Agenda and minutes

To receive announcements (if any) from the Acting Solicitor to the Councils (including apologies for absence).

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Buckle, Hind, Oliver, Simner, Adam Whittaker and Dorothy Whittaker.

The Acting Solicitor to the Councils asked members to note that there would be a special meeting of the council 25 March 2015 following the Joint Council meeting.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 16 December 2014 (copy attached).

The minutes of the meeting of Council held on 16 December 2014 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Mayor.

The Mayor reported on the civic engagements and charity activities which he, the Mayoress, Deputy Mayor and Deputy Mayoress had attended since the last meeting on 16 December 2014.

Councillor Griffiths, Leader of the Council, advised Members that the Council would be considering freezing Council Tax for the fifth consecutive year which was an amazing achievement.

(Section 9 of the Council Procedure Rules)

To hear and answer any questions from members of the public in the public gallery who are residents of the Borough.

(Note: The maximum time to be set aside for this item is 30 minutes, but if all questions are dealt with sooner, or if there are no questions, the Council will proceed to the next business.

Each such person will be allowed up to a total of five minutes for their question to be put and answered. One further question will be allowed arising directly from the reply, provided that the original time limit of five minutes is not exceeded.

Written questions may be submitted by members of the public to the Head of Legal and Democratic Services no later than 10.00 am on Monday 23 February 2015. The written notification should detail the full question to be asked at the meeting of the Council.)

There was no public participation.

Schedule attached as Report No. COU/SE/15/001

The Council considered the Schedule of Referrals contained within Report No. COU/SE/15/001 (previously circulated).

(A)    Referrals from Cabinet: 10 February 2015

1.       Annual Treasury Management and Investment Strategy 2015/2016, Treasury management Code of Practice, and April-December 2014 Performance Report

Councillor Ray, Portfolio Holder for Resources and Performance informed Members that there had been no significant changes made to the Strategy since the previous year, and that the Council must formally approve such a Strategy prior to the start of the financial year. The second recommendation allowed amendments to be made to the Strategy due to the removal of sovereign support for banks.

On the motion of Councillor Ray, seconded by Councillor Spicer and duly carried, it was

RESOLVED: That

(1)        the Annual Treasury Management and Investment Strategy Statements 2015/2016, as contained in Appendix 1 to Report TMS/SE/15/002, be adopted; and

(2)        the Head of Resources and Performance, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Resources and Performance and the Chairman of Treasury Management Sub-Committee, be given delegated authority to make amendments to the Treasury Management Investment Strategy, taking into account advice of the Council’s Treasury Management Advisors in response to changes to credit ratings resulting from the implied removal of sovereign support in the Bank of England’s ‘bail-in’ regulations. 

2.       Budget and Council tax Setting: 2015/2016 and Medium Term Financial Strategy

The Mayor informed members that this item would be considered at agenda item 8.

3.       West Suffolk Homelessness Strategy

Councillor Gower, Portfolio Holder for Housing introduced this report which set out the strategy for preventing homelessness over the next three years. 

In response to a question, Councillor Gower said she would provide figures to the Member detailing whether there had been an upturn in homelessness in response to the ‘bedroom tax’.

On the motion of Councillor Gower, seconded by Councillor Brown and duly carried, it was

RESOLVED:

That the West Suffolk Homelessness Strategy 2015-2018, as contained in Appendix A to Report No: CAB/SE/15/008, be adopted.

4.       Pension Discretions Policy

The new pension regulations gave employers a number of discretionary options and the decisions had to be published in a Statement of Policy.

On the motion of Councillor Ray, seconded by Councillor Patsy Warby, and duly carried, it was

RESOLVED:

That the Pensions Discretion Policy, as contained in Appendix A to Report No: CAB/SE/15/010, be approved.

5.       West Suffolk Shop Front and Advertisement Design Guide

Councillor Clements, Portfolio Holder for Planning and Regulation, introduced this report which sought approval of an extensive design guide for shop fronts throughout West Suffolk.

On the motion of Councillor Clements, seconded by Councillor Stevens, and duly carried, it was

RESOLVED: That

(1)     the West Suffolk Shop Front and Advertisement Design Guide with suggested amendments, as contained in Appendix A to Report SDW/SE/15/003 be adopted as a Supplementary Planning Document subject to it being noted in the Glossary on page 28 in respect of the second item ‘Building of Local Interest’, reference to ‘Birmingham’ be deleted and ‘the areas’ inserted therefor; and

(2)     the Head  ...  view the full minutes text for item 28.

To receive the informal report of the Chairman of the Mayoral Advisory Committee.

The Chairman of the Mayoral Advisory Committee, Councillor Houlder, reported informally that the Committee had recommended that at the Annual Meeting of the Council, Councillor Chung be nominated for election as Mayor for the 2015/2016 civic year.

Councillor Nettleton proposed a motion to refer this nomination back to the Mayoral Advisory Committee for further consideration, this was seconded by Councillor Beckwith, and upon a vote, the motion was defeated.

Councillor Chung said he was honoured to be nominated and would do his best for St Edmundsbury and West Suffolk.

Report No: COU/SE/15/002

Cabinet Member: Cllr David Ray        Lead Officer: Rachael Mann

Members are reminded that in accordance with regulations introduced last year, there will be a recorded vote on this item.

(Councillor French left and Councillor Paul Hopfensperger arrived during the consideration of this item.)

The Council considered Report COU/SE/15/002 (previously circulated) which recommended that the level of Band D Council Tax for 2015/2016 be set at the same level as for 2014/2015, at £175.23 (this being the fifth successive year in which the council had delivered a Council Tax freeze).

The Council was required to consider the 2015/2016 budget for the authority and to set the level of Council Tax required to fund this budget. The proposed 2015/2016 net revenue budget was £12.757m

It was estimated that £8.832m would be spent on the Council’s capital programme during 2015/2016, to be funded from a combination of grants and contributions (£2.214m) earmarked revenue reserves (£3.209m) and usable capital receipts reserve (£3.409m).

Council was required, in considering the budget, to take note of the report by the Head of Resources and Performance (S151 Officer), at Attachment x to the report. The conclusion was that overall, the estimates are robust and the reserves are adequate.

Councillor Ray, Portfolio Holder for Performance and Resources, explained that the budget had been built around the council’s strategic priorities and there had been a public consultation during the summer. Although the policies of a new government were not known at the time of setting the budget, it was clear that local government would rely more on local funding rather than central government funding. In addition:

• the future of the New Homes Bonus, Council Tax freeze bonuses and Business Rates Retention was not known;
• the Council had gone further with shared services and made more efficiencies in the way business was conducted but warned that there would be less opportunities to close future budget gaps; 
• the Council would need to look at earlier intervention to prevent rather than cure;
• the Council needed to behave more commercially by maximising income from current initiatives and searching for other ways to generate income.

Councillor Ray thanked all of the Finance team and other council staff for their contribution in achieving his budget and producing this budget. Councillor Griffiths then thanked Councillor Ray for his tireless working and his achievements during his time on the Council.

In response to questions, Councillor Ray explained:

·         £3.7m of the New Homes Bonus had gone into the strategic priorities reserve and £3m of this had been allocated to housing (see Attachment E to Report COU/SE/15/002).

·         The overall budget for the Apex was covered in two separate lines in the Revenue Budget Summary: the income was shown under ‘Leisure – Commercial Activities’ and the expenditure under ‘The Apex’.

Some concern was raised on the continued Council Tax freeze and whether an increase should be considered in future years and there should be public consultation on this matter.  Some grants to other organisations had been cut when their need for funding was increasing as other services were being reduced.  Supporting charities and other organisations should be considered as part of our strategic priority ‘resilient families and communities that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 30.

Report No: COU/SE/15/003

Cabinet Member: Cllr David Ray           Lead Officer: Joy Bowes

(Councillor Beccy Hopfenspeger left the meeting during the consideration of this item.)

On the motion of Councillor Ray, seconded by Councillor Rushen and duly carried, it was

RESOLVED: That

(1) the Constitution be amended at Part 4, Council Procedure Rule 1.1.1 and 1.1.2 (k) as detailed in Appendix 1 to Report No. COU/SE/15/003; and

(2) the date for the next Annual meeting of the Council be confirmed as Tuesday 19 May 2015; and

(3) the programme of meetings for 2015/2016 as detailed in appendix 2 to Report No. COU/SE/15/003 be approved.

Councillor David Nettleton has given notice under paragraph 11.2 of the Council Procedure Rules of the following question to Councillor Griffiths, Leader of the Council:-

‘As part of the council’s ‘Think Asia: Think Hong Kong’ strategy, is any thought given to the ‘one person, one vote’ protest movement in Hong Kong as the Communist Chinese government in Beijing seeks to dictate who can or cannot stand for election to the Legislative Council?’

Paragraph 11.5 of the Council Procedure Rules states that:-

‘Every question will be answered without discussion. The Member who is asked the question may decline to answer or may ask another Member to answer but that Member may also decline to answer. An answer may take the form of:-

(a)         a direct oral answer summarised in the minutes;

(b)         where the desired information is in a publication of the Council or other published work, a reference to that publication; or

(c)         where the reply cannot conveniently be given orally at the meeting, a written answer sent by the appropriate officer and/or relevant Member to all Members within 10 working days of the Council meeting’.

Paragraph 11.6 states that:-

‘A Member asking a question under paragraph 11.2 or 11.3 of these Rules may ask one supplementary question, without notice, of a Member to whom the first question was asked. The supplementary question must arise directly from the original question or the reply’.

Councillor Nettleton had given notice under paragraph 11.2 of the Council Procedure Rules of the following question to Councillor Griffiths, Leader of the Council:

‘As part of the council’s ‘Think Asia: Think Hong Kong’ strategy, is any thought given to the ‘one person, one vote’ protest movement in Hong Kong as the Communist Chinese government in Beijing seeks to dictate who can or cannot stand for election to the Legislative Council?’.

The Leader of the Council responded that the Council’s strategy was to help businesses to promote themselves and develop good relationships throughout Asia for the good of West Suffolk.

Councillor Nettleton then asked the Leader whether any contracts arising from this strategy would be subject to scrutiny?

In response, Councillor Griffiths explained that any contracts would be subject to the laws of the land.

Part 4, Access to Information Procedural Rules, of the Constitution (paragraphs 17.3.1 and 17.3.2) requires the Leader of the Council to submit quarterly reports to the Council on the executive decisions taken, if any, in the circumstances set out in Rule 16, Special Urgency, in the preceding three months.

Accordingly, the Leader of the Council reports that no executive decisions have been taken under the Special Urgency provisions of the constitution.

The Council received and noted a narrative item, as required by the Council’s Constitution, in which the Leader of the Council reported that at the time the Council agenda was published, no executive decisions had been taken under the special urgency provisions of the Constitution.

(Note: Council Procedure Rule 11.1 of the Constitution requires that:

(a)        The time limit for all questions and answers under this item is one and a half hours; and

(b)       A maximum of 7 minutes to  be initially allocated to each report and questions on that report (to include up to two minutes if necessary for the report writer to present their report). After every report has been received, the Mayor will determine if further questions can be put to the relevant Member(s) in the balance of the hour and a half left available for this session.)

(Councillor Nettleton left the meeting at the beginning of this item.)

Cabinet Member: Cllr John Griffiths

This report will be circulated to all members before the meeting.

Councillor Griffiths informed Members that Suffolk County Council’s Cabinet had today agreed to go forward to the next stage on the Operational Hub project.

Report No. COU/SE/15/004

Cabinet Member: Cllr Sara Mildmay-White

Councillor Mildmay-White agreed that the Newbury Community Centre was an exciting project delivering a state of the art community centre that was community led with support from the Council. She would liaise with the Member regarding Chalkstone Community Centre

Report No. COU/SE/15/005

Cabinet Member: Cllr Peter Stevens

In response to questions, Councillor Stevens:

·         Confirmed that technology had shown that one freighter could be taken off the road by re-designing the brown bin collection routes.

·         Concerns about access to the proposed Operational Hub and capacity at the roundabout at Hollow Road would be taken into

(Councillor Cockle left the meeting at the end of this item.)

Report No. COU/SE/15/006

Cabinet Member: Cllr Anne Gower

No questions were raised.

Report No. COU/SE/15/007

Cabinet Member: Cllr David Ray

No questions were raised.

Report No. COU/SE/15/008

Cabinet Member: Cllr Alaric Pugh

No questions were raised.

Report No. COU/SE/15/009

Cabinet Member: Cllr Terry Clements

As mentioned in his report Councillor Clements advised Members that the new Enforcement team was taking shape.

In response to a question, Councillor Clements asked the Member to provide further information regarding cladding on properties in Cambridge Way, Haverhill so that he could investigate further.

Report No. COU/SE/15/010

Cabinet Member: Cllr Sarah Stamp

In introducing her report, Councillor Stamp reminded Members that the launch of the Bury Festival had taken place the previous week.

Report No. COU/SE/15/011

Chairman: Cllr Ian Houlder

No questions were raised.

Report No. COU/SE/15/012

Chairman: Cllr Sarah Broughton

Councillor Broughton confirmed that the Committee had decided to take Option B as detailed in paragraph 7.3 of Report No, COU/SE/15/012.

Under this item, Members may ask the relevant Chairman questions relating to meetings of the following committees on the dates indicated:-

No questions were raised.