Visitors and members of the public who are unfamiliar with the building and procedures are advised:

(a)      No fire drill is planned during the meeting.  If the alarm sounds please leave the building quickly without collecting any of your possessions, using the doors signed as fire escapes, and assemble outside where directed.

(b)      Await instructions before re-entering the building.

(c)      Anyone who requires assistance in evacuating the building should make officers aware of any special needs so that suitable arrangements may be made in the event of an emergency.

The Mayor outlined the emergency evacuation procedure.

To approve the Minutes of the meeting held on 27 July 2022 (Minute Nos. 219 – 229) as a correct record.

The Minutes of the Full Council meeting held on 27 July 2022 (Minute Nos. 219 – 229) were taken as read, approved and signed by the Mayor as a correct record.

Councillors should not act or take decisions in order to gain financial or other material benefits for themselves, their families or friends.

The Chair will ask Members if they have any disclosable pecuniary interests (DPIs) or disclosable non-pecuniary interests (DNPIs) to declare in respect of items on the agenda. Members with a DPI in an item must leave the room for that item and may not participate in the debate or vote. 

Aside from disclosable interests, where a fair-minded and informed observer would think there was a real possibility that a Member might be biased or predetermined on an item, the Member should declare this and leave the room while that item is considered.

Members who are in any doubt about interests, bias or predetermination should contact the monitoring officer for advice prior to the meeting.

No interests were declared.

The Mayor said that the highlight of the most recent engagements he had attended was the Faversham Hop Festival and he was pleased to see so many people enjoying themselves.  The Mayor reminded Members that details had been circulated for his Mayor’s Charity Quiz on 18^th November at The Appleyard, Avenue of Remembrance, Sittingbourne.

Due to illness, the Mayor had been unable to attend some engagements and he thanked the Deputy Mayor Councillor Sarah Stephen for attending on his behalf.  He said he was disappointed not to be able to attend the Pride of the Island awards which the Deputy Mayor had attended instead, and she had done a sterling job of representing the Council.

Councillor David Simmons then led the tributes to former Councillor and Mayor of Swale Honorary Alderman George Bobbin who sadly passed away recently.  He said Alderman Bobbin worked hard for his residents, particularly in encouraging the return of a village Police Officer, and he had sat on Boughton-under-Blean Parish Council for nearly 40 years.  Councillor Simmons referred to Alderman Bobbin’s term as Mayor from 2014-15 and said he would be sadly missed.  Councillor Mike Henderson said he had known Alderman Bobbin before he was elected as a Councillor, when he was a customer at Alderman Bobbin’s butcher’s shop, and he was always polite, thoughtful and friendly.  He sent his condolences to family and friends.  Councillor Roger Truelove said he admired Alderman Bobbin for never making political comments and he spoke of his successful term as Mayor and on his time sitting on the Planning Committee.

There was a minute’s silence in memory of former Councillor and Mayor of Swale, Alderman George Bobbin.

The Mayor informed Members he would be bringing forward the Urgent Motion, Item 7 – Condolences to the Royal Family to be heard before the Leader’s Statement.

In proposing the motion, the Leader said he had felt numb at the news of the Queen’s passing.   He said that the Queen had been a constant for so many people, had united generations across the world and she was inspirational.  In seconding the motion, Councillor Alan Horton reserved his right to speak.

A member spoke in support of the motion.

Councillor Horton then spoke of watching the crowds of public on the TV, passing the body in state, which showed the depth of feeling of people throughout the world.  He said the Queen had a role in people’s hearts.  Councillor Horton then sympathised with the Royal Family who had to share their grief in public.

In summing up the Leader referred to the final line of the motion and then said ‘God save the King’.

The motion was then put to the vote and members voted unanimously to support it.

Resolved:

(1)  That the Council joins with the Mayor in sending its sincere condolences to His Majesty King Charles III and the entire Royal family on the death of Queen Elizabeth II. We remember with affection, respect and sincere gratitude the Queen’s lifetime of duty and of tireless service to the people of our country, the Commonwealth and the world. We are consoled in our sadness by the hope which is inherent in the passing of the Crown to a new generation, and we look forward with optimism to the coronation of our new Sovereign. God save the King!

The Leader said that it had been a momentous period since the last Council meeting in July 2022, with the country sadly losing a Queen, and gaining a King and a new Prime Minister.  He referred to the high temperatures during the hot summer and of the highest levels of inflation, not experienced for decades.  In referring to the impact of the cost of living crisis, energy crises and chaotic Government, the Leader spoke of the uncertainty the country were experiencing.

The Leader said that the Government were continuing to expect Councils to respond to proposals with tight schedules without sufficient details and he recounted a recent example of Kent County Council (KCC) being invited by Government to offer an expression of interest in an Investment Zone Project bid without any details being available, forms to provide information continually changing or not being available online, detailed information required at short notice, and liaison with district Councils necessary to collate information.  The Leader said that officers had spent a lot of time working to provide information but whilst criteria had still not been set out, information was then received from Government that there was an expectation that additional development including housing would be built in an Investment Zone.  He said that given the unsustainable levels of housing numbers already forced upon Councils by Government, the bid was therefore not pursued by Swale Borough Council (SBC).  The Leader said that it would be easier and cheaper for developers of those other authorities that were pursuing the grant to push through development, and he spoke about the resource impact on officers collating information.  He was critical of the chaotic processes inflicted by Government and the rampant inflation, economic mayhem, energy uncertainty and constant changes by Government and he warned of the impact it would have on what SBC could do for its residents. The Leader said a miracle was needed.

In response, the Leader of the main opposition group thanked the Leader for his statement and said he agreed with much of what had been said.  He said he had recently spoken with the Council’s Section 151 Officer about the difficult processes required to receive funding from Government.  The Leader of the main opposition group then gave his own example from schools in the area who had similar difficulties due to criteria in applying for grant funding.

Other members were invited to speak, and points raised included:

·         The Government was in chaos yet expected Councils to set their own budgets without providing any information on grant funding they would be allocating;

·         was critical of Government’s mini budget and the resultant doubling of the interest borrowing rates for local Councils;

·         expressed fears over the impact on contracts;

·         spoke of the effect that the current financial issues would have on affordable housing projects;

·         referred to the ever changing goalposts from Government when bidding for funding;

·         was critical of the Government encouraging more housing when public were struggling to afford mortgages;

·         needed to address the impact  ...  view the full minutes text for item 378.

Tabled updated added 11 October 2022

Before inviting Councillor Alastair Gould to speak on the motion, the Mayor said there had been some discussion at the Mayor’s briefing about whether motions should be read out in full.  He said that the Constitution Working Group should consider how motions were put forward and suggested that training and guidance on this could be provided.  He advised that Councillor Gould would read his motion out in full.

Councillor Gould read out the motion in full, as set out in the Agenda.  In proposing it, he said he hoped the motion would start to resolve some of the issues of water supply and treatment. Councillor Lee McCall seconded the motion and reserved his right to speak.

Members were invited to speak and made points including:

·         This was an excellent motion;

·         lack of investment had caused issues;

·         privatising public utilities, including water authorities, had led to a lack of accountability and public being let down;

·         profits had been prioritised instead of delivering on infrastructure;

·         gave examples of leaks in the borough, and lack of action by water companies;

·         agreed with the motion in principle but there was a danger that motions committed resources from SBC;

·         all groups were united in addressing the issues;

·         referred to providing necessary water infrastructure when considering housing development;

·         referred to the information within the tabled update from Southern Water Services (SWS) including how the costs of meeting water demands could not be met by Section 106 funding and would have to be met by an increase in water bills;

·         there were many different aspects of water supply and treatment that needed to be scrutinised as set out in the motion;

·         spoke of the compensation SWS had to pay to customers;

·         independent analysis and meaningful dialogue to address the risks of future planning was necessary;

·         spoke of how the supply of water impacted on agriculture; and

·         praised the research, information and detail that went into the motion and spoke in full support.

In summing up, Councillor Gould said the water motion had focussed mostly on the impact on the planning system but the need for enforcement, regulation and monitoring was also very important.

On being put to the vote, Members voted to agree the motion.

Resolved:

(1)  That the Leader of the Council makes a formal complaint to the Water Services Regulation Authority (Ofwat) over the recent outage of water supply on the Isle of Sheppey , covering both their handling of the emergency , and their failure to act to improve resilience of supply following the 2016 and 2017  outages

(2)  That the Leader of the Council writes to the CEO of Southern Water to notify them of this decision. A copy of this complaint should also be issued to the MP for Sittingbourne and the Isle of Sheppey and the Secretary of State at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

(3)  That the Leader of the Council writes to the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, asking him to review  ...  view the full minutes text for item 379.

The Leader read out and proposed the motion as set out on the Agenda

Councillor Alan Horton raised a point of order that a decision had not yet been made by KCC to cut subsidies and the motion as set out was factually incorrect.  He proposed an alteration that the word ‘anticipated’ be added in the first line of the motion to read ‘This Council believe that the anticipated decision by KCC to cut……’.

In the discussion that followed a member, who was also a KCC member, said that the decision for withdrawal of subsidies to buses in Swale was still being reviewed, but had been decided in some other boroughs. He also drew attention to the penultimate paragraph and said that the word ‘cancel’ did not apply to a decision not yet made.  In addition to adding the word anticipated to the first line, the Leader and the proposed seconder of the original motion accepted a minor alteration to replace the word ‘cancel’ with ‘reconsider’.

The Leader concluded proposing the motion by highlighting the impacts the anticipated decision would have on residents, particularly those that might not be able to meet friends or attend medical appointments.  He said it would be an attack on the young, old and vulnerable and he urged KCC to re-think their anticipated decision and to continue with their bus subsidies.

In seconding the motion, Councillor Tim Valentine reserved his right to speak.

The Mayor invited members to speak. Points raised during the debate included:

·         Full support for the motion;

·         would negate all the work carried out on Active Travel;

·         bus services had already ceased in some parts of the borough;

·         was the Leader and/or officers aware that Stagecoach buses might be able to extend services in Swale if there was a depot and suggested a discussion with Stagecoach was worthwhile?;

·         questioned whether SBC should be telling KCC to spend money on a non-statutory service in difficult financial times for all;

·         KCC were not cutting bus services but subsidies to bus companies who were cutting some bus services as they were not commercially viable;

·         should encourage more people to use buses;

·         98% of bus services were not subsidised and there were other ways members could help;

·         should express our view, as Swale’s KCC members do on our behalf,  but not necessarily tell another authority how to do its business;

·         supportive of Active Travel but questioned whether buses were the best way of moving people around the Borough;

·         tampering with bus services caused commercial bus services to collapse;

·         KCC were not open to exploring options;

·         gave examples round the UK that provided good bus services to their residents;

·         gave possible explanations why buses were no longer viable such as reduced morning and late services so not viable to workers;

·         needed to look at the bus service overall but this was a starting point;

·         sympathetic to motion but could not support as KCC also had to find budget savings and were making difficult choices;

·         investment  ...  view the full minutes text for item 380.

To consider any questions submitted by the public.  (The deadline for questions is 4.30 pm on the Wednesday before the meeting – please contact Democratic Services by e-mailing democraticservices@swale.gov.uk or call 01795 417330).

No questions were submitted by members of the public.

To consider any questions submitted by Members.  (The deadline for questions is 4.30 pm on the Monday the week before the meeting – please contact Democratic Services by e-mailing democraticservices@swale.gov.uk or call 01795 417330).

The Mayor advised that 3 questions had been submitted by members.

Question 1 – Councillor Mike Whiting

While the Council provides lots of services on behalf of council tax payers, the only tangible service the vast majority of our residents receive directly for their council tax is the bin collection service. 

Since we last met, there have been further issues with collections, with some not having bins collected for four weeks, and others forced to leave bins out on pavements for days waiting for collection.

Is the Chairman of the Environment committee happy that this is under control, and that the service can be guaranteed moving forward?

Response – Councillor Julian Saunders, Chair of Environment Committee

Thank you for your question Cllr Whiting. I agree with you that the waste collection service is an important service and that its reliability is a key issue for residents. As Chair of the Environment Committee, I am committed to supporting officers as much as I can in ensuring the reliability of the service.     

Although there are occasional exceptions to consistent bin collection, it is worth emphasising that the overall volume of missed bins is extremely small and that we set a very stringent target for missed bins. The Council contractor makes approximately 90,000 bin collections a week in Swale and across June, July, August and September, figures show that on average just 57 bins were missed per week, fewer than one in a 1,000 weekly. It is also worth emphasising that it costs just under £50 a year to provide the standard waste collection services that a household receives, which I hope you will agree is good value.  

The post pandemic economic environment is challenging for delivering a wide range of public services with particular problems in the waste sector related to staff recruitment, vehicle supply and increasing costs. Weather conditions can also impact, so for example vehicles were more prone to breakdown in the hot weather we had during the summer.  

I am pleased to say that we have had fewer problems in waste collection than many other local authorities. I am also clear that our Officers work hard to ensure that risks to collection are controlled and are very focused on minimising negative impacts on residents. They often have to take tough decisions on whether our contractor should try and return for missed bins or residents be asked to hold onto waste until the next collection. Wherever possible we will opt for a collection a few days later rather than cancel the collection completely, but there are a few occasions where staff resources or vehicle availability don’t allow this. During the current waste contract tendering process officers are also looking at all options to try and increase resilience in the service.  

In conclusion, while I am not complacent about the quality of our waste collection environmental services and do my best to support officers in maintaining services standards in a difficult environment I believe there is plenty to be positive about  ...  view the full minutes text for item 382.

The Leader introduced the report which set out minor amendments to the Constitution and had been discussed by the Constitution Working Group.  He proposed the recommendations which were seconded by the Leader of the main opposition group.

Resolved:

That Council is asked to agree the following constitutional changes:

(1) Changes to the Environment committee areas of responsibility (paragraphs 3.1-3.3 of the report).

(2) An update to the Audit Committee areas of responsibility (paragraphs 3.4-3.6 of the report).

(3) Changes to the table at section 3.6.7.4 of the Contract Standing Orders (paragraphs 3.7-3.9 of the report).

(4) An addition to the list of areas to which the Contract Standing Orders do not apply (section 3.6.2.3 of the constitution) (paragraph 3.10 of the report).

(5) Changes to the preamble to the scheme of officer delegations (sections 2.8.1.13 and 2.8.1.15 of the constitution) (paragraphs 3.11-3.14 of the report).

(6) A further change to the preamble to the scheme of officer delegations (section 2.8.1.5 of the constitution) (paragraphs 3.15-3.16 of the report).

(7) A new delegation to the Director of Resources (paragraph 3.17 of the report).

The Leader introduced the report which set out the second stage consultation results of the Community Governance Review at Lucas Close, Queenborough, and sought Council’s agreement on the next steps.  In proposing the recommendations, he advised members that during the first stage of consultation four out of five residents who responded did not support the changes but at the second stage, all had supported the changes.

In seconding the recommendations, the Leader of the main opposition group thanked the Elections Manager and his team for their work.

A ward member spoke of the long process involved and he praised the Elections Team, saying that the changes were a success for common sense.

Resolved:

(1) That the results of the second stage consultation for the Community Governance Review conducted at Lucas Close, Queenborough – Sheerness Town Council area be noted.

(2) That having considered the results of the second stage consultation, the Council agrees the following:

The Queenborough Town Council boundary is redrawn, so that Lucas Close becomes part of the Queenborough Town Council area and is no longer part of the Sheerness Town Council area.

The new Queenborough Town Council boundary is moved north, from Moat Way to Brielle Way (A249).

The Leader introduced the report and praised Alison Peters, Principal Urban Design and Landscape Officer for her exemplary work.  He proposed the recommendations which were seconded by Councillor Monique Bonney who reserved her right to speak.

A member gave thanks to officers and acknowledged that the request to include the Network Rail bridge on the map had been actioned.

Councillor Bonney thanked the Interim Head of Planning and the Principal Urban Design and Landscape Officer and said that the comprehensive document was very much needed and put SBC on the right course. She added that there had been interesting discussions, particularly with Network Rail, and a recognition of the constraints on traffic.  Councillor Bonney said although more work might be needed, the document provided something to work towards in the future.

The Leader drew attention to a typing error in recommendation (2), which should have read ‘…adoption by Full Council’.

Resolved:

(1)  That the revisions, due to feedback, to the Sittingbourne Town Centre SPD be agreed.

(2)  That the Sittingbourne SPD be adopted by Full Council.

In the absence of the Chair, the Vice-Chair of the Audit Committee introduced the report and referred to the statement from the Chair in the report’s introduction.  He said that the Audit Committee had discharged its responsibility to provide independent and accurate information, there had been robust scrutiny of financial performance of the Council, and it had provided unqualified accounts and value for money.  The Vice-Chair acknowledged that it had been a difficult year both financially and in changes in personnel in Finance.  He thanked the former Financial Services Manager, Phil Wilson and members of the Audit Committee.  The Vice-Chair warned that a difficult year would follow and there would be heavy demands.

In seconding the recommendation, Councillor Angela Harrison praised the former Head of Audit Services, Rich Clark.

A member praised the former Financial Services Manager and also thanked and praised the Mayor who had chaired the Audit Committee the previous year.

Resolved:

(1)  That the Audit Committee Annual Report 2021/22 be agreed.

The meeting was adjourned from 9 pm to 9.11pm.