Agenda and minutes

To receive apologies for absence and notification of any substitutes present

No apologies were received.

The Committee is asked to note that Mr Farrell has replaced Mrs Constantine as a Member of the Cabinet Committee.

The Chairman announced that Mr D Farrell had replaced Ms K Constantine as the Labour representative on the Committee.

To receive any declarations of interest made by Members in relation to any matter on the agenda.  Members are reminded to specify the agenda item number to which it refers, and the nature of the interest being declared.

Ian Thomas said that he was a Member of the Planning Committee for Canterbury City Council.

To consider and approve the minutes as a correct record.

Resolved that the minutes of the meeting held on 11 May 2018 are correctly recorded and that they be signed by the Chairman.

To note the minutes of the Property Sub-Committee

Resolved that the minutes of the Property Sub-Committee held on 12 April 2018 be noted.

To consider and endorse the proposed consultation arrangements, and to make recommendations to the Cabinet Members for Finance and for Customers, Communications and Performance on any changes or enhancements.

Mark Sage (Revenue and Tax Strategy Manager) and Diane Trollope (Head of Engagement and Consultation) were in attendance for this item

(1)  Mark Sage introduced the report which set out the preferred approach to consultation on the 2019/20 budget, building on and developing the most successful aspects of last year’s consultation.

(a)    In response to a question, Mr Sage said that he had recently visited Essex County Council whom did not consult on their budget at all. He said that this year, Kent County Council would research the budget consultation process in other counties and see if there were any comparative statistics.

(b)    Miss Carey (Cabinet Member for Customers, Communication and Performance) expressed the importance of learning from the practice of other counties in relation to budget consultation.

(c)     In response to a question, Ms Trollope said that most of the consultation respondents were people from Kent who were aged between 45 and 65. She said that Kent’s Engagement team had been working closely with colleagues in Gateways and Libraries to ensure that there were hard-copy consultation documents in each of area. She said that targeted work would take place this year with Healthwatch as part of the consultative activity. She discussed abandonment rates and said that abandonment rates were an issue for Kent. Although abandonments were less likely to happen in the future as Kent had received a lot of support with regards to GDPR. She said that the system was being revised continuously to make it simple for people to complete questionnaires.

(d)    In response to a question, Ms Trollope said she would ensure that the question breakdown within the consultation allowed people to answer on behalf of an organisation as well as themselves, and that it is made clear.

(2)  Mr Hotson (Cabinet Member for Corporate and Democratic Services) said that he was delighted to hear that Kent’s involvement with the voluntary sector had improved.

(3)  Miss Carey said that a lot of work had been undertaken last year to look more closely at the impact that social media had in the consultation process.

(4)  Andy Wood (Corporate Director of Finance) said that engagement had improved each year in Kent and different avenues were explored regularly to ensure that continuous improvements could be made.

(5)  The Chairman informed Members of Mr Wood’s last day working for Kent County Council. He thanked Mr Wood for the guidance and support he had provided to the Committee.

(6)  Resolved that the report be noted.

To  endorse the new approach for business planning to move to a single Strategic Delivery Plan for 2019/20.

David Whittle (Director of Strategy, Policy, Relationships and Corporate Assurance) and Elizabeth Sanderson (Strategic Business Adviser) were in attendance for this item

(1)  Eric Hotson introduced the report which set out a new approach for business planning for 2019/20, which would replace the current Directorate Business Plans with a single Strategic Delivery Plan to support medium term strategic and financial planning.

(2)  David Whittle expressed the importance of business planning and said that the proposal to move to a single delivery plan was a large endeavour for the division. He added that there were still opportunities to shape the plan as it moved forward.

(3)  Elizabeth Sanderson explained the strategic plan of action and targets for the single Strategic Delivery plan and said that a main priority would be to look at how best to deliver outcomes with clear accountability and how that could be achieved.

(4)  Resolved:

(a)    To endorse the new approach for business planning to move to a single Strategic Delivery Plan for 2019/20.

To note the contents of the report and the recommendations of the review. 

Rebecca Spore (Director of Infrastructure) was in attendance for this item

(1)  Eric Hotson introduced the report which set out the outcome of the Hackitt Review.

(2)  Rebecca Spore said that indications had been made clear by the government that they were fully supportive of the Hackitt Review report and their intentions to undertake a more detailed statement in autumn 2018 following a consultation in relation to how outcomes could be taken forward in practice. She said that Kent County Council had been liaising with the relevant government department in terms of the Council’s own property portfolio but also had been providing input where appropriate. She said that although the current focus within the report was high-rise residential buildings, the full report would focus on wider implications. She said that the report would be brought to a future meeting of the Committee and regular updates would be provided.

a)    In response to comments and questions, Mr Hotson said that developments would be explored across the country to allow Kent County Council to focus on best practice and deliver good outcomes.

a)    In response to a question, Mrs Spore said that council functions across the country would be explored, and Kent would link in where appropriate with districts’ partners who have  responsibilities in relation to housing.

b)    In response to a question, Mr Hotson confirmed that a report would be brought to a future meeting of the Committee.

(3)  RESOLVED that the report be noted.

To note the report and comment accordingly.

Ben Watts (General Counsel) was in attendance for this item

(1)  Ben Watts introduced the report which provided an update regarding the implementation of the new Data Protection legislation.

(2)  Members of the Committee commended the Data Protection training that was provided by the General Counsel.

(3)  Mr Watts said that extra training sessions would be provided to ensure that all Members had been trained on Data Protection.

(4)  RESOLVED that the report be noted.

To consider and agree a work programme for 2018/19.

Resolved that the report be noted.

To recommend to the Cabinet Member that delegated authority be given to the Strategic Commissioner to execute the procurement activities detailed in the report in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Strategic Commissioning and Public Health.

Vincent Godfrey (Strategic Commissioner) and John Burr (Managing Director, Commercial Services Group) were in attendance for this item

(1)     Mr Oakford introduced the report which asked the Cabinet Committee to recommend that authority be given to the Strategic Commissioner to execute the procurement activities detailed in the report in consultation with the Cabinet member for Strategic Commissioning and Public Health.

(2)     Mr Burr gave detailed information about the history, structure and function of Commercial Services, the type of procurement being considered, the financial implications of the proposed decision and governance arrangements relating to Commercial Services.

(3)     Members were supportive of the decision and congratulated Mr Burr on the success of the company. 

(4)     It  was suggested that further information the on current activities and plans for Commercial Services  be received at a future meeting of the Cabinet Committee.

(5)     Mr Hotson urged Members to visit the new printing works housed in Sessions House. 

(6)     Resolved:

(1)                To recommend to the Cabinet Member that delegated authority be given to the Strategic Commissioner to execute the procurement activities detailed within this report in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Strategic Commissioning and Public Health;

(2)                To receive further information about the current activities and plans for Commercial Services at a future meeting.

To comment on and note the report.

Amanda Beer (Corporate Director Engagement, Organisation Design and Development), Cath Head (Head of Finance - Operations) and Ben Watts (General Counsel) were in attendance for this item.

(1)       Mr Long (Cabinet Lead for Traded Services) introduced the report which provided an update for Members in relation to the governance, management and development of the proposed holding company for KCC’s wholly-owned trading vehicles.

(2)       Questions were asked about the plans in place if key senior appointments could not be made and the process for making such appointments.

(3)       Comments were made about the importance of ensuring that any holding company structure provided value for money and avoided duplication.

(4)       Members also suggested that at least one person with appropriate commercial experience be included in the selection panel for the Chief Executive and Chairman of the holding company.

(5)       Resolved that the report be noted.

To comment on and note the report.

Amanda Beer (Corporate Director Engagement, Organisation Design and Development) and Ben Watts (General Counsel) were in attendance for this item.

(1)       Mr Hotson (Cabinet Member for Corporate and Democratic Services) introduced the report which provided an update for Members in relation to the governance, management and development of the proposed holding company for KCC’s wholly-owned trading vehicles.

(2)       Officers responded to Members’ Questions about the process for the recruitment of key staff; staff morale; key performance indicators; the ICT system being use; the automation of quotations for low level and low risk work; and the requirement for KCC officers to instruct Invicta Law.

(3)       Resolved that the report be noted.