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Agenda and minutes

Venue: Tewkesbury Borough Council Offices, Severn Room

Contact: Democratic Services Tel: 01684 272021  Email:  democraticservices@tewkesbury.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

73.

Announcements

1.       When the continuous alarm sounds you must evacuate the building by the nearest available fire exit. Members and visitors should proceed to the visitors’ car park at the front of the building and await further instructions (during office hours staff should proceed to their usual assembly point; outside of office hours proceed to the visitors’ car park). Please do not re-enter the building unless instructed to do so.

 

       In the event of a fire any person with a disability should be assisted in leaving the building.  

 

2.       To receive any announcements from the Chair of the Meeting and/or the Chief Executive.

Minutes:

73.1           The evacuation procedure, as noted on the Agenda, was advised to those present.

74.

Apologies for Absence

Minutes:

74.1           Apologies for absence were received from Councillors K Berliner, J H Evetts, P W Ockelton, J K Smith, C Softley and R J Stanley.  

75.

Declarations of Interest

Pursuant to the adoption by the Council on 24 January 2023 of the Tewkesbury Borough Council Code of Conduct, effective from 1 February 2023, as set out in Minute No. CL.72, Members are invited to declare any interest they may have in the business set out on the Agenda to which the approved Code applies.

Minutes:

75.1           The Committee’s attention was drawn to the Tewkesbury Borough Council Code of Conduct which was adopted by the Council on 24 January 2023 and took effect from 1 February 2023.

75.2           There were no declarations made on this occasion.

76.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 290 KB

To approve the Minutes of the meeting held on 24 January 2023.

Minutes:

76.1           The Minutes of the meeting held on 24 January 2023, copies of which had been circulated, were approved as a correct record and signed by the Mayor.  

77.

Items from Members of the Public

a)   To receive any questions, deputations or petitions submitted under Council Rule of Procedure.12.

 

(The deadline for public participation submissions for this meeting is 15 February 2023).

 

b)   To receive any petitions submitted under the Council’s Petitions Scheme.

Minutes:

77.1           There were no items from members of the public.  

78.

Member Questions properly submitted in accordance with Council Procedure Rules pdf icon PDF 270 KB

To receive any questions submitted under Rule of Procedure 13. Any items received will be circulated on Monday 20 February 2023.

 

(Any questions must be submitted in writing to Democratic Services by, not later than, 10.00am on Monday 13 February 2023).

Additional documents:

Minutes:

78.1           The following question was received from Councillor Cody to the Leader of the Council, Councillor Bird.  The answer was given by the Leader of the Council and was taken as read without discussion.

                  Question 1

At the Tewkesbury Borough Full Council meeting on the 6 December 2022, I voted in favour of webcasting as I believe in transparency and think the public have a right to view what we discuss on their behalf, without having to travel into Tewkesbury at a specific time to watch the meeting in person.

The meeting minutes state that, “Following a lengthy discussion as to the merits of webcasting, as well as concerns about the costs of the system at the time of a national cost of living emergency…it was agreed that webcasting would not be implemented at this time.”

                  Given their concerns, what has the Leader of the Council, who voted against webcasting, done to make sure that the specific amount of money saved has indeed been spent on the cost of living emergency?  Please can the Leader of the Council confirm when this money was spent, (or ring-fenced) and provide information on who is deciding what the money is used for?

                  Answer 1

                  The pressures on our finances mean that we must make careful choices when faced with a variety of competing demands. It is not always possible to fund everything we would like to support, as evidenced by the budget proposal tonight, where, in order to deliver a sound and balanced budget, we have been unable to include nearly half a million pounds of funding requests. The budget proposal does however provide funding and investment to ensure our Council continues to provide vital services to our expanding communities for the forthcoming year.

78.2           The Mayor invited supplementary questions and the Member asked the following which the Leader of the Council answered:

                  Q1 - Is the truth really that Councillors, including our Leader, who voted against webcasting just didn't want the transparency it brings and so they ’conveniently’ used the cost of living crisis as an excuse without any intention of the money actually helping our vulnerable residents instead?

                  A1 - No money was ringfenced. Various views were expressed during the debate both for and against webcasting for a variety of reasons. A majority of Councillors decided the implementation of webcasting was not a good use of Council tax payers’ money at this time.

78.3           The following question was received from Councillor Stanley to the Leader of the Council, Councillor Bird.  The answer was given by the Leader of the Council and was taken as read without discussion.

                  Question 2

Please may I have an updated figure of the costs to the Borough Council, since May 2019, of:

                             i.    all formal challenges to planning decisions where the challenge has been made by or against the Council including the (recently lost) Ashchurch Bridge.

                            ii.   costs incurred by the Council in defending lost planning appeals, including, but not limited to the lost appeal for  ...  view the full minutes text for item 78.

79.

Recommendations from Executive Committee

The Council is asked to consider and determine recommendations of a policy nature arising from the Executive Committee as follows:- 

79a

Budget 2023/24 pdf icon PDF 643 KB

(If a Councillor intends to move a Motion or Amendment in relation to the Council’s annual budget, the text of the proposed Motion or Amendment must be submitted in writing to the Corporate Director by 9.00am on the working day preceding the day of the Council meeting).

 

At its meeting on 1 February 2023 the Executive Committee considered the 2023/24 budget and RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL:

1.   That a net budget of £11,300,458 be APPROVED.

2.   That a Band D Council Tax of £139.36, an increase of £5 per annum, be APPROVED.

3.   That the growth items for 2023/24, as proposed in Appendix A, be included within the budget.

4.   That the capital programme, as proposed in Appendix B, be APPROVED.

The report considered by the Executive Committee, plus an amendment made since the Executive Committee meeting, is attached for consideration.

 

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

79.1           At its meeting on 1 February 2023 the Executive Committee considered the 2023/24 budget and made a recommendation to Council.  

79.2           The report which was considered by the Executive Committee had been circulated with the Agenda for the current meeting at Pages No. 16-43.

79.3           In proposing the recommendation, the Chair of the Executive Committee offered his thanks to everyone involved in the work to ensure the Council had a balanced budget to agree. The Lead Member for Finance and Asset Management seconded the recommendation from the Executive Committee.

79.4           A Member referred to staff pay awards and questioned what assumptions had been made given that last year the Council’s budget had underestimated what would be needed. In response, the Head of Finance and Asset Management explained that £1,600 had been allowed for every scale point which would take the Council to the estimated position of the national living wage at the lowest scale point. In response to a query regarding Parish precepts, he explained that there were no limits so the Parishes could increase their precepts as they wished; however, any that raised their precept over £140,000 had to provide information for the Borough Council to publish with its Council Tax information.

79.5          The proposal was seconded and, in accordance with the Local Authorities (Standing Orders) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2014, voting on the proposal was recorded as follows:

For

Against

Abstain

Absent

R A Bird

 

M L Jordan

K Berliner

G F Blackwell

 

H S Munro

J H Evetts

G J Bocking

 

P E Smith

P W Ockelton

C L J Carter

 

R J G Smith

J K Smith

C M Cody

 

S Thomson

C Softley

K J Cromwell

 

 

R J Stanley

M Dean

 

 

 

R D East

 

 

 

P A Godwin

 

 

 

M A Gore

 

 

 

D W Gray

 

 

 

D J Harwood

 

 

 

E J MacTiernan

 

 

 

J R Mason

 

 

 

H C McLain

 

 

 

P D McLain

 

 

 

C E Mills

 

 

 

J P Mills

 

 

 

J W Murphy

 

 

 

A S Reece

 

 

 

C Reid

 

 

 

V D Smith

 

 

 

P D Surman

 

 

 

M G Sztymiak

 

 

 

R J E Vines

 

 

 

M J Williams

 

 

 

P N Workman

 

 

 

79.6           Accordingly, it was

                  RESOLVED         1.    That a net budget of £11,300,458 be APPROVED.

2.    That a Band D Council Tax of £139.36, an increase of £5.00 per annum, be APPROVED.  

4.    That growth items be included within the budget for 2023/24, as proposed in Appendix A to the report.

5.    That the Capital Programme, as proposed in Appendix B to the report, be AGREED.  

80.

Pay Policy Statement pdf icon PDF 359 KB

To approve the Pay Policy Statement.  

Additional documents:

Minutes:

80.1           The report of the Head of Corporate Services, circulated at Pages No. 44-55, asked Members to approve the Pay Policy Statement 2023/24.

80.2           The Lead Member for Organisational Development advised that the document had to be approved annually. It had been reviewed by the Council’s HR and Finance Officers to ensure it was kept up to date and minor adjustments had been made from the previous year’s statement, largely to update the statistics and to reflect the changes in management structure from 1 April 2023. The purpose of the Pay Policy Statement was to ensure transparency and accountability with regard to its approach to setting pay. This included the method by which salaries and severance payments were determined, the remuneration of senior managers and the remuneration of the lowest level of posts within the Council. Once approved, the statement would be shared on the transparency section of the Council’s website. The systems, processes and policies which supported the statement were under continual review by the HR team.

80.3           Upon being proposed and seconded, it was

                  RESOLVED          That the Pay Policy Statement be APPROVED.  

81.

Council Tax Setting 2023/24 pdf icon PDF 133 KB

To agree the Council Tax for 2023/24. 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

81.1           Having agreed the Council’s 2023/24 budget earlier in the meeting, attention was drawn to a report, circulated separately, which asked Members to approve and set a Council Tax requirement for 2023/24.

81.2           In proposing the Council Tax report, the Lead Member for Finance and Asset Management explained that, as the billing authority, the Council must formally approve the Council Tax for the forthcoming year including the Council Tax levels set by the County Council, the Police and Crime Commissioner for Gloucestershire and our Town and Parish Councils. For 2023/24, the average Band D Council Tax within the Borough would be £2,028.92 per annum which was an increase of £95.17 or 4.92%. This position was a combination of the following increases in Council tax: the Police and Crime Commissioner – 5.36% or £15.00; the County Council – 4.99% or £72.42; the average Town and Parish Council – 4.05% or £2.75; and Tewkesbury Borough Council – 3.72% or £5.00. As a result of the increases, the Borough Council’s share of the overall Council Tax bill fell from 6.94% to 6.86%. The position was summarised in the table at Section 3.1 of the covering report with further detail provided in the appendices. The full Council Tax resolution, as required by the legislation, was contained within Appendix A and he asked the Council to formally approve it. 

81.3           The recommendation was proposed and seconded and, in accordance with the Local Authorities (Standing Orders) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2014, voting was recorded as follows:

For

Against

Abstain

Absent

R A Bird

 

M L Jordan

K Berliner

G F Blackwell

 

H S Munro

J H Evetts

G J Bocking

 

P E Smith

P W Ockelton

C L J Carter

 

R J G Smith

J K Smith

C M Cody

 

S Thomson

C Softley

K J Cromwell

 

 

R J Stanley

M Dean

 

 

 

R D East

 

 

 

P A Godwin

 

 

 

M A Gore

 

 

 

D W Gray

 

 

 

D J Harwood

 

 

 

E J MacTiernan

 

 

 

J R Mason

 

 

 

H C McLain

 

 

 

P D McLain

 

 

 

C E Mills

 

 

 

J P Mills

 

 

 

J W Murphy

 

 

 

A S Reece

 

 

 

C Reid

 

 

 

V D Smith

 

 

 

P D Surman

 

 

 

M G Sztymiak

 

 

 

R J E Vines

 

 

 

M J Williams

 

 

 

P N Workman

 

 

 

81.4           Accordingly, it was

                  RESOLVED     1.  That it be NOTED that, on 1 December 2022, the Council                                     calculated:

a)    the Council Tax Base 2023/24 for the whole Council area as£36,781.36 (Item T in the formula in section 31B of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, as amended (the "Act")); and,

b)    for dwellings in those parts of its area to which a Parish precept relates as attached to the report at Appendix C.

2. That the Council Tax requirement calculated for the Council's own purposes for 2023/24 (excluding Parish precepts) is £5,125,850.

3. That the following amounts be calculated for the year 2023/24 in accordance with Sections 30 to 36 of the Act:

a. £57,970,592 being the aggregate of the amounts which the Council estimates for the items set out in Section 31A(2)  ...  view the full minutes text for item 81.

82.

Separate Business

The Chairman will move the adoption of the following resolution:

That under Section 100(A)(4) Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded for the following items on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act.

Minutes:

82.1           The Mayor proposed, and it was  

                  RESOLVED          That, under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act                               1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following                              items on the grounds that they involve the likely discussion of                                    exempt information as defined in Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the                          Act.     

83.

Separate Minutes

To approve the separate Minutes of the meeting held on 24 January 2023.

Minutes:

83.1           The separate Minutes of the meeting held on 24 January 2023, copies of which had been circulated, were approved as a correct record and signed by the Mayor.