To agree the Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 13 February 2025, as a correct record.

Resolved: That the Minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on the 20 February 2025, be signed and approved by the Chairman as a correct record.

Any interests not already registered

There were none.

A Member asked a question regarding avenues for the views of residents to be considered in applications for Heavy Goods Vehicle (HGV) operator licences, with specific reference to a new application in Fordcombe.  The Portfolio Holder for Cleaner & Greener advised that the Council was limited in how it could comment on these applications. She advised that, in the event that the application was granted and there were issues, residents should contact the Environmental Health team. The Portfolio Holder for Development & Conservation confirmed that there was no planning involvement in the application, and that issues with roads were the remit of Kent County Council. The Council had responded where it could.

Another Member asked a question relating to the consideration of the Land East of High Street, Sevenoaks item at committee meetings, and the need to enter private session. The Portfolio Holder for Improvement & Innovation noted the significant interest of members of the public in the development and advised that debate would be kept in public session as far as possible, with a separate period for discussions concerning any commercially sensitive information. The Leader of the Council praised the extent to which the evolution of the plans for the site had been publicised, and how the public had been engaged. He encouraged public discussion, but noted that the commercially sensitive elements needed to be kept private.

There were none.

The Portfolio Holder for Cleaner & Greener presented the report which highlighted the results of the BIG Waste Conversation survey and set out the recommendations following the first phase desktop review. She explained that operational changes were required to ensure the Strategy’s aims were deliverable and to avoid serious failures to residents. One of the biggest changes would be to expand the frontline waste system. The first phase desktop review (along with two independent reports) found there was a requirement to change the waste collection service to increase recycling rates, reduce residual waste and to sustain operational delivery. The review also set out the necessary operation improvements to start to deliver on the domestic Waste and Recycling Strategy and to comply with upcoming legislative changes. Local Government Reorganisation would have a significant impact on the service and it was desirable to amend the service to align with neighbouring authorities. A Task & Finish Group had been established by the Cleaner & Greener Advisory Committee to investigate this.

The Communications and Consultation Manager gave a presentation regarding the results of the survey. The survey consisted of two parts: a face-to-face representative survey and an online survey. The survey results were broadly similar, expressing strong support for improving the environmental impacts of refuse collection, in particular recycling. The results also showed strong support for glass and food collection and wheelie bins. There were split views on alternate weekly collections, which was the most popular option in the representative survey, but not for online respondents.

In response to questions, the Head of Direct Services explained that national evidence suggested that the best way to reduce black sack waste was to expand recycling options, and that the proposed Food Collection Service would significantly reduce the tonnage of black sack waste. A detailed update on the reusable recycling bags would be presented to a future meeting of the Cleaner & Greener Advisory Committee. The Direct Services team were investigating providing bags of different sizes, and attaching handles to the sides of the bags. The proposals would allow for new efficiencies in collection routing, and the committee noted the positive impact of the review, which had resulted in an underspend in the fuel budget of £70,000. The council had replaced 75 street litter bins with dual recycling/refuse bins in the last two years, and was seeking funding from the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs to continue this process. The officer explained that the Council were collaborating with neighbouring authorities through the Kent Resource Partnership to ensure cohesion across the councils that were anticipated to form a unitary authority in the future. The Cleaner & Greener Advisory Committee Task and Finish Group would also examine data in this respect. Recycling had to be washed by residents before it could be processed in the district as the disposal authority did not undertake cleaning before disposal. It was suggested that a unitary authority may be able to provide a holistic service for collection, cleaning, and recycling, as in Germany.

Public Sector Equality  ...  view the full minutes text for item 82.

The Portfolio Holder for People & Places presented the report, which set out the Community Safety Partnership Strategy and Action Plan for 2025-26. A strategic assessment had been undertaken in November 2024, in partnership with Kent County Council, Kent Fire & Rescue Service, Health, Probation and Kent Police, and other partners. She confirmed that the priorities remained the same as of last year, which included business crime. She explained that the safeguarding priority covered a range of topics including mental health, Prevent, human trafficking and sexual exploitation.

Members discussed the Strategy and Action Plan, noting the targeted support they prioritised for vulnerable people, particularly women. In response to questions, the Chief Officer for People & Places advised that the Partnership were aware of the issues surrounding catapults.

Public Sector Equality Duty

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

Resolved: That the Sevenoaks District Community Safety Partnership Strategy and Action Plan 2025-26, be approved.

The Portfolio Holder for People & Places presented the report which provided a summary of applications that had been received requesting funding during 2025/26. The scheme was widely publicised and the application questions remained the same as last year with the exception of suggested performance indicators. The total budget available for the year 2025-26 was £31,039. In total 27 applications had been received which was an overall grant request of £82,067.50.

Members discussed the report. They noted the importance of the Grant Scheme for the organisations that applied, a number of which were very small. They further noted the importance of the network of voluntary sector groups fostered by the Scheme, and emphasised the value in maintaining this network across the process of local government reorganisation. The Portfolio Holder explained that this was being investigated by the Voluntary Sector Forum, and that the Council hoped to replicate the Better Together website across any future authority. The Council maintained the use of the Social Value Engine, which was detailed on the Council’s website to provide transparency to applicants. Ineligible applicants were signposted to other appropriate sources of funding.

Public Sector Equality Duty

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

Resolved: That the grants, as set out in Appendix C to the report, be approved subject to the conditions set out in paragraph 14 of the report.

This notice was published on 21 March 2025. The decision contained in Minute 83 takes effect immediately. The decisions contained in Minutes 82 and 84 take effect on 31 March 2025.