Overview and Scrutiny Committee			21 February 2023
Water Management Cycle Update Report
Timetable Meeting Date Overview and Scrutiny Committee 21 February
Will this be a Key Decision?		No
Urgency		Not Applicable
Final Decision-Maker		Overview and Scrutiny Committee
Lead Director		Angela Woodhouse, Director for Strategy, Insight and Governance.
Lead Officer and Report Author		Oliviya Parfitt, Democratic Services Officer and Alanna Randall, Democratic Services Officer.
Classification		Public
Wards affected		All
Executive Summary
This report provides the Overview and Scrutiny Committee with an update of the progression of the Water Management Cycle Working Group.
Purpose of Report   Noting
This report asks the Committee: That the progress of the Water Management Cycle Working Group be noted.

Water Management Cycle Update Report

1.       CROSS-CUTTING ISSUES AND IMPLICATIONS

 

Issue	Implications	Sign-off
Impact on Corporate Priorities	The four Strategic Plan objectives are:   ·         Embracing Growth and Enabling Infrastructure ·         Safe, Clean and Green ·         Homes and Communities ·         A Thriving Place   As this report is for noting, the recommendation should not impact the corporate priorities. Any impact of corporate priorities arising out of the review will be assessed upon its conclusion.	Insight, Communities and Governance Manager
Cross Cutting Objectives	The four cross-cutting objectives are:   ·         Heritage is Respected ·         Health Inequalities are Addressed and Reduced ·         Deprivation and Social Mobility is Improved ·         Biodiversity and Environmental Sustainability is respected   As this report is for noting, the recommendation should not impact the cross cutting objective. Any impact of cross cutting objectives arising out of the review will be assessed upon its conclusion.	Insight, Communities and Governance Manager
Risk Management	See section 5 of the report.	Insight, Communities and Governance Manager
Financial	The proposals set out in the recommendation are all within already approved budgetary headings and so need no new funding for implementation. Any financial implications arising out of the review will be assessed upon its conclusion.	Section 151 Officer & Finance Team
Staffing	·         We will deliver the recommendations with our current staffing.	Insight, Communities and Governance Manager
Legal	In accordance with Part 1A of the Local Government Act 2000 (as amended by the Localism Act 2011) the Council is operating under Executive Arrangements. These arrangements must include provision for the appointment of one or more Overview and Scrutiny Committees to review and scrutinise executive decisions made, or other action taken – LGA 2000, Section 9F	Team Leader Contentious & Corporate Governance
Information Governance	The recommendations do not impact personal information (as defined in UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018) the Council processes.	Information Governance Team
Equalities	The recommendations do not propose a change in service therefore will not require an equalities impact assessment	Equalities & Communities Officer
Public Health	We recognise that the recommendations from the review could have a positive impact on population health or that of individuals.	Housing & Inclusion Team Leader
Crime and Disorder	No impact identified.	Insight, Communities and Governance Manager
Procurement	No impacts identified.	Insight, Communities and Governance Manager & Head of Finance.
Biodiversity and Climate Change	The implications of this report on biodiversity and climate change have been considered and aligns with actions 5.4; 5.5; 6.7; 6.9 and 8.5 of the Biodiversity and Climate Change Action Plan.	Biodiversity and Climate Change Manager

 

 

 

2.      INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

2. 

 

2.1     At its 19 July 2022 meeting the Committee agreed to conduct a review into the Water Management Cycle via a Working Group (the Group).  The aim of the review was to:

 

Identify actions to be taken by the Council and/or its partner organisations to improve the management and resilience of the Water Management Framework.

 

2.2     The group membership was agreed on 6 October 2022 and the Members are Councillors English (Chairman), Brice, Cleator, Garten, Harwood and Jeffery. The Substitute Members are Councillors Conyard, Springett and D Wilkinson.

 

2.3     In accordance with Part A2 – Core Provision 6 Rule 6.7.2 (c) the Groups minutes must be reported to the Committee, these have been attached as appendices to this report. The Committee also requested a very brief update on the Groups progress, with this information below.

 

Any Working Group of any of the aforementioned Committees

shall:

(a) Be limited in its terms of reference to exploratory work on

behalf of its parent Committee;

(b) Report the minutes of its proceedings to its parent Committee;

(c) Be drawn primarily though not necessarily exclusively from the

membership of its parent Committee, and shall aim for

inclusivity though not subject to the requirements of political balance cited above.

 

2.4      The Group first met on 1 November 2022, with the detailed lines of enquiry agreed on 5 December 2022, these are set out below and the Group was provided with an information pack containing documents and information relevant to the topic:

 

Supply of water

·         Mitigating the effects of increased rainfall, including capacity

·         General Supply of Water

 

Disposal of Water

·         Importance and Influence of development management

·         Flood mitigation mechanisms

o   To effectively control water

o   Natural flood mitigation measures

·         Management of highway and surface water flooding

·         Working with partner

 

Disposal of sewage in water courses

·         Combined systems and link to foul and surface water mixing

·         Council powers and partnership working

·         Working with partners

·         Water neutrality and planning

 

 

2.5 Throughout their discussions the Working Group felt it was beneficial to interview a selected panel that were both internal and external, the timetable is set out below.

 

Date	Panel
1 November 2022	Working Group
5 December 2022	Working Group and Director of Finance, Resources and Business Improvement
15 December 2022 MBC	Director of Finance, Resources and Business Improvement Biodiversity and Climate Change Manager Emergency Planning and Resilience Manager
22 December 2022 MBC	Interim Local Plan review Director Director of Regeneration and Place Principal Planning Officer x2 Environmental Health Manager
27 January 2023	Upper Medway internal drainage board Southeast rivers trust Kent county council
7 February 2023	Southeast water Southern water

 

 

 Minutes of the meetings above expect for 7 February 2023 meeting have been appended to this report.

3.   AVAILABLE OPTIONS

 

3.1     This report is intended to provide an update and is for noting.

 

4.        PREFERRED OPTION AND REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATIONS

 

4.1     There are no current options for this report as it is for noting, as the review is ongoing.

 

 

5.       RISK

5.1The risks associated with this proposal, including the risks if the Council does not act as recommended, have been considered in line with the Council’s Risk Management Framework.  We are satisfied that the risks associated are within the Council’s risk appetite and will be managed as per the Policy.

 

6.       CONSULTATION RESULTS AND PREVIOUS COMMITTEE FEEDBACK

 

6.1     As outlined in points 2.1 and 2.2 the Group was created to conduct a review to the Water Management Cycle.

 

6.2     All Members were given the opportunity to submit questions for the Group to ask on their behalf whilst consulting with internal and external agencies.

 

7.       NEXT STEPS: COMMUNICATION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE DECISION

 

7.1     The next steps for the Water Management Cycle Working Group is to continue with the review with an estimated timeline.

7.2     For the Working Group to continue to progress with their review and a further report will be brought back to the Committee if requested. Minutes of the Groups future meetings will continue to be provided.

 

8.        REPORT APPENDICES

 

The following documents are to be published with this report and form part of the report:

·         Appendix 1: Minutes (Order of Meetings)

o   1 November 2022

o   5 December 2022

o   15 December 2022

o   22 December 2022

o   27 January 2023

 

9.        BACKGROUND PAPERS

 

·         Minutes of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee Minutes held on 18 July 2022: https://maidstone.gov.uk/home/primary-services/council-and-democracy/primary-areas/your-councillors?sq_content_src=%2BdXJsPWh0dHBzJTNBJTJGJTJGbWVldGluZ3MubWFpZHN0b25lLmdvdi51ayUyRmllTGlzdERvY3VtZW50cy5hc3B4JTNGQ0lkJTNENjk5JTI2TUlkJTNENDgzNiUyNlZlciUzRDQmYWxsPTE%3D

·         Constitution: https://maidstone.gov.uk/home/primary-services/council-and-democracy