Agenda and minutes
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To receive apologies for absence Minutes: Apologies for absence were received on behalf of Councillors R. Jenkins, A. Kent, J. King, M. Middleton, H. Rone-Clark, M. A. Sherrey and C. Spencer.
Councillor A. English arrived at 6.10pm. |
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Declarations of Interest To invite Councillors to declare any Disclosable Pecuniary Interests or Other Disclosable Interests they may have in items on the agenda, and to confirm the nature of those interests. Minutes: Councillor S. Baxter declared an ‘other disclosable interest’ in respect of Minute Item No 71/22 - Fees and Charges 2023/24 – due to being a member of the Royal Council of Parish Councils.
The Monitoring Officer confirmed that there was no need to declare an interest in this particular area as the Audit, Standards and Governance Committee had granted a dispensation to all Members when considering Budget setting items including Fees and Charges.
During consideration of Minute Item 70/22 – Motions on Notice, Councillor M. Thompson declared a pecuniary interest on the grounds that his employer, Bromsgrove School, may benefit financially from the implementation of Free School Meals. During this item, Councillor Thompson left the meeting and took no part in the debate or voting thereon. |
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Minutes: The minutes of the meeting of Council held on 17th October 2022 were submitted.
During consideration of the minutes Councillor C. Hotham indicated that the information requested at the last Council meeting in respect of the Bromsgrove Partnership, had not been received. It was confirmed that the relevant officers be contacted in respect of this matter and that the information be circulated to Members accordingly.
RESOLVED that, subject to the query detailed in the preamble above, the minutes of the meeting of Council held on 17th October 2022 be approved as a true and correct record.
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To receive any announcements from the Chairman and/or Head of Paid Service Minutes: There were no announcements from the Chairman or the Head of Paid Service on this occasion. |
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To receive any announcements from the Leader Minutes: There were no announcements from the Leader at the meeting. |
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To receive comments, questions or petitions from members of the public A period of up to 15 minutes is allowed for members of the public to make a comment, ask questions or present petitions. Each member of the public has up to 3 minutes to do this. A councillor may also present a petition on behalf of a member of the public.
Minutes: There were no comments, questions or petitions from the public for consideration at this meeting.
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Urgent Decisions Minutes: The Chairman confirmed that there had been no urgent decisions taken since the previous meeting in Council.
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Up to 30 minutes is allowed for this item; no longer than 10 minutes for presentation of the report and then up to 3 minutes for each question to be put and answered.
Minutes: The Portfolio Holder for Planning and Regulatory Services presented an annual report which outlined the work that had been undertaken under his remit as portfolio holderover the preceding 12 months.
Council was informed that the report covered three main areas; Planning, Enforcement and Worcestershire Regulatory Services (WRS). It was reported that due to the unprecedented circumstances during Covid-19 there had been an increase in reports and challenges experienced in previous years.
After the report had been presented, Members discussed the following points in detail:
· How the area of work contained within the report was assessed by the Portfolio Holder and the residents of Bromsgrove. It was reported that WRS had performed well throughout the municipal year. The effectiveness of Enforcement over the year was highlighted and it was confirmed that there had been an increase in the numbers of queries and complaints made during the Covid-19 lockdown in this area. Members were informed that this was being managed and that WRS were now overseeing Enforcement and as a result the numbers of queries were reducing. In respect of Planning, it was confirmed that the numbers were considered sound and stable. There was further discussion regarding whether the area of Planning was as effective as reported, particularly in respect of major applications and appeal processes. · The Bromsgrove District Housing and Economic Development Needs Assessment (HEDNA) and the information regarding the housing needs of the District. Members queried, whether, in light of the recent announcement by Central Government regarding the flexibility of the housing targets and the use of brownfield sites would this mean that the HEDNA would be revisited to incorporate any changes. The Portfolio Holder for Planning and Regulatory Services confirmed that this may be the case, however as the announcement was made very recently this would need to be looked at once the consultation period for Central Government had been carried out which would not be completed prior to the end of 2022. · The number of homes that had been provided for refugees from the Ukraine and Afghanistan. The Portfolio Holder for Planning and Regulatory Services undertook to contact the relevant officers and circulate the information as requested. · The standards of Food Safety within the District and whether the information contained within the report was accurate. There was some discussion regarding specific locations within the District,and it was highlighted that it was not appropriate to consider specific Planning and Licensing matters at this meeting and confirmed that Officers would contact the relevant Members to discuss the matter further. · The number of houses in developments that needed to be social housing and the extent to which sufficient numbers of social houses were being built in the District. The Portfolio Holder for Planning and Regulatory Services informed Council that this could be considered as part of the Local Plan and Members could be involved in this as part of the Strategic Planning Strategic Group (SPSG) meetings. · The Enforcement data contained within the report was queried by some Members ... view the full minutes text for item 65/22 |
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Minutes: Section 24 Report
The Portfolio Holder for Finance and Governance presented the Recommendations from the Audit, Standards and Governance Committee as a result of their consideration of the Section 24 Notice and External Auditor’s Interim Annual Reports at the meeting held on 9th November 2022.
During consideration of this item, reference was made to the financial issues that had led to the non-delivery of the Statement of Accounts for 2020/21. In addition to this, the delivery of in-year monitoring for 2021/22 and Government Returns were also considered.
Council was informed that detailed updates had been provided to Members at a number of Committee meetings during 2022. It was clarified that during these updates, specific issues encountered during the implementation of the new Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system in February 2021 during Covid-19 had been highlighted. Furthermore, it was reported that the issues that had impacted on staffing levels and staff retention had also been raised.
Members were advised that at the time of issuing of the Section 24 Notice Report, the Council had still not completed the 2020/21 Statement of Accounts and therefore the external auditors had concluded it was appropriate for them to use their powers to make written recommendations under Section 24 of the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014. The key reason for the Statutory Recommendation being the non-delivery of the Statutory Accounts for 2020/21.
Council was informed that under Schedule 7 of the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014, the Council must consider the Section 24 Statutory Recommendation at a meeting held before the end of the period of one month, beginning with the day on which it was sent to the Council. In this instance, it was clarified that this was taking place 14 days after the issuing of the report. Council were being asked to decide whether the recommendations should be accepted and what, if any, action should be taken in response to these recommendations. It was reported that the external auditors had noted in their Interim Annual Auditor’s Report 2020/21, also due to be considered at this meeting, that progress in respect of the Statutory Recommendation had already been made.
During consideration of this item, reference was made to the Council’s disappointment in having received the Section 24 Recommendation, particularly in light of the work that had already been undertaken. However, it was accepted that ... view the full minutes text for item 66/22 |
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Recommendations from the Cabinet To consider the recommendations from the meetings of the Cabinet held on 26th October and 23rd November 2022. Additional documents: Minutes: The Chairman advised that one recommendation had been made at the meeting of the Cabinet held on 26th October 2022 and three recommendations had been made at the meeting held on 23rd November 2022, which had been highlighted for Council’s consideration.
Fees and Charges 2023/24
The Portfolio Holder for Finance and Governance presented a report on the subject of the Fees and Charges 2023/24. Members were advised that the Medium Term Financial Plan was being prepared on the basis that additional income would be generated from Fees and Charges. It was clarified that the process being followed for the review of income to be realised from 1st April 2023 included an assessment of each fee to identify how it met the Council’s Strategic Purposes and the level of increase that was proposed as well as taking account of present economic conditions, including current inflation of over 10%. Council was informed that the levels of increase had been based on a robust estimate of the impact of cost increases and demand within the services and the Council’s overall financial position. This included assessing the affordability of any of these increases to our residents and customers.
The Portfolio Holder for Finance and Governance highlighted that Appendix 1 contained within the report detailed all the Fees and Charges for each area with a commentary against each block. Members were advised that the Council’s proposal was to increase all Fees and Charges by 10%. It was confirmed that the 10% had been applied to contributions and Fees and Charges budgets, however, had not been applied where charges were set statutorily i.e. for, Lifeline, SLA Income, or services that were charged across a number of Councils, such as Worcestershire Regulatory Services.
It was estimated that the increase in income generated from the proposed increases were:
If these Fees and Charges 2023/24 were agreed, it was confirmed that they would be included in the Medium-Term Financial Plan Tranche 1.
Following the presentation of the report it was confirmed by Members that there was no longer car parking at the Alvechurch Sports and Social Club.
Concerns were raised about the increases in Fees and Charges 2023/24 and although the level of inflation was currently over 10% this did not necessarily transfer to the increase in income for residents. It was queried by some Members whether the necessary level of scrutiny had been applied to the increases. Specific reference was made to the increase of 49% on allotment charges and it was confirmed that this proposed increase would bring Bromsgrove District Council more in line with charges made by other Councils across the County.
The recommendation was proposed by Councillor G. N Denaro and seconded by Councillor K. May.
RESOLVED that all of the proposed fees and charges for 2023/24 be approved.
Sherwood Road Footbridge, Aston Fields - Permanent Closure of the Footbridge, Removal of Bridge Deck and Transfer of Ownership to ... view the full minutes text for item 67/22 |
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Additional documents: Minutes: The minutes of the Cabinet meetings held on 26th October and 23rd November 2022 were noted. |
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Questions on Notice To deal with any questions on notice from Members of the Council, in the order in which they have been received.
A period of up to 30 minutes is allocated for the asking and answering of questions at this meeting. This may be extended at the discretion of the Chairman with the agreement of the majority of those present.
Minutes:
It was explained that due to recent changes to Council meetings, Group Leaders had agreed that an extended period of up to 30 minutes would be allocated to the consideration of these questions and the answers provided and there were no supplementary questions.
Question submitted by Councillor P. M McDonald
"Does the Chairman not agree with me that he should allow supplementary questions to ensure there is no ambiguity in the response to questions."
The Chairman responded that it was not appropriate for him to determine permitting supplementary questions at Council meetings and that the question should be referred to the Constitution Review Working Group.
Question submitted by Councillor R. Hunter
“It has now been three years since this Council agreed to reverse the long standing neglect of our bus shelters and provide the modern well maintained facilities that residents deserve. However very few improvements have been made and the budget allocation is sitting unspent. I understand there are now further delays due to a review at County Council, but please could you provide some reassurance of when you expect so see these much needed improvements actually installed?”
In the absence of the Portfolio Holder for Environmental Services and Community Safety, the response to this question was provided by the Portfolio Holder for Strategic Housing and Health and Well Being who stated that prior to installing new bus shelters, Officers had contacted Worcestershire County Council (WCC) to establish the continued future of the bus routes using that particular shelter to ensure that time and money was not wasted installing a shelter that would no longer be utilised. It was explained that WCC were undertaking a comprehensive review of bus route provisions within the County, with a ‘Bus Travel Task Force for Worcestershire’ being set up to review current bus provision and to ensure bus travel was able to meet residents’ needs across the County.
It was further clarified that once Bromsgrove District Council had been made aware of this action, a temporary hold was put on the upgrading programme for new shelters as existing routes were then at risk of being removed.
Members were informed that, prior to this announcement, the Council had installed new shelters in Littleton Avenue, Worcester Road, Whetty Lane and Callow Bridge Road. Further information was provided that there were also shelters being held at Bromsgrove depot and were ready to be installed once there was confirmation that particular bus routes would continue. It was stated that currently no information was available as to when this review would be completed, and the County Council web link did not provide a timescale for the review.
Question submitted by Councillor J. King (read by Councillor R. Hunter in the absence of Councillor J. King)
“Could you please explain why it costs £234 for a planning application for a dropped kerb?”
The Portfolio Holder ... view the full minutes text for item 69/22 |
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A period of an hour and a half is allocated to consider the motions on notice at this meeting. This may only be extended with the agreement of the Council.
Minutes: The Chairman explained that 2 Motions on Notice had been received for consideration at this meeting. However, it was confirmed that Councillor C. Hotham had withdrawn his Motion on Notice for this meeting.
Free School Meals
Council considered the following Motion on Notice that was submitted by Councillor P. McDonald:
"Over 3.8 million children in the UK currently live below the poverty line and for those young people the price of school meals is prohibitive. In addition, with the cost-of-living crisis that is predicted to increase rapidly.
Council request our MP to lobby the Government to implement free school meals."
The Motion was proposed by Councillor McDonald and seconded by Councillor L. C. R. Mallett.
In proposing the Motion, Councillor McDonald commented that it had been well documented that children’s education was being impacted during the current cost of living crisis. As a result, it had been reported that teachers were providing financial support and making referrals to Food Banks for needy families. Members were asked to note that it should not be the responsibility of teachers to provide this sort of care to their pupils and that more could be done by Government to help prevent this occurring in the future.
The suggestion was made that Free School Meals could go some way in mitigating the financial crisis that many families were currently experiencing. It was reported that it was expected that children living in households experiencing Fuel Poverty was set to rise by 38.6%. It was also suggested that over 3.8m children in the UK were living below the poverty line and that a positive and robust response was required. Furthermore, Councillor McDonald called upon Bromsgrove District Council to lobby the local MP to act and introduce Free School Meals for all children in the District.
Following the presentation of the Motion, there was a query regarding the wording of the Motion. It was highlighted that there was ambiguity regarding whether the Motion was to ‘implement free school meals’ to all children as stated in the proposed Motion, or if it was for all school children within the District as outlined in the preamble above. If it was the case that it be for all school children, the question was raised as to whether this would also include private school pupils and international pupils. Councillor McDonald confirmed that the Motion was concerned with the implementation of free school meals for all children in the District of Bromsgrove and clarified that the Motion should read as follows:
"Over 3.8 million children in the UK currently live below the poverty line and for those young people the price of school meals is prohibitive. In addition, with the cost-of-living crisis that is predicted to increase rapidly.
Council request our MP to lobby the Government to implement free school meals for all children in the District of Bromsgrove."
The Portfolio Holder for Finance and Governance responded to the Motion and in doing so reported that in October, each year every school ... view the full minutes text for item 70/22
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Rejected