Agenda and minutes

Councillor Fuller made a voluntary declaration in respect of Minute No 34 (Opposition Business) in that he lived in a HRA owned property.

To receive the minutes of the meeting of the council held on 21 June 2023 and to authorise the Chairman of the Council to sign them as a correct record.

The minutes of the meeting held on 21 June 2023 were submitted, approved and signed by the Chair.

The Chair made the following communications:

“Canada day, Armed forces day and Battle of Britain Memorial celebrations provided me with an opportunity to commemorate both the past and present service personnel of this district and beyond. At each service it was my great honour to lay a wreath on behalf of our district. 

I attended a charity event in Peene, the civic Church services for both Hythe and Folkestone Mayor's. Welcomed Princess Anne to the district and met the tall ships and it's crew of both British and French children in Boulogne at the end of their voyage from Folkestone Harbour. It was wonderful to see the joy and jubilation of the children, parents and guardians after being reunited. Joy is truly international and nobody could distinguish between the nationalities when they arrived. I'm sure the children who took part will remember the skills they gained and the friends they made for the rest of their lives. 

My focus is representing the whole district to the best of my ability and making the role of chair as transparent and as inclusive as possible. Thus instead of having one consort I am inviting local charities and charitable organisations to attend with me as a means of signposting their work and services but also allowing them to network with people who may be able to advance their aims. I would also like to extend the invitation to councillors of any political group.  Please feel free to invite me to events local to you and come with me to share the history, traditions and delights of your towns and villages.

Finally I now have an Instagram and Twitter @FstoneHytheChr account where I share all of my engagements. You can use that to see what events I've attended and which causes I've been celebrating and supporting. Please direct message or post about any events you'll like me to attend along with contact details and I'll send your details on to my PA to confirm my attendance. If it's important to the people of our Town or village then is important to me”.

There were no petitions.

There were no questions from members of the public.

(Questions can be found on www.folkestone-hythe.gov.uk from noon 2 days before the meeting, on Modern.gov, under the agenda for this meeting).

Up to 45 minutes is allowed for questions from councillors.

The questions asked, including supplementary questions, and the answers given are set out in Schedule 2, appended to these minutes.

To receive a report from the Leader of the Council on the business of the cabinet and on matters that the leader considers should be drawn to the council’s attention. The leader shall have 10 minutes to make his announcements.

The opposition groups will have an opportunity to reply to the leader’s remarks.  Both opposition group leaders shall have 5 minutes to respond after which the Leader of the Council will have a right of reply.  Any right of reply will be for a maximum duration of 5 minutes.

The Leader made the following announcements:

“I have been very busy since my last update. I have had many meetings with representatives of Government, Kent County Council, Parish Councils and local stakeholders groups. I have held many meetings with Otterpool Park LLP.

I joined many other runners in the regular, weekly Park Run on the fantastic Folkestone Lees, which must rate as the Park Run with the most far reaching views in the Country.

I attended the flag raising ceremony at the Civic Centre on Monday the 19th June. On Saturday the 24th June, I was proud and honoured to be invited by the Mayor of Hythe to join her in the celebration of the incredible men and women of our Armed Services during Armed Forces Day. I was equally please to attend the Armed Forces Day celebration on Sunday the 25th June, with the Mayor of Folkestone.

Following their announcement of cuts to local bus services I convened a meeting with Stagecoach to discuss. I can report a positive response and discussions continue. The Stagecoach Managing Director will be considering my further views and coming back to me.

I attended the Local Government Association Conference to learn what other local Councils are doing to overcome very similar problems to those we have in Folkestone and Hythe.

I have visited Dungeness Power station twice to join the discussions regarding the government's competition to find sites for 10 Small Modular Reactors.

I attended the Tall Ships Event at Folkestone Harbour. I have attended two meetings of the Kent Leaders Forum and also the meeting of the East Kent Leaders.

Finally, I have an appeal. This I hope will be an inclusive Council, and we all know that the problems of our district are often complex and multilayered. I therefore have a plea or a call for ideas, from individual Councillors to make propositions, suggestions or proposals that can advance our objective in making the district the best place to live or visit. I want to cut across political boundaries and ask members from all parties to make your suggestions to the relevant Portfolio holders, so they can be properly discussed with officers and I'm sure the resulting improvements, however small, will benefit everyone in the district”.

Councillor McConville, Leader of the Labour group responded to the communications and stated the following:

“I’m very happy to engage with you on that last point, hopefully we can all work together to do what is needed. Obviously you have been very busy, it’s good that you are earning your pennies! While your meetings are very important, there is a lot more going on in our town, and I thought I’d share a couple of fantastic things that are going on that you might have missed due to pressing engagements. The fantastic Charivari, which this council supports year on year. Probably the best community engagement for the district, in terms of its noise and it’s colour. There were more people than I’ve seen at the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 32.

The Portfolio Holder reports had been circulated within the agenda packs and noted by Members.

The Labour Group has raised the following matter:

Council Notes:

-          That due to failures in compliance, amongst a number of other issues, FHDC made the decision to bring housing provision under direct control after the dissolution of East Kent Housing.

-          In order to maintain high levels of compliance with regards to health and safety, the council still relies on outside contracts in Mears.

-          A recent stock condition survey was undertaken of the vast majority of council owned housing.

-          That ensuring safe and habitable housing is paramount to the council’s vision.

Council Believes

-          Delivery of maintenance and ensuring compliance will require additional resources, training, and oversight to ensure any decent homes standard regulations are met.

-          A housing maintenance and compliance team, delivered directly by council could, in the future, deliver services to council owned housing outside of the HRA.

Council Resolves

-          To consider as an option, the delivery of maintenance and compliance for council owned housing, as a council owned service. As opposed to the awarding of an outsourced contract.

-          That any such paper which looks to tender for a new contract includes this option in both its planning and decision making.

Debates on opposition business shall be limited to 30 minutes.  If the time limit is reached or the debate concludes earlier, the leader of the group raising the item shall have a right of reply.

The Council shall:

a)         Note the issue raised and take no further action;

b)         Refer the issue to the cabinet or relevant overview and scrutiny committee, as the case may be for their observations before deciding whether to make a decision on the issue;

c)         Agree to examine the matter as part of a future scrutiny programme;

d)         Adopt the issue raised by opposition business provided that the decision so made is within the policy framework and budget.

Councillor McConville, Leader of the Labour Group, outlined his opposition business which asked for consideration of a council owned service for maintenance and compliance of council owned homes.

Proposed by Councillor McConville,

Seconded by Councillor Godfrey; and

RESOLVED:

That Option (b) (Refer the issue to the Cabinet or relevant Overview and Scrutiny Committee, as the case may be, for their observations before deciding whether to make a decision on the issue) be applied to the business below:

·        To consider as an option, the delivery of maintenance and compliance for council owned housing, as a council owned service. As opposed to the awarding of an outsourced contract.

·        That any such paper which looks to tender for a new contract includes this option in both its planning and decision making.

 (The recommendations were agreed by affirmation of the meeting).

The following motion has been placed on the agenda. Up to 60 minutes shall be allowed for debates on motions on notice:

1.       Councillor McConville, Labour Group

The Council notes:

The Elections Act received Royal Assent on the 28th of April 2022.

The Act is a major piece of national legislation with local implications for the residents of [insert Local Authority], including the use of mandatory photographic voter ID at the polling station, changes to overseas voting and voting and candidacy rights of EU citizens.

The 2021 census showed that 1 in 6 usual residents of England and Wales were born outside the UK. They live, work, study, make use of public services, and call the UK their home. Many foreign-born residents from EU and Commonwealth countries can vote in our local elections. However, over 1 million residents across England and Northern Ireland do not have a right to vote.

Scotland and Wales implemented residence-based voting rights where all residents with lawful immigration status have the right to vote in local and devolved national elections.

A poll conducted by Number Cruncher showed that 63% of people agree that all residents should have the right to vote in local elections in England and Northern Ireland.

The Council welcomes:

That all our residents, no matter their nationality, call [Local Authority] their home and bring significant value to our area.

That the voting and candidacy rights of EU citizens with pre-settled and settled status who entered the UK before 2021 will be maintained. 

That the London Assembly passed a motion in support of residence-based voting rights on the 11th of November 2021 and that various organisations in the democracy and immigration sector support the Our Home Our Vote campaign for residence-based voting rights.

The Council expresses concern that:

EU citizens who enter the UK from the 1st of January 2021 and are not covered by bilateral voting rights treaties (currently only active with Poland, Luxembourg, Portugal, and Spain) will not have voting and candidacy rights in local elections when the Elections Act is fully implemented. This will create an unequal situation where some EU citizens will have the right to vote where others will not. 

The complexity in voting eligibility causes confusion reduces voter turnout in local elections amongst migrant voters, a group already showing disproportionately lower voter registration rates compared to British voters.

Local Authorities will be under-resourced to manage the removal of a significant number of EU citizens from the electoral register, possibly resulting in some being wrongfully removed from the electoral register.

The Council Resolves:

·       That the Leader of the Council write to the Minister of State at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities requesting that the franchise for local elections in England and Northern Ireland be extended to all qualifying foreign nationals in line with eligibility criteria in Scotland and Wales. This would ensure a UK-wide and fair approach so that all our residents, who are also our council taxpayers, are enfranchised.

·       Work collaboratively with other  ...  view the full agenda text for item 35.

Councillor Chapman, Labour Group, outlined her motion which sought approval on various actions relating to the Elections Act.

Proposed by Councillor Chapman,

Seconded by Councillor McConville; and

RESOLVED:

·       That the Leader of the Council write to the Minister of State at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities requesting that the franchise for local elections in England and Northern Ireland be extended to all qualifying foreign nationals in line with eligibility criteria in Scotland and Wales. This would ensure a UK-wide and fair approach so that all our residents, who are also our council taxpayers, are enfranchised.

·       That this council work collaboratively with other local authorities and voluntary sector organisations to develop a strategy of communications about voter eligibility following the Elections Act.

·       Ensure council officers in Democratic Services have a strategy in place to ensure that the implementation of the Elections Act, including the removal of some EU citizens from the register, does not wrongfully remove eligible voters from the register.

(Voting figures: 24 for, 0 against, 5 abstentions).

Under the Folkestone and Hythe District Council Constitution, Part 8.1 ‘Delegation to Officers’, paragraph 3.18, the Head of Paid Service is authorised to make appointments to committees or sub-committees at the request of the relevant political group leader.  This report sets out the appointments made, under these powers, on the instruction of the Leader of the Conservative Group.

Under the Folkestone and Hythe District Council Constitution, Part 8.1 ‘Delegation to Officers’, paragraph 3.18, the Head of Paid Service is authorised to make appointments to committees or sub-committees at the request of the relevant political group leader.  This report sets out the appointments made, under these powers, on the instruction of the Leader of the Conservative Group.

Proposed by Councillor Prater,

Seconded by Councillor J Martin; and

RESOLVED:

That report A/23/11 be received and noted.

(Voting figures: 29 for, 0 against, 0 abstentions).

In December 2019, Full Council agreed to the recommendations of the Audit and Governance Committee to appoint an Independent member to the Audit and Governance Committee. It had been envisaged the appointment would run until May 2023. However, due to the pandemic, the recruitment exercise was delayed, and an appointment was not made until November 2020. On 20 July, the Audit and Governance Committee considered Aug/23/02 and made a recommendation to Full Council that Andy Vanburen’s term be extended until November 2024.

In December 2019, Full Council agreed to the recommendations of the Audit and Governance Committee to appoint an Independent member to the Audit and Governance Committee. It had been envisaged the appointment would run until May 2023. However, due to the pandemic, the recruitment exercise was delayed, and an appointment was not made until November 2020. On 20 July, the Audit and Governance Committee considered Aug/23/02 and made a recommendation to Full Council that Andy Vanburen’s term be extended until November 2024.

Proposed by Councillor Wimble,

Seconded by Councillor McShane; and

RESOLVED:

1.         That report A/23/12 be received and noted.

2.         That the appointment of Andy Vanburen be extended to November 2024.

(Voting figures: 29 for, 0 against, 0 abstentions).