Agenda item

This annual report provides an account of the role of the Leader of the Council. It details their ambitions for their areas of responsibility, how they have and will undertake political challenge and leadership and what their priorities and ambitions are for the year ahead.

Discussion:

The Leader of the Council thanked the Committee and the other Overview and Scrutiny Committees for the work they had undertaken in the last year, he also thanked officers within his portfolio for their support and the people of Medway for supporting the Council and recognising the good work the Council did.

The Leader provided one update to the report, he had recently submitted a letter to the government to advocate for four unitary authorities for the Kent region. The government would provide feedback to the Council in the next few weeks prior to formal feedback in the week of 28 April.

The following issues were discussed:

School Streets – A Member commented that some residents had not received a response from the Portfolio Holder for Community, Safety Highways or the relevant services after making enquiries regarding the school streets scheme. The Member added that they had witnessed parking violations near to areas of school streets scheme ignored and this was a risk to young people in the area.

The Leader of the Council stated that he wasn’t aware of the particular circumstances of the case and asked the Member to pass on the details to him, he added that the administration wanted to hear from residents regarding the scheme and the Rainham scheme had been amended following consultation with residents.

Welfare payments – A Member asked the Leader if he would write to the government opposing planned welfare changes which would result in around 1,000 local people including 200 children falling to poverty. The Leader of the Council stated that he had not read the green paper and would not comment on the detail until he had done so, however, he had a long history of assisting residents with Personal Independence Payments (PIP) and the administration had worked with 1,600 residents who had been affected by changes to the winter fuel allowance and was ready to assist residents in the future.

Children Services – The Leader was asked for his thoughts regarding the investment made in Children Services. The Leader stated that he was pleased with the progress made by Children Services and thanked the previous administration for its part in the improvement journey. There were currently significant delays in completing Education Care Health Plans (ECHPs) so the administration brought in temporary staff to deal with the backlog and this was being progressed. The Leader explained that if the Council regressed in the quality of provision the service would be removed from the Council. It was vital both for Medway’s young people for the service provided to be good but also for the future financial sustainability of the council. He added that the administration continued its work in rightsizing the service.

Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) – the Committee discussed plans for local government re-organisation, the Leader paid tribute to the work of the Chief Executive and stated that they continued to work with Leaders of the other authorities in the Kent region, whilst they did not agree on all aspects, they had a positive working relationship, particularly compared to other regions. The authorities in Kent were agreed that they did not want a single or two authorities for the region, and there had been no proposal for the successor authorities to include areas outside of the Kent region or for Kent boroughs to be re-organised with another region in the new authority.

The Leader added there was a difference of opinion regarding the preferred number of unitary authorities for the Kent region, though the differences were not based on political grouping. He had advocated for four unitary authorities and plans for LGR would be considered at a special Council meeting in November.

Further information was requested regarding consultation with residents. The Leader stated the administration was the most transparent in the history of Medway Council and had increased engagement with residents through Medway Live, weekly Medway Minute videos and had welcomed increased scrutiny through supplementary questions to Council and proposals to have questions to Cabinet. He was committed to engaging with the public on LGR and other issues.

In response to a question whether the planned new Council chamber took account of Local Government reorganisation proposals, the Leader stated that the building plans had taken into consideration the possibility that a new larger unitary authority may have more representatives.

The Leader was asked to provide further detail on £450,000 allocated to the LGR in the budget, he explained that there was a capacity issue in preparing for LGR and a new Policy Unit would be developed with a service manager, four policy officers and administration suppport.

Household Support Fund – the Committee discussed the Household Support fund and the work it did to prevent holiday hunger amongst school children. The Leader praised the work of the team which had received national recognition regarding the Household Support Fund. He stated that he expected local government to receive a multi year settlement in future budgets would enable the Council to target resources more effectively. It was asked whether children who are home schooled could be included in the offer for free school meals during school holidays. The Leader stated that home schooling is an area which may benefit from consideration as the numbers of home schooled children have risen significantly, it was however a matter for the Children and Young People Overview and Scrutiny Committee to consider whether it wished to undertake any work in this area.

Festivals – the Committee discussed festivals in Medway, it was asked following the cancellation of the English festival if Rainham would have its own festival in the future. The Leader acknowledged there had been difficult decisions made due to the current financial climate such as the cancellation of the Rochester summer Dickens festival and the English festival. However, the Council had a number of events across the towns during the year such as the Will Adams Festival and the Love Gillingham event and he was delighted that the Poet Laureate would be coming to Rainham in the near future.

Progress of the administration – the Leader was asked what his greatest successes were in the first two years of the administration.

The Leader stated that he was pleased to have delivered two budgets for Medway in the current financial climate and the two CIPFA reports which showed that the Council was run effectively. He was also proud of the work of this and the previous administration had undertaken in achieving a good Ofsted rating for children services. The Leader also highted the success in the last general election of former Portfolio Holders and improvements in communications, scrutiny and governance. He acknowledged that the Council did not always get things right and that there was more to do, but he was pleased with the progress made and proud to be Leader of Medway Council and a council where all Members had integrity.

It was suggested the Committee receive a report regarding the CIPFA Audit published, this was agreed by the Committee.

Street homelessness – The Leader was asked for his thoughts on street homelessness which was increasing. The Leader acknowledged there was work to be done. In 2023, the Severe Weather Emergency Protocol (SWEP) was enacted due to excessive heat for the first time and a local charity One Big Family received recognition for the work they have done in relation to homelessness and summer weather. The Leader stated that he thought SWEP due to excessive heat would be required more regularly over the next decade and highlighted that One Big Family had noted an increase in female homelessness which had significant implications for violence against women. The winter scheme would end in two weeks; however, those people would still be homeless and need support including many who were from outside the authority so, whilst being compassionate, the council must also follow its legal requirements.

Decision

a.     The Committee noted the report.

b.     The Committee requested a briefing note setting out the structure of the new Policy Unit created to support Local Government Re-organisaiton.

c.     The Committee requested the recently published CIPFA audit report be considered at the June meeting of the Committee.