Medway’s budget focuses heavily on supporting families
Children were at the heart of discussions during this year’s budget setting meeting for Medway.
On Thursday, 20th February, councillors met for the annual budget meeting to discuss and agree on how the local authority would spend its funding for the 2020/21 financial year.
Medway Council has more than 70 services, providing support and opportunities to residents living across the five towns. Council tax funds are used towards paying for local services for residents, such as schools, waste collections and roads.
Medway continues to offer its residents the lowest council tax rate in Kent, despite the difficult decision made during Thursday’s budget meeting to increase council tax to ensure the council can continue to provide a range of high-quality services for its residents. Council tax will increase by 3.994 per cent. This equates to an increase of just £1.09 a week and £56.53 for the year for a band D home, compared with the 2019/20 financial year.
Increased funds to support Medway’s children
During the meeting, full council set out its commitment to support all Medway children by allocating an additional £6million+ to Children’s Services for the year ahead. This brings the service’s budget to £46million to ensure that every child is given the support they need to thrive, be healthy and learn well throughout their childhood, and that those who find themselves in the care system are given the help and protection they need and deserve.
This strengthens Medway’s commitment to improve the vital service it delivers and will further bolster the council’s ongoing recruitment drive of permanent social workers, bringing down the costs of temporary agency staff and helping to reduce turnover. This will provide vulnerable children with the stable support they need from social care workers. The council is also developing the skills of its children’s services workforce through the implementation of the Signs of Safety Programme.
Speaking about the council’s commitment to supporting Medway’s children, Leader Cllr Alan Jarrett, said: “Supporting Medway’s children is our top priority and the additional funding I have allocated to the service will help ensure each child’s needs are met, as well as help us give greater support to our most vulnerable children.
More children, through no fault of their own, find themselves in the care system and it’s imperative that we have the right resources in place to help ensure every child is given the opportunity to reach their full potential.”
Caring for Medway’s older residents
Medway also set out its commitment to support its older residents with full council agreeing to increase the Adults Social Care budget by more than £2million to a total of £68million. This will help the council support the increased number of older people who need its support.
The budget includes funding of £55.5million to support people with care and support needs, of which around £17.2m will support older people and around £38.3m will fund care and support for working age adults.
Medway Council is committed to making the best use of its available resources to provide a high-quality adult social care service. Cllr Jarrett said: “Although supporting Medway’s children is our top priority, we are also committed to giving back to our older residents and delivering a top-quality service to vulnerable adults. We continue to innovate within our Adult Social Care service and invest in areas which promote independence and help people to live longer in the community.”
One example of Medway Council’s ongoing support to its vulnerable adults is through its investment in the Shared Lives service. Similar to foster carers, shared lives carers are paid to share their home, family and community life with an adult who is not able to live on their own, giving them independence and a support network.
Keeping Medway moving
Medway Council is responsible for the road network within Rainham, Gillingham, Chatham, Rochester and Strood. This year’s budget dedicated an additional £1.5million to help maintain Medway’s highways.
The unitary authority looks after more than 800km of roads, 26,000 street columns and lights, 34,000 drainage gullies, as well as crash barriers, bollards and road signage. The highways budget, is used to maintain existing roads, pavements and street furniture, including lighting, as well as carry out repairs including potholes and road barriers.
Commenting on the council’s decision to invest more in Medway’s roads, Cllr Jarrett said: “We recognise the importance of maintaining and improving Medway’s road network including the Medway Tunnel, especially with the pressures of building more homes and consequently an increase in vehicles using our roads.
I was delighted with the news at the end of last year that our bid for funding to significantly improve road and rail connections in and around the Hoo Peninsula was successful. The £170million grant from the Housing Infrastructure Fund will ensure that the necessary infrastructure is in place for Medway residents before preparing plans to develop more than 10,000 new homes on the peninsula.”
Protecting Medway’s open spaces
Last year Medway’s full council declared a climate change emergency and the council has been busy working on plans to support this movement. In October 2019, an electric bus was trialled in a bid to find ways to tackle concerns around climate change and to advocate smart technology.
Medway Council is also looking into ways to build on some of its existing environmentally friendly projects. Medway currently has almost 6,000 LED lanterns being used on street lighting across the five towns. The council is currently reviewing increasing the number of LED street lights due to their energy efficiency and to support its work around climate change.
The council has highlighted the importance of protecting its green spaces to help reduce the impact of climate change. Medway has the equivalent of 13.3 Hyde Parks and during the budget meeting, the Leader expressed his commitment to protect and maintain Medway’s parks and country parks.
Cllr Jarrett said: “While we continue to meet our challenging housing target, we are also focussed on protecting Medway’s much-loved open spaces. Residents will see more than one million bulbs flower in our grass verges over the coming months, and our ongoing work to maintain Medway’s parks and grass verges are helping towards our ambition of reducing emissions.”
Each year 70,000 bedding plants are planted across Medway’s parks and open spaces and 2,100 sites of shrubs in parks and highways are pruned. £3.6million has been set aside for the 2020/21 financial year for this work to continue to not only keep Medway an attractive place for its residents and visitors, but to protect the environment we live in.
Concluding on Medway’s budget setting meeting, the Leader of Medway Council, Cllr Alan Jarrett, said: “We strive to provide high-quality services for our residents, whilst giving value for money and I am pleased that we can continue to do that with the lowest council tax in Kent. This is down to the hard-work and commitment of council staff and that is why we took the decision to increase pay by two per cent.
We are an innovative council and are regularly reviewing the ways we work to best meet our residents’ needs and deliver sustainable improvements. Our work over the next year will continue to focus on three key areas: the people, the place and Medway’s growth. However, I have stressed that our top priority is supporting Medway’s children; they are the future of Medway and deserve our support to have the best start in life.”
Councillors are being asked to approve an ambitious budget for the upcoming year at the council meeting next week (26th Feb).
This sets out how the council will spend money in the financial year 2020/21 and includes commitments to invest in the council’s new priorities.
Once again, the backdrop is very challenging, with the council seeing its Government funding reduced and major cost pressures in areas such as homelessness.
Cllr Roger Truelove, leader of the council, said:
“We are proud to present a prudent and realistic budget that recognises the constraints imposed by the current economic environment.
We don’t know what Government funding will be made available after 2020/21, so we must be mindful of this when setting our future budgeting.
Previous budgets have led to too many variances throughout the year that has meant services such as homelessness have suffered, so we have invested over £400,000 into this service.
The new budget also proposes investing an additional £70,000 into staff to tackle homelessness across the borough, £90,000 for free parking at Swallows Leisure Centre and the Sheppey Leisure Complex to encourage people to lead healthy lifestyles, and £40,000 in a new health promotion post.
Our reserves have grown over the years, and whilst we need to keep an appropriate amount in hand, this is residents’ money, and we believe it should be invested to benefit them.
This budget proposes reallocating robust reserves to a wide range of community projects and environmental improvements that will help improve the borough for everyone.
This includes park improvements, recycling bins for bathing beaches, playground equipment, fuel and poverty outreach work, upgrading electric vehicle charging points, Faversham Pool, St Ann’s Footbridge, Harty Ferry Artesian Well, Sheppey Hall, Newington Recreation Ground play area and Painters Forstal Community Hall.
We made £1 million available this year for these special projects around the borough and we plan to continue this and dedicate the same again this year for projects that are important to the community.
We believe that with this budget we can deliver good services to local people, improve facilities, and care for the environment.”
There will be significant investment through the capital programme to improve local services such as new public toilets in Milton Regis, Milton Creek Country Park, Barton Point and Minster Lees totalling over £400,000.
As part of the council’s commitment to improve air quality and address the climate emergency, the council is committing £50,000 over two years to fund the climate change strategy. The council will also replace its main fleet of vehicles with electric or hybrid vehicles to help reduce its own emissions.
The budget also outlines how the council will directly invest into affordable housing within the borough.
Council tax is also proposed to rise by £4.95 a year - less than 10p a week - for Band D properties, bringing the annual cost for our services to £179.37.
Most properties in Swale are on lower bands C and Bs, so will be paying even less for all the services the borough council provides.
The final council tax bill also includes charges Kent County Council, Kent Police, Kent Fire and Rescue Service and town and parish councils.
While many areas of England are sadly experiencing major flooding during the recent excessive weather conditions, our local roads have not been unaffected.
Take Boxted Lane, Newington; it is frequently flooded, and recent heavy rainfall has worsened the problem to the extent that the road is now virtually impassable. KCC state that “it appears that the grips or channels to drain the water into the field are deliberately blocked by the adjacent landowner”; but in spite of the extensive flooding across the road all they have done is to write to the landowner to “ask him to clear the channels”. Boxted Lane appears to KCC as a little-used ‘minor’ road, but it is actually frequently used daily by numerous people trying to avoid the A2 at Newington, and as a shortcut between Bobbing, Iwade and Newington to the Medway towns and further. Its use is further increased when the A2 and/or M2 are closed due to an RTC or roadworks. When both the A2 and M2 are closed, Boxted Lane is completely congested. So what is KCC doing to help the current situation? Well, the Highways Drainage team apparently believe that the flooding in Boxted Lane “does not meet their criteria for intervention”. Which leads one to ask, “If a road so badly flooded as to be impassable does not require intervention, then what does?” and “What exactly does KCC’s Flood and Water Management Team actually do, if not to help local people with issues like this?” Major roadworks diversions are shortly due to take place along the A2, requiring the closure of Newington High Street for several weeks; this will have a major impact on the roads locally and affect the surrounding areas. Boxted Lane will then become gridlocked. Cllr Richard Palmer, Ward Member for Hartlip, Newington, & Upchurch, and Cabinet Member for Communities, has contacted KCC on several occasions, as he believes this issue should be tackled urgently. He said, "KCC has ignored this issue for years but as our housing numbers increase and our roads become congested at times, so people try to avoid the main routes by using rat runs through country lanes. This is a problem many villages in Kent face but with Boxted Lane at Newington being flooded owing to damaged 'grips/drains' is, in my opinion, a matter KCC should solve. I would hope that KCC would review its policy and reassess Boxted Lane." For further information, contact Councillor Richard Palmer: 07702 674721
Jill Sidders
NB
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Since receiving Jill's article KCC has now put Flood warning signs in place in Boxted Lane. Upchurch Matters
Strengthening communities and keeping people safe is at the heart of the work carried out by the Medway Task Force. The multi-agency team includes Kent Police, Medway Council and other partners who all have a common goal to tackle crime, prevent violence and safeguard those most vulnerable in the community. The task force, which officially launched on Friday 7th February 2020, is working under one roof with officers being deployed as a result of the increase in precept funding, approved by the Kent Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Scott. Together they identify community issues that contribute to crime and focus on long-term solutions to prevent violence. Vulnerable people are protected and given access to the right support to improve their standard of living. They have already been working together for several months, sharing information, problem-solving, developing partnership solutions and carrying out enforcement activity. Currently, the team is focused on the Luton area of Chatham and is regularly engaging with residents, schools, businesses and local community groups. Chief Constable Alan Pughsley said: “The Medway Task Force has an important role to play in focusing on the causes of violent crime in the Medway towns and I’m pleased to see it is already having a positive impact within the community. The multi-agency team follows on from the success of a similar model we have in Margate, which has been recognised nationally as good practice for its efforts to promote a better quality of life for residents.” The range of work is diverse and focuses on reducing violent crime, vulnerability and strengthening communities. It has more recently resulted in: • Community protection warnings being issued to people following anti-social behaviour in Luton. These warnings are aimed at preventing this behaviour which, if breached, will see people fined or facing court action. • Reminding residents of the ways in which they can keep their properties secure after a report of a distraction burglary in Luton. The victim received a visit from a suspicious man claiming to be from the water board. She was found in poor health and was referred to the relevant services to ensure she was supported. This work was carried out to prevent her from being isolated and ensure she is not targeted again. • Victims of cuckooing, where drug dealers seek out people with addictions, disabilities and other health concerns, being identified and safeguarded by the team. • The ongoing investigation of four people for illegal waste carrying and fly-tipping in Luton, which has been blighting the community. The Chief Constable added: “We know that by working together with our partners under one roof we can be more effective, responsive and achieve positive results. The officers will continue to work closely with their partnership colleagues to support our ongoing efforts in confronting those who are prepared to use violence whilst also acting as a deterrent to those considering it. This will help us protect some of the most vulnerable people in our communities.” Police and Crime Commissioner, Matthew Scott Police and Crime Commissioner, Matthew Scott, said:
“While Kent remains a safe place to live, work and visit, communities have become increasingly concerned about reported rises in violent crime. So, in 2018, through my Violence Reduction Challenge, I brought key partners together to scrutinise the statistics and consider our joint response. It was during those discussions that the idea of a multi-agency Medway Task Force was first raised. Kent Police made an early commitment to support the unit with officers funded by my budget decisions. I am delighted to see those officers working closely with our partners to tackle the underlying causes of violent crime.” Medway Council’s Chief Executive, Neil Davies Neil Davies, Medway Council’s Chief Executive, said: “We’re pleased that Medway now has its own task force, which is based at the council offices in Chatham, in the heart of Medway. Our teams already provide support to residents living in Chatham, Strood, Rainham, Rochester and Gillingham, dealing with a range of matters including fly-tipping, anti-social behaviour and fraud. With all the agencies now working under one roof they can provide a more joined-up and effective response to support communities and deal with the issues which matter most to residents. We’re committed to making a difference to residents’ lives and supporting our most vulnerable residents, giving them the confidence to safely live independently.” Kent Community Messaging
