Agenda and minutes

To receive details of any apologies or substitutions for the meeting.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Chuck Berry, Mary Douglas, David Halik and Pip Ridout.

Councillor Ridout was substituted by Councillor Roy While, and Councill Halik was substituted by Councillor Peter Fuller.

To receive any declarations of disclosable interests or dispensations granted by the Standards Committee.

There were no declarations.

To receive any announcements through the Chair.

There were no announcements.

The Council welcomes contributions from members of the public.

Statements

If you would like to make a statement at this meeting on any item on this agenda, please register to do so at least 10 minutes prior to the meeting. Up to 3 speakers are permitted to speak for up to 3 minutes each on any agenda item. Please contact the officer named on the front of the agenda for any further clarification.

Questions

To receive any questions from members of the public or members of the Council received in accordance with the constitution.

Those wishing to ask questions are required to give notice of any such questions in writing to the officer named on the front of this agenda no later than 5pm on 13 February 2019 in order to be guaranteed of a written response. In order to receive a verbal response questions must be submitted no later than 5pm on 15 February 2019. Please contact the officer named on the front of this agenda for further advice. Questions may be asked without notice if the Chairman decides that the matter is urgent.

Details of any questions received will be circulated to Committee members prior to the meeting and made available at the meeting and on the Council’s website.

There were no statements or questions submitted.

Amendments will be taken in the order they are submitted and one at a time unless agreed otherwise. Although some of the amendments may be interdependent in that they relate to combined savings and/or growth, Overview and Scrutiny will want the opportunity to comment on the merits or otherwise of each although with the ability to acknowledge their dependency if appropriate.

A formal view may also need to have been taken on advice ahead of the meeting relating to Overview and Scrutiny’s ability to consider an amendment should it be on a matter which is regarded as falling outside its remit; and

the status of anyone presenting the amendment should they also be a member of the Management Committee.

The running order of speakers on each will be:

·         Respective group leader and/or spokesperson(s) to present the circulated amendment explaining the purpose, implications, intended outcome and link to the Business Plan;

·         The Leader of the Council and/or responsible Cabinet Member(s) to respond;

·         Corporate Leadership Team to comment (if appropriate);

·         Management Committee members to ask questions of the proposer(s) and respondent(s) in order to gain sufficient evidence to take a view;

·         Clarification from statutory officers and other relevant directors (if necessary);

·         Contribution from any other councillors (if invited);

·         Chairman to sum up and seek consensus view of the Committee

The consensus views of the Committee (and not of individual members) will form part of the minutes of the meeting for report to Council on 26 February 2019.

The procedure for the meeting was noted.

To consider amendments from any political groups or individual councillors on the initial draft of the executive proposed budget.

Proposed amendments will be circulated as soon as they are available.

One proposed amendment has been received from Councillor Gavin Grant, as attached.

Any other amendments that may be received will be circulated as soon as they are available.

An amendment to the administration budget proposals agreed at Cabinet on 5 February 2019 had been received from Councillor Gavin Grant.

Councillor Grant presented his proposed amendment as detailed in the agenda papers. The amendment sought to utilise an additional £0.060m from the Council’s reserves in order to fund free Bank Holiday parking in council owned and operated car parks.

The proposals had been confirmed as legal and financially viable by the Corporate Leadership Team in consultation with the Monitoring Officer and Section 151 Officer with comments as set out in the report to the Committee.

The Committee discussed the proposed amendment as detailed fully in the appended report, including exploring how the cost of the proposal had been calculated, the intended positive effects of the proposal and whether and how such a proposal could be maintained in future years. Members of the Executive in attendance also commented up the proposal and faced questions.

At the conclusion of discussion, and on the motion of Councillor Graham Wright, seconded by Councillor Alan Hill, it was,

Resolved:

1)    To note that the amendments to the Financial Plan Update 2019/20 proposed by Cllr Gavin Grant have been scrutinised; and

2)    To ask Full Council to take note of the comments of the Committee, which will be presented in a report.

To confirm the date of the next meeting as 19 March 2019.

As detailed in the agenda pack the date of the next meeting would be 19 March 2019.

Any other items of business which the Chairman agrees to consider as a matter of urgency.

There were no urgent items.