Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors O C de R Richardson and M W Rose.

That Council be asked to agree an amendment to the Minutes of the full Council meeting held on 17 July 2024 at Minute No. 74 as set out in the agenda papers.

To confirm the Minutes of the meeting held on 16 October 2024 (to follow).

The Head of Corporate Services and Democracy advised that an amendment was required to Minute No. 74 of the Council meeting held on 17 July 2024. The amendment to the Minutes was approved as a correct record for signing by the Chairman.

The Minutes of the meeting held on 16 October 2024 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.

Members are reminded that Section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 applies to the report on the Council Tax Base and Council Tax Reduction Scheme 2025/26. If any member of the Council who is present at the meeting at which this report is considered owes any sum in respect of council tax which has remained unpaid for at least two months, they shall at the meeting and as soon as practicable after its commencement disclose the fact that section 106 applies to them and shall not vote on any question with respect to the matter.

Councillor C A Vinson declared a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest (DPI) in Minute No. 51(1) by reason of his employment by Southern Water and advised that he would withdraw from the meeting for the consideration of that item of business.

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 made the following announcements:

(a)  To welcome 18^th Dover (Shepherdswell) Scout Group who were present in the public gallery to observe part of the Council meeting. They had expressed an interest in doing so following Parliament Week in November, which was a national campaign that celebrated democracy, encouraged interest in Parliament and promoted engagement with political institutions across the country.

(b)  To note that this was the last meeting of the Strategic Director (Place and Environment), Roger Walton, before his retirement at the end of the month. Members were advised that he had started with the Council in 1993 as the Principal Engineer (District). The Chairman thanked him for 31 years of dedicated service and wished him a happy retirement.

The Chief Executive spoke to Roger’s many successes at the Council with projects such as the Roman Painted House and Maison Dieu amongst many. He was described as a genuine gentleman.

The Leader of the Council, Councillor K Mills, stated that Roger was held in high regard and would be missed. He cited in particular his great knowledge about the history of projects.

The Leader of the Opposition, Councillor T J Bartlett, thanked Roger was his hard work during his time at the Council and that it had been an honour to work with him.

(c)   To announce the sad news of the death of former district councillor Sheila Margaret Maxwell. She had represented the Staple Ward from 1983 – 1995 for the Conservative Party. She was Vice-Chairman of the Council for two years, serving from 1989 – 1991.  The Chairman offered the condolences of the Council to her family.

Councillor T J Bartlett advised that he had replaced former councillor Maxwell in 1995 when she stood down from the Staple Ward. She had identified him as her replacement for the Conservative Party. He said she was much loved and would be missed.

Councillor K Mills advised that she had been very active in the community she represented and his thoughts were with her family.  

The Council stood in silence as a mark of respect.

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 K Mills, included the following matters in his report:

(a)  To welcome the 18^th (Shepherdswell) Scouts to the Council meeting and to thank Councillor J L Pout for helping to organise their attendance. He emphasised the importance of young people engaging in politics and the need to engage with the community.

(b)  To advise that he had visited the Jubilee Centre which he found to be a fantastic facility and he believed that the volunteers would go from strength to strength.

(c)   That he had attended the House of Lords to give evidence in respect of the European Entry/Exit system (EES). He had been invited to join the members of the Lords on their visit to see the docks and tunnel and had found them very receptive to the Council’s views. There was still not a set date for the introduction of EES and the House of Lords were very concerned that the UK was not ready for it.

(d)  To thank the DART team for their work with the Afghan community in Guston. The Afghan community had expressed their gratitude for their help provided by the Council and he expressed his gratitude to them for the help they provided the UK in Afghanistan.

(e)  That he had attended a Swap Shop to see the good work that they were doing and welcomed the work the Council had done to promote the event.

(f)    That he expected to hear on Friday from the Government in respect of the priority bid made by Kent County Council for local government devolution. While he wasn’t convinced about the proposals for a Kent Mayor he would be surprised if Kent was not selected for the priority stream.

(g)  To announce that Maison Dieu would be ready for April 2025.

(h)  That he had attended the groundbreaking ceremony for the Beacon Project.

(i)    To welcome the recent town and parish council meeting as valuable.

(j)    That the Council had responded to the Right To Buy consultation. The current system was not working and the reduction in stock was not sustainable. The Council needed to provide more housing.

(k)   That there had been a number of exciting projects proposed as part of the prosperity grants.

(l)    That the problems with water quality in Deal was a big issue and he highlighted the impact on the Boxing Day Dip which had been cancelled.

(m) To welcome the success of the meet the reindeer event in Sandwich which had brought lots of people to the town. The feedback from local businesses had been excellent.

(n)  To express the concerns of the members of the Labour Group over the disclosure of the voting in the restricted item of business by the members of the Conservative Group on social media.

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

(a)  To express his concern that the National Insurance increase would impact on employment in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 48.

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

The questions received during the notice period are set out in the agenda papers.

QUESTION 1

RAISED BY KAY MARSH, A MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC, UNDER COUNCIL PROCEDURE RULE 11:

“The business address of Instro Precision Ltd is Sentinel House, Artillery Way, Discovery Park, Sandwich. This falls within the boundary of Dover District Council. Using public information available on gov.uk, the Business Rates paid by Instro Precision to DDC are estimated to be just over £114,000 for the year 23-24. Instro Precision Ltd states in its 2023 Annual report that it has a parent company Elbit Systems Limited, and their finances are consolidated. It is therefore accurate to state that Instro Precision Ltd is a subsidiary of Elbit Systems. In its Investor Relations presentation from November 2024, Elbit says it is Israel's largest defence company developing, supplying and maintaining "advanced technological solutions for the Israel Defense Forces and Israel’s security services". Instro Precision plays a role in this, by - according to their own accounts - being principally engaged in ISTAR Electro Optics Solutions and Services. This is further defined as Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance (ISTAR).

Given that: The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity against the Palestinian people, and that many residents within Dover District are deeply distressed and indeed affected by this unfolding catastrophe, and that Instro Precision “Target Acquisition” equipment is being directly supplied to the IDF and Israel's security services, Will Cllr Mills:

(1)  Confirm what percentage of Business Rates income from companies like Instro Precision in the District remained with Dover District Council for the financial year 23-24;

(2)  Make history today and donate this same amount of money that DDC has kept in business rates income for the year 23-24 from Instro Precision to RebuildGaza24.com or a similar organisation supporting the needs of ordinary Palestinians such as Medecins Sans Frontiers or Medical Aid for Palestinians, as a demonstration of humanity and solidarity with all those who have been impacted by the conflict.”

RESPONSE FROM THE LEADER OF THE COUNCIL, COUNCILLOR K MILLS:

“Business Rates from individual ratepayers is not hypothecated into the amounts we keep, and the amounts paid to government. In addition, some occupiers are subject to reliefs such as small business rate relief, charity relief etc and so overall averages can be misleading. Nonetheless, overall the Council retains around £9.1m, or 20% of the total of £45.7m collected. The Council billed Instro Precision for £102k in 2023/24.

In terms of “companies like Instro Precision”, it is understood that this refers to other companies in the defence sector. The Council’s Business Rates team do not hold information at this level of detail on the many companies within the district.”

A supplementary question was asked in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 11.8 concerning the designation of units at the Discovery Park. The Leader of the Council advised that he would provide a written answer.

QUESTION 2

RAISED BY PETER JULL, A MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC, UNDER COUNCIL PROCEDURE RULE  ...  view the full minutes text for item 49.

Up to 60 minutes is allowed for this part of the meeting unless extended by the Chairman of the Council or 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 order received in the agenda papers.

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

QUESTION 1

RAISED BY COUNCILLOR J P LOFFMAN UNDER COUNCIL PROCEDURE RULE 12:

“Irrespective of recent circumstances, I know the Labour Group as a whole and Portfolio holders particularly are ambitious to deliver improved services to residents - like the realisation of a sustainable future for Tides in Deal, & the Beacon Project in Dover- you were all over the recent bus cuts, bus services are so important to our communities. Can you outline what we do next to hold bus companies like Stagecoach accountable?”

REPLY BY THE DEPUTY LEADER OF THE COUNCIL, COUNCILLOR J L POUT:

“We are currently in the process of setting up a Local Bus Focus group for the Dover District.  This would be a replacement for the previous Quality Bus Partnerships meetings in that they are a way of local issues being raised.

 A standard agenda would include local bus network issues and aspirations, planning and development updates, parking enforcement issues and any other items for DDC.

Representatives at these meetings will be district councillors (leading and chairing the meetings), KCC Public Transport, KCC Planning and Transport Development, Primary Bus Operators and district council officers from planning and parking.

The Local Bus Group recognises the important contribution that the views of local bus users and community groups can make to discussions on local bus services. The Chairman of the Local Bus Group will therefore, where they consider appropriate, agree the attendance of representatives of such groups.”

There was no supplementary question asked.  

QUESTION 2

RAISED BY COUNCILLOR C A VINSON UNDER COUNCIL PROCEDURE RULE 12:

“Does the portfolio holder agree that the postponement of this year’s Kent County Council elections would present an opportunity for DDC to carry out its planned Community Governance Review in 2025, rather than 2026 as originally planned?”

REPLY BY THE PORTFOLIO HOLDER FOR FINANCE, GOVERNANCE CLIMATE CHANGE AND ENVIRONMENT, COUNCILLOR S B BLAIR:

“I suggest withdrawing his question until we had further information as any discussion based on the postponement of the KCC elections which hadn’t happened yet as per their website would be purely speculative and academic at this stage.”

A supplementary question was asked in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 12.6 restating the original question. The Chairman ruled that the Portfolio Holder had responded to the question as worded and that the question had been answered.

QUESTION 3

RAISED BY COUNCILLOR D G BEANEY UNDER COUNCIL PROCEDURE RULE 12:

“Can the portfolio holder provide an update on how many vulnerable, elderly residents DDC has supported to claim Pension Credit, so they can maintain their eligibilty for the Winter Fuel Allowance?”

REPLY BY THE PORTFOLIO HOLDER FOR COMMUNITY AND CORPORATE PROPERTY, COUNCILLOR C D ZOSSEDER:

“During the period 30.10.24 - 15.11.24 the DWP sent a letter to 181 households in the Dover district.  DWP were not able to share with DDC the names and addresses of those who were  ...  view the full minutes text for item 50.

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.

The Motions received are set out in the agenda papers.

MOTION 1

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 13, Councillor J L Pout moved the following Motion:

“Poor water quality in Deal

Council notes:

1.    The water quality in Deal castle has deteriorated from ‘Good’ in 2021 to ‘Poor’ in 2024, according to the Environment Agency.

2.    A particularly large spike on 23^rd August 2024 in both E Coli. and Intestinal Enterococci per 100ml.

3.    In initial dialogue with both Southern Water and the Environment Agency, there is no definitive answer as to the reason for the declining water quality.

Council believes:

      i.        Southern Water has underinvested in the sewerage network across the district.

     ii.        The Environment Agency has good evidence to believe an abnormal incident took place on or around 23^rd August as they applied for the data to be disregarded.

    iii.        The ‘Poor’ quality rating will have detrimental economic effects if left in place for longer than necessary.

Council resolves to:

a.    Write to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, urging them to support our efforts in holding the Environment Agency and Southern Water accountable for the poor water quality in Deal.

b.    Urge Southern Water and the Environment Agency to be open and honest with the people of Deal, by sharing all available information with the public.

c.     Explore the value of additional water quality sampling.

d.    Take all opportunities given to the council to work collaboratively to improve water quality in Deal and across the Dover district.”

The Motion was seconded by Councillor S B Blair.

An AMENDMENT was moved by Councillor M Bates, duly seconded by Councillor T J Bartlett, to add an additional point (e) under “Council resolves to:”

e.    This Council also resolves to seek urgent discussions with the Environment Agency to agree on measures to mitigate the impact that this data anomaly will have on future quality assessments and to address its effects for the current year.

Councillor N S Kenton suggested that the following change needed to be made to the Motion.

“Council resolves to:

a.    Write to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, urging them to support our efforts in working with the Environment Agency and Southern Water to improve the poor water quality in Deal.”

Councillor J L Pout, with the consent of his seconder, advised that he was prepared to accept the amendment moved by Councillor M Bates.

Having been moved by Councillor J L Pout, duly seconded by Councillor S B Blair, it was put to the meeting and

RESOLVED:

“Poor water quality in Deal

Council notes:

1.    The water quality in Deal castle has deteriorated from ‘Good’ in 2021 to ‘Poor’ in 2024, according to the Environment Agency.

2.    A particularly large spike on 23^rd August 2024 in both E Coli. and Intestinal Enterococci per 100ml.

3.    In initial dialogue with both Southern Water and the Environment Agency, there is no definitive answer as to the reason for the declining water quality.

Council  ...  view the full minutes text for item 51.

To consider the report of the Strategic Director (Finance and Housing)(to follow).

Recorded Vote

A recorded vote will be required in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 18.6 (Voting on Budget Decisions).

The Strategic Director (Finance and Housing) presented the report on the Council Tax Base and Council Tax Reduction Scheme 2025/26.

He reminded Members of their obligations under Section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 which applied to this item of business. If any member of the Council who was present at the meeting owed any sum in respect of council tax which has remained unpaid for at least two months, they would need to as soon as practicable after the commencement of the item of business disclose the fact that section 106 applied to them and that they should not vote on any question with respect to the matter.

It was moved by Councillor S B Best, duly seconded by Councillor J L Pout, and

RESOLVED: (a) That for the financial year 2025/26, the empty homes discount for properties unoccupied and unfurnished (‘Class C’ properties) remains at 0%, so that Council Tax will be payable in full on these properties.

(b) Determines the District's Council Tax Base for 2025/26 be approved as 42,119.72 and the tax base for the towns and parishes in the Council’s administrative area, as set out in the table at Appendix 2

(c) Determines the “Long Term Empty Premium” for properties that have been left empty and substantially unfurnished:

(i) for periods of 1 year but less than 5 years, a Long Term Empty premium to be charged at 100%; and

(ii) for periods of 5 years but less than 10 years, a Long Term Empty premium to be charged at 200%; and

(iii) for periods of 10 years or more a Long Term Empty premium to be charged at 300%.

(d) Formally reaffirms the previous decision (31 January 2024) to cease new applications for the council Tax ‘Class D’ discount, for properties undergoing structural alteration and/or major repair, effective 1 April 2024.

(e) Formally approves the CTRS as set out in this report, effective from 1 April 2025.

(f) Formally reaffirms the previous decision (31 January 2024) to apply a 100% Council Tax premium on properties that are unoccupied and furnished (now with certain exceptions), often referred to as ‘second homes’ (‘Class B’ properties), applicable from 1 April 2025, in line with the Levelling-Up and Regeneration Act 2023

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 18.6 (Voting on Budget Decisions) a recorded vote was held, the result of which was as followed:

Councillors D P Murphy and C F Woodgate were not present when the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 52.

To consider the Joint Report Of The Chief Executive And Monitoring Officer.

The Head of Corporate Services and Democracy presented the report on the Review of Allocation of Seats to Political Groups that had been triggered following a change to the size of the political groups on the Council.

It was moved by Councillor K Mills, duly seconded by Councillor J L Pout, that the Labour Group’s proposed seating allocations be adopted, subject to replacing Councillor K Mills with Councillor M W Moorhouse on Joint Staff Consultative Forum and Joint Health, Safety and Welfare Consultative Forum as followed:

An AMENDMENT was moved by Councillor C A Vinson, duly seconded by Councillor T J Bartlett, that the proposed seat allocation be amended in accordance with the Conservative Group’s proposing seating allocation as followed:

On being put to the meeting, the AMENDMENT was LOST.

The original Motion proposed by Councillor K Mills, duly seconded by Councillor J L Pout, was put to the meeting and

RESOLVED:

The Council appointed to the seats on the ordinary committees to give effect to the allocations and the nomination of the political groups and appoints to the other bodies to which it makes appointment as followed:

RESOLVED:

EAST KENT SERVICES COMMITTEE NAMED SUBSTITUTES (2)

To consider the report of the Head of Corporate Services and Democracy.

The Head of Corporate Services and Democracy presented the Draft Calendar of Meetings 2025/26.

It was moved by Councillor S B Blair, duly seconded by Councillor K Mills, and

RESOLVED: (a) That the Draft Calendar of Meetings for 2025-26 be approved in principle subject to final ratification at the Annual Meeting of Council on Wednesday 21 May 2025.

(b) That Council approve the change to the previously approved date of the Planning Committee meeting from 15 May 2025 to 8 May 2025.

To consider the report of the Head of Corporate Services and Democracy. (to follow)

The Head of Corporate Services and Democracy presented the report on the East Kent Joint Independent Remuneration Panel.

It was moved by Councillor K Mills, duly seconded by Councillor S B Blair, and

RESOLVED: (a) That the Council agree to Folkestone and Hythe District Council joining the East Kent Joint Independent Remuneration Panel, subject to ratification by Canterbury City Council and Thanet District Council.

(b) That the Head of Corporate Services and Democracy be authorised to agree the arrangements for the administrative support of the East Kent Joint Independent Remuneration Panel.

(c) That the Head of Corporate Services and Democracy be requested to proceed with continuing to advertise for the vacant second Dover District member on the East Kent Joint Remuneration Panel.

To consider the attached report of the Strategic Director (Finance and Housing).

The Strategic Director (Finance and Housing) presented the report on the Section 24 Background Report.

The purpose of the Section 24 report was to provide Members with background to the Section 24 Report from Grant Thornton (GT), Minute Number 57, on the Council agenda and the Council’s response to it.

The Chairman advised that the Section 24 Background Report (Minute No. 56) would be considered en bloc with the Grant Thornton Section 24 Statutory Recommendations (Minutes No. 57).

The Section 24 Statutory Recommendations were presented by representatives from Grant Thornton. In attendance were the following representatives:

·         L Brown (Director with Grant Thornton and Key Audit Partner)

·         P Dorset (Partner and Head of Local Government Sector Team)

·         L Nutley (Senior Engagement Manager)

There were 4 areas of significant weaknesses identified by Grant Thornton concerning the economy, efficiency and effectiveness of the Council’s use of resources. These were in relation to financial sustainability and governance.

The significant areas of weakness identified were in relation to:

(a)  Financial management arrangements

(b)  Financial performance information

(c)   Published financial information

(d)  Governance and oversight of projects

The statutory recommendations of Grant Thornton had to be considered within 30 days of being received by the Council on 10 January 2025 in accordance with the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014.

The four statutory recommendations were:

(a)  The Council should put in place robust arrangements to address the recommendations previously made in our joint year Auditor’s Annual Report for 2021-22 and 2022-23.

(b)  The Council should review the level of detail of and develop more comprehensive financial performance information with the quarterly performance report to Cabinet. This should also include financial proposals that are presented to Cabinet, ensuring that Members have all salient information required to make effective and efficient decisions.

(c)   The Council should put in place robust arrangements to ensure that there is adequate oversight of the internal control and governance frameworks.

(d)  The Council should ensure that the new project management arrangements in place for ICT and digital projects to address the recommendations made in the Internal Audit review regarding system implementation projects before further system implementations are undertaken. The governance and oversight of such projects is imperative to ensure that implementation is done on an appropriate timeframe, not necessarily a short timeframe, to give confidence that system implementation is successfully.

(e)  The Council should ensure that the new arrangements are followed, reviewed and monitored so they can be adapted if they are not working in practice, or embedded if the provide to be effective.

The Strategic Director (Finance and Housing) advised that he did not believe that the statutory recommendations from Grant Thornton adequately reflected the most recent position. However, the Council wasn’t disputing the statutory recommendations although it disagreed in several places with the proposed actions. It was pointed out that no audit recommendation had changed the Council’s financial position or sustainability.

Members raised the following points:

·             The Chair of the Governance Committee expressed the view that the members of the Governance  ...  view the full minutes text for item 56.

To consider the report of Grant Thornton.

This item was considered en bloc with Minute No. 56 (Section 24 Background Report).

The Head of Corporate Services and Democracy advised Members that the time was nearing 10pm and that in accordance with the Council Procedure Rules a decision would need to be made as to whether to continue the meeting.

It was moved by Councillor K Mills, duly seconded by Councillor J L Pout, and

RESOLVED: That the Council do proceed with the business remaining on the agenda.

It was moved by Councillor D G Cronk, duly seconded by Councillor S B Blair and

RESOLVED:       That, under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the remainder of the business on the grounds that the items to be considered involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 1 and 4 of Part I of Schedule 12A of the Act.

To consider the report of the Head of Paid Service.

The Chief Executive presented the report on Changes to the Chief Officer Structure.

It was moved by Councillor S B Blair, duly seconded by Councillor S H Beer, and

RESOLVED: (a) Council approves the reduction of the Corporate Management Team to a Chief Executive and two Directors with effect from 1 February 2025.

(b) Council approves the re-distribution of functions between the Chief Officers that form the Council’s Corporate Management Team with effect from 1 February 2025.

(c) Council designates Beverley Dempster as the Council’s Monitoring Officer with effect from 1 April 2025.

(d) Council designates Helen Lamb as the Council’s S.151 Officer with effect from 1 April 2025

There were no items of urgent business for consideration.