Agenda item

To approve the following reports as recommended by the Executive:-

Paper A – 2024-25 General Fund Revenue Budget and Capital Programme Update

Paper B – Council Tax Reduction and Exceptional Hardship Scheme 2024-25

Paper C1 – Annual Treasury Management Outturn Report 2022-23

Paper C2 – Annual Treasury Management Midyear Report 2023-24

Paper D – Harbour Management Advisory Committee

Paper E – Proposed withdrawal and dissolution of the Heart of the South West Joint Committee

Paper F – Housing Revenue Account Q1 2023-24

PAPER A

2024/25 General Fund Revenue Budget & Capital Programme update

– see Paper A and its appendices that the Executive considered and endorsed at its meeting in 6 December 2023.

 

Councillor Liz Leyshon proposed the recommendations which were seconded by Councillor Bill Revans.

 

Having been duly proposed and seconded, the Council RESOLVED to:

Note that the Council had declared a financial emergency and accordingly endorsed the range of actions and mitigations being taken forward. Furthermore, the Council fully supported the Executive and Senior Officers to continue its discussions with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) and formally requests a capitalisation direction in order to set the 2024/25 budget.

 

PAPER B

Council Tax Reduction & Exceptional Hardship Scheme for 2024/25 – see Paper B and its appendices that the Executive considered and endorsed at its meeting in 6 December 2023.

 

Councillor Liz Leyshon proposed the recommendations which were seconded by Councillor David Fothergill.

 

Having been duly proposed and seconded, the Council RESOLVED to approve:

      i.         The Council Tax Reduction and Exceptional Hardship schemes set out in Appendices 4 and 5 to this report;

     ii.         Option 3 in relation to the income band thresholds used within Schedule 1 of the proposed Council Tax Reduction scheme i.e. uprating in line with the 6.7% rise in state benefits announced by Government in the November 2023 Autumn Statement; and

   iii.         A full review of the Council Tax Reduction scheme during the 2024/25 financial year to identify options for a revised scheme in the 2025/26 financial year.  (NB. the review and consultation exercise would require funding which was anticipated to be in the region of £60k).

 

PAPER C

Annual Treasury Management Outturn Report 2022-23 / Annual Treasury Management Mid-Year Report 2023/24 – see Paper C1 and C2 that the Executive considered and endorsed at its meetings on 4 October 2023 and 6 December 2023. 

 

Councillor Liz Leyshon proposed the recommendations which were seconded by Councillor Bill Revans.

 

Having been duly proposed and seconded, the Council RESOLVED to approve the reports as being in compliance with the CIPFA Code of Practice for Treasury Management.

 

PAPER D

Harbour Management Advisory Committee – see Paper D that the Executive considered and endorsed at its meeting on 6 December 2023.

 

Councillor Bill Revans proposed the recommendations which were seconded by Councillor Leigh Redman.

 

Having been duly proposed and seconded, the Council RESOLVED to approve:

      i.         that a Harbour Management Advisory Committee was established as an advisory committee to the Executive under s102(4) of the Local Government Act 1972;

     ii.         the Terms of Reference of the Harbour Management Advisory Committee attached at Appendix 1;

   iii.         the terms of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Executive and the Harbour Management Advisory Committee attached as Appendix 2;

    iv.         the appointment of 6 elected members be delegated to the Monitoring Officer, as nominated by relevant political group leaders, to the Harbour Management Advisory Committee in accordance with the political balance requirements in section 15 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989.  

      v.         delegated authority be granted to the Service Director Regulatory and Operational in consultation with the Service Director Governance, Democratic and Legal Services to conduct a skills audit for the Harbour Management Advisory Committee and to conduct the process for the recruitment of appropriately skilled co-opted members to the Committee and make recommendations to Full Council for appointment of the co-opted members

 

PAPER E

Proposed withdrawal and dissolution of the Heart of the South West Joint Committee – see paper E that the Executive considered and endorsed at its meeting on 6 December 2023.

 

Councillor Bill Revans proposed the recommendations which were seconded by Councillor David Fothergill.

 

Having been duly proposed and seconded, the Council RESOLVED to agree to serve notice of its withdrawal and that the Heart of the South West Joint Committee be dissolved on 31 December 2023.

 

PAPER F

2023/24 Housing Revenue Account Q1 – see Paper F that the Executive considered and endorsed at its meeting on 4 October 2023.

 

Councillor Federica Smith-Roberts proposed the recommendations which were seconded by Councillor Liz Leyshon.

 

Having been duly proposed and seconded, the Council RESOLVED to approve a supplementary capital budget of £3,313,829 for the in-house service to spend on Fire Safety. 

PAPER A

The Deputy Leader of the Council and Lead Member for Resources and Performance, Councillor Liz Leyshon, introduced the report on the 2024/25 General Fund Revenue Budget and Capital Programme update, which the Executive considered and endorsed at its meeting on 6 December 2023.

 

The purpose of the report was to set out the challenging financial position faced by the Council.

 

Councillor Liz Leyshon proposed the recommendations which were seconded by Councillor Bill Revans.

 

The Council discussed the report and the following points were raised:-

·       Some councillors highlighted the 74 sites that had been declared surplus and asked when they would find out more about any sites in their divisions so they could work with the City, Town and Parish Councils as part of the Council’s devolution programme and partnership work with local councils.

·       Councillors requested that Paper A’s appendix one be considered further at the next available meeting of the Scrutiny Committee for Corporate and Resources.

The Lead Member for Resources and Performance apologised for the lateness of the papers that had gone to Executive and advised that work was still ongoing on the report and involved collating a lot of data.

·       Councillors felt that Central Government had failed Somerset Council with the level of funding being granted.

·       Concern was raised on the lack of detail contained within the report which was hampering the discussions held with the City, Town and Parish Councils on the devolution project.

The Lead Member for Economic Development, Planning and Assets advised that the Asset Strategy had made the details transparent, and the Disposal Policy had been through Full Council for decision, both documents had been clear on the process to be followed and had involved the local councillors.

·       Councillors supported the proposal that Somerset Council needed a vision for the future to create a sustainable council.

·       Concern was raised on behalf of the officers and residents regarding the scale of challenge and change for Somerset Council over the forthcoming year and future years.

The Lead Member for Resources and Performance acknowledged that they were aware of officer welfare and that the Executive had not taken the decision easily to declare a financial emergency.

·       Councillors queried how much research had been carried out on what other councils had done both before and after issuing a Section 114 notice.

·       Some councillors highlighted that more scrutiny of the financial emergency and budget proposals would help provide further options and ideas to the Executive and Full Council when recommending and approving the Annual Budget in February.  Councillors further highlighted that the process also needed to further involve local councillors in the ethos of the ‘Tell Local Councillor’ manner.

The Lead Member for Resources and Performance referenced the various budget briefings for councillors and the scheduled scrutiny committee meeting on the budget proposals on 1 February 2024.  They also advised that they had attended the Local Community Network meetings to update them on the financial position and were happy to continue to attend.

·       Councillors reflected that they understood the significant challenges facing the Council and that there were difficult decisions to be made.

·       Some concern was raised about the capitalisation request which formed part of the recommendations and an explanation was provided for how that request formed part of the Council being able to set a balanced budget.

·       Reference was made to a democratic deficit as a result of the reduction in councillors through creating the new Somerset Council and the added pressure on councillors working with their local communities during this challenging time and over the next few years.

 

Having been duly proposed and seconded, the Council RESOLVED to:

Note that the Council had declared a financial emergency and accordingly endorsed the range of actions and mitigations being taken forward. Furthermore, the Council fully supported the Executive and Senior Officers to continue its discussions with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) and formally requests a capitalisation direction in order to set the 2024/25 budget.

 

The meeting adjourned at 4.00pm

The meeting restarted at 4.15pm

 

PAPER B

The Deputy Leader of the Council and Lead Member for Resources and Performance, Councillor Liz Leyshon, introduced the report on the Council Tax Reduction and Exceptional Hardship Scheme for 2024/25, which the Executive considered and endorsed at its meeting in 6 December 2023.

 

The purpose of the report was to formally agree a Council Tax Reduction Scheme for the year for working aged people.

 

Councillor Liz Leyshon proposed the recommendations which were seconded by Councillor David Fothergill.

 

The Council discussed the report and the following points were raised:-

·       Councillors welcomed the report.

·       Councillors agreed it was important to look at the facts and figures.

·       Councillors agreed that they needed to ensure they supported the local residents.

 

Having been duly proposed and seconded, the Council RESOLVED to approve:

      i.         The Council Tax Reduction and Exceptional Hardship schemes set out in Appendices 4 and 5 to this report;

     ii.         Option 3 in relation to the income band thresholds used within Schedule 1 of the proposed Council Tax Reduction scheme i.e. uprating in line with the 6.7% rise in state benefits announced by Government in the November 2023 Autumn Statement; and

   iii.         A full review of the Council Tax Reduction scheme during the 2024/25 financial year to identify options for a revised scheme in the 2025/26 financial year.  (NB. the review and consultation exercise would require funding which was anticipated to be in the region of £60k).

 

PAPER C

The Deputy Leader of the Council and Lead Member for Resources and Performance, Councillor Liz Leyshon, introduced the report on the Annual Treasury Management Outturn Report 2022-23 / Annual Treasury Management Mid-Year Report 2023/24, which the Executive considered and endorsed at its meetings on 4 October 2023 and 6 December 2023. 

 

The purpose of the report was to cover the Treasury Management activity for 2022-23 and the first 6 months of the 2023-24 financial year.

 

Councillor Liz Leyshon proposed the recommendations which were seconded by Councillor Bill Revans.

 

The Council discussed the report and the following point was raised:-

·       Councillors queried the calculations stated within the report on the percentage drop in investments.

 

Having been duly proposed and seconded, the Council RESOLVED to approve the reports as being compliant with the CIPFA Code of Practice for Treasury Management.

 

PAPER D

The Leader of the Council, Councillor Bill Revans, introduced the report on the Harbour Management Advisory Committee, which the Executive considered and endorsed at its meeting on 6 December 2023.

 

The purpose of the report was to propose the formation of a committee of the council which would enable broader membership and locally elected members to be part of the Harbour Management Advisory Committee.

 

Councillor Bill Revans proposed the recommendations which were seconded by Councillor Leigh Redman.

 

The Council discussed the report and the following points were raised:-

·       Councillors thanked the Leader for the report.

·       Councillors agreed it was a positive move to involve local councillors on the Sub-Committee.

·       Councillors were pleased to see cross party involvement on the Sub-Committee.

·       Councillor David Fothergill proposed an amendment to recommendation iv: that the appointment of the members be delegated to the Monitoring Officer, as nominated by the Group leaders, which was seconded by Councillor Bill Revans.  The vote was taken on the amendment and was carried and became part of the substantive motion.

 

Having been duly proposed and seconded, the Council RESOLVED to approve:

      i.         that a Harbour Management Advisory Committee was established as an advisory committee to the Executive under s102(4) of the Local Government Act 1972;

     ii.         the Terms of Reference of the Harbour Management Advisory Committee attached at Appendix 1;

   iii.         the terms of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Executive and the Harbour Management Advisory Committee attached as Appendix 2;

    iv.         the appointment of 6 elected members be delegated to the Monitoring Officer, as nominated by relevant political group leaders, to the Harbour Management Advisory Committee in accordance with the political balance requirements in section 15 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989.  

      v.         delegated authority be granted to the Service Director Regulatory and Operational in consultation with the Service Director Governance, Democratic and Legal Services to conduct a skills audit for the Harbour Management Advisory Committee and to conduct the process for the recruitment of appropriately skilled co-opted members to the Committee and make recommendations to Full Council for appointment of the co-opted members.

 

PAPER E

The Leader of the Council, Councillor Bill Revans, introduced the report on the proposed withdrawal and dissolution of the Heart of the South West Joint Committee, which the Executive considered and endorsed at its meeting on 6 December 2023.

 

The purpose of the report was to specifically recommend that the Council agree to serve notice of its withdrawal and that the Heart of the South West Joint Committee be dissolved on 31 December 2023.

 

Councillor Bill Revans proposed the recommendations which were seconded by Councillor David Fothergill.

 

The Council discussed the report and the following point was raised:-

·       Councillors highlighted that the Heart of the South West had been an important vehicle used to approach Central Government on certain issues.  However, it had now outlived its purpose and naturally had come to an end.

 

Having been duly proposed and seconded, the Council RESOLVED to agree to serve notice of its withdrawal and that the Heart of the South West Joint Committee be dissolved on 31 December 2023.

 

PAPER F

The Lead Member for Communities, Housing and Culture, Councillor Federica Smith-Roberts, introduced the report on the 2023/24 Housing Revenue Account Q1, which the Executive considered and endorsed at its meeting on 4 October 2023.

 

The purpose of the report was to provide an update on the projected outturn financial position of the Council’s Housing Revenue Account for the year 2023-24.

 

Councillor Federica Smith-Roberts proposed the recommendations which were seconded by Councillor Liz Leyshon.

 

The Council discussed the report and the following point was raised:-

·       Councillors were pleased to support the report.

 

Having been duly proposed and seconded, the Council RESOLVED to approve a supplementary capital budget of £3,313,829 for the in-house service to spend on Fire Safety.