Minutes:
(1) The Leader opened his report by referring to the financial situation of the Council and said this would be discussed under item 8 - Securing Kent’s Future. He highlighted that a recent report from the County Councils Network set out the widespread pressures faced by local authorities and identified Children’s services as the biggest factor. The Leader said a letter from Southeastern Leaders had been sent to the Chancellor setting out the case for support and the Council had committed to two pathfinder projects, the Fostering Recruitment and Retention Programme and, if selected, a southeastern regional care cooperative. He said these were important long-term steps towards addressing some of the challenges in children’s services.
(2) Mr Gough turned to the issue of Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children (UASC). He said the Council awaited the outcome of judicial review proceedings against the Home Secretary and it remained a top priority of the Council to ensure that the National Transfer Scheme (NTS) was working effectively as soon as possible. In the last three months over 1,200 UASC were brought into or referred to the Council’s care, a rate far higher than the NTS currently operated and this left huge pressures on reception, fostering, and accommodation capacity.
(3) The Leader said asylum and migration issues remained a challenge for local government. Although the use of Afghan bridging hotels (of which there were three in Kent) had come to an end, the reallocation of dispersed asylum seekers along with continuing arrivals added to the pressure. Mr Gough said Kent district, county and unitary Leaders were carefully considering a joint response to the government’s consultation on safe and legal routes for refugees.
(4) The Leader expressed his gratitude for the exceptional work of officers as a result of Storm Ciaran. He explained that over the last year the Council’s highways service responded to almost 35,000 pothole enquires, more than three times the level of the previous year. Under the pothole blitz programme, in operation since the summer, four and a half miles of patching works had been completed along with another mile of works programmed to be done by the end of this month. Mr Gough stressed that the Council continued to press government for further funding and was committed to securing the maximum value from its programmes to address the pressures on the Council’s roads and assets.
(5) With winter approaching, Mr Gough said the pressures on residents was increasing. He referred to the Helping Hands Scheme, the Financial Hardship Programme, and the Household Support Fund, and highlighted that in addition to these programmes, areas such as debt advice and better referral between agencies were being developed to support residents.
(6) Mr Gough said the Council continued to support businesses in the county and was working with local Members of Parliament and partners in Dartford and Ashford to make the case for the return of Eurostar services in Kent. He was delighted to attend the opening of the link road at Panattoni Park in Aylesford and said it was tremendous that a company of Panattoni’s scale of operations in the field of development and logistics was making such a significant commitment to Kent. He referred with concern to the proposed job cuts at Pfizer at Discovery Park and said Discovery Park was a site of exceptional strategic importance and potential for Kent. Mr Gough said the Kent and Medway Business Fund (KMBF) was being relaunched and continued to make an important contribution in supporting business in the county.
(7) Following a long period of hard work and lobbying, the Department for Education had announced a proposed two school solution for secondary provision on the Isle of Sheppey involving the Leigh Academy Trust and EKC Schools Trust. Subject to consultation this should take effect by September 2024. Mr Gough paid tribute to Mr Love, Mrs Prendergast, officers, and local Members who had pushed hard for resolution and championed the needs of the island and Swale as a whole.
(8) October saw the launch of Making Space for Nature, Kent and Medway’s nature recovery strategy which aimed to draw on widespread partner and public participation to help tackle habitat loss, protect ecosystems and to ensure diversity and strength in the county’s natural environment. He paid tribute to Miss Carey for her work in this area and elsewhere. Miss Carey had recently stood down as Kent’s first dedicated Cabinet Member for Environment.
(9) The Leader of the Labour Group, Dr Sullivan, thanked officers for their work in response to Storm Ciaran. She commented on the recent cabinet changes within central government and the Council and joined the Leader in thanking Miss Carey for her dedication in her role as Cabinet Member for Environment.
(10) Dr Sullivan welcomed the announcement for the proposed new schools on the Isle of Sheppey and congratulated all the staff involved. She commented on the work and time required to build the case with central government and felt there was a shared frustration with the Leader regarding this.
(11) Dr Sullivan turned to family hubs and highlighted the need to empower officers who were working across services to help residents. Dr Sullivan questioned whether family hubs were appropriate for young people and teenagers and referred to the Family Hubs policy by Rt. Hon Dame Andrea Leadsom and the early years review – ‘The best start for life: a vision for the 1,001 critical days’. She questioned whether young people were being listened to and whether a service was bring provided for them.
(12) Regarding children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), Dr Sullivan commented that too many children were excluded from being able to develop in appropriate settings and that there were too few case workers to support a growing number of families.
(13) Mr Lehmann, Leader of the Green and Independent Group, spoke about climate change. He said the summer saw record breaking heat across the globe and September was nearly one degree Celsius above the 1991-2020 average temperature for that month, and hotter than the average July during the years 2001–2010. He commented on the government’s approach to the climate emergency and referred to the new licence to extract oil from Rosebank which he said when burnt the 500 million barrels of oil extracted from this site would be the equivalent of running 56 coal-fired power stations for a year.
(14) Mr Lehmann also commented on the changes that had taken place in the Cabinets of central government and the Council and referred to the appointment of the Foreign Secretary in relation to Brexit and Eurostar. He said Brexit and the selling of the UK Treasury’s stake in Eurostar were catastrophic decisions that had led to the county being deprived of its international rail stations for the past three years. Mr Lehmann hoped that the latest push to lobby for the resumption of services from Ashford and Ebbsfleet would be successful.
(15) Mr Lehmann also welcomed the two new schools on the Isle of Sheppey, recognised the considerable part played by Swale Borough Council in the negotiations and noted the common purpose held across parties. Mr Lehmann highlighted, with concern, that a consultation document suggested that the capacity of the two new schools would be lower than at Oasis Academy. Given that many children on the Isle of Sheppey attend school in Sittingbourne, he asked for reassurance that these figures assumed that demand for the two new schools would be greater than the current demand for places at Oasis Academy.
(16) Mr Lehmann echoed the Leader’s gratitude to the Council’s highways teams for their excellent response to Storm Ciaran.
(17) Finally, Mr Lehmann referred to the situation in Gaza and said a ceasefire was needed for people to receive the sustained help they required.
(18) Mr Hook, Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group, also expressed sympathy to everyone effected by the events in Gaza.
(19) Mr Hook also paid tribute to the staff who had worked to minimise the damage caused by Storm Cirian and said it was the right decision to adjourn the Full Council meeting on 2 November. He commented, however, that most organisations in Kent had carried on with business as usual that day through remote working and he condemned the national legislation that did not allow local government to transact its business virtually.
(20) Turning to UASC and fostering Mr Hook said that his group supported the investigations being made by the Council regarding a new children’s home in Kent. He commented on the number of foster carers who were stopping fostering each year and questioned what actions the Council was taking to support them. Mr Hook said he welcomed some information on whether the rates of pay for foster carers had increased in line with inflation.
(21) Mr Hook joined the Leader in welcoming The Kent & Medway Local Nature Recovery Strategy. He commented that the solution to the environmental problem required a local approach and, in addition to helping nature and wildlife, a resilient nature would provide the residents of Kent with protection against floods and droughts.
(22) Mr Hook welcomed the announcement regarding the two new schools on the Isle of Sheppey and queried whether there was a lesson to be learnt in relation to the size of the school that was being disbanded, and questioned whether a school of that size could develop a real sense of community. He hoped that the two new smaller schools in Sheppey would have a better sense of community and better-quality outcomes.
(23) Mr Hook referred to the changes that had recently taken place within the Council’s Cabinet and commented that many Members of the Council opposed the potential closures of Household Waste Recycling Centres in Kent. He condemned the closures and said they would add to the cost of living and result in more damage to the environment and more fly tipping.
(24) The Leader responded to some of the points that were made. Regarding the new schools on the Isle of Sheppey Mr Gough agreed with Mr Lehmann’s comments about the Council and Swale Borough Council having a common purpose. He said the Council worked cross party on these matters and highlighted the importance of recognising that all parties sought the best outcomes for the children and young people within the Isle of Sheppey, Sittingbourne and across Swale. Mr Gough said the Council should be proud, as its role in education was not as directive as it once was, that it was able to lobby and work with partners to contribute towards what he believed was a better outcome.
(25) In relation to Mr Hook’s comments about school size he said there had been a tendency for schools to get larger with most secondary schools having six forms of entry. Mr Gough recognised there were some challenges faced by very large schools and it was a case of finding the right balance. He said that the Council would continue to support new schools and consider the Commissioning Plan for Education Provision but the issue of what the appropriate size was would continue to arise.
(26) The Leader responded to the points raised about foster carers. He said the Council faced the same pressures as other local authorities and had always ensured that payments to foster carers were in line with recommendations from the Department for Education. The Leader reiterated the Council’s commitment to the Fostering Recruitment and Retention Programme to help address the pressures within children’s services and highlighted the additional challenge the Council faced in terms of the number of other local authority young people placed in the county and the scale of UASC arrivals.
(27) Responding to Dr Sullivan’s remarks on SEND Mr Gough said extensive recruitment of case workers had been a significant and important focus. He stressed the importance for staff to be able to do their job effectively and, most importantly, that the experience of families going through the SEND process was improved.
(28) In terms of Family Hubs Mr Gough agreed that ‘The best start for life: a vision for the 1,001 critical days’ was a good philosophy and an important document. He was pleased that the Council had the opportunity to be one of the Family Hub trailblazers and recognised the importance of support for young people. He reminded Members that the Council still maintained, and was committed to, a scale of support for young people that many other councils had ceased to provide.
(29) RESOLVED that the Leader’s report be noted.