Councillor Gerry Lewin said prayers.

To approve the Minutes of the Meeting held on 21 January 2015 (Minute Nos. 437 - 446) as a correct record.

The Minutes of the Meeting held on 21 January 2015 (Minute Nos. 437 – 446) 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.

Councillors Duncan Dewar-Whalley, Gerry Lewin, Peter Marchington, Colin Prescott, Ken Pugh, Ted Wilcox and Steve Worrall all declared a disclosable non-pecuniary interest in respect of the report on revised administration arrangements for the Queenborough Fishery Trust and Swale Recreation Trust, as they were all Council-appointed Trustees on those two Trusts.

The Mayor invited Members to attend the raising of the Commonwealth Flag at Sheerness Gateway and Swale House on Monday 9 March at 10am.

The Mayor announced that he was arranging A Night at The Dogs with Supper on Thursday 19 March 2015 to raise funds for the  mayoral charities.  Tickets can be booked via the Mayor or his son.

Members were reminded that invitations have gone out for the Civic Service on 22 March 2015.  Please confirm your attendance to the Mayor’s PA.

The Mayor advised that the Senior Democratic Services Officer would be leaving the Council at the end of March, and presented her with flowers in recognition of her service to the Council over the past ten years.  Councillors Roger Truelove and Mike Henderson thanked the Senior Democratic Services Officer for her support and wished her well for the future.

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).

No questions had been received from 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).

Question and Response uploaded 16.02.15.

The Mayor advised that one question had been submitted and a response from the Cabinet Member for Planning had been tabled.  The question and response are attached as Appendix I to the Minutes.

The Mayor invited Councillor Mike Henderson to ask a supplementary question.

Councillor Henderson asked: “Why did the Cabinet not ensure an adequate oversight of this whole major project to avoid the IT failures, the inadequate staffing levels, and the delayed training, all of which have made those of us interested in planning, desperate over the last 12 months?”

The Cabinet Member for Planning advised that the Council only entered into the new arrangements in June 2014, so it could not have been 12 months, and referred the Member to the specific answer provided in the tabled paper.  He advised that questions could be raised at the Joint Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting on Monday 23 February 2015 at Maidstone Borough Council, which was meeting to review the implementation of the planning support service. 

Members may ask questions on the Leader’s Statement.  (To follow).

The Leader introduced his statement.  He advised that the Council was currently displaying a plaque, commemorating the deaths of Bowaters Paper Mill workers during the First World War, outside the Council Chamber.  The plaque had been collected by Council officers from the former Kemsley Arms Public House, and a more permanent location was being investigated with the Royal British Legion.  He considered that the plaque was an important part of the heritage of the Borough, and paid credit to officers for their efforts in safeguarding it for the future.

The Leader of the Labour Group welcomed the update on Thamesteel and asked if the Leader could provide any more detail from Peel Ports on the potential use of the land?  He also welcomed the announcement in the Autumn Statement regarding Junction 5 of the M2, but raised concern that it may take many years to be delivered, if at all.

The Leader agreed that improvements to Junction 5 of the M2 were vital for the future prosperity and regeneration of the Borough, and agreed that it was important to continue pressing for this to happen as soon as possible.  He advised that  Government officials had already attended meetings with Kent County Council and Swale Borough Council (SBC) officers, which he considered demonstrated a commitment from Government to push ahead with this project.

With regard to Thamesteel, the Leader advised that Peel Ports hoped to re-establish the rail head, which the Leader endorsed as it would move freight traffic away from the roads onto the railway.  He advised that the future of the site was a delicate situation, and much of the information was confidential, but he could confirm that the site would be used for industry and job creation, and when further information was available he would brief Members.

The Leader of the Independent Group asked which bodies within the Canterbury and Coastal Clinical Commissioning Group were Councillors able either to attend or participate in?

The Leader advised that he attended the main Board meetings with the Cabinet Member for Health and an SBC officer; he undertook to confirm if the meetings were public and advise the Member.

A Member asked if the Highways Agency’s holding order on the Spirit of Sittingbourne planning application had been removed, or was about to be removed, as the time limit for further information from the applicant was Friday 20 February?  The deadline for public responses to the planning application had now closed and the responses were overwhelmingly negative about the application on planning grounds; would the Leader provide an assurance that no Council officer has subsequently been involved in trying to drum-up support post this deadline to mitigate these responses?

The Leader advised that he had no knowledge of any such action.  He considered that it was not appropriate to comment on a planning application as this would be considered by the Planning Committee.  The holding order was expected to be removed in the near future.

A Member asked the following questions:  ...  view the full minutes text for item 501.

The Cabinet Member for Finance introduced the proposals.  He advised that for the fifth year in a row Swale Borough Council was not increasing its Council Tax precept and considered that this was a record to be proud of. He made the following comments: the Council had increased income and delivered efficiencies to protect frontline services; the budget delivered a strong economy in a fair society; fees and charges were kept to a minimum; Council Tax had been cut in real terms; and services had been improved, despite a £4m loss in Revenue Support Grant to-date, and on-going reductions over the next two years.  He advised that SBC collected Council Tax precepts on behalf of other Authorities and they had announced the following increases: Kent County Council 1.99%; Kent and Medway Fire Authority 1.95%; and Kent Police and Crime Commissioner 1.99%.  He spoke of the need for the Council to develop a new efficiency strategy; be more commercial in its activities; and scrutinise the business case of all future expenditure.  He advised that the level of reserves had been increased to £14m in 2014.  There was no recommended level for Council reserves but it was important for the Council to be able to absorb the costs of one-off events; potentially large regeneration activities; reduction in New Homes Bonus; and the cost of planning appeals, especially given that business rate income is highly volatile.  He referred to the decision to agree borrowing of £3m to build a multi-storey car park as part of the Sittingbourne Town Centre regeneration project, and a further request of up to £6m to enable the Council to support regeneration activities as they arose.  He spoke of the challenges facing the Council over the next four years and considered that all Members had a role to play in their Wards by encouraging the business community to take advantage of the facilities offered within the Borough, which would generate further income through Business Rates. 

He requested that the following words be recorded verbatim:  “Let me say a few words mainly for internal consumption here at the Council, but for external recognition.  And that is about our staff. 

Our staff are the backbone of the Council and that is why, to save money and become more efficient, we did not go down the path to make savings by making staff redundant and thereby lose the skills that we desperately needed. Neither did we cut services.

Like all of the public sector, and much of the private sector, the last few years have been pretty tough for council staff.  Declining budgets, frozen salaries, constant efficiency savings.  Our staff have done a really terrific job.  And I want to put on record here my thanks to them on behalf of the elected Council. 

Morale is good, ideas are still flowing, staff are delivering the savings and the services by going the extra mile.  You are what makes this place special.”

He thanked the Head of Finance, Chief Accountant, Finance Team,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 502.

During consideration of the above item Members agreed to an extension of the meeting to 10.30pm.

The Cabinet Member for Finance introduced the report which set out the Treasury Management Strategy Statement and Investment Strategy 2015 – 2016.

RESOLVED:

(1)  That the Treasury Management Strategy Statement and Investment Strategy 2015 – 2016 be approved.

(2)  That the proposed inclusion of Treasury Bills, highly rated overseas banks for increased deposits, use of the CCLA Property Fund, pooled corporate and absolute return funds to levels specified be agreed.

The Leader introduced the new Corporate Plan to cover the period 2015 – 2018.

RESOLVED:

(1)  That the text at Appendix I of the report be adopted as the Council’s Corporate Plan for the period 2015 – 2018.

(2)  That the table at Appendix II of the report be adopted as the Council’s high-level action plan to sit immediately below the Corporate Plan objectives in 2015/16 and to be reviewed annually thereafter.

(3)  That delegated authority be given to the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Performance to confirm and where necessary amend indicators and targets in the corporate performance indicator set for 2015/16, based on the three-year targets adopted by Council in May 2013 (Minute No. 16, 2013/14).

The Cabinet Member for Performance introduced the pay policy statement which satisfies the requirements of Section 38 of the Localism Act 2011.

RESOLVED:

(1)  That the proposed Pay Policy Statement be agreed for publication on the Council’s website.

(2)  That the information within the Pay Policy Statement be up-dated with actual year end figures before publication.

The Leader introduced the report which sets out proposed common administrative procedures in relation to the Queenborough Fishery Trust and the Swale Recreation Trust.

RESOLVED:

(1)  That the revised administrative arrangements for the Queenborough Fishery Trust and the Swale Recreation Trust be agreed as set out in the attached resolutions in Appendix I and II of the report.

(2)  That the revised appointment arrangements to these outside bodies to be effective from the start of the civic year 2015/16 be noted.

(3)  That two Trustees to be appointed to the Trusts in connection with the new administrative provisions to enable the Trusts to be linked.

The Leader introduced the timetable of meetings for 2015/16.

RESOLVED:

(1)  That the timetable of meetings for 2015/16 be agreed as set out in Appendix I to the report.

Members agreed to the suspension of standing orders in order that the Council could complete its business.

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

(i)    Cabinet – 4 February 2015

The recommendations will be considered as part of the reports on Medium Term Financial Plan and 2015/16 Revenue and Capital Budgets; Treasury Management Strategy Statement and Investment Strategy 2015 – 2016; and Corporate Plan 2015 – 2018.

(i)  Cabinet – 4 February 2015

Members noted the recommendations from the Cabinet Meeting which were the subject of separate reports on the Council agenda.

If more than one nomination is received for either position a secret ballot will be taken at the start of the meeting and the Mayor will declare at this point in the meeting who has been elected Mayor and Deputy Mayor elect for 2015/16.

If one nomination is received for either position the Mayor will announce the nomination and Council will be asked to approve the appointment.

Councillor Ben Stokes proposed that Councillor Anita Walker be elected as Mayor for the Civic Year 2015/16. This was seconded by Councillor Sue Gent.

Councillor Derek Conway proposed that Councillor Lesley Ingham be elected as Deputy Mayor for the Civic Year 2015/16. This was seconded by Councillor Pat Sandle.

RESOLVED:

(1) That the Mayor elect for the Civic Year 2015/16 is Councillor Anita Walker and that the Deputy Mayor elect for the Civic Year 2015/16 is Councillor Lesley Ingham.