To agree the Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 17 March 2022, as a correct record

Resolved: That the Minutes of the meeting of Cabinet held on 17 March 2022, be approved and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

Any interests not already registered

There were none.

There were none.

There were none.

The Portfolio Holder for Cleaner & Greener presented the report which set out the Council’s Movement Strategy. The Cleaner & Greener Advisory Committee had also considered the same report and supported the recommendation.

The Planning Policy Team Leader advised that theaim of the Strategy was to co-ordinate all the issues and needs to ensure that movement across the District was easier, healthier, safer and sustainable. The Strategy showed that the Council wanted to work proactively in the right partnerships and set clear priorities regarding all movement. The document also set clear priorities for the Council to work towards and set goals that were achievable and measurable.

The strategy set out priorities for movement for the following 5-10 years. These included health and wellbeing, cycling and walking, public transport and sustainable movement.

Public Sector Equality Duty

Members noted that consideration had been given to impacts under the Public Sector Equality Duty.

Resolved: That the Movement Strategy, be adopted.

The Portfolio Holder for Cleaner & Greener presented the report which set out the Net Zero 2030 Actions for 2022-23. The Net Zero 2030 actions were revised annually to take account of new opportunities, innovations and feasibility. The Cleaner & Greener Advisory Committee had considered the same report and supported the recommendations.

Members were advised by the Net Zero Project Co-ordinator that the Net Zero Member Working Group and the Net Zero Officer Working Group were involved in drafting the actions to ensure they reflected the aspirations and priorities of the Council.

The actions for 2022-23 incorporated the agreed themes and had been organised into seven categories. Officers would continue to assess and implement the actions via the delivery projects and investigate new opportunities to deliver the Net Zero 2030 commitment.

Public Sector Equality Duty

Members noted that consideration had been given to impacts under the Public Sector Equality Duty.

Resolved: That the Net Zero Actions for 2022-23 as set out in Appendix A of the report, be agreed.

The Portfolio Holder for Finance & Investment presented the report which set out the financial results 2021/22 to the end of January 2022. 

The Deputy Chief Executive and Chief Officer – Finance & Trading further explained the report, including that the largest favourable variance was for the Income Compensation Scheme and the largest unfavourable variances were for homelessness and Direct Services. 

He advised that that the end of year position was forecast to be very close to a balanced position, but noted that this was subject to change until the final outturn position was known.

Resolved: That the report be noted.

The Portfolio Holder for Finance & Investment presented the report which set out the revenue and capital carry forward requests.

The Deputy Chief Executive and Chief Officer – Finance & Trading advised that to help facilitate a shorter final accounts process the requests for specific unspent budgets to be placed in an earmarked reserve for spending in a subsequent year had been brought forward rather than waiting until the final outturn results were available. He advised that there were two specific revenue carry forward requests, with the implications of not carrying forward these requests as set out in Appendix A of the report.

There were also a further two capital carry forward requests and the implications of not carrying forward these budgets were set out Appendix A.

Public Sector Equality Duty

Members noted that consideration had been given to impacts under the Public Sector Equality Duty.

Resolved: That

a)    The revenue carry forward requests totalling up to £771,000 as set out in paragraph 3 of the report be approved; and

b)   The capital carry forward request totalling £731,000 as set out in paragraph 4 of the report be approved.

The Portfolio Holder for Cleaner & Greener presented the report which summarised the outcome of the public consultation of the Air Quality Action Plan (AQAP) 2022- 2027. As a result of the consultation, a number of changes to the draft were proposed and summarised within the report.

The Environmental Health Manager advised that appropriate amendments had been made to the draft AQAP to reflect comments made by stakeholders. Throughout the consultation period, social media was used to promote the consultation including the use of paid promotion.  The District Council received 27 responses to its consultation. A response was received from DEFRA on 18 March 2022 and the AQAP had been amended to reflect these comments.

The Environmental Health Manager answered questions from a Member and explained that there were no coercive elements to the proposed Action Plan.

Members were advised that the AQAP was a working document and would be subject to regular revision and update. A dedicated Air Quality Officer had been recruited to support the Environmental Health Team and Council would be asked to delegate authority to the Environmental Health Manager following consultation with the Portfolio Holder to ensure it remained relevant and effective for its duration.

Public Sector Equality Duty

Members noted that consideration had been given to impacts under the Public Sector Equality Duty.

Resolved: That it be recommended to Council that

a)     the results of the statutory consultation, be noted;

b)     the proposed changes made to the draft Air Quality Action Plan, following consultation, be noted;

c)     the adoption of the Air Quality Action Plan and its publication, be supported; and

d)     the Environmental Health Manager be delegated authority to agree future amendments and changes to the Air Quality Action Plan following consultation with the Portfolio Holder, to ensure it remained relevant and effective for its stated duration.

The Portfolio Holder for Cleaner & Greener presented the report which proposed a new and updated Enforcement Policy. The Cleaner & Greener Advisory Committee had considered and supported the same report.

The Environmental Health Manager advised that the policy outlined the statutory and non-statutory duties of the Environmental Health Team and how they would be carried out. The updated policy also reflected various changes to legislation and incorporated the return of environmental health to Sevenoaks as an ‘in house’ service.

Members considered the report.

Public sector equality duty

Members noted that consideration had been given to impacts under the public sector equality duty.

Resolved: That it be recommended to Council that the contents of the Environmental Health Enforcement Policy be noted and its adoption, be supported.

The Portfolio Holder for Cleaner & Greener presented the report which advised Members on the refurbishment and re-development plans for the Council’s main Dunbrik Depot. Members were advised that the Cleaner & Greener Advisory Committee had also considered the same report and were in support.

The Head of Direct Services advised that the continued development and refurbishment of the Dunbrik depot was vital to improving internal infrastructure, and modernising staffing facilities to ensure the depot was fit for purpose and future proofed for essential statutory front line services. The proposed refurbishment and development would also free up further space required for any future infrastructure development, such as electric vehicle charging.

Public Sector Equality Duty
Members noted that consideration had been given to impacts under the Public Sector Equality Duty.

Resolved: That the Dunbrik Development Plan as proposed, be approved.

The Portfolio Holder for Cleaner & Greener presented the report which advised Members on the operational change to the waste and recycling collection rounds and proposed a new collection round working model. Members were advised that the Cleaner & Greener Advisory Committee had considered the same report, noting an issue with fly tipping, but nonetheless were in support of the proposals.

The Head of Direct Services advised that the reconfiguration of the rounds aimed to maximise efficiencies and reduce fuel and carbon emissions, whilst meeting weekly waste collection needs and delivering excellent customer service.

The collection round review had been undertaken within the context of significant changes to housing/population growth, road and traffic alterations across the District, and changes to equipment and vehicles. It was estimated that a more efficient and effective waste collection round would reduce the total amount of vehicles used, reduce fuel consumption and overall reduce the Council’s carbon footprint by approximately 5%.

The new collection round approach would give residents the same collection day for all waste services, garden, clinical, bulky etc. The new collection round approach would result in an estimated annual saving of £126,000.  In response to a question the Head of Direct Services explained that the new model would more easily allow rounds to catch up in the event of a missed collection day.  He explained his view that the proposals would bring about an improvement in service.

Public Sector Equality Duty

Members noted that consideration had been given to impacts under the Public Sector Equality Duty.

Resolved: That the Waste & Recycling collection round review proposal, be approved.

The Portfolio Holder for Cleaner & Greener presented the report which updated Members on the annual review of parking management (fees and charges) for 2022/23. It proposed for consultation, changes to the tariffs in on and off-street parking schemes. The Cleaner & Greener Advisory Committee had considered the same report and were in support of the recommendations.

The Head of Direct Services advised that the proposals in the report had been developed to support the local economy,  further advance the District Council’s move to Net Zero 2030, and embraced the most up-to-date thinking on parking management. The proposal was expected to meet the increased income assumptions agreed by Council as part of the 10-year budget on 22 February 2022. This gave a total pressure of £207,639, which would need to be generated within the financial year 2022/23.

Public Sector Equality Duty

Members noted that consideration had been given to impacts under the Public Sector Equality Duty.

Resolved: That the car park management proposal, be considered and approved prior to consultation.

This notice was published on 22 April 2022. The decisions contained in Minute 100 and 101 take effect immediately. The decisions contained in Minute  98, 99, 104, 105 and 106, take effect on 2 May 2022. The decisions contained in Minute 102 and 103 are references to Council.