Agenda, decisions and minutes

Venue: Town Hall, High Street, Maidstone

Items
No. Item

91.

Apologies for Absence

Minutes:

Apologies were received from Councillors Brice, Garland, McLoughlin, Munford, Naghi, Ross and Mrs Stockell.

 

92.

Notification of Substitute Members

Minutes:

It was noted that Councillor Hemsley was substituting for Councillor McLoughlin, Councillor Mrs Gooch was substituting for Councillor Munford, Councillor Mrs Ring was substituting for Councillor Mrs Stockell, Councillor Richard Ash was substituting for Councillor Garland and Councillor Perry was substituting for Councillor Brice.

93.

Notification of Visiting Members

Minutes:

There were no Visiting Members.

 

94.

Disclosures by Members and Officers

Minutes:

There were no disclosures from Members and Officers.

 

95.

Disclosures of Lobbying

Minutes:

There were no disclosures of lobbying.

 

96.

Exempt Items

Minutes:

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

 

97.

Report of the Director of Environment and Shared Services - Planning Support Shared Service pdf icon PDF 432 KB

Additional documents:

Decision:

1)  That the Business Case prepared and presented by the Mid Kent Services Director, subject to any amendments following necessary consultation with affected staff, be agreed;

2)  That the disaggregation of Tunbridge Wells Borough Council from the Mid Kent Planning Support Service be agreed;

3)  That Maidstone Borough Council’s partnership in the Mid Kent Planning Support Service with Swale Borough Council continue, subject to:

·  moving to a ‘volume based’ contribution mechanism; and

·  undertaking a joint review of the service with Swale Borough Council by June 2017.

4)  That the continuation of the shared Land Charges Service between Maidstone, Swale and Tunbridge Wells Borough Councils be noted; and

5)  That delegated authority be given to the Director of Environment and Shared Services to finalise the detail of any collaboration agreement(s) that are required as a result of the decisions taken by the Committee.

Minutes:

The Committee considered the report of the Director of Environment and Shared Service which provided an update on the discussions and respective position of the partner local authorities following an ‘in principle’ decision by Tunbridge Wells Borough Council to disaggregate from the Mid Kent Planning Support (MKPS) shared service and to consider what approach Maidstone Borough Council wished to take with regard to its future role within the shared service.

Members were also given a brief introduction by the Director of Mid Kent Services in relation to the Business Case.

 

The Director of Mid Kent Services advised that the Business Case had been prepared by a project board of officers across the three authorities.  He gave thanks to those involved, particularly the Planning Support team and the Planning Support Manager who have continued to focus on business as usual throughout.

 

Members noted that the Business Case considered the cost implications of the various scenarios, which were to disaggregate the three way shared service; to reconstitute a planning support service for Tunbridge Wells Borough Council (located at Tunbridge Wells) and a shared service between Maidstone and Swale Borough Councils (which would continue to be located at Maidstone). 

 

Members noted that the final implementation date would be in July 2016. 

 

During the joint discussion, in response to questions raised by Members, it was noted that:

* the IDOX system would not go live until all the tests had been
  completed and the processes signed off by all three parties.

* in terms of Tunbridge Wells Borough Council bearing any reasonable 
  costs associated with the disaggregation of the project, a line would be
  drawn once the project goes live and the systems are implemented.


* the improvement targets had been agreed between Maidstone and
  Swale Borough Councils but the respective Councils would be looking to
  improve those targets as the service moves on.

RESOLVED:

 

1)  That the Business Case prepared and presented by the Mid Kent Services Director, subject to any amendments following necessary consultation with affected staff, be agreed;

2)  That the disaggregation of Tunbridge Wells Borough Council from the Mid Kent Planning Support Service be agreed;

3)  That Maidstone Borough Council’s partnership in the Mid Kent Planning Support Service with Swale Borough Council continue, subject to:

·  moving to a ‘volume based’ contribution mechanism; and

·  undertaking a joint review of the service with Swale Borough Council by June 2017.

4)  That the continuation of the shared Land Charges Service between Maidstone, Swale and Tunbridge Wells Borough Councils be noted; and

5)  That delegated authority be given to the Director of Environment and Shared Services to finalise the detail of any collaboration agreement(s) that are required as a result of the decisions taken by the Committee.

Voting:  For: 13  Against: 0   Abstentions: 0

98.

Duration of Meeting

Minutes:

2 p.m. to 2.30 p.m.