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Current Responsibilities

Key changes since 2016

Proposed Future arrangements

Head of Housing and Community Services

Homechoice and the housing register, homelessness prevention, relief duties and outreach for rough sleepers, accommodation management, community protection, public health and licensing

The Head of Service is also a Director for Maidstone Property Holdings

Introduction of the Homelessness Reduction Act in 2017 and contemporaneous increased housing need.

Investment in technology to assist earlier intervention and prevention of homelessness, temporary accommodation to assist with managing down net costs and proactive outreach to intervene more effectively in support of rough sleepers.   

Aspiration expressed via the Communities Housing and Environment Committee for increased activity for community protection and enforcement. Resources to respond to this will be considered as part of the 2022/3 budget.

Lead role for voluntary and community sector engagement and associated commissioning/funding transferred to the head of Policy, Communications and Governance in 2021 reflecting experience gained during the pandemic.

Retain the post rename Head of Housing and Regulatory Services and expand operational capacity for accommodation management as new MBC housing for private rented and affordable rent comes on stream (in line with decisions taken by the Policy and Resources Committee in January 2022) and community protection (subject to decisions on the 2022/3 revenue budget)

Head of Environment and Public Realm

Waste management and collection, street scene including cleansing, parks and open spaces, grounds maintenance, our transport fleet and bereavement services

Parks and Open spaces responsibility transferred to this role.

Introduction of commercial services for business waste collection and grounds maintenance.

Partnership arrangements for transport fleet maintenance    

Reletting of the waste collection contract to take place in 2024

Retain the post and expand the span of control by adding parking services; this service is part of managing the street scene effectively and so fits well with those already within the Head of Service portfolio.

Head of Regeneration and Economic Development

Economic development, regeneration projects, the Business Terrace and Innovation Centre, capital projects for housing delivery, leisure and culture facilities including Maidstone Leisure Centre, the Hazlitt and Maidstone Museum and the visitor economy including events.

Increased requirements and expectations for delivery of the Economic Development Strategy 2030 (agreed by ERL in September 2021) including town centre strategy (initial scope agreed by P&R in October 2021); significantly increased requirements to enable delivery of housing capital investment programme (agreed by P&R in January 2022) and regeneration opportunity site delivery (eg Maidstone East); potential opportunities to bid for Levelling Up and other Prosperity capital funding which requires bis ready schemes; aspiration from ERL Committee to deliver transformation of current leisure and culture facilities and integrate management, development and promotion of the leisure portfolio to include the recently acquired Lockmeadow complex  

Delete this post and create/amend other roles in response to capacity needed to deliver the key priorities as follows

Head of Service for Capital Projects

Head of Service for Spatial Planning and Economic Development

Head of Service for Property and Leisure

Head of Planning and Development

Building control, development management including planning enforcement, spatial planning, heritage, landscape and trees services and management of resources associated with the Community Infrastructure Levy and S106 contributions.

Temporary separation of spatial planning responsibility at director level for governance reasons.

Significant use of consultancy support to achieve the technical requirements and deliver volume of work required for the Local Plan Review mitigating risks around the five-year housing land supply and housing delivery test

Aspirations to accelerate delivery of DPDs and SPDs, more effective management of the IDP and greater drive for implementation of infrastructure investment including that enabled by S106 and CIL contributions. 

Increased demand and expectations for planning enforcement, protection of trees and development management. Resources to respond to this will be considered as part of the 2022/3 budget

Delete this post and create two roles

Head of Development Planning

Head of Spatial Planning and Economic Development

Head of Finance

Financial management and accountancy for MBC, Mid Kent Services and the Kent Business Rates Pool and the client for procurement services provided through a partnership with Tunbridge Wells council

Changes in accountancy standard operating procedures

The addition of client responsibility for procurement

Retain the post unchanged

Head of Transformation and Property

Corporate property, the Lockmeadow complex, transformation and Digital services, emergency planning and corporate health and safety, biodiversity and climate change

Various acquisitions/developments have significantly expanded the council’s property portfolio including Lockmeadow, Maidstone House and the Innovation Centre

Aspiration to integrate management, development and promotion of the leisure asset portfolio to include the recently acquired Lockmeadow complex and soon to be completed Mote Park facility   

Potential opportunity to collaborate with Swale BC for a shared transformation and digital service to improve quality and resilience

Higher profile for biodiversity and climate change work.

Delete this post and create a new role

Head of Property and Leisure

In the short term it is proposed to put a transitionary arrangement in place to enable the current Head of Service to lead work on both scoping a potential shared transformation and digital service and organisational design for integrating leisure and culture services with temporary additional support for the council’s operational and commercial property portfolio.

Biodiversity and climate change transfers to Strategy, Governance and Insight

Head of Policy, Communications and Governance

Corporate strategy development and insight (data, performance monitoring and analytics), information governance (also being the council’s statutory data protection officer), community services including public engagement, customer services, communications and democratic services and elections (including deputy returning officer). 

Significant legislative changes for data collection, storage, management and public access rights including the Data Protection Act 2018 (UK GDPR), Local Government Transparency Code (2015) and amendments to Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations and Regulatory Investigatory Powers Act Development of capability and expertise for data collection (including public engagement), use and analytics to improve evidence for strategy and policy development and tools for service prioritisation and performance management

Increased support to other Heads of Service for strategy development

Development of community support services during the pandemic and additional responsibilities to ensure sustainable future arrangements as agreed by the CHE Committee in November 2020 including support for Volunteering in the Borough.

Online Community Participation platform, administration of various Covid community funds, MBC Community Resilience Fund and roll out of the Household support grant 

Changes to governance arrangements; executive model for decision making (agreed by Council May 2021) all out elections (agreed by Council in December 2021), and arising from the Local Government Boundary review

Future need for greater resilience in statutory roles as electoral registration officer and returning officer (currently held by CEO)

Aspiration for quicker more extensive corporate policy development – current examples include for the nighttime economy, community facilities

Retain the role and rename Strategy, Governance and Insight

Add statutory responsibilities for ERO, RO and Senior Information Risk Owner

Increase responsibility for corporate policy development to complement responsibility for developing the Council’s Strategic Plan areas of focus and action plans; this to include the Biodiversity and Climate Change officer(s)

Change reporting line to Chief Executive and include postholder in the Corporate Leadership Team to contribute corporate policy, public engagement, customer insight and governance expertise.

Review title following from pay and grading work currently being conducted