Agenda item

Council was asked to consider a net revenue budget of £313.585 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 he intended to chair this item and referred to the previously circulated budget process. He 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 B to these minutes.

 

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

 

c)       The reports of the meetings of the Overview And Scrutiny Management Committee held on 3 and 12 February 2016.

 

d)       The recommendations from the Cabinet meeting held on 9 February 2016.

 

E)        The Financial Plan Update 2016/17 report of the Section 151 Officer, together with the  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 and a summary of the public meetings held across the County.

 

F)        The proposed council tax resolution which would be taken separately.

 

The Leader of the Council addressed Council delivering her budget speech (Appendix B). In making her address, the Leader highlighted the three priorities that had informed the development of the budget: protecting the vulnerable, promoting the local economy and supporting volunteering and community resilience. Reference was made to the pressures on the budget from changing demographics and reduced funding, and the opportunities that also arose from challenges that the Council faced. The Leader concluded by thanking officers and her Cabinet for working hard to produce the budget.

 

Councillor Dick Tonge, Cabinet member for Finance, presented the Council’s proposed Financial Plan update for 2016/17. In presenting the budget, he referred to the savings that had been identified, and the areas that would receive financial investment. Councillor Tonge also outlined how additional funding would be allocated.

 

Councillor Tonge thanked Michael Hudson, Associate Director for Finance, his team and other officers for their hard work in putting together a difficult budget, and that they had displayed great patience in responding to the changes in government funding this year.

 

Councillor Dick Tonge moved the budget as presented and this was duly seconded by the Leader.

 

Councillor Simon Killane, Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee, presented the reports of his Committee dated 3 February which had considered and scrutinised the budget proposals, and from the meeting on the 12 February where the proposals made by the Liberal Democrat Group had been presented. He made reference to the useful briefing given to all members by the Cabinet Member and officers, and emphasised the importance of ensuring all backbench councillors were fully informed.  He concluded by offering thanks to the Cabinet members for positively engaging in the process and to the officers for supporting councillors the process.

 

Councillor Glenis Ansell, in her capacity as Chairman of the Financial Planning Task Group, reported on the work of her Task Group and how it had reviewed and monitored the budget, including tracking overspends and the actions being taken to address these. This year, the Task Group had also reviewed the process by which the budget was scrutinised. Over the next year, the Task Group would be seeking further clarity on certain areas following changes to the budget.

 

The Chairman then invited Group Leaders to comment on the budget as proposed.

 

Councillor Glenis Ansell, in her capacity as Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group, stated that she recognised that this was a challenging set of circumstances in which to set a budget. However, she considered that the administration should bear some responsibility for the decisions that had cut some services, disposed of assets, and made staff redundant. She argued that, in part, the fault lied with the administration’s decision to freeze council tax in previous years, thereby reducing the available budget for council to spend. She too concluded by thanking the officers for their hard work in preparing the budget and supporting her group in developing its own proposals.

 

Councillor Ernie Clark, Leader of the Independent Group, endorsed much of what Councillor Ansell had said, and, in particular, that it was a shame that the Council tax had not been increased in previous years.

 

Councillor Ricky Rogers, Leader of the Labour Group, was pleased to see an emphasis on devolving more decision making to local communicates, but that it should not be forgotten that some of these decisions would be tough. He emphasised the impact of the changes to terms and conditions of staff and argued that paying staff less would have a negative impact on the economy. He also expressed concern that there would be further cuts to the arts.

 

The Chairman then gave Group Leaders the opportunity to propose amendments to the budget, noting that all Group Leaders had already been given the opportunity to submit amendments in time to be scrutinised.

 

Councillor Glenis Ansell formally proposed her Group’s amendments, as detailed in the council summons, subsequently seconded by Councillor Gordon King, which had been considered by the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee on 12 February 2016.

 

Councillor Tonge thanked Councillor Ansell for the amendments, and the following amendments were accepted into the substantive motion:

 

    i.)        To increase the proposed budget for Children’s Safeguarding by £125,000 to a figure of £31.389m funded though:

 

• The Rural Grant set aside by the Administration prior to the additional and final funding settlement announcement.

 

• This could produce a significant annual saving and reduce the demands on children’s care

 

   ii.)        To increase the proposed budget for Capital Financing by £100,000 to a figure of £21.999m, and the Capital Programme by £469,000 to fund Sensory stimulation and developmental play equipment for adults with learning difficulties, funded though:

 

• Reduction in the Council’s overall budget for catering, saving up to £50,000

 

• Reduce the Council’s Fleet budget by £25,000 by removing underutilised vehicles £25,000 of the Rural Grant set aside by the Administration prior to the additional and final funding settlement announcement.

 

On being asked, Councillor Ansell confirmed that her proposal did not now include reference to the ‘Good Neighbour Scheme.’

 

Councillor Simon Killane stated that he was pleased to see amendments being dealt with as ‘friendly’ amendments, and drew the meeting’s attention to the report of the Overview & Scrutiny Committee on 12 February which had specifically considered the amendments.

 

The Chairman invited members to make any other amendments to the budget, but explained that the meeting may have to adjourn to consider the advice of statutory officers on any proposals moved without notice.

 

Councillor Jon Hubbard, subsequently seconded by Councillor Jeff Osborn, proposed the following amendment:

 

Wiltshire Hopper Service - £50,000 to fund the service to 31 October 2016

Funded by:

 

1.    Reducing the mileage allowance paid to elected members for travel from 45p per mile to 25p per mile. This would raise £30,000.

 

2.    Using £20,000 of the additional £3.017m transitional funding announced last week by Central Government.

 

In moving his amendment, Councillor Hubbard apologised for the late circulation of his amendment, circulated by him to members on Sunday, but that the proposal had been made in response to events subsequent to the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee on 12 February.

The Leader asked Councillor Philip Whitehead, Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport, to respond. He stated that he could not support the amendment, as the service was too costly in comparison to other bus services, that alternative sources of funding from Town and Parish Councils had not to date been found and he remained unconvinced that it would be found.

 

The Chairman then invited the Group Leaders to address the motion.

Councillor Ernie Clark spoke in commendation of the service and stated that he considered that the towns and parishes should be given greater time to develop a funding solution.

 

Councillor Ricky Rogers spoke in support of the amendment but expressed concern that the funding would be drawn from the travel expenses of councillors and would impact on the cost of running a vehicle for Councillors to be able to perform their public duty.

 

Councillor Glenis Ansell stated that it was difficult in this environment when the voluntary sector was under pressure.

 

The Chairman then opened the amendment to general debate during which a number of points emerged:. That the service should be extended to provide an opportunity to source alternative funding; some offered to make a contribution from their members’ allowances; highlighted public support for the service and widespread concern over its withdrawal; that the service would reduce unnecessary hospital admission and, thus, save the Council money; that towns and parishes had been approached to provide funding for the service; that the local NHS organisations should be held accountable for the reduction in funding, which the Council had since covered alone but could no longer afford to do so; that the amendment would only extend the service for a short time, and did not address the fundamental problem that general hospital provision was located outside of the county; whether Area Boards could be harnessed to help find a solution to the problem; that the Council had provided five years of funding to enable the service to become self-sustaining, but that this had not worked out; and the alternative voluntary community provision which existed in some areas.

 

Councillor Jon Hubbard, in summing up his motion, made reference to the deficiencies in alternative service, and highlighted the impact of the removal of the service on the elderly and the vulnerable. He argued that the amendment would give partners more time to find a solution.

 

Having been put the vote, the amendment was LOST and was recorded as follows:

 

For the amendment (28):

 

CouncillorBob JonesMBE, CouncillorBrian Dalton, CouncillorChris Hurst, CouncillorDavid Jenkins, Councillor DavidPollitt, Councillor DennisDrewett, Councillor ErnieClark, Councillor GlenisAnsell, CouncillorGordon King, Councillor GrahamWright,CouncillorIan McLennan, Councillor IanThorn, CouncillorIan Tomes,CouncillorIan West, Councillor JeffOsborn, Councillor JonHubbard, CouncillorMagnus Macdonald,CouncillorNick Blakemore, Councillor NickFogg MBE, CouncillorPat Aves, Councillor PeterEdge, Councillor Ricky Rogers, Councillor RosemaryBrown, CouncillorRussell Hawker, Councillor SimonKillane, Councillor StephenOldrieve, Councillor TerryChivers and Councillor TrevorCarbin.

 

Against the amendment (59):

 

BaronessScott ofBybrook OBE, CouncillorAlan Hill, Councillor AlanMacRae, CouncillorAllison Bucknell, Councillor AndrewDavis, Councillor AnnaCuthbert, CouncillorAtiqul Hoque, CouncillorBill Moss, CouncillorBridget Wayman, Councillor ChristopherNewbury, Councillor CharlesHoward, Councillor ChristopherWilliams, Councillor ChuckBerry, CouncillorDesna Allen, CouncillorFleur deRhe-Philipe, CouncillorFred Westmoreland, CouncillorHorace Prickett, CouncillorHoward Greenman, CouncillorHoward Marshall, CouncillorJacqui Lay, CouncillorJemima Milton, CouncillorJerry Kunkler, Councillor JerryWickham, Councillor JohnKnight, Councillor JohnNoeken, CouncillorJohn Smale, CouncillorJohn Thomson, CouncillorJonathon Seed, CouncillorJose Green, CouncillorJulian Johnson, CouncillorLaura Mayes, CouncillorLeo Randall, CouncillorLinda Packard, CouncillorMark Packard, CouncillorMary Champion, CouncillorMary Douglas, CouncillorMelody Thompson, CouncillorMike Hewitt, CouncillorMollie Groom, CouncillorNina Phillips, CouncillorPaul OatwayQPM, Councillor PeterEvans, Councillor PeterHutton, Councillor PhilipWhalley, CouncillorPhilip Whitehead, CouncillorPip Ridout, CouncillorRichard Britton, CouncillorRichard Clewer, Councillor RichardGamble, Councillor RichardTonge, CouncillorRoy While, CouncillorSheila Parker, CouncillorSimon Jacobs, CouncillorStewart Dobson, CouncillorStuart Wheeler, CouncillorSue Evans, CouncillorToby Sturgis, CouncillorTony Deane and Councillor TonyTrotman.            

 

Abstentions (4):

 

CouncillorChris Caswill, Councillor GeorgeJeans, Councillor GrahamPayne and CouncillorJohn Walsh.

 

The meeting then returned to considering the substantive motion as previously amended.

 

Councillor Ian Tomes made reference to the impact of cuts to the arts budget and their impact on the cultural heritage of Salisbury.

 

Councillor Ian Thorn referenced the challenges to be faced, and stated that he was pleased to see the Liberal Democrat Group Leader’s amendments accepted. He expressed some concern that the ambition for communities in the decentralisation process may generate increased expectations that may not be able to be sufficiently resourced

 

Councillor Stuart Wheeler, Cabinet Member for the Arts, in response to issues raised, stated that whilst there had been reductions across the board, that Salisbury still received the largest proportion of arts funding. He went on to state the he was hoping to work with the various arts organisations in Salisbury to investigate the possibility of combining some of their support functions – marketing, ticketing and other administrative functions – with a view to improving efficiency and efficacy. He had met with the Chief Executive of the Arts Council to secure funding for this work. He argued that he wanted to protect arts funding as much as he could, appreciating the important role they played.

 

Councillor John Thomson, Deputy Leader, response to a question from Councillor Brian Dalton, explained that Wiltshire Council was working with officers and advisors to look at running Salisbury City Hall on more of a commercial basis to reduce running costs and maximise income. He stated that this would be the subject of a future paper to the Cabinet.

 

Councillor Richard Clewer spoke in support of the budget and the priorities identified therein.

 

Councillor Philip Whitehead stated that he was pleased that the council tax had not increased in previous budgets as it had meant that households in Wiltshire had retained more of their own money.

 

Councillor Julian Johnson stated that it was clear from public consultation that the public supported lower council tax increases.

 

Councillor Graham Payne made reference to the future challenges and asked that a cross-party working group be convened over the summer to consider how these may best be faced.

 

Councillor Terry Chivers expressed concern that  the increase in Housing Recycling Centre charges could potentially increase incidents of fly-tipping.

 

Councillor Chris Caswill reminded Conservative councillors that cuts to the Council’s budget was a consequence of their giving support to the Conservative government’s policy of austerity.

 

Councillor Ian McLennan stated that the failure, in previous years, to increase council tax appropriately had led to a reduction in services. He also argued that whilst the arts were consistently a low priority for the public, it was the responsibility of councillors to see the wider context and make decisions accordingly. He stated that it made economic sense to invest in the arts as it promoted the wider local economy.

 

Councillor Stephen Oldrieve expressed concern that the budget was regressive and would not allow for the Council to improve the lives of the wider community. He also queried whether sufficient resource had been allocated to support the development of the Wiltshire Core Strategy.

 

Councillor Mary Douglas referred to the importance in investing in preventative work in health and social care, which could result in saved resources, and referred to the need to focus on helping people to help themselves, promoting resilient communities.

 

Councillor Jonathon Seed made reference to changes to national housing policies.

 

Councillor Gordon King made reference to the areas which had, in his opinion, suffered the most from budget cuts including the Youth Service, the Arts, Transport Services, and Children’s Centres.

 

Councillor Jon Hubbard argued that a reduction in council funding was a disinvestment in the community.

 

Councillor Christopher Newbury made reference to the national financial outlook and argued against the wisdom of borrowing more money.

 

Councillor Jerry Wickham stated that he considered that the Council had the expertise and experience to meet the challenges.

 

Councillor Alan Hill commended Councillor Glenis Ansell for making sensibly costed proposals which had been accepted. He noted that other political groups had not taken this opportunity.

 

Councillor Laura Mayes made reference to the additional work to support families, and argued that recent changes to youth services and the music service had led to improvements.

 

Councillor Jerry Kunkler argued that all Councillors should work together to develop solutions to the financial challenges ahead.

 

Councillor Glenis Ansell stated that she also wanted to pool ideas, and argued that cuts to one service had impacts on the deliverability of projects and the efficacy of other services.

 

The Leader, in response to some of the issues raised during debate, argued that it was right not to increase council tax for households in previous years, as the economy was in recession. She commended the performance of the Council and commended the budget.

 

Having been put to a recorded vote, the meeting;

Resolved

a)    To endorse the update of the Financial Plan for 2016/17.

 

b)   To approve the investment and savings proposals summarised at paragraph 6.9, transition scheme, paragraph 6.11, rural fund, and at Sections 7 and 9 respectively of this report and at Appendix 1C, to provide a net revenue budget for 2016/17 of £313.585 million.

 

c)    To agree to:

                       i.        Increase Wiltshire Council’s element of the Band D Council tax for 2016/17 by 1.99% to £1,246.76, as calculated in accordance with statute, as set out in Section 10 of this report.

                     ii.        Introduce a Social Care Levy of 2% to contribute to funding Adult Care pressures, raising £4.322 million.

                    iii.        Set the Council’s total net expenditure budget for 2016/17 at £313.585 million.

                    iv.        Set a 1% reduction for social dwelling rents.

                     v.        Approve the Capital programme proposed at Appendix 1E of this report.

                    vi.        Set the changes in fees and charges set out in detail at Section 8 of and at Appendix 1G of this report.

                  vii.        Set the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) Budget for 2016/17 as set out at Appendix 1F of this report.

                 viii.        That all other service charges related to the HRA be increased by CPI plus 1%, including garage rents.

 

d)   To increase the proposed budget for Children’s Safeguarding by £125,000 to a figure of £31.389m funded though:

• The Rural Grant set aside by the Administration prior to the additional and final funding settlement announcement.

 

e)    To increase the proposed budget for Capital Financing by £100,000 to a figure of £21.999m, and the Capital Programme by £469,000 to fund Sensory stimulation and developmental play equipment for adults with learning difficulties, funded through:

• Reduction in the Council’s overall budget for catering, saving up to £50,000
• Reduce the Council’s Fleet budget by £25,000 by removing underutilised vehicles
• £25,000 of the Rural Grant set aside by the Administration prior to the additional and final funding settlement announcement.

 

Having previously declared a disclosable pecuniary interest in the Budget in so far as it related to the housing revenue account, Councillor Brian Dalton withdrew from the meeting when a separate vote was taken on the housing revenue account (resolutions c vii and c viii above).

 

Recorded votes for the two votes were as follows:

 

Resolutions a) – e) (excluding c vii and c viii)

 

For the motion (61):

 

BaronessScott ofBybrook OBE, CouncillorAlan Hill,CouncillorAlan MacRae, Councillor AllisonBucknell, CouncillorAndrew Davis, CouncillorAnna Cuthbert, Councillor AtiqulHoque, CouncillorBill Moss, CouncillorBridget Wayman, CouncillorCharles Howard, Councillor ChristopherNewbury, Councillor ChristopherWilliams, Councillor ChuckBerry, Councillor DennisDrewett, CouncillorFleur deRhe-Philipe, CouncillorFred Westmoreland, CouncillorGeorge Jeans, CouncillorGraham Payne, CouncillorGraham Wright, CouncillorHorace Prickett, CouncillorHoward Greenman, CouncillorHoward Marshall, CouncillorJacqui Lay, CouncillorJemima Milton, CouncillorJerry Kunkler, CouncillorJerry Wickham, CouncillorJohn Knight, CouncillorJohn Noeken, CouncillorJohn Smale, CouncillorJohn Thomson, CouncillorJonathon Seed, CouncillorJose Green, CouncillorJulian Johnson, CouncillorLaura Mayes, CouncillorLeo Randall, CouncillorMary Champion, CouncillorMary Douglas, CouncillorMelody Thompson, CouncillorMike Hewitt, Councillor MollieGroom, Councillor NinaPhillips, Councillor PaulOatway QPM CouncillorPeter Evans, CouncillorPeter Hutton, CouncillorPhilip Whalley, CouncillorPhilip Whitehead, CouncillorPip Ridout, CouncillorRichard Britton, CouncillorRichard Clewer, Councillor RichardGamble, Councillor RichardTonge , CouncillorRoy While, CouncillorRussell Hawker, CouncillorSheila Parker, Councillor SimonJacobs, Councillor StewartDobson, CouncillorStuart Wheeler, CouncillorSue Evans, CouncillorToby Sturgis, CouncillorTony Deane and Councillor TonyTrotman  

           

Against the motion (24):

 

CouncillorBob JonesMBE, CouncillorBrian Dalton, Councillor ChrisCaswill, Councillor ChrisHurst, CouncillorDavid Jenkins, Councillor DavidPollitt, Councillor DesnaAllen, Councillor ErnieClark, CouncillorGordon King, Councillor Ian Mclennan, Councillor IanThorn, Councillor IanTomes,

CouncillorIan West, Councillor JeffOsborn, Councillor JohnWalsh, Councillor JonHubbard, Councillor LindaPackard, Councillor MagnusMacdonald, Councillor MarkPackard, Councillor NickBlakemore, Councillor PatAves, CouncillorPeter Edge, CouncillorRicky Rogers and 

CouncillorTerry Chivers.

 

Abstentions (5):

 

CouncillorGlenis Ansell, CouncillorNick FoggMBE, CouncillorSimon Killane, Councillor Stephen Oldrieve and Councillor TrevorCarbin

Resolutions c) vii and c) viii

For the motion (72):

 

Alan Hill, Councillor AlanMacRae, CouncillorAllison Bucknell, CouncillorAndrew Davis, CouncillorAnna Cuthbert, CouncillorAtiqul Hoque, CouncillorBill Moss, CouncillorBob JonesMBE, Councillor BridgetWayman, CouncillorCharles Howard, CouncillorChristopher Newbury, CouncillorChristopher Williams, CouncillorChuck Berry, CouncillorDennis Drewett, CouncillorDesna Allen, Councillor Fleurde Rhe-Philipe, Councillor FredWestmoreland, Councillor George Jeans, CouncillorGlenisAnsell, Councillor Gordon King, CouncillorGraham Payne, CouncillorGraham Wright, CouncillorHorace Prickett, CouncillorHoward Greenman, CouncillorHoward Marshall, CouncillorIan McLennan, Councillor IanTomes, Councillor JacquiLay, Councillor Jemima Milton, CouncillorJerry Kunkler, CouncillorJerry Wickham, CouncillorJohn Knight, CouncillorJohn Noeken, CouncillorJohn Smale, CouncillorJohn Thomson, CouncillorJohn Walsh, CouncillorJon Hubbard, CouncillorJonathon Seed, CouncillorJose Green, CouncillorJulian Johnson, CouncillorLaura Mayes, CouncillorLeo Randall, CouncillorMark Packard, CouncillorMary Champion, CouncillorMary Douglas, CouncillorMelody Thompson, CouncillorMike Hewitt, CouncillorMollie Groom, CouncillorPaul OatwayQPM, Councillor PeterEdge, Councillor PeterEvans, Councillor PeterHutton, Councillor PhilipWhitehead, Councillor PipRidout, CouncillorRichard Britton, CouncillorRichard Clewer, CouncillorRichard Gamble, CouncillorRichard Tonge, Councillor RickyRogers, Councillor RoyWhile, Councillor RussellHawker, Councillor SheilaParker, Councillor SimonJacobs, Councillor StephenOldrieve, CouncillorStewart Dobson, CouncillorStuart Wheeler, CouncillorSue Evans, CouncillorToby Sturgis, CouncillorTony Deane, Councillor TrevorCarbin and CouncillorTony Trotman0.

 

Against the motion (12):

 

Councillor Chris Hurst, CouncillorDavid Jenkins, CouncillorDavid Pollitt, CouncillorErnie Clark, CouncillorIan Thorn, CouncillorIan West, CouncillorJeff Osborn, CouncillorLinda Packard, CouncillorMagnus Macdonald, CouncillorNick Blakemore, CouncillorPat Aves and CouncillorTerry Chivers.

 

Abstentions (4)

 

Councillor Chris Caswill, Councillor NickFogg MBE, CouncillorNina Phillips and CouncillorSimon Killane.

 

Adjournment

 

The Chairman adjourned the meeting for a lunch break at this point.