Agenda item

The Leader advised that the Council would be represented at a number of Remembrance services throughout the Borough, the Mayor attending those at Tonbridge and West Malling, the Deputy Mayor at Snodland and Councillor Mrs S Barker representing the Borough Council at Kings Hill.  The Chief Executive and Leader would also be at Tonbridge and both were attending a service at the Garden of Honour at the RBLI Village in the afternoon.  The Leader, together with the Deputy Mayor and Chief Executive had attended the official opening of the Garden of Honour at Aylesford by Lieutenant-General Andrew Gregory, Chief of Defence Personnel.  In his address the latter had commended the Borough Council for the way in which it was fulfilling the Armed Services covenant signed by the Leader and the Chief Executive of the RBLI just over three years ago.

The Leader referred to the financial challenges facing the Borough Council, a position which was not dissimilar across the public sector.  Three years ago he had predicted that Revenue Support Grant would be phased out by 2017/18 and indicated that this would now be the case with the Chancellor’s recent announcement that local authorities would retain all business rate income collected.  Reference was made to the significant savings needing to be achieved by the Council in its financial planning regardless of future financial arrangements.  The Leader suggested that clarity was required as to how business rate income would be distributed in replacing government grant.

Members were reminded that over the 10 year life of the Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS), the Council was likely to have to deliver savings of at least £1.4 million in its base budget, although the situation could be more severe depending on what happened nationally.  This represented a major task when net revenue expenditure was approximately £13 million and the Council had already delivered £2.8 million in savings over the last four to five years.

The Leader indicated that he and Councillor Coffin had been working with the Management Team to develop a savings and transformation strategy to support the MTFS.  This would provide a framework for guidance on achievement of the required savings and additional income and would be reported to a meeting of the Cabinet on 17 November 2015.

Despite the challenges faced, the Council’s financial decisions and record continued to be recognised by the Auditors.   The Leader quoted the most recent Annual Audit Letter for the year ending March 2015 in which Grant Thornton concluded that the Council continued to have an effective framework of financial control and robust arrangements for financial governance together with a structured approach to addressing financial pressures within a strong medium term planning framework and a history of achieving planned savings. Going forward the Council recognised that a wider approach to transformation would be required and was preparing a revised corporate strategy to address this.  Members recorded their thanks to the Director of Finance and Transformation and her team for their advice to the Council.

The Leader referred to his update to Members on the proposed response from the Borough Council to the government’s request to take Syrian migrants over the next five years.  This would be considered by the Housing and Environment Services Advisory Board at its meeting on 9 November.  In the role of Housing Authority and as part of the public sector effort, the Leader had given a commitment that the Council would play its part in the overall effort to meet the needs of refugees.  Officers had accordingly been working with partners in a strategic approach which recognised the agreement by all Kent Council leaders to coordinate efforts.

The Leader stated that the financial challenges ought not to mask the high standards set by the Council in service delivery and what was being achieved for local communities. He illustrated this by describing some of the notable successes since the last meeting in July.  This included news from the Leisure Trust that Tonbridge Swimming Pool had been awarded 'Outstanding' following a recent Quest Assessment, there being over 700 Quest accredited sites in the UK with Tonbridge Pool only the sixth to achieve this standard.

He was pleased to report that there were now two park runs in the Borough with the launch of the Malling Park run.  The previous Saturday, both runs had attracted a total of 518 runners, (353 at Tonbridge and 165 at Malling) in the context of 2,500 runners across the county.  Participation was free and there was no ongoing cost to the Borough Council.  The success of these events was largely dependent on volunteers and both park runs had the benefit of champions in Anthony Lester at Tonbridge and Tracy Brooks at Leybourne.  Reference was also made to the inspiration and encouragement from the Council and tribute paid to Donna Carr, the Parkrun Ambassador, the Cabinet Member for Community Services, Maria Heslop, in driving the project and Beverley Emmerson, the Council's Sports Development Officer.

The Leader advised that Haysden Country Park had now received the Green Flag Award for 10 consecutive years.   The award by Keep Britain Tidy was the benchmark national standard for parks and green spaces in the UK and achievement for 10 years running was testament to the rangers and staff involved, volunteer groups, wildlife specialists, partnership organisations and visitors for their continuing efforts to help the Council improve and develop the park.

Finally, the Leader reported that for the fourth year running, the Council had been awarded the Community Animal Welfare Footprints Gold Award for Stray Dog Services from the Royal Society for the Protection of Animals.  This placed the Council in the top 15% of local authorities nationally for achieving high standards when dealing with stray dogs.  The award reflected the Council’s commitment to dog welfare over and above the statutory requirements and also recognised the personal and professional commitment and dedication of Tonbridge and Malling’s Dog Warden, Lorraine Baseden.  It was therefore agreed to convey to her the Council’s congratulations and appreciation.