Agenda and minutes

There were no apologies for absence received from Members.

There were no substitute Members appointed.

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.

To confirm the Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 14 December 2016 (to follow).

The Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 14 December 2016 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

Please note that in accordance with the agreed Protocol for Public Speaking at Overview and Scrutiny, the right to speak does not apply to any items on the agenda.

The right of the public to speak does not apply to the following agenda items: Apologies, Appointment of Substitute Members, Declarations of Interest, Minutes, the Forward Plan, the Scrutiny Work Programme, any agenda item that is not accompanied by a written report and items that are exempt business.

There were no items of business to consider.

(a)    Items placed on the agenda by a Member of the Committee or any individual Non-Executive Member

       Any individual Councillor may request that a matter is placed on the agenda of one of the Council's Overview and Scrutiny Committees.

       There are no items for consideration.

(b)    Call-In

       Executive Decisions may be called-in by the Chairman or Spokesperson of the Scrutiny (Policy and Performance) Committee or any three non-executive members. Call-Ins are heard by the Scrutiny (Policy and Performance) Committee unless it decides to refer the matter to the Scrutiny (Community and Regeneration) Committee.

       There are no items for consideration.

(c)    Public Petitions

       There are no items for consideration.     

There were no items of business to consider.

The Team Leader – Democratic Support presented the Notice of Forthcoming Key Decisions to the Committee for its consideration.

RESOLVED:   That the Notice of Forthcoming Key Decisions be noted.

The Team Leader – Democratic Support presented the Scrutiny Work Programme to the Committee for its consideration.

Members agreed to move the Crime and Disorder update scheduled for March to April to allow Southern Water to attend and answer questions from Members in respect of flooding in Deal. Southern Water would be asked to provide written answers to Members questions in advance of the meeting.

RESOLVED:   That the Work Programme be noted subject to the Crime and Disorder update being re-scheduled to April to allow for Southern Water to attend the meeting of the Committee in March.

To scrutinise the provision of Youth Services in the Dover District.

Councillor M Hill OBE, Cabinet Member for Community Services (Kent County Council) will be in attendance to answer the Committee’s questions.

The Chairman welcomed Councillor M Hill, the Kent County Council Cabinet member for Community Services and Mr N Baker, Head of Integrated Youth Services to the meeting who had accepted the invitation from the Committee to answer questions in respect of Youth Services in the Dover District.

Budget

Q1.    WHAT IS TOTAL KCC YOUTH SERVICES BUDGET FOR DDC DISTRICT UNDER THE NEW CONTRACTS FOR THE NEXT FINANCIAL YEAR FOR KCC DIRECTLY PROVIDED YOUTH SERVICES AND THE COMMISSIONED ONES?

The budget for the in-house youth service offer in Dover for 2017/18 had not yet been set although the 2016/17 budget for Dover was £219,800.

In partnership with Kent County Council (KCC) and Dover District Council (DDC), Pie Factory were appointed as the new commissioned youth work provider for the district in December 2016 and as a result there was no comparable 2016/17 figure. However, Members were advised that the full year budget for Dover from 2017/18 would be £99,980.40.

Whilst the majority of local authorities in the country no longer operated a youth service, Kent had maintained the youth service provision. The commission providers had been awarded a 5 year contract.

Members requested that the total countywide figure for youth service funding and how this funding was allocated by district, including Dover, be provided to the committee for comparison.

Q2.    WHAT CHANGE IS THIS ON THE PREVIOUS YEAR?

The 2015/16 budget for the in-house youth services in Dover was £214,400.

The 2015/16 budget for commissioned youth services in Dover was £98,724.

The committee was advised that only one provider had tendered for the youth services contract in Dover and were unsuccessful. As a result, other successful providers in neighbouring authorities were invited to bid for the tender and Pie Factory were awarded the contract.

Q3.    HOW IS THIS BUDGET SPLIT BETWEEN DOVER, DEAL, SANDWICH, AYLESHAM, AND OTHER RURAL LOCATIONS?

The budget was not split on a geographical basis. The Youth Hub Delivery Manager was responsible for determining how the resources were allocated across the district based on the need identified through sources such as: KCC, DDC and the Police. The Youth Hub Delivery Manager was also responsible for ensuring resources were not duplicated across the district.

It was recognised that youth service was a vital service for all youths from all different backgrounds and should be open access to all. To ensure the service delivered was right, service users were consulted and the Youth Forum would also help to provide input into the delivery of the service.

It was suggested by some Members that there was an unfair distribution of the service and argued that there was more provision in Deal than some other areas in more need, such as Dover and rural areas. Members were advised that other youth services were offered within schools and churches and were not funded by KCC. KCC youth services could not be available within every community and priorities had to be made.

Q4.    HOW CAN KENT COUNTY COUNCIL JUSTIFY A CUT OF ABOUT A  ...  view the full minutes text for item 79.