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Present:

Cllr Chris Garland (CG)

Cllr Gary Cooke (GC)

Cllr John A Wilson (JAW)

Cllr Marion Ring (MR)

Cllr Eric Hotson (EH)

Cllr Fran Wilson (FW)

Cllr Stephen Beerling (SB)

Cllr Mike Fitzgerald (MF)

Cllr Derek Mortimer (DM)

Cllr Jenny Whittle (JW)

Cllr Alan Chell (AC)

Cllr Ian Chittenden (IC)

Cllr Malcolm Robertson (MR)

Cllr Dan Daley (DD)

Cllr Pauline Stockell (PS)

Cllr Mike Hill (MH)

Martin Adams (MA)

Jay Edwins (JE)

Charlotte Osborne-Forde (COF)

John Taylor (JT)

Adrian Futers (AF)

Alison Broom (AB)

Zena Cooke (ZC)

John Littlemore (JL)

Abi Jessop (AJ)

Keith Abbot (KA)

Duncan Bruce (DB)

Christine Henderson (CH)

Leader of Maidstone Borough Council (MBC), and Chair of the Maidstone Locality Board

Deputy Cabinet Member for Education, Learning and Skills, Maidstone South East Division, KCC, and Vice Chair

Cabinet Member for Community Services and Leisure, MBC

Cabinet Member for Environment, MBC

Cabinet Member for Corporate Services, MBC and

Conservative (Maidstone Rural South), KCC

Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group, MBC

Liberal Democrat Councillor, Fant Ward, MBC

Spokesperson for the Independents, MBC

Shadow Cabinet Member, Communities and Leisure, MBC

Cabinet Member for Specialist Children’s Services, Maidstone Rural East Division, KCC

Maidstone South Division, KCC

Maidstone North East Division, KCC

Maidstone Central Division, KCC

Maidstone Central Division, KCC

Maidstone Rural West Division, MBC

Cabinet Member for Customer and Communities, KCC (for Item 4)

Area Manager, Kent Fire & Rescue Service, Chair of Safer Maidstone Partnership

Head of Strategic Partnerships, NHS West Kent

Chief Executive, Voluntary Action Maidstone

Director of Kent Invicta Chamber of Commerce and Chair of Economic Development and Regeneration Delivery Group

Chief Inspector Maidstone Area, Kent Police (for Chief Supt. Matthew Nix)

Chief Executive, MBC

Director of Regeneration & Communities, MBC

Head of Housing and Community Services, MBC

Community Engagement Officer for Maidstone, KCC

Director for School Resources, KCC

Community Partnerships Officer, MBC

Community Partnerships Support Officer, MBC

Apologies:

Cllr Paul Carter

Cllr Malcolm Greer

Matthew Nix

Sarah Robson

KCC Leader, Maidstone Rural North Division

Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Transport, MBC

Chief Superintendent, Mid Kent Police

Community Partnerships Manager, MBC

1.

Welcome by the Chair

Cllr Chris Garland, Leader of Maidstone Borough Council

1.1  Cllr Garland welcomed everyone present to the first formal meeting of the Maidstone Locality Board.

1.2  Apologies for absence

As listed above

1.3  Minutes of the last meeting 18 November 2011

Agreed as a true record

1.4  Matters and Actions Arising

• Locality Board Draft Constitution – see agenda item 2
• Locality Board priorities – see agenda item 3
• Mapping local youth services - see agenda item 4
• Community Budgets – Project on target.  Project Officer will be employed on an MBC contract to complete Phase 1 and then commence Phase 2

2.

Board arrangements

Cllr Chris Garland, Leader of Maidstone Borough Council and Cllr Gary Cooke, Deputy Cabinet Member for Education, Learning and Skills, Kent County Council and Vice Chair of Maidstone Locality Board

Discussion:

• The Locality Board may assume a strategic commissioning role in the future
• Priorities – to be jointly agreed – see next item
• Membership of Locality Board – to include both elected Members and representatives from the statutory sector, with non-voting business and voluntary and community sector representatives
• Performance monitoring – how best to achieve rigorous overview of the Locality Board? Scrutiny models discussed included monitoring through a joint KCC/MBC overview and scrutiny committee.
• Section 6 (Decisions and Voting) – 2^nd bullet point, 4^th sentence, delete ‘must’ and substitute ‘where possible’
• Papers for the meeting were not circulate in good time
• Financial arrangements – these must be on a joint basis.  The Board will need to have pooled budgets and to decide on who is the accountable body.

Agreed:

1. Respective KCC and MBC Overview and Scrutiny bodies scrutinise the Maidstone Locality Board as appropriate to their requirements.
2. Membership – proposed membership agreed
3. Voting rights – Equal for all members, except the business sector representative and the voluntary sector representative, also conflict of interest provisions excepting
4. Substitutes – Not required in a body such as the Locality Board.
5. A quorum is not needed
6. Locality Board papers to be circulated 10 days before the meeting
7. Board meetings to commence at 2.00pm
8. Update on Locality Board financial arrangements to be presented to a future meeting

MINUTES

3.

Locality Board priorities - presentation

Zena Cooke, Director of Regeneration and Communities and John Littlemore, Head of Housing and Community Services

Discussion:

GC - Recreational drugs are too commonplace and should be re-classified

AF - Drug crimes are largely Police generated ie if the Police carry out more raids, they find more wrong doing

FW – Teenage mothers who self-exclude themselves from school are an issue – need to understand this better

GC – Agreed that school exclusions are too high in Kent, and that educational achievement is a clear priority.  In Kent, achievement at KS1 is good, is comparatively lower at KS2, and under performing at KS4.

MR – Raising standards in schools is an immediate need, cannot wait, cannot let down the present generation, need a wider range of educational courses, settings, qualifications.

GC – ‘Home education’ is the easy way out for schools who want to avoid exclusions.

CG – Joint MBC/KCC Information dashboard to identify the top level of information to show progress

JW – KCC £3m fund, the Board could make an application.  Tackling worklessness will be a long term commitment, especially given the raising of school leaving age to 18 in 3 years time.  We need to boost our tourist attractions, much potential employment

FW – There is no quick-fix, we need to unlock a complex jig-saw

MR – Must tackle the problem of low pay and dependence on in-work benefits

DD – Everything needs money and many problems are intractable

SB – Given the squeeze on resources, all organisations are fighting for the same funding streams

MA – Sees much benefit in focussing on a selected number of wards.  KFRS keen to engage in the worklessness agenda.  Realistically, when looking at measurable outcomes, success may mean that things do not worsen

CO-F – Many voluntary groups contribute to the worklessness agenda, but most of them are large organisations who have won large government contracts. Other smaller voluntary groups have worklessness as a ’side benefit’, what is needed is to involve smaller voluntary groups.

FW – The housing Allocations Policy has the effect of attracting the poorest families to Maidstone.

Agreed:

1.   The Maidstone Locality Boards overarching priority is to be Tackling Worklessness, with a particular emphasis on Youth Unemployment

2. Actions outlined under Next Steps agreed:

·         Review current information

·         Agree and Adopt Priorities

·         Develop an information dashboard

·         Review existing delivery mechanisms

·         Review and Update Action Plans

·         Produce Year End Performance report

3. A Task & Finish Group consisting of Martin Adams, Stephen Beerling, Gary Cook, John Wilson, Marion Ring, Mike Fitzgerald, John Taylor be set up to develop the work programme and timeline (date to be arranged)
4. Further analysis of teenage conception and school exclusions to be carried out
5. Proposals for an Information Dashboard to be presented at the next meeting.
6. The presentation on Locality Board priorities will be circulated with the minutes

4.

Youth Service update and Strategic Commissioning Plans

Cllr Mike Hill, Cabinet Member for Customer and Communities, Kent County Council

4.1  Kent Youth Service

The new youth service model comprises two key elements:

• a core KCC offer in each district/borough of Kent
• the replacement of existing Partnership Award Grants with a much increased budget for commissioned youth work

The consultation on the new model has finished, and some changes to the policy have been made as a result.  The response to the consultation was encouraging, and there were concerns around the hub model – principally about buildings, how far children will have to travel, and whether the voluntary sector has the capacity to provide an adequate market response i.e. ‘pick up the slack’. 

Although the hub/commissioning model is decided, the exact shape of youth services in Maidstone is being developed and will come before this Board.  The new service will be launched 1/1/2013.

Discussion:

MF – How willing are the voluntary sector to be commissioned?

DD – What is the shape of youth services in Maidstone?

MH – Do not know shape only know size

IC – Is this the wrong time to be cutting youth provision, given youth unemployment etc?

CO-F – With the forthcoming changes, what is needed is diversity of provision, a simple bidding process, and opening contracts up to all sizes of organisation.

4.2  Library Service

• There will be no library closures
• But must make better use of the library estate
• Therefore there will be a detailed review of library services at local level
• Will be looking closely at mixed/joint provision
• Timescale – 2 yrs

Discussion:

Board members thanked MH for coming to the Board as early as possible in the process and for pledging that no libraries would close.  There was agreement as to the need to make better use of the library estate and to look at innovative local provision options.

4.3  Youth Unemployment

£2 million identified by KCC to fund apprenticeships and internships for 18 months

Discussion:

MR - Where are the cuts falling?  Which wards?

How much is spent on youth services in Maidstone

What is the level of cuts?

Agreed:

1. Current local youth service provision needs to be mapped;
2. The Locality Board will decide the blueprint for youth services in Maidstone.
3. A special Locality Board meeting to consider the shape of Youth Services in Maidstone to take place mid/end March.

5.

Any Other Business

Local Children’s Trust ‘Help a Maidstone Child’ fund (paper attached)

Supporting children and families in Maidstone

Agreed: The Locality Board endorsed The Help a Maidstone Child fund.

6.

InLAWS Project (paper attached)

Maidstone Integrated Local Area Workforce Strategy

Agreed: The Locality Board endorsed support for the InLAWS project.

7.

Community Engagement and Neighbourhood Forums (paper attached)

Zena Cooke, Director of Regeneration and Communities, Maidstone Borough Council and Steve Charman, Head of Community Engagement, Kent County Council

Agreed: The Locality Board endorsed the abolition of Neighbourhood Forums, and for the Locality Board to seek to establish the most appropriate Community Engagement approach to replace the Neighbourhood forums, taking account of best practice.

MINUTES

Future Meetings

Date, time and venue of special meeting to discuss Youth Service changes to be agreed and circulated

Dates of 2012 Agenda and Full Board meetings to be agreed and circulated.

Meeting ended 15.20.