Meeting documents
SWT Full Council
Thursday, 24th February, 2022 6.15 pm
PDF 365 KBVenue: The John Meikle Room - The Deane House. View directions
Contact: Clare Rendell Email: c.rendell@somersetwestandtaunton.gov.uk
Webcast: View the webcast
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Apologies
To receive any apologies for absence. Additional documents: Minutes: Apologies were received from Councillors M Blaker, H Davies, B Hall, J Hunt, M Lithgow, C Morgan, S Nicholls, C Palmer, M Peters, A Pritchard, N Thwaites and T Venner. |
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Declarations of Interest
To receive and note any declarations of disclosable pecuniary or prejudicial or personal interests in respect of any matters included on the agenda for consideration at this meeting.
(The personal interests of Councillors and Clerks of Somerset County Council, Town or Parish Councils and other Local Authorities will automatically be recorded in the minutes.) Additional documents: Minutes: Members present at the meeting declared the following personal interests in their capacity as a Councillor or Clerk of a County, Town or Parish Council or any other Local Authority:-
Councillor M Kravis further declared a pecuniary interest on agenda item 11, Commercial Investment/Asset Management Strategies. He had owned a piece of land mentioned within the report and would leave the meeting for that item. |
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Public Participation - To receive only in relation to the business for which the Extraordinary Meeting has been called any questions, statements or petitions from the public in accordance with Council Procedure Rules 14,15 and 16
The Chair to advise the Committee of any items on which members of the public have requested to speak and advise those members of the public present of the details of the Council’s public participation scheme.
For those members of the public who have submitted any questions or statements, please note, a three minute time limit applies to each speaker and you will be asked to speak before Councillors debate the issue.
Temporary measures during the Coronavirus Pandemic Due to the temporary legislation (within the Coronavirus Act 2020, which allowed for use of virtual meetings) coming to an end on 6 May 2021, the council’s committee meetings will now take place in the office buildings within the John Meikle Meeting Room at the Deane House, Belvedere Road, Taunton. Unfortunately due to capacity requirements, the Chamber at West Somerset House is not able to be used at this current moment.
Following the Government guidance on measures to reduce the transmission of coronavirus (COVID-19), the council meeting rooms will have very limited capacity. With this in mind, we will only be allowing those members of the public who have registered to speak to attend the meetings in person in the office buildings, if they wish (we will still be offering to those members of the public that are not comfortable in attending, for their statements to be read out by a Governance and Democracy Case Manager). Please can we urge all members of the public who are only interested in listening to the debate to view our live webcasts from the safety of their own home to help prevent the transmission of coronavirus (COVID-19). Additional documents: Minutes: Mr Roger House submitted questions on agenda item 7, General Fund Revenue Budget and Capital Estimates 2022-23:- In April 2019 alongside the reorganisation to form a new Dorset Unitary Council a new town council for Weymouth was set up with the election of 29 new councillors in May 2019. The outgoing Weymouth and Portland Borough Council meeting report of the 22nd of February 2018 (14 months before inauguration, just like us today) includes details of the Community Governance Review outlining the new town council and in a financial section a budgeted amount of £200k to set this up. Council reports show six months before the inauguration of the Town Council an advance appointment of Jane Biscombe as the acting Town Clerk and Financial Officer. She supported the Shadow Town Council with regards the package of assets and duties to be transferred from Dorset Council including a full budget disaggregation exercise, so the money follows the function. There was a transfer of twenty-one staff, to form the Councils own in-house greenspace’s maintenance team. Our Taunton unparished area, in numbers of elector’s terms, is three quarters that of Weymouth. We still need to be bold in forming our new parish body (or bodies) by including all advance costs for a similar acting parish clerk position. I think this must be funded by the SWT Council, so please in addition to the One Somerset Unitary Reorganisation Costs, can this cost also be included?
The Portfolio Holder for Corporate Resources thanked Mr House for his questions and advised that a written response would be provided. |
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To receive any communications or announcements from the Chair of the Council
Additional documents: Minutes: The Chair of the Council made the following announcements:- · She wished Councillor Roger Habgood a happy birthday. · The Chair welcomed the newest elected councillor, Nicole Hawkins, to Somerset West and Taunton Council. · She advised Full Council about the Male Voice Choir Concert taking place on 9 April 2022. |
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To receive any communications or announcements from the Leader of the Council
Additional documents: Minutes: The Leader of the Council made the following announcements:- · She thanked all the staff for their hard work helping local residents through the recent storms, Eunice and Franklin. · The Leader highlighted the atrocities occurring in Ukraine and asked Full Council to take a moment to think about how fortunate we were in the United Kingdom. |
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To receive only in relation to the business for which the Extraordinary Meeting has been called any questions from Councillors in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 13
Additional documents: Minutes: No questions were received in relation to Council Procedure Rule 13. |
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General Fund Revenue Budget and Capital Estimates 2022-23
This matter is the responsibility of Executive Councillor for Corporate Resources, Councillor Ross Henley.
The report sets out the draft budget estimates for 2022/23, Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) forecasts, and 2022/23 Capital Programme with the proposed sources of funding. Importantly this is a balanced budget with resources available to meet spending plans for the year.
Note - A recorded vote on these recommendations will be required as per the legislation. Additional documents: Minutes: During the discussion, the following points were raised:- · Councillors welcomed the budget report. · Councillors thanked officers for their hard work on producing the budget report. · Councillors queried why there had been changes in the report since it had gone to Corporate Scrutiny for debate, including the addition of the budget book. The Portfolio Holder for Corporate Resources advised that the budget book was only in draft format when the report had gone to Corporate Scrutiny and further clarified that the information included in the report had been updated due to changes received during the budget process. · The Leader of the Conservative Group spoke on behalf of his members and agreed that the budget did pass muster, however, he was concerned that it was being politically driven and that it was not prudent or sustainable. · Concern was raised that a one-year budget had been produced which passed the buck to the Unitary Council. · Councillors were pleased to see that services had been protected within the budget. The Portfolio Holder for Corporate Services thanked councillors for their comments and was pleased that money was still being invested in assets, climate change, street scene, open spaces, the crematorium and housing projects, to name but a few. · Concern was raised that the climate change projects were only given a one-off allocation and had not been included within the Medium-Term Financial Plan. The Portfolio Holder for Corporate Resources advised that as part of the Carbon Neutrality and Climate Resilience Action Plan, officers would be in a substantive part of the council and therefore would be transferred over to the New Council along with the other officers, the budget had only been set for one year, as the New Council would be responsible for setting the budget post vesting day on 1 April 2023. · Councillors requested clarification on the precept set for the Unparished Area of Taunton. Clarification was given. · The Leader of the Council was pleased to second the budget report. She had first entered into politics to make a difference to the local community which she believed the budget would deliver. She also believed that the budget was sustainable and left a lasting legacy budget for the residents of Somerset West and Taunton.
In accordance with Standing Order 18(2)(i), the Chair called for a recorded vote to be taken and recorded in the Minutes.
The recommendations, which are detailed below, were put and CARRIED with thirty-six for and ten abstaining:
Resolved that Full Council:- 2.1Approved the Revenue Budget, Council Tax Rate and Capital Programme for 2022/23 and Supplementary Budget in 2021/22 including: a) Draft Revenue Net Budget of £17.018m for 2022/23. b) The basic Somerset West and Taunton Band D Council Tax rate of £174.63 for 2022/23. c) General Fund 2022/23 Capital Programme additions totalling £1.896m and 2022/23 Capital Programme Revisions of -£0.181m for previously approved schemes for 2022/23, as set out in Table 18. d) A Supplementary Budget in 2021/22 of £1m for additional capital debt repayment funded from General ... view the full minutes text for item 96. |
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Council Tax Setting 2022/23
This matter is the responsibility of Executive Councillor for Corporate Resources, Councillor Ross Henley.
The purpose of this report is for Full Council to approve the calculation and setting of the Council Tax for 2022/23. This incorporates the precepts approved by all the local authorities for whom SWT collects the council tax – county, district, town, parish, charter trustees, police and fire authorities.
Note - A recorded vote on these recommendations will be required as per the legislation. Additional documents: Minutes: During the discussion, the following points were raised:- · Councillor N Cavill left the room. · The Leader of the Council was happy to second the report and wanted to remind residents that although they paid their council tax to the district council, that it was distributed to other local authorities and that the district council only kept a small amount of the payment amount.
In accordance with Standing Order 18(2)(i), the Chair called for a recorded vote to be taken and recorded in the Minutes.
The recommendations, which are detailed below, were put and were CARRIED with forty-five councillors voting in favour:-
Resolved that Full Council:- 2.1Approved the formal Council Tax Resolution in Appendix A. 2.2Noted that if the formal Council Tax Resolution at Appendix A was approved, the total Band D Council Tax would be:
2.3Delegated authority to the Council Leader to approve a revised tax resolution if there were any amendments to preceptor demand notifications following this meeting.
Those voting FOR the MOTION: Councillors I Aldridge, B Allen, L Baker, M Barr, C Booth, S Buller, S Coles, D Darch, T Deakin, D Durdan, K Durdan, C Ellis, H Farbahi, E Firmin, A Govier, S Griffiths, R Habgood, A Hadley, J Hassall, N Hawkins, R Henley, M Hill, D Johnson, M Kravis, R Lees, S Lees, L Lisgo, J Lloyd, D Mansell, A Milne, D Perry, H Prior-Sankey, S Pugsley, M Rigby, F Smith, F Smith-Roberts, V Stock-Williams, A Sully, A Trollope-Bellew, R Tully, S Wakefield, B Weston, K Wheatley, L Whetlor and G Wren. |
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Business Rates Pooling - Urgent Leader Decision October 2021
This matter is the responsibility of Executive Councillor for Corporate Resources, Councillor Ross Henley.
This report summarises the background to an urgent Leader Decision taken in October 2021 regarding the Council’s membership of the Somerset Business Rates Pool. This report is presented at this Full Council agenda given its relevance to the Budget Report. Additional documents: Minutes: Resolved that Full Council noted the report.
Councillor N Cavill returned to the room. |
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Access to Information - Exclusion of the Press and Public (appendices only)
During discussion of the following item (appendices only) it may be necessary to pass the following resolution to exclude the press and public having reflected on Article 13 13.02(e) (a presumption in favour of openness) of the Constitution. This decision may be required because consideration of this matter in public may disclose information falling within one of the descriptions of exempt information in Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972. Council will need to decide whether, in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption, outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.
Recommend that under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 the public be excluded from the next item of business (appendices only) on the ground that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 respectively of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act, namely information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information). Additional documents: Minutes: Resolved that under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 the public be excluded from the next item of business (agenda item 11, appendices only) on the grounds that it involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 respectively of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act, namely information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information). |
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Commercial Investment/Asset Management Strategies
This matter is the responsibility of Executive Councillor for Corporate Resources, Councillor Ross Henley. Additional documents: Minutes: During the discussion, the following points were raised:- · Councillor M Kravis left the meeting. · The Portfolio Holder for Corporate Services thanked officers for all their expertise and the hard work involved in producing the report. · Councillors welcomed the income produced by the Strategy. However, they were disappointed to be put in the position of relying on commercial investment to be able to provide local services for the community due to lack of funding received from Central Government. · Councillors were keen to see more investment in the local area but understood that it might not raise the same level of income. · Concern was raised on the volatility of income streams. · Councillors K Durdan and A Govier left the meeting. · Councillors were pleased to see that great care had been given when the investment properties had been chosen. · Councillor K Durdan returned to the room.
Resolved that Full Council:- 2.1Supported the following recommendations: - a) Noted the six-monthly update information. b) Adoption of the revised Commercial Investment Strategy at Appendix 2. c) Adopted the Asset Management Strategy as an interim document pending transition to a Unitary authority (Appendix 3) |