Decision details

246/2002 The Cabinet:-a Confirms that the council wishes to take action on sustainable development and accept the external review finding that Medway is currently performing below the average local authority in this areab Endorses the 3 roles identified by the external consultants as necessary for the council to drive forward sustainable development activity within the council, with our partners and the community. The roles described at 6.2.1 are - senior policy, technical support and community outreachc Notes that the Director of Finance and Corporate Services intends to take the decision on necessary staffing changes following cabinet's discussion of this report as a 'significant decision' with accompanying full member consultationd Requests that officers prepare a draft corporate sustainability policy and present this to Council in due course. This would address the functions of the council in sustainability described at 7.1
e Endorses the principle of incorporating LA21 activity into the community planning and local strategic partnership structuresf Agrees that the council, in due course, rationalises the support it provides to LA21 forums in line with that given to other community forums:· The council allocates £5000 small grants fund to the forums to fund administrative support· The council supports the forums in bidding for additional external resources· The direct administrative support provided by council staff comes to an end only when sufficient external resources are in placeg Agrees the proposed allocation of funds to support sustainability policy and community planning as described in section 9.

The council is committed to taking action in support of sustainable development. An external report has highlighted areas where considerable improvements can be made. The recommendations in this report will support the council in better delivering its legal duty to promote the social, economic and environmental well being of the area, and to coordinate the production of a community plan.