More on Anthony Roper funding issue

Following the concerns raised over the funding position at Anthony Roper Primary School, Sevenoaks MP Sir Michael Fallon and I met local parents and governors in Eynsford at the end of last week.

The discussion was a very useful one - with governors, as well as the MP and County Councillor, addressing questions raised by parents. My argument was that there is a strong case both for schools in general within the Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR), and for areas such as Kent to gain a greater share of the national allocation.

Much of this is captured in the 'activity-based' funding model proposed by the f40 group, of which I am an active member, and Michael Fallon has expressed his strong interest in this approach too. It is only by bringing a larger overall funding level to Kent that the lot of schools such as Anthony Roper can be improved.

Through my role as Cabinet Member at KCC, as well as my involvement in f40 and the Local Government Association (LGA - I serve on its Children and Young People Board), I will continue to argue for this approach.

The Big Conversation: coming to the Darent Valley

Yesterday evening I attended KCC's Bus Summit at County Hall, which represented the next stage in the 'Big Conversation' on the future of rural public transport.

During the initial consultation, three main options were discussed: feeder services from more remote areas to the main bus network; a 'bookable bus' service; and a taxi-bus service, using smaller vehicles to run services. The first and third options would be timetabled; the bookable bus (which turned out to be the least popular) offered flexibility but potentially long and somewhat unpredictable journeys.

The 'Big Conversation' consultation ran through the summer, including opportunities to respond both on paper and online; a series of public and parish meetings; and deliberative meetings involving some 110 people at three venues across the County. The Sevenoaks public meeting in July, in which I took part, appears to have been one of the best-attended and effective meetings.

The next stage was the development of a series of pilot projects, and these - along with the feedback from the consultation - were reported at last nigth's meeting. Drawing on feedback received in the consultation, along with statistical information, assessments of operator capacity and the like, Kent Highways officers have come forward with five projects, three using the feeder service model and two the taxi-bus model. They are:

• Dover villages feeder bus service
• Villages South and East of Maidstone: feeder bus 
• Sevenaoks villages taxi-bus service
• Tenterden taxi-bus service
• West Malling and other villages: feeder bus service

The Sevenoaks pilot has direct implications for Sevenoaks North and Darent Valley. Starting in Fairseat and Stansted - very much outside the Division, and indeed the District - it is then proposed to run through West Kingsdown (bordering the Division), East Hill in the outer parts of Shoreham Parish, then through Otford to Sevenoaks.

The pilots should be formally approved in January 2019, to be followed by a period of mobilisation. It might have been possible to launch them in April, but with the possibility of pressures on Kent roads in the aftermath of Brexit, the launch will instead take place in June. The pilots will run for a year, after which conclusions can be drawn, and - if they prove successful - the models applied more widely.   

Tudor Drive and secondary routes

During last winter's severe weather, concerns were raised by residents over the designation of some local roads and the consequent level of gritting that they would (or would not) receive.

In one case (Row Dow) we managed to secure a change of designation to being considered a primary route; it is most unusual for this to be agreed when winter has already started, so this was a significant achievement. There were nonetheless some major problems on Row Dow at points when the weather was at its most severe, but this did not reflect the road's designation.

Concerns were also expressed about Tudor Drive in Otford, on the reasonable grounds that there are a significant number of homes in the Drive and surrounding area, and that the road out onto Pilgrims Way East is very steep. In spite of this, the road was categorised neither as a primary route nor (more surprisingly) as a secondary route. In this case, I was not able to secure a change in designation mid-season but local Highways teams did seek to help residents through deployment of hand salting crews.

As winter approaches, the question of the designation arises again. Kent Highways has already indicated that it will not be changing any designations of roads for this coming winter. This is less troubling than it sounds; the fact is that, during the severe winter weather earlier this year, secondary routes were not treated, since the pressure was on Kent Highways to keep the primary routes open. And further steps will be taken to support Tudor Drive, through deployment of hand salting crews and the installation of a second salt bin.

Meanwhile, the scope and purpose of secondary routes are subject to a wide-ranging review. This was reported to a recent meeting of KCC's Environment and Highways Cabinet Committee, and is under way.

KCC budget consultation

Kent County Council launched recently its annual budget consultation.

We are currently putting together our budget for 2019-20. The pressures on the council - seen in still more dramatic form at many other County Councils and other parts of local government - remain intense, as government grant reduces and demand for services remains strong.

The Council is consulting on a further 5% increase in council tax, made up of the 3% 'referendum cap' (the level of increase above which a referendum would have to be called) and 2% for a 'precept' for adult social care. This remains something that the Council is very reluctant to do, but has little room for manoeuvre (it is striking that, at national level, government projections that local government will have a 'flat cash' budgetary position over the period of the Comprehensive Spending Review is predicated on local government raising the maximum amounts of council tax that it can).

With growing pressures in areas such as social care, KCC has had to realise savings of some £640 million over the last eight years. For 2019-20, the Council needs to realise a further £57 million in savings (all this on a net budget projected to be £967 million). So far some £41 million has been confirmed, leaving a gap to be filled of £16 million. There are a number of major uncertainties still to be resolved, such as the full take from council tax, the treatment of business rates and various government grants. But if other things remain equal, the Council (and those of us who serve in the Cabinet) will face some very difficult decisions.

The consultation runs until 21 November and can be found here.

Anthony Roper Primary School and the funding issue

The recent letter from the Chair of Governors of Anthony Roper Primary School in Eynsford highlighting the school's difficult funding position and asking parents to contribute to support the school has drawn a lot of local and media attention. The BBC Sunday Politics carried a report on it, talking to parents and also interviewing both Sir Michael Fallon MP and me (and in this I wear two hats - as local Member and with my KCC Education portfolio. Perhaps I should add a third, since both my children attended the school).

There are three major factors at work in the pressures faced by the school:

•  ARPS is one of the lower-funded primary schools in Sevenoaks (by one measure of per pupil funding, 37th out of 42). This reflects chiefly the way in which funding (which Kent receives from government in the form of Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG)) is allocated, much of it driven by factors related to deprivation. ARPS has relatively few pupils who meet these criteria. In addition, all schools get a 'lump sum' (in Kent, of £120,000) regardless of their size. As a relatively large primary school, ARPS has to spread this sum over more pupils

• Kent is one of the poorer-funded local authorities in the country; in the current financial year, we ranked 143rd out of 152. We have long campaigned as part of the f40 group of lower-funded local authorities for a change in the system; this has had some effect with the introduction of what is (rather misleadingly) called a 'National Funding Formula', currently being phased in. This has offered some help and improvement to Kent, but more to secondary schools than primaries, and is in any case only a very partial step in the right direction

• Nationally, schools funding has been tight since 2010 (and especially since 2015). More money has gone into the DSG, but the number of pupils has also increased, so money per pupil has been flat in cash terms, leaving schools under pressure as costs rise. In addition, like many local authorities, Kent has had to transfer DSG funds from the Schools Block (which meets most day to day needs of schools) to the High Needs Block, which supports children with more extensive Special Educational Needs and has been growing rapidly since the enactment of the Children and Families Act 2014

With government set to review its priorities with a new Comprehensive Spending Review (the last year of the current CSR is 2019-20) there is clearly a strong case to be made for schools - but also for areas like Kent to get a greater share of the resources available. I sit on the Member Board of f40, and we will continue to press government to move beyond the current National Funding Formula.

You can findmy more detailed analysis of these funding issues via this link. 

KCC consultation on charging for non-household waste

KCC recently opened a consultation on charging for specific items - such as soil, rubble, hardcore and plasterboard ('non-household waste') - at its Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs - the rubbish dump to most of us).

The County Council is rightly proud of its comprehensive network of 18 HWRCs and a strong recycling record. Many councils are closing Centres, and many nearby authorities are charging already for the sort of items that KCC is now consulting on. This has the result that people from outside the County come to our sites to dispose of this sort of waste for free, in particular to those sites close to the border. Thus, to take the two HWRCs that my consituents are most likely to use, 17% of visitors to Dunbrik and 10% of those to Swanley do not live in Kent.

There is no statutory obligation on KCC to take non-household waste at its HWRCs, and the aim of the initiative is to continue to provide a service for a modest charge that can help sustain the HWRC network at a time of funding pressure.

The proposal certainly has its critics, and there is an often-expressed fear that this will increase the fly-tipping that is such a bane in areas such as Sevenoaks North and Darent Valley. However, experience has suggested that a lot of fly-tipping is the result of well-organised criminal operations, often dumping waste from London.

The consultation runs until 1 November.

  

More Village Art for Eynsford

I have supported the first project for Eynsford Village Society's Village Public Art Trail, and was glad to be able to support a further project with a grant of £1,000 from my Combined Member Fund.

Installation number five, Woodland Life (pictured) is a natural sculpture of a tree trunk with an owl on one top branch, a woodpecker on the other, squirrels running down the trunk and a mole at the bottom. It now stands in Nine Hole Wood off Sparepenny Lane, and is an excellent addition to a series that includes artwork in the station and 'Stand and Stare' in the blocked up window of Rafferty's.

Reduced speed limits in Farningham and Horton Kirby

I have written before about the troubling crash history on the A20 as it passes through the edges of Farningham. A particularly horrific accident some eighteen months ago, resulting in the deaths of two young men, has since been demonstrated in the courts to be the result of driver behaviour (not that of the two young victims). However, as a continuous fast stretch of road, this section of the A20 is clearly susceptible to more serious crashes, resulting in deaths and serious injuries.

I have worked on this issue with Kent Highways officers and Farningham Parish Council, which has rightly been concerned. Kent Highways brought forward in August draft Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs) to address the issue. The philosophy has been to focus speed reductions in the area in which drivers are clearly approaching parts of the village, coming from the open road into a more residential area. Thus the speed limit will be reduced from 60mph to 40mph along the A20 Main Road/ Gorse Hill from the junction with London Road up to some 290 metres south-east of the junction with Eglantine Lane.

Similar reductions will apply on the A225 Dartford Road, which covers some of the northerly parts of Franingham (up to Calfstock Lane) and then becomes part of Horton Kirby. Speed along this road has also long been a concern to residents, and I have in the past worked with Kent Highways and local residents on signage improvements and the like. This, however, should be a more substantive measure. The new limit will apply the length of the road from the A20 roundabout to the border where Horton Kirby meets Sutton at Hone (which is the start of a 30mph zone).

Both sets of speed limits will be reinforced with a series of back to back repeater signs. There have been no objections to the draft TROs and so all is set to move ahead. The provisional date for implementation is 15 October, with a reserve date of a week later. This should be very welcome news.

Northamptonshire, the canary in the mine

Every so often, I try to address an issue on this blog that goes wider than the specific concerns of the Division that I represent. The implications of the crisis at Northamptonshire County Council are such an issue.

Northamptonshire has fallen into deep financial crisis. It has twice had to issue what is called a Section 114 notice, stopping all but essential spending to meet its stautory obligations. Following the Caller Report into the financial problems at the authority, local government in the County is to be restructured, with both the existing County and seven District and Borough Councils being replaced by two unitary authorities. The Councils have agreed to this, effectively voting to end their own existence. The leadership, both officer and Councillor, at the County Council, has been removed. I know the new Leader, Matthew Golby, with whom I sit on the Local Government Association's (LGA) Children's and Young People's Board; he is an able man with an excruciatingly difficult job. Government inspectors have been sent in to oversee the Council's activities.

What has happened? The Caller Report identified many errors made by the Council's previous leadership, reflected in over-optimistic budgeting and excessive faith in ill-defined 'transformation' projects. The Council seems also to have clung too long to holding down Council Tax. But all this was an inadequate response to a set of pressures that are affecting all of local government, and County Councils in particular. As Professor Tony Travers, perhaps the country's foremost local government expert, put it: "the burden of lowering the deficit has fallen on unloved sectors and services, notably provision within the oversight of the Home Office and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. Grants to councils in England fell by almost 50% between 2010-11 and 2017-18, and spending in real terms has tumbled by almost 30% on average."

This reduction came at a time when spending pressures were increasing. In the early years of austerity, a lot of attention was paid to what was known as the 'Barnet Graph of Doom' - a set of projections by that London Borough to show how rising demands in social care and waste disposal, coupled with grant reductions, would inexorably squeeze out other spending.

This is exactly what has happened, as commentators such as Tony Travers and Simon Jenkins have recorded. Adult social care needs continue to rise, even if in Kent we have partially mitigated this by delivering savings from an overhaul of services. Government has, to a degree, recognised this through allowing dedicated increases in Council Tax and support through the Better Care Fund, but this is only a partial response. Children's social care - part of my Cabinet responsibilities - continues to see upward pressure; the LGA estimates that there will be a £2 billion spending gap in this area by 2020. And so other services - the visible, universal services that most directly connect Councils to their communities - such as Highways and amenity services, as well as the preventative services such as youth work have taken the strain. Ever wondered about the state of roadside verges? This is why.

This affects all of local government, but as the County Councils Network has pointed out, counties are particularly vulnerable, because they have huge exposure to demand-driven services such as social care, yet benefit less from revenue from new homes than District or Unitary authorities. It is little wonder that other councils, some Counties notable among them, have been identified as being at risk.

In Kent, under the skilled stewardship of the late John Simmonds and of Andy Wood, we have delivered over £600 million in cumulative savings since the start of the grant reductions. While our reserves are not as high as those of some authorities, we have maintained a stable financial position. We have done this while defending services as much as possible; for example, our youth service is much reduced from its levels of a decade ago, but remains more substantial than that of many councils.

However, the next few years will remain very testing, not least because central government is approaching the end of its current spending cycle and will undertake a fresh Comprehensive Spending Review to cover the years from 2020 onwards. Additional commitments have been made to the NHS; by contrast, it is unclear whether local government will again be expected to be in the front line of reductions. With reducing government grant, a narrow financial base of its own and strong demand-led pressures, local government is in a position where, without significant change, something has to give. Whatever its past errors, Northamptonshire is telling us something.







 

John Simmonds, public servant

My colleague John Simmonds, KCC Cabinet Member for Finance 2009-18 and Deputy Leader of the Council 2013-17, died on Sunday. He was 82.

It was quite a long life - though 82 is not exceptional these days - and a very good one, and in that sense we cannot mourn too much. But the sense of loss is still very big.

John was elected to KCC in 2001 after a successful banking career. He was community-minded and a public servant before he was a Councillor, deeply involved in the life of Whitstable (in which he had lived since 1964), chairing the Whitstable Castle Trust and serving on the council of the University of Kent.

In his long tenure of the Finance portfolio, he had to oversee huge savings, amounting to over £600 million, as local government was put in the front line of central government's austerity drive. He cared passionately about the services that the Council commissions and provides - he served two years in the post that I have held subsequently, of Cabinet Member for Education, and brought huge commitment to it - but he also knew that the books had to balance. In these toughest of times, he delivered nine consecutive balanced budgets.

In this, the Council benefited from his financial acumen, as it did when, working with some exceptionally able officers, he oversaw the full recovery of KCC's balances with Icelandic banks. But what also marked him out was the sensitivity with which he oversaw this difficult process, and slowly and steadily built consensus behind the savings. He was never a Treasury hatchet man. In this, he formed a great partnership with Andy Wood, who left as KCC's Director of Finance a couple of months ago. One of Andy's great sadnesses at his farewell to the Council was that John was by then too ill to attend.

John and I sat next to each other in Monday morning Cabinet meetings for many years. He was delightful company, thoughtful and well-informed, and with a lively and sometimes risqué sense of humour. He was, until his final illness, inspirationally vigorous in his late seventies and into his eighties. He was a family man and a public servant, a moderate and internationalist Conservative - as his Conservative Association chairman put it, "he was one of the good guys." This is farewell to a colleague and a friend.
  

Rights of Way Improvement Plan

KCC is responsible for the management and maintenance of some 6,900km of Public Rights of Way across the County, with its huge potential for enjoyment of the countryside, support for healthy living and journeys by walking or (in many cases) cycling.

The Council is required by law to produce a Rights of Way Improvement Plan every ten years; the last such plan, for 2007-17, delivered significant improvements to the network.

Now the Council is consulting on its 2018-28 plan, focusing on a range of issues including the shape of the network, maintenance and improvements and means of ensuring high public awareness. The consultation began on 20 June and runs until 12 September. You can find it, along with a range of related materials, here and can complete an online questionnaire.

If you wish to request hard copies or alternative formats of any consultation materials, you can email alternativeformats@kent.gov.uk or call 03000 421553 (text relay service number 18001 03000 421553).

Buses for Wilmington schools

In the last fortnight or so, constituents have been raising concerns with me over the prospects for children travelling to school in Wilmington (to the Boys' and Girls' Grammar Schools, and to the Academy) from September.

The immediate cause for concern has been the cessation of the Number 2 bus service run by West Kent buses. This is not related to any decision by KCC regarding subsidy; the 2 was always a purely commercial service.

I understand that there are a very small number of children in Otford who are affected, and for whom a rail and bus journey will regrettably be needed. For children travelling in from Eysnford and Farningham, Go Coach has rerouted its 429 service, which should provide cover. There are some quite significant changes in timing from the 2 service, and some specific concerns about those at the end of the school day. I am investigating whether any changes are possible.

There is a bigger problem for children travelling in from Horton Kirby and South Darenth (as well as Sutton at Hone, just outside my Division). Here the alternative option is the Arriva 414 bus, which has been a cause of significant concern and complaint because of lateness, sme lack of driver knowledge and overcrowding. The school journey from north of Farningham to Wilmington will add another twenty or so children to the service.

I have also taken this matter up with Kent Highways officers (and had discussed the 414 with Arriva previously). Arriva have been making some efforts to invest in the route, but the outlook for September remains uncertain. We will be watching very closely and will seek to respond to concerns if and when they arise.

A resurfacing example: Noah's Ark

Kemsing Parish Council raised with me some weeks ago the condition of Noah's Ark - a stretch of road in bad need of surface works, not just filling in some potholes.

Shortly afterwards, I went out with Kent Highways officers on a tour of my Division, identifying and discussing areas for action. The Highways officers confirmed that works would be undertaken in Noah's Ark, and these followed within a couple of weeks.

As the two pictures show, the works have made quite a significant difference - an example of wider-ranging surface works that are taking place as part of the pothole blitz.

Transport 'big conversation' getting under way

The County Council's planned engagement and debate with residents - especially in rural areas - on transport issues, dubbed the 'Big Conversation', is getting under way. The aim is to engage the public, groups such as Parish Councils, and potential providers of services such as community transport, in a detailed examination of the best way in which we can provide access to transport in rural and more isolated areas.

The engagement programme will include parish seminars and 11 District-based public meetings, which will be held between 7 and 9 in the evening. The Sevenoaks meeting will be in the Stag Theatre on Wednesday 4 July. This should be an opportunity to help shape policies that will be important to many of the communities of the Darent Valley and surrounding area.

Eynsford Road floods again

Amid today's heavy downpours, I was called by residents in Eysnford Road, Farningham, about flooding in the road that was affecting their properties.

I have written about this problem before, and have been taking it up with Kent Highays officers since last summer. Cleansing and other works have been carried out, and it did seem as though some real progress had been made. But today the problems recurred.

In fact, the earlier works may have had some effect. The picture at the top of this post was taken at the time when the flooding was at its strongest; the picture at the bottom was taken a couple of hours later, at the time when I was able to get there and meet residents. The water had run away more rapidly than would have been the case in the past; not, however, before the waters had reached unacceptably high levels. Clearly more substantial works are required, and I will once more take the issue up with Kent Highways.

Renewing the Speed Indicator Device in Childsbridge Lane

One of the first issues that Kemsing Parish Council took up with me after my election last year was the need to replace a Speed Indicator Device (SID) in Childsbridge Lane. A SID was installed some years ago, but eventually became faulty. It was removed and Kent Highways were not willing to replace it.

Following discussion with the Parish Council, it became clear to me that there was still a strong desire in the village to have the SID at this point, so I undertook to pay for it - if it could be installed - from my Combined Member Fund. Even so, it was not quite as simple as that; Kent Highways were not prepared to approve a SID, even one paid for from my Fund, if it could not be justified. In particular, traffic counts and speed checks were needed to see if enough vehicles were travelling at 35 miles per hour or faster to trigger the Device a reasonable number of times.

The traffic count - also paid for from my Fund - took place in early March. Because of the snow (which clearly would distort any speed readings), measurements had to be taken over fewer days than would usually be the case. Nonetheless, the end result was that there were enough speeding vehicles to support the introduction of a new SID, and I was able to tell Kemsing's Annual Parish Meeting that we should now be able to go ahead.

More money for pothole campaign in the new financial year

As I reported last month, KCC committed £5.2 million to its Find and Fix campaign in 2017-18; nonetheless, January 2018 saw some 4,000 pothole notifications, the highest January level for four years.

And that was before the Beast from the East, and the second, shorter-lived bout of snow in mid-March. Mike Whiting, Cabinet Member for Highways, indicated that the costs to the road network of the severe weather could come to some £4 million. However, the County Council has been able to announce an extra £2 million in funding, bringing the total budget for potholes and drainage for this year to £8.1 million.

So far. The Find and Fix campaign gets under way in April, and the Council Leader, Paul Carter has added that, "Towards the middle of June we will then reflect on how the work is going, and I can assure you that, if more work is needed, we will find the additional budget required to fix the potholes."

Audrey Gee

It was with great sadness that I learned of the death on Thursday morning of Audrey Gee.

Audrey was a central figure in Eynsford for many years, as both Chair of the Village Society and as its long-serving Liberal Democrat District Councillor. She was coming to the end of her term as District Councillor when I was elected to the County Council in 2005 (she retired in 2007) but was wonderfully welcoming, devoted to Eynsford and the wider Darent Valley and happy to work with anyone who was committed to those communities. (She was also a great champion of local heroes such as the aviator Percy Pilcher).

Audrey gave an enormous amount to Eysford over decades; I remember her fondly and am glad to have known her.

Buses and the 'Big Conversation'

Earlier in the year, I reported that KCC was reducing its planned savings from subsidsied bus services from £2 million to £455,000. This would be followed by a 'big conversation' with parish councils and other key community groups regarding the best way to deliver transport services that can tackle rural isolation.

The County Council has now confirmed that, following discussions with the bus companies (in particular, Stagecoach and Go Coach) it will propose some small changes that will convert subsidised to commercial routes, delivering the necessary savings without affecting access to services or routes to school. In the case of Go Coach, this will involve moving the 404 (Edenbridge to Sevenoaks) service from being a home to school to a commercial service, still nonetheless providing school students with a route to school.

It is anticipated that the 'big conversation' will follow in April and May, with the expectation that in June there will be a Rural Bus Summit, on the successful model of Kent Rail Summits.

KCC's Environment and Transport Cabinet Committee will debate these proposals next Tuesday, 20 March.  

A new Church Room for All Souls Crockenhill

Yesterday I was delighted to attend the opening of the new Church Room - actually, a stand alone small building - serving All Souls Church in Crockenhill. The Room was opened, after s short service of dedication, by the Venerable James Logstaff, Bishop of Rochester.

The project has been long in its development and - like many a building project - has brought a fair amount of anxiety and heartache along the way. That it has been delivered is a big tribute to the church and wider community of Crockenhill. The Room will serve both for church functions, including hopefully Sunday School, and the Crockenhill community as a whole - as a result of the latter, I was able to give some support (£2,000 from my Combined Member Fund, which contributed towards the floor). The building (and the floor) look wonderful and hopefully will be a valued resource for years to come.

The 2017-18 pothole blitz

With the end of the financial year approaching, the Find and Fix Programme (aka the 'pothole blitz') is also almost concluded.

This year saw some £5.2 million spent on the Find and Fix programme; £2.2 million from the Deaprtment for Transport's Captial Pothole Grant, and the remainder from KCC capital and revenue contributions. The whole budget has been committed and most of the works completed; a few await the completion of other works (for example, by utilities) in the relevant area.

All told, some 117,000 square metres have been repaired; the equivalent of 18 Wembley football pitches, or 18 kilometres of typical road. Overall, the quality of the work delivered by locally commissioned contractors (SCG in the case of Sevenoaks) has been good.

We await full clarity on what funding will be available for the new financial year. However, the pressures are on (which will not come as any surprise to anyone observing recent weather); January saw just under 4,000 pothole enquiries from the public, a multiple of the levels seen in recent years and comparable to the level seen at the start of 2014, which was a time of major flooding. So there will be plenty to be done once Spring is upon us.

Eynsford Road: getting under way

In my earlier report on action to tackle flooding at Eynsford Road, I expressed the hope that work could be carried out to  replace the manhole cover in South Hall Road before Christmas. In practice this was delayed because Kent Highways' contractors had to focus their work pre-Christmas on gritting as temperatures fell.

In the last few days, however, I have been told that the works in South Hall Close have been carried out - as a result, the CCTV survey should be carried out in the near future.

New budget plans and bus subsidies

KCC has set out its latest plans for the 2018-19 budget, reflecting some important developments in the Local Government Financial Settlement announced just before Christmas.

In many respects, the financial challenge facing the Council remains massive.  The budget gap that KCC has to plug is some £113m, reflecting a £45 million reduction in government grant, the impact of price increases and growing demand for services, especially in children's and adults social services. Much of this will be met by spending reductions driven by greater efficiency, effective commissioning and the like.

There was also one major disappointment in the pre-Christmas announcement, that an earlier government Transitional Grant, worth some £5.3 million to the Council, is not being continued.

However, the Local Govenrment Financial Settlement also included - more positively - the news that Kent, working with the County's 12 District Councils, Kent Fire and Rescue Authority and Medway Council, will be one of the national pilot areas for Business Rate Retention. This will bring in £5.6 million in the coming financial year.

Secondly, government has raised the 'referendum cap' - the amount by which Councils can raise Council Tax without having to call a local referendum - from 2% to 3%. This is in addition to the 2% precept that the Council is able to raise for social care. In line with most other County Councils, KCC will propose in its budget to increase the coming year's council tax by just under 5%. This will not be welcome to residents, but our pre-budget consultations have suggested a willingness to see some increase to protect services.

In its budget proposals, the County Council will no longer be proposing a £2.25 million reduction in subsidies for bus travel, but instead will propose a reduction of only £0.45 million. The Council nonetheless believes that there is a need to review existing bus subsidies and look for other and better ways to support transport for elderly and isolated residents, and will be investing £0.5 million in developing this approach. This will be carried out through a 'big conversation' with Parish Councils and local communities in the coming months.