Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for the meeting.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Sarah Gibson, Christine Crisp, Leo Randall, Jon Hubbard, Russell Hawker, Tony Jackson, Christopher Newbury, and Bill Douglas.

It was noted that some Councillors travelling in from the south of the county may be delayed due to a road traffic accident.

To approve as a correct record and sign the minutes of the last meeting of Council held on 17 October 2017.

The minutes of the Meeting held on 17 October 2017 were presented.

Resolved:

That the minutes of the last Council meeting held on 17 October 2017 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

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

The Chairman reminded members of the letter previously circulated from the Monitoring Officer dated 19 January 2018 which made particular reference to interests in the context of considering the budget and where members had tenancies with the Council.

Councillor Brian Dalton declared a disclosable pecuniary interest in the Budget in so far as it related to the housing revenue account as he held a garage tenancy with the Council. Councillor Dalton indicated he would withdraw from the meeting when a separate vote would be taken on the housing revenue account details.

To receive any announcements through the Chair.

The Chairman drew attention the list of engagements undertaken by herself and the Vice-Chairman to be included in the minutes.

The Chairman asked the meeting to join her in congratulating those Wiltshire residents who had received awards as part of the new year honours. A list has been included in these minutes at Appendix C.

The Chairman reminded members of the process to be followed on recorded votes following the changes made by resolution at the last Council meeting.

Report on behalf of the Head of Democratic Services.

A report was presented which gave Council details of the eleven petitions received for the period since the last Council meeting.

Resolved:

That Council note the update on petitions.

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 above for any further clarification.

Questions

To receive any questions from members of the public  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 above (acting on behalf of the Corporate Director) no later than 5pm on 13 February 2018 in order to be guaranteed of a written response, and no later than 5pm on 15 February in order to receive a verbal response. Please contact the officer named on the first page 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 Councillors prior to the meeting and made available at the meeting and on the Council’s website.

The Chairman drew the meeting’s attention to the three questions from members of the public and the responses included in agenda supplement two circulated on Friday the 16 February 2018. The Chairman stated that she would take the questions and answers circulated as read, and then asked if the questioners present had any supplementary question.

i)               Jacqui Clark

In response to the supplementary question as to when the April 2017 base date figures would be published, Councillor Toby Sturgis stated that he would give a written answer.

Written answer given on 2March 2018 as follows:

The Council’s updated Housing Land Supply Statement (base date 1 April 2017) will be published by mid-March 2018.

ii)              Glennis Ansell

In response to a supplementary question, Councillor Laura Mayes stated that: the council was doing all it could to support the police investigation; that the council was supporting those affected; and confirmed the appropriate background checks are undertaken on all people working with young people.

iii)            Roy Messenger

In response to a supplementary question, Councillor Laura Mayes stated that: the she recognised that this was very serious matte; that the council takes safeguarding very seriously; and that whilst she could not comment on the detail, she sought to reassure the public that the council would work with partners to establish facts and support those affected.

Report by Dr Carlton Brand, Corporate Director

At the invitation of the Chairman, the Cabinet Member for Finance, Councillor Philip Whitehead, presented report which sought approval for the Prudential and Treasury Indicators, together with the Treasury Management Strategy for 2018/2019.

Councillor Philip Whitehead proposed, duly seconded by the Leader, that the recommendations in the report be adopted.

Resolved

1.    To adopt the Minimum Revenue Provision Policy as set out at paragraph 46;

2.    To adopt the Prudential and Treasury Indicators (Appendix A); and

3.    To adopt the Annual Investment Strategy (Appendix B), including the ratification of the removal of the minimum requirement for high credit quality relating to viability ratings

Admin Note: A record of the vote is appended to these minutes.

Details of the Budget Process which will be used at the meeting are attached.

Council was asked to consider a net revenue budget of £327.746 million, to increase council tax, approve rents, fees and charges, the capital programme and reserves as detailed fully in the updated published budget papers.

The Chairman explained at the outset, how she intended to chair this item and referred to the previously circulated budget process. She reminded Councillors of the various papers that had been circulated in connection with Council’s consideration of this item as follows:

a)     The Leader’s budget speech - this was emailed to Councillors once it was given and is attached as Appendix A to these minutes.

b)    The proposed amendments of the Liberal Democrat group, including comments from statutory officers circulated with the summons.

c)     he reports of the meetings of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee held on 5 and 9 February 2018 circulated with the summons.

d)    The recommendations from the Cabinet meeting held on 6 February 2018.

E)     The Financial Plan Update 2018/19 report of the Section 151 Officer, together with the revised Budget Book, proposed fees and charges and the relevant extract of the Schools Forum minutes, minutes of the meeting held between group leaders and trade unions, the Wiltshire Housing Board.

The Leader of the Council addressed Council delivering her budget speech (Appendix A). In making her address, the Leader highlighted the achievements made, the challenges ahead and the plans to improve outcomes for the people of Wiltshire. The Leader concluded by thanking officers and her Cabinet for working hard to produce the budget.

Councillor Philip Whitehead, Cabinet member for Finance, presented the Council’s proposed Financial Plan update for 2018/19. In presenting the budget, he referred to the savings that had been identified, and the areas that would receive financial investment. He thanked the role played by the non-executive councillors through the overview and scrutiny process. In presenting the budget: he emphasised his view that the council had successfully protected priority services whilst meeting the challenging financial circumstances including the growth in the demand for certain services and the reduction in income; the plans for capital investment in projects; how the council deals with forward planning and measures taken in year to manager budget pressures; how the council manages investments and reserves; the approach taken to making workforce issues and the relatively low level of redundancies made; the implication of the reduction in central government funding and the impact on the council tax; the specific transformation programmes to improve adult social care thereby meeting the additional demand, and the plans to better integrate with NHS partners to address wider community health issues; how technology can be better designed to enable the public to access information and services to improve efficacy and efficiency; the policy of devolving asset and services to local communities to manage, and the promoting of volunteering to support services in communities; the developing commercial approach to how traded services are delivered to partners and the public; that the balanced budget would support the delivery of the business  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

Report by Dr Carlton Brand, Corporate Director

The Chairman invited Councillor Philip Whitehead, Cabinet member for Finance, to present the report which detailed the various calculations in the prescribed format to enable Council to approve the council tax requirement for 2018/19.

Councillor Philip Whitehead proposed, duly seconded by the Leader, that the recommendations in the report be adopted.

There being no further debate, and having been put to a recorded vote, the meeting;

Resolved

1.          It be noted that on 12 December 2017 the Council calculated:

(a)       the Council Tax Base 2018/2019 for the whole Wiltshire Council area as182,705.43 [Item T in the formula in Section 31B(3) 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 in the attached Appendix.

2.          Calculate that the Council Tax requirement for the Council’s own purposes for 2018/2019 (excluding precepts) is £258,449,620.

3.          That the following amounts be calculated  for the year 2018/2019 in accordance with Sections 31 to 36 of the Act:

Report by Dr Carlton Brand, Corporate Director

The Chairman invited Councillor Richard Clewer, Cabinet member for Corporate Services, to present the updated pay policy statement for 2018/19 which applied to all non-schools employees of Wiltshire Council, except for centrally employed teachers who are covered by the teachers’ pay policy.

Councillor Richard Clewer proposed, duly seconded by the Leader, that the recommendations in the report be adopted.

There being no further debate, the meeting;

Resolved

To approve the updated Pay Policy Statement set out in Appendix 1 of the report presented

Admin Note: A record of the vote is appended to these minutes.

A report with a revised draft submission, taking into account the comments made by the Electoral Review Committee at their meeting on the 7 February 2018, will be published as a supplement.

The Chairman invited Councillor Richard Clewer, as Chairman of the Electoral Review Committee, to present the report, included in the agenda supplement one circulated on the 14 February 2018, which sought approval of a draft submission to the Local Government Boundary Commission for England on council size as recommended by the Council’s Electoral Review Committee.

Councillor Richard Clewer proposed, subsequently seconded by the Leader, that Council approves the draft submission on council size to the Local Government Boundary Commission for England, subject to any minor drafting and consequential changes to be delegated to the Director of Legal and Democratic Services in consultation with the Chairman of the Electoral Review Committee. It was noted that the draft submission, approved by the Committee, recommended that a council size of 99 members be submitted to the Local Government Boundary Commission for England; as that number was considered to be the most appropriate to enable Wiltshire Council (“The to provide effective and convenient local government within Wiltshire, taking into account the Council’s governance arrangements, its regulatory and scrutiny functions and the representational role of councillors, in particular in relation to the community area system.

In making his proposal, Councillor Clewer outlined that process and emphasised that the review was in the first stage where a submission was sought on the appropriate number of councillors for the authority and that the Commission would make its decision on the number of councillors before seeking views on the appropriate division boundaries He thanked the committee for their work and outlined the process undertaken by the committee in drawing up the proposals. He emphasised that the committee had started by gathering the evidence to establish the number of members required to effectively support the proper governance of the authority’s area, including the Area Board structure. He then explained how the impacts of different proposals were considered; the impact of the proposals on community area governance and effective scrutiny; how population estimates were projected and included in the review; and that some changes to division boundaries were inevitable whatever number was decided.

In making his proposal, Councillor Clewer suggested an amendment to the submission as follows:

At para 94 to delete the words ‘strong preference’ replace with ‘requirement’ to strengthen it.

This having been accepted by the seconder became part of the substantive motion.

The Chairman gave an opportunity for the group leaders to comment on the proposals.

The Leader thanked the committee for their hard work. She stated that she had spoken to the Boundary Commission and was reassured that the priorities of the review were good governance and an equality of votes; she emphasised that the council is relatively new and that the governance of the council remains, as it did at the beginning, a priority for the authority. She emphasised the need to retain single member divisions to retain strong community leadership.

Councillor Ian Thorn thanked the Committee for their hard work, and to his colleagues for developing an alternative proposal. He spoke in support of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11.

Report by Alistair Cunningham, Corporate Director

The Chairman invited Councillor Richard Clewer, Cabinet Member for Housing, to present the report which sought approval for the Cabinet’s recommendation to amend the Council’s Allocation Policy.

Councillor Richard Clewer proposed, subsequently seconded by the Leader that Council approve the adoption of the amended allocations policy.

The Chairman gave an opportunity for the group leaders to comment.

The Leader thanked the officers for their work and in particular with the military community.

In response to a question from Councillor Trevor Carbin, Councillor Clewer stated that any random checks on the veracity of the information submitted to establish local connection would be undertaken at the time of registration, and that he would check what action would be taken for any errors established at a later date.

There being no further comments, and having been put to a recorded vote, the meeting;

Resolved

To approve the adoption of the amended allocations policy

Admin Note: A record of the vote is appended to these minutes.

Report by Graham Wilkin, Interim Corporate Director

The Chairman invited Councillor Jerry Wickham, Cabinet Member for Adult Care, to present the report which sought approval for the Cabinet’s recommendation to adopt the Carers Strategy.

Councillor Jerry Wickham proposed, subsequently seconded by Councillor Laura Mayes, that Council approve the Carers in Wiltshire Strategy 2017 – 22, to be published in March 2018. In presenting the strategy, Councillor Wickham stated: that the Council recognised the hard work undertaken by carers; the support of health partners; the work to build on the original adult carers strategy and the young carers strategy; that the national carers strategy has yet to be published; the process for consulting on the strategy and the views submitted by partners and scrutiny.

The Chairman gave an opportunity for the group leaders to comment.

The Leader emphasised the appreciation felt for the contribution made by carers, and the wish to support them in their role.

There being no further comments, and having been put to a recorded vote, the meeting;

Resolved

To approve the Carers in Wiltshire Strategy 2017 – 22, to be published in March 2018

Admin Note: A record of the vote is appended to these minutes.

A minutes extract from the Cabinet Meeting on 30 Janaury 2018 is attached.

The Chairman invited Councillor Bridget Wayman, Cabinet Member Transport, to present the item which sought approval for the amendment Policy PS3 of the LTP Car Parking Strategy following the decision of Cabinet made at their meeting on the 30 January 2018.

Councillor Bridget Wayman proposed, subsequently seconded by The Leader that Council approve Cabinet’s recommendation to remove the following text from Policy PS3 of the LTP Car Parking Strategy would be made to full Council:

Sunday parking charges will be considered where there is an identified traffic congestion or air quality issue, or where there is a strong and established parking demand from shoppers or visitors.

The Chairman gave an opportunity for the group leaders to comment.

There being no further comments, and having been put to a recorded vote, the meeting;

Resolved

To remove the following text from Policy PS3 of the LTP Car Parking Strategy would be made to full Council:

Sunday parking charges will be considered where there is an identified

traffic congestion or air quality issue, or where there is a strong and

established parking demand from shoppers or visitors.

Admin Note: A record of the vote is appended to these minutes.

To consider the following notices of motions:

The meeting considered the following motions:

To consider the attached motion.

At the invitation of the Chairman, Councillor Ricky Rogers proposed the motion which was subsequently seconded by Councillor John Walsh.

In response to the motion, Councillor John Thomson stated that having spoken to Councillor Ricky Rogers, he would be asking for the matter to be referred to the Leader for resolution.

Having been proposed by the Chairman and seconded by the Vice-Chairman, the motion was referred to the Leader for resolution.

To consider the attached motion.

At the invitation of the Chairman, Councillor Brian Mathew proposed the motion subsequently seconded by Councillor Gordon King. In moving his motion Cllr Matthew spoke of the importance of supporting people with care needs to live in their communities as long as possible, and how the programme offers an alternative model of support to residential care. He also mentioned the relative level of provision in neighbouring areas, and argued that a relatively small investment in the programme would result in financial and social benefits.

In response to the motion, Councillor Jerry Wickham stated that he supported the motion.

Having been proposed by the Chairman and seconded by the Vice-Chairman, the motion was referred to the Leader for resolution.

Admin Note: A record of the vote is appended to these minutes.

a.    The Chairman will move that Council receives and notes the minutes of Cabinet and the various Committees of the Council as listed in the Minutes Book enclosed separately.

b.    The Chairman will refer to Cabinet and each Committee in turn:

                      i.        The Leader, Cabinet members and Chairmen of Committees will be invited to make any important announcements.

                    ii.        Councillors will be given the opportunity to raise questions on points of information or clarification on the minutes presented.

c.    Councillors will be given an opportunity to raise general issues relating to Area Boards but not specific local issues.

d.    Councillors will be given an opportunity to raise any questions on the minutes of the Wiltshire and Swindon Fire Authority (none available for this meeting, as the Fire Authority is scheduled to meet on 14 February).

The Chairman moved that Council receive and note the minutes as listed in the separate Minutes Book and this was duly seconded by the Vice-Chairman.

The Chairman then invited questions from members on points of information or clarification on the above minutes and gave the Chairmen of those meetings the opportunity to make any important announcements on the work of their respective Committees.

The Leader confirmed, as previously announced at a previous meeting of Cabinet, that Councillor Chuck Berry had resigned from the Cabinet, and thanked him for his work on the Cabinet.

Resolved:

That the minutes be received and noted

To determine any requests from Group Leaders for changes to committee membership in accordance with the allocation of seats to political groups previously approved by the Council.

The Chairman invited Group Leaders to present any requests for changes to committee membership in accordance with the allocation of seats to political groups previously approved by Council.

Following a request made by Baroness Scott of Bybrook, OBE, Leader of the Conservative Group, it was;

Resolved

That Councillor Tony Trotman be removed from the Health Select Committee and that Councillor Chuck Berry be placed on the Health Select Committee.

Please note that Councillors are required to give notice of any such questions in writing to the officer named on the first page of this agenda (acting on behalf of the Corporate Director) not later than 5pm on 13 February 2018. Questions may be asked without notice if the Chairman decides that the matter is urgent.

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

The Chairman reported receipt of two questions for the meeting from Councillors Ian Thorn. details of which were circulated in Agenda Supplement two

Councillor Ian Thorn was permitted to each ask one relevant supplementary question per question submitted and where they did so, the relevant Cabinet member responded as summarised below:

1. Councillor Ian Thorn to Councillor Toby Sturgis (Ref 18-01)

In response to a request for more succinct clarify, Councillor Toby Sturgis confirmed that the answer was no.

2. Councillor Ian Thorn to Councillor Toby Sturgis (Ref 18-02)

There was no supplementary question.