To approve the Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 15 July 2024, as a correct record.

Resolved: That the minutes of the Scrutiny meeting held on 15 July 2024 be approved and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

Any declarations not already registered

There were none.

The response was noted.

The Vice Chairman provided an update on the Southern Water meetings he attended on the Chairman’s behalf. It was clarified that they had been invited to the previous January Committee meeting however the utility company did not respond. Southern Water provide a range of problems due to the range of services and the need to protect coastal regions.

It was noted that the marketing department of Southern Water was reviewing how to address Scrutiny committees across the County. It was explained by the Vice Chairman that an employee of Southern Water, who provided a presentation at the meeting, was local to Sevenoaks. If Southern Water had adopted a more flexible approach to address local Councils it would be easier to do so as some areas required a lighter touch than others. Quarterly updates for Kent were being provided with Chief Executives and Senior Leaders were present. It was proposed that as the Vice Chairman now had a number of contacts at Southern Water it may be easier to invite them to meetings in the future or obtain information.

Concerns were raised in respect of the marketing department liaising with Councils and members asked if it was likely a member of Southern Water would be available for future meetings. The Chairman confirmed that correspondence received from Southern Water confirmed this would not be entertained and, although there had been copious correspondence, it was unlikely anyone would attend a meeting.

Members asked if the Vice Chairman could notify Councillors when he would next be attending a meeting with Southern Water to allow for issues to be brought to his attention and raised at the meeting. The Vice Chairman confirmed he would be willing for this to happen and it would allow a forum to raise issues.

He further confirmed that the meetings were not open to the public and the Chairman confirmed they had received a copy of the documentation and presentation from the meetings and saw no reason why these may not be shared.

With the agreement of the Committee, the Chairman brought forward consideration of Item 8 – Questions for the Leader of the Council, Item 6 – Performance Monitoring and Item 7 – Questions for the Portfolio Holder of Cleaner and Greener.

Leader of the Council in attendance to answer questions relating to his role.

The Chairman welcomed the Leader of the Council to the meeting. The Leader provided an outline of his role which included but was not limited to having frequent meetings with Cabinet members, committee Chairmen and Portfolio holders to allow direction and leadership to be provided and to ensure matters of great importance would be addressed efficiently. He also confirmed he had various external roles as well as the internal role laid out.

Members asked about the Leaders hesitancy with regards to the 10 year Council Plan, the Leader affirmed that he was hesitant so as not to appear dismissive as it was his belief that relating the Council Plan to the budget was mistaken as it was not his wish to leave the future Council in a difficult state. The Leader elaborated that such, short term financial planning does not deliver as the budget is a democratic cycle. The Leader acknowledged that his vision for the next ten years may not align with the budget and stable financial circumstances allow for flexibility within the Council. It was agreed it would be sensible to have a longer term Local Plan as evidence would be obtained to support actions due to be taken.

Questions were also asked with regards to effective use of the Scrutiny Committee and whether extra meetings would be possible. The Leader clarified that holding additional Scrutiny meetings would not be possible and the Committee comprised of independent thinkers who would look at things objectively.

Members also asked questions with regards to debate during meetings and policy to ensure results are obtained easier. With regards to policies, the Chairman confirmed that the procurement policy was due to go to Finance and Investment Advisory Committee. The Leader was satisfied with policies that were in place and believes policies were guide which would not restrict the freedom to make effective decisions and there must be a balance between policy and freedom to make decisions, although he agreed that combative debate should be discussed before items go to committee.

When asked about the culture change within the Council, the Leader confirmed that there is a focus on communications as interacting with the residents provides its own challenges. The Leader elaborated that he believed it would not be beneficial to remove the physical InShape magazine from distribution as research has shown it was widely read by residents and information is also available via the  Council’s website, which is frequently updated, as well as select social media outlets. It was stated that the methods of communication must be suitable for the demographic of the residents within the District and he remained open to new ways to reach residents. It was made clear that he was keen to develop communication links with residents as it was believed that this would allow for better consultation, which may provide different outcomes.

Questions were also asked with regards to the reconstitution of Cabinet and the benefits this provides as well as his expectations of Committees. It was established  ...  view the full minutes text for item 57.

The Chairman presented the report which provided an update in respect of performance across the council as at the end of September 2024.

Members raised concerns in respect of the Audit findings as there was a 20% leeway with deadlines and 60% of deadlines were not met. The Chief Officer for Finance and Trading informed members that the upcoming Audit Committee had more in depth information but highlighted that there was not a single, universal reason for not hitting deadlines as each audit is unique and faces separate delays.

The Portfolio Holder for Cleaner and Greener stated that the volume of waste was putting pressure on other services. This resulted in re-direction of staff which resulted in less well performing targets but it was expected to improve in due course.

Resolved: That the report be noted.

Portfolio Holder for Cleaner and Greener in attendance to answer questions relating to her Portfolio.

The Chairman welcomed the Portfolio Holder for Cleaner and Greener, to the meeting. The Portfolio Holder provided an overview of her remit including environmental health, food safety, stray dog kennelling, climate change strategy, CCTV, Safety Advisory Group (SAG), waste and recycling strategy, sink holes and car parking.

Environmental Health formed a large part of the Portfolio Holder’s remit and two Environmental Health positions had been created to aid staff development. Work has been carried out to source alternative monitoring devices to measure particulate matter, Ozone and Nitrous Oxides. Once purchased, they would be installed in targeted locations and would look to Kent County Council (KCC) to provide suitable locations. The Sevenoaks East to West ‘Walking, Wheeling and Cycling’ route was under construction and the Sevenoaks to Otford Walking Wheeling and Cycling route had moved to the design phase and this was another project to help reduce emissions in the District. It was also hoped that the Council would be able to partake in the next round of Solar Together and Warm Homes program to further assist with the reduction of emissions. It was also confirmed that the increase in parking fees had been approved.

In respect of the food safety, the team had an ongoing vacancy which was being filled by an independent contractor and they were assisting with food hygiene inspections until the position was filled. The Portfolio Holder also clarified that they were seeking a new contractor for housing the District’s stray dogs and this was currently at procurement.

The Portfolio Holder highlighted the successes of the CCTV team who monitor 144 Cameras across the district and who work closely with the police. The team were awarded two National CCTV awards and the National CCTV Accreditation. The Council was looking to upgrade the equipment with a view to reducing costs and the Council was also working with Town and Parish Councils to upgrade their equipment also.

Further successes could be seen with the roll out of the reusable green recycling sacks with 30,000 already distributed. They had also obtained an agreement to reinvent the popular commercial waste service and work would be underway soon. It was acknowledged that the vehicle fleet was ageing and there was a vehicle replacement programme in place.

Members asked questions in relation to air quality and the climate change strategy. It was clarified that there were a range of initiatives and plans to help reduce the emissions within the District which included the solar power initiative and reducing the mileage of the waste and recycling fleet by no longer delivering black and clear waste bags. It was further clarified that the Council was seeking to do all it could  to reduce emissions and the Strategy sets out the six priorities and various measures. It was acknowledged that tyre and road wear particles were a significant contaminant and the Portfolio Holder would need to confirm whether the particulate matter monitoring devices would also detect these.

Councillor Neil Baker in attendance.

The Chairman welcomed Councillor Neil Baker who was the Kent County Council (KCC) Cabinet member for Highways and Transport. It was explained that whilst there was a cross over with public rights of way this was not covered by Kent Highways, and similarly blue badges were covered by adult social care. The three areas which were covered by Kent Highways were public transport, maintenance of road and transport issues.

The Cabinet member explained that although potholes were an obvious issue, there was a requirement for an appropriate program for highways asset management. Forward work planning was difficult due to the annual basis of funds renewal. It was confirmed that they had received £50million funding for the 2024/2025 year. £25million had been allocated across Kent which covered 42 miles of new road surface. £11million was used to seal road surfaces to extend the life of existing roads. Reactive repairs accounted for £7million but this was reliant on the different Councils and members of the public reporting issues. £8.6million was allocated towards medium sized road maintenance. The County Council calculated a backlog of £750million to bring all roads up to standard. The £50million did not include works to assets such as tunnels and streetlights. To bring the additional assets up to standard it was estimated that the cost would increase to £1billion and this was a nationwide issue.

The Cabinet member further explained that KCC had limited control over utility works which take place on highways and they had issued approximately 120,000 permits for works each year. The definition of emergency works was set out by regulators which would allow works to be carried out without KCC being notified for two working hours after closure had begun. The County Council would work to minimise the impact however, it was highlighted that they could only improve their own works and not those of utility providers. It was often difficult to decide which method of works would cause the least impact; full road closure or a temporary traffic light system. The speaker provided examples within Kent of delayed scheduled work due to emergencies which included the drainage work in Sundridge.

The approach taken towards gritting roads was changed to target specific areas at an appropriate time. They would do one salt run as this would reduce damage to road surfaces and road markings were not repainted in winter as the adverse conditions would not allow this to be cost effective. KCC would also consider suggestions from the 300 Parish and Town councils within the County however, there was a need to prioritise works in areas which had high levels of personal injury and fatalities.

It was understood that to improve congestion on the roads it must be considered how residents travel, regardless of the fuel type, and ways to reduce the need for personal vehicles in built-up areas. One of the ways was to invest in public transport. KCC vision is to not build new roads, “parts of journeys”, capture cars outside of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 60.

Members discussed the work plan and the Vice Chairman stated that it had been a challenging summer and he was speaking with officers to fix a meeting date for the In-Depth Scrutiny Working Group and a report would be brought to the next meeting.

Resolved: That the work plan was noted.