Now, Tier 4

Yesterday’s government announcement that Kent, along with London and much of the south east, was due to enter (from midnight last night) a new Tier 4 level of restrictions is a severe blow to the county and its residents just days before Christmas. The County Council will do everything we can to help and support our residents and businesses through this. Our statement is here.

The Tier 4 restrictions reimpose many of the features of the November national restrictions, with a requirement on residents to avoid unnecessary travel and to work from home if at all possible, while ‘non-essential’ retail, leisure centres, personal care facilities (such as hairdressers, nail salons etc) are required to close. This comes on top of the restrictions on the hospitality sector already in place. You can find the details of the restrictions here.

Painfully for many families, Tier 4 status also means that ‘Christmas bubbles’, enabling different households to come together for Christmas, no longer apply. Support bubbles for isolated individuals still do apply, however. 

After the statement from the Prime Minister, I joined a call (along with other local government leaders and chief executives) joined a call with the Communities Secretary, Robert Jenrick, and one of the government’s medical advisers. It was clear from this, as from the earlier press conference, that the new, fast-spreading strain of the virus played a central part in these new decisions. The stubbornly high (and then accelerating again) infection rates in Kent and Medway even amid national and then Tier 3 restrictions resulted in investigations that brought focused attention on the new strain and on its rapid spread throughout the South East. A number of areas in London and Essex now have higher infection rates than the levels seen in Swale, the Kent Borough with the highest rates.

The scientific advice is very clear, and the pressures on hospitals in Kent and Medway are severe: all Kent’s hospital trusts are at or (in most cases) well above the level of Covid admissions seen at the previous peak in April. So the decision is hard to argue with, even if its suddenness and timing is abrupt and even brutal. 

As set out in my previous post, we will continue to focus our efforts on local contact tracing, asymptomatic testing and constantly renewing our approach to communications and enforcement. We will also seek to support residents and businesses through this, and press government to review business support to better assist enterprises and individuals across Kent, with our network of very small firms and self-employment.

Taking the Test

 

This morning Andrew Scott-Clark, KCC’s Director of Public Health and I attended the site (Sheerness Working Men’s Club in Halfway on the Isle of Sheppey) of one of the two asymptomatic testing centres that will start carrying out tests tomorrow. The military planners whose giving us logistical support were present, along with representatives from Swale Borough Council. 

This was a chance to see the centre in operation and to brief and be interviewed by media representatives, including BBC South East and ITV Meridian. Andrew and I took the ‘lateral flow’ Covid test. I did not record exactly how long it took for the result (negative) to come through, but it was about half an hour or just a little longer. The centre staff were very helpful and the process smooth.

For tomorrow, invitations have gone out to key workers and their families, and we expect to then invite the wider local population.

In my interviews, I was asked - unsurprisingly and reasonably- about Kent’s high Covid -19 infection levels, and what can be done to reduce them. I emphasised the actions we are taking with respect to testing, local contact tracing and constant honing of our approach to communications and compliance. The full explanation for Kent’s extraordinary surge in infections, much of it during the period of the second national lockdown, remains unclear, though the emergence of a second, more infectious form of the virus may have played its part. Certainly there has been a recent surge across many parts of the south east, with many areas (such as large parts of our neighbours Essex, Surrey and East Sussex) joining Kent in Tier 3.

Nonetheless, as the Health Secretary pointed out in Parliament today, rates in our county are exceptionally high: “Be really cautious in Kent. It is the area of the country which has the biggest problem.” We are under no illusions as to the scale of the task in turning this round.

Asymptomatic testing: the first sites

Targeted asymptomatic testing is an important part of the efforts by Kent County Council and our partners to contain and ultimately reduce the alarmingly high levels of Covid-19 infections in the County. (This is alongside local contact tracing, communications and enforcement measures). 

Earlier in the month, we secured military logistical support for testing, though we had been in talks on this  for some time prior to entering Tier 3. At the weekend, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) confirmed its support for large-scale asymptomatic testing in Tier 3 areas. KCC has been working with District and Borough Councils and securing sites, and the first two will commence operations this coming Friday, 18 December. They will be in areas of very high infection incidence, in Halfway on the Isle of Sheppey and Ramsgate. People will be invited to take the test by letter or email. 

Further sites will be rolled out in the near future, with the aim to have two sites in each District. Both the priority given to Districts and the location of the sites will be determined by infection levels. 

As is clear from the figures updated daily on KCC’s website, infection levels across the county continue to increase, with all Districts now above the national average and the County as a whole two and a half times that level. Tomorrow’s national announcement about tiering levels will clearly not bring any relief to the County’s Tier 3 status. There is a lot to do to turn this round.

Swanley Village: cleansing the culvert

The culvert in Swanley Village Road, between the junctions with Button Street and Park Lane, been a local problem, with a tendency to be blocked and floodthe surrounding area. It was cleansed in spring 2019, but residents brought to my attention some months ago that it was once more getting blocked. (I had discussed with Kent Highways the best approach to keeping the culvert clean, and it was agreed to do so as and when problems arose).

Tomorrow there will be a road closure while the culvert is cleansed. A civils team will dig out the entrance to the gulley and then the gullies in the area will be cleansed and jetted. The last such operation did give quite a lasting improvement, and hopefully this will do so too.

Preparing for the end of transition

Kent’s geography - its position on the Short Straits crossing to continental Europe - has always meant that the County would be in the front line of the effects of Brexit, and of the end of the UK’s transition out of the EU, the Single Market and Customs Union. The County Council and its partners have long worked to manage that and limit its effects on the County’s residents and businesses.

Yesterday marked a month to the end of transition. We provided a briefing for all County Councillors on the latest preparations; this followed a report to our public Cabinet meeting on Monday. This morning I opened a webinar conference for Kent businesses on the same subject.

All this work details the extensive preparations that we have undertaken, both to secure the continuity of our own services and to prepare - working with our partners in the Kent Resilience Forum, and with national government - traffic management plans to minimise disruption. These work from the government’s ‘Reasonable Worst Case Scenario’ of 7,000 HGVs having to be held within Kent.

Two major conclusions stand out. Firstly, whether or not the UK and EU reach a deal, huge changes are coming to our trade regime with the EU (and with it, a major increase in required paperwork) because of the UK departure from the Single Market. The second is that the degree to which we have to trigger our traffic management plans depends on other factors beyond our control: trader and haulier readiness, and the operation of the systems set up by government to seek to enable trade fluidity. In both areas there have been signs of progress but much is still uncertain. There can be no guarantees of what will happen after 31 December, but in Kent we have worked to do everything possible to ensure that our residents and businesses can continue their daily lives and work with minimum disruption.

There has been a lot of media interest, and yesterday I gave interviews to BBC Radio 4’s PM Programme, (some 47 minutes in) and then as part of a panel discussion on Newsnight (first item, panel discussion about eleven and a half minutes in). In both I emphasised how we are working to protect the interests of Kent, whatever January 2021 may bring.

Food vouchers for the Christmas holidays

Following KCC’s response to offer vouchers to families of children entitled to Free School Meals over the October half term, the Council will be using part of its £4.5m allocation under the government’s £170m Covid Winter Fund to provide vouchers over the Christmas holidays.

Whereas the October scheme, of necessity, required an application, the greater time for preparation means that families should be able to receive the vouchers (one £15 per week voucher for each eligible child) without the need for an application process. This scheme for both the Christmas holidays and the February half term should cost some £2.5m, leaving a further £2m for schemes that support low-income families with pre-school children and other similar households, including those without children. 

I am signing off the formal Council Decisions required to bring this into effect and to enable the Council and schools to exchange the information needed for the voucher scheme. 

It is good that we were able to support families during half term, and better news still that we will be able to do so over the Christmas period. 

You can find KCC‘s press release here.

Kent in Tier 3

Today’s government announcement that Kent as a whole is being placed in Tier 3, the highest level of Covid-19 restrictions, comes as a severe blow to residents and businesses across the County. 

Covid cases have risen sharply in Kent in recent weeks. Up until around the middle of October, Kent’s incidence (cases per 100,000 over 7 days) was far below the national average, and even below the South East average. As of 21 November, however, Kent’s figure was 274.3, compared with national average of 207.1 and a South East average of 157.3. (Neighbouring Medway, however, stood at 423.9). The acceleration began in Swale and has taken in much of northern and coastal Kent. Swale’s rates (528.4) and Thanet’s (492.3) are among the highest in the country. Rates across other parts of the county - in particular, in Districts and Boroughs such as Tunbridge Wells, Ashford and Sevenoaks – are much lower. The county-wide nature of the restrictions has generated anger and bewilderment in those areas with lower rates. 

Our focus – as made clear in a statement issued today – is on getting the county out of Tier 3 as fast as possible. That is a task for us in local government (and our localised delivery of test and trace, in support of the national system, starts tomorrow) but also for all our residents. The quicker we get infection rates down, especially in the most affected parts of the county, the sooner these damaging restrictions can be lifted. I will be taking part in a press conference tomorrow afternoon with our Director of Public Health, Andrew Scott-Clark, and colleagues from Medway and from the NHS, tomorrow afternoon. 

More on half term help

Late yesterday, and following our previous announcement at the weekend, Kent County Council set out more detail about our half term support offer for families with children eligible for Free School Meals.

Families seeking help can complete a form that can be accessed via specific pages on the kent.gov website, or by calling a dedicated helpline 03000 412424. Families of children eligible for Free School Meals will be able to access a £15 supermarket voucher per child. 

The County Council is seeking to publicise this offer as widely as possible and there has already been a strong response from families.

You can find KCC’s additional statement here.

Holmesdale Hill

Resurfacing works are taking place yesterday and today at the corner of Holmesdale Road and Holmesdale Hill, going up the hill as far as the SLOW sign. The new surface will have higher skid resistance than the previous one

There there are also white line edge markings going in (or refreshed when already in place) on either side of the road and approaching and going round the bend. The cats eyes on the outside of the bend are also being replaced. These latter works may take a day or two longer to complete. 

Kent Highways officers will also examine, at my request, what other actions may be possible to address continuing concerns about traffic speed and safety on this stretch of road.

Help for families over half term

Kent County Council has announced a programme of help and support for families eligible for Free School Meals over the half term. 

Anyone whose child is eligible for Free School Meals and who is in need of assistance should contact the Kent Together service, launched at the start of the Covid-19 crisis. Kent Together can be reached either via its webpage:

https://www.kent.gov.uk/social-care-and-health/health/coronavirus/kent-together

Or you can call on 03000 41 92 92.

This initiative builds on KCC’s use of the Emergency Assistance Grant, for which the County Council received £1.65m from national government to support those struggling to afford food and essential items. This scheme has already helped many families, but the aim of this initiative is to target rapid support to families over this half term.

You can find KCC’s media release on this here.

Pilgrims Way East update

Following on from yesterday’s post, I can update on Pilgrims Way East. The road remains closed at present, but KCC’s Streetworks team have had confirmation from Clancy/ South East Water that the road will be reinstated tomorrow. It will then take some hours for the tarmac to set before the road is reopened, most likely later tomorrow. So the road is still best avoided until then, but should be open on Sunday and, critically, Monday morning. Once again, if I get any further updates I will post again.

Road closures latest

Yesterday and today have seen a lot of disruption in and around Pilgrims Way, Kemsing, and Pilgrims Way East, Otford - though the significance of this road as a link to the A225 has big effects on other communities such as Seal and Knatts Valley. There have been three different incidents in the last 24 hours + affecting the roads.

(1) Kent Highways (KCC) carried out works in Pilgrims Way between Cotmans Ash Lane and Heaverham Road to deal with a damaged verge. These works took place yesterday and were completed by the end of the day

(2) South East Water carried out an emergency closure of Cotmans Ash Lane because of a burst pipe. At one point it appeared that this could be closed until Monday. However, I have just been informed by KCC’s Streetworks team that the works have been completed and the road has now been reopened 

(3) The biggest effect however has come from an emergency closure by South East Water in Pilgrims Way East, also because of a burst pipe. South East Water are currently requiring an emergency closure until Monday. KCC Streetworks team have challenged this, pushing for patching works to be done and then the road to be reopened, with works then completed over the weekend. However, South East Water argue that the damage (and resulting hole in the road - see pictures) is too great for this, and in these circumstances it is the utility’s assessment which prevails

However, the Streetworks team will push for earlier completion of the works if at all possible, and I will provide an update tomorrow as to when the closure, and resulting disruption, is likely to end.

Asylum: end of the consultation

I have posted many times on the issue of this year’s large scale arrivals of Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children (UASC) and Kent County Council’s response. On 17 August, with more than 600 UASC in our care, social work caseloads at unacceptably high levels and our reception centres full, Kent County Council confirmed that we were no longer able to fulfil our duties and collect further new arrivals from the Port. This was my decision as Leader of the Council, on the advice of our Director of Children’s Services.

Since that time, numbers of UASC in our care have reduced (though still far above what government legislation and guidance would regard as acceptable) as the Home Office, working with other groups such as local government organisations  and the Regional Migration Partnerships, has placed many young people with other local authorities.

Over the summer, the Home Office has also consulted on a relaunch of a reformed National Transfer Scheme (NTS), the system introduced as part of the 2016 Immigration Act following the crisis of 2015, to achieve a more balanced and equitable distribution of UASC in local authorities across the country. The NTS worked relatively well initially, but ran out of steam by 2018 as local authorities, conscious of the costs and feeling under pressure in their children’s services, became increasingly unwilling to take UASC young people. The consultation proposes a regional rota system for taking UASC and - importantly - consults on the possibility of making the system mandatory. For KCC, this is of great importance; our biggest concern is that there should be no repeat of what happened (and did not happen) after 2015. This was the central argument of my letter to the Home Secretary, Priti Patel, in May, and the County Council has been arguing for a revived and strengthened NTS for a number of years. The consultation closes on Wednesday, and there is every indication that the outcome is genuinely open. I have been encouraged by something of a shift in opinion in the local government sector towards mandation.

I had the chance to discuss many of these issues when I gave evidence earlier in September to the parliamentary Home Affairs Select Committee (picture). In the course of this, MPs from different parties gave warm tributes to the work of our social work teams in responding to the UASC issue. You can find a recording of the evidence session here.  

Kent Test: plans and preparations

On Monday the KCC Cabinet received a report on the experience so far of the return to school; you can find the report here. The webcast of the meeting can be found here, with the item on return to school starting at around 46:30 minutes in to the meeting.

One of the many issues arising from this year’s unique circumstances has been how this year’s Kent Test will be conducted. As previously reported, the Council set out our plans for the Test in the summer, with a delayed date of 15 October. However, the continuing impact of COVID-19 on schools, with some students having to self-isolate, has raised further questions as to how the Test should be managed under these circumstances. 

This week KCC sent advice to schools regarding the overall approach:

• Any child exhibiting Covid symptoms, or partway through a period of self isolation, will not take the test on the prescribed day

• If an individual child (or a small number of children) is unable to attend due to Covid, The remainder of the registrants will take the test and the child(ren) will be given an opportunity to sit it on their return

• If a class within a year group cannot sit the test, the same approach applies

• If the full year group cannot sit the test, they will do so on their return

• Schools have been advised to allow children (where possible) to settle back in before taking the Test, but not to delay too long as another period of isolation could be required. In particular, schools have been advised to contact KCC to help them apply variations appropriate to their individual circumstances

The County Council will continue to apply this approach of setting a pragmatic general framework while working with schools to take account of individual and local circumstances as we approach the Test.

Changes and additions to Go Coach routes

Following the first few days of return to school, Go Coach (in discussion with KCC public transport team) is making a number of changes to its services: 

• Service T3 is split into two services.  The T3A, operated by Go Coach will operate Knockholt, Halstead, Knockholt Pound, Dunton Green, Riverhead Tesco, then express to Tonbridge Schools.  T3B, operated  by Access Travel will operate   Riverhead Tesco, Sevenoaks, River Hill, Hildenborough / Loop, Tonbridge, Tonbridge Schools.  Timings from each location will be as per the service T3
• Service S32 will operate  St Pauls Cray, Cray Avenue, Spur Road, Sevenoaks Road, Warren Road, The Highway, then express to Knole Academy (as per current timings)
• Service S33, a new service, will operate  Chelsfield Station, Windsor Drive, Green Street Green, Pratts Bottom, Badgers Mount, Halstead, Knockholt Pound, Dunton Green and Knole Academy.  Times will be the same as the S32
• Service S14, a new service, will operate Swanley, Farningham, Eynsford, Otford, Telston Lane, Trinity/ Weald of Kent and Knole Academy. The S14 will leave Swanley garage at 07:50 and then follow the S10, 12 and 13 down the valley, diverting off to Telston Lane to cover part of the S2 route before arriving at Trinity/ Weald of Kent at 08:30 and Knole Academy at 08:30
• The current TW10 will operate  Wrotham Heath, Platt, then express to  to Cross Keys, Tunbridge Wells (St Johns Road). Times will be the same as now
• The current TW11 will operate  Wrotham, Borough Green, then express  to Cross Keys, Tunbridge Wells (St Johns Road). Times will be the same as now
• New route, TW12 will operate Ightham, Plaxtol, Shipbourne, then express to Cross Keys, Tunbridge Wells (St Johns Road).  Times will be the same as now

These changes are to improve capacity on a number of services, improve journey times and convert some duplicates to services, making it easier to understand. They respond to the strong demand seen on these routes and are a clear sign of the willingness of the operator, working with KCC, to make speedy changes. KCC Public Transport will continue to monitor similar pressures across the county in the coming week.

More on return to school

I have set out in previous posts the steps that KCC, and in particular our public transport team, have been taking to support the coming week's return to school. This is now incorporated in a 'back to school' page on the KCC website, which includes a video to advise school students what to expect when travelling on buses under current conditions. You can also find an updated statement from the Cabinet Members for Transport (Michael Payne) and Education (Richard Long) here.

As I've described before, the Public Transport team has worked closely with operators to plan for the return to school. The latest figures that I have seen suggest that applications for the Kent Travel Saver are running at about 55% of previous years' levels. Buses will, of course, be operating at less than full capacity, though where they are designated (as an increased number are) as 'school only' buses it will be possible to make use of all the forward facing seats and so run at about two-thirds capacity rather than half. Nonetheless, the reduced numbers using the services will to a significant degree offset this. In addition, over a hundred additional vehicles will be running this week. 

Clearly this will be a difficult and stressful time for parents and students, and the coming week is likely to see a fast-changing situation. Even in a 'normal' year, transport in the early weeks of the autumn term can be difficult (which is a natural concern of parents of Year 7 students, just starting their secondary education, in particular) and there can be no guarantees as to what the experience will be in each and every part of the county. But a great deal of preparation has been undertaken in a short time. As a parent as well as a politician, I am hoping for the very best possible experience for students returning to school.

 

 

Exams: KCC supporting Kent schools, students and families

In Kent and elsewhere, Thursday's announcement of A-Level and other post-16 results has been met with deep and growing concern from students, their families and their schools. Even where the aggregate outcomes have broadly matched schools' expectations (and that has not always been the case), there are reports of huge individual variation and unfairness. As Richard Long, KCC's Cabinet Member for Education and Skills has put it: "in many cases the grades appear to bear little resemblance to student ability or to the Centre Assessed Grades (CAG) awarded by schools."

As Leader of the Council (and having previously had responsibility for the County Council's role in Education), I have been contacted by head teachers and chairs of governors to express their alarm and incredulity at what has happened. They have also expressed their apprehension over what this means for this week's GCSEs.

KCC stands ready to support schools, students and families and, in an announcement on Friday, made clear our course of action. The County Council will collate information from Kent schools to be able to present a coherent picture to government of the issues and concerns in the County, and to urge the Education Secretary to investigate and redress the problem with rapid effect. The future prospects of many of our young people depend on it.

You can find the KCC statement here.

 

School transport for September

In my previous post, I tried to address the concerns of many parents over the decisions they face regarding their child's transport to school in September. The application 'window' for the Kent Travel Saver (KTS) expires tomorrow, though this is only to guarantee the pass being available before the start of term; KCC will seek to process applications received subsequent to that date as quickly as possible.

With that in mind, Kent County Council has issued a further statement to make the current position as clear as possible. This has been delayed somewhat by the wait for further government guidance, which has yet to be issued. In this, Michael Payne (Cabinet Member for Highways and Transportation) and Richard Long (Cabinet Member for Education and Skills) set out the current position on capacity and the extensive work that has taken place between KCC and bus operators to prepare for the return to school and to ensure the maximum safety of children while travelling.

You can find the KCC statement here.

Getting Building Fund: £37 million for Kent and Medway

In mid-June, I like other Council Leaders and Chairs of Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs)received a letter from the Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick, inviting us to bring forward 'shovel-ready' projects that government could support through a new Fund to boost economic recovery. These were to be put forward to government through the LEPs, in our case the South East LEP (SELEP), of which I am a Director. The scheme would in time become known as the Getting Building Fund. 

Turnaround times were extraordinarily quick, with a meeting of Kent and Medway Economic Partnership (KMEP), the 'federated area' sub-division of the LEP (which embraces Essex and associated unitary councils, along with East Sussex, Kent and Medway)on 9 July and SELEP's Board a week later to confirm our submissions. 

 SELEP secured £85 million from the Fund, the largest sum awarded to any LEP in the country, with £37 million within that awarded to Kent and Medway. Yesterday government announced the detailed awards of the £900 million Getting Building Fund. There were eight successful projects in Kent and Medway, three of them (the first three listed below) led by KCC:

- Connecting Rural Kent and Medway - rollout of full fibre broadband in remote and rural parts of the county 

- Thanet Parkway Railway Station - a new railway station serving Thanet and North Dover, close to Discovery Park 

-  Javelin Way Development, Ashford - educational and industrial facilities 

-  First and Second Floors, Building 500, Discovery Park (Sandwich) - upgrade of laboratory space, supporting life sciences companies based in the Enterprise Zone 

- The Meeting Place, Swanley - new business space and homes in the High Street - a key project for Sevenoaks District Council 

- Britton Farm Redevelopment, Medway - a learning and skills hub for adult retraining 

- Performing and Production Digital Arts Facility, North Kent College - industry-leading training facilities linked to the Thames Estuary Production Corridor for creative industries 

-  Romney Marsh Employment Hub - employment and business space in an area affected by the rundown of Dungeness nuclear power station 

This is excellent news for the county, with schemes from areas ranging from Dartford and Swanley to Romney Marsh. Further progress on broadband is vital, while the Thanet Parkway scheme is a long-running project which the County Council has championed (and which I inherited as an important but challenging scheme when I became Leader) and which can now be brought forward with a range of funding sources.

You can find the government announcement (which makes a particular mention of Thanet Parkway) here.

Return to school: latest

The 'window' for applying for the Kent Travel Saver (KTS) closes on 9 August, and many parents remain concerned that they could commit to the cost of the KTS and yet find that there may not be sufficient buses running because of the pressures that social distancing requirements place on capacity. I have posted on this before but the situation continues to change and I have now been able to update with our Public Transport team. There are a number of key points:

From September, operators serving the Darent Valley and surrounding areas (including Go Coach,Hams and Arriva) will be operating their full timetable of normal local bus services, including all school specific services. Timetables should be published in the very near future.

Buses which carry both school students and ordinary members of the public will operate according to government guidance for buses on social distancing. (This includes passengers sitting a minimum of a metre apart; other mitigations such as no use of side seats, those where people can sit opposite each other, no standing passengers and no seat used behind the driver; use of face coverings; measures to protect the driver; and an enhanced hygiene regime). These buses will operate at 50% of normal capacity

Buses which in practice carry only school students will be converted to school only where possible and KCC Public Transport are working with operators to assess how this can best be done. These buses would run under the (different) government guidance for dedicated school transport, which has many of the same mitigations in place as the general public bus, but allows students to sit less than a metre apart. The bus will on this guidance be able to carry 70% of its normal capacity. KCC Public Transport and the operators will advise which services or journeys have been made school only

KCC Public Transport are developing a video presentation, which should be ready in the coming week, to explain what using a bus under these conditions will be like for students. This will go on the KCC and operator websites

KCC Public Transport are monitoring take up of all passes for September and fully understand capacity limits on services and journeys. They will ensure that where they believe there are to be any capacity issue, that additional capacity is provided via another bus. Operators have vehicles available to provide additional capacity

KCC will be issuing further communications on this. It had been intended to issue a formal communication this week, but there conitnue to be delays in receiving government guidance and this led to its being held back. KCC nonetheless continues to monitor and review government guidance, and will respond to further changes. In the meantime, this hopefully provides a clearer picture of developments.

Wood Street works start today

Wood Street, Swanley Village, is clsoed today and tomorrow for mircoasphalting works being carried out by Kent Highways. The two-day closure is from 7am until 7pm each day, with diversions via Button Street and Ship Lane. The condition of the road has long been a concern, and I took this up with Kent Highways officers when we did joint tours of my Division to assess road problems. These surface dressing works (the next step down from a full resurfacing) were programmed in for this financial year some time ago. Hopefully it will make a welcome difference to this part of the village.

A trip to the tip

Today (and last weekend, when I made my booking) I had the chance to be a mystery shopper of the Council's system for visiting Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) - in my case, my local HWRC in Swanley. All round, a very good experience; the recently introduced new booking system was quick and easy to use, and I booked in my session for today. I received several email reminders between then and now.

Today I visited and it was all very smooth; I went straight in, social distancing was easily observed and staff were (as always) friendly and helpful.

As Leader, I have been deeply involved with and have backed our approach of a managed reopening, using the booking system and gradually making its operation more flexible. The evidence I have seen, and in particular feedback from residents, has in general been very positive, But there's nothing like experiencing it yourself.    

Kent Test delay to October confirmed

Kent County Council's Cabinet Member for Education and Skills, Richard Long, has today confirmed the proposal put forward by KCC officers some weeks ago to delay the sitting of the Kent Test until Thursday 15 October (Saturday 17 October for Out of County applicants). This delay of about a month will give students the chance to acclimatise back to school after the Covid crisis closure of schools to most students (for most children starting Year 6 in September, this will come after almost six months out of school).

The County Council has sought to give parents as much information as possible about the proposed direction of policy by highlighting the earlier stages of the decision-making process. Now Richard Long's decision - made after careful consideration of the representations by schools, parents and others - gives much greater certainty. The County Council has always emphasised that there can never be complete certainty, given the possible impacts of a return of the pandemic in the autumn, but this sets as clear a course as possible in these most uncertain times.

You can find the KCC media release here.

A strategy for net zero

In May last year, the administration at Kent County Council committed to bring forward a strategy with a timeline for achieving net zero carbon emissions from our estate and operations. When I became Leader of the Council last autumn, I appointed a dedicated (in both senses of the term) Cabinet Member for Environment, Susan Carey, with a mandate to address this and other key environmental issues.

The plan was originally intended to be brought to our County Council meeting in the spring. Covid-19 brought a delay to that as to much else. Nonetheless, on Thursday County Council did receive and approve the plan to achieve net zero by 2030.

What is most striking about the plan is its detail and realism. KCC used detailed scenario planning developed by Laser Energy (an energy trading company, and hence source of considerable expertise, within Commercial Services Kent Ltd, which is in turn owned by KCC). This set out a variety of approaches - using investment in renewable energy, a shift to electric vehicles and reduction in emissions from the KCC estate - to achieving net zero, and projected a way forward that combined these different strands. The plan also sets out the sources for funding the £27 million in required investment to deliver net zero by 2030, albeit yielding returns of £96 million by 2050.

This is just one part of the County Council's approach to energy and climate change issues. On the day after the County Council meeting, the final draft of the Kent and Medway Energy and Low Emissions Strategy (ELES), which among other things sets out a path to net zero by 2050 for the county as a whole, was presented to a meeting of the Environment and Transport Cabinet Committee and hopefully should soon be adopted by KCC. Later in the year, we will also be bringing forward more proposals in the area of adaptation and resilience.

You can find the net zero paper for County Council here and the ELES papers to Cabinet Committee under item 9 in this agenda.

Household Waste Recycling Centres: an improved system

The booking system that KCC introduced at our Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) when we reopened them in mid-May appears to have worked well in general. There was a poor start on the first day of operation for the system, but this was resolved quickly and the new system has certainly avoided the queues seen in a number of authorities who did not introduce booking when they reopened.

A new system comes into effect tomorrow that should offer further improvements. It will now be possible for each household to book two slots per month rather than the current one. Sites will be open seven days a week with longer hours, and in total 32,020 slots will be offered each month, rather than the current 22,960. The system should also offer greater flexibility; users will now choose their recycling centre first, then an available slot and only at the final stage have to enter vehicle and contact details. It will also be easier to cancel and amend bookings.

All told, this will hopefully offer a further improvement to residents while continuing to maintain social distancing and avoid traffic queues.

School transport: the autumn planning challenge

There are many questions – above all from parents – about transport to school in the light of the recent government announcement about return in September. For KCC there is still a lot of uncertainty because the announcement came only in the course of last week,  followed by a letter from Transport Minister Baroness Vere to local authorities on Friday and there is quite a bit more government guidance but hasn't come out yet. KCC officers are working on the issue flat out but there are quite a few uncertainties and challenges. Here are a few:

- 'Entitled scholars' -  the children who get free transport because they are attending their 'nearest appropriate school' – are expected to travel in their 'bubbles' (year groups for secondary schools)

-  It appears that some of the social distancing requirements on buses are likely to be relaxed, but they will still only operate at 50 - 60% (at best) of capacity. Together these are likely to increase the need for buses

-  Government is discouraging other students from taking the bus, but it's not prohibited and for many of course driving children in isn't an option (quite apart from other bad effects). The 'window' for applications for the bus pass (Kent Travel Saver) opens on 13 July, and the level of take-up of that will clearly influence what capacity is needed

- There is an expectation from government that local authorities will fund extra bus capacity where needed -  how this is to be financed and the (physical) number of buses available is less clear

 So a lot of detailed work is needed and is being undertaken. We are likely to plan on the basis of major towns and the journeys in to them. KCC will get communications out as soon as possible and recognises the huge importance of this for parents.

Funding announcement - but uncertainty continues

On Thursday the Housing, Communities and Local Government Secretary, Robert Jenrick, announced a further support package to help councils respond to Covid-19.

Councils in England will receive a further £500 million to respond to spending pressures they are facing.  The government has recognised that councils are best placed to decide how to meet pressures in their local area, and therefore the funding has not been ringfenced. Individual allocations have yet to be confirmed, but a subsequent letter from the Minister of State, Simon Clarke, made clear that this would focus on spending needs alone, rather than income losses, as was the case in the last disbursement announced by government.

Income losses will be dealt with by a separate mechanism. Where losses are more than 5% of a council's planned income from sales,fees and charges (SFC), the government will cover them for 75p in every pound lost.

Thirdly, the government is also bringing in changes so that councils can spread their tax deficit over three years rather than the usual one year.

Any additional funding and measures to relieve immediate pressure are, of course, welcome. Nonetheless, the concern remains that this still leaves councils, including KCC exposed to significant financial risk.

In terms of support for the financial pressures faced by councils, the first two tranches of government funding totalled £3.2bn, compared with the current £500m tranche.  KCC's share of the first two tranches was £67m, compared with our forecast additional spending of £96.6m and loss of income of £21m for this financial year. On the basis of the allocation of the first two tranches, KCC might expect its share of the new allocation to be in the £8 -12m range, still leaving a big shortfall.

It is not yet clear how the compensation of 75p in the £ on losses of income on SFC above 5% of total planned income will operate. It does suggest that KCC would have to absorb this  before receiving any compensation for losses. This may not be as material for County Councils as it would be for Districts and Unitaries, however the amounts for KCC are significant – as a total as an indication, our total SFC in the 2018-19 outturn was £156.6 million. We will  need to look at the full year effect before being certain as to whether the 5% trigger will be reached.

At this stage there is no funding attached to the provision to deal with council tax and business rate collection losses over three years. In the short run, the pressure would be deferred, and a deficit recorded in the collection fund which could be carried over into years two and three. The announcement says that funding will be considered "in the next Spending Review."  The government appears to be deferring a decision on this and relying on a strong economic recovery which will see council tax receipts increasing. If losses from council tax and business rates are not cash backed, there could be a viability issue for councils with inadequate reserves to cover short term pressures.

While this does represent some additional support for the sector, it is highly doubtful whether this can meet the pressures incurred in year, and many key decisions are deferred until the spending round and greater clarity over the speed of economic recovery.  Local government still does not have certainty in relation to its financial position as we emerge from the immediate impact of Covid-19. The County Council will be considering a revised 2020-21 budget at our meeting on 10 September.

 Interest in this issue has remained strong, and you can find an article in the Huffington Post, which includes an interview that I gave, here.

Well Hill broadband installed

As I have written in previous posts, KCC has been working to install superfast broadband in Well Hill via a Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) system. This would also have the benefit of addressing long-standing problems with poor quality telephone lines in parts of Well Hill. After many delays and disappointments, the system has been installed by BT Openreach and is now live, with residents able to place orders for the service. You can find the link to the Openreach FTTP providers here.

Regrettably, difficulties in securing a wayleave have affected access for a small number of properties, and work is under way to seek to resolve this issue. Overall, however, this represents a welcome resolution of a very long-standing issue for Well Hill residents.  

Eynsford Road drainage works set for 3 July

Long-running efforts to tackle the flooding problems in Eynsford Road, Farningham have now identified parts of the drainage network in the private road off South Hall Close that are believed to be central to the flooding problems and confirmed that tthey are heavily silted.

Access to this part of the drainage network is difficult and will require the use of specialist equipment via a chamber on the western side of the green in Oliver Crescent. This will require parking restrictions in Oliver Crescent, with residents able to use the green (subject to there not having been heavy rain beforehand) for parking for that day. There has been a letter drop to residents and signs put up, and Kent Highways officers will be there on the day to oversee entry to and exit from the green. The success of the project rests on these parking arrangements working effectively.

Once this cleansing has been done, there will also be cleansing and emptying of the soakaways in Eynsford Road itself. It is to be hoped that these works will make the lasting difference to the effectiveness of drainage in Eynsford Road that is much needed, but which previous efforts have been unable to deliver.

£1.6m (this time) for active travel in Kent

Kent County Council has been awarded £1.6 million from the Department for Transport for schemes to promote active travel, such as walking and cycling.

The Covid lockdown in March produced both a reduction in overall travel and a major shift in travel patterns. Walking and cycling increased, though the big drop in use of public transport, coupled with  fears for future usage because of concerns about infection risk and the requirements of social distancing, threatens a return to car dependence. The aim of policy now is to lock in the gains in increased walking and cycling.  

The announcement at the end of last week represents success in the first round of bidding for DfT support for active travel schemes. Councils had to produce in short order (barely a week) a set of proposals for the first round of allocations. KCC stood to secure up to £1.6 million, and in gaining 100% of its possible allocation was more successful than some areas.  Over the next eight weeks the council must successfully implement its schemes, with the aim of securing a bigger (£6.4m) second tranche of funding.

Schemes going ahead over the next eight weeks include those in Tunbridge Wells, Canterbury, Faversham, Hythe and Margate. The extremely rushed nature of the first round meant that KCC officers had to put forward 'off the shelf' schemes that had already been proposed or considered at some point. However, in the second round there will be a greater focus on working with local County Councillors and others to bring forward schemes.

    

October date proposed for the Kent Test

The many uncertainties over how long children, and in particular the current Year 5 cohort, will stay out of school has raised questions over the best approach to this year's Kent Test for grammar school entry.

The Kent Test has for over a decade been sat in September, soon after the new Year 6 children return to school. As soon as schools closed to the majority of pupils in March, the question of whether this timeline could be sustained was raised. Recently, it has become increasingly clear - and subsequently confirmed - that the children currently in Year 5 will return to school only at the start of the school year in September.

On Friday, KCC announced that a proposal has been submitted to Richard Long, Cabinet Member for Education and Skills, to delay this year's Kent Test by a month until 15 October (for children in Kent schools). The proposal from the Children, Young People and Education directorate, recognises the major impact of school closures on children's learning (and on some more than others) and will allow pupils to settle back into the classroom before taking the Test.

The Test was sat in September so that families could know its outcome before making their choices on the Secondary Common Application Form (SCAF) at the end of October. Under the proposal, that would not be possible and so it proposes that the number of schools that parents can name on the SCAF form is increased from four to six for one year only. Families considering a grammar school for their child should ensure that they register them for the Test by the deadline of Wednesday, 1 July.

You can find our media statement about the proposal here. The proposal will be considered over the coming weeks, and a formal decision made by the end of term; however, in setting this out, we hope to ease some of the uncertainty confronting families considering a grammar school for their child.    

Asylum seeking children: some real progress

This post is a bit behind events, but it has been a frenetic week.

I have posted before about the challenges Kent faces regarding the arrival of large numbers of Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children (UASC). Adult asylum seekers (and children accompanying their families) who arrive in Kent are dispersed across the country (with relatively few remaining in the South East) but UASC remain the responsibility of KCC. So far this year some 215 UASC have come into the care of the County Council, more than in the whole of either 2017 or 2018, and more than twice the level of the same time last year. In the month of May alone, 65 UASC arrived, the highest level for any month since the crisis summer of 2015.

With our reception centres and other services under severe and growing pressure, I wrote to the Home Secretary urging action. At the start of this week, I warned that the new quarantine regulations would add to the pressures because the requirements for lengthy isolation would stretch our reception facilities further.

On Monday, I spoke to the Immigration Minister Chris Philp, and shortly after this government announced a package of improved financial support for councils for UASC. The following day saw a remote meeting, in which Sue Chandler (Cabinet Member for Integrated Children's Services), KCC officers and I spoke with Minister Philp, Children's Minister Vicky Ford, their officials and representatives from local government and children's services bodies.

The government measures have raised the rates paid in support of 16 and 17 year old UASC for authorities with more than 0.07% UASC in their young people's population (the measure set for the purposes of the National Transfer Scheme, set up after the 2015 crisis but in abeyance in the last couple of years). There is also a 20% increase in the rates paid for the support of UASC care leavers (former children in care aged 25), with the Home Office support now extended to the age of 25. Alongside this government committed to give strong support to efforts which KCC has begun to place UASC young people with local authorities across the country.

This is very good news in many ways. The enhanced financial support is worth some £5 million to KCC, and hence to Kent taxpayers. The personal commitment of the ministers has been impressive, and it is to be hoped (and some of the early signs are encouraging) that we can make progress in placing UASC in other local authorities. There will be continuing dialogue with ministers on longer-term issues.

There are perhaps two caveats. The first is that, while we may well see placements with other local authorities in the immediate future, it is not clear whether the measures announced can get the National Transfer Scheme back up and running on a sustained basis. Secondly, if arrivals continue at a rapid rate over the summer (in spite of ministers' commitment to work with the French authorities to reduce the boat journeys across the Channel), then our services could soon be under pressure again. Still, we are in a much better position than seemed possible a week ago, or when I pre-recorded an interview for BBC Radio 4's File on 4 (you can find the programme here; my comments are in the closing minutes of this very informative episode). KCC's media release can be found here.    

Drainage works in Farningham

Kent Highways is carrying out drainage works in Farningham High Street between Sparepenny Lane and the river east of Dartford Road. The particular focus of the works is to tackle problems affecting Lion Cottages, where surface water run-off from the road comes over the footway and into houses.  There will be a range of work done on pipes, catch pits and cleansing. The required road closure began on 3 June; the aim has been to get the works completed in advance of businesses reopening. The closure will be in two phases (river bridge to Dartford Road; then Dartford Road to Sparepenny Lane) to create the shortest possible diversion route at any given time.

These works are quite separate from ongoing investigations into the very long-standing flooding problems in Eynsford Road. Since my previous post in mid-April, a crew visited and successfully identified a hidden chamber and the full course of the pipe in the private road near South Hall Close; several previous attempts to identify this had been unsuccessful. This pipework is heavily silted and cleansing is being arranged of this and the whole related network. Accessing the system is quite complex (and may need to be done in Oliver Crescent) but a job should be raised for this shortly.

At the other end of the parish, works were as I reported due to be carried out at the intersection of Button Street with the A20 in early May. The drainage system there was cleansed and no defects found. However, the soakaways on either side of the M25 bridge need emptying and there is more work to be done with specialist equipment on one drain on the junction with the A20. Officers are awaiting a full CCTV report before ordering the follow up works.

Care Home Support: Kent's submission

On 14 May, the Care Minister Helen Whately wrote to Council Leaders (including me) setting out the government's plans for supporting care homes in tackling the impacts of Covid-19, including a £600 million Infection Control Fund. It also has a significant role for local authorities.

The Infection Control Fund (Kent's share of which is almost £19 million) will be channelled through local authorities, although three quarters of it will be allocated to care homes on a sum per bed formula.  However, local authorities will have a role in assuring that the money is spent on infection control, as well as drawing up, along with local NHS leaders, a Care Home Support Plan. This is incorporated in a letter setting out both the financial (and other) support that the local authority is providing to the sector and the mechanisms of monitoring and support to the sector in tackling infection. The letter is accompanied by a completed template profiling the situation of the care sector in terms of infection control.

As the County Councils Network pointed out, this is a significant extension of the role of local authorities in social care, both in terms of taking us into a more regulatory role and in building connections with the many care homes with whom we do not have a direct relationship (since they support only 'self-funders' rather than those supported by KCC). Although it raises legal, capacity and other challenges for local authorities, it is in my view (and that of KCC0 overall a welcome and certainly important step.

Care Home Support Plans were required to be submitted on Friday, 29 May. You can find Kent's letter and completed template via this page of the KCC website.

Works in Romney Street

Residents in Romney Street, Knatts Valley (in Shoreham parish) have long been affected by the works being undertaken by Serenity Parks Ltd to create a new residential park (Kingsdown Meadow Residential Park) on the site of the former Romney Street Caravan Park. Most of the issues raised by this are not within the remit of Kent County Council; however, where there are concerns related to KCC (invariably highways matters) I have worked with officers to try to find the best solution.

This included kerbing works in February to reduce flooding risk to a number of properties, and most recently road resurfacing which Serenity carried out in Romney Street this week. Residents had raised concerns over how the works would be carried out and in particular the status of the verge opposite the entrance to Kingsdown Meadow, which has been worn down and become in effect a parking bay. Serenity were committed to reinstating the verge.

Kent Highways officers have kept in close touch and visited to confirm that the works have proceeded as planned; as the picture demonstrates, the outcome appears positive with a good road surface and the verge area marked out for reinstatement.

Policing in Eynsford and Lullingstone

Following the terrible news of the death of a man in his 60s after an incident by the lake at Lullingstone Castle, I have spoken with Chief Inspector Jon Kirby of Kent Police.

It is widely reported that this followed an altercation with two boys or teenagers, and that stones or rocks were thrown at the man who collapsed and died at the scene after police had arrived after 5PM yesterday evening. We know no other details, but this is a tragic outcome.

Chief Inspector Kirby is about to launch an appeal for witnesses at Lullingstone; the police are asking for information from anyone who saw anything untoward in the area between midday and 6PM yesterday. This would include motorists passing by who may have information on their dashcams. Any witnesses are to contact Kent Police on 01622 604100, using the reference 281127. Anyone seeking to report anonymously can do so through Kent Crimestoppers.

While speaking with the Chief Inspector, I raised the widespread local concerns over anti-social behaviour along with failure to observe social distancing in areas such as Riverside, all with significant effects on local residents' safe enjoyment of the area. The police position is that they have and do seek to provide a presence, in particular through PCSOs, but I was also told that there will be a visible police presence around the village to provide assurance in the coming days.    

Fire at Dunbrik

A fire broke out yesterday morning at the Dunbrik waste site in Sundridge. The site combines a Waste Transfer Station (WTS), which among other roles receives waste from kerbside collections, with a Household Waste Recycling Centre (HWRC) which will be used by many residents in the south of the Sevenoaks North and Darent Valley Division, along with many others.

Fortunately no one was injured in the fire, which I understand was identified at around 0415 yesterday morning. The WTS building has taken significant damage, the full scale of which is being assessed. The HWRC was not harmed, and will be reopened as soon as possible, though there will be some disruption as the rest of the site is cleared and investigated. The cause of the fire is not currently known.

The HWRC had just been reopened using the new booking system, along with all others across Kent. While it is closed those with bookings are being redirected to other local sites, such as Swanley and Pepperhill. This seems to have worked well yesterday. Similarly, the aim is to minimise the effect of the damage to the WTS on Sevenoaks District Council's kerbside collections.

Redevelopment of the site to make it a more efficient and sustainable facility was in any case under consideration, and this event may accelerate it.

Letter to the Home Secretary

"None of this can wait" I concluded Monday's post on the arrival in Kent of increasing numbers of Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children (UASC). The rest of the week has seen further arrivals (some 16 since Monday) and continuing media interest, including this Daily Mail report.

The pressures have now reached a critical point. My previous post set out the impact of Covid-19 and its requirements for social distancing on our reception centres. We have now reached a point at which we are having to reverse our previous stance and put young people back into double rooms, contrary to public health best practice. Further arrivals will only compromise further and unacceptably our ability to provide the safe and effective service that we are required to.

I was able to talk about these issues on BBC Radio 4's Today programme this morning (about 53 minutes in on this playback, which is available for 29 days) and again in a more extended interview on Radio Kent (1 hour and 47 minutes in, available here also for 29 days).

At the same time, I wrote to the Home Secretary, Priti Patel, setting out Kent's situation and urging as the most immediate priority a reactivation of the National Transfer Scheme (NTS), created in the aftermath of the 2015 migration crisis to ensure a fair and workable distribution of young asylum seekers across local authorities. The scheme fell into desuetude from 2018 onwards, chiefly because of the negative cost implications to local authorities of taking UASC, and in particular Care Leavers from a UASC background. Prior to recent events, the Home Office had worked up both a revised NTS and proposals for funding reform for supporting Care Leavers. These must now be implemented as a matter of urgency.

You can find my letter to the Home Secretary in a KCC media release here.    

Asylum seeking children: Kent's challenges

Today has seen significant media interest in the issue of the arrival of Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children (UASC) in Kent and its implications for the County Council. I gave an interview to Radio Kent on the subject this morning (shortly after 0745 on catchup), and BBC South East is also following the story and has interviewed me (for later broadcast).

The arrival of UASC in Kent, often at the port of Dover, has long been a challenge for KCC. While adult asylum seekers go to other parts of the country under a long-standing dispersal scheme, UASC become children in the care of the County Council.

KCC has a long and proud record of support for these young people (chiefly boys aged between 15 and 17), and responded strongly and effectively to the large-scale arrivals in 2015. However, there has always been a concern that, if the number of arrivals grows too quickly, this will put pressure on the support systems (social work capacity, accommodation) in a county which also has some 1450 local children in care and a similar number of children in the care of other authorities placed in Kent. In addition, government financial support has seldom been adequate and KCC has faced an annual funding gap averaging around £2million but sometimes as high as £4.5m. The problem has continued, often in slightly varying form, despite huge efforts by  KCC Members (including me in my previous Cabinet role in Children's Services) and officers.

What has added urgency to the issue is a combination of increasing numbers and the effects of Covid-19. Arrivals have been increasing sharply since the middle of last year, and so far in 2020 160 young people have come into the care of KCC. That is not far short of the full year totals in 2017 (214) and 2018 (172) and is now running at a rate not seen since 2015-16.

Thes newly arriving young people are staying in Kent. The National Transfer Scheme (NTS), set up by government (but on a voluntary basis) in the wake of the 2015 crisis in an attempt to place UASC young people across a wider range of local authorities, had initial success but then dried up. Kent has not placed a child with another authority under NTS since the spring of 2018. At the turn of the year, along with counterparts in Portsmouth, Cabinet Member Sue Chandler and I wrote to other authorities urging them to take more UASC young people.

When the NTS was set up, government set a UASC level of 0.07% of the total young people's population before transfers to other authorities were required. For Kent, this amounted to 231 UASC. Two years ago our UASC population was almost exactly at that level, and even in the spring of 2019 only a little higher; now, however, it stands at 469. In addition, there are 932 care leavers (young people aged 18-25) with a UASC background for whom KCC has continuing responsibilities (as is the case for all care leavers of whatever background).  

All this has financial consequences. Last year, the Home Office raised the rates for support for under 18 UASC, and in that financial year our funding gap was a relatively small £600K. Now, however, the effects of Covid-19 and its social distancing requirements have meant that KCC has had to expand significantly its reception centre capacity (going from one centre to three, and facing pressures to increase capacity further) and to run it on a more expensive, less cost effective basis. There is a lack of availability of suitable properties to provide lower-cost options for housing the young people. This has meant around £200K in additional costs already incurred, and future commitments of almost £700K. In addition, the increase in the number of young people in care means growing pressure on the council's social work and support capacity.

Longer-term, care leavers present a greater financial challenge to the County Council; government funding to match the council's responsibilities is inadequate and care leavers accounted for more than the net overspend of £600K in 2019-20. A Care Leaver Review has been under way for several years but has still not reached a conclusion.  

KCC is now urging action in three areas: recognition of the increased costs associated with the combination of increased arrivals with the effects of Covid-19; resolution of the issues addressed by the Care Leaver Review; and ensuring that other authorities take more young people, whether under a revived NTS or a more directive approach. None of this can wait.  

Waste Centre booking system: better now?

As reported previously, the booking system for the reopening of Kent's Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) opened this morning in preparation for the managed reopening of the Centres themselves on Friday.

It proved a very difficult start. The booking system, which is hosted by Medway Council (with whom we have worked closely on the reopening plans) struggled to cope with demand in the hours after it opened at 11 am.  By 1.30 the web page had already had 99,178 views! Our Contact Point, which is able to make bookings had received 2,376 calls by the same time. Unacceptably, users experienced long waits and sometimes were moved back in the queue or even lost their slot after a long time on the system. 

It is not wholly clear what the underlying problem was; volumes were certainly high, but testing had been carried out under the assumption that they could or would be. Action was taken to stabilise and improve the system during the afternoon, and this appears to have improved matters. I have had feedback from others who, like myself, tried the system later in the day and were able to get into the booking form very quickly (in about three minutes in my case at around 7:30). Hopefully this improvement will be sustained tomorrow, when new slots will be released, and beyond, but we will of course be tracking this very carefully tomorrow morning and taking further action if needed.

Environment Cabinet Member Susan Carey will be visiting one of the sites tomorrow morning to see the preparations for Friday's opening, and will be talking about this on Radio Kent at around 11:30. 

The KCC website includes a reminder that trips should only be made if the waste cannot be stored safely at home, as well as the details of the rules and requirements for a visit to a Centre. 

Footway surface improvements in Sounds Lodge

Surface improvement works on the footways in Sounds Lodge, Crockenhill, will be carried out in the coming weeks. The surfaces, which have been showing signs of wear and deterioration, will be treated by 'slurry sealing'.

The works will be undertaken in two phases. The first stage, starting on 20 May and lasting for three days, will affect nearby grass verges and also power washing of the footway surface. In the second stage, lasting three days from 15 June, a new surface treatment will be applied. In both cases the works will take place between 8 am and 5 pm.  The paths should be able to be opened up within an hour or so of the new surface being applied.

Fixing the roads: working through the lockdown

On social media and elsewhere, some people have asked, "With the roads so quiet during the lockdown, why doesn't the council do more work on potholes, resurfacing and the like?" Well, we have.

In the period since the start of the lockdown, KCC highways teams have patched 89,212 m2 of road surface and filled in 5,669 potholes. This has sustained or increased the rate of work since before lockdown, while more extensive resurfacing work has got under way since the start of May.

There are challenges to delivering this. Staff availability during the crisis, both at KCC and at our contractors, was identified early as a potential problem, although it has proved possible to continue to deliver. There has also been the need to take careful account of government and industry advice and to ensure safe working during the crisis.

Early on in my leadership of the County Council, I was determined to ensure that we committed all our possible resources to highways maintenance and we have an ambitious programme for this year. While almost everything in the Council's plans is made less certain by the impact, financial and otherwise, of the Covid-19 crisis, it is good that we are able to make progress on our roads now.

You can read a detailed press release from KCC on this here.  

Managed reopening of Household Waste Recycling Centres on 15 May

Kent County Council has announced that Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) will reopen on 15 May, with careful measures in place aimed at ensuring that the reopening is safe and orderly.

I indicated in my post last week that our overall direction was clear, and that we hoped to publish quickly both an opening date and details of how HWRCs will operate. That is what we have now done.

A new booking system for HWRCs has been developed by Medway Council, with whom KCC has worked closely on this plan. The system will be available to the public from next Wednesday, 13 May, and the sites themselves will be open from Friday 15 May. Residents will be able to book one of four daily slots, and numbers will be managed to ensure social distancing. Most of Kent's 18 HWRCs will be open seven days a week. Initially at least, residents will be able to book only one visit in a four-week period.

As councils had urged, there was a need for clarity in government guidance on HWRCs and on what constitutes a 'necessary journey'. In particular, DEFRA released its guidance yesterday, it's key provision being that:

"It would be reasonable for residents to undertake a journey to a HWRC if the waste or recycling could not be stored safely at home or disposed of through other legitimate routes such as a dedicated collection"

This guidance still therefore encourages a restrained approach to visiting HWRCs, although it does not require or expect either the police or HWRC staff to make a judgement as to whether or not waste being brought to a site meets these criteria. A measured approach by residents, along with the booking system, should help ensure that the reopening is orderly, does not cause traffic problems and protects the safety of both HWRC staff and residents using the service.

Further details will follow in the coming days before the reopening at the end of next week. 

Drainage works in Button Street tomorrow

Tomorrow (4 May) will see Kent Highways carry out drainage works in Button. Street, affecting both the Farningham and Swanley Village sections of the road. The road will be closed for up to two days.

There have been significant flooding problems at the junction with the A20, and CCTV and root cutting works will be carried out there. In addition, around 18 nearby gullies (in the area running from the junction with Farningham Hill Road to Wadard Terrace) will be cleansed and jetted.

There will also be extensive cleansing and jetting of around 10 gullies and 9 chambers in the area near Canada Heights and the M25 bridge, which has already seen significant attention, including examination of the Kent Highways network and work with Connect Plus to clear debris around the bridge to improve the operation of the Highways England ditches. Flooding problems in this part of the road have, however proved intractable.

A condition report will be provided to Kent Highways after the works.

Funding: the interest continues

Further to yesterday's post, the financial pressures on local government remain in the spotlight, with two councils (Liverpool and Windsor & Maidenhead) warning that they might have to issue Section 114 notices (a brake on all but essential spending, triggered when a council hits financial crisis).

This evening, I gave a live interview to BBC South East Today on the issue. You can find the report here - it is the top news item (but will only be available to view for the next 24 hours). I reiterated my argument that central government's commitment of £3.2bn in two tranches of support for local authorities is very welcome, but does not address the full scale of the problem. For the present, cash flow is not a pressing problem for Kent authorities, because of the two funding tranches, the acceleration of payment of government grants for social care and the deferral of payment of business rates to the centre. However, the problem for the full financial year remains; for the combined total of Kent and Medway authorities, pressures (including anticipated shortfalls in council tax) come to around £370 million, while the support from government comes to some £99 million.

Ministers have said repeatedly that local authorities must do what it takes to meet the crisis and "we will back you." £3.2bn is a significant down payment on that pledge, but it must be delivered in full.

Allocating the £1.6bn - what it means for Kent

Ten days ago, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) announced a second tranche of £1.6bn in support to local government. Yesterday MHCLG confirmed the allocation of this funding to individual local authorities - and it turned out to be on a very different basis to the first tranche.

The government made clear that the sharply different split of funding between County and District Councils reflects the financial pressure being felt (by Districts in particular) as a result of residents staying at home as requested during lockdown, and therefore not using services including car parks and leisure facilities. The first tranche was allocated overwhelmingly towards Counties in two-tier areas, with a strong focus on social care pressures. This time, the split between County and District authorities is 65:35.

The government has also confirmed that the Review of Relative Needs and Resources (the Fair Funding Review) and 75% business rates retention will no longer be implemented in 2021-22 to allow councils to focus on meeting the immediate public health challenge posed by the pandemic. The further deferral of the Fair Funding Review is deeply disappointing but inevitable under the circumstances; you can find the very measured assessment of this by the County Councils Network here.

Looking at the breakdown of allocations in Kent, the County Council receives £11m less in this second tranche than in the first (down from £39m to £28m), while the Districts in Kent will receive in total an additional £15m (up from £709K to £16m), meaning overall the allocation for the county has increased by £4m.

We are all aware of the enormous pressure being put on the whole local government family in Kent as we respond to this crisis. We will all continue to work together to ensure we keep our services running wherever this is possible and meet the new demands which arise from protecting the most vulnerable in the county with innovation and determination. It is not known how long the crisis will last and in the meantime the ongoing pressures on social care will remain; we will have to continue to provide PPE; support providers and businesses in Kent and deal with the many other calls on our funding.

Additional support for our District colleagues is very welcome; we all serve the same residents, and the pressures felt by Districts, especially through loss of revenue, are very real. However, as the County Councils Network has pointed out, Counties have seen a 29% fall in allocations between the two tranches and now face huge unfunded pressures, especially in areas such as social care, which could force a requirement to stop all non-essential expenditure . For KCC, while the £67m in grant from Government (combining the two tranches) is welcome, our latest forecast of the total financial impact on us in 2020-21 terms of extra spending and lost income is some £133m - twice the total grant so far.   

And so it will be necessary to continue to make the case directly to Government for recognition of the work we are all doing and the continuing costs of the essential support we are giving to Kent’s residents and businesses. Which is what we will continue to do.

Plans for reopening Household Waste Recycling Centres

The Communities Secretary, Robert Jenrick, today asked councils to plan for the organised reopening of their Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs). We have been informed that updated guidance will be published shortly to support local government to open sites safely during the Coronavirus pandemic.

 

Kent County Council closed its HWRCs on 23 March, and councils with waste disposal responsibilities across the country took similar action; travel to an HWRC is not an "essential journey" as defined in the Health Protection (Coronavirus) (England) Restrictions 2020, and police advice accords with the guidance.

Since the start of the closures, KCC has been supporting a range of collection activities by District and Borough Councils, and we have given priority to sustaining and extending the capacity of our Waste Transfer Stations, which accept trade waste and that from District and Borough kerbside collections, playing a vital role in supporting them.

Nonetheless, we have set out for some time that we intend to reopen HWRCs as soon as it is safe and feasible to do so. Susan Carey (Cabinet Member for Environment) and I have been clear as to our direction of policy, and officers have been working to deliver the practical steps necessary to enable reopening to take place, and to do so safely with effective social distancing and traffic management in place, using a booking system that we are developing jointly with Medway Council.

Other necessary conditions for reopening HWRCs include ensuring Personal Protection Equipment for our staff; effective operation of the companies who dispose of some of the waste presented at our sites (quite a few of whom have ceased operation during the shutdown); and a coordinated approach with neighbouring local authorities. All of these matters are being actively pursued. Any authority that reopens unilaterally will face an influx of demand, especially at sites near the county border; and while a booking system should in theory militate against that, it is unlikely to prevent residents from neighbouring authorities where the HWRCs remain closed from moving across the border in the belief that they can access our centres.

And, as the County Councils Network has pointed out in response to the Secretary of State's announcement, we still await and require clear guidance as to what constitutes an "essential journey' during the lockdown.                           

Nonetheless, our direction as a Council is clear and we hope to provide more specific timelines on reopening soon.