Partner Commitments
The three Countywide Ambitions that make up the Vision for Kent are supported by a number of partners across the county. This section contains commitments from the principle agencies that will support delivery across Kent:
- Kent’s 12 District / Borough Council
- Kent County Council
- Kent and Medway Fire & Rescue Authority
- Kent Police
- Health (Kent and Medway Primary Care Trust Cluster)
- Kent Probation
- Kent CAN – working for the voluntary and community sector in Kent (VCS)
- Faith Sector
- Kent Association of Local Councils (KALC)
- Connexions Kent & Medway
- Higher Education Kent and Medway
- Kent Association of Further Education Colleges (KAFEC)
- Skills Funding Agency
- Job Centre Plus
- Environment Agency
- Kent Transport Operators – Arriva
- Kent Transport Operators – Stagecoach
Kent’s 12 District / Borough Councils are central to the delivery of our Countywide Ambitions, both individually and collectively. The Ambitions capture what we all wish to see for our residents. Kent is a large and diverse county with a wide range of opportunities and challenges. There is no doubt that the Ambitions will have a different priority for each of the 12 Council areas across Kent, adn different approaches will be needed to deliver them. District / Borough Councils will be at the forefront of bringing local partners together to focus on local needs and priorities, and this will make a significant contribution to the Countywide Ambitions.
To grow the economy in our Districts and Boroughs we will work with partners and local businesses to understand the barriers to business growth in our areas and find solutions to them. To tackle disadvantage we will identify those members of our communities who are most at risk and work together to provide the support they need to achieve a good quality of life. To put our citizens in control, we will work with our communities and partners to look at how we deliver or commission services and see where we can do better and give power back to people.
The 12 District / Borough Councils in Kent will continue to listen to our communities, work effectively with our partners and make our area of Kent a great place to live and work.
John Gilbey, Leader of Canterbury City Council and Vice Chairman of Kent Forum, on behalf of the 12 District / Borough Councils in Kent
The Vision for Kent has clear connections with ‘Bold Steps for Kent’, Kent County Council’s Medium Term Plan to 2014/15, and they share the same three Ambitions for Kent. We are committed to transforming the way that we engage and work with partners and our communities, and radically rethinking our collective approach to services in oder to respond to the current challenges and opportunities.
We will aim to facilitate new growth in the Kent economy by working with partners to deliver new housing and new infrastructure and by working with key business sectors. We will make Kent a county of opportunity where aspiration rather than dependency is supported, particularly for those who are disadvantaged or who struggle to help themselves and their family.
At Kent County Council we are pleased to see the shift in power to a local level that we have long been calling for. We will work to embed localism by moving towards local place based commissioning so that decisions are taken closer to local communities. Amongst other initiatives, we will create a Big Society Fund to support existing and new social enterprises, and make it easier for voluntary and community organisations to compete to provide services.
Paul Carter, Leader, Kent County Council
Katherine Kerswell, Group Managing Director, Kent County Council
Kent and Medway Fire & Rescue Authority fully endorses and supports the Vision for Kent and is keen to see progress made. Many of the outcomes that the Authority is working towards achieving by 2020 will support the deliver of the Ambitions. In particular, evidence shows that a disproportionate number of fires and road traffic accidents are connected with vulnerable adults and people living in areas of deprivation, so we will focus on these groups. We are also working with businesses to reduce risks and support the local economy.
We will continue to be an effective partner supporting others to identify and deliver against county and local priorities. We will provide a high quality service whilst striving to improve our value for money and minimise our environmental impact. Working through the Kent Forum helps the Authority to achieve its aim of saving lives and reducing risks.
Bryan Cope, Chairman of Kent and Medway Fire & Rescue Authority
Kent Police have played a full and active part in partnership working across Kent and support the Vision for Kent. Crime and disorder have significantly reduced in the county in recent years making Kent one of the safest counties in the country. Kent Police are committed to reducing crime and disorder still further, recognising the importance of keeping our residents and visitors safe as part of a vibrant and prosperous county.
Kent Police, working with partners, have an impressive track record in delivering partnership activity that makes a tangible difference on the ground. Through the Kent Forum and articulated within the Vision for Kent, Kent Police will continue to work as partners in delivering a first class service and reducing crime and disorder.
Chief Constable Ian Learmonth, Kent Police
The NHS in Kent is committed to tackling inequalities in health, and that is why we are keen to support the Vision for Kent. The gap in health and even life expectancy between the most and least well-off shows that further action is needed across a rnage of agencies, and we welcome the closer links with partners set out in the Vision. We are equally committed to engaging with the populations we serve in decision-making and developing services that truly meet their needs.
We will therefore endeavour to use our resources to develop health services, ensuring that we focus on the most vulnerable. We will redouble our efforts to improve joint working with social care services for children and adults to ensure the right access for all who need support. And we will build on work already undertaken such as the Total Place initiative and joint preventative programmes.
Our contribution will include providing high quality, flexible healthcare that meets the needs of all residents. We will tackle health inequalities and reducing demand on health and social care services by supporting people to make healthier lifestyle choices and plan for their futures.
Ann Sutton – Chief Executive, Kent and Medway PCT Cluster
Kent Probation fully endorses and supports the Vision for Kent. We have a history of successfully working with our public, private and third sector partners. Using out strengths, we will work together to make improvements for Kent communities. In particular, people in Kent think that low levels of crime are an important factor in making somewhere a good place to live. Kent Probation will continue to work with our partners to focus our work on those who commit crime. Our work will support the delivery of the ambition to tackle disadvantage, whilst protecting the public and reducing re-offending for the benefit of our strong and vibrant communities.
Helen West, Chief Executive, Kent Probation
Kent CAN endorses the refreshed version of the Vision for Kent and is happy to have supported its development on behalf of the voluntary and community sector. While Ambition 3 with its focus on the individual is recognised as a key element of VCS activity it is also excellent to see that our sector’s contribution is sought and valued across all three Ambitions.
Growing the economy through social enterprise and tackling disadvantage through a rnage of interventions are traditionally areas of great success for the sector across the county. The work of the VCS touches every part of the lives of Kent’s citizens and Kent CAN, on behalf of the sector, looks forward to lending its full support to achieving the Vision for Kent.
Malcolm Barry, Chairman, Kent CAN
The following Christian Churches in Kent [Church of England, Methodist Church, United Reformed Church, The Society of Friends, The Roman Catholic Church, The Salvation Army, The Baptist Union of Great Britain, Elim Pentecostal Church] are pleased to support the new ‘Vision for Kent’. We join with all others across all our faith communities in Kent who share in this initiative of goodwill and the betterment of society.
Faith Leaders in Kent – Churches together in Kent
Kent Association of Local Councils strongly supports the Vision for Kent and is looking forward to continuing to work with all Kent partners in the enhancing of community participation and democratic accountability in determining and delivering local services. It is keen to play a full part in empowering and asisting communities throughout Kent in advancing the Vision for Kent Ambitions, so they have the capacity to decide, and where practical deliver solutions to local needs and aspirations.
KALC will continue to be an effective partner, playing its full part in supporting partners and others to identify and respond to community needs against national, county and local priorities, including the delivery of the Big Society concept.
Working with the Kent Forum will help the communities KALC represents, to achieve their aspirations and respond to local needs.
David Coleman, President, Kent Association of Local Councils
Connexions Kent & Medway fully endorses the Vision for Kent strategy and in particular its commitment to the young people of Kent. Connexions Kent & Medway have been working on many of the ambitions outlined within this strategy.
Research evidence indicates that young people most likely to be NEET are those in Jobs Without Training and those who drop out of further education, we are therefore concentrating on these groups of young people.
We will embrace Kent’s vision towards 2021 and will be a key player within the delivery of the strategy. Connexions Kent & Medway will continue to provide a first-class service whilst aiming to improve the way we use our resources in order to improve outcomes for young people.
Sean Kearns, Chief Executive, Connexions Kent & Medway
The Kent and Medway reguion benefits from the location of a number of universities including Christ Church Canterbury University, University of the Creative Arts, University of Greenwich and University of Kent. We provide a broad range of high quality higher education and leading edge research. We not only provide education at undergraduate and postgraduate level in traditional academic disciplines but also train many in skills needed for specific professional careers such as pharmacy, teaching, engineering, nursing and social work. We also work with local employers to provide appropriate continuing professional development.
As key employers in the region, we endorse the Vision for Kent. All of us work to promote economic growth whether it is through our enterprise and innovation activities or through the successful recruitment of overseas students. We have a role in bringing in inward investment to the region and are also net contributors to the local economy through the economic activity we generate. We all support fair access to higher education provision. We work with local schools through partnership networks or through leadership of academies to promote aspirations among the young to optimise their future careers. We work closley with our local communities providing both cultural and sports related activities from which all in the community can benefit.
Professor Dame Julia Goodfellow, DBE, CBE, FMedSci
KAFEC fully endorses and supports the Vision for Kent. Working together with key strategic partners, it is looking forward to supporting the delivery of the identified ambitions.
In particular, KAFEC will respond to the specific needs outlined within the Plan which focus on the identified gaps in educational attainment and skills across the county and the need for essential up-skilling to enable individuals to access employment opportunities. It will promote flexible and appropriate progression pathways for Kent’s learners, both academnic and vocational.
KAFEC commits to supporting the delivery of the ‘Vision for Kent’ and to provide the solution to the skills needs in Kent as a critical partner.
Stephen Grix, Chairman of KAFEC and Principal of MidKent College
The Skills Funding Agency fully endorses and supports the Vision for Kent. Many of the aspirations for a skilled workforce contained in this document will need to be fully achieved, if the economy of Kent and Medway is to grow faster than competitive areas. The seven Further Education colleges in Kent and Medway have a pivotal role to play in helping to improve the skill levels of all of our citizens, and are ready to provide a full range of high quality programmes.
There are many opportunities for employers in particular to ensure that their staff are appropriately trained and developed. The Apprenticeship scheme is an example of a programme that is targeted at developing the skills of the workforce. Other measures include ensuring that all citizens have access to Basic Skills programmes, especially those who require support for numeracy and literacy.
At a higher skill level, Kent and Medway is ideally placed with its Universities to ensure that we develop the skills at Level 4 and beyond that we need to successfully grow the economy.
Tony Allen, Skills Services Director (SE), Skills Funding Agency
Jobcentre Plus is keen to support the Vision for Kent. We want to build on our good partnerships to reduce worklessness and enhance the community we service.
Jobcentre Plus in Kent are continuously looking to develop our partnerships with the public, private, voluntary and community sector to deliver our services better. Moving more people into jobs or closer to them.
Working collaboratively and innovatively to make a reality our commitment to personalisation and flexible delivery, with a partnership focus on activity at a local community level. Refining and enhancing our joint customer offer, ensuring best possible outcomes, which demonstrate effectiveness and real value for money.
Dave Ashdown, Head of Jobcentre Plus for Kent
We are committed to working with others to unlock the potential of Kent’s economy, environment and people and ensure Kent is a fair and easy place to do business. We are pleased to be part of a partnership that will – through delivery of the Kent Environment Strategy – create a high quality environment that is low carbon, resilient to climate change, and has a thriving green economy at its heart.
We can support the Kent economy to grow by working collaboratively with responsible businesses, allowing them to thrive, whilst tackling the illegitimate businesses that hinder their success. We have local information and specific technical advice that can help others make informed choices, putting people in control.
Our job is to work with people and communities to protect and improve water, land and air, and to reduce climate change and its consequences. In Kent, where 70,000 properties and businesses are at risk from flooding, we are working with communities to help protect them from flooding and respond to incidents when they do. With others we can manage our precious natural resources wisely and to unlock the opportunities they offer for people to enjoy the environment and to improve their quality of life.
Andrew Pearce, Area Manager, Environment Agency
Arriva supports the Vision for Kent and are keen to continue the strong partnership working achieved with local authorities over many years, including the award winning Fastrack service. We are keen to see a strong, sustainable, high quality network of bus services in Kent and will work with the County Council to achieve the aims of the Integrated Transport Strategy. A strong bus network will contribute to reducing traffic congestion, assist in growing the economy and help to tackle disadvantage in the County.
Kevin Hawkins, Regional Commercial Director, Arriva Southern Counties
Stagecoach in East Kent is keen to support this new Vision for our great county. The ground-breaking scholars Freedom pass scheme which arose from the previous vision has created a steep change in journey times for peak time urban travel for all road users and allows buses to fulfil their optimum role as space efficient transport that can be accessed by everyone.
The integral planning of attractive public transport within physical development is acknowledged in this vision to be essential to economic growth and providing mobility to the disadvantaged, and we will support that objective by making further investment in improving services in odrer to grow passenger numbers.
We will offer private sector innovation and efficiency through our successful Quality Bus Partnerships, in which we work alongside the county and district in each local authority area where we are the main operator, to maximise the impact of our mutual investments.
Jeremy Cooper, Commercial Director, Stagecoach in East Kent and East Sussex.
