Liberal Democrats on Kent County Council News Stories (Sittingbourne and Sheppey Liberal Democrats)

Feb 13, 2012:
- Kent had "Haringey" levels of vacancies in Childrens Social Services
  Trudy Dean: "The system that allowed this tragedy to happen still exists. We must change it." Liberal Democrats at County Hall have renewed their calls for an inquiry into the failure of services to children in care in Kent. Trudy Dean (Lib Dem Leader of the Opposition) revealed for the first time that data about vacancy levels in Kent were known to be at high risk well before an unannounced inspection by OFSTED resulted in a critical report. At the Full county Council meeting on 9th February, Trudy gave County Councillors statistics revealing social worker vacancies as early as 2008 were across the county awash with red - indicating a level of high risk. Throughout 2009 over half of the county social work teams had vacancy rates of over 25% - worse than in Haringey where Peter Connelly 'Baby P' died in 2007. Tables showing vacancy levels in Kent by District can be downloaded here. Trudy Dean said: "In Ashford, Swale, Dartford, Maidstone, Sevenoaks, Tonbridge & Malling and Tunbridge Wells rates were over 25% throughout the majority of the year. In Thanet rates were over 25% throughout the entire year. In Dartford vacancy rates were exceeding 40% over four consecutive months. "I cannot believe Members given these figures would have failed to take the necessary action to fill these vacancies in 2008 - as we did when OFSTED blew the lid off this two years later!" "This information was all available in KCC, but was never shared with councillors. I also understand it was never shared with the senior departmental management teams." "So who did see it? Why it was not revealed? Why was KCC told in April 2010 that Children Social Services was 'coping' and that there were no concerns about professional standards. When only four months later (August 2010) OFSTED disagreed. Since then, under new staff, we have spent £14M this year and will spend another £7M next year bringing our services up to standard. "But the system that allowed this tragedy to happen still exists. We must change it." Trudy called for an inquiry into how it happened and an external inquiry since many of the individuals involved have left KCC. "I want a clause in all officers' contracts to oblige them to reveal information which councillors need to do their job properly. If we take this simple step we will ensure these failures do not occur again - because the human cost of failure was borne by 2,600 of Kent's' children who were potentially at risk of serious harm" Published and promoted by Kent Liberal Democrats, Kent County Council, Sessions House, Maidstone Kent ME14 1XQ Printed (hosted) by Prater Raines Ltd, 98 Sandgate High Street, Folkestone CT20 3BY
- Chittenden: Future of Kent Youth Services "will be debated and agreed in secret"
  In response to a question raised by Lib Dem County Councillor Ian Chittenden, at the County Council meeting on Thursday 9th February, the Conservative Cabinet Member confirmed that the decision on the future of Youth Services will be decided by newly formed 'Locality Boards' (where they exist). Locality boards are informal bodies, with no requirement to allow the public to attend the meetings to listen to or join in the debates about changes to their local youth services. Maidstone County Councillor Ian Chittenden commented: "I support the principle of Locality Boards providing opportunities for important local issues to be decided in the affected neighbourhood but I am utterly disgusted that young people, families and other residents will not be able to listen to the debate about changes to their local services." "Conservatives wax lyrical about 'greater transparency and openness, making the decision process more inclusive, robust and accessible' but when it comes to the crunch, important decisions about key community services such as youth services and libraries will be made behind closed doors in secret." "Locality boards MUST be accountable to Kent residents. I challenge KCC Conservatives to stop talking about greater transparency and openness and just get on and do it by holding all Locality Boards in public, starting with the meetings about our youth services." Published and promoted by Kent Liberal Democrats, Kent County Council, Sessions House, Maidstone Kent ME14 1XQ Printed (hosted) by Prater Raines Ltd, 98 Sandgate High Street, Folkestone CT20 3BY
- Vye; Give residents a voice!
  Martin Vye At the County Council meeting on Thursday 9th of February, Martin Vye, Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats on Kent County Council, asked the Conservative administration to prepare plans for much greater involvement of local people in planning the services KCC provides for them. Canterbury County Councillor Martin Vye said: "Modern technology makes it possible for people to let their views be heard, via Twitter and Facebook, for example. Why not let their representatives in the council chamber and committee rooms know immediately what they think about what is being discussed and planned-so that councillors can bring those views into the debate? "Already other councils have made big strides in this direction. Cornwall County Council, for example, has made it possible for comments of interested residents to be posted on the live webcast of council proceedings." Martin added: "There is a lot of talk at Kent County Council about the need to make decision-making more transparent and accessible. We Lib Dems will try to ensure the Conservatives walk the talk." Published and promoted by Kent Liberal Democrats, Kent County Council, Sessions House, Maidstone Kent ME14 1XQ Printed (hosted) by Prater Raines Ltd, 98 Sandgate High Street, Folkestone CT20 3BY
Feb 10, 2012:
- OPEN DECISION MAKING = SECRET MEETINGS
  Future of Youth Services will be debated and agreed in secret says Conservative Cabinet Member for Customer and Communities In response to a question raised by Lib Dem Councillor Ian Chittenden, at the County Council meeting (09.02.12), the Conservative Cabinet Member confirmed that the decision on the future of Youth Services will be decided by newly formed 'Locality Boards' (where they exist). These are informal bodies, with no requirement to allow the public to attend the meetings to listen to or join in the debates about changes to their local youth services. "I support the principle of Locality Boards providing opportunities for important local issues to be decided in the affected neighbourhood", said Ian; "but I am utterly disgusted that young people, families and other residents will not be able to listen to the debate about changes to their local services". "Conservatives wax lyrical about 'greater transparency and openness, making the decision process more inclusive, robust and accessible' but when it comes to the crunch, important decisions about key community services such as youth services and libraries will be made behind closed doors in secret." "Locality boards MUST be accountable to Kent residents. I challenge KCC Conservatives to stop talking about greater transparency and openness and just get on and do it by holding all Locality Boards in public, starting with the meetings about our youth services. " For transcript of Ian's question and the answer click on http://kentlibdems.org.uk/en/page/county-council-questions Published and promoted by Kent Liberal Democrats, Kent County Council, Sessions House, Maidstone Kent ME14 1XQ Printed (hosted) by Prater Raines Ltd, 98 Sandgate High Street, Folkestone CT20 3BY
- KENT HAD HARINGEY LEVELS OF VACANCIES IN CHILDRENS SOCIAL SERVICES
  Liberal Democrats at County Hall renewed their calls for an inquiry into the failure of services to children in care in Kent. Trudy Dean (Lib Dem Leader of the Opposition) revealed for the first time that data about vacancy levels in Kent were known to be at high risk well before an unannounced inspection by OFSTED resulted in a critical report. Trudy gave County Councillors statistics revealing social worker vacancies as early as 2008 were across the county awash with red - indicating a level of high risk. Throughout 2009 over half of the county social work teams had vacancy rates of over 25% - worse than in Haringey where Peter Connelly 'Baby P' died in 2007. "In Ashford, Swale, Dartford,Maidstone, Sevenoaks, Tonbridge & Malling and Tunbridge Wells rates were over 25% throughout the majority of the year - in Thanet rates were over 25% throughout the entire year. In Dartford vacancy rates were exceeding 40% over four consecutive months". "I cannot believe Members given these figures would have failed to take the necessary action to fill these vacancies in 2008 - as we did when OFSTED blew the lid off this two years later!" "This information was all available in KCC, but was never shared with councillors. I also understand it was never shared with the senior departmental management teams." "So who did see it? Why it was not revealed? Why was KCC told in April 2010 that Children Social Services was 'coping' and that there were no concerns about professional standards. When only four months later (August 2010) OFSTED disagreed. Since then, under new staff, we have spent £14M this year and will spend another £7M next year bringing our services up to standard. But the system that allowed this tragedy to happen still exists. We must change it. Trudy called for an inquiry into how it happened and an external inquiry since many of the individuals involved have left KCC. "I want a clause in all officers' contracts to oblige them to reveal information which councillors need to do their job properly. If we take this simple step we will ensure these failures do not occur again - because the human cost of failure was borne by 2,600 of Kent's' children who were potentially at risk of serious harm". Published and promoted by Kent Liberal Democrats, Kent County Council, Sessions House, Maidstone Kent ME14 1XQ Printed (hosted) by Prater Raines Ltd, 98 Sandgate High Street, Folkestone CT20 3BY
Feb 8, 2012:
- Kent Blue Badge Applications - Postal Orders again acceptable
  George Koowaree Questioning by Liberal Democrat County Councillor George Koowaree on payment methods for Blue Badges in Kent has led to Kent reintroducing postal orders as an acceptable means of payment. Revisions to the Blue Badge application process by Kent had said that in future payments could be by cheque only. George questioned this, and has been reassured that this has now been amended so that postal orders are again acceptable. Ashford Councillor George Koowaree commented: "I'm delighted this change has been made - the team that handle Blue Badge enquiries are now aware of this and the application form and frequently asked questions are currently being updated on the Kent Council website. "Not everyone has access to a chequebook and bank account, and the extra flexibility of accepting postal orders will make applying for Blue Badges easier for some of our most vulnerable residents. Thank you to the Blue Badge team for thinking about my question and revising their application process." Published and promoted by Kent Liberal Democrats, Kent County Council, Sessions House, Maidstone Kent ME14 1XQ Printed (hosted) by Prater Raines Ltd, 98 Sandgate High Street, Folkestone CT20 3BY
Dec 30, 2011:
- Thank You to Kent Staff for Children Charity Collection
  Kent County Councillors Ian Chittenden and Tim Prater collect for Kent Dress-down day Kent Lib Dems are delighted that their annual Christmas dress-down day at Kent Council Council raised £608.62 for the Kent Fund for Children. Over the last few years, over £7,000 has been raised from Kent County Council staff and Councillors for this good cause through the Dress Down Day. You can find out more about the Kent Fund for Children at http://www.kent.gov.uk/news_and_events/news_archive/the_kent_fund_for_children.aspx. Lib Dem Group Leader Trudy Dean said: "Thank you to all Kent Council staff for both their generosity and hard work for all Kent residents in 2011, and best wishes for 2012." Published and promoted by Kent Liberal Democrats, Kent County Council, Sessions House, Maidstone Kent ME14 1XQ Printed (hosted) by Prater Raines Ltd, 98 Sandgate High Street, Folkestone CT20 3BY
Dec 20, 2011:
- Lib Dem Concern over New KCC Governance
  At the County Council meeting last Thursday, Martin Vye, deputy leader of the Liberal Democrat Group expressed his concern about Councillor's ability to check how the administration is using taxpayer's money, and running services from them. Martin Vye said: "The new arrangements that the Conservative administration are bringing in are deeply flawed. The committees which are there to call them to account should be independent, so that searching questions can be asked and any waste or ineffectiveness exposed. "Under the new arrangements important watchdog committees will be run by the very Cabinet Members we are supposed to be checking. Isn't this a recipe for a situation where awkward facts can be swiftly swept under the carpet? This is not in the interest of the people we serve." Published and promoted by Kent Liberal Democrats, Kent County Council, Sessions House, Maidstone Kent ME14 1XQ Printed (hosted) by Prater Raines Ltd, 98 Sandgate High Street, Folkestone CT20 3BY
Nov 15, 2011:
- Kent Businesses can show they are 'A' grade advertisers
  Lib Dem County Councillor Malcolm Robertson has backed a new Kent initiative, 'A-board Aware', which is being launched to encourage businesses in Maidstone to show that they are responsible advertisers. Shop keepers, café owners and firms that use advertising boards - so-called 'A-boards' - can demonstrate they display signs on the pavement in a way that minimises obstructions to parents with pushchairs, the elderly, and those with sight difficulties or mobility problems, following a change in policy. Kent County Council Lib Dem Spokesman for Environment, Highways and Waste, Malcolm Robertson, said: "I am very pleased with this new voluntary policy with the window stickers. It is far preferable to the previous proposal where shop-owners would have to pay for a license fee with a whole bureaucracy to support that. "I would urge shop-keepers to sign-up for free to this voluntary code and be seen to be responsible and caring for the interests of those with impaired sight who have to negotiate our crowded streets." Those firms that comply with the regulations will receive a window sticker that they can put up in the shop front, showing that they are taking care to avoid causing an obstruction on the street outside their shop or business. Where an A-board is placed inappropriately, Kent will advise the owner to re-site it and encourage them to sign up to our scheme. However, if the owner doesn't take action, it will be removed. Neville Butteriss and Pat Edwards, who have been campaigning against A-boards, welcomed the initiative. Mr Butteriss also suggested that business could consider using different forms of advertising. Mr Butteriss said: "A-frames are there for a purpose and I'm not here to stop people trading. I'm all for people trading in the town - there's too many shops closing down. It would be nice if more businesses could trade without advertising blocking up the streets. My argument has always been let's have signs hanging outside shops." Chief Executive of Kent Invicta Chamber of Commerce, Mrs Jo James, said: "I am delighted that Kent County Council understands the balance that has to be struck between the benefits advertising boards bring traders and how they can add to the cultural environment of town centres, and the requirement to make sure potential hazards are minimised. This is a welcome initiative from Kent County Council." Businesses that want to find out more can visit http://www.kent.gov.uk/aboards. Businesses that want to get a window sticker can email: roadworks.licensing@kent.gov.uk, or write to: KCC Highways and Transportation - Roadworks Teams, Invicta House, County Hall, Maidstone, Kent. ME14 1XX Please include: the business name full contact details confirmation that the business will comply with the KCC A-board requirements. Published and promoted by Kent Liberal Democrats, Kent County Council, Sessions House, Maidstone Kent ME14 1XQ Printed (hosted) by Prater Raines Ltd, 98 Sandgate High Street, Folkestone CT20 3BY
Nov 9, 2011:
- Dean: Cover Up on Children's Services at County Hall?
  Trudy Dean, Lib Dem Leader of the Opposition at Kent County Council, has called for an independent inquiry to discover whether information about dangerously low levels of staffing in KCC Childrens Services were the subject of a cover up at County Hall. On 1st June Trudy tried to get the data into the public at the Cabinet Scrutiny Committee she chairs at Kent County Council. Conservative members voted against this, saying it would be a waste of time and money. The webcast of this meeting is available at http://connect.kent.public-i.tv/site/player/pl_v7.php?a=58169&t=0&m=wm&l=en_GB#indx. Trudy finally received the information in August and has been discussing it with officers since then. On Radio Kent this morning Trudy said: "The more information I see the more I wonder whether there was a cover up at County Hall. The data tells us that social worker staffing levels were seriously low way back in 2007, leading to soaring case loads for social workers then, not later as we were told. We also now know that a month before councillors were told there were no concerns about professional standards, in 7 of the 12 Kent Districts staffing levels were at 'High' risk level for the majority of the year. "We were continually being told that there was a national shortage of social workers making it impossible to bring the teams up to full strength, and leaving case workers swamped with work loads of over 120 cases when 25 is the norm. But in the last year we did it, recruiting 60 extra staff who have dealt with the backlog of 2,700 cases in under a year. Why didn't we do it at the right time. Why did it take an unannounced inspection from OFSTED to catch us out?" Trudy is writing to the Leader of Kent County Council, Paul Carter, to ask him to set up an independent inquiry into whether there was a cover up. She is suggesting that it should be done by Martin Narey, the previous head of Dr Barnados, who is currently working for KCC on a report on Adoption to be presented to the Council in November. In her letter she wrote: "This is a serious matter. Either the information was kept from Members by officers, or they only shared it with the senior councillors and together they kept it away from backbenchers. The result of that was that the council failed to vote the necessary money to provide adequate social care and 2,700 children were placed at risk of serious harm. "In addition the Council's reputation has been damaged, losing its four star rating, and the council taxpayer is footing the bill for over £5.5 million this year and next to clear up the mess. "Up to 2010 KCC was telling a story which wasn't true, and we are still doing it in our press coverage today. It has to stop. Unless we address this problem of accurate, candid and transparent information, the public can have no trust in what we publish." The 2011 Ofsted report on Children's Services in Kent grades Kent County Council as "Performs Poorly" and sets out a number of areas of concern, saying: "Children's services in Kent County Council perform poorly. In October 2010 a full inspection of safeguarding and services for looked after children judged these services, together with capacity to improve safeguarding, to be inadequate. In the light of this evidence, children's services were assessed as performing poorly overall. The local authority recognises the importance of strengthening safeguarding arrangements and services for looked after children however, until further safeguarding inspection evidence is available, the children's services assessment for 2011 remains performs poorly." Kent County Council was one of just 15 local authorities judged to be performing poorly on Children's Services and in the bottom 10% of authorities across the country. Published and promoted by Kent Liberal Democrats, Kent County Council, Sessions House, Maidstone Kent ME14 1XQ Printed (hosted) by Prater Raines Ltd, 98 Sandgate High Street, Folkestone CT20 3BY
Nov 8, 2011:
- Primary school applications now open
  Is your child due to start primary school in September 2012? If so, you have until Monday 16 January 2012 to apply for your preferred schools. The easiest way to do so is online at www.kent.gov.uk/ola, where families can register all their details and select up to three schools. Paper copies of the application form are available from primary schools or by calling Kent County Council's Admissions Team on 01622 696565. There is a lot of information online about the county's primary schools at www.kent.gov.uk/primaryadmissions, including a database of schools and frequently asked questions. Families have 10 weeks to submit their application. It's not first come, first served, so there is plenty of time to visit nearby schools and select your preferred ones. The online application system is really user-friendly and last year more than 90% of parents applied through the KCC website. All families that applied will be sent a letter on Friday 30 March 2012 to tell them which school they have been offered. Families that applied online will be sent an email after 4pm on the same day. Published and promoted by Kent Liberal Democrats, Kent County Council, Sessions House, Maidstone Kent ME14 1XQ Printed (hosted) by Prater Raines Ltd, 98 Sandgate High Street, Folkestone CT20 3BY
Oct 31, 2011:
- Urgent Review of Kent Special Schools Needed
  At the County Council on the 20th of October Martin Vye, Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Education, asked how many children with special educational needs in Kent had to travel more than 20 miles to attend their special schools. Martin said: "Cases brought to my attention cause me concern. Children with special needs in every district have schools specialising in their disability allocated for them. But from casework we know that journeys in excess of 20 miles there and 20 miles back are being made every day which is tiring and time-consuming for the children, and costly to the taxpayer." The Cabinet Member for Education responded that 216 children with special needs currently had to make these excessively long journeys. Martin Vye commented: "We were told some years ago that special schools were being located where the need was. But it looks as if some schools have not enough sufficient places. My estimate of the cost of transport for these 216 is around £2 million. I will be pressing for an urgent review of the level of need in each district and the places in special schools available." Published and promoted by Kent Liberal Democrats, Kent County Council, Sessions House, Maidstone Kent ME14 1XQ Printed (hosted) by Prater Raines Ltd, 98 Sandgate High Street, Folkestone CT20 3BY
- Kent Near Bottom of League for Children in its Care
  Martin Vye, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Children's Social Services on Kent County Council reacted with concern at the publication today of figures showing the performance of local authorities in looking after children in their care. Canterbury County Councillor Martin Vye said: "In 2010, government inspectors judged KCC's care for it's looked after children to be inadequate. A year later it seems little has changed. Kent is near the bottom of the league tables announced today. A large proportion of these vulnerable children are doing much worse in Kent at school than other children, both at the end of primary school, and at GCSE. "On adoption, Kent ranks joint 110th out 139 authorities when rating the percentage of children who ceased to be looked after who were adopted, and joint 105th out of 139 in terms of the percentage of looked after children adopted within 12 months of the decision to go for adoption. "We councillors are being told about the measures being put in place to improve the service we give to the children that have to be taken into care. These figures show that these efforts need to be redoubled." Published and promoted by Kent Liberal Democrats, Kent County Council, Sessions House, Maidstone Kent ME14 1XQ Printed (hosted) by Prater Raines Ltd, 98 Sandgate High Street, Folkestone CT20 3BY
- Kent Faces £1.5 million loss despite Iceland's Unfreezing of Kent Cash
  Lib Dem Kent Finance Spokesman Tim Prater has welcomed news that Kent county Council should now recover the large majority of money from its investments in Icelandic banks, but has pointed out that losses and costs over recovery of the funds will still have cost Kent CC around £1.5 million. The Icelandic Courts ruled on 28 October that Kent County Council and other UK Councils are "preferred creditors", and as such should shortly see the large majority of funds held in Icelandic banks Landsbanki and Glitnir when they crashed in 2008 starting to be paid back to Kent. A third bank, Heritable, has been making staged payments back to Kent for a year and is expected to pay back at least 85% of the total deposit of £18 million Kent County Council had with them. Folkestone West County Councillor Tim Prater said: "Getting the majority of the money back is welcome, and that's about the best news we could have expected from Iceland last week. Some outstanding work has been done by the Kent Finance Team who have worked with other councils to stop this crisis becoming a complete disaster. "The real kicker though is despite this result, which I'm sure will be much trumpeted by Conservative Kent, the losses and costs of recovery are still likely be around £1.5 million in total, to say nothing of the lost interest on the total £50 million since 2008 until when we actually get the money back! "Whatever Conservative Councillors try to say, it's clear that in 2008 a number of Kent's investment processes and advice were weak. "When urgent notifications on the worsening position of banks went to an email box that was not then read until too late, then there is a serious problem. "When you have paid financial advisers that later deny that they actually give advice, then you have a serious problem. "If you can't learn and accept the lessons of the past, you are damned to repeat them. "However, there has to be credit given to officers and members across Parties for their work since 2009 on looking at those processes and making changes and putting checks in place to ensure that the same mistakes are not made again. "But those past failures have still cost Kent and its taxpayers around £1.5million. Given, for example, that Youth Centre funding across Kent is being cut by around £1 million a year next year, it's clear the impact that sort of money could have had on protecting frontline services." Published and promoted by Kent Liberal Democrats, Kent County Council, Sessions House, Maidstone Kent ME14 1XQ Printed (hosted) by Prater Raines Ltd, 98 Sandgate High Street, Folkestone CT20 3BY
Oct 21, 2011:
- Vye: Our Young People Are Being Treated Badly
  Martin Vye, Liberal Democrat County Councillor for Canterbury, is angry and concerned about the proposed cuts in the Kent Youth Service. Youth Service cuts were discussed at a meeting of Kent County Council on 20th October, with the Conservative run authority seeking to cut Youth Service funding by almost one-third and "outsourcing" much current provision. Liberal Democrat Kent Ediucation Spokeman Martin Vye said: "Cutting £900,000 will not go a long way towards the savings the county has to make but it is a massive blow to this valuable service. The Conservative administration should never have considered doing this. Our youth workers are second to none but even when times were good the service was never funded as it should have been, and there are gaping holes in provision of youth facilities in the county anyway." He accused the Conservatives of bungling the consultation process. Martin said: "They talk of using KCC funds to commission the voluntary sector to take over youth services in the Centre they are going to vacate but surely this should have been planned and negotiated well in advance, so that young people do not go into next year not knowing whether their Centre will be open. The administration is adopting a high-risk strategy, as the social cost of getting this wrong is immense. "This is the wrong service to cut. But if they are hell-bent on doing it, I call upon the authorities to get their act together and get voluntary and community sector groups, district councils and Adult Education, round a table and hammer out an agreement that will keep Centres open. If they don't act now young people will be left after December not knowing whether there are going to be services for them" Published and promoted by Kent Liberal Democrats, Kent County Council, Sessions House, Maidstone Kent ME14 1XQ Printed (hosted) by Prater Raines Ltd, 98 Sandgate High Street, Folkestone CT20 3BY
Aug 31, 2011:
- Letter to the Independent: Council tax goes up in smoke
  Published in the Independent, 27 August 2011 David Prosser comments on Kent County Council's pension fund investment in tobacco companies (24 August). The council's spend on education campaigns helping people to give up smoking is only a small part of a total £40m spent every year in meeting the excess costs of smoking in Kent over and above the taxes paid by smokers on their cigarettes. That's not just the costs to GPs and hospitals, but includes the fire authority costs of cigarette fires in the home, police enforcement work on the 10 per cent of cigarettes illicitly imported, and local councils clearing litter bins and streets of stubs. So the county's own public health figures show the council invests £24m in a business which costs Kent residents £40m each year. If Kent County Council doesn't care about the ethics, shouldn't they at least get the economics right? Trudy Dean, Lib Dem Leader of the Opposition, Kent County Council, West Malling Published and promoted by Kent Liberal Democrats, Kent County Council, Sessions House, Maidstone Kent ME14 1XQ Printed (hosted) by Prater Raines Ltd, 98 Sandgate High Street, Folkestone CT20 3BY
Jul 27, 2011:
- M2 and A2 bridge work to start
  A package of work by the Highways Agency to refurbish four bridges over the M2 and the A2 in Kent starts on Monday 01 August. The bridges - Painters Forstal and Champion Court bridges on the M2 near Faversham, and Stuppington and Renville bridges on the A2 near Canterbury - will be all be re-waterproofed and resurfaced, as well as having important components refurbished. There will be no restrictions on the M2 or the A2, but the local roads that run over the bridges will be closed while work is underway. Work will be complete by the end of the month. Highways Agency structures manager Bala Vishnubala said: "We are responsible for more than 300 bridges and viaducts in Kent, and periodic maintenance of this kind is essential to keep the road network in good condition. To minimise disruption for people living near the bridges, we will be carrying out work between 8am and 6pm each day, Monday to Friday. However, for safety reasons, some traffic restrictions will remain in place 24 hours a day." Fully signed local diversion routes will be in place whenever bridges are closed. Drivers are advised to plan their journeys and leave a little extra time for their journeys if needed. Published and promoted by Kent Liberal Democrats, Kent County Council, Sessions House, Maidstone Kent ME14 1XQ Printed (hosted) by Prater Raines Ltd, 98 Sandgate High Street, Folkestone CT20 3BY
Jul 21, 2011:
- Kent has "No plans" for Mass Sackings and Rehiring
  County Councillor Tim Prater has welcomed a reassurance from Kent County Council Leader Paul Carter that the Council "had no plans" to follow other local authorities in making large numbers of staff redundant and offering jobs back on a reduced salary. The commmitment was made in response to a question from Tim Prater to Paul Carter at Kent County Council's meeting on 21 July. Lib Dem County Finance spokesman Tim Prater asked: "Can the Leader of the Council reassure this Council and its staff that Kent will not use the approach of making large numbers of staff redundant and offering jobs back on a reduced salary, a practice recently used by a number of other authorities?" Paul Carter responded saying: "I can confirm that we have no plans to use such an approach. "This is a practice used in extreme circumstances in both the public and private sectors and can have a rolein responding to significant issues concerning staffing structures, numbers and costs. It has recently been used by some other local authorities who have had to make significant decisions on such issues over short timescales. "The approach carries significant risk and potential impact - as is being experienced by others, who are currently the subject of both legal challenge and industrial dispute. "Most importantly, this course of action introduces real risks to service delivery, both in terms of continuity of provision and the engagement and motivation of staff in the front line. "There are circumstances where the method of change will be appropriate for some employers. However, we have a good track record of delivering savings and managing staffing levels and costs, over medium term planning cycles, without this approach. Wherever possible, such changes have been acheived through suitable consultation, communication and transition arrangements. It is my expectation that this continues." Tim Prater commented: "Staff across Kent County Council will hopefully feel reassured by the answer of the Leader of the Council. I'm sure he will now stick to what he has said: to go back on this statement would be a U-turn too far, and a devastating slap in the face to Kent staff who have had a pay freeze for two years and are helping to deliver millions of pounds of efficiency savings across the Council. "It is right that the Council should commit to not repeating the acts of other authorities, where staff have been incredulous to be told that unless they accepted their existing job for less money, they would be made redundant. That's no way to run a whelk stall, still less a Council." Published and promoted by Kent Liberal Democrats, Kent County Council, Sessions House, Maidstone Kent ME14 1XQ Printed (hosted) by Prater Raines Ltd, 98 Sandgate High Street, Folkestone CT20 3BY
- Question to Kent County Council, 21 July: Larkfield Waste Treatment
  Question by Mrs Dean To The Cabinet Member for Environment Highways and Waste "Would the Cabinet Member please say when the County Council was first made aware of any interest in developing the former SCA site in New Hythe Lane, Larkfield for treatment of waste, when contact with the County Council was first made by Biossense, and what major planning policy and highway issues will surround any future use of this site?" Published and promoted by Kent Liberal Democrats, Kent County Council, Sessions House, Maidstone Kent ME14 1XQ Printed (hosted) by Prater Raines Ltd, 98 Sandgate High Street, Folkestone CT20 3BY
- Question to Kent County Council, 21 July: Roadside Trees
  Question by Mr I Chittenden to the Cabinet Member for Environment, Highways & Waste "In recent years hundreds of trees on County Council land, in particular on verges and green areas adjacent to roads and footpaths have been cut down, with very few replaced. Many become diseased and die due to grass cutting around the base of trees with strimming tools which cut and removed the bark from the main trunks, resulting in disease and a slow death. "As the Cabinet Member responsible for the grass verge contracts will the Cabinet Member for Environment, Highways and Waste inform this Council when this destructive practice will stop and what action he will take to replace the trees removed from our tree lined roads due to this negligence? Please include in your response details of how many trees have been cut down over the past 5 years and how many have been replaced?" Published and promoted by Kent Liberal Democrats, Kent County Council, Sessions House, Maidstone Kent ME14 1XQ Printed (hosted) by Prater Raines Ltd, 98 Sandgate High Street, Folkestone CT20 3BY

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