Vision for Kent Consultation

1. We have identified areas of work that we think will help achieve the ambition of growing the economy in Kent:

Please indicate the two actions that you think are most important (MBC response indicated in bold)

·         Improve Kent’s infrastructure (roads, rail, broadband connection)

·         Give businesses tailored support to help them be more successful

·         Work to free businesses from unnecessary regulation

·         Provide opportunities for adults to continue to learn new skills

·         Encourage companies to take on more apprentices and trainees

·         Find ways to tackle climate change and use fewer resources (such as power and water)

2. Please tell us what else we could do to achieve the ambition of growing the economy in Kent

We need to ensure we have a range of jobs in Kent to meet all levels of skill as wells as seeking to improve the skills of residents and opportunities for young people. Transport plays an important role in supporting economic development and creating opportunities for growth. Businesses need an effective and well connected transport system to access the town and to connect with London, centres in Kent, the southeast and internationally in order to thrive. Public consultation consistently reveals transport as a major concern for example the consultation carried out for the Sustainable Community Strategy showed that a large proportion of Maidstone’s local people view the transport system and particularly the accessibility of public transport, as inadequate. There are proposals to put in place a new train line direct to the City and to other London destinations, which we will support. Peak time congestion in Maidstone Town Centre is a major problem and projected to get worse, the town is also vulnerable to ‘operation stack’.

3. We have identified areas of work that we think will help achieve the ambition of tackling disadvantage in Kent:

Please put ticks in the boxes next to the two actions that you think are most important (MBC response indicated in bold)

·           Work to provide a choice of high quality health and social care

·           Help people improve their mental and emotional health

·           Support unemployed people to get back into work

·           Encourage young people to be in education, training or work

·           Build homes people want to live in and communities they want to be part of

·           Make it easier for everyone to find and use the public services they need

4.  Please tell us what else we could do to achieve the ambition of tackling disadvantage in Kent

We would be keen to ensure that any action taken benefits disadvantaged communities and individuals across Kent including in the rural areas. As you will be aware 11% of Maidstone’s population live in areas considered to be in the 20% most deprived in the country. Our rural areas also contain households suffering deprivation. These areas have lower standards of health and lower life expectancy than average. The disadvantaged wards have the highest numbers of young people not in education, employment or training and significantly higher numbers of youth offenders. We would seek assurance that action is taken to tackle disadvantage across Kent.

5.  We have identified areas of work that we think will help achieve the ambition of putting citizens in control in Kent:

Please put ticks in the boxes next to the two actions that you think are most important (MBC response indicated in bold)

·           Involve people in making decisions on public services and spending

·           Design services to meet the needs of the people who use them

·           Support people in taking more control over what happens in their neighbourhood, for example giving them more say on how community buildings are put to good use

·           Help charities and other voluntary organisations to do more good work

·           Tackle crime and anti-social behaviour

·           Help more people become volunteers in their community

6.   Please tell us what else we could do to achieve the ambition of putting citizens in control in Kent

As a council we are looking forward to working closely with the KCC and other partners to deliver this ambition. We are ready to run services on behalf of others including the County Council to bring them closer to residents and put residents in control. We support the introduction of Locality Boards and look forward to the Maidstone Locality Board being focussed on delivering outcomes for our residents.  We also believe that the voluntary and business sector are key partners in delivering this ambition and would seek reassurance that they will be involved in any plans going forward.