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

Statement added to agenda 27 July 2015.

The Leader presented his Statement to Members which gave an update on the Local Government Association (LGA) Conference; LGA – General Assembly; LGA – Senior Management Changes; Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) Pilot Update; Swale CCG recruitment of young people to take access courses in social and health care;  and Community Safety Unit update. 

The Leader advised that since the Statement had been written, the Chairman elect for South East England Councils (SEEC) had been agreed as Councillor Paul Carter, the Leader of Kent County Council (KCC).  In respect of senior management changes at the LGA, he advised that Mr Mark Lloyd would replace Caroline Downs.

The Mayor invited Members to ask questions.

The Leader of UKIP advised that he had also attended the LGA Conference, and asked a number of questions:  could the Council look at developing the night-time economy? Was the Council ready for change, when another planning application had gone to appeal for non-determination?  He welcomed the update regarding the FPN  pilot, and asked if it was possible to expand it? In respect of the community safety update, he asked whether the reduction in incidents reported to the police was a case of under-reporting; what could be done to encourage residents to report; and what was meant by renewed focus?

The Leader responded by advising that Councillor Ken Pugh would respond to him direct regarding the Community Safety Update.  In respect of the non-determination of planning applications, the Leader advised that this was an historical problem and he was confident that recent applications would be determined within time limits.  Regarding the FPN update, he undertook to ask officers to look into this.  In respect of the question regarding the night time economy, the Leader advised that this was being dealt with as part of plans for the development of Sittingbourne Town Centre.

The Leader of the Labour Group advised that he had also attended the LGA Conference, where devolution was a key theme.  He asked the Leader for his views on the possibility of a Combined Authority for Kent and Medway and a new Kent and Medway Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP).  He also suggested that the Statement should have included an update regarding Operation Stack.

In respect of Operation Stack, the Leader advised that the Council was limited in what it could do.  However, the suggestion from Gordon Henderson MP that the Sheerness ferry link be looked at again was a matter he had raised previously with Peel Ports and the KCC Cabinet Member for Transport.  This was a national government issue to solve.  In respect of the likelihood for revised LEP boundaries, he could not see that this would happen given that the Minister would only go down that route if there was uniformity of support by all authorities and the local MPs.  In respect of the likelihood of a Combined Authority for Kent and Medway, again he could not see that this would happen.

The Leader of the Independent Group referred to the LGA update and advised that he had asked for a copy of Councillor Ken Pugh’s report.  He referred to questions he had asked at the previous Council meeting, and asked the Leader whether anything had been discussed at the LGA regarding local decision-making in planning and the transfer of assets.  The Leader advised that there would be discussion in the future regarding transfer of assets, and that localism of planning had been mentioned many times at the conference.  He had also had an opportunity to put forward his points directly to the Minister.

A Member asked whether the Leader could give reasons for the fall in unemployment in Swale, and whether the Tiger Fund was contributing to this reduction.  The Leader responded by saying that this was due to many reasons: policies locally and nationally; efforts of this authority; the inherent situation of Swale in terms of location and environment/countryside; with the biggest reason being the work of officers in the Economic Development Team.  The Leader advised that he had attended the Tiger Board meeting the day before and read out figures of the job creation/jobs saved in Dartford, Gravesham, Thurrock, Medway and Swale.  Swale had by far the highest figure of 662 full time equivalent jobs saved/created.  Members thanked officers for their efforts to achieve this.

In respect of the FPN update, a Member asked what was the likelihood of the scheme being made permanent; how many enforcement officers were deployed on a daily basis and who decided where they were deployed to; what was the breakdown across the borough of the 600 notices issued; and would the Council recover the costs involved from those who would be taken to court for non-payment of FPNs?

The Leader advised that he would ask officers to respond to the FPN questions.  A Member advised that she would also like to see the response to this, in particular a breakdown of the FPNs, and referred to the problem of dog fouling. 

In respect of the Community Safety Unit update,  a Member suggested that there should be some awareness raising/promotional activity of what constituted anti-social behaviour and how to report it.  The Leader responded by acknowledging it was sometimes difficult to get neighbours to make complaints, and agreed that further publicity would be a good idea.

A Member asked for the Leader’s view on Elected Mayors.  The Leader responded by saying he could see it was a good device for urban places, such as London,  but could not see how it would work in two-tier county-district areas, and especially in rural areas.

A Member advised that he would like to see an update on housing, referring to the purchase of one property last year, and asked if an update would be given.  The Leader advised that this was at the forefront of deliberations and would be included in a future statement.

Regarding FPNs, the Cabinet Member for Environmental and Rural Affairs advised that the pilot would be analysed, but his intention based on the information so far would be to make it permanent.  A report would be formally considered later this year.  In response to questions concerning dog fouling,  he asked the Leader whether he was aware that the Council had introduced a scheme of bag dispensers?  There were five on trial in the Borough, and it was hoped if the trial was successful this would be increased to 50.  The Leader advised that he was aware of the scheme and hoped the trial was successful.

A Member asked what the hours of operation were for FPN, and suggested there should be further work to encourage dog owners to keep dogs under control and on leads.  The Leader advised that he would arrange a response.  A Member asked if the review could also target public rights of way where there was often dog mess due to irresponsible dog owners.