Agenda and minutes

The Chairman to report on functions attended since the last meeting and other matters of interest to Members.

The Chairman reported that he and the Vice-Chairman had attended 44 events since the last Council meeting.

The Chairman highlighted a number of events that he had attended including the switching on of the Christmas lights in Thatcham, Newbury and Hungerford, a number of carol concerts including one at St Finian’s school, the volunteer recruitment fayre at the Corn Exchange, the opening of the new science block at The Downs School, a march past of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers in Hungerford, the opening of the new changing block at Northcroft Leisure Centre, the launch of the new flood alleviation scheme in Newbury, Newbury’s Mayor’s concert at St Nicolas’s church, the Beenham wind concert and the opening of the canal information centre at the Wharf which would be a useful asset for those using the canal.

The Chairman was also very pleased to note that he had been presented with a generous cheque for £500 the previous evening from the Ahmadiyya Muslim Association towards his charity Children with Cancer. The Chairman noted that all Members would be receiving some literature from the organization in due course.

The Chairman provided Members with an update on the Motion proposed by Councillor David Goff and seconded by Councillor Jeff Brooks which was debated and adopted by the Council at the September 2013 meeting regarding the potential closure of Newbury Magistrate’s Court. He reported that a meeting had taken place on the 22^nd January 2014 with the Delivery Director for South East Region (HMCTS), Chris Jennings and the Justices’ Clerk for Thames Valley (HMCTS), David Richmond.

The meeting was Chaired by the Chairman and attended by elected members from West Berkshire Council and Newbury Town Council. Senior officers from West Berkshire Council were also in attendance and they would be responsible for ensuring that agreed actions from the meeting were carried forward and achieved.

The representatives from HMCTS provided an overview of the context in which decisions on Courts Services were taken and they repeated assurances already given that at this time Newbury Magistrates Court was not at risk of closure.

There was discussion on how cases were listed across Thames Valley, in Berkshire and in particular in West Berkshire. It was agreed that the Justices’ Clerk for Thames Valley would provide the criteria which enabled cases to be listed locally and that there would be further discussions on this matter and that of sharing of data.

Further discussions would take place between HMCTS and officers from West Berkshire Council to ensure that as far as possible West Berkshire related cases were listed at Newbury Magistrates Court.

A meeting would take place that week between West Berkshire Council officers and the Justices’ Clerk for Thames Valley and it was hoped that this would further develop a positive working relationship. It was agreed at the meeting in January that HMCTS would provide regular updates to the Safer Communities Partnership and that should the situation in respect of Newbury Magistrates Court change West Berkshire  ...  view the full minutes text for item 71.

The Chairman to sign as a correct record the Minutes of the Council meeting held on 12 December 2013.

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 all Members present, in accordance with the Localism Act 2011, had applied for and had been granted a dispensation to speak and vote on any matter which pertained to “any beneficial interest” in land within the Authority’s area (Items 17 and 18 (Capital Strategy and Programme  and Revenue Budget 2014/15).

The Deputy Monitoring Officer also announced that Councillors David Allen, Howard Bairstow, Jeff Beck, Brian Bedwell, Dominic Boeck, Jeff Brooks, Hilary Cole, Roger Croft, Richard Crumly, Billy Drummond, Adrian Edwards, Sheila Ellison, Marcus Franks, David Goff, John Horton, Carol Jackson-Doerge, Alan Law, Mollie Lock, Royce Longton, Alan Macro, Tim Metcalfe, James Podger, Andrew Rowles, Anthony Stansfeld, Julian Swift-Hook, Ieuan Tuck and Tony Vickers, in accordance with the Localism Act had applied for and had been granted a dispensation (by the Standards Committee) to consider and vote on Items 17 and 18 (Capital Strategy and Programme  and Revenue Budget 2014/15).

Councillor Jeff Brooks declared a personal interest in Agenda Item 18, and reported that, if the discussion made specific reference to the Watermill Theatre he would leave the chamber for that part of the discussion.

Councillor Keith Woodhams declared an interest in Agenda Item 20, and reported that, although his interest was personal and not prejudicial or a disclosable pecuniary interest, he would remain in the chamber to listen to the discussion but that he would not be voting on the matter.

Councillor Bill Drummond declared an interest in Agenda Item 18, but reported that, as his interest was personal and not prejudicial or a disclosable pecuniary interest, he determined to remain to take part in the debate and vote on the matter.

Councillor Emma Webster declared an interest in Agenda Item 20, and reported that, as her interest was personal and prejudicial and a disclosable pecuniary interest, she would be leaving the meeting during the course of consideration of the matter.

Councillors may present any petition which they have received. These will normally be referred to the appropriate body without discussion.

Councillor Jeff Beck presented a petition containing 31 signatures relating to Flooding issues in Wellington Close and Cromwell Road as a result of the water building up in Shaw Municipal Cemetery. The petition would be passed to Officers in the Highways Service to prepare a response.

a.        A question standing in the name of Mrs Maryanne Thomas on the subject of a reduction in funding available to volunteers working with vulnerable young people was answered by the Executive Member for Children and Young People, Youth Service and Education.

There had been no changes to the membership of Committees since the previous Council meeting.

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

The Council is asked to note that since the last meeting of the Council, the Personnel Committee met on 04 February 2014.  Copies of the Minutes of this meeting can be obtained from Strategic Support or via the Council’s website.

The Council is asked to note that since the last meeting of Council, the Governance and Audit Committee met on 10 February 2014.  Copies of the Minutes of this meeting can be obtained from Strategic Support or via the Council’s website.

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

The Council is asked to note that since the last meeting of the Council, the Overview and Scrutiny Management Commission met on 07 January 2014 (Special Meeting), 21 January 2014 and 25 February 2014.  Copies of the Minutes of these meetings can be obtained from Strategic Support or via the Council’s website.

The Council is asked to note that since the last meeting of the Council, the Standards Committee met on 13 February 2014.  Copies of the Minutes of this meeting can be obtained from Strategic Support or via the Council’s website.

The Council considered a report (Agenda Item 14) concerning a refresh of the Council’s Strategy.

MOTION: Proposed by Councillor Roger Croft and seconded by Councillor Gordon Lundie:

That the Council:

“approve the updated Council Strategy”.

Councillor Roger Croft in introducing the item explained that this was the third iteration of the strategy and this year and therefore only minor amendments were being proposed. He also explained that the finance section would be updated once the final budget had been agreed.

Councillor Croft explained that the Council’s four priorities namely : caring for and protecting the vulnerable, promoting a vibrant district, improving education, and protecting the environment  would continue to provide focus and guidance for decision making by the Council. These priorities would also be linked to the Council’s Medium Term Financial Strategy and Capital Strategy  and would form the basis of the Council’s performance monitoring framework.

Councillor Tony Vickers opined that the strategy was not ambitious enough. He was concerned that references to pockets of deprivation referred to in the previous iteration of the document had been removed. He was concerned that high rentals, even social rentals which were 60% of those on the open market, meant that housing was unaffordable to many of the District’s residents. There was funding available to assist these residents from the Discretionary Housing Grant  but that a ceiling of £50 per week had been set which still meant that housing would be unaffordable for some. He would therefore like to see this issue addressed.

Councillor Gordon Lundie thanked Councillor Croft and Officers for the work that they had put into preparing the strategy. He had some sympathy with the issue raised by Councillor Vickers  and confirmed that he would welcome suggestions to address these issues for future iterations of the strategy.  He felt that although the strategy was useful it was in its final year and would be substantially re-written for the following year. The Council was continued to deliver good services within very restricted means and it was therefore important to prioritise services. This was an excellent strategy but Councillor Lundie was open to new ideas on how to move it forward over the next twelve months.

Councillor Croft stated that he had listened to Councillor Vickers’s comments with great interest as he shared his real determination to improve housing in the district. He accepted that prosperity brought its own issues. He, however, commended the current strategy which aimed to keep West Berkshire a great place to live, learn, work and do business.

The Motion was put to the meeting and duly RESOLVED.

The Council considered a report (Agenda Item 15) which, in compliance with the Local Government Act 2003, summarised the Council’s borrowing limits as set out by CIPFA’s Prudential Code and recommended the Council’s Annual Investment and Borrowing Strategy for 2014/15 for approval.

MOTION: Proposed by Councillor Alan Law and seconded by Councillor Laszlo Zverko:

That the Council:

“approve the Investment and Borrowing Strategy 2014/15”.

Councillor Law in introducing the report noted that it was a statutory requirement to produce the report which set out the Council’s borrowing limits for the next three financial years as well as an associated debt repayment programme. The borrowing would be used to fund investment in many projects including schools, roads, broadband and IT.

The Motion was put to the meeting and duly RESOLVED.

The Council considered a report (Agenda Item 16) concerning the medium term financial plan and strategy for the organisation.

MOTION: Proposed by Councillor Gordon Lundie and seconded by Councillor Alan Law:

That the Council:

“adopt the Medium Term Financial Strategy for 2014 to 2017”.

Councillor Gordon Lundie reported that he was delighted to present the report which was one of three critical papers for the Council and which were all interdependent. The other papers being the Capital Strategy and Programme and the Revenue Budget. The strategy was needed in order to understand the implications of any revenue decisions.

Councillor Lundie noted that the Council was facing a challenging fiscal environment. There had been a significant decrease in the Council’s Revenue Support Grant (RSG) and as a consequence the Council had been required to adopt a vigorous response. To date there had been 204 redundancies and the Council had been forced to scale back on projects. Having a strategy in place had however meant that no Children’s Centres had been closed nor had any libraries been shut.

The strategy articulated a number of challenges that would be facing the Council over the next few years including education spend, an aging population, challenges in terms of caring for the frail and elderly, landfill tax and ever increasing costs. The Council was therefore having to get used to doing less and doing things better. Councillor Lundie was pleased to announce that there would be no increase on Council Tax in 2014/15 or in 2015/16.

(Councillor Richard Crumly arrived at 7.05pm)

Councillor Jeff Brooks felt that a three year plan was useful and that no decent business would be without one. He accepted that the strategy would help to formulate the budget for the next financial year. He noted however that it might need to be amended for year two and three in light of emerging pressures, changes to grants and to react to changes to legislation most notable the Care Bill. It therefore needed to be flexible and was one tool among many to be used to drive the Council’s spend. While he supported the nature of having a strategy he could not support this one.

(Councillor Andrew Rowles arrived at 7.08pm)

Councillor Alan Law agreed that the future could be uncertain but that the strategy could be adapted to take cognisance of unfolding uncertainties. He announced that zero based budgeting would be piloted in the Highways Service in the 2014/15 financial year.

The Motion was put to the meeting and duly RESOLVED.

The Council considered a report (Agenda Item 17) concerning the five year Capital Strategy for 2014 to 2019. The report included the Minimum Revenue Provision (MRP) statement and the Asset Management Plan and also set out the funding framework for the Council’s five year Capital programme for 2014/15 to 2018/19.

MOTION: Proposed by Councillor Alan Law and seconded by Councillor Gordon Lundie:

That the Council:

“approve and adopt the Capital Strategy and programme 2014/15 to 2018/19”.

Councillor Law reported that this was probably the most significant of the budget papers as it outlined where the Council would be investing money in over the next five years. Major areas for investment included technology (which would help the Council be more productive), the district’s roads, broadband and education. The latter three areas would in turn help to make the district more productive.

The Council had spend around £30m of capital in the 2013/14 financial year and around £31m of capital expenditure was planned for 2014/15.

AMENDMENT: Proposed by Councillor Jeff Brooks and seconded by Councillor Keith Woodhams:

That the Council:

“borrows a further £200,000 to invest in additional LED streetlights across the district. This will accelerate the conversion of our street lights which is already being implemented providing a cleaner and greener outcome and saving in energy costs over time.  The additional cost of borrowing will be more than met by the on-going savings in electricity costs. “

Councillor Brooks noted that this was a relatively small amendment and should be viewed as an ‘invest to save’ proposal. The Council was already undertaking a replacement scheme but this additional funding could be used to accelerate it. The funding would generate ongoing savings as a result of a reduction in electricity and replacement costs. Councillor Keith Woodhams explained that he supported the scheme on the basis that it would benefit the residents of the District.

Councillor Pamela Bale commented that additional investment in the scheme had been considered by her predecessor but it had been rejected on the basis that the Council did not have the resources to replace all the streetlights at the same time. It was preferable to spend the current £100k per annum in a structured and planned way. In concluding her response she requested that, in accordance with paragraph 4.13.12 (d) of the Constitution, the question be put in relation to the amendment. This proposal was seconded by Councillor Gordon Lundie. The Closure Motion was put to the Council and duly resolved.

Councillor Brooks concluded that it was not intended that all the streetlights be replaced at the same time but that the additional funding be used to accelerate the programme.

Prior to the vote being taken the Deputy Monitoring Officer announced that the Local Authorities (Standing Orders) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2014 (SI 2014/165) (2014 Regulations) came into came into effect on the 25 February 2014 and as a consequence the Council was required to record the names of Members voting for and against the budget proposals.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 86.

(Councillor Jeff Brooks declared a personal interest in Agenda item 18 by virtue of the fact that his wife worked at the Watermill Theatre. As his interest was personal and a not disclosable pecuniary interest  he determined to take part in the debate and vote on the matter. He noted, however that id a debate on the Watermill Theatre arose he would leave the chamber, not take part in the discussion or vote on the matter).

(Councillor Bill Drummond declared a personal interest in Agenda item 18 by virtue of the fact that his wife was a clinical lead for older people with mental health issues for West Berkshire Health, NHS Trusts . As his interest was personal and not a disclosable pecuniary interest  he determined to take part in the debate and vote on the matter).

The Council considered a report (Agenda Item 18) concerning the Council’s 2014/15 revenue budget.

MOTION: Proposed by Councillor Alan Law and seconded by Councillor Gordon Lundie:

That the Council:

(1)       in accordance with Council Rules of Procedure 4.9 and 4.16 (Appendix L refers), the Council’s decision of 12 December 2013 in relation to not transferring funding to Town and Parish Councils under the Council Tax Reduction Scheme be rescinded.

(2)       notes that the following are the amounts for the year 2014/2015 in accordance with regulations made under Section 31B of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, as amended (by the Localism Act 2011):-

(a)       60,599.03 being the amount calculated by the Council, (Item T) in accordance with regulation 31B of the Local Authorities (Calculation of Council Tax Base) Regulations 1992 (as amended by the Localism Act 2011), as its council tax base for the year.

(b)       Part of the Council's area as per Appendix K being the amounts calculated by the Council, in accordance with regulation 6 of the Regulations, as the amounts of its council tax base for the year for dwellings in those parts of its area to which a parish precept relates.

(3)       Calculates that the Council Tax requirement for the Council’s own purposes for 2014/15 (excluding Parish precepts) is £76,563,245

(d)       notes that the following amounts be now calculated by the Council for the year 2014/2015 in accordance with Sections 32 to 36 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, amended by the Localism Act 2011:-

(a)       £293,947,118 being the aggregate of the amounts which the Council estimates for the items set out in Section 31A(2)(a) to (f) of the Act taking into account all precepts issued to it by parish councils.

(b)       (£213,886,715) being the aggregate of the amounts which the Council estimates for the items set out in Section 31A(3)(a) to (d) of the Act.

(c)        £80,060,403 being the amount by which the aggregate at 4(a) above, exceeds the aggregate at 4(b) above, calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 31A(4) of the Act, as its council tax requirement for the year (Item R).

(d)       £1,321.14 being the amount at 4(c) above (Item R), all  ...  view the full minutes text for item 87.

The Council considered a report (Agenda Item 19) concerning the Council’s Pay Policy Statement which it was required to publish for approval by the 01^st April 2014.

MOTION: Proposed by Councillor Alan Law and seconded by Councillor Laszlo Zverko:

That the Council:

“approves the Pay Policy Statement as set out in Appendix A to the report”.

Councillor Alan Law informed Members that there it was a statutory requirement to produce the report which set out the earnings of the Council’s senior managers and also the ratios between the salaries of the top and bottom earners in the Council.

The Motion was put to the meeting and duly RESOLVED.

(Councillor Emma Webster declared an interest in Agenda item 20 by virtue of the fact that she was employed by a company that worked with local developers and although she did not she was a director of the company . As her interest was personal and a disclosable pecuniary interest  she left the meeting and took no part in the debate or voting on the matter).

(Councillor Keith Woodhams declared a personal interest in Agenda item  20 by virtue of the fact that his daughter was employed by a local developer. As his interest was personal and not a disclosable pecuniary interest he determined to take part in the debate but declared that he would not  vote on the matter).

(Councillor Emma Webster left the meeting at 8.52pm and returned at 9.02pm)

The Council considered a report (Agenda Item 20) concerning the Examiner’s report into West Berkshire’s Draft Charging Schedule and sought approval for the adoption and implementation of a Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) for the Council.

MOTION: Proposed by Councillor Hilary Cole and seconded by Councillor Paul Bryant:

That the Council:

1.                  “accepts the Examiner’s recommendations and adopts the Charging Schedule as set out in Appendix B to the report;

2.                  Agrees that the Charging Schedule will take effect from the 01^st April 2015 unless the restriction on the use of s106 agreements come into force before that date, in which case the Charging Schedule will take effect from the date that those restrictions come into force;

3.                  Approves the Regulations 123 List as set out in Appendix C as supporting documentation to the Charging Schedule.”

Councillor Hilary Cole thanked Members that had attended the Member Development session on CIL on the 12 February despite the inclement weather.

Councillor Cole explained that CIL was a concept that had been introduced by Government in 2010 and had been amended year on year since then. As a result of recent changes the cut off date at which point the s06 scheme would have to cease had been  delayed from April 2014 until April 2015. Councillor Cole reported that new Regulations had come into force on the 24 February 2014 (after the agenda had been published) and consequently the second recommendation should be amended to read that:

“That the Charging Schedule will take effect from 1st April 2015.”

Councillor Cole reported that there appeared to be cross party support for the retention of the existing s106 scheme. A meeting had therefore been arranged with Richard Benyon (MP) to discuss the issue. The most simple solution being to remove the cut off date for s106 schemes in the Regulations which would allow a decision to be made at a local level and which would have the effect of making the introduction of the CIL scheme voluntary. Mr Benyon was able to get agreement for a Westminster Hall debate where a challenge was articulated to keep the existing policy. This debate had resulted in a further meeting being secured at the Department for  ...  view the full minutes text for item 89.

The Council considered a report (Agenda Item 21) concerning amendments to sections of the Scheme of Delegation in light of legislative changes.

MOTION: Proposed by Councillor Jeff Beck and seconded by Councillor Quentin Webb:

That the Council:

“agrees the proposed amendments to the Scheme of Delegation”.

Councillor Jeff Beck noted that the Governance and Audit Committee had discussed the proposed changes at a meeting on the 10 February 2014. The Committee had resolved to recommend acceptance of the changes as detailed in the report.

The Motion was put to the meeting and duly RESOLVED.

The Council considered a report (Agenda Item 22) concerning a review and ensuing amendments to sections of Part 13 (Codes and Protocols) i.e. Appendices A (West Berkshire Code of Conduct for Planning), D (Gifts and Hospitality: A Code of Conduct for Councillors), E (Procedure for Local Determination of Allegation) and G (West Berkshire Code of Conduct for Licensing) in light of legislative changes, policy changes and recent government guidance.

MOTION: Proposed by Councillor Jeff Beck and seconded by Councillor Quentin Webb:

That the Council:

1.      “agrees the amendments and any additional changes required;

2.      Agrees the changes will come into effect on the 05 March 2014”.

Councillor Jeff Beck noted that the changes had been discussed at the Governance and Audit Committee meeting on the 10 February 2014. The Committee had recommended that Council adopt the proposed changes.

The Motion was put to the meeting and duly RESOLVED.