The Leader said:

“In commencing my leaders statement this evening as you will be aware, following the sad passing of Cllr Ken Ingleton a byelection was held for the Minster Cliffs seat. The election was won by Peter MacDonald (Swale Independents) and I would like to take this opportunity to welcome Councillor MacDonald back to the chamber and to inform you that Councillor Ann Cavanagh has now joined the Labour group.

At a personal level I had the privilege of attending the Seashells Centre on the Isle of Sheppey and had the honour of presenting a Royal Humane Society certificate to a young lady called Emma Page. Emma, one of the staff at seashells, administered CPR to a man that she encountered while out driving, he had fallen from his cycle and was laying in the roadside entangled in it. Emma stopped her car and approached the man. It soon became apparent to her that the man’s life was ebbing away and she commenced CPR.

The impressive citation on the RHS certificate read “for restoring a man to life” and this feat was even more remarkable given that Emma had only completed her training the week before. At the ceremony I was able to speak to the man who’s live she saved and whilst expressing his eternal gratitude to Emma he also extolled the virtues of people being trained in CPR.

For that reason alone I would implore each and everyone of you to consider accessing CPR training, it is doesn’t need to be anything particularly formal and it is quite easy to access training online. There is very little not available on you tube these days, other channels are available of course.

I also had the pleasure of opening our Council’s “Domestic Violence the Hidden Harm” seminar, a multi agency event that showcased the benefits of working collaboratively with  external partners and organisations. The event demonstrated how this council is not reticent in leading the way in challenging arenas and I cannot praise our officers highly enough and congratulate them for driving this agenda forward. What really struck me about this event was the clear integration of partnership working and a willingness for sharing support, advice and skillsets and the not insurmountable barriers to addressing the hidden harm, which I for one would never have considered prior to attending this seminar.

I attended a seminar in Clacton the theme of which was “Turning the Tide” addressing health inequalities in seaside towns. The event had many eminent speakers not least of which was Professor, Sir Chris, next slide please, Whitty, Government’s Chief Medical Officer. In Sir Chris’s briefing he asserted that even after adjusting for well recognised factors such as age, smoking, and deprivation, there remains a “coastal excess” of disease. Life expectancy, healthy life expectancy, and disability free life expectancy are all considerably lower in coastal areas and the Mortality Ratios for a range of conditions, including preventable mortality, are significantly higher too.

In terms of our own Borough, Sheerness shares similar drivers towards a clustering of poor health and there is a direct correlation in health related matters with housing, employment, educational opportunities and low personal aspirations impacting on the concentration of deprivation and ill health. Nationally many coastal communities of course were created around a single industry including previous versions of tourism, fishing, or port work that have since moved on, leading to employment that is often scarce, low paid, or seasonal and the result of course is that continuum of the cycle of deprivation.

I am pleased to say that at the event, feedback to me as leader of this council was extremely positive in terms of praise for our Health lead Cllr Angela Harrison and our officer Charlotte Hudson for their proactive drive enthusiasm and dare I say it forthright approach in engaging with partners and unashamedly seeking support and funding to address the important issue of health inequalities in our Borough,so thank you both.

With the cost-of-living crisis continuing, in an unrelenting way and continuing to put many under increased financial pressure, it has never been more important for local people to be able to access the resources that they may need. To assist with this we have carried out a series of local events across the Borough under the umbrella of our “One Swale Roadshows”. The Roadshows provided the perfect opportunity for organisations including Citizens Advice, Department of Works and Pensions and our council to offer support and advice to those who were seeking it. Advice on accessing the Household Support Fund, health checks, emergency fuel and food, finances and much more were provided and very well received.

I attended the formal ribbon cutting ceremony at Masters House and met representatives from Launch It. They are a group of charities who work to empower young people to fulfil their potential by providing the workspace, mentoring, and training needed to start a business. This has created an enterprise centre where 18 to 30-year-olds on the Isle of Sheppey can get help bringing their business dreams to life and move towards fulfilling their ambitions and aspirations. I have to say that Councillor Bonney and you yourself madam Mayor together with our officers have done an excellent job in having the vision to make this a reality. I was good to hear that the refurbishment was carried out by a local firm who installed a new lift, a suite of new kitchens and toilets. The building’s carbon footprint has been significantly reduced by installing an air source heat pump, upgraded windows and insulation throughout the building.

Swale Borough Council has installed a pirate ship themed play area in Beachfields. This was done in collaboration with Sheerness Town Council who undertook consultations with the local community and provided half of the funds. The new play area has been installed in the Beachfields Sandpit to replace the castle that was burned down last year.

The colourful, bespoke designed, “Man O War” multi activity unit includes a zipline, slide, fireman’s pole and rope ladders, manufactured from durable weatherproof materials created using recycled plastic.

The Council has submitted a bid via the PCC for Government safer streets funding to assist in driving down neighbourhood crime, anti-social behaviour, violence against women and girls and improving the safety of public spaces for all. I am hoping to be able to bring news on the outcomes of the bid to our next full council meeting

As a council we have raised concerns about Kent County Council (KCC) proposals to change youth services across the borough. The council has written to Kent’s Cabinet Member for Communities and Regulatory Services, register its opposition to cut externally commissioned youth services, as part of proposals to create new family hubs to support children and families.

To finish on a lighter note the people of Swale are being invited to help name Swale’s new fleet of 24 waste collection and 4 sweeper vehicles that will be working across the borough from March 2024 and our Environment Committee chair Rich Lehmann is particularly hopeful for that we have some creative responses.”

In response, the Leader of the Conservative Group congratulated Councillor MacDonald, acknowledged Councillor Cavanagh’s move to the Labour Group and commented that whilst changes were a fact of political life, a change in groups so soon after the Borough election was unusual. He spoke of how valuable having CPR skills were, and congratulated Emma Page on her award. The Leader of the Conservative Group acknowledged the good work in collaboration with partners to address Domestic Violence and the ‘One Swale Roadshows’ taking place throughout the borough to assist residents during the cost of living crisis.

The Leader of the Conservative Group raised concern that five months since the administration had formed, there was not yet a long-term plan for the Council.  He said SBC were reactive but not proactive and to avoid going bankrupt as some other Councils had, the Council needed to plan for the future.  The Leader of the Conservative Group referred to names already suggested for the new waste fleet.

The Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group also welcomed Councillor MacDonald and acknowledged Councillor Cavanagh’s move to the Labour group. She spoke of the increased chances of survival from a cardiac arrest when CPR was performed and praised Emma Page. She said she was inspired to learn that the good work from officers in trying to reduce domestic violence and of Councillor Harrison and the Head of Communities continued. The Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group suggested that the number of residents helped by the roadshows be recorded in order to plan for the future. Referring to cuts in early years provision, the Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group warned Members to be aware of potential closures to children’s centres in their wards. Finally, the Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group congratulated Faversham Town Councillor Josh Rowlands for reaching the finals of the National Association of Young Councillor of the Year awards.

Other Members were invited to respond and points made including:

·      Could the Leader ask for an update at the Kent Leader’s meeting on any closures of KCC buildings?;

·      the One Swale Roadshow had provided useful information, advice and products including the Hygrometer (with thermometer) from the Fuel and Water Poverty Advice service;

·      CPR was essential and should be taught in schools;

·      CPR and defibrillators were key to survival;

·      Members had provided funding from grants for defibrillators; and

·      pleased to see the Beachfields site open after vandalism but needed more Police input to avoid vandalism.

In response, the Leader said that the Corporate Plan was at an advanced stage and there would be an update at the next Council meeting.  He said he did not see SBC in the same way as those Councils that had gone bankrupt as they had not invested poorly. He reminded Members that the cuts to services were as a result of budget priorities at a national level.  Finally, he congratulated Faversham Town Councillor Josh Rowlands.