·   Do nothing: While the MOU does not place any legal requirements on Kent County Council (KCC), the failure to adopt this decision would call into question KCC’s ongoing involvement in the Straits Committee and ability to support joint initiatives, including related spend activity. This would lead to a weakening of relations with KCC’s European partners at a time when the UK is seeking close ties and friendly cooperation with neighbouring countries.

·   Adopt a decision approving Kent’s involvement in the Straits Committee and associated budget (Preferred option): This would align KCC’s participation in the Straits Committee with KCC’s governance and provide a mechanism for supporting joint initiatives with spend activity. 

How the proposed decision meets the objectives of ‘Increasing Opportunities, Improving Outcomes: Kent County Council’s Strategic Statement (2015-2020)’:

The Straits Committee forms an integral part of Kent’s policy response to its neighbourhood following the UK’s exit from the European Union. The creation of this new, member-led committee will help local authorities on both sides of the Dover straits maintain good neighbourly relations, navigate issues arising to help keep our border fluid, support our economies and tackle the grand challenges that we share.