Three questions had been received from Members of the public, Sue Caskey, Anthony Judge and Kevin O’Brien-Wheeler, in accordance with paragraph 17 of Part 2 (The Council and District Council Members) of the Constitution. The Chairman took each of the questions in turn and the Portfolio Holder responded to all of the question en bloc.

 

Question 1: Sue Caskey

 

“I recognise the hard choices that you are having to make in the current

financial climate. However, the Council’s grant support for the Citizens Advice

general advice service is critical in equipping, training, supporting and covering the expenses of a volunteer plus maintaining our two office locations.

For volunteers, the office is where we meet, access technology and work

stations, and receive support from supervisors and colleagues that is essential for training and guidance. This is a vital part of the volunteering experience, without which our capacity and delivery would be severely damaged. My question is whether Council Members understand the impact on its most vulnerable residents and Citizens Advice volunteers that will result from the substantial reduction proposed to the level of grant?”

 

Response: Portfolio Holder, People and Places

“Thank you for your question. 

 

Although a difficult decision, the change in funding to Citizens Advice has been made with the utmost care and consideration.  You are quite right in stating that some difficult choices have had to be made in order for the Council to achieve a balanced budget. Budget setting and savings discussions have been ongoing since last year, with cross-party member views and input being sought through the Council’s advisory committees, Cabinet and full Council.   

  

You ask if Members appreciate the impact of the funding reduction and I would respond, that yes, we do. Members and officers have sought to prioritise internal savings, which has seen the Council and notably our staff bear this impact and burden directly, as staffing posts have sadly been cut, services reduced, whilst customer demand only increases. 

  

Then, and only then, have we considered external partners and funding. Citizens Advice, like many other voluntary sector organisations, provides a valued service and even in these difficult times, the grant, will remain the largest grant the Council provides to any voluntary sector organisation. 

  

Both myself and Cllr Maskell are Member representatives for Citizens Advice in North and West Kent and Edenbridge and Westerham. We understand first-hand the services and support offered. However, we are also acutely aware that the finances of Citizens Advice are now at the most stable that they have been for many years. Indeed, we, amongst other funding bodies including Central Government and other local authorities, have been very pleased to contribute to their financial stability over many years and would wish this to continue. 

  

It is evident from your original contact with the Council ahead of tonight’s meeting that office space is important to volunteers in terms of training and guidance, but also places a high-cost burden to Citizens Advice as they lease a number of offices across the District, including Bligh’s Meadow in Sevenoaks. As portfolio holder, I am happy to support and instruct Council officers to enter into conversations with Citizens Advice in terms of utilising and leasing space at our Argyle Road offices, if appropriate, as this may alleviate some of the expensive office and overhead costs, whilst promoting joint working and helping to provide wheelchair access and parking for vulnerable customers.”

 

 

Question 2: Anthony Judge

 

“Do Members appreciate the depth of advice and assistance that is provided

by Citizens Advice volunteers? Volunteers are required to train to a high level relating to each area of advice. For example, volunteers have extensive training on the full range of benefits and other support that may be available to clients. In a case I was heavily involved with last year we helped a Sevenoaks resident through numerous interactions over a 6-month period through two stages of appeal on a PIP claim. This resulted in a backdated payment of over £6,000 and an ongoing award of nearly £5,000 p.a. We provide essential advice and practical help not otherwise available to clients – not just sign posting - often representing those with a range of educational, medical, social or age-related challenges.”

 

Response: Portfolio Holder, People & Places

“Thank you for your question. 

  

I do appreciate the work undertaken by Citizens Advice volunteers and the wider voluntary sector, notably, as on a daily basis, I see how as a Council we support residents and businesses with a range of problems, some which at first may seem complicated, even intimidating.

 

The impact of inflation and energy prices has exposed just how precarious many people’s housing situation and household finances are, with Council officers providing statutory support around homelessness, resettlement

and refugees, domestic abuse, benefits support, disability adaptations in the

home and healthy lifestyles, whilstcontinuing to deliver those Council services that are most important toresidents such as feeling safe and clean streets, alongside maintaining ourleisure centres, protecting the environment and the need to provide morehousing. 

  

I know only too well that Council staff, including our Housing, HERO, Community Safety and Benefits teams, have, like Citizens Advice worked tirelessly and courageously through what can only be viewed as a relentless 3 years since the pandemic and more recently the cost of living. 

  

As a Council we are doing what we can to help meet as much of this demand as possible. That might be through innovating and adapting our customer journey, building on successful joint partnerships and securing external funding. However, difficult choices have still had to be made and as I referred to in my previous

response, it is Council staff and services that have been most impacted by the

recent budget savings.  

  

Through the budget process, we have also had to be mindful to significant savings and service reductions being made by Kent County Council in terms of withdrawing some children’s and youth services, community transport, support to care leavers and other support services, which will have far reaching impacts on the District Council and our resources. 

  

Therefore, we have fought hard to minimise, wherever possible, any impact to our grant commitments to the District Sports and Arts Councils, family and youth

activities, the wider voluntary sector through our Community Grant scheme and

of course, Citizens Advice.  Our Service Level Agreement with Citizens Advice will providean annual grant of £81,540 from 1 April this year and will remainthe largest grant the Council provides to any voluntary sector organisation. 

  

If I may, I thought it would be helpful if I put the grant reduction to Citizens Advice into some broader context against the Council budget setting for 2024-25 being presented to Members and notably how the £1.4m annual impact on our 10-year budget has been addressed.  Nearly £350k of the savings required comes from deleting existing Council staff posts and restructures, with the remainder

being made up from removing, reducing or changing Council services, activities

and events.  

 

Therefore, I would sincerely hope that these savings are neither marginalised or dismissed by any Member of this Council, as it should not be forgotten that they have come at a significant cost, impacting every service and staff member within the Council. In comparison, the grant reductions contribute a total of £63k to the overall £1.4m savings required, with Citizens Advice in North and West Kent and Edenbridge

and Westerham seeing their collective grant reduced by a total of £35k, equating to nearly 2.5% of the total savings required to achieve a balanced budget.”

 

 

Question 3: Kevin O’ Brien-Wheeler

 

“The presence Citizen’s Advice maintains in both Swanley and Sevenoaks is

critical for service delivery. For residents and those with greatest needs our

local offices provide a place for appointments, reviewing and scanning their

documents, and help with online applications. For volunteers, it is where we

access technology, work stations and the support that trains, supports,

mentors and guides us. This is a critical part of the volunteering experience

and service delivery, without which our capacity and delivery would be

severely impaired. Do Members appreciate the impact of the proposed grant cut will have on a service which has been calculated to delivery more than £9

in hard benefit secured for residents for every £1 of support invested?”

 

Response: Portfolio Holder, People & Places

“Thank you for your question. 

  

I have already covered some of the points you raised in your initial contact with the Council ahead of tonight’s meeting regarding office space and opportunities to discuss alternative and possibly more cost-effective solutions with officers, so I will not repeat my earlier response. A key element of a Council’s work, like the hard benefits provided by Citizens Advice, is the social value we provide to our colleagues and the

people we support. 

  

Our services work in many ways to promote good health and wellbeing among the people we support, which can be seen through our investment of over £20 million into a new leisure centre in Swanley and by providing £1.83 million to ensure our leisure facilities in Edenbridge, Swanley and Lullingstone remain open to the public

and with an improved leisure offer. The social value of such investments was reported late last year to the People and Places Advisory Committee by our leisure operator, Everyone Active, and demonstrated that in a three-month period, the Council’s leisure sites generated social value of £914,270, equating to 11,360 participants and a social value of £80per person. 

  

However, such investment has come at a cost. If we cast our minds back to last year, cross-party members were resounding in their support for the Council’s leisure facilities to re-open when the leisure company, Sencio, sadly became another casualty of the pandemic, inflation and rising utility costs. Whilst this Council approved an allocation of £1.83m (and might I add, under the current Administration, reopened the facilities within 5 weeks of closure), it must not be forgotten, that this was money not budgeted for and the difficult choices we have had to make in our 2024/25 budget, including staffing cuts, service reductions and other savings, are as a direct consequence of ensuring much-valued leisure services continue to be provided. 

  

Lastly, I mustn’t forget our HERO service, which continues to provide customers with advice and support on housing, benefits, training, employment, energy efficiency, budgeting and much more. Since April last year, the service has supported over 1,600 customers across the Sevenoaks District and continues to be innovative in delivering a

service against a total core budget of only £64k. The service operates across community venues, including children’s centres, community halls and food banks, providing support directly to communities. In the next few months, I understand from the Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder, it will be launching a new partnership project with Kent County Council and DWP seeking to identify and prevent homelessness at the earliest stages, helping to stabilise future budget pressures on the Council, notably the cost of homelessness and emergency accommodation. 

  

Many of the Council’s services and support, similar to Citizens Advice, add much value to our District.  However, it would be irresponsible to ignore that we are facing unprecedented demand for services and the money available to pay for them is under increasing pressure. In common with many councils across the country, we are not immune to national, unprecedented financial and service pressures. 

  

Representing just over 2% of the £1.4m savings being presented tonight, I would sincerely hope that our commitment to provide an annual grant of £81,540 per

annum for the duration of our 3-year Service Level Agreement with Citizens

Advice in North and West Kent and Edenbridge and Westerham from 1 April demonstrates the value we place on this relationship. 

  

As a financially responsible authority, we have worked proactively to balance our budget, with much of the identified savings only being achieved through savings directly impacting our Council staff and services. I truly hope all Members in attendance tonight and our voluntary sector partners, including Citizens Advice, fully grasp and comprehend this, as it is evident in the savings put forward by our own Council staff and members, that sacrifices have been made to protect the voluntary

sector at the detriment and significant cost to our own staff and services.”