Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors S H Beer, D G Cronk, R S Walkden and P Walker.

To confirm the Minutes of the meeting held on 29 January 2020 (to follow).

The Minutes of the meeting held on 29 January 2020 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

To receive any declarations of interest from Members in respect of business to be transacted on the agenda.

There were no declarations of interest made by Members.

Councillor C F Woodgate arrived late to the meeting during the business for Minute No. 64 (Leader’s Time). Following his arrival, Councillor C F Woodgate disclosed to the meeting that section 106 Local Government Finance Act 1992 (Council tax and community charges: restrictions on voting) applied to him and did not vote on any question with respect to the setting of the council tax

To receive any announcements from the Chairman of the Council, the Leader of the Council, Members of the Cabinet or the Head of Paid Service.

The Chairman of the Council, Councillor M D Conolly, made the following announcements:

(a)  To draw Members’ attention to the display boards around the Council Chamber relating to The 149^th Open Golf.

(b)  To express sympathy to Councillor J P Haste in respect of the burglary he has recently suffered.

To receive an oral report at the meeting from the Leader (and Cabinet) on the business of the Executive or on any topic or subject that it is felt should be brought to the attention of the Council.

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 10 (Leader’s Time):

(a)  The Leader (and Cabinet) shall have up to 15 minutes to make within this report any statements that they wish on any topic or subject that they feel should be drawn to the attention of the Council.

(b)  The Leader of the Main Opposition Group (or their nominee) shall be allowed up to 10 minutes to respond.

(c)  The Leader of the Council shall be allowed up to 5 minutes to exercise a right of reply (or 25% of the time given to the Opposition Group Leader(s), whichever is the greatest).

The Leader of the Council, Councillor T J Bartlett, included the following matters in his report:

(a)  To note that the Lydden Hill planning application had been approved by the Planning Committee.

(b)  To advise that the Digital Administration Apprentice won Creative and Digital Apprentice of the Year at the East Kent Apprenticeship Awards and to congratulate her on her success.

(c)  That he had met with Councillor Roger Gough of Kent County Council to set out his vision for the Dover District and the importance of needed road improvements.

(d)  That he had been invited to pull the first pint at the Lord Nelson pub following its £330,000 redevelopment by Shepherd Neame.

(e)  That an event was held to mark the first anniversary of the Dover District Lotto which had been a great success raising over £40,000 for good causes in the district. He thanked Councillor M J Holloway and the Community Services team for their work.

(f)   To congratulate the Climate Change and Energy Conservation Officer on her success in being recognised as a Heat Hero.

(g)  To celebrate the first anniversary of the Dover District Leisure Centre which had seen a 379% increase in membership compared to that of the old leisure centre. In addition, the Dover District Leisure Centre had received an ‘A’ certificate energy rating.       

(h)  That the Council would be launching a green energy grant scheme that would provide up to £10,000 to help small businesses in the district become more energy efficient.

(i)    That the ‘Solar Together’ scheme would be launched in March 2020. The scheme would help residents power their homes through solar energy and there was a trial involving four properties in Temple Ewell.  

(j)    The Open Legacy Fund, an initiative run by the R&A, had launched its Green Initiatives Grant Programme with Dover District Council and Sandwich Town Council. The fund would enable community groups and organisations in Sandwich to apply for funding to support initiatives that provided social, environmental and health and well-being benefits for the town and its residents. 

(k)  That he had visited an Outreach Centre for homeless people to see the work being done to support them.

(l)    To advise that the Discovery Park had been awarded Life Science Opportunity Zone status by the government which would help it develop as a regional life sciences cluster.           

The Leader of the Opposition Labour Group, Councillor K Mills, included the following matters in his report:        

(a)  That in respect of the Lydden Hill application it was important to remember the concerns of local residents concerning noise and ensure that any breaches were enforced.

(b)  To express his support for the Council’s apprenticeship programme.

(c)  That he thought the Dover District Lotto would continue to be a success and suggest that the Council front load money into a grant scheme if it could to support demand.

(d)  To welcome the Dementia Village and emphasise the important of council staff being trained to deal with people with dementia.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 64.

There were no changes to seat allocation advised by the political group leaders.

To receive answers in respect of questions from the public to Members of the Executive asked in accordance with Rule 11 of the Council Procedure Rules.

(a)  Questions will be asked in the order in which notice of them was received, except that the Chairman may group together similar questions.

(b)  The period for questions by the public shall be limited so that no further questions shall be put after the elapse of 15 minutes from the commencement of the first question.

(c)  A maximum of three minutes is allowed for the each question to be read.

(d)  A questioner who has put a question in person may also put one supplementary question without notice to the member who has replied to his or her original question. A supplementary question must arise directly out of the original question or the reply.

(e)  Afterwards, any other Member at the Chairman's discretion may speak for up to two minutes on a question or reply.

Questions from the Public

There were no questions from the public received within the notice period.

There were no questions on notice from Members of the public.

To consider the attached report of the Chief Executive and Head of Paid Service.

The Chief Executive introduced the report on the Pay Policy Statement 2020-21.

On their being no dissent, and with it being the will of the meeting, it was

RESOLVED:       That the Pay Policy Statement set out at Appendix 1 of the report be approved prior to publication on the Council’s website.

To consider the attached report of the Head of Leadership Support.

The Leader of the Council, Councillor T J Bartlett, introduced the Draft Corporate Plan 2020-2024.

It was moved by Councillor T J Bartlett, duly seconded by Councillor S S Chandler, and

RESOLVED:       That the Draft Corporate Plan 2020-2024 be approved and the Plan be published on the Council’s website.

To consider the attached report of the Strategic Director (Corporate Resources).

In accordance with Procedure Rule 18.6 (voting on budget decisions) a recorded vote will be held in respect of this item.

The Strategic Director (Corporate Resources) introduced the report on the Council Budget 2020/21, Medium-Term Financial Plan 2020/21–2023/24 and 2020/21 Council Tax Setting.

It was moved by Councillor S C Manion, and duly seconded by Councillor T J Bartlett, that the recommendations set out in the report incorporating the recommendations of the Cabinet at its meeting held on 24 February 2020 be approved.

On being put to the vote it was

RESOLVED:  (a)     That the General Fund Revenue Budget, the Capital and Special Projects Programmes, the Housing Revenue Account Budget, the Council Tax Resolution and the content of the MTFP be approved.

                        (b)     That a Council Tax increase of 2.6% for DDC purposes be approved, resulting in an increase on Band D properties of £4.95 per year and an annual DDC Council Tax of £192.24.

(c)     To note that it is the view of the Strategic Director (Corporate Resources), the Section 151 Officer, that the budget has been prepared in an appropriate and prudent manner and that based upon the information available at the time of producing this report the 2020/21 estimates are robust and the resources are adequate for the Council’s current spending plans in 2020/21.

(d)     That the various Council recommendations at the end of the sections within the attached budget and MTFP, and summarised in Annex 10 to Appendix 1, are approved as follows:

(i)            Approve the General Fund Revenue budget for 2020/21 and the projected outturn for 2019/20.

(ii)           Approve the policies and protocols regarding the General Fund balances and earmarked reserves, and transfers between reserves as set out in Annex 4.

(iii)          Approve the HRA budget for 2020/21 and the projected outturn for 2019/20 at Annex 5.

(iv)         Approve the Capital and Special Revenue Projects Programmes.

(v)          Approve that capital resources required to finance new projects are secured before new projects commence.

(vi)         Approve the Capital, Treasury Management and Investment Strategies, including the Prudential Indicators and Minimum Revenue Provision statement (Annexes 7A, 7B and 7C).

(vii)        Approve the Council Tax Resolution as set out at Annex 8A.

(viii)       Note that if the formal Council Tax Resolution at Annex 8A is approved, the total Band D Council Tax will be as follows:

(ix)         The Council Tax, by band, for the major preceptors will be as follows:

Up to 60 minutes is allowed for this part of the meeting unless extended by the Chairman of Council on a motion moved, duly seconded and approved by the Council.  Members may ask one supplementary question in addition to their original question.

Members may ask one supplementary question in addition to their original question.

The questions received are set out in the agenda papers.

In accordance with Rule 12(1) of the Council Procedure Rules, Members of the Cabinet responded to the following questions:

(1)  Councillor M Bates asked the Portfolio for Housing and Health, Councillor D P Murphy:

“This week will mark the end of the Dover Outreach Winter Night Shelter project which opened its doors on 1st December and will close on 28th February. This project continues to provide much needed support to some of the most needy and continues to generate a large pool of people from within our community who are willing to give up their time to help out. At the time of submitting this question the project has involved a total of 115 trained volunteers who have worked three shifts per day providing evening meals, comfort and support during the night and a breakfast in the morning. During the course of the programme the available beds, evening meals and breakfasts were provided on 434 occasions with the volunteers working a total of 3972 hours. Since September 2016 Dover Outreach has find sustainable for 151 rough sleepers, place 41 into work and repatriated 14. I would therefore like to welcome the news that both Folkestone and Dover District Councils have received joint funding of £469,000 for continuing support and to ask how this will be used for them in the forthcoming year?”

In response Councillor D P Murphy stated that the funding from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) would fund the following interventions for 2020/21 in the Dover and Folkestone & Hythe council areas.

The funding provided for 2 navigators (one specialized in dealing with substance misuse and the other in dealing with vulnerable women), a rough sleeping co-ordinator, floating support (3 full-time and 1 part-time officer), an outreach worker, a mental health worker, night support service (two outreach workers) and a longer term accommodation budget of £25,200.

The rough sleeping coordinator was responsible for the overall strategic management of rough sleeping services across the two districts. They acted as the liaison between all the agencies providing rough sleeping services and worked to ensure that a consistent approach was developed in respect of policies and procedures.

The navigators undertook street assessments of rough sleepers and the street population and across the temporary accommodation pathway. Their primary focus was intense interventions for the group of entrenched rough sleepers across their cohort.

The floating support service worked with Porchlight across both districts. They assumed responsibility for the caseload for those placed into emergency or private rented accommodation by the outreach worker.

The outreach worker was responsible for identifying new rough sleepers and helping them move from the streets into accommodation. They will conduct regular outreach checks in conjunction with the Sanctuary outreach service, CSUs, Street Wardens and Pastors and respond to any reports of rough sleepers being identified within the districts. The outreach worker attends case review meetings, provides drop-in services, and provides valuable intelligence to inform interventions.

The mental health worker delivered an outreach and day centre  ...  view the full minutes text for item 70.

Motions for which notice has been given are listed on the agenda in the order in which notice was received, unless the Member giving notice states, in writing, that they propose to move it at a later meeting or withdraw it.

If a Motion set out in the agenda is not moved by the Member who gave notice thereof it shall, unless postponed by consent of the Council, be treated as withdrawn and shall not be moved without fresh notice.

Up to 60 minutes is allowed for this part of the meeting unless extended by the Chairman of Council on a motion moved, duly seconded and approved by the Council.  Members may ask one supplementary question in addition to their original question.

The Motions received are set out in the agenda papers.

(1)       In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 13, Councillor L A Keen moved the Motion of which she had given notice as followed:

“This Council resolves: to require all public firework displays within the local authority boundaries to be advertised in advance of the event, allowing residents to take precautions for their animals and vulnerable people

·         to actively promote a public awareness campaign about the impact of fireworks on animal

·         to write to the UK Government urging them to introduce legislation to limit the maximum noise level of fireworks to 90dB for those sold to the public for private displays

·         to encourage local suppliers of fireworks to stock ‘quieter’ fireworks for public display.”

          The Motion was duly seconded by Councillor K Mills.

          Councillor N S Kenton advised that subject to the deletion of the second bullet point he would be willing to support the Motion and asked the mover of the Motion to consider amending it accordingly.

          Councillor L A Keen, with the consent of her seconder, agreed to accept the deletion of the second bullet point and on being put to the vote it was

          RESOLVED: That this Council resolves: to require all public firework displays within the local authority boundaries to be advertised in advance of the event, allowing residents to take precautions for their animals and vulnerable people

•        to actively promote a public awareness campaign about the impact of fireworks on animal

•        to encourage local suppliers of fireworks to stock ‘quieter’ fireworks for public display.

Six members present requested that a recorded vote be held in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 18.4. The manner of the voting was as followed:

There were no items of urgent business for consideration.