Agenda and minutes

Councillor Wade reported that the Mayor was unwell and, as Deputy Mayor, he would be chairing this meeting in the Mayor’s absence.  Councillor Wade also took the opportunity on behalf of the Council to wish Councillor Mrs Shimbart a speedy recovery.

The Deputy Mayor reminded all those present that filming or recording by any person of any part of the meeting would need to fully comply with the Council’s Protocol for recording meetings in order to protect the rights of those attending.  In signalling his intention to make an audio recording of the meeting, Councillor Perry confirmed his compliance with the Protocol, copies of which had been made available at the meeting.

To receive and record any apologies for absence.

Apologies were received from Councillors Hart, Kerrin, Patrick and Satchwell.

To receive any declarations of interests from Members.

There were no declarations of interest from any of the members present.

To confirm the minutes of the last meeting held on 13 December 2017 (attached).

Proposed by Councillor Satchwell and seconded by Councillor Keast, it was

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 13 December 2017 be approved as a correct record, subject to an amendment to Minute 144(A) to change all references to “2035” to read “2036”.

Proposed by Councillor Sceal and seconded by Councillor Branson, it was

RESOLVED that Councillor Peter Wade be provisionally appointed as Mayor for 2018/19.

Proposed by Councillor Satchwell and seconded by Councillor Bowerman, it was

RESOLVED that Councillor Diana Patrick be provisionally appointed as Deputy Mayor for 2018/19.

There were no questions in relation to the Mayor’s published report.

To receive questions from, and provide answers to, the public, provided they have been submitted in accordance with the requirements of Standing Order 13.4(f).

There were no public questions.

·         Leader will give his Budget Speech to the Council

·         Reply by the Leader of the Opposition

·         Leader’s Reply to the Opposition

·         Questions of Clarification to the Leader

The Leader, Councillor Michael Cheshire MBE, presented his budget speech to Council.

As Leader of the Opposition, Councillor John Perry, gave his reply.

Both speeches have been published in full on the Council’s website and can be viewed alongside the minutes of this meeting.

Recommendation from the Cabinet held on 7 February 2018:

RECOMMENDED to Council:

(a)        that the following be approved, as recommended by the Cabinet on 07 February 2018, that Council

(1)      approves the proposed Revenue & Capital Budgets for 2018/19, including a Council Tax rate of £198.54 at Band D, representing a 2.99% increase on the current charge;

(2)      notes the Cabinet decision of 7 February 2018 to apply during 18/19 an increase of up to 2.8% to those fees and charges that are not otherwise constrained by statute, to be determined by the Chief Finance Officer in consultation with the Leader;

(3)      agrees the Treasury Management Strategy and Prudential Indicators; and

(4)      reduces the Councillor Community Grants to £0 in 2018/19 and that this be subject to further review by the Scrutiny Board.

(b)       That it benoted that (on 31st January, 2018) the Chief Finance Officer calculated the Council Tax Base 2018/19 for the whole Council area as 40,704.00 [Item T in the formula in Section 31B(1) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, as amended, (the “Act”)] and that this Council Tax base be split between the regions of the Environment Agency as follows:

Southern – 40,704.00

(c)        That the following amounts be calculated by the Council for the year 2018/19 in accordance with Sections 31 and 34 to 36 of the Act.

               (i)      £ 65,465,324 being the aggregate of the amounts which the Council estimates for the items set out in Section 31A(2) of the Act;

        (ii)     £ 57,384,000 being the aggregate of the amounts which the Council estimates for the items set out in Section 31A(3) of the Act;

                                    (iii)    £8,081,324 being the amount by which the aggregate at c(i) above exceeds the aggregate at c(ii) above, calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 31A(4) of the Act, as its Council Tax requirement for the year (Item R in the formula in section 31A(4) of the Act);

        (iv)    £198.54 being the amount at c(iii) above (Item R), divided by Item T  (b above), calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 31B(1) of the Act, as the basic amount of its Council Tax for the year;

(d)       Valuation Bands

A                   B                      C                     D

   £132.36        £154.42           £176.48           £198.54

E                   F                      G                     H

   £242.66        £286.78           £330.90           £397.08

being the amounts given by multiplying the amount at c(iv) above by the number which, in the proportion set out in Section 5(1) of the Act, is applicable to dwellings listed in a particular valuation band divided by the number which in that proportion is applicable to dwellings listed in valuation band D, calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 36(1) of the Act, as the amounts to be taken into account for the year in respect of categories of dwellings listed in different valuation bands.

(e)        That it be noted that for the year 2018/19 the Hampshire County Council (see (g) below) and Police and Crime Commissioner for Hampshire and Hampshire Fire and Rescue Authority have stated the following  ...  view the full agenda text for item 157.

As Cabinet Lead for Finance, Councillor Briggs presented the Revenue and Capital Budget for 2018/19, including the proposed Council Tax rate for the forthcoming year, and the Medium Term Financial Strategy to 2022/23. 

Councillor Briggs proposed the recommendations (a) to (f) as set out in the agenda, with a correction to the Hampshire County Council Basic Charge Band C in recommendation 9(e) to read “£990.10” in place of “£900.10”

The motion was seconded by Councillor Cheshire.

As an amendment to the Motion, it was proposed by Councillor Perry and seconded by Councillor Carpenter that recommendation 9(a)(1) be amended to reflect a 0% increase in Council Tax and that the budget be recalculated accordingly.

Having taken a vote on the amendment the Deputy Mayor declared the amendment not carried.

At the conclusion of the debate, the Deputy Mayor put the original motion to Council.  Having been proposed by Councillor Briggs and seconded by Councillor Cheshire, it was

RESOLVED that:

(a)        that the following be approved, as recommended by the Cabinet on 07 February 2018, that Council

(1)      approves the proposed Revenue & Capital Budgets for 2018/19, including a Council Tax rate of £198.54 at Band D, representing a 2.99% increase on the current charge;

(2)      notes the Cabinet decision of 7 February 2018 to apply during 18/19 an increase of up to 2.8% to those fees and charges that are not otherwise constrained by statute, to be determined by the Chief Finance Officer in consultation with the Leader;

(3)      agrees the Treasury Management Strategy and Prudential Indicators; and

(4)      reduces the Councillor Community Grants to £0 in 2018/19 and that this be subject to further review by the Scrutiny Board.

(b)       That it benoted that (on 31st January, 2018) the Chief Finance Officer calculated the Council Tax Base 2018/19 for the whole Council area as 40,704.00 [Item T in the formula in Section 31B(1) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, as amended, (the “Act”)] and that this Council Tax base be split between the regions of the Environment Agency as follows:

Southern – 40,704.00

(c)        That the following amounts be calculated by the Council for the year 2018/19 in accordance with Sections 31 and 34 to 36 of the Act.

               (i)      £ 65,465,324 being the aggregate of the amounts which the Council estimates for the items set out in Section 31A(2) of the Act;

        (ii)     £ 57,384,000 being the aggregate of the amounts which the Council estimates for the items set out in Section 31A(3) of the Act;

                                    (iii)    £8,081,324 being the amount by which the aggregate at c(i) above exceeds the aggregate at c(ii) above, calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 31A(4) of the Act, as its Council Tax requirement for the year (Item R in the formula in section 31A(4) of the Act);

        (iv)    £198.54 being the amount at c(iii) above (Item R), divided by Item T  (b above), calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 31B(1) of the Act, as the basic amount of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 157.

To consider the following recommendation to Council arising from the meeting of the Cabinet held on 7 February 2018.  The agenda and reports for the Cabinet meeting can be viewed via the following link:

https://havantintranet.moderngov.co.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=128&MId=10331&$LO$=1

RECOMMENDED to full Council that:

(1)          The Council invest the available CIL Pot of £1,918,284 in the following capital infrastructure projects:

Table A: Current recommended spends and cumulative effect on 123 CIL Pot if all spending options are supported

See additional information

* Paragraph 4.14 (i) of the report

** Paragraph 4.14(ii) regarding separate consideration of Footbridge options

*** Paragraph 4.14 (iii) of the report

(2)          That the balance of the CIL Pot be retained and expenditure further considered on Langstone FCERM Scheme in the 2018 CIL Funding Decision once the Draft Havant Borough Local Plan 2036 has been published and the outcome of the consultation is known; and

(3)          The Council invest the available Neighbourhood Portion of £212,374 across the borough as set out below:

Table B: Current recommended spends and the cumulative effect on Neighbourhood Portion if all spending options are supported

Community Infrastructure Levy: Spending

Councillor Cheshire presented a recommendation arising from the Cabinet meeting held on 7 February 2018 on the spending of CIL funds.

Proposed by Councillor Cheshire and seconded by Councillor K Smith, it was

RESOLVED that

(1)          The Council invest the available CIL Pot of £1,918,284 in the following capital infrastructure projects:

Table A: Current recommended spends and cumulative effect on 123 CIL Pot if all spending options are supported

See additional information in the following paragraphs of the report to Cabinet

* Paragraph 4.14 (i) of the report

** Paragraph 4.14(ii) regarding separate consideration of Footbridge options

*** Paragraph 4.14 (iii) of the report

(2)          That the balance of the CIL Pot be retained and expenditure further considered on Langstone FCERM Scheme in the 2018 CIL Funding Decision once the Draft Havant Borough Local Plan 2036 has been published and the outcome of the consultation is known; and

(3)          The Council invest the available Neighbourhood Portion of £212,374 across the borough as set out below:

Table B: Current recommended spends and the cumulative effect on Neighbourhood Portion if all spending options are supported

There were no matters the Leader wished to report in addition to his published report.

There were no matters the Cabinet Leads wished to add to their published reports.

Councillor Guest gave a verbal update on the Local Plan consultations, partnership working with East Hampshire DC and regeneration projects across the Borough.

(i)                the Leader and Cabinet Leads to answer questions on matters within their respective reports.

(ii)           Chairmen to answer questions on minutes since the last Council meeting

At the invitation of the Mayor, the Cabinet Leads took questions from Councillors in connection with their published reports.  Where Cabinet Leads were unable to give an immediate response, and undertaking was given that responses would be provided as soon as possible after the meeting.

There were no questions to the Committee Chairmen in connection with their published minutes.

To receive questions from Councillors in accordance with the requirements of Standing Order 23.4(a).

(1)          From Councillor Perry to Councillor Bains

Considering the liquidation of Carillion, and that Capita’s share price is now one fifth of what it was two years ago, and with it halving in the last month, could the portfolio holder please advise if the HBC outsourcing contract with Capita:

1. includes a no-novation clause
2. if there is not a no-novation clause, what contractual agreements are there in the event of Capita going into administration or liquidation.

Response:

The Contract includes a clause which states that ‘generally’ Capita cannot assign any of its rights, obligations, liabilities without the prior written consent of the Councils.

(2)          From Councillor Perry to Councillor Briggs

Now that China has ceased taking plastic recycling material, could the portfolio holder please advise where Havant Borough’s recycled plastic material goes through to its end disposition.

Response:

For a few years now, we have ensured all our plastic recycling remains in the UK or Europe for reprocessing. The two Hampshire Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs) only accept plastic bottles from Hampshire residents as part of the accepted Dry Mixed Recyclables input specification.

From the two Hampshire MRFs we produce a mixed plastic bottle product that is sent to Veolia's Plastic Recovery Facility (PRF) in Rainham for further processing. Here the plastic bottles are sorted  into their constituent forms and polymer types eg. HDPE, PET etc. using specialist camera technologies. The Veolia Hampshire plastic bottles are then sent for final reprocessing back into high quality plastic pellets.

We’re also actively moving up the plastics recycling supply chain and earlier this year officially opened our Dagenham Plastics Facility enabling us to keep plastic recycling in the UK that may take Hampshire milk bottles  (HDPE) in the future.

(3)          From Councillor Davis to Councillor Briggs

Could the portfolio holder please clarify two points on the Analysis of Reserve Balances 18/19 to 22/23 on page 29.

1. Does the portfolio holder believe that reducing reserves from £14.0 million to £5.8 million of the five-year budget period is prudent accounting and budgeting?

2. Reserve balances are credit balances in the ledger so that they may be released into the I&E as a credit.  Could the £5,094,000 debit balance, and particularly the sign be explained?

Response:

Yes - the reserves statement currently assumes that all capital bids will be approved when the business cases come forward next year and that they will be fully funded from our own reserves.  However,  some of the capital bids will be part funded from grants but as these have not yet been confirmed and are still subject to the full business case being brought forward we take a prudent approach to reporting the impact on our reserves.

The 18/19 opening balance on the Usable Capital Receipts Reserve is estimate at £1.632m currently.  The value of approved, unapproved and new bids for capital projects over the period of the MTFS  is estimated to be £6.726m, only £1.632m is currently available from this fund to pay for the proposed capital programme therefore leaving  ...  view the full minutes text for item 162.

To receive urgent questions from Councillors submitted in accordance with the requirements of Standing Order 23.4(b).

There were no urgent questions.

To be circulated separately.

The Council considered the following Motion, proposed by Councillor Perry and seconded by Councillor Carpenter.  Councillor Perry was given an opportunity to present his Motion to Council that:

“This Council recognises the flawed and ill-thought out policy of the Cabinet in pursuing the Vinci outsourcing contract and recommends that, should there be any costs incurred by the Council because of the Vinci contract termination, that the Cabinet members personally meet these costs up to a maximum of £10,000 each.”

Having taken a vote on the Motion, the Mayor declared it not carried.

To receive the minutes of the following Committees:

Extraordinary Cabinet – 18 December 2017

Governance and Audit Committee – 10 January 2018

Development Management Committee – 11 January 2018

Scrutiny Board – 30 January 2018

Development Management Committee – 1 February 2018

Cabinet – 7 February 2018

The minutes of the meetings of Committees held since the last meeting of the Council were received.