Agenda and minutes

Councillor Quentin Webb stated that it was with great sadness and shock that the Council had learned about the accident involving the Leader of the Council and his wife Zelda. Members were asked to observe a minute’s silence and reflection time.

The Chairman reported that since the last ordinary meeting of Council he had attended 29 events, the Vice Chairman had attended five events and Councillor Jeff Beck had covered one event on behalf of the Chairman.

The Chairman to sign as a correct record the Minutes of the Council meeting held on 8 December 2016 and the Extraordinary meeting held on the 7 February 2017.

The Minutes of the meetings held on 08 December 2016 and the extraordinary meeting on the 07 February 2017 were approved as true and correct records and signed by the Chairman.

To remind Members of the need to record the existence and nature of any Personal, Disclosable Pecuniary or other interests in items on the agenda, in accordance with the Members’ Code of Conduct.

The Deputy Monitoring Officer announced that in respect of items 15 and 16 (Capital Strategy and Programme 2017/18 to 2021/22 and Revenue Budget 2017/18): All Members had completed an Application for a Grant of a Dispensation in relation to “any beneficial interest in land within the Authority’s area.” The Monitoring Officer had granted the dispensation to allow all Members to speak and vote on this item.

It was acknowledged that many of the Members were likely to be a user and or a member of their local library.

The Deputy Monitoring Officer noted that Councillors Billy Drummond, Lee Dillon, Mollie Lock, Lynne Doherty, Jeanette Clifford, Dominic Boeck, Hilary Cole, Rick Jones, Mike Johnston, Steve Ardagh-Walter, Richard Crumly, Rob Denton-Powell, Anthony Pick, Richard Somner, Adrian Edwards, Carol Jackson-Doerge, James Fredrickson, Howard Bairstow, Marigold Jaques and Dave Goff had declared a personal interest in item 16 (Revenue Budget 2017/18)  by virtue of the fact that they were dual hatted Members and  a number of proposals would affect them in that capacity. It was deemed that these interests would be personal. 

Councillor Marigold Jaques was a trustee of the Citizens Advice Bureau. As she had a fiduciary duty to this trust she declared that, in respect of Agenda Item 16 (Revenue Budget 2017/18), as she had an Other Registrable Interest she would leave the Chamber during the discussion of this item and would not take part in the vote.

Councillor Carol Jackson-Doerge was a trustee of the Corn Exchange. As she had a fiduciary duty to this trust she declared that, in respect of Agenda Item 16 (Revenue Budget 2017/18), as she had an Other Registrable Interest she would leave the Chamber during the discussion of this item and would not take part in the vote.

A number of other personal interests were also declared in relation to Item 16 (Revenue Budget 2017/18) and these were displayed in the Council Chamber.

(Councillor Howard Bairstow arrived at 6.36pm)

There were no petitions submitted to this meeting.

Members of the Executive to answer the following questions submitted by members of the public in accordance with the Council’s Constitution:

(a)         Question to be answered by the Executive Member for Highways and Transport submitted by Mr Nigel Whiston:

“Can the Council confirm that the urgently needed Bear Lane roundabout improvements will be implemented in 2017?”

(b)         Question to be answered by the Executive Member for Corporate Services and External Affairs submitted by Mr Ian Waters:

“Can the Council confirm that West Berkshire District Council employs or has in the past employed temporary senior staff and if so what is the average remuneration per person per day (month) engaged in this capacity?”

(c)         Question to be answered by the Executive Member for Highways and Transport submitted by Mr Ian Waters:

“In relation to the proposed £5.7million cycle path scheme to be built linking Newbury with Ascot, can the Council confirm how this scheme will be funded and can we be reassured that none of the costs of construction or maintenance will be borne by West Berkshire residents?”

(d)         Question to be answered by the Executive Member for Culture and Environment submitted by Ms Susan Millington:

“Can you please assure me that there are no plans to introduce charges at the Household Waste Recycling Centre in Newtown Road for disposal of bulky household waste?”

(e)         Question to be answered by the Executive Member for Culture and Environment submitted by Ms Susan Millington:

“Will the Council rigorously pursue fly tippers through the courts?”

(f)          Question to be answered by the Executive Member for Highways and Transport submitted by Mr Matthew Lowe:

“After the new link road from Hectors Way to Boundary Road is built, exactly what infrastructure changes are planned for Kings Road and the surrounding roads to ensure that this area of Newbury is no longer used as a rat-run?”

A full transcription of the public question and answer session was available from the following link: Transcription of Q&As. (right click on link and ‘Edit Hyperlink’. Insert URL to pdf on website in ‘address’ field)

a)            A question standing in the name of Mr Nigel Whitson on the subject of the implementation of the improvements to the Bear Lane roundabout would receive a written response from the Portfolio Holder for Highways and Transport as he was not in attendance at the meeting.

b)            A question standing in the name of Mr Ian Waters on the subject of costs associated with the employment of temporary senior staff was answered by the Portfolio Holder for Corporate Services and External Affairs.

c)            A question standing in the name of Mr Ian Waters on the subject of funding for the cycle path linking Newbury and Ascot was answered by the Portfolio Holder for Highways and Transport.

d)            A question standing in the name of Ms Susan Millington on the subject of the potential to charge for bulky household waste disposal at the Waste Recycling Centre in Newtown Road was answered by the Portfolio Holder for Culture and Environment.

e)            A question standing in the name of Ms Susan Millington on the subject of pursuing fly tippers through the courts was answered by the Portfolio Holder for Culture and Environment.

f)             A question standing in the name of Mr Matthew Lowe on the subject of planned infrastructure changes for Kings Road was answered by the Portfolio Holder for Highways and Transport.

The Monitoring Officer to advise of any changes to the membership of Committees since the previous Council meeting.

The Deputy Monitoring Officer advised of the following changes to the membership of Committees since the previous Council meeting:

·         Councillor Carol Jackson-Doerge had replaced Councillor Ian Morrin as a Member of the Personnel Committee.

Councillor Nick Goodes would replace Councillor Manohar Gopal as a Substitute on the Eastern Area Planning Committee.

The Council is asked to note that since the last meeting of the Council, the Licensing Committee has not met.

The Council noted that, since the last meeting, the Licensing Committee had not met.

The Council is asked to note that since the last meeting of the Council, the Personnel Committee met on 8 February 2017.  Copies of the Minutes of this meeting can be obtained from Strategic Support or via the Council’s website.

The Council noted that, since the last meeting, the Personnel Committee had met on 8 February 2017.

The Council is asked to note that since the last meeting of Council, the Governance and Ethics Committee met on 13 February 2017.  Copies of the Minutes of this meeting can be obtained from Strategic Support or via the Council’s website.

The Council noted that, since the last meeting, the Governance and Ethics Committee had met on 13 February 2017.

The Council is asked to note that since the last meeting of the Council, the District Planning Committee met on 15 December 2016.  Copies of the Minutes of this meeting can be obtained from Strategic Support or via the Council’s website.

The Council noted that, since the last meeting, the District Planning Committee had met on 15 December 2016.

The Council is asked to note that since the last meeting of the Council, the Overview and Scrutiny Management Commission has not met.

The Council noted that, since the last meeting, the Overview and Scrutiny Management Commission had not met.

In compliance with the Local Government Act 2003, this report summarises the Council’s borrowing limits as set out by CIPFA’s Prudential Code, and recommends the Annual Investment and Borrowing Strategy for 2017/18.

The Council considered a report (Agenda Item 13) which set out the Council’s borrowing limits as set out by CIPFA’s Prudential Code and recommended the Annual Investment Strategy for 2017/18.

MOTION: Proposed by Councillor Anthony Chadley and seconded by Councillor Laszlo Zverko:

That the Council:

1.    “Adopts the 2017/18 Investment and Borrowing Strategy.

2.    Formulates the Treasury Management Policy in compliance with the Local Government Act 2003 and CIPFA's Prudential Code and Code of Practice for Treasury Management”.

Councillor Chadley in introducing the report explained that the purpose of the Strategy was to confirm the Council’s methodology in complying with legislation on how and where funds were borrowed from while ensuring risks were minimised. This activity was scrutinised on a regular basis by the cross party Treasury Management Group (TMG). The Strategy in essence required the Council to borrow money at the most competitive rates, and invest surplus funds where it was most attractive to do so.

In addition, the report sought approval to increase the Council’s capacity to borrow funds by £50m to support the Council’s strategy to invest in commercial property to generate income. It was however noted that the report only sought agreement on a new upper limit and that any additional funding could only be drawn down and used as and when it was required, and would be subject to Executive approval.

Councillor Lee Dillon commented that while, in general, he supported the Strategy, he would like the TMG to look at the risks and opportunities of securing longer term investment. Investments spanning 24 or 36 month periods were not utilised on many occasions and were likely to generate better returns. Councillor Chadley agreed that this was something that the Group could look at over the ensuing twelve month period.

The Motion was put to the meeting and duly RESOLVED.

To agree the medium term financial planning and strategy for the organisation.

The Council considered a report (Agenda Item 14) concerning the rolling three year financial strategy which was designed to ensure that the financial resources, both revenue and capital, were available to deliver the Council Strategy. It enabled the Council to forecast and plan income and expenditure over a longer period than the annual budget. The Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) should be read in conjunction with the Revenue Budget 2017-18, Capital Strategy and Investment and Borrowing Strategy reports.

MOTION: Proposed by Councillor Anthony Chadley and seconded by Councillor Gordon Lundie:

That the Council:

“approves and adopts the Medium Term Financial Strategy 2017/18 to 2019/20.”

Councillor Anthony Chadley stated that it was anticipated that £340m would be spent over the following three years. It was therefore vital that a strategy was in place to direct that expenditure in order to ensure that essential services continued to be provided for the District’s 150,000 residents. He acknowledged the volatility around budget setting in the current climate but stated that the Council, since 2010, had an excellent team, with a proven track record, for doing so. On average budgetary expenditure was within 0.35% of the budget and he thanked the Finance Team for ensuring that decisions were based on solid foundations.

Where possible the authority welcomed stability and had therefore accepted the four year settlement from Central Government. The Strategy also made sensible allowances for increases in inflation and pension costs and made provision for the revenue funding element of the Council’s Capital Programme. The Portfolio Holder for Finance and Transformation explained that the Council had a legal obligation to set a balanced budget annually.

The MTFS assisted in identifying key areas of income, for example Council Tax and Business Rates, and planned expenditure, and this in turn assisted with identifying the funding gap. Opportunities were sought to identify innovative solutions while transforming the way services were delivered as well as ways to generate income.

Some of the areas being focussed on were detailed at section 8.3 (Appendix A), and included:

·         investing in commercial property with the aim of generating income;

·         investing in residential property with the aim of being more cost effective in the provision of our statutory housing duties; and

·         working with communities, Parish and Town Councils and neighbouring authorities in order to deliver services in a more cost effective way.

The MTFS also considered the Council’s reserves. The Authority’s S151 Officer recommended a minimum level of 5%, which equated to £5.8m. Reserves were designed to ensure that the Council could meet unexpected and unforeseen demands and pressures. While it would be an easy choice to fund the gap by using reserves it was felt that this was a risk that the Council should not take. Councillor Chadley was therefore pleased to confirm that the reserves were being replenished and maintained at this prudent level.

Councillor Lee Dillon noted the financial challenges that the Council was facing and in particular the £23m funding gap over the following three years. He felt  ...  view the full minutes text for item 81.

To outline the five year Capital Strategy for 2017 to 2022, including the Minimum Revenue Provision (MRP) Statement and the Asset Management Plans for Property and Highways, and to set out the funding framework for Council’s five year Capital Programme for 2017/18 to 2021/22.

(All Members had been granted a dispensation by the Monitoring Officer to speak and vote on this item).

The Council considered a report (Agenda Item 15) which outlined the five year Capital Strategy for 2017 to 2022, including the Minimum Revenue Provision (MRP) Statement and the Asset Management Plans for Property and Highways. The report also set out the funding framework for the Council’s five year Capital Programme for 2017/18 to 2021/22.

MOTION: Proposed by Councillor Hilary Cole and seconded by Councillor Anthony Chadley:

That the Council:

“approves the Capital Strategy and Programme 2017/18 to 2021/22.”

Councillor Hilary Cole commented that she was very pleased to be asked to propose the Capital Programme. She stated that the Programme confirmed the Council’s commitment to continued investment in the future of West Berkshire. The Programme would help to deliver the Council’s key priorities of:

·         Improving educational attainment and closing the educational attainment gap (£66.7m);

·         Making key infrastructure improvements in relation to roads (£50m);

·         Regeneration and the digital economy (£1.5m) ;

·         Safeguarding children and vulnerable adults £11.8m); and

·         Supporting communities to do more to help themselves (£3.8m).

Councillor Hilary Cole noted that the Council would be investing £150m over the following five years but at a cost of only £40m to the Council. The other £110m would be funded from Government grants, s106 and CIL contributions as well as other funding sources. She congratulated Officers on the outstanding work that they had done in order to secure grant funding. During the 2017/18 financial year the Council would also start investing £50m in commercial property in order to start generating additional income.

Councillor Hilary Cole noted that in paragraph 1.4 on page 72 the first bullet point should state £120m and not £120,000 million over the next four years. She asked Members to support the recommendation subject to this correction to the report.

Councillor Lee Dillon commented that he had looked through the Programme on a line by line basis and wished to make comment on two items. He noted the inclusion of the item for Sandleford and was concerned about the risk around the scheduling of this item given the delays to the planning application. He was also disappointed that only £15k per annum had been set aside for regeneration in Thatcham.

Councillor Pamela Bale commented that the level of proposed investment was significant for an authority the size of West Berkshire. She was, however, pleased to see that the Council would continue to live within its means. She welcomed, in particular, the funding that had been set aside for road safety measures in Pangbourne.

Councillor Marcus Franks welcomed the £120m that would be invested over the following four years He was pleased to see the inclusion of £93k for the energy efficiency programme. This project had already generated savings which had been paid back into the pot. He also noted that £30k had been set aside for community based capital projects. These schemes had already supported a number of communities across the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 82.

To consider and agree the 2017-18 Revenue Budget, which proposes a Council Tax requirement of £88.4m requiring a Council Tax increase of 1.99% in 2017-18 with a 3% precept ring-fenced for Adult Social Care. The Council Tax increase and Adult Social Care precept will raise £4.2m, leaving a gap of £4.7m to be met from savings and income in 2017-18.

This report also proposes the Fees and Charges for 2017-18 as set out in Appendix H, the Parish Special Expenses as set out in Appendix I and recommends the level of General Reserves as set out in Appendix F and Appendix G.

(All Members had been granted a dispensation by the Monitoring Officer to speak and vote on this item).

(Councillors Billy Drummond, Lee Dillon, Mollie Lock, Lynne Doherty, Jeanette Clifford, Dominic Boeck, Hilary Cole, Rick Jones, Mike Johnston, Steve Ardagh-Walter, Richard Crumly, Rob Denton-Powell, Anthony Pick, Richard Somner, Adrian Edwards, Carol Jackson-Doerge, James Fredrickson, Howard Bairstow, Marigold Jaques and Dave Goff declared a personal interest in Agenda Item 16 by virtue of the fact that they were dual hatted Members and a number of proposals would affect them in that capacity. As their interest was personal and not an other registrable nor a disclosable pecuniary interest they determined to take part in the debate and vote on the matter).

(Councillor Marigold Jaques declared an other registrable interest in Agenda Item 16 by virtue of the fact that she was a trustee of the Citizen’s Advice Bureau. As she had a fiduciary duty to this trust she determined to leave the Chamber during the discussion of this item and did not take part in the vote).

(Councillor Carol Jackson-Doerge declared an other registrable interest in Agenda Item 16 by virtue of the fact that she was a trustee of the Newbury Corn Exchange. As she had a fiduciary duty to this trust she determined to leave the Chamber during the discussion of this item and did not take part in the vote).

(Councillors Marigold Jaques and Carol Jackson-Doerge left the meeting at 7.25pm and returned at 8.27pm). 

The Chairman clarified the rules of debate for this item which had been agreed by both Group Leaders prior to the meeting. Both Leaders would be permitted to speak for up to ten minutes and their presentations should include the submission of any amendments. All Portfolio and Shadow Portfolio Holders would be permitted to speak for up to five minutes on the Motion and amendments with all other Members being allowed two and a half minutes to speak.

The Council considered a report (Agenda Item 16) concerning the 2017/2018 Revenue Budget, which proposed a Council Tax requirement of £88.4m which, in turn, would mean a Council Tax increase of 1.99% in 2017/18 with a 3% precept ring-fenced for Adult Social Care. The Council Tax increase and Adult Social Care precept would raise £4.2m, leaving a gap of £4.7m to be met from savings and income in 2017/18.

The report also proposed the Fees and Charges schedule for 2017/18 as set out in Appendix H, the Parish Special Expenses as set out in Appendix I and recommended the level of General Reserves as set out in Appendix F and Appendix G.

MOTION: Proposed by Councillor Graham Jones and seconded by Councillor Anthony Chadley:

That the Council:

1.    “Approves the 2017-18 Council Tax requirement of £88.4 million requiring a Council Tax increase of 1.99% with a 3% precept ring-fenced for Adult Social Care.

2.    Approves the Fees and Charges as set out in Appendix H and the appropriate statutory notices be placed where required.

3.    Approves the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 83.

To seek Council’s approval of the Statutory Pay Policy Statement for publication from 1 April 2017.

The Council considered a report (Agenda Item 17) which sought approval of the Statutory Pay Policy Statement for publication from 1^st April 2017.

MOTION: Proposed by Councillor James Fredrickson and seconded by Councillor Marcus Franks:

That the Council:

“approves the Policy Statement attached at Appendix C for publication in accordance with s38 of the Localism Act 2011.”

Councillor James Fredrickson commented that the Council was obliged to produce the document on an annual basis. The report was required to set out the remuneration of its chief officers, the remuneration of its lowest paid employees and the relationship between the remuneration of its chief officers and those that were not chief officers. The median salary at the Council was £27k per annum, the mean salary was £29.5k per annum and the highest paid employee was the Chief Executive who was paid £136k plus a £5k car allowance.

Councillor Mollie Lock commented that Members were happy with the report when it was discussed at the Personnel Committee. Concern had however been raised about the overlapping pay scales and Officers had been asked to review this and to provide more detail at the next Personnel Committee meeting.

Councillor Lee Dillon was pleased to see that all employees were paid at least the Living Wage although for some this was via a supplement. He stated that he would prefer to see these employees paid the Living Wage without the need for a supplement. He noted that staff were experiencing an unprecedented workload and it was important that they were compensated for the work that they did.

Councillor Graham Bridgman stated that currently the Council had 74 spinal points in its pay grading scheme and that he would like to see this reduced.

Councillor Marcus Franks explained that the pay grades were set nationally. Councillor Fredrickson stated that when he had discussed the issue of pay grades with the Head of HR he had explained that there would be cost implications with reducing them. Councillor Lock raised a point of order and stated that the Head of HR had stated at the Personnel Committee that this would not be the case. It was agreed that the Head of HR would provide a written response outside of the meeting.

The Motion was put to the meeting and duly RESOLVED.

To provide Members with the opportunity to discuss the merits of West Berkshire Council opting into the national scheme for auditor appointments for the financial year 2018/19 onwards. The report was discussed at the Governance and Ethics Committee meeting on the 13 February 2017 and they supported the Officer’s proposal to opt into the national scheme for auditor appointments.

(Councillor James Podger left the meeting at 8.35pm).

The Council considered a report (Agenda Item 18) which provided Members with the opportunity to discuss the merits of West Berkshire Council opting into the national scheme for auditor appointments for the financial year 2018/19 onwards. The report was discussed at the Governance and Ethics Committee meeting on the 13 February 2017 and they supported the Officer’s proposal to opt into the national scheme for auditor appointments.

MOTION: Proposed by Councillor Keith Chopping and seconded by Councillor Anthony Chadley:

That the Council:

“agrees the invitation to opt into the national scheme for auditor appointments.”

Councillor Keith Chopping explained that following the closure of the Audit Commission and the end of the transitional arrangements at the conclusion of the 2017/18 audits, the Council had to consider the options available for appointing external auditors. New arrangements had to be in place by 31 December 2017. Options available to the Council would be to adopt the national scheme for auditor appointments, establish a stand-alone Auditor Panel to make the appointment on behalf of the Council or exploring the establishment of local joint procurement arrangements with neighbouring authorities.

Members had discussed the options at both the November 2016 and the February 2017 Governance and Ethics Committee meetings and had agreed to recommend to Council the Officer recommendation to opt into the national scheme. Councillor Chopping noted that if the Council wished to accept the invitation of the Public Sector Auditor Appointments, it would need to do so by the 9^th March 2017. To date around 160 authorities had already opted in.

Councillor Anthony Chadley felt that the recommendation was a sensible approach and encouraged Members to vote in favour of the officer recommendation.

The Motion was put to the meeting and duly RESOLVED.

To seek approval of the refreshed Health and Wellbeing Strategy.

The Council considered a report (Agenda Item 19) which sought approval for the refreshed Health and Wellbeing Strategy.

MOTION: Proposed by Councillor Graham Jones and seconded by Councillor Rick Jones:

That the Council:

1.    “Accepts the Health and Wellbeing Strategy refresh and agrees the priorities within it.

2.    That the Health and Wellbeing Board bases future commissioning decisions on the Health and Wellbeing Strategy”.

Councillor Graham Jones noted that a peer review of the Health and Wellbeing Board had taken place the previous year which had resulted in a number of recommendations. A number of changes were therefore being proposed including broadening the membership of the Board to include Thames Valley Police, The Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service (RBFRS) and Sovereign Housing. This was necessary in order to deal with the wider determinants of health and not to focus only on clinical issues.

It was also agreed that the existing Strategy had too many priorities for the Health and Wellbeing Board to focus on and a compromise had been reached to highlight two specific priorities for the Health and Wellbeing Board to focus on from October 2016 to October 2017, those being the reduction of harm related to alcohol and building community resilience.

Councillor Pamela Bale noted that while the Strategy referred to the ageing population no mention was made about dementia groups and she asked if this could be addressed.

Councillor Emma Webster commented that she welcomed the inclusion of the RBFRS on the Health and Wellbeing Board in light of the extensive prevention work they undertook with vulnerable residents. She also noted that she was a Dementia Champion and encouraged more Members to take up this role.

Councillor Lee Dillon stated that he welcomed the decrease in the number of priorities. Councillor Adrian Edwards commented that he too welcomed the inclusion of the RBFRS on the Board. He noted that the fire fighters were required to maintain a certain level of fitness and he commented that this was something that everyone should aspire to. He stated that he would like to see the Council encouraging employees and Members to take part in more exercise and improve their fitness levels and make better lifestyle choices.

Councillor Rick Jones commented that he thought the revised Strategy was simple and clear and should lead to better integration of systems which would result in better outcomes for residents. He acknowledged that this was not a short term process and that there was a lot of work to be done.

Councillor Graham Jones thanked Members for their comments on and support for the Strategy. He concurred with Councillor Edwards that exercise was a great treatment for a range of medical conditions. He too welcomed the broader representation on the Health and Wellbeing Board.

The Motion was put to the meeting and duly RESOLVED.

There were no questions submitted relating to items not included on the agenda.

There were no Member questions submitted.