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MAIDSTONE BOROUGH COUNCIL
COMMUNITIES, HOUSING AND ENVIRONMENT POLICY ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Minutes of the meeting held on Tuesday 14 June 2022
Present: |
Councillors Bartlett, Brindle, Conyard, Hinder, McKenna, Newton, R Webb, D Wilkinson and Young |
Also Present: |
Councillors English, Parfitt-Reid, Round and S Webb |
1. Apologies for Absence
Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Fort, Khadka and Rose.
2. Notification of Substitute Members
The following Substitute Members were present:
Councillor Conyard for Councillor Khadka;
Councillor Hinder for Councillor Fort; and
Councillor D Wilkinson for Councillor Rose
3. Election of the Chairman
RESOLVED: That Councillor McKenna be elected as Chairman of the Committee for the Municipal Year 2022/23.
4. Election of the Vice-Chair
RESOLVED: That Councillor Newton be elected as Vice-Chair of the Committee for the Municipal Year 2022/23.
5. Urgent Items
There were no urgent items.
6. Notification of Visiting Members
Councillor English attended as a Visiting Member for Item 15 – Verbal Briefing from the Lead Member for Housing and Health, and Item 16 – Verbal Briefing from the Lead Member for Environmental Services.
7. Disclosures by Members and Officers
There were no disclosures by Members or Officers.
8. Disclosures of Lobbying
There were no disclosures of lobbying.
9. To consider whether any item needs to be taken in private because of the possible disclosure of exempt information.
RESOLVED: That all items be taken in public as proposed.
10. Presentation of Petitions (if any)
There were no petitions.
11. Question and Answer Session from Local Residents (if any)
There were no questions from Local Residents.
12. Questions from Members to the Chairman (if any)
There were no questions from Members to the Chairman.
13. Forward Plan
RESOLVED: That the Forward Plan be noted.
14. Verbal Briefing from the Lead Member for Communities and Engagement
The Lead Member for Communities and Engagement set out her priorities for her portfolio. The first was to promote the Borough through pushing positive messages and reviewing the communication and engagement strategy. The second was to focus on financial inclusion, including the financial inclusion strategy, the use of data and initiatives such as ‘No Wrong Door’. The Lead Member recognised the crosscutting nature of her portfolio.
RESOLVED: That the Lead Member for Communities and Engagement’s briefing be noted.
15. Verbal Briefing from the Lead Member for Housing and Health
The Lead Member for Housing and Health set out his priorities and measures of success for his portfolio. Emphasising the importance of the health aspect as well as housing. Items for consideration over the year would be the Housing Assistance Policy, the Housing Strategy (including 1,000 affordable homes), the Building Safety Strategy, and Trinity Place.
RESOLVED: That the Lead Member for Housing and Health’s briefing be noted.
16. Verbal Briefing from the Lead Member for Environmental Services
The Lead Member for Environmental Services set out his priorities for the coming year including the contract for the Waste Service, Parks and Open Spaces and the work needed to address deterioration, flood risk strategies and Enforcement. Reviewing all aspects of enforcement was given a particular emphasis and the need to work across portfolios on communication.
RESOLVED: That the Lead Member for Environmental Service’s briefing be noted.
17. 4th Quarter Financial Update & Performance Monitoring Report 2021/22
The Lead Member for Environmental Services introduced the report setting out that the report covered the Q4 of 2021/22 as aligned to the former Communities, Housing and Environment Committee to complete the reporting cycle. The Lead Member highlighted the under spends in revenue and capital but noted that the pressures on Homelessness budgets were expected to rise.
RESOLVED: That
1. The Revenue position as at the end of Quarter 4 for 2021/22, including the actions being taken or proposed to improve the position, where significant variances have been identified, be noted;
2. The Capital position at the end of Quarter 4 be noted;
3. The Performance position as at Quarter 4 for 2021/22, including the actions being taken or proposed to improve the position, where significant issues have been identified, be noted; and
4. Annual Performance for 2021/22 be noted.
18. Duration of Meeting
6.30 p.m. to 7.10 p.m.