Catch up on the latest political news from across Kent with Sofia Akin, joined by Labour Leader of Medway Council Vince Maple and Conservative councillor George Perfect.
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00:02 - Hello and welcome to the Kent Politics Show
00:25 live on KMTV.
00:26 I'm Sophia Akin, coming up in tonight's show.
00:30 Thousands across the Southeast and Kent
00:31 say they've been waiting weeks for their posts.
00:33 So if you're still waiting on a letter,
00:35 you might not be the only one.
00:37 Plus six weeks on, Medway Council still isn't using
00:39 its offices due to rat concerns.
00:42 And in a bid to balance the books,
00:43 the council has announced further cutbacks
00:45 to children's services.
00:46 Today we're joined by the leader of Medway Council
00:48 and an opposition councillor to unpick
00:50 some of the big issues impacting Medway.
00:53 But first tonight, hospital appointments,
00:55 doctor referrals and other important letters
00:57 are reportedly being delivered weeks late in Medway
01:00 due to Royal Mail delays.
01:02 The Chatham MP, Tracy Crouch, is demanding
01:04 an urgent meeting with the postal company
01:06 to fix the problem.
01:07 The delays are seeing people having to go
01:09 to sorting offices to collect their mail.
01:11 Residents are concerned the issue will only get worse
01:14 in the Christmas period, as Gabriel Morris reports.
01:16 - The lead up to Christmas is the busiest time of year
01:22 for Royal Mail.
01:23 In Medway, residents tell us they're already going days
01:27 without mail and they say when their postman does arrive,
01:31 they've got weeks worth of letters.
01:33 Hospital referrals, bills and of course,
01:38 speeding and parking tickets all come through the post.
01:42 And that's leaving many people worried
01:45 about what they are missing.
01:47 - Yes, well I'm waiting for appointments myself,
01:50 referrals from the doctor and everything like that.
01:53 And I haven't heard anything for three weeks.
01:57 - It comes in batches, so you get all of them all at once
02:02 and that's quite annoying.
02:05 - Doesn't seem that safe now, does it?
02:07 - The more I don't get mail, the better it is,
02:10 because then you don't get bills.
02:12 - We've ended up having the cheques stopped and reissued
02:15 because we didn't receive the post.
02:17 Then it come, it's been like that
02:18 for a couple of months now.
02:20 - This isn't the first time there have been delays
02:22 on Royal Mail.
02:24 Can our local authorities step in and help?
02:28 - We could certainly, through officers,
02:30 try and establish what the situation is with Royal Mail.
02:34 I've heard that they're failing to beat
02:37 the six day delivery service.
02:40 And clearly the residents locally
02:44 are not getting vital hospital operation letters
02:47 and things that they need.
02:49 So I think there is an angle for the council here.
02:52 - Royal Mail say they aim to get first class letters
02:56 delivered within one working day.
02:58 For second class letters, it's three working days,
03:01 but it seems across Medway and some parts of Kent,
03:04 that's far from the case.
03:05 - Well, I think it's important that Royal Mail step up,
03:08 first of all, and acknowledge the problem.
03:10 I think they need to explain to the public
03:12 the gravity of the situation.
03:14 You know, what is the current number of mail
03:16 that they've got sitting within sorting centres
03:18 and what is their estimated timelines
03:20 in terms of real delivery.
03:22 Both for first and second class mail.
03:24 But also I think Royal Mail needs to set out a strategy,
03:27 particularly for the medium and longer term,
03:28 about how they're going to ensure that this isn't repeated.
03:31 - Well, in a statement, Royal Mail told us
03:33 they can confirm mail is being delivered to homes daily,
03:38 with the vast majority arriving on time.
03:40 If delays occur, they have dedicated teams in place
03:43 to take immediate action.
03:45 They've also confirmed 16,000 seasonal workers
03:48 have been hired, but it's this Christmas season
03:51 that is leaving many fearful across Medway.
03:54 Will their mail arrive?
03:57 Gabriel Morris for Caine TV.
03:59 - Well, joining me tonight is the leader
04:01 of Medway Council, Vince Maple,
04:02 and Conservative Councillor, George Perfect.
04:05 Thank you both for joining us tonight.
04:07 So Vince, I'd like to start with you.
04:08 We've seen sort of the scale that this is having,
04:11 particularly on us here in Medway.
04:13 So firstly, does this make you concerned
04:15 for local businesses who rely heavily
04:18 on sending deliveries through the postal service?
04:20 - Well, absolutely. Nobody wants to see a service,
04:22 which we all value being dealt with
04:25 in the way we're currently seeing.
04:27 Certainly very concerning feedback.
04:29 You know, there's some really quite time-sensitive stuff
04:32 from really important stuff to, you know,
04:36 appointments for doctors or medical and legal letters
04:39 to, you know, more lighthearted stuff like advent calendars.
04:42 You know, them arriving seven or eight days late
04:44 is pretty pointless.
04:45 I was pleased to be able to raise these issues
04:47 actually back at Labour Party conference
04:49 with a senior manager from Royal Mail,
04:51 'cause even, you know, a couple of months back,
04:53 these issues were starting to show themselves there.
04:56 This is not down to the fault of the staff particularly.
04:59 Actually, this has been a bit more of an endemic problem.
05:02 It's been going for a number of months now,
05:04 and senior officials across the country,
05:07 this is not just a Medway issue,
05:09 need to get a bit more of a grip.
05:10 I'll be visiting the large centre in Strude
05:13 in the next few weeks, just to get a first-hand view
05:15 as to what's going well and indeed what could be improved.
05:18 - How much influence do local authorities
05:20 actually have over a postal service and Royal Mail?
05:24 - Well, obviously, they're key stakeholders.
05:26 So us as elected representatives,
05:27 along with our three MPs, as we have in Medway,
05:30 we'll be having residents speak to us,
05:33 not only through email, but also trying to write to us
05:35 if the letters ever get to us.
05:37 But, you know, that's why we will always try
05:40 and raise these issues with the service providers firsthand.
05:43 It does have an impact on people's quality of life.
05:46 It can have an impact, I say, particularly around legal
05:49 or medical-related documents, which sometimes can't be sent
05:54 by email for quite legitimate reasons.
05:56 So those are challenges we have.
05:58 The service actually was in a better place,
06:02 ironically, some would say, during the industrial dispute.
06:05 The service seems to have got worse, you know,
06:07 since that has been resolved.
06:09 Nobody wants to see an industrial dispute,
06:10 but actually people want to see a good service.
06:13 So I think people need to be looking carefully
06:15 at senior management and regional management
06:17 need to be looking at this.
06:18 There'll be different ways to tackle this challenge
06:20 across the piece.
06:22 And some of this might be longer term,
06:24 as we've seen actually in other European countries.
06:27 There might be a debate around moving away
06:29 from the next day delivery guarantee
06:31 of a first class stamp.
06:33 Actually, where that used to be in most countries,
06:36 pretty regular, the UK has become more of an outlier.
06:39 That's less of a service offered by most other countries.
06:43 - I guess we've got to consider as well,
06:44 it's Christmas, it's the busiest period for the post office.
06:47 And George, you were talking with Gabriel
06:50 a little bit about this.
06:51 So ultimately, what do you think we can do about this?
06:53 Because the postal service is under
06:55 immense pressure themselves.
06:56 And they've said that they are recruiting more staff,
06:59 increasing vehicle numbers
07:00 and providing extra parcel sorting sites.
07:02 So is there a kind of a wider problem
07:04 as to why this service is facing so much strain?
07:06 - Well, I think, look, there are a number of challenges.
07:08 I think Tracey Crouch, who are the head of that report there
07:11 has been raising these issues directly
07:12 with the regulator Ofcom,
07:14 that have responsibility for Royal Mail
07:16 and been raising those concerns
07:18 at the highest levels of government
07:19 with ministers responsible within the Department
07:21 for Business and Trade for the postal service.
07:25 It's really important, not only that the government
07:27 starts to react and respond to this,
07:30 which they are positively in the engagement
07:32 that Tracey's had, but also moving forward,
07:35 certainly what Vince was referencing,
07:36 but also what I referenced in the report,
07:38 setting a longer term strategy
07:40 for how Royal Mail will deliver for the long term.
07:42 Part of the challenge that Royal Mail have had,
07:44 particularly when you talk to some of their team,
07:47 as we have been doing, and I know as Vince has referenced,
07:50 other politicians within Medway have as well,
07:52 is that there are challenges at the moment with the service
07:55 in terms of ensuring that it's got both the capacity
07:59 in a local sense, but also ensuring
08:01 that some of the deliveries which are being prioritised
08:04 are looked at in the whole with letters as well
08:06 to set that sort of longer term roadmap and plan.
08:09 - And we've seen Ofcom's published a survey
08:11 that's revealed actually 80% of customers
08:13 do remain satisfied with Royal Mail,
08:16 but only 40% are satisfied with the cost
08:20 that it's costing to send first class letters, parcels.
08:25 So we're paying for this service.
08:27 So what do you think that this is going to mean,
08:30 I guess, wider, if people aren't happy
08:32 with the prices of it?
08:33 What's that going to mean for the post office?
08:35 We've seen loads of post offices closing
08:38 across Kent particularly.
08:39 So does that make you concerned, Vince?
08:41 - Well, certainly, look, we want a service
08:43 which is fit for purpose.
08:44 And it's absolutely right to say the postal service
08:47 we need in 2023 is different to the one we need in 1983.
08:51 But actually most of it structurally is pretty similar.
08:55 So it is about saying what works, what do we need?
08:57 What's the priority?
08:59 I agree, actually, we've seen quite substantial
09:01 in first class stamps, it's quite a substantial
09:04 double increase since this time last year.
09:07 Whereas of course, the second class stamp
09:09 remains the same price of 75 pence.
09:11 But the question has to be, is that, as George says,
09:13 is that financially sustainable moving forward?
09:17 The other challenge which I've heard anecdotally,
09:19 and again, I'll be checking when I visit the centre,
09:23 is around actually, historically,
09:25 people joining for temporary work over the Christmas period,
09:28 they've been inundated.
09:30 That's not been the case this year.
09:32 And again, maybe there needs to be questions asked around,
09:34 well, why is that the case?
09:35 Why perhaps do people not want to go and do this job,
09:38 which has been seen as really valued,
09:40 particularly during the COVID lockdown,
09:42 post people were there front and centre,
09:44 supporting our community.
09:46 Something's gone wrong, and it will be different
09:49 in different places across the country.
09:51 So I think there's more work to be done.
09:53 I want a Royal Mail which is fit for purpose.
09:55 I want it to be working for the next 50, 100 years.
09:58 But that might mean some difficult conversations
10:00 as we look at what that means practically
10:02 for places like Medway.
10:03 - How much does Medway Council rely on Royal Mail as well,
10:06 or the postal service generally?
10:08 - Well, particularly when we're looking at things
10:10 like legal documents for some of our difficult cases
10:13 when it comes to things like social care,
10:16 of course, as we'll talk about later on,
10:17 some of the post has been coming to an empty building
10:20 at the moment.
10:21 So yeah, but it's important to us.
10:23 But actually, if I think about my post bag,
10:26 as we call it in the political trade,
10:28 97% of that is now through email
10:31 or actually forms like WhatsApp, Messenger,
10:34 direct message on X.
10:36 Of course, I'll get a few bits of post.
10:38 And I'm a big fan personally of a postcard as well.
10:40 So look, from that perspective, we need it to work.
10:43 It's clearly not working at the moment,
10:45 but thankfully Medway is not unique.
10:47 It's not solely an ME4, ME8 problem.
10:50 It's much wider than that.
10:51 - And George, we've seen many workers striking,
10:56 resigning over things like this.
10:57 Are you concerned that we'll see more postal workers
11:00 leaving if they're facing this stress
11:02 and this sort of response from the public?
11:04 - Well, I think that's a question for Royal Mail
11:06 and the senior leadership.
11:07 I think as a reference, they're regulated by Ofcom
11:10 and they obviously hold that important place in the eyes
11:13 and in the fabric of the British state
11:16 in terms of delivering first and second class mail.
11:19 But I think moving forward,
11:20 they need to ensure workforce resilience
11:22 is a key part of that strategy that I was referencing
11:24 in terms of building a Royal Mail for the future
11:27 and that's fit for the 21st century.
11:29 - Have either of you been sending Christmas cards this year?
11:31 Have you been able to send your Christmas cards?
11:33 - I've handed a few into the team here.
11:35 You've got one sticking outside.
11:36 - Oh, I've got one waiting.
11:37 - Oh, how exciting.
11:38 - But I would have trusted the Royal Mail
11:40 to deliver it to you,
11:41 but as I knew I was coming here, that happened as well.
11:43 - Well, thank you both.
11:44 We'll continue this discussion after the break
11:46 and more Medway-related issues.
11:48 So thank you very much.
11:50 As I said, we'll be talking more about Medway issues
11:52 straight after the break.
11:53 See you in a second.
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15:07 - Hello and welcome back to the Kent Politics Show
15:11 live on KMTV.
15:13 Now six weeks ago today,
15:14 Medway Council announced it would be temporarily closing
15:17 its offices due to concerns of potentially
15:19 dangerous concrete.
15:20 Gun Wharf in Chatham was closed at the end of October
15:23 following confirmations reinforced autoclaved
15:27 aerated concrete, known as RAC, had been discovered.
15:30 Temporarily, meetings are being held at another location,
15:33 most of them, and members of the public wishing to speak
15:35 to the council are also being sent elsewhere.
15:38 Still with me is Medway Council's leader, Vince Maple
15:40 and Conservative Councillor George Perfect.
15:43 Thank you both for joining us once again.
15:45 So firstly, it's been six weeks today.
15:48 That seems to have gone quite quickly.
15:50 Firstly, Vince, do you have an update on when Gun Wharf
15:53 is going to be up and running completely again?
15:55 - So look, firstly, can I say a huge thank you
15:57 to councillors, staff and the public for understanding
16:00 and being really flexible.
16:02 You know, these are the set of circumstances which
16:05 nobody would want to be in, but we're working through it.
16:07 Officers have been working very closely with experts
16:10 and professionals to look at what the options are.
16:12 As you can imagine, none of these options are straightforward.
16:16 I'm hopeful that at the first cabinet meeting in 2024,
16:20 we should have an options paper, and that will have,
16:23 obviously, a variety of things which we'll consider
16:26 as a cabinet, and then obviously we'll take that forward
16:29 in due course.
16:30 It almost certainly will have to go to full council,
16:33 whatever the decisions are, and that's likely to be
16:38 the budget full council in February.
16:40 That's the timetable I'm hoping for.
16:43 Of course, it's worth absolutely reiterating the point
16:46 as you said there in your opening remarks.
16:48 You know, the council is still open for business as usual.
16:51 You know, our community hubs across the five towns
16:53 remain absolutely open, and certainly, you know,
16:56 the website and the phone line continues to be operated
16:59 in the same way that it was throughout the COVID lockdown.
17:02 So I'm grateful for everyone's flexibility and understanding,
17:06 and we're getting to the point where hopefully
17:08 we can take some decisions.
17:09 Whatever we look at with this, it will be a tough set
17:11 of decisions.
17:12 We know the financial circumstances Medway Council is in,
17:15 and obviously we'll bring that forward.
17:17 It will be down to scrutiny, as Norma did say,
17:19 in particular, probably full council will look at that
17:22 eventually in February.
17:23 - Okay, so we're looking at early next year
17:25 that it could be up and running again.
17:27 - Well, certainly early next year,
17:28 it will take some decisions.
17:29 And again, depending on what those decisions are,
17:33 will depend on the timetable.
17:34 It's not for me here tonight,
17:36 not least because we haven't completed all of that work.
17:39 You know, we're doing it as quickly as we can,
17:41 but this is a big, frankly, it's a big sum of money,
17:45 whatever we choose to do, and ultimately,
17:48 whatever the decision, there'll be a period of time
17:50 that work will need to be done.
17:52 And I'm hopeful that that will be laid out in the timetable
17:57 and report that will come forward ultimately to,
17:59 I think, the February the 29th meeting
18:01 of full council at Medway.
18:03 - How different has it been, I guess,
18:05 having this slightly almost hybrid scheme
18:08 of doing a little bit of working from home maybe,
18:10 and your meetings kind of being all over?
18:13 Has that been quite different?
18:14 I guess in the past six weeks,
18:15 it's been quite a different sort of way of running things.
18:18 How have you found it, I guess?
18:19 - Well, I think as Vince referenced,
18:21 I think for councillors and with lead members and others,
18:26 I don't think really that the challenge is on us.
18:29 I think the challenge really is on officers.
18:30 And I think certainly officers I've had conversations with
18:34 in my opposition shadow role,
18:37 they've responded really well.
18:38 They've faced up to that challenge,
18:40 and particularly in the people directorate,
18:42 which is delivering essential social care services
18:45 for children and adults across the conurbation.
18:47 It's really important that they're able to meet
18:50 both as teams, but also meet with the general public.
18:53 So I think officers have responded really well.
18:55 I think we've got other facilities
18:57 that I know have really stepped up,
18:58 and offers from other councils
19:00 to provide assistance in terms of space.
19:02 We've got other facilities that the council's using
19:06 in an agile manner.
19:07 And I think both Vince and his administration
19:09 have responded in a very positive way,
19:11 as can be to this, and particularly staff,
19:14 who have faced up to this challenge
19:16 and are risen to it, really.
19:19 - Is there still a need for a council building, though?
19:21 We've seen other councils considering
19:23 selling up their buildings to make back
19:25 a little bit of money, and we know
19:26 that Medway Council is struggling financially.
19:29 Is there still a need for you to have Gunmorph,
19:31 or can you keep operating in this way
19:33 of doing it sort of a little bit all over,
19:35 a little bit working from home?
19:36 Would that work?
19:37 - I think that may well be one of the options
19:39 that comes forward as we move towards February.
19:42 I know at least Canterbury Council are looking at that.
19:45 My personal view, and this is not the cabinet's view
19:47 or the council's view, is I think it's difficult
19:49 for an organisation of our size to have no headquarters.
19:53 I think that would be challenging
19:55 for lots of practical reasons.
19:58 But it's certainly something which is right
20:00 and appropriate for councils who want to go down that route
20:03 and consider that, to look at that.
20:04 I'd also want to recognise, I would pay tribute
20:07 to the local government family and actually partners
20:10 in Medway, so whether it is the health service,
20:12 the university, MHS, or indeed councillors
20:15 who perhaps I don't always see eye to eye with,
20:17 people like Jeremy Kite.
20:18 Of course, they've had a big issue with RAC in Dartford.
20:21 He reached out to me very early on six weeks ago
20:24 to say, actually, if your officers need to speak
20:26 to our officers, let's make that happen.
20:28 So again, there's been a really good collective support
20:31 for Medway, not just the council, but Medway the place,
20:34 because actually, this does impact on not just us
20:37 as councillors and officers,
20:38 but the wider Medway residents as well.
20:41 - And a couple of years ago in 2020,
20:43 it was something you were considering then as well.
20:46 It was obviously a Conservative administration then.
20:48 It was being considered of potentially moving officers
20:51 as then it cost around two million pounds a year
20:55 to maintain.
20:55 So is it something that you're,
20:58 I know you said you're considering it now.
21:00 How likely is it that that might happen?
21:02 - Well, I think, I say, I wouldn't want to preempt
21:04 the reports we're going to get in January
21:05 and February of next year.
21:07 One of the very specific challenges,
21:09 and again, I think myself and actually George's group leader
21:13 Adrian Golvin are actually in absolute agreement on this,
21:16 the frustration around it being a Grade 2 listed building.
21:20 I suspect it's the only Grade 2 listed building
21:23 in the country that has rack.
21:25 By the nature of listed buildings,
21:27 they're normally hundreds of years old.
21:28 This is around 50 years old.
21:30 So what does that mean in this sense?
21:33 That means any kind of changes,
21:34 if we were looking at restating the building
21:38 and retaining it and refurbishing it,
21:41 that will put huge additional cost pressures on.
21:44 And I know there's been some initial conversations
21:46 around actually, does this mean we can have a conversation
21:49 about delisting it?
21:50 Not something that I'd want to do for the sake of it,
21:52 but actually in these circumstances,
21:54 something I consider,
21:55 and I know George's group leader would have a similar view,
21:57 there'd be consensus on that.
21:59 Because again, it's not something that either of us
22:01 particularly supported at the time it was brought forward.
22:04 - I just want to move on slightly.
22:07 One in five council leaders in England
22:09 have said that they're fearing their local authorities
22:11 are facing bankruptcy.
22:12 We slightly spoke about Metro Council
22:15 having a 12 million pound overspend,
22:18 and we've come out on a new survey
22:19 that one in five are feeling this way.
22:22 We know of course,
22:23 Kent County Council is also facing pressures,
22:27 and we've seen that 17% of political chiefs
22:28 and top executives are saying
22:30 that key services are now at risk.
22:33 So George, is it something that's concerning you,
22:37 seeing sort of the council balancing its books,
22:40 seeing sort of the services that are having to take a cut
22:43 and seeing how it was when the Conservative administration
22:46 was in as well.
22:47 But how is it seeing
22:49 that sort of certain services have to be cut?
22:51 - Well, I think, look, I mean,
22:53 there are challenges particularly
22:55 facing upper tier authorities.
22:56 And we've been clear about that,
22:58 both as a political group on Medway Council,
23:01 but we've also been clear,
23:02 certainly from a county perspective, as you referenced,
23:06 Roger, leader of KCC,
23:07 has been very clear about that challenge as well.
23:09 Upper tier authorities, due to the challenges
23:12 particularly facing around increasing need
23:14 around social services, but also increasing costs,
23:16 and there were a number of reasons as part of that,
23:19 are facing unique challenges.
23:21 There are location specific factors
23:23 that also affect Medway,
23:24 particularly around some of the grants that it receives
23:26 because of the type of the authority
23:28 and obviously its location,
23:29 particularly within the Southeast,
23:31 30 mile radius to London makes that a challenge.
23:36 I think that the government,
23:37 will very shortly before the end of this year
23:43 be laying forward a paper
23:44 in terms of funding for councils,
23:47 particularly on the grant for next year.
23:49 And obviously once that comes forward,
23:51 that will then allow both Vince and his colleagues
23:54 to begin to form their final views in terms of the budget.
23:57 And at that point we will take that view.
23:59 But I think certainly this week,
24:00 there's been a number of scrutiny committees at the council
24:02 where we've been looking at the budget,
24:05 and there are a number of things we're concerned about,
24:07 particularly taking rush decisions, PR driven decisions,
24:11 in our opinion, around the Christmas lights,
24:13 which potentially don't get to the heart
24:15 of some of the challenges
24:16 in terms of that overall budget position
24:18 that the council and the cabinet in particular
24:20 are gonna have to deal with prior to the budget
24:23 at the end of February.
24:24 - Vince, how is that going with trying to balance
24:28 the 12 million pound overspend?
24:30 We spoke to you a few weeks ago now about this.
24:34 You'd cut the overspend by 5 million,
24:36 but there's still 12 to cut from when we last spoke to you.
24:38 And as we know, the budget is in February.
24:41 So what's your current position on that?
24:43 - Well, we're still working hard on it.
24:44 And I appreciate the work
24:45 that the four scrutiny meetings are doing,
24:48 looking at the different aspects of the council.
24:50 I value that as council leader.
24:52 I think it's important.
24:53 Of course, we inherited, as you rightfully say,
24:55 a 17 million pound gap in this year's budget.
24:58 We've had a 91% cut in revenue support grants since 2010.
25:02 That's a pressure that whoever was running this council
25:05 would have to deal with.
25:06 So we are having to continue to make
25:08 difficult, challenging choices, difficult decisions.
25:12 One of the things we have done
25:14 is we've brought forward support from SIPFA,
25:16 who are the kind of sector leaders in local government
25:19 when it comes to finance.
25:20 And specifically, we're doing some work with the LGA
25:23 and the professionals in adult social care.
25:25 Again, looking at that,
25:27 that's financially one of the biggest pressures we have.
25:30 But actually, if you look at us, as George says,
25:33 compared to other authorities,
25:35 actually we're a medium spender
25:37 when it comes to the issue of adults
25:40 and children's social care.
25:41 So from that perspective,
25:42 we're not being kind of overexuberant
25:45 in how much we're spending.
25:46 It's just some of the pressures because of where we are.
25:49 And importantly, recruitment and retention,
25:52 particularly in children's...
25:53 I just want to get George in before the end of the show.
25:55 That's a key issue,
25:56 which I know Scripney was looking at this week.
25:58 And you're saying,
25:59 Vince has said that they've inherited this budget gap
26:01 from the Conservatives.
26:02 We really don't have long left,
26:04 but I guess, what would your position be
26:07 if the Conservatives were still in charge?
26:09 How would you balance this budget gap
26:11 that the council would be facing regardless?
26:13 - Well, we don't control the council,
26:16 but if we were,
26:17 we would be taking those difficult decisions,
26:19 looking at the budget and the finances,
26:20 looking at the services in the round,
26:22 both across all of the two main directorates,
26:25 but the three directorates that there are
26:26 within the council,
26:28 and looking at the opportunities that there are.
26:31 But we do appreciate,
26:32 certainly in terms of social services,
26:34 there are difficult decisions that have been taken.
26:36 But in the main, over the previous four years,
26:40 we've been working very hard on that budgetary position.
26:42 - Thank you very much both to you for joining us tonight.
26:45 That's all we've got time for.
26:46 We've got straight after the break,
26:48 another episode of Kent Tonight.
26:50 See you soon.
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