What’s (not) happening at KCC this week?
Plus Lower Thames Crossing edges forward, Kent residents recognised by the crown, news in brief, and more
It’s been another odd week at Kent County Council, where accusations of inactivity have plagued the new Reform administration. Little this week will do much to dispel that perception. We’ve got the latest on what’s been (not) happening below. Further down, we have news of the Lower Thames Crossing edging closer with new funding, Kent residents recognised on the King’s Birthday Honours List, our news in brief roundup, and more.
What’s (not) happening at KCC this week?
Another week, another weird week of Kent County Council’s new Reform administration.
Look, we’d rather not be writing about the inaction of a county council every single week, but it’s where we are, so we’re just going to have to get through it together.
Given the ongoing cancellation or postponement of KCC committee meetings, we are approaching nearly two straight months of Reform being in office with only one full council meeting under their watch.
Based on the KCC calendar, the first committee meetings that could take place will be in the first week of July, but of course, there is still time to cancel or postpone those.
So just what is going on? A Freedom of Information request from a member of the public raises an interesting question:
Have some Kent county councillors not even signed their Declaration of Acceptance of Office yet?
The declaration is a legal requirement that must be carried out before any newly elected councillor can serve in the role. It’s usually done pretty quickly after an election, but for some reason, KCC are being cagey about whether or not all KCC councillors have indeed done this.
A Freedom of Information request from Jon Patience on 13 May asked KCC whether all councillors had signed, the names of any councillors that hadn’t, and for copies of their declarations. On paper, this should be a straightforward request for a functioning council.
Public bodies have 20 working days to respond to FOI requests, but Mr Patience still hadn’t received a reply by 12 June. Following up, he was told that “I am very sorry but your request is taking longer to complete than
our officers anticipated” and that “the team who hold the requested information are doing everything they can to resolve this delay, but in the meantime, please accept my apologies for the delay and any inconvenience this may have caused you.”
Now, delays do happen, but this is usually when a request is complicated or requires gathering substantial amounts of information. Mr Patience’s request should be easy for a council to ask, unless, of course, there is some reason that they can’t confirm that all councillors have signed their declaration. Of course, any councillors who haven’t would be in trouble if they were found to be acting as a councillor by turning up to council meetings or carrying out any official business.
A week later, Mr Patience still hasn’t received a response to his FOI. He informed KCC yesterday that he was escalating the matter to the Information Commissioner’s Office, which oversees data disclosures. It’ll be interesting to see whether that manages to prod KCC into action or not…
No sign of any Register of Interests yet either
As reported previously, councils are legally required to publish a full Register of Interests for all elected councillors within 28 days of their election.
It has now been 49 days since Kent’s county elections, and there has been no sign of any Register of Interests since then.
We requested a copy of the Register from KCC on 4 June, 34 days after the election, and were told on the same day that they “will come back” on the matter. We have heard nothing since then, despite following up on our request again this week.
Like the data on declarations, providing a Register of Interests should be easy for a council, given all councillors are obliged to provide the data soon after taking office. That KCC are either unable or unwilling to do so raises serious concerns about transparency within the organisation.
Less than half of Reform councillors turn up for training
This week, KCC provided training on planning applications for all councillors due to sit on KCC’s Planning Committee. This training is required before a councillor can take part in planning decisions. Given that one planning meeting has already been cancelled, and another one is coming up on 9 July, one might consider getting councillors trained to be something of a priority for any political party.
Or perhaps not. A source within KCC tells us that of the nine Reform councillors chosen to sit on the committee, only four bothered to turn up for the training.
Return of the DOGE
We know it can be hard to keep up with the comings and goings of DOGE, Reform’s Elon Musk-inspired team that seems to consist of Reform Chair former Reform Chair team leader Zia Yusuf and delightful and trustworthy (and incredibly litigious) millionaire Arron Banks.
After they swept into KCC a couple of weeks ago before quickly falling apart after Yusuf resigned, the ‘group’ seems to be active again this week, with Yusuf tweeting more claims about spending at KCC designed to rile up just the right sort of people.
This week, his outrage was about an ‘asylum budget’ at KCC that was paying for TV licences and trips to bowling alleys, cinemas, and trampolining for asylum seekers. As is often the case, he provided no data to back this, while certain news outlets were happy to parrot the unverified claims.
Digging a little deeper, KCC doesn’t appear to have an ‘asylum budget,’ and Yusuf instead seems to be angry about money that is spent on children in the care system, which is where unaccompanied child asylum seekers end up. Something that would apply to both child asylum seekers and any other children in the care system.
Mike Martin, the Liberal Democrat MP for Tunbridge Wells, responded to Yusuf by pointing this out, while referring to Reform’s efforts as a ‘clown show.’
Who knows what the party will turn up next week.
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Lower Thames Crossing edges forward
The government pledged £590m toward the Lower Thames Crossing this week, in a move supposed to get the project going, even if the figure is far short of the £10bn or so that will supposedly be needed to complete it.
The project, which has already cost over £1.2bn without anything being built, is a key infrastructure project for the government, which intends to build it primarily using private finance. However, there is no clear sign of that happening just yet.
Still, it marks some more movement toward the project getting built, and Treasury Minister Emma Reynolds went on to LBC to excitedly talk about the project.
She was eager to talk about how the project will relieve the “Dartmouth Tunnel,” which raised the eyebrow of presenter Nick Ferrari. Where will the crossing connect to? “I can’t recall.” How much will it cost? “Quite a lot of money.” There is a political art in answering questions without being too specific, but this might take things too far.
As ever, where the government gives, the government taketh away. Ministers announced this week that the price of the Dartford Crossing will increase to £3.50 for cars (from £2.50 now) from September, as the current charge was “no longer sufficient” to manage demand. It is unclear how demand is supposed to be managed, given there are no alternative routes that don’t involve driving around London and no public transport options to cross between Kent and Essex, but here we are.
Kent figures recognised by the crown
This country's honours system is an archaic institution, and doesn’t necessarily represent a great deal. That said, multiple residents of Kent and figures within the county were on the recent Birthday Honours List. Names from across the county were recognised across a wide range of fields and disciplines, from health workers to charity fundraisers to racing team principals:
Commanders of the Order of the British Empire (CBE):
Rosalie Brown, Co-Chief Executive Officer at COOK for services to Former Prisoner Employment (Tonbridge).
Officers of the Order of the British Empire (OBE):
Avinderjit Bhatia, Chief Nurse at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust for services to the NHS and Nursing (Tunbridge Wells).
Dr Wayne Campbell, lately Academic Registrar at the University of York for services to Higher Education (Maidstone).
Peter Davies, Director and Owner at Southern Antennae Ltd for services to Charity (Broadstairs).
Richard Jackson, Founder, Gate Safe for services to the Improvement of the Safety of Automated Gates (Canterbury)
Rose-Marie Moore, Advanced Customer Support Senior Leader at the Department of Work and Pensions for services to Vulnerable People (Herne Bay).
Shaun Spiers, Executive Director at Green Alliance, for services to Environmental Policy and Sustainability (Rochester).
Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE):
Melanie Cooper, Armed Forces Champion at the Department for Work and Pensions for services to the Armed Forces in Kent (Sandwich).
Martin Glasspool, Senior Project Adviser at the Government Office for Science for services to Science in Government (Tunbridge Wells).
Jennifer Hamilton-Woodthorpe, Lead Sponsor, London Underground Major Projects at Transport for London for services to Transport Planning and Accessibility (Canterbury).
John Hayes, Founder, The Axis Foundation for Charitable Services (Swanley).
Mary Mumvuri, Chief Nursing Officer and Deputy Chief Executive Officer at Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership NHS Trust for services to Mental Health, Learning Disabilities and Autism (Maidstone).
Andrea Scott, Border Force Senior Officer at the Home Office for services to Border Security (Ashford).
Alvin Shaw, Reading Helper and Tutor for services to Education (Maidstone).
Medallists of the Order of the British Empire (BEM):
Eric Brown for services to the community in Romney Marsh, Kent.
Paul Dennington, Fundraiser at Prostate Cancer UK for services to Fundraising for Prostate Cancer UK (Gillingham).
Gary Hackwell, Volunteer, Duke of Edinburgh Award and Treasurer at Medway Open Award Centre for services to Young People and the community in Medway, Kent (Gillingham).
John Hill, Volunteer Manager at the Royal National Lifeboat Institution for voluntary services to Maritime Safety (Herne Bay).
Peter Homewood, Foster Carer at Bexley Fostering Service for services to Foster Care (Dartford).
Rebekah Homewood, Foster Carer at Bexley Fostering Service for services to Foster Care (Dartford).
Susanna Howard, Founder at Living Words for services to Charity, to Mental Health and to the Arts (Folkestone).
Dr Dudley Hubbard for services to St John Ambulance (Rochester).
John Meehan, Residential County Manager at Kent County Council for services to Children and Young People with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (Ashford).
Anne Thorpe, Member and Advisor at Heathrow Access Advisory Group for services to Accessibility at Airports for Disabled Travellers (Rochester).
Roger Valser, Team Principal at City Racing for services to Education in the Field of Engineering (Longfield).
Congratulations to all on their recognition. You can read the complete list of everyone honoured from across the entire country on the government’s website.
In brief
⛈️ Storms hit the east of the county hard last weekend, with two months of rain dropping in two hours. 21 people had to be rehoused following flooding, which also hit Buckland Hospital in Dover. Dover District Council apologised after ticketing flood-damaged cars that had been swept along roads. Elsewhere, streets in Thanet were flooded, and a manhole cover in Margate was struck by lightning, leading to sewage overflows on nearby beaches. Residents in Sandwich are unhappy about parts of the town being flooded, something they blame on drains already being blocked.
🏗️ Plans for the redevelopment of Folkestone Harbour have finally been given the go-ahead after a previous version was refused earlier this year. The new plans include 400 homes, public spaces, and new retail outlets.
🧑⚕️ Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust could make 150 staff members redundant to save £36.5m. It is unclear which roles could be lost, but the NHS is famously overstaffed and not struggling at all, so it will almost certainly be fine.
🗄️ Maidstone Borough Council is set to launch a Community Governance Review, possibly leading to the creation of a Maidstone Town Council. With local government reorganisation on the way, councils across Kent are scrambling to create new entities that maintain democracy at a local level.
🚗 More than 2,000 drivers have been fined after Kent County Council started enforcing bus gates in Ashford that had been in place for years.
👮 A Kent Police inspector has been banned from policing after making unwanted sexual advances toward a colleague. Meanwhile, another officer has resigned after being caught drink driving.
🏨 Planning officers at Dartford Borough Council have recommended that a scheme for a 90-bedroom hotel and 39 homes be approved. The plans would see two blocks built on West Hill in the town centre.
🏘️ Plans have been submitted for 60 new homes behind Swanley's former White Oak Leisure Centre. The proposals include 15 houses and an apartment block of 45 flats on land previously used by the leisure centre, which currently sits empty.
🌳 Ashford Borough Council have launched a consultation for a giant new park that will run to the south of the town.
🌲 Canterbury City Council have said they are ‘baffled’ after 1,200 residents signed a petition opposing trees being planted… in an orchard.
⚒️ Shelters at the foot of cliffs in Ramsgate are set to be refurbished and opened up to various uses after a non-profit organisation took them on.
⛴️ Kent County Council are to debate a petition calling for the Gravesend to Tilbury ferry to be reinstated after it ceased operation last year.
💨 Trading Standards officers in Kent have seized over 2,000 disposable vapes since the ban on selling them came into effect at the start of the month. More than 80 businesses have been visited as part of the ongoing operation.
📣 An artist staged a live installation in Canterbury on Saturday to protest the veal industry. Stephanie Lane’s work included masked people standing in lab coats holding dead babies.
🐦 Bird flu has been confirmed in a dead seagull found at Botany Bay near Margate.
⚽ KentOnline has been investigating the amount of violence involved with Kent football at all levels.
🧢 Herne Bay is apparently being overrun by ‘wannabe gangsters.’
🎥 A new festival of creative professionals and designers will take place at the Ashford Cinema next week. The lineup features Industrial Light & Magic and Nikolaos Finizio, who worked on Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.
More Currents
In our midweek feature, we examined the identity of Dartford, a place that sits on the edge of both Kent and London, but doesn’t fully align with either. As the town is growing faster than anywhere else in Kent, what does the future look like for it?
More than a crossing
For most people, Dartford is little more than a traffic update. There’s the bridge, the tunnel, the daily grind of tailbacks, and that moment of dread when your satnav flashes red as you approach the crossing. For the millions who sit in those queues each year, Dartford is somewhere you pass through, not somewhere you go.
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