Decisions

Consideration was given to the recommendations (OS 21/22) to the Cabinet from the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 7 October 2021.

The Cabinet resolved that:

(1)             the proposed charging structure for billboards in respect of commercial and community organisations, as set out at section 1.4 to the report, be endorsed and no charge be made in respect of charity events;

(2)             the move to promotional and marketing materials to be available in digital formats only (in all but a limited number of exceptions) be endorsed;

(3)             the use of design agents to develop a corporate style and brand for the Borough Council be endorsed; and

(4)             further evaluation be undertaken to better integrate the Borough Council’s communication channels, looking at the possibility of future marketing and promotion to go via the Head of Communications.  Findings to be reported to the relevant Advisory Board/Committee in due course.

Consideration of recommendations (OS 21/20) referred from Overview and Scrutiny Committee of 7 October 2021

The Cabinet resolved that:

(1)         the strategic review of cemetery charges, requested by Cabinet to go to Overview and Scrutiny Committee, be considered by the Communities and Housing Advisory Board instead and that the Overview and Scrutiny Committee give detailed consideration to the Interventions Report at its meeting to be held on 2 December 2021; and

(2)         the training programmes provided through the Local Government Association be explored with the appropriate Officer and all members of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee encouraged to register for the LGA’s “Leadership Webinar on Scrutiny Essentials” to be held at 2.30pm on 22 November 2021.  The booking information and link to be circulated to Members.

(Report of Director of Finance and Transformation)

The report provided an update on the Medium Term Financial Strategy.  The Cabinet noted the current position and agreed that a programme for investigating and identifying options to achieve the necessary savings referenced in the report was required.

The Borough Council’s financial position remained significantly challenging and it was reported that the funding gap had increased to £2,150,000 based upon the information included within the report.  The Director of Finance and Transformation stressed that, to protect the integrity of the Medium Term Financial Strategy, all savings would need to be delivered by April 2026.

The Cabinet resolved that:

(1)             the latest forecast of the Medium Term Financial Strategy and the funding gap of £2,150,000, as detailed in paragraph 1.2.17 of the report, be noted;

(2)             the income expectation from the introduction of charging for parking in the Aylesford, Martin Square and Snodland Car Parks be removed from the Medium Term Financial Strategy increasing the funding gap by a further £95,000 to a new total of £2,245,000;

(3)             subject to the deletion of the items relating to the Sale of River Lawn land and to new income from charging in Aylesford/Martin Square and Snodland Car Parks, the need to deliver as soon as possible the savings and/or transformation contributions already included in the Medium Term Financial Strategy, as set out in paragraph 1.2.5 of the report, be noted;

(4)             the savings and/or transformation contributions for Tranche 1 totalling £52,000, as set out in paragraph 1.3.2 of the report, be agreed;

(5)             further consideration be given to how the balance of £48,000 savings for Tranche 1 could be found; and

(6)             a programme for investigating and identifying the necessary savings for Tranches 2 – 5, now totalling £2,145,000 as a result of recommendation 2 above, be considered and implemented.

Consideration of recommendation (FIP 21/36) referred from Finance, Innovation and Property Advisory Board of 21 July 2021.

The Cabinet resolved that:

(1)             the customer services operation be moved from a drop-in reception service at both the Kings Hill and Castle reception points to a triaged pre-booked appointment service;

(2)             the Kings Hill reception and call centre opening times be changed to 09.00 hours to 17.00 hours Monday to Thursday and 09.00 hours to 16.30 hours on Friday, to align with Tonbridge Castle which already operates these hours; and

(3)             the KPR self service kiosks be removed and the Council move to a bar coded bill for those more vulnerable residents who are unable to pay through digital/phone methods.

Consideration of recommendation (FIP 21/52) to the Cabinet from the meeting of the Finance, Innovation and Property Advisory Board of 15 September 2021.

The Cabinet resolved that:

(1)             the proposed sale of the open space land at River Lawn Road be discontinued.