Cabinet - Wednesday 15 November 2023, 5:00pm - Folkestone & Hythe webcasting

Cabinet
Wednesday, 15th November 2023 at 5:00pm 

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  1. Cllr Jim Martin
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  3. Mrs Sue Lewis
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  1. Cllr Tim Prater
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  1. Cllr Polly Blakemore
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  1. Cllr Jim Martin
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  4. Cllr Gary Fuller
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1 Apologies for Absence

Cllr Jim Martin - 0:00:00
Cllr Jim Martin - 0:00:00
gentleman and welcome to the meeting of the Cabinet. This meeting will be webcast live to the internet. For those of you who do not wish to be recorded or filmed, you will need to leave the Chamber for members officers and others speaking at the meeting. It is important that the microphones are used, so viewers on the webcast and others in the room may hear you would anyone with a mobile phone, please switch it to silent mode as they can be distracting. I would like to remind members that, although we all have strong opinions on the matters under consideration, it is important to treat members, officers and public speakers
Mrs Sue Lewis - 0:00:53
with respect, thank you, so we can go straight to item 1 apologies for
Cllr Jim Martin - 0:00:56
absence, sir, no apologies, no apologies for absence, and have we had any declarations of interest.

2 Declarations of Interest

any Member wishing to declare any interest, so no, no declarations of interest.

3 Minutes

item 3 is the minutes, so to consider and approve as a correct record, the minutes of the meeting held on the 18th of October.
Cllr Tim Prater - 0:01:30
are there any amendments or issues with the minutes note, so if I
Cllr Jim Martin - 0:01:33
could have a proposer happy to propose and a seconder, thank you.
do you get that, go back to jolly good all those in favour, pleasure, thank you very much.

4 Proposed On-Street Parking Charges

let me sign these.
what will be done?
thank you very much.
coming to Item 4 proposed on-street parking charges.
following a discussions today with the portfolio holder.
myself and the portfolio holder have agreed to withdraw this item, so moving on to

5 Parking Enforcement Tender

ITEM 5 parking enforcement tender, that's pages 29 to 42.
in your pack.
so the parking enforcement contract ends on the 31st of March 2024, the contract is currently with NHS all services part of the mains Moston Holdings limited, the Council has attended the contract as well as evaluated the option of returning the service in-house is someone gonna lead us,
Cllr Polly Blakemore - 0:03:04
I'm sorry, I probably would you lead us through this?
thank you Chair the report reviews the current contracts and discusses some of the considerations when preparing the specification for the new contract, it then goes on to outline how the tender proceeded and was evaluated and looks at the option of returning the service in house.
as you will see, the final recommendation is to award the new contract to Marsden Holdings, limited for the initial period of four years, starting from April next year, the reasons for this are outlined in the report and mainly relate to the competitive difference in costs between the tender price and the in-house service option and a continued financial benefit of the hours worked method of charging.
Cllr Jim Martin - 0:03:48
thank you very much, the summer month to 0, could we have a proposer for that you are happy to propose polite, thank you a seconder.
Councillor Blake, nor to second and very happy to open it for debate.
Cllr Tim Prater - 0:04:10
Councillor Procter, you can't do that.
I Welch I welcome the
report which is in front of us, and I also welcome the fact that there has been a there was a full tender process there, so that there were a number of companies who could've bid, I fully accept that only one did, but that's not your fault, you can't do anything about that, you can't force people to bid so the contract of the existing suppliers is there. I particularly welcome the work that has been done on looking at bringing the service in house
entirely.
but I think that's been a rigorous piece of work and is laid out within that document, I really grateful for the report that lays out through and having then followed through the consultation year, having followed through the logic of that and the cost of the House tender and the cost of the in house service I don't think that there is a different option or a different option that one can take at that stage, it is clear that financially, the output house option, certainly for the next four years is over 100,000 pounds better off for the Council dreamer per year.
for that period of time
so I accept, I think the report was really good, I just wanted to say so I thought that the consideration of bringing the service in house
was good and thorough, and I wanted to say so and say thank you, I want to thank Olly and the team for making sure that that has happened and.
although I would have loved to have seen an in house service, sometimes you can't get what you want all of the time and I accept that we can't afford that at this time, so I accept the recommendations within the report as well, and thank you for the work done.
Cllr Jim Martin - 0:05:56
does anyone has anything further to add?
what I'd just like to, because our offer was an excellent report and very well done like Councillor Prater.
I'd rather hope for a different outcome, but there it is so.
maybe make a move to the vote now, we've got a proposer and we have a second are all those in favour, please indicate.
thank you very much.
moving on to Item 6 Telecare replacement in council, independent living, sheltered housing, service charge costs, this is pages 43 to 48.
and is someone gonna lead us through this Councillor swoop?

6 Telecare replacement in council Independent Living (sheltered housing) - service charge costs

Cllr Rebecca Shoob - 0:06:49
thank you, so, as you'll be aware, the procurement is underway for a replacement hybrid system telecare system, as the analogue telephone system is being switched over to digital by 2025, so this report looks at the impact that May will will have on service charges.
it primarily covers the
the current charges we're making to tenants and looking to go out to consultation, to bring those charges in line with the actual costs, the charges have been heavily subsidised to date and just for the current year that's to the tune of 94,000 pounds in rebates and subsidies so clearly that's not sustainable in the long term so this paper is looking to.
to go out to consultation
you'll see this, there are some options, but taking it to consultation with tenants on the proposed increases is what this papers seeking to do, so I'd very happy to to move the report.
Cllr Jim Martin - 0:08:13
thank you very much, Councillor sheep, I could let anyone wish to second.
Councillor Blackmore, thank you so very happy to open it for debate and discussion.
any questions.
it is an excellent paper.
Cllr Tim Prater - 0:08:34
Councillor Prysor.
thank you Olive again, I think that what's important here is that this service is available to people across all of the accommodation which it currently is, I accept that within the independent living properties at the moment, I think every tenant has the service installed at the moment as I understand it but the within the age designated properties actually 3 and 4 people don't currently have hardwired services but many have opted into the hardwired survey.
and hardwired service, so essentially where we're too is the those that we are providing the system to at the moment. We're doing so at loss for each unit, which is difficult, given the fact that there are a other alternatives out there. I guess there and an alternative services that will combine for Lifeline. Am I I am aware of them, carry the that button button pendants that you can wear around your neck and speak to people if you fall that sort of thing, so there are other operators out there. I'm
therefore, although we're talking about this being a consulting on the cost of our increasing the cost of the service, obviously people in the aged as basic properties, presumably they don't have to take it up, they could go to an alternative supplier or choose not to have one or two if they have other means and quite often people who rely on having a mobile phone because that works better than,
the better than the services science for some people, so as long as the option is there and I'm being nodded at vigorously at this moment, so I believe it is that the option is there that if people didn't properly say actually I don't want to do this or I want to go to a different supplier and do this I am, and that is their right, even though it's with our property, then I can't have much begin with the report, so thank you. Thank you for the detail within it again again, it was a very helpful report. No, we're gonna be a lot of services withdrawn around or hardwired services over the course of the next few years
this is just one of them, other organisations are gonna see quite a lot of those as well.
but it does seem sadly unreasonable, but if we're services costing us 3 pounds a week charging 1 pound a week, it just doesn't cut it any more and to be fair for a fully monitored system, with full calls at that stage for under 20 pounds a month.
I'd want my mum to have it, I'd be paying for that, I'm sure many other residents would be taking that approach as well, so.
understands the report understand why it's here and I will be voting for it.
Cllr Jim Martin - 0:11:10
Cllr Gary Fuller - 0:11:16
thank you very much any other comments or questions on Councillor Fuller yeah, just a brief question really on point 2.3, it mentions that the the potential replacement system could be covered by the Intensive Housing Management charge and that that's eligible for housing benefit, so if I'm understanding correctly it's possible that we could get in a system that would do that would effectively.
pay for itself through the the benefit system rather than individuals being levied, and if I'm right about that, how likely do we reckon the ease that the new system would support that I mean, is it Lynch it would be we have a narrow, very narrow set of options if we wanted to choose the right system or do we reckon that is quite likely that this will happen?
Microphone A - 0:11:59
Cllr Jim Martin - 0:11:59
do we have an answer? Yeah, thank you very good question, yes, it depends on the functionality of the new system. So one of the options we had some suppliers come in and give us some demonstration days back in August, and one of them in particular offers a sort of a tablet solution and that we've been assured by the supplier would be comfortable by benefit, but unfortunately we're in a situation at the moment where the current system isn't so, if we were to go down that route, then it almost certainly, or at least half of the solution would be comfortable, might benefit, but some of the others are a little bit. How can I put it unclear as to which elements would be, but once we've gone out to procurement and we've got the results of the tender, we'll be able to bring the results to cabinet and and will be much clearer on that point.
Cllr Jim Martin - 0:12:45
okay, jolly good, so we have a proposal, we have a seconder all those in favour, please indicate.
unanimous, yes.

7 Creating Tomorrow Together - Corporate Action Plan (2021-24) Progress Update on Actions

Cllr Jim Martin - 0:12:58
terrific thanks very much so, the final item number 7, creating tomorrow together a corporate action plan.
progress update on actions pages 49 2 1 0 2 in your pack and
Cllr Tim Prater - 0:13:18
Councillor Bryter, or you can lead us on this one.
I'll give it got.
me talking in a meeting, it seems unlikely the more I look at creating tomorrow together, the less I like that's the slogan never never come up with three word slogan titles for stuff in Committee which we did for this, however, this is a report which is progress update.
on the high level actions within the corporate Council's corporate action plan for the three-year period 21 to 24 effectively, the action plan is meant to run through to 2030.
but given the change of administration, I'm really hopeful that next year we are going to be refreshing the plan which, so I would imagine that we will be looking at a number of the intentions and outcomes there and, as the report itself details, a number of the things which will priorities within the plan have not been progressed because we've made decisions not to do so.
so this is essentially not just marking our own homework a bit.
is actually marking the previous guy's homework.
in terms of what's happening here, but I would like to say that it's a.
and I can say this because I didn't write it, it's a very well put together report and I'd like to particularly thank Gavin for his work on this and I do that quite a lot because Gavin writes some very, very good reports and is very good at this so you've got within the report you've got the ambitions of the Council and a series of updates.
broad level updates of where we're going in terms of that and where we're going in terms of various different work streams that were identified, we've tried not to be over enthusiastic over, sell any of the points there, so, for instance, people will pick out there that you know about the new health centre of the focus site there were heads of terms agreed will say, we're still waiting for news on that, it's effectively with the NHS and they're not answering our calls. It's
as I understand it, you would.
why we were waiting for updates were waiting for moral mat. It are all, although there are a number of elements of that which is not everyone's ambition. At the moment, we genuinely not getting answers that we need to take things forward. Clearly, things like Princess Parade, we no longer it is not the ambition of this Council to build on Princess Parade, and therefore we're not doing it, but there are a number of things there which are on pieces of work which are being done so are around our staff. Training around the development of the coastal development project at Coast Drive
they're going ahead, Play Area Strategy has been implemented and although there was a discussion around a new priority player East Cliff, it wasn't a or a council proposal and it has not been pursued, et cetera, so the full report is there, it is said marking somebody else's homework a bit.
we will be aiming to rewrite this plan, so it's our homework that we get to the mark in future years.
so that that that's something to look forward to as part of a rewriting process and you will enjoy that in the in the next financial year.
writing these things is fun.
so there's a there's work to do there, but obviously any questions or I'd be absolutely delighted to pass off to Gavin.
Cllr Jim Martin - 0:16:46
and iMovie OK, I am very happy to second.
so then, very happy to open forward the by any questions or queries I just to get his going just one thing cabinet, probably not the greatest photograph, to to put on the front next to creating tomorrow together, given the planes that we now know our way.
that that view is given to change fairly radically.
but happy to take any questions or comments from members.
no jolly good clinical healthcare, so all those in favour, please indicate.
thank you very much.
Cllr Jim Martin - 0:17:37
and I think that concludes our business for this evening, thank you
Webcast Finished - 0:17:43
very much, Members, thank you and officers, sorry.