Agenda and minutes

An apology for absence was received from Councillor D J Parks.

The Head of Corporate Services and Democracy advised that no notice had been received for the appointment of substitute members.

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 attached Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 18 November 2024.

The Minutes of the meeting held on 18 November 2024 were approved as a correct record, subject to an amendment to delete reference to Councillor M Bates moving the item on blood services, for signing by the Chairman.

To receive the Cabinet decisions in respect of recommendations of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

There were no decisions of the Cabinet relating to recommendations made by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

To receive any public petitions or issues referred by Council, Cabinet or another Committee.

The Head of Corporate Services and Democracy advised that there were no issues referred to the Committee by Council, Cabinet or another Committee.

The Head of Corporate Services and Democracy presented the Notice of Forthcoming Key Decisions to the Committee for its consideration.

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

The Head of Corporate Services and Democracy presented the Overview and Scrutiny Work Programme to the Committee for its consideration.

Members were advised that in respect of the work programme on blood services in Deal, NHS Kent and Medway Integrated Care Board had advised that as they were attending a meeting at Kent County Council on this issue, they were declining the invitation to attend a meeting of the committee in respect of it.

The Head of Corporate Services and Democracy advised Members that the Governance Committee had recently considered the audit report on cybersecurity and asked if Members still wanted to include it within the work programme.

It was proposed by Councillor S H Beer, duly seconded by Councillor L M Wright, that the cybersecurity item be removed from the work programme.

RESOLVED:       That the Work Programme be noted subject to the removal of the items on cybersecurity and blood services.

Please note that in accordance with the agreed Protocol for Public Speaking at Overview and Scrutiny, the right to speak only applies to agenda items 10 and 11.

Members of the public wishing to speak must register to do so by no later than 2.00 pm on the second working day (Thursday) before the meeting.

The Head of Corporate Services and Democracy advised that no members of the public had registered to speak on items on the agenda to which the public speaking protocol applied.

To consider the attached report of the Head of Housing.

Members considered the report on the Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy 2025-30.

The following points were considered:

·             How the Council tried to consult with hard-to-reach groups as part of the process.

·             To confirm that the Council encouraged people to make direct payments to landlords.

·             To clarify how the strategic priority to improve access to private sector accommodation to meet the needs of those homeless or at risk of homelessness was compatible with the priority of reducing the Council’s reliance on private sector temporary accommodation. In response it was stated that the intention was to get more long-term accommodation as opposed to expensive temporary accommodation.

·             To enquire whether all measurables were SMART. It was stated in response that not all were due to the nature of them.

·             To discuss how the Council assisted tenants in rent arrears. Members were advised that the housing team worked hard to prevent homelessness and would become involved when payments were missed. However, it was acknowledged that this would not prevent all tenants in rent arrears from being evicted.

·             To request a breakdown of private sector rent increases.

To consider the attached report of the Head of Housing.

Members considered the report on the Anti-Social Behaviour Policy (2024).

The following points were discussed:

·         To discuss what constituted CCTV related nuisance. In response it was stated that cameras and doorbell cameras were useful for collecting evidence but should have privacy areas set up so that they were not looking into other properties.

·         To express concern that there was an overemphasis on hate crime. In response it was stated that this was new to the policy which warranted the emphasis.

To scrutinise attendees on river and sea water quality in the Dover District.

Representatives in attendance (physically or virtually) will provide an update on their role in respect of river and sea water quality and then answer questions from Members on the matter.

The Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, Councillor T J Bartlett, welcomed those that accepted the invitation to attend the meeting and asked them to introduce themselves.

Present:

Lindsay Faulkner, Area Environment Manager (Environment Agency)

Sally Harvey, Area Director (Environment Agency)

John Mealey, Stakeholder Engagement Manager (Southern Water)

Nick Mills, Director of Environment and Innovation (Southern Water) *

Vicki Beatty, Head of Safety, Quality and Environment (Port of Dover) *

Megan Turner, Environment and Sustainability Maxnager (Port of Dover) *

(*) Attending remotely

Each of the groups present were asked to provide a summary of their role in respect of river and sea water quality.

Environment Agency (EA)

·         Main responsibility was monitoring through a statutory sampling regime (Bathing Water Regulations 2013).

·         Also responsible for informing the public about water quality.

·         Regulating those with permits to discharge to water (water companies, agricultural sector and others).

·         Responding to pollution incidents, including investigation and enforcement activity.

Southern Water (SW)

·         A ‘key custodian’ alongside the Environment Agency, Drainage Board, local Councils and others in trying to improve bathing water quality.

·         The work to improve bathing water quality was defined in their Improvement Plan Strategy which prioritised key locations for targeted work, such as Deal Castle.

·         There were a variety of issues that had the potential to impact of water quality – leaking assets, blockages, illegal connections and storm overflow releases. There were also causes outside of Southern Waters control such as surface water runoff, waste from other water and sea users and seabirds.

·         The Deal Pathfinder scheme was focussed on dealing with resolving flooding issues and was not primarily about water quality. The works undertaken had focussed on separating surface water and foul sewage, which reduced the pressure on the foul sewer network. This meant that the Golf Road pumping station was no longer being overwhelmed with surface water which it should not be treating. As a consequence of these works, the risk of flooding at Albert Road had been reduced.

Port of Dover (PoD)

·         Their responsibility was to ensure that the flow from the River Dour into Wellington Dock was preserved. If it was not preserved there was a risk of flooding in the town. They monitored the River Dour at various points to ensure its impact on the harbour was monitored. They also monitored the town beach area.

·         Although it was the statutory responsibility of the Environment Agency to monitor bathing water quality, they did conduct monitoring a number of locations. This information was published on their website.

·         They were responsible for maintaining navigable depths at sea, which included moving sediment.  

Q1.    What are the main causes of pollution in (a) river and (b) sea water respectively?

·         There were a variety of causes, such as leaking assets, blockages, illegal connections or storm overflow releases. In addition, there were causes of pollution outside of their control such as surface water run-off, waste from other water and beach users and sea birds. The importance of reducing storm overflows was emphasised. 

·         It  ...  view the full minutes text for item 84.