Last Thursday was the final full council of the municipal year. This article will provide our perspective of the meeting.
Councillor Perfect stood in for Councillor Gulvin who is still recovering from surgery, Councillor Perfect started his response to the leaders report by referencing the recent SEND inspection and the importance of providing good services for children in Medway. Councillor Perfect then went on to defend the Governments record in cutting taxes for residents across Medway, something that the Labour Administration have made clear they do not support as well as other failures of the Administration since coming into office in May last year. It is clear that the Labour alternative do not have a plan for the country, or a plan for Medway.
The Conservative Group were pleased to support a number of agenda items on the meeting but were disappointed that the Labour and Co-operative group voted down our amendment to item thirteen on planning committee changes for reasons we are still unsure of. This amendment would have allowed a ward member representing a single member ward to address a committee twice on an individual planning application as well as the right to clarify issues before a vote, this would have increased the democratic access within the council as well as supporting colleagues who represent single member wards.
Our Motion was unsurprisingly voted down by the Labour and Co-Operative administration which was disappointing. The motion would have made the administration re-think the cut to repairing potholes which as all Council colleagues will know, is a key priority for residents on the doorstep. This is further exacerbated by the apparent lack of action to repair potholes in Medway despite recent investment of £12.5 million from central Government over the course of ten years of which the administration has currently received £401,000 and has made little to no progress on this issue.
Regarding the motion put forward by the Labour and Co-Operative Group, the Conservative Opposition were happy to support with a very minor amendment proposed by Councillor Brake. This amendment just made sure that the motion covered all care experienced people, not just children and young people and the item in question would be subject to scrutiny from the Health and Social Care Overview and Scrutiny Committee as well as the Children and Young People Overview and Scrutiny Committee. We were pleased to see this amendment passed with the support of the whole chamber.
As last Thursday’s full council was the final one in this municipal year, we as a group would like to share our thanks to officers for all their hard work and we look forward to working with the wider team in Medway Council to deliver for our communities.”
