Agenda and draft minutes

No apologies were received

No declarations of interest were received

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting on 30 January 2025 were a correct record and that they be signed by the Chair

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

(a)  The UK Day of Reflection was due to take place on Sunday 9 March and marked five years since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. A number of participation events were being held across the county at parks, libraries and family hubs. County Council staff and Members would also be able to remember others and share experiences on a digital memory wall. The Day of Reflection was a date to remember those no longer with us, those still impacted by the pandemic and the many frontline workers and volunteers who helped through those difficult years.

(b)  Care Providers gathered at Westminster on 25^th February to call on the Government to urgently address the funding shortfall announced within the autumn budget and which threatened the future of adult social care through increased National Insurance Contributions (NICs). Mr Watkins thanked Mr Oakford for his participation on the day. To date, no response had been received from the Minister following the joint letter from Mr Watkins and the Kent Integrated Care Alliance.

(c)  The Public Health Transformation Programme commenced in July 2023 and aimed to improve service delivery across the county, with particular emphasis on targeting of underserved communities. The transformation worked included the introduction of new service models, such as substance misuse, health visiting and infant feeding, school health, oral health, sexual health, NHS health checks and the adult lifestyle programme, all of which had made excellent progress. Kent County Council had a legal duty to deliver those services under the Social are Act 2012 and the Public Health team had worked tremendously hard to ensure that the transition to those new models would be implemented in good time.

(d)  A free 24/7 support service for expectant or new parents had launched. Soon to be new parents who were experiencing mental health problems during their pregnancy or with parenting, could speak confidentially to a trained advisor via KCC's free perinatal mental health helpline or text service. Becoming a mum, dad, carer or guardian of a young baby is a significant moment in life. One in five women experience parental mental health issues during or soon after pregnancy and men can also struggle with anxiousness at these times. Given the challenges presented during this period and with the acknowledgement that a wide support network is not always available to new parents to help them navigate the experience, it was hoped that the new helpline and service provided expectant, and new mums and dads, a place to go whenever they need it.

(e)  The Batton of Hope campaign aimed to raise awareness of suicide prevention. The Batton was due to start in Blackpool on 1^st September 2025 and travel through a total of 20 locations , with its tour through Medway, Maidstone, Canterbury and Thanet taking place on 22^nd September 2025, before finishing in Wrexham. All districts were being encouraged to play  ...  view the full minutes text for item 96.

John Betts (interim Corporate Director Finance) and Dave Shipton (Head of Finance, Policy, Planning, Strategy) were in attendance for this item

1.    Mr Shipton introduced the report that provided details of late changes to the approved 2025-26 revenue budget which were not available in time for the Couty Council budget meeting. This included net changes to share of Retained Business Rates growth/Business Rates Compensation Grant (+£42.7k) and Business Rates collection fund. The paper included a recommendation that business rates collection fund surplus balance be transferred to the local taxation equalisation reserve in accordance with existing policy and the remainder added to the existing contribution to the general reserve. This paper also updated Cabinet on other late changes to specific grants since County Council on the 13th February 2025 which did not impact on the net revenue budget requirement

2.    RESOLVED that Cabinet agree to:

(a)  NOTE the budget updates and ENDORSE that they be included in final 2025-26 budget in accordance with the Budget Decision made at County Council on 13th February 2025.

(b)  APPROVE the net transfer of £356.0k into reserves (£42.7k increased contribution into the General Reserve and £313.3k contribution into the Local Taxation Equalisation smoothing reserve) to improve the Council’s financial resilience.

(c)  APPROVE additional £6,067.8k of specific grant income along with associated spending with nil impact on net 2025-26 revenue budget

David Whittle (Director of Strategy, Policy, Relationships & Corporate Assurance) and Matthew Wagner (Chief Analyst, Strategy, Policy, Relationships & Corporate Assurance) was in attendance for this item

1.    Mr  Wagner outlined the report for Quarter 3 (Q3, 2024/25) which set out the performance data up to the end of December 2024. Mr Wagner noted that of the 38 Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) contained within the QPR, 17 achieved target (Green), and 12 achieved or exceeded the floor standard but did not meet target (Amber) and 9 KPIs did not meet the floor standard (Red). With regards to Direction of Travel, 10 indicators showed a positive trend (one fewer than the previous Quarter), 22 were stable or with no clear trend (the same as the previous Quarter), and six were showing a negative trend (the same as the previous Quarter). Following changes in Ofsted’s reporting of inspections of schools and early years’ settings, two KPIs in the Education & Skills section have now been removed. The direction of travel analysis was positive in comparison to quarter three last year, when there were three fewer KPIs on an improving trend and five more KPIs on a worsening trend than in the report presented. Mr Wagner addressed the KPIs assessed as Red.

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

·         Percentage of phone calls to Contact Point which were answered – it was noted that performance had improved since the last quarter and had moved from an Amber rating to Green.

·         FOI requests completed within timescale – the number of requests completed within timescale had improved within Q3 and reached its highest level of performance in over four years. Therefore, whilst it remained rated Red,  the concerted effort from staff and utilisation of technology had seen performance levels improve.

·         Percentage of Early Help cases closed with outcomes achieved that come back to Early Help or Children’s Social Work teams within 3 months – Mrs Chandler commended the teams and staff who continued to deliver the service against a background of increased referral numbers and increased number of complex cases. Mrs Chandler commended the teams for remaining on track with their performance.

·         Percentage of case holding posts filled by permanent qualified social workers -  Mrs Chandler commented on the improved performance under this KPI and highlighted the significant amount of work around the retention and recruitment of new Social Workers.

·         The percentage of Children in Care (excluding UASC) placed in KCC in-house foster care or with family/friends – Mrs Chandler noted that whilst the performance remained below floor standard there remained a number of factors which impacted on KCC’s ability to maintain its percentage of foster carers. However, work continued on the initiatives to increase the number of fostering households. There had also been an increase in children with more complex needs for which foster care was not an option. The implementation of in-house provision aimed to address this.

·         Percentage of Education, Health Care Plans (EHCPs) issued within 20 weeks – rolling 12 months  ...  view the full minutes text for item 98.

Sarah Hammond (Corporate Director for Children’s, Young People and Education) was in attendance for this item.

1.    Mrs Chandler (Cabinet Member for Integrated Children’s Services) introduced the report which set out  the comments expressed during the debate at the Scrutiny Committee held on  Wednesday 29th January 2025 following the call-in of decision 24/00093 - Future of Commissioned Services at Seashells and Millmead Family Hubs.

2.    Mrs Chandler advised that the comments and views expressed at Scrutiny Committee had been considered by herself and Senior Officers, having kept in mind the policy context set by the Council and the requirement to deliver family health services to families, children and young people consistently across Kent.

3.    Particular consideration was given on the points raised about co-location of services and potential reach. Mrs Chandler highlighted that the original decision had been amended to include the option of delivery of outreach services by the KCC Family Hub team in recognition of the consultation responses, which expressed considerable concern about those two issues. Careful consideration had also been given to the various issues raised over the available data. Mrs Chandler emphasised that data relating to delivery of family hub services as determined by the DFE had to be the key data that was considered, however, assurance was provided that that wider data sets which had been provided by the centres were being considered carefully in the context with relation to family health services.

4.    Mrs Chandler confirmed that the report to Full Council would provide the detailed responses to the above points and the others that were raised at the Scrutiny Committee.

5.    Mrs Chandler offered an alternative recommendation for Cabinet consideration, as follows:

“that Cabinet note the report from Scrutiny and note the referral of this item to full council”

6.    The Leader advised that Cabinet should not pre-empt the debate at full Council. It was however recognised that a number of issues needed to be addressed during the debate at Full Council, including the data sets and understanding what the indicators confirmed. It was also important that the discussion of the decision was in line with policy choice regarding the Family Hubs model.

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

·         Members expressed their confidence in the Cabinet Member for Integrated Children’s Services to review the decision and ensure availability of figures to support a well-informed debate at Full Council. It was noted that until the full information had been presented, it was not appropriate for Cabinet to make any further recommendations.

·         Members expressed discontentment regarding the petition submitted calling for the resignation of Cabinet Members for decisions that the administration were taking. Whilst debate and the expression of different views remained a part of a healthy representative democracy, such unacceptable behaviours undermined the key democratic principles of free speech, debate and engagement, and thus posed a risk to councillors' personal safety. Cabinet Members acted in accordance with the law and in accordance with the administration's policies.

·         Members recognised the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 99.

Craig Chapman (Assistant Director - Fair Access and (Interim) SEN Processes) and Phil Lightowler (Head of Public Transport) were in attendance for this item

1.    Mr Chapman and Mr Lightowler presented a series of slides which set out information on Home to School Transport which addressed the work that continued to be undertaken to balance user satisfaction, cost and outcomes to ensure sustainable delivery. Thanks was paid to the Strategic Reset team and to Mr Ben Watts (General Counsel) for the support provided to deliver the programme of work. Mr Chapman highlighted that KPIs against Home to School Transport delivery were Green and commended the fantastic achievement of the teams who had managed to deliver amazing outcomes for the Council and the children of Kent. Further recognition was paid to Shane Bushell, Client Transport Manager.

2.    The Leader noted the remarkable accomplishments and thanked both Mr Chapman and Mr Lightowler for their work. It was an exemplary example of collaborative working across all the Councils business to ensure areas of pressure were identified and resolved, thus obtaining an 89% satisfaction rate from parents and carers. The Leader also commended the service for the £12.5m underspend which had stemmed from a range of initiatives and asked that the message of thanks be extended to all involved for their considerable efforts.

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

·         Members commended the success of the service in the delivery of improved Home to School Transport

·         It was noted that the close collaboration between teams helped to identify areas of weakness in the system and address them. Further benefits transpired through work with the supplier market, with recruitment and training of staff which had increased the number of transport providers available.

·         It was noted that 6400 pupils were transported on a daily basis, with 3867 individual vehicle trips per day, which served 523 establishments. Kent SEN transport continued to achieve outstanding results and this was accredited to the SRP team and analytics.

4.    RESOLVED that the presentation and ongoing work be noted and welcomed, with thanks.

Simon Jones (Corporate Director for Growth, Environment and Transport), and

Sharon Thompson (Head of Planning Applications Group) were in attendance for this item

1.    Mr Murphy (Cabinet Member for Economic Development) and Ms Thompson, introduced the report. The County Council had a statutory responsibility to plan for future minerals supply and waste management within Kent. As a result, the Kent Minerals and Waste Local Plan 2013-30 was adopted by County Council in July 2016 with some limited changes adopted in September 2020. The Kent Minerals and Waste Local Plan contained planning policies relating to minerals supply and waste management against which the Council assessed planning applications for.

2.    Members were drawn to section 4.3 of the report in relation to the objection received on the Minerals Sites Plan work, in particular the nominated hard rock site at Oaken Wood, Aylesford. Clarification was provided that this had been submitted in response to the Council's ‘call for sites’ as part of the Sites Plan work. For the avoidance of doubt, the Kent Mineral and Waste Local Plan 2024-39 made no decision in relation to the Oaken Wood site. This was a matter for the separate Mineral Sites Plan work. Work on the review of this plan was ongoing and remained subject to detailed technical assessment of the submitted hard rock site. Until that assessment had been completed, no decision could be taken on whether the site should be allocated or not. A future report would be considered by the Growth, Economic Development and Communities Cabinet Committee. The Plan before Members for adoption provided the strategy for minerals supply, including the quantity of minerals required, not where sites to meet the need were to be allocated.

3.    Ms Thompson added that the current local plan was adopted in 2016 with a limited review in 2020 and no longer reflected up to date planning policy and guidance in a number of areas. The Plan set out the planning strategy for minerals and waste development in Kent and was the policy document for the determination of planning applications affecting mineral and waste management development and ensured planning applications were determined in accordance with the Local Plan. It was therefore important to have a local plan that was up to date to reflect local circumstances and which had been shaped by local requirements.

4.    There had been significant changes to planning and environmental policy over the last 10 years; the drivers for the changes were set out in paragraph 1.7.  These included:

·         Multiple changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF)

·         Greater emphasis on climate change mitigation and protection and enhancement of the natural environment; 

·          A move towards a more circular economy with a stronger emphasis on the waste hierarchy

5.    The Plan had been subject to extensive public consultation as set out in paragraph 1.5 and these comments helped to shape and influenced the Plan. The work has also been the subject of a cross party Informal Members Group. The pre submission version of the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 101.