Agenda and minutes

Cabinet - Thursday, 28th November, 2024 10.00 am

Venue: Council Chamber, Sessions House, County Hall, Maidstone. View directions

Contact: Georgina Little  Tel: 03000 414043 Email:  georgina.little@kent.gov.uk

Media

Items
No. Item

68.

Apologies

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Minutes:

No apologies were received.

 

69.

Declarations of Interest

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Minutes:

No declarations of interest were received.

 

70.

Minutes of the Meeting held on 26 September 2024 pdf icon PDF 122 KB

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Minutes:

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting on 26 September 2024 were a correct record and that they be signed by the Chair

 

71.

Cabinet Member Updates

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Minutes:

  1. Mr Watkins, Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Public Health, provided an update on the following:

 

(a)  On 21st November Mr Watkins attended the House of Commons to co-chair the launch of the Social Care Commission for Assistive Technology (ATech); a project overseen by Policy Connect. The commission ran alongside the Kent and Medway Digital Skills Innovation in Healthcare Project which was funded by the Local Skills Improvement Fund and aimed to improve digital skills and the use of technology in the health and care sector by delivering training to both incoming and existing care professionals. The project included the establishment of six assistive technology learning hubs in colleges across Kent and Medway. Mr Watkins visited the hub based at Canterbury college and commented on the impressive range of technology available within the training suite. The Commission would also look at ways in which service users could be best supported to adopt the technology which would assist people in living independent and healthier lives for longer. The implementation of ATech across the country would be supported by policy roundtable events, interviews and the review of specialist literature and data to ensure fully informed recommendations were presented to policy makers at all levels of Government. The Commission was sponsored by Kent County Council, Medway Council and Kent Further Education. Much of the work correlated to that of Kent County Council’s in-house service, Technology Enabled Lives, which had made good progress since its launch. The progression of assistive technology would help to alleviate a significant part of the budgetary pressures faced by the Council.

 

(b)  Mr Watkins, alongside the Kent Integrated Care Alliance, continued to lobby Government regarding the significant additional costs for social care services and the impact that this would have on the social care budget; most notably the increase in employer National Insurance Contributions, which would absorb much of the £600m grant funding announced by Government for 2025-26. Funding for services was already incredibly difficult and the financial challenge would continue until the Government provided adequate social care funding to local authorities.

 

(c)  Mr Watkins paid thanks to all those involved in the Care Quality Commission (CQC) Assurance visit that took place at the end of September and awaited receipt of the report.

 

(d)  A number of visits had taken place throughout the autumn, including:

 

·         Fusion Healthy Living Centre in Maidstone

·         Southfield Short Break Centre

·         Drug and alcohol treatments service providers, including Change Grow Live in Folkestone, and the Forward Trust in Ashford

·         One You shop on Ashford High Street

·         Ebbsfleet Garden City

·         Revival Cafe in Whitstable

·         Blackburn Trust in Maidstone and the Tenterden Social Hub

Mr Watkins expressed his thanks to all those involved in facilitating the visits which provided an opportunity for valuable discussions.

 

(e)  Furthermore, Mr Watkins attended:

 

·         Dementia Friendly Kent Awards on 21st October,

·         Kent Care Awards on 13th September

·         Kent and Medway Health and Care Symposium at the Guru Nanak Gurdwara in Gravesend on 31st October

Mr Watkins  ...  view the full minutes text for item 71.

72.

24/00089 - Revenue and Capital Budget Monitoring Report - September 2024-25 pdf icon PDF 74 KB

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Minutes:

John Betts ( Interim Corporate Director Finance) Cath Head (Head of Finance Operations) and Joe McKay (Acting Chief Accountant) were in attendance for this item.

 

1.    Mr Oakford (Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance, Corporate and Traded Services) introduced the report which set out the revenue and capital budget monitoring position as at September 2024-25 (Quarter 2). The forecast revenue outturn position was an overspend of +£26.8m (excluding schools), which represented 1.9% of the revenue budget. The forecast outturn position had increased by £10.5m compared with the forecast position in June 2024-25 (Quarter 1). The largest overspend was within Adult Social Care & Health (+£32.5m), of which £22.7m related to savings which could not be delivered in year, but the majority of which would be delivered in future years. The remaining £9.8m of the overspend related to other service-related pressures, largely driven by the increase in the cost (both complexity and inflationary) to deliver social care placements from providers. Similar challenges were faced by other upper-tier local authorities with 81% reported to be on course to overspend on their adult social care budget in the current financial year. Work would continue within the ASCH directorate to reduce the forecast overspend as far as possible. Panels remained in place to ensure that social care need was being met in the most cost effective manner and this was reviewed by senior management. There were three particular workstreams in train with external consultants who were working closely with Adult Social Care and Health front line staff to identify more effective working to deliver cashable savings and reduce the forecast overspend trajectory for 2024-25. Non-delivery of savings would have a significant impact on the future year's budget. Any overspend was a concern for the authority and presented a risk for the Council's future financial sustainability. It was critical that the overspend for the Council was managed down to as near a balanced position as possible, as any overspend weakened the Council’s financial sustainability going forward. Reserves were a one-off solution; however, they continued to be used without the ability to replenish them. The capital programme spent to date was £123.3m, representing 28.9 % of the total approved budget. The directorates were projecting a £90m underspend against budget for the full year. This was split between a £14.4m real variance and £104m of rephasing. Of the rephasing, £41m was prudential borrowing funding, with the remainder funded from grant or external funding. Mr Oakford commented on those areas where there were underspends, primarily those reported within the Children, Young People & Education Department, and gave recognition to the work undertaken to not only reduce the spend but deliver savings.

 

2.    The Leader noted the significant reduction in pressures compared to the financial position for 2023-2024 which was as a result of tremendous areas of progress, as evidenced within the SEND reforms. However, the savings which were due to be met within the Adult Social Care and Health remained a significant pressure for both Kent County Council and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 72.

73.

24/00094 - Adoption of the Kent County Council Environment Plan pdf icon PDF 102 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Matthew Smyth (Director for Environment and Circular Economy) and Helen Shulver (Head of Environment) were in attendance for this item.

 

1.    Mr Thomas (Cabinet Member for Environment) introduced the KCC Environment Plan which had been designed to unify and enhance the organisation’s environmental and sustainability efforts. The plan was framed around six goals and aimed to support environmental, growth, and health outcomes without imposing additional financial burdens. The actions listed in the plan had corresponding target outcomes which would be reported on annually at the Environment and Transport Committee to ensure that progress was monitored and maintained. Mr Thomas noted that the plan had no end date as it was intended to be a live document and one which could be embedded across a number of areas within the Council. The Plan had been presented to the Environment and Transport Cabinet Committee where the feedback received focussed on increased means of monitoring. Mr Thomas provided assurance that the team along with the Cross-Party Member Working Group would continue to explore and adopt improved monitoring systems.

 

2.    Further to comments and questions from Members it was noted:

 

·         The Environment Plan would require organisation wide support to ensure that the actions and activity were considered within all operations across the Council.

 

·         In regard to highways, it was noted that urban intensification had created the issue of waterways becoming polluted with sewage. This was largely due to outdated legislation which needed to be updated to take account of the changing environmental issues. It was therefore crucial that national policy continued to be lobbied and scrutinised to ensure that global matters were being addressed at a local level.

 

·         The Environment Plan relied on the participation and cooperation of landowners. A significant amount of work had been done in recent years to strengthen the Council’s connections with the rural communities, specifically in relation to environmental schemes and that work would continue. However, it was noted that the government’s recent budget announcements regarding funding for landowners may impact participation levels going forward.

 

Members noted the environmental achievements in 2023-24 as outlined in the report and said that it provided credibility to the Council in its ability to demonstrate what has been done to date and what improvements were intended to be made going forward, specifically in relation to the work planned to be undertaken with communities and partners. Members noted the considerable achievement of Kent County Council as the third lowest County Council in England in terms of municipal waste sent to landfill; an accomplishment which evidenced the ambition and goals of the Council and provided communities in Kent with assurance that all efforts would continue to enhance environmental growth and sustainability.

 

·         The Environment Plan would help to address the quality of seawater pollution which impacted enormously on the tourism sector and residents’ ability to use local facilities.

 

3.    Mr Thomas thanked Members for their comments and paid tribute to the team for all their work. Mr Thomas also provided members with an update on the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 73.

74.

24/00095 - Adoption of the Kent County Council Climate Change Adaptation Plan 2025-2028 pdf icon PDF 99 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Matthew Smyth (Director for Environment and Circular Economy) and Helen Shulver (Head of Environment) were in attendance for this item.

 

  1. Mr Thomas (Cabinet Member for Environment) introduced the report on the Climate Change Adaptation Plan which set out how Kent County Council would start to adapt its assets and services to climate change between 2025 and 2028. Findings from the Climate Change Risk and Impact Assessment for Kent and Medway and activity and input from divisions across KCC had shaped the aim, objectives and actions that defined the Climate Change Adaptation Plan. Actions listed in the action plan had corresponding target outcomes which would be reported on annually at the Environment and Transport Cabinet Committee. As with the Environment Plan, the actions within the Climate Change Adaptation Plan would be delivered by base funded staff from services involved; however, match funding, or in-kind funding would be required to further progress outcomes.

 

  1. Further to comments and questions from Members it was noted:

 

·         Members welcomed that the Climate Change Adaptation Plan recognised the context of those issues which were presently impacting Kent’s residents, including the closure of the Road of Remembrance caused through extensive embankment landslip. The Plan helped to build both the awareness and resilience required to help the Council in its future approaches.

 

·         It was noted that the Council had already had to make changes to its programme of work due to conditions brought about by climate change. For instance, in relation to highways, verges had caused increased issues due to wetter summers and mild winters. The use of technology and identifying trends was therefore key in helping to identify possible upcoming challenges caused through climate change

 

·         It was noted that a report was presented to Health Reform and Public Health on 19th November on the Implications of Climate Change for Public Health. It focussed on climate as being one of the wider determinants of health impacting particularly on more deprived communities and groups. These changes were prevalent in Kent now and it was therefore crucial that Kent had a comprehensive adaptation strategy. The work was welcomed by Members.

 

  1. RESOLVED that Cabinet endorse the proposed decision by the Cabinet Member for Environment :

 

(a)  To ADOPT the Kent County Council Climate Change Adaptation Plan 2025-2028.

(b)  To DELEGATE authority to the Corporate Director of Growth, Environment and Transport in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Environment to refresh and/or make revisions to the Strategy as appropriate during the lifetime of the strategy.

(c)  To DELEGATE authority to the Corporate Director of Growth, Environment and Transport to take relevant actions, including but not limited to finalising the terms of, and entering into required contract or other legal agreements, as necessary to implement the decision as shown at Appendix A.

 

75.

Financial Hardship Programme pdf icon PDF 83 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Lucy Alesbrook (Financial Hardship Programme Manager), Victoria Lawrence-Rose (Programme Officer, Financial Hardship Programme) and John Betts ( Interim Corporate Director Finance) were in attendance for this item.

 

1.    The Leader introduced the report which provided a high-level overview of the support provided in response to the ongoing financial pressures, focussing in particular on the work being funded by the Helping Hands Scheme, and the delivery of the Department of Work and Pensions’ Household Support Fund. The report also outlined the work delivered through these schemes to support the uptake of Pension Credit in the county. The Leader thanked the officers for their tremendous hard work which had enabled the programme to operate beyond its initial timeline, March 2025, but also the exceptional degree of work that had been undertaken in response to the government’s announcements in relation to the Winter Fuel Payments and the work that had been done within this area to raise awareness and provide help to eligible residents.

 

2.    Ms Alesbrook (Financial Hardship Programme Manager), and Ms Lawrence-Rose presented a series of slides which provided an update on the Financial Hardship Programme, including an overview of the Impact Report.

 

3.    Further to comments and questions from Members it was noted:

 

·         Members paid tribute to the team for their outstanding work which supported residents in hardship, along with the excellent material provided as part of the report which brought case studies to life. It was essential that all efforts continued to ensure funding was received from Government to support the work being done as part of the Helping Hands Scheme. It was an incredible achievement to date.

 

·         Comments were made in regard to the government’s decision to withdraw the winter fuel allowance which would have a detrimental impact on millions of pensioners. And whilst a considerable amount of promotional work had been undertaken to increase awareness and provide help to those who would be eligible for Pension Credit, there remained a large number of households which would potentially miss out on receiving additional funding. The concern remained around those people who were not aware of their entitlement.

 

·         Members commented on the collaborative effort of the scheme which also complemented the work undertaken within the voluntary sector.

 

·         In response to the allocation of the Household Support Fund, it was confirmed that early open discussions would be held with districts and boroughs as to the amount they receive. A decision would then be taken locally as to how the districts and boroughs provide funding to residents. Some would choose to provide funding directly to residents where details were known, others worked closely with the voluntary sector. There was a huge array of activity around the funding mechanisms used and Ms Alesbrook confirmed that a further report would be circulated to Members outside of the meeting with further detail.

 

4.    The Leader noted the evolution of the Household Support Fund since its commencement and assurance was provided that funding would be used to both target and enhance the resilience and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 75.