The People & Places Advisory Committee met on 9 September 2025, approving the minutes from the previous meeting and discussing the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, the Rural England Prosperity Fund, and a Prevent Action Plan. A task and finish group was created to explore twinning opportunities with Ukraine.

Here's a more detailed look at the key discussion points:

UK Shared Prosperity Fund and Rural England Prosperity Fund Update

The committee reviewed the annual update on the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) and Rural England Prosperity Fund (REPF). The Economic Development Officer reported that £1.5 million had been allocated across community and place initiatives, local business support, people and skills programmes, and rural grant delivery.

Key achievements included the delivery of approximately 200 grants and non-financial support to around 500 organisations. There was a minimal underspend of £62 from the UKSPF and £2,574 from REPF, with the REPF underspend attributed to some recipients being unable to complete projects within the required timeframe.

A survey of funding recipients showed high satisfaction, with 38% rating the impact of the grant on their organisation as transformational and 56% as significant. 88% of grant recipients rated their experience with Sevenoaks District Council as 'excellent', and 12% rated it as 'good'.

New funding was expected for the year April 2025 – March 2026, with experiences from the previous scheme informing the design and delivery of this programme. However, further funding was unlikely after 2026 due to a change in focus from the funding providers.

In response to questions, the Economic Development Officer clarified that while the survey had a low response rate, case studies and anecdotal information had also been gathered from grant recipients.

The committee resolved to note the report.

Prevent Action Plan

The Head of Communities and Partnership presented the Prevent Action Plan, detailing a five-year strategy to tackle counter-terrorism. The national threat level was described as 'substantial', meaning an attack was likely.

The five-year plan, reviewed by the Kent County Council (KCC) Prevent Team, has three main objectives:

• Tackling the causes of radicalisation
• Safeguarding and supporting those most at risk
• Enabling those who have engaged to disengage and rehabilitate

The plan, already approved by the Sevenoaks District Community Safety Partnership in June, includes actions related to partnership working, local risk assessment, referral pathways, training, and the use of local authority resources.

The plan also addresses requirements of Martyn's Law (Protection of Premises) Act 2025¹, with actions 2.3 and 6.1 addressing some of the new requirements. All authorities have two years to embed Martyn's Law requirements into their buildings, and work will be carried out with local communities and voluntary groups to provide training.

In response to questions, the Head of Communities and Partnership explained that the Gaming Bus was a KCC initiative that provides a safe space for children and teenagers to play games and discuss radicalisation and peer pressure.

Action 1: For the Head of Communities and Partnership to provide an update once the internal Martyn's Law meeting had taken place.

The committee resolved to note the report.

Task and Finish Group

The Corporate Director of Communities, Place and Economy presented a report on the proposed Task and Finish Group to consider twinning arrangements, including identifying appropriate towns to twin with in Ukraine. The Twinning Programme would be volunteer-led and require no notable time or resources spent on it by Sevenoaks District Council officers.

Councillors Lesley Dyball, Horwood and Skinner had volunteered to be a part of the Task and Finish group.

The committee agreed that the objective of the Task and Finish group was to find a suitable town to twin with.

The committee resolved that:

• A Task and Finish group be agreed with the membership of; Councillors Alger, Dyball, Granville, Horwood, Manamperi and Skinner.
• Reconfirm the terms of the group
  • Determine the most appropriate region in Ukraine for Sevenoaks District to twin with
  • Create a Twinning Agreement
  • Ensure the setting up of the Twinning Agreement, monitoring of the Twinning Agreement and future of the Twinning Programme requires no notable time or resources be spent on it by Sevenoaks District Council officers, and that the future structure of the programme is entirely volunteer-led, and
  • Determine a structure to review the outcomes of the Twinning Agreement.

Portfolio Holder Update

Councillor Lesley Dyball, Portfolio Holder for People & Places, provided an update on her portfolio, including:

• New leisure contracts with Everyone Active were progressing well, with a community worker appointed.
• Everyone Active was finalising the legal agreement for spa facilities at White Oak Leisure Centre, with works anticipated to commence in the last quarter of 2025 and open in March/April 2026.
• Family Fun Days had been successful, with increased attendance compared to previous years.
• Visit Kent had entered administration, and the council was seeking further information regarding countywide solutions. The Sevenoaks tourism websites were not affected, and Invest West Kent supported the visitor economy across all West Kent authorities. The UKSPF had provided over £17,000 to support the visitor economy work plan.
• Young Carer cooking sessions took place in August, and the Arts and Communities fund went live on 9 September.
• The Household Support Fund would provide funding support to seven foodbanks across the district and support opportunities for residents, including cooking classes and a boiler replacement scheme.
• A bid had been entered to the National Lottery to replicate the Dartford, Gravesham and Swanley Health and Care partnership funding, which carried out work within the northern parishes.
• The Portfolio Holder had attended a 10-year celebration of the Forget-Me-Not Café's.

In response to questions, Councillor Dyball confirmed that new equipment acquired for the White Oak Leisure Centre would be transferred to the new Land East development once completed.