Minutes:
1. Mr Hill, Cabinet Member for Community and Regulatory Services, provided an update on the following:
(a) The Council had been successful in securing £3.8million from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities’ Traveller Site Fund to implement a range of improvements to the seven gypsy traveller sites owned and managed by Kent County Council.
(b) Kent Libraries was shortlisted for two categories in the National Library awards, including Playground in the children’s promise category, and the Prison Library team in the reading category. Mr Hill was pleased to announce that Ms Elizabeth Gunn and Ms Tracy McKechnie from the Prison Library Teamwon the reading award.
(c) The annual Summer Reading Challenge in Kent libraries would run from Saturday, 8 July until 9 September 2023 where children aged 4-11 would be able to visit Kent Librariesand get involved in “Ready, Set, Read!”. Last year, over 16,000 Kent youngsters took part in the challenge and across the country, the Summer Reading Challenge reached over 700,000 children and families, with approximately 600,000 children taking part through their local library service.
(d) Turner Contemporary was currently exhibiting Beatriz Milhazes: Maresias, a survey of the work of Beatriz Milhazes, widely recognised as one of the leading abstract artists working today. This was her first UK solo institutional exhibition in over two decades and brought together 20 key paintings and 5 works on paper.
2. Mr Murphy, Deputy Cabinet Member for Economic Development, provided an update on the following:
(a) The Employment Task Force was encouraging employers to look at skills and the improvement of recruitment and retention methods. The taskforce was being reviewed to ensure it was relevant to the objectives of the Council.
(b) The Straits Committee was meeting in Dover on 4 and 5 July 2023 and would focus on water conservation, effects of water erosion, preservation, and the quality of water.
(c) Local public opinion regarding potential small modular reactors at Dungeness was being explored and the Council was working closely with local authorities. A possible advantage of the reactors, if they were secured, was hydrogen production and desalination plants.
(d) A meeting took place on 26 June 2023 with further education college principles, chaired by the Leader of the Council. The committee looked at how courses could best provide the skillsets needed by industries in Kent, and a review of the committee was being undertaken.
(e) A South East Local Enterprise Partnership (SELEP) Board meeting was taking place on 7 July 2023 to discuss the government announcement that funding for SELEP would cease in 2024.
3. Mr Murphy responded to the following questions and comments from Members:
(a) A Member asked about progress at the Port of Ramsgate and Mr Murphy said tenders had been issued by Thanet District Council for the reopening of the port.
(b) Asked whether the Employment Taskforce extended to apprenticeships and skills, Mr Murphy said the Employment Taskforce would look at apprenticeships and their funding at greater depth.
(c) Asked whether, in addition to nuclear energy at Dungeness, other sources of renewable energy were being considered, Mr Murphy said as part of the Economic Development restructure there would be a post recruited to, to specifically look at energy infrastructure needs of the county and Ms Holt-Castle confirmed the new post would work closely with the Environment and Circular Economy Team.
(d) Members discussed the advantages and disadvantages of different energy sources and the importance of a water strategy in terms of accessing and utilising different types of water and consideration of the strategies used by building companies and developers. Mr Jones said the Environment & Transport Cabinet Committee was looking at a water strategy and Southern Water attended the Environment & Transport Cabinet Committee on a regular basis. Mr Jones said the Growth and Infrastructure Framework was a useful tool in identifying gaps in infrastructure and requirements for improvement. A Member highlighted the importance of prioritising the reduction of demand for energy such as electricity.
4. Mr Jones, Corporate Director Growth, Environment and Transport, provided an update on the following:
(a) At the National Empty Homes Conference in Birmingham in May, No Use Empty (NUE) Officer, Mr Jake Body, received the Rising Star Award for his work.
(b) The Business Investment Team had received confirmation from government that funding to provide Kent and Medway Business Fund loans would be retained for ten years.
(c) The Growth and Communities team had recently completed the EU funded C-Care – Covid Channel Area Response Exchange project where businesses had been supported in relation to technological resilience and green recovery. The project also provided support and accreditation to Trading Standards Checked member companies.
(d) The Taste of Kent Awards which took place on 15 June 2023 celebrated, across 28 categories, some of Kent’s best food and drink producers and hospitality venues.
(e) Active Kent and Medway launched the Summer Moves campaign which promoted low cost and easy access to new sport or activity across the county over the summer. Free bus travel was promoted over a weekend in June allowing residents to travel to leisure facilities and activities in Kent.
(f) The Primary PE Conference was held on 16 May 2023 where over 100 schools across the county were represented. Feedback had been positive, and the team continued to work with schools to inspire future generations to be more active.
(g) Trading Standards had recently completed a successful doorstep crime campaign in the villages around Gravesend and the team was posting reels on their Instagram and Facebook accounts to give tips to residents on the latest scams.
(h) A Regional Tobacco Co-ordinator had been recruited to the Trading Standards team for the Southeast region. Four Trading Standards trainees had completed Part 1 of their professional exams and four members of staff were undertaking apprenticeships, all of which provided additional resilience and capacity to the team.
(i) Animal Health Officers would be at the Kent County Show in July to ensure legal welfare standards were met and disease was not brought into the county.
(j) Community Wardens had been busy engaging with scam victims and supporting Adult Social Care colleagues with visits to hard-to-reach residents. The impact of the Positive Wellbeing activities undertaken by Community Wardens showed that participants felt 46% less isolated and 38% less lonely, and 59% said their situation had improved. As a result, the positive wellbeing model was being rolled out across the service.
(k) The Prime Minister visited the Kent Scientific Services offices in Kings Hill regarding the targeting of young children by vape manufacturers. Mr Jones congratulated two apprentices within the team, Ms Kirsty Thompson, and Ms Bethany Collins, who had gained their degrees.
RESOLVED that the verbal updates be noted.