The Leader said:

“As late as it may be, it is the first time that we have all formally met this year, so could I wish everyone of you a happy new year, one that brings better things for all of us and the residents that we serve. Could I also take this opportunity on behalf of us all to welcome Charles Gibson the new member for Abbey Ward who is attending his first full council meeting this evening, welcome Charles. I would also like to send our good wishes to Cllr Mike Henderson who hasn’t been particularly well of late.

We are currently reviewing the outcomes of a number of recent consultations at a time when, like most local authorities, we are facing unprecedented challenges with pressures on budgets and accordingly our own aspirations will need to be carefully balanced considering the need for efficiency savings and ensuring fiscal stability as a priority. As a Council we do of course remain committed to seeking and accessing external opportunities for funding and partnership working to support us in delivering improvements in our Borough and the services that we provide.

With the apparent endless narrative that the cost of living crisis is continuing far longer than anyone would want it to, in conjunction with Swale CVA and Faversham Community Networking Group, we have organised more of our ‘One Swale Roadshows’ to assist residents affected, providing signposting help and support. The Roadshows are partly funded by the UK Government's Household Support Fund and have become a popular, safe space for residents to receive unbiased, non-judgemental, confidential, free advice and support.

This month’s theme has been debt, financial support and benefits, however the themes are not singularly or mutually exclusive and guidance and advice on other issues is of course still be available. To date roadshows have been hosted in Sheerness, Faversham, Leysdown and Kemsley andwill continue until the end of March, allowing for more targeted help to reach the people who need it.

I have spent considerable time lobbying for funding improvements for Swale and in particular I have been pushing for funding increases in areas that are having the greatest impacts on our budget and our residents. Homelessness and temporary accommodation has been a particular area of focus. In Swale we have seen a significant increase in the number of households in Temporary accommodation with an 84% increase since 2019 and we have the highest level of TA amongst Kent districts.  

The wider level of concern was demonstrated at a recent District Councils Network summit that I attended on behalf of Swale, when 158 councils were represented and 86% of DCN member councils reported a “significant” increase in use of temporary accommodation. The increase in expenditure is a critical risk to the financial sustainability of many local authorities ourselves included and the pressure is particularly acute for district councils because housing costs constitute a far bigger proportion of our overall expenditure. We and our partner organisations have had success in recent years in moving the whole local system towards preventing homelessness, rather than just dealing with the consequences, but if funding is not addressed there is a real danger of a knock-on impact on other partners.

Following the summit I was invited to attend a Westminster event with a smaller group of Leaders of all political colours from across the Country where MP’s were lobbied on the issue and colleagues spoke passionately about the impact it was having in their Districts and the urgent need for change, we do of course eagerly await the outcomes of our concerted efforts. 

It cannot be denied that we are facing the perfect storm with inadequate funding, loss of Private Sector Landlords due to interest rate rises, maintenance requirements and changes to tax rules. There is also of course the issue where initial Buy to Let landlords are approaching retirement age and selling as property investment supports their pension provision. In Swale like many areas Private Rented Sector is simply unaffordable to many and Landlords are preferring working tenants with access to a guarantor and a clean credit file.

Another key issue I have been actively involved in is lobbying for a fairer way of funding internal drainage boards (IDB) and I will be up in Westminster again in early February for a Special Interest Group cross party meeting with Ministers and MP’s to raise our concerns. As we have seen recently, incidents of heavy rainfall, flash flooding and coastal flooding have and are likely to increase due to climate change. The need for pumping stations and their operations will always remain a vital tool to reduce flooding impact for properties and agricultural land and we can’t overstate the value of the work that our drainage board does.

However just like households, Internal Drainage Boards have been affected by utility cost increases in terms of fuel and electricity. These challenges for IDB’s are likely to continue, pushing up operational costs resulting in higher levies to Councils including our own.   

Prior to 2013/14 partial funding was provided by the Government’s Revenue Support Grant, however over time, the grant has been reduced and Council’s with IDBs have funded the levy and annual increases through the money that they receive through Council Tax which of course is capped. This means that Councils with IDBs are therefore unable to generate the additional funds needed to meet the levy demands.

The current funding approach is adversely affecting Councils who are struggling to afford to pay the high levy demands and fund their statutory services and in many cases council tax increases will for a number of councils see the majority go to IDBs. 

Councils like us are disproportionately impacted simply because they are in primary flooding areas and we are lobbying for a fundamental change to the approach to funding from Government.

Moving on we are backing the ‘Make things right’ campaign, set up to help people facing issues with their social housing. It will make sure that people know how to complain, understand their rights and feel empowered in the knowledge that their complaints will be heard.

The campaign aims to make sure people living in social housing know that their landlord is responsible for fixing issues such as mould and damp, leaks, broken locks, poor insulation and other general repairs. Following the tragic death of 2-year-old Awaab Ishak, it became more important than ever to hold landlords to account when they have clearly failed their tenants. The Social Housing Act is now law and Awaab’s Law which was born out of his sad death in December 2020 remains a firm reminder of the importance for all tenants to have the right to live in safe and decent homes while being treated with fairness, dignity and respect.Given that 10% of social homes failed to meet the Decent Homes Standard last year, this is a serious wakeup call for landlords. Whilst there is a requirement to investigate hazards within 14 days, start fixing within a further 7 days, and make emergency repairs within 24 hours it would be so much better if the incidences didn’t occur in the first place.

Finally a reminder that our new waste contract commences on 24^th March when your Bin may be collected by Wheelie Wonka, Trash Gordon or even Binnie the Pooh and we will be providing information on the transition from old to new for residents and Members.”

In response, the Leader of the Conservative Group also sent his best wishes to Councillor Charles Gibson and Councillor Mike Henderson.  He referred to the challenges the Council faced, including the cost-of-living crisis and said the Council needed to help residents.  He recognised the service that the ‘One Swale Roadshows’ brought and added that increased homelessness and temporary accommodation figures needed to be addressed.  The Leader of the Conservative Group welcomed fairer ways to fund IDBs.  He spoke on climate change and drew attention to the number of named storms there had been so far this year, with the impacts of these, including flooding.  The Leader of the Conservative Group concluded by saying that residents of the Borough depended on a stable Council and whilst acknowledging the challenging year, hoped there was a brighter future for Swale.

Councillor Ben J Martin acknowledged the good wishes sent to Councillor Henderson and said he would pass these on.  He agreed that the roadshows had been beneficial and said that homelessness needed to be looked at holistically.  Councillor Martin said that not enough affordable housing was being built and more funding was needed from Central Government, and he said it was important to acknowledge that private rental also had issues.

Other Members were invited to respond and made points which included:

·         Had lobbying helped with the housing situation?;

·         the law should apply to both social and private housing associations;

·         considered that keeping Council Tax levels artificially low in previous administrations had had consequences with the housing sector;

·         welcomed the roadshows that had been organised, but concerned about the loss of the Kent County Council (KCC) community warden which would have a knock-on effect to residents; and

·         would like to know the amount of money spent on temporary accommodation.

The Leader thanked Members for their comments.  He stressed the need for financial stability and highlighted that local authorities across the country were struggling financially.  The Leader spoke on the importance of social housing, and that this needed to be supported more by central government.  He added that he hoped that lobbying was making a difference.