There were no substitute Members.

It was noted that Councillor F Wilson was a visiting Member with an interest in all items on the Agenda.

a)  Disclosures of interest.

b)  Disclosures of lobbying.

c)  Disclosures of whipping.

There were no disclosures.

Resolved: That all items on the agenda be taken in public as proposed.

The minutes of the meeting dated 23 June 2009 were agreed subject to apologies being amended to ‘There were none’ and the first bullet point of Minute ? 17 be amended to read ‘two types of recyclable materials’.

Resolved:  That the minutes of the meeting held on 23 June 2009 be agreed as a correct record and duly signed by the Chairman subject to the apologies being amended to ‘There were none’ and the first bullet point of Minute ? 17 be amended to read ‘two types of recyclable materials’.

It was agreed that Agenda Item 8, ‘Future Work Programme and Forward Plan of Key Decisions’ be taken before Agenda Item 7, ‘Best Value Review of Waste and Recycling – Informal Options Workshop’.

Resolved:  That Agenda Item 8 be taken before Agenda Item 7.

The Chairman highlighted the Corporate Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee’s reference to the Committee with regard to the declining footfall at the Leisure Centre.  Councillor F Wilson informed the Committee that the Corporate Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee had been concerned by this decline and recommended to the Committee that they establish why there had been a decline in footfall and what was being done to address this.  She further highlighted a resident’s concern with regard to the closure of the crèche due to declining uptake.  The Committee agreed that this was an important piece of work and agreed to undertake a one off review at its meeting on 15 December.  Members requested copies of the first and second quartile Performance indicators with regard to the Leisure Centre’s footfall for 2008/09 and 2009/10, in addition to comparative data for other local authority leisure centres and Maidstone based private leisure centres.

The Committee noted the sections of the Forward Plan that were relevant to the Committee’s remit and requested a copy of the draft tourism strategy.  Members also requested that the proposed fees and charges for both the Market and Bereavement Services, with supporting information, be circulated to the Committee by email for its comment.  Members agreed to contact the Overview and Scrutiny Officer with any comments on these.

The Chairman suggested that the topic of dog waste be reviewed by the Committee following a suggestion from a Parish Council.  The Committee agreed it was an issue across the Borough and resolved to add it to its work programme.

Resolved:  That

a)  A one off review of Maidstone’s Leisure Centre be added to the Committee’s work programme;

b)  Maidstone’s Tourism Strategy be added to the Committee’s work programme;

c)  The fees and charges for both the Market and Bereavement Services, with supporting information, be circulated to the Committee by email; and

d)  Dog Waste be added to the Committee’s work programme.

The Committee undertook a workshop to consider the various options available for each aspect of the Collection Service as part of its work towards the Best Value Review of Waste and Recycling.  Members broke into groups and scored various options on a scale of 1 to 4 (4 being closest to the best) with regard to the option’s sustainability, cost effectiveness, service delivery and how environmental it was.  The draft results of this workshop are attached at Appendix A.

6.30pm to 8.30pm.