The Mayor’s Chaplain said prayers.

To approve the Minutes of the Meeting held on 26 November 2014 (Minute Nos. 359 - 369) as a correct record.

The Minutes of the Meeting held on 26 November 2014 (Minute Nos. 359 – 369) 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 or their spouse, civil partner or person with whom they are living with as a spouse or civil partner.  They must declare and resolve any interests and relationships.

The Chairman will ask Members if they have any interests to declare in respect of items on this agenda, under the following headings:

(a)          Disclosable Pecuniary Interests (DPI) under the Localism Act 2011.  The nature as well as the existence of any such interest must be declared.  After declaring a DPI, the Member must leave the meeting and not take part in the discussion or vote.  This applies even if there is provision for public speaking.

(b)          Disclosable Non Pecuniary (DNPI) under the Code of Conduct adopted by the Council in May 2012.  The nature as well as the existence of any such interest must be declared.  After declaring a DNPI interest, the Member may stay, speak and vote on the matter.

Advice to Members:  If any Councillor has any doubt about the existence or nature of any DPI or DNPI which he/she may have in any item on this agenda, he/she should seek advice from the Director of Corporate Services as Monitoring Officer, the Head of Legal or from other Solicitors in Legal Services as early as possible, and in advance of the Meeting.

No interests were declared.

The Mayor thanked everyone who bought tickets for the Meat Hamper raffle and helped to raise £200 in aid of the Mayor’s Charities.

The Mayor announced that Swale Borough Council had been presented with a framed copy of the Donald John Dean VC Scroll by his daughter, Mrs Susan Bavin.  The scroll was presented to Donald Dean by the District Councils of Sittingbourne Urban, Milton Regis Urban and Milton Rural on the 15 February 1919 and has been given to the Council following the Commemoration Event held on 5 December 2014.  

Members were reminded that invitations have gone out for the Civic Dinner, Cabaret and Dance “The Poppy Ball” on Friday 20 February 2015 at Merlins Entertainment Complex.  Tickets can be booked via the Mayor’s PA.

A Member recalled that a Bard’s Chair had been gifted to the Council and asked officers to seek its return to Swale House.

Councillor Mike Haywood advised that after 12 and a half years as a Borough Councillor he was resigning his position to take up a new post at the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham.  Councillor Adam Tolhurst would become the acting Leader of the Labour Group.  He wished all Members well for the future.

Councillor Adam Tolhurst thanked Councillor Haywood for his work on the Council and his role as Leader of the Labour Group.  He referred to Councillor Haywood’s chairmanship of various Committees and his experience, intelligence and political nous.

The Leader, Cabinet Member for Regeneration, and Leader of the Independent Group expressed their disappointment at Councillor Haywood’s resignation and the loss this would be to the Council, but offered their congratulations and best wishes to him in his new role.

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

There were no questions submitted by the public.

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

Questions published 4.30pm on Wednesday 14 January 2015.

The Mayor advised that 17 questions had been submitted by Members. The questions, with responses from the appropriate Cabinet Members, were tabled at the meeting. These are attached as Appendix II to the Minutes.

The Mayor invited Members to ask a supplementary question.

There were no supplementary questions to questions one, two, five, six, fourteen and sixteen.

Supplementary to Question Three

Councillor Walker asked: “What more does the Cabinet Member for Localism think can be done to support cultural organisations?”

The Cabinet Member for Localism, Sport, Heritage and Culture advised that a new cultural grants scheme was being launched from 22 January 2015 to assist small groups with grants of up to £1k for qualifying applications, and further information would be circulated to Members.

Supplementary to Question Four

Councillor Tolhurst asked: “Can I see a copy of the risk register?”

The Cabinet Member for Regeneration confirmed that it was a public document that was reviewed at the cross-party regeneration meeting, and he would ensure the Member was sent a copy.

Supplementary to Question Seven

Councillor McCusker asked: “Is the Cabinet Member for Localism aware that on 3 February 2014 the General Purposes Committee requested that a letter be sent to the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) – was the letter sent, has the Council received a reply and can we see a copy?”

The Cabinet Member for Localism, Sport, Heritage and Culture confirmed that a letter was sent to DCLG and the reply had been circulated to Members.  He advised that the Electoral Commission had recently issued a report on Standing for Election in the UK containing a number of recommendations which the Government would consider in due course.

Supplementary to Question Eight

Councillor Winckless asked: “Does the Cabinet Member think that taking nearly a year to purchase a single property with the increasing number of homeless people cuts the ice?”

The Cabinet Member for Community Safety and Health spoke as Lead Member for Housing in the Cabinet Member’s absence.  He offered to request a more detailed response from the Cabinet Member, but acknowledged that it had taken a long time due to various issues and it was important to concentrate on moving forward now.

Supplementary to Question Nine

Councillor Harrison asked: “Would the Cabinet Member for Environmental and Rural Affairs give serious consideration to piloting a zero tolerance approach in one of the worst affected areas for street cleanliness, as highlighted by the NI 195 surveys?”

The Cabinet Member for Environmental and Rural Affairs confirmed that he would consider this.

Supplementary to Question Ten

Councillor Worrall asked: “Only a fifth of residents hit by the Bedroom Tax who have applied to downsize so far have been rehoused, does he think this is fair?”

The Cabinet Member for Community Safety and Health spoke as Lead Member for Housing in the Cabinet Member’s absence.  He acknowledged that it was not fair, but referred the Member to the response provided in the tabled paper which set out what the Council  ...  view the full minutes text for item 442.

Members may ask questions on the Leader’s Statement. 

Leader’s Statement uploaded (20.01.15)

The Leader introduced his statement and welcomed questions from Members. 

The Leader of the Labour Group made the following comments: the Council was making an enormous amount of money from distribution centres and supermarkets, and whilst the increase in jobs was welcome, they were often low-paid, insecure and temporary, and there were no plans to improve the jobs available to local people; I would urge the Leader to change the terms of engagement with acute trusts; the work of the Cabinet Member for Environmental and Rural Affairs, and all Members who have been involved in the waste contract process, is commendable, and it is due to the success of the collaborative effort shown by Members over many years; and he challenged the Leader on the lack of ambition regarding housing, with people being pushed into private sector accommodation and a poorer standard of properties. 

The Leader advised that housing issues remained a personal priority and he would never lack ambition to improve housing.  He spoke of the excellent work of the Housing Team and Cabinet Member for Housing with 48 families prevented from becoming homeless in December 2014.  With regard to jobs, he advised that he was meeting with the Director of Regeneration and the Leader of Kent County Council (KCC) to discuss how Swale Borough Council could work closer with KCC to improve skills, education and job opportunities in the Borough.  He explained that Swale had seen 800 new jobs over the past year, the largest growth in manufacturing industry in Kent, and the highest number of apprentices in Kent.

The Leader of the Independent Group made the following comments: nationally and locally there was the same issue of income tax receipts declining due to an increase in low-paid and part-time jobs and zero hours contracts, the Council needed the find ways to bring quality jobs into Swale; no mention was made in the statement of the Council’s involvement with Canterbury and Coastal Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and whether we are seeking improvements in health for the eastern end of the Borough; and it was over a year since the Council had agreed to purchase a property for use as temporary emergency accommodation and a similar property was urgently required in Faversham and the Isle of Sheppey and a quick answer was needed.

The Leader explained that the purchase of the property for temporary emergency accommodation had taken a while due to legal issues and the project would be evaluated and reviewed before making further decisions.  He undertook to include further information on the regular meetings held with Canterbury and Costal CCG in the next statement.  He congratulated the business sector for the growth in jobs and the success of businesses in Swale over the past year.

A Member welcomed the increased recycling figure and asked for a breakdown of the recycling between food waste and dry recycling at year end.

The Leader confirmed that these figures would be made available, and he hoped that the recycling rate would  ...  view the full minutes text for item 443.

The Cabinet Member for Finance introduced this report which sought approval for the Tax Base for 2015/16 and proposed the recommendations, which were seconded by the Cabinet Member for Performance.

The Leader of the Labour Group expressed regret that those parishes which were subject to higher numbers of new homes were also receiving less services.

A Member commended the work of officers and their tremendous efforts which results in a high collection rate.

RESOLVED:

(1)  That the report of the Head of Finance for the calculation of the Council Tax Base for the year 2015/16 be approved.

(2)  That pursuant to the Head of Finance’s report and in accordance with the Regulations made under the Local Government Finance Act 1992 (The Local Authorities (Calculation of Council Tax Base) Regulations 1992 (as amended)) and the Local Authorities (Calculation of Council Tax Base) (England) Regulations 2012 (SI 2012:2914), and the Local Government Act 2003, the amount calculated by Swale Borough Council as its Council Tax Base for the whole area for the year 2015/16 shall be 42,869.49.  The Council Tax Base for the individual Town and Parish Councils within the borough area shall be itemised in Appendix II to this report.

The Chairman of the Audit Committee introduced the report which reviewed the mid-year outturn position on treasury management transactions for 2014/15, including compliance with treasury limits and Prudential Performance Indicators.  Councillor Pat Sandle proposed the recommendations, which were seconded by the Leader.

RESOLVED:

(1)  That the performance information in the report be noted.

(2)  That the possible reduction in our minimum acceptable credit returns for bank deposits be noted.

Council is asked to note the recommendations from the following meetings:

(i) Cabinet – 3 December 2014

(ii) Audit Committee – 10 December 2014

(i)  Cabinet – 3 December 2014

RESOLVED:

(1)  That the recommendations in Minute No. 384 (Medium Term Financial Plan and 2015/16 Budget) be approved.

(ii) Audit Committee – 10 December 2014

Members noted the recommendations from the Audit Committee which were the subject of a separate report on the Council agenda.