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

The Mayor advised that 9 questions had been received from Members. Each

Member was invited to put their question which was responded to by the relevant Cabinet Member. The questioner was then invited to ask a supplementary question. The Mayor advised that any questions not asked within the thirty minute time limited would receive a written response.  Details of the questions and responses are set out below:

Question 1 – Councillor Mike Whiting

The new housing policy, on which the Council has recently consulted, will increase the number of people on the Council’s housing waiting list. How will he meet that increased need during the remaining term of his administration or is he simply giving people false hope on which he cannot deliver?

Response – Cabinet Member for Housing, Councillor Ben J Martin

Thank you for the question. The new housing allocation's policy, for which public consultation closed last Friday, is designed to increase fairness and bring the council in to line with government guidelines. it may increase the number of people on the housing register in a very limited and specific way, however it will rectify the issues caused by the current draconian policy which artificially conceals the affordable housing need within the borough, giving a true reflection of the housing need within Swale. Meeting the true need for affordable housing will be challenging, especially when some public authorities like KCC are land banking and if the government's proposed changes to the planning system, which includes removing the requirement of sites of less that 50 dwellings to provide affordable housing goes ahead. But this administration has made affordable housing a priority for this council, and I will do everything in my power to increase the delivery of affordable housing during my time on this council.

Supplementary Question

To what extent would the policy increase numbers and by how many?

Response - Cabinet Member for Housing, Councillor Ben J Martin

The Council does not hold a list of people who do not currently qualify on the housing register.  SBC had been in a much more strict position than other authorities, not in line with current Government guidance, which had concealed the number of people in housing need for affordable housing in the Borough. To tackle a problem, acceptance of the problem was the first step and SBC had been using a draconian method of measuring housing need and the new policy was designed to address these concerns. The proposed Housing Policy would be discussed at the next Cabinet meeting on 28 October 2020.

There was no supplementary question

Question 2 – Councillor Mike Whiting

The Conservative administrations at KCC and at SBC ensured Parish Council representation and full voting rights on the Swale Joint Transportation Board to help ensure the broadest local representation.

If his Coalition Administration wants to make the new Area Committees equally local and representative and, to quote their Terms of Reference, "to bring local insight to bear in council decision-making?", why has he specifically excluded Parish Council representation on these new committees, giving Parish Councils neither a seat at the table or voting rights?

Response – Cabinet Member for Planning, Councillor Mike Baldock

Thank you for your question.

I thank you for your recognition of the fact that parish council representation and full voting rights on the Swale Joint Transport Board remain, as this was a major concern for myself on Kent County Council when it came under threat several years ago, and both Councillor Bowles and I campaigned very hard and effectively to not only secure Swale’s ability to have 3 Kent Association of Local Councils representatives reflecting the nature of our Borough but to ensure they had full voting rights.

Of course, the Coalition here at Swale has continued to ensure parish and town council representation and full voting rights on the Swale Joint Transportation Board since we formed the administration, reflecting our concerns that parish councils have the widest possible platform to raise issues and contribute to policy making.

You are indeed right that the Coalition at Swale want “to bring local insight to bear in council decision-making” which is why we have instigated a Constitutional review which has been looking to diffuse power among members and improve public engagement in council decision-making.

One of the first steps this administration made was to expand the rights of parish councils to speak at Planning Committees on applications that whilst not within their parish boundaries they felt would have an impact on their parish.  Quite different to Cllr Whiting’s own approach of course when in 2016, during a debate on a motion proposed by myself and seconded by Cllr Bonney to the effect “a) This Council agrees that all parish councils that register to speak on a planning application should be allowed to speak on that planning application, regardless of whether the site in question falls within their boundary or not.”  He proposed an amendment that would stop parish councils having speaking rights at all.  Fortunately that amendment was quite rightly rejected, though he did of course vote against the motion I had proposed.

There has also of course been the establishment of four area committees which as you know have now held their inaugural meetings and appointed chairman and vice-chairman.

However he is not correct in his claim that I have specifically excluded parish council representation on these new committees - not that it would have been in my power to do so anyway as Council matters are decided by Full Council not an individual.

I would refer Cllr Whiting to the Cabinet report on Area Committees where it clearly says - 3.27 ‘additional people invited to attend as non-voting members will include MPs, county councillors and parish or town councils within that area’.

Naturally we are currently in the situation where things are not normal, and not as originally envisaged and our meetings are virtual.  I have already instigated an investigation into how we can get delegates from the town and parish councils to be non-voting members of these Committees whilst not breaching the formidable GDPR challenges this presents.  It will be up to Area Committee Chairs to issue these invites once the technical issues are resolved.

With regards to his comments about me specifically denying parish councils voting rights on the Committees, I would suggest he familiarises himself with the relevant legislation, where he would find that such a position is actually unlawful, as the area committees have decision-making powers and legislation requires that only members of the authority can take those decisions.

There was no supplementary question.

Question 3 – Councillor Benjamin Martin

Could the Cabinet Member for planning please tell me: how many new homes have been granted planning permission, which have not been built yet, since Bearing Fruits began?

Response – Cabinet Member for Planning, Councillor Mike Baldock

The base date of the adopted Local Plan, Bearing Fruits is 2014.  Using 1^st April 2014 as the start date, I can confirm that there is unimplemented planning permission for approximately 2,621 additional dwellings up to 31^st March 2019.  This is the most up to date information available.

There was no supplementary question.

Question 4 – Councillor Tim Gibson

Since the country went into lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic has the Council seen an increase in the number of residents in receipt of Universal Credit claiming help towards their Council Tax?

Response – Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance, Councillor Roger Truelove

There are as of September 2020, 3150 claims for Council tax support where a member of the household is in receipt of universal credit.

This is an increase of 1108 in comparison with September 2019, when there were 2042 claims and an increase of 885 in comparison to February 2020.  This suggests a strong and predictable link between the Covid crisis and growing hardship and is a worrying consideration as we enter a new phase of inevitable growth in hardship for the least well off parts of our community in the months ahead.

Supplementary question

What is the wider picture on numbers on Universal Credit?

Response – Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance, Councillor Roger Truelove

Universal Credit and Job Seekers Allowance figures were given together from the Department of Work and Pensions so it was not a full picture but was indicative and during the Covid-19 crisis, the number of people seeking support had doubled from three to six thousand.  Figures from the Citizens Advice had shown a large increase in those seeking debt, Universal Credit and unemployment advice and it was a serious problem. The net effect of many people being out of work having to receive support and benefits and having a considerable decline in the economy might be greater and more damaging to individuals than the difficult job of Government supporting employment.

Question 5 – Councillor Benjamin Martin

How many planning applications have gone beyond their 13week statutory determination period after validation, and of those applications how many applicants have been asked for additional extensions to their determination period?

Response – Cabinet Member for Planning, Councillor Mike Baldock

Currently there are 60 active major planning applications which have gone beyond the 13/16 week Government target for determination.  Of those 60 major planning applications, 39 have signed an extension of time.  It is likely that a significant proportion of the remaining 21 major planning applications will sign an extension of time.  It should be noted that 13 major planning applications have been determined between 1 April 2020 and 30 September 2020, all of which had either been determined within target or had an extension of time agreed.

Supplementary question

Please can you advise on the figures for domestic applications, not just the major applications?

Response – Cabinet Member for Planning, Councillor Mike Baldock

Apologies for not including those figures in the response. This information would be circulated to you as soon as possible.

Question 6 – Councillor Corrie Woodford

There are large areas of my ward which are rural. We have seen an increased amount of fly tipping in these locations, in particular the Bobbing Hill/Cold Harbour Lane/Parsonage Lane area of Bobbing and the School Lane/Raspberry Hill Lane area of Iwade. Can the cabinet member for the environment please outline what measures he can take to address the huge amounts of fly tipping occurring repeatedly in rural areas? And could he comment on whether the use of hawk eye/covert ?cameras is something we can utilise in these areas?

Response – Cabinet Member for Environment, Councillor Tim Valentine

Fly tipping has increased across most parts of the country since lockdown. The council monitors and prioritises all fly tipping hot- spots based upon reports received from residents. All fly tipping is inspected and investigated by officers where evidence may be present. Once investigated, it will be cleared as soon as possible to deter further offences. Despite increased workloads, Swale Council officers have worked with partners such as KCC and the Environment Agency to tackle waste crime during lockdown. Since the start of March 2020, eleven offenders have been caught on camera dumping waste.  All of these fly tippers were given £400 Fixed Penalty Notices. The cameras will continue to be used where practical to catch offenders. Since this same date, 22 further FPN’s have been issued for other waste related offences.

Swale Council have been continuing to work with the police by participating in ‘Operation Assist’. This initiative uses county wide intelligence to target waste carriers on the road. The police stop vehicles and the council officers investigate for potential waste offences. Fixed Penalty Notices are issued to offenders as well as checking that the waste ends up in the correct place. Council officers recently used their waste powers to seize a transit van on this operation. The van has since been crushed on camera as an initiative to deter others. This footage has recently been released on social media.

I can advise that the environment enforcement team are currently working on some fly tipping cases in the aforementioned areas which I cannot discuss in detail. However, I am sure many Members would be aware from the media that the council recently coordinated a large-scale operation within the area highlighted in the question. This was an investigation in partnership with the Police, the Environment Agency and other partners. The operation was a success with large scale waste offences being identified as well as drug offences, stolen goods and animal related matters.

In addition to enforcement, the council has undertaken a significant amount of work to educate residents on how to dispose of their waste correctly. Householders have been reminded that they may receive Fixed Penalty Notices if they fail to use registered waste carriers to remove their rubbish. These messages have been circulated widely on social media and in the press.

Supplementary Question

Is there anything the Council can do to quicken the response from landowners for flying tipping on private land?

Response – Cabinet Member for Environment, Councillor Tim Valentine

Fly tipping on private land was a more difficult issue.  We could work with landowners.  They did have a duty to keep their land tidy and we could require them to remove the waste but it did always take longer when the waste was tipped on private land than when it was on land we could clear directly.

Question 7 – Councillor Corrie Woodford

Could the Leader comment on the Government proposals to alter the structures of Local Government? There has been a lot of concern about this, can the Cabinet member assure us that the Cabinet will not support the people of Swale having their democratic rights compromised by being submerged in a large sub-regional council?

Response – Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance, Councillor Roger Truelove

I have had the dubious pleasure of being involved in intense and even febrile discussions with district leaders and the leader of the County Council as we all anticipated the autumn publication of a white paper on devolution, which general thinking suggested would involve a devolution of powers and funding, in return for Councils joining together to form unitary authorities with some County Council leaders through the County Council Network anxious to make Counties unitary authorities. Now I understand the white paper may be delayed until the New Year and will possibly not have such a radical impact on the district council level of local government. I speculate that the thinking was political with government wishing to break down the diversity of political control at district level to be more like the monolithic control at county level and by a pragmatic wish to get local government to do more but with a weakening of democratic control.

Well they have more pressing issues to deal with. Our cabinet has discussed this slightly hypothetical question. We adamantly do not want the people of Swale having their democratic rights compromised by being submerged in a large sub regional council. To that I would add, this is a matter for all members of the Council and if a coherent policy direction does come down from Government, then I believe this is a matter for Full Council debate.

There was no supplementary question.

Question 8 – Councillor Davey

What plans are being made to relocate the occupants of Phoenix House now both SBC and KCC have said that the building is to stay closed due to the cost of repairs and continuing maintenance?

Response – Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance, Councillor Roger Truelove

Swale Council is not involved in any way in the decision to close Phoenix House in Sittingbourne. It is a KCC property and the decision is entirely theirs without discussion with either members or officers of SBC.

The Cabinet is however concerned about the displacement of the community groups that in normal times make great use of Phoenix House. The closure has been flagged up by KCC for many years and we know that ideas have been floated by the groups for an alternative site.

Members of the Cabinet are considering how the obvious need for a community facility can be accessed in Sittingbourne. I will also discuss this situation with the Leader of the County Council.

Supplementary question

My apologies for incorrectly suggesting that SBC were involved in the decision. 

Is there any viability in building a new community centre on that piece of land?

Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance, Councillor Roger Truelove

There were a wide range of options that could be considered in Sittingbourne. One could be to build there but there were other potential opportunities which the Cabinet was looking at and was being taken very seriously.

Question 9 – Councillor Davey

Please can you give an update on the current action being undertaken with regard to the latest guidance on Covid-19 following the most recent update from the government, to include an update on the number of Street Marshalls in place?

Response – Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance, Councillor Roger Truelove

As we have experienced throughout this COVID period, government makes announcements and the guidance follows. This isn’t always clear and officers work hard to put processes and procedures in place to respond in very short periods of time.  The recent announcements have been regarding self-isolation payments and Revs & Benefits are working hard to launch an online form ready for 12^th Oct deadline when we will be expected to administer the £500 payment to those who have to self-isolate, cannot work and are on low incomes and to clarify that is a one-off payment not a weekly payment as advised by the Prime Minister.

Also, test and trace where now by law establishments have to collect peoples data through the NHS text and trace app. Environmental Health are working with Public Health and Trading Standards to ensure businesses are complying, through encouragement, education and communication. This is in an environment when guidance and legislation don’t match up and change daily. We will be getting powers to issue fines for non-compliance.

As for Street Marshals, we are still waiting guidance and how they will be funded before any decision to have them will be made.

Supplementary question

How will test and trace be monitored within the Borough?

Response – Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance, Councillor Roger Truelove

There will be spot checks at specific high-risk sites such as pubs, restaurants and close contact services and continual non-compliance would receive a fixed penalty notice.  £50k had been received from Public Health England to recruit Enforcement Officers but it would be difficult to recruit at a time when other local authorities are trying to recruit