(a)  Leader of the Council

(b)  Cabinet Members

(c)  Chairmen of Decision-Making Committees

Councillor Coates to the Leader of the Council

Fant and Oakwood Independents welcome the Council’s ongoing commitment to addressing Climate Change and Biodiversity and the desire to make Maidstone Carbon Neutral by 2030.  Previously the Council had asked the Cabinet to reduce the number of targets to make them more manageable and deliverable.  However, it seems that in addition to the targets set in 2023, we have now increased the number by the additional items in the latest Committee Round.

Can the Leader please explain how, with our limited resources, can the Council achieve all these proposals by December 2029 so to be carbon neutral by January 2030?

The Leader of the Council responded to the question.

Councillor Coates did not wish to ask a supplementary question of the Leader of the Council arising out of his original question or the reply.

Councillor Harper to the Chairman of the Democracy and General Purposes Committee

Regarding the proposed changes to the Constitution, discussed at an all- Members’ workshop on 20 November 2023 and elsewhere, to replace the Overview and Scrutiny Committee by Policy Advisory Scrutiny Committees.  Can the Chairman of the Democracy and General Purposes Committee explain when out of 19 Councillors at the workshop only 4 voted for the current system of Governance and 15 voted for change, how come the Democracy and General Purposes Committee ignored the democratic view of Councillors?

The Chairman of the Democracy and General Purposes Committee responded to the question.

Councillor Harper asked the following supplementary question of the Chairman of the Democracy and General Purposes Committee:

I am looking at the report which went to your Committee on 31 January where it says that out of the 19 people present 11 votes were cast for the model which was not adopted, four votes were cast for the model which is the current system and then four were cast for a further one so it was clear that the majority did vote for the proposed change.  I would like to know how that squares up with what you said earlier.

The Chairman of the Democracy and General Purposes Committee responded to the question.

Councillor S Thompson to the Cabinet Member for Planning, Infrastructure and Economic Development

What assessment of impact on the Local Plan Review has been made following the recent news that Medway Council is facing bankruptcy, specifically the impact of that news on the plans for the proposed 2000 homes in Lidsing, and the future residents who will undoubtedly expect to access many aspects of Medway’s local services, and be part of their community as much as Maidstone’s?

The Cabinet Member for Planning, Infrastructure and Economic Development responded to the question.

Councillor S Thompson asked the following supplementary question of the Cabinet Member for Planning, Infrastructure and Economic Development:

Please would you consider, perhaps after this meeting, providing detail of what the process might be by which Maidstone Borough Council can show its good faith and best efforts in making the kinds of adaptations that would be necessary in the dire financial situation that would be posed by what we might expect in Medway in the foreseeable future?

The Cabinet Member for Planning, Infrastructure and Economic Development responded to the question.

To listen to the answers to these questions, please follow this link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=folbZbc5lio&t=3251s