Agenda item

Mr King, Select Committee Chairman, Mr Truelove and Mr Daley were in attendance to speak to the report of the Select Committee.

Mr King introduced the report to Cabinet.  In particular he referred to the following:

      i.        That the committee had achieved a great deal in a short time.  The condensed timetable had been necessary in order that any recommendations from the Committee could be in place before the latest round of EU funding (2014 – 2020) began.

    ii.        That in a time of financial austerity, EU funding was crucial to finance some areas of the Council’s work.

   iii.        The report had cross-party support from the Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat Groups but that regretfully UKIP had withdrawn from the process after the first meeting, citing concerns about the timetable.  To that end he assured members that the procedures followed by the committee in order to manage the timely production of the report were in order and adequate.

   iv.        That the potential funding available over the next 6 years was in the region of £100million and the thrust of the recommendations within the report was that the County Council must work in a way that maximises income and influence.

    v.        That two specific recommendations were worthy of note at this time, firstly ensuring the necessary infrastructure was in place to allow the Eurostar to continue to stop at Ashford as it would be crucial to the future economic success of Kent, and specifically East Kent.  Secondly, the International Affairs Group had long achieved cultural benefits and provided opportunities for school children to learn about Europe.  Building relationships such as these with our European neighbours would, he believed, strengthen our community in financially and politically uncertain global times.

Mr Truelove also spoke to the item, he highlighted:

       i.       That the Select Committee had been a constructive investigation into a complex and often technical matter but that the parties involved had found consensus on the recommendations and he thanked officers and those who gave evidence for helping to facilitate that consensus.  The recommendations were evidence based, it was clear that the County had benefited considerably from EU funding in the recent past and that this could not only continue but increase over the next six years. 

      ii.       It would not only be necessary to maintain the skills already possessed in-house but potentially to add to the skills and resources available to enable the Council to benefit from EU funding.

    iii.       The need to convince businesses in Kent of the benefits of the export market in order that economic growth was not limited to Kent, or even to the U.K.

    iv.       That the recommendations within the report were not affected by the possibility of a referendum on EU membership.  Should a referendum take place the result could not be predicted at this stage, but if it were to signal an exit by the UK it was unlikely that funding streams already accessed would be ceased.

Finally Mr Daley spoke to the item and raised for consideration by members, the following:

      i.        That the report set out in detail, the operational work that was being done by the County Council in order to access funding and identified areas in which this work could expand.

    ii.        That the evidence received from managers had showed a lack of understanding of the international work of the council and of opportunities to access further funding in Europe.  It was crucial that awareness among the councils senior managers was raised.

   iii.        That the terms of reference for the Committee had, amongst other things, sought to identify benefits and disbenefits of the council’s work in Europe but the evidence had shown that the relationship was largely positive.

   iv.        That more work should be conducted to investigate the benefit and cost of continuing and expanding the Hardelot project.

    v.        That in line with comments made previously by Mr King, the connectivity of Ashford to Europe was crucial to the future economic prosperity of the county and particularly the East of the County.

The Leader thanked the Group representatives from the Select Committee for attending and for the production of a comprehensive report.  He acknowledged the financial opportunities inherent in the relationship of the council with Europe and agreed that utilising it efficiently in order to benefit residents and businesses of Kent was critical.  There would be a report to the next meeting of the Council which would include an Executive response to the recommendations and allow a full debate by members.

Cabinet Member for Economic Development. Mr Dance, briefly responded before the full debate at Council, he thanked the committee members for the comprehensive report and believed it would be a useful tool for members and officers.  He was grateful that the recommendations were in line with his thoughts on managing and developing KCC’s relationship with Europe and accessing further funding.  He used as an example of the magnitude of the matter at hand, the Horizon 20:20 fund, the total of which was £78 billion.

It was resolved that Cabinet support the following recommendations to Council:

1.    That the Select committee is thanked for its work and for producing a relevant and balanced document.

2.    That the witnesses and others who provided evidence and made valuable contributions to the Select Committee are thanked.

3.    That the Council’s comments on the report and its recommendations are welcomed