Leader's update
Paul Carter - Leader of the
Council.
Welcome to my update. It's a chance for me to communicate
directly with you and give you an insight into the key issues and
challenges facing the county. I hope it will also show you some of
the work we are doing to make Kent an exceptional place to live,
work and visit.
Please tell me what you think about the
update and send me your views or comments about the issues
discussed.
Looking back on 2011, it’s been a demanding and tough year but
we have a lot to be proud of at KCC.
It's been a varied week at County Hall, here's some of
the things I've been doing over the past week. Starting
with talking about our big priorites for the
coming year and ending with meeting the Queen at Turner
Contemporary.
As we draw to the end of September, it has been a busy week once
again at County Hall. The restful break over the summer recess
already seems a distant memory! But, it has been an extremely
productive month.
Thank you to everyone involved in the hard work that goes
into the production of a budget in an organisation the size and
scale of Kent County Council. I hope Members and the public
will like the new format in the way that the budget is laid out in
our endeavour to be open and transparent in the way
£2.4billion worth of public money is spent by this authority
annually.
So much has gone on since the last council meeting. However, I
am going to restrict my Leader's report to the Local Government
settlement this week and the very critical Ofsted report we have
received regarding safeguarding and looked after children
services.
We have revealed Kent’s big transport priorities and
significant new funding opportunities to pay for them in 'Growth
without Gridlock', our landmark transport delivery plan for the
county.
We have always had a reputation for a strong service and as
Leader of KCC I can say no service is more important to me and to
my Cabinet Members. We take the Ofsted judgement extremely
seriously.
We have been chosen as one of just 16 areas nationwide to pilot
Community Budgets as part of the government’s spending review. From
next April we will be given control of these new local budgets,
which bring together various funding streams from central
government into a single funding pot.
We all eagerly await the Comprehensive Spending Review next
Wednesday.
What will it mean for us as individuals? What will it mean for Kent
County Council?
But more importantly, what will it mean for our 1.35million
residents and the impact it will have on public services?
We recently announced jointly with Essex County Council news of
our proposal to create the largest Local Enterprise Partnership,
which will support the business community, attract investment and
create jobs.
I gave an update to the full council meeting about some of
the challenges we are facing . I also talked about our new ‘Bold
Steps for Kent’ document that will be out for consultation in
September, which sets out our plans for the next four to five
years.
The recession and the current squeeze on public sector finances
has focused the attention of ministers, media and public on the pay
and conditions of public sector executives who command six figure
salaries, often in excess of £150,000. A simple but important
question is being asked – are they worth it?
What the Chancellor said was very much in line with what we and
the Institute of Fiscal Studies have been saying - we will have to
deliver good quality services with considerably less money.
I launched the new customised apprenticeships bus outside County
Hall yesterday, taking the word on apprenticeships to the
streets.
Read the speech I made at County Council, responding to the
coalition manifesto agreement announced on 12 May 2010 by the new
government.
KCC has been taking part in one of 13 pilot studies on an
initiative called ‘Total Place’ which is looking at how all the
public agencies spend money and the opportunities to share
resources.
We have launched an exciting blueprint for Kent's future with
Sir Terry Farrell.
Kent on Sunday kindly invited me to look into
my “crystal ball” and set out my vision for Kent over the coming
year. This is a flavour of my column...
Today the Audit Commission published the league table for the
performance of all local authorities in England. Kent excels in
both reports...
The transport summit at Westminster successfully raised the
profile of our enough is enough campaign, the problems of Operation
Stack and limited connections from Kent to the rest of the
UK...
I am taking Kent County Council's campaign to find a solution to
Operation Stack, and for better transport links to the rest of the
UK...
Two major transport issues have hit the headlines in the last
few days…
Everyone has a view about the recession, whether we are yet in
recovery and whether recovery can be sustained...
The debate in the media about whether teenage mums should be
housed in supervised hostels poses some interesting
questions...
I am absolutely delighted by the GCSE results, 5% more young
people getting 5 GCSEs than the previous year and well above the
national average. A great result for all our young people and our
102 secondary schools...
I always enjoy August, when the pressure is slightly reduced and
there is a bit of time out to think about where the county and
country is going, to think about my business and take some time out
to sit on the beach, this year was no exception...