Agenda and minutes

The minutes of the previous meeting held on 20 January 2020 attached at page 1 - 8

The minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 20 January 2020 were taken as read and signed by the Mayor as a correct record.

To sign the minutes of the extraordinary meeting of 3 February 2020

The minutes of the Extraordinary meeting of the Council held on 3 February 2020, were taken as read and signed by the Mayor as a correct record.

To receive apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Richard Austin BEM, Chelcei Sharman, Aaron Spencer and Yvonne Stevens.

To receive communications (if any) from the Mayor and the Chief Executive.

The Deputy Chief Executive reminded Members that, in accordance with the Local Authorities (Standing Orders) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2014, all votes on the council tax and budget setting report would be taken as recorded votes.

It was announced that in accordance with the present arrangements for the selection of Mayor, Councillor Frank Pickett had agreed to serve as Mayor for the municipal year 2020/21.

It was reported that a request for an Extraordinary Meeting of the Council had been received, signed by the Leaders of the four political Groups of the Council, to debate the recently published report on the Emergency Department at Boston’s Pilgrim Hospital highlighting the inadequate standard in all aspects considered.

To receive deputations or petitions (if any) pursuant to Rules 12 and 13 of the Council’s Rules of Procedure.

The Chief Executive reported there were no deputations or petitions.

To answer any questions (if any) from Elected Members pursuant to Rule 11 of the Council’s Rules of Procedure.

Questions from Members of the Council and the public must be received by 5 p.m. two clear working days prior to the day of the meeting – the deadline for this meeting is 5 p.m. on Wednesday 26 February 2020

The Chief Executive reported there were two questions from Councillor Brian Rush and two questions from Councillor Anne Dorrian.

Question asked by Councillor Brian Rush pursuant to paragraph 11 of the Rules of Procedure as set out in the Constitution.

“Councillor Skinner, I wonder if you are as frustrated as I have been, regarding the ongoing denigration of this Borough, over past recent years.

Are you able to tell me, but more importantly those people we were ALL elected to represent, what you, your Deputy Leader, and your Cabinet Members, plan to do, to demand a greater share of the Counties spoils, for the benefit of our people, our town, and our Borough?”

Response by Councillor Paul Skinner

“Thank you for question Councillor Rush, as previously carefully explained to you on several occasions the Council taxes raised all have a designation and all authorities are required to produce a balanced budget.

In addition to the County investing extra resources in Social Services, Flooding and Roads recently. The town has also been in receipt of the opportunity to bid for £25 Million and the Government have also through the EA invested in excess of £125 Million in the Barrier and Bank projects.”

Supplemental question asked by Councillor Rush pursuant to paragraph 11.6 of the Rules of Procedure as set out in the Constitution:-

“As a dual hatter, when will Boston get a fair crack and a real share of funding from Lincolnshire County Council?”

Response by Councillor Paul Skinner

“You should understand your question, and don’t bring problems without viable solutions.”

Question asked by Councillor Anne Dorrian pursuant to paragraph 11 of the Rules of Procedure as set out in the Constitution.

“At the meeting of Council on 15th July 2019, it was brought to your attention that children in the town of Boston have the worst teeth in the Country. What specific actions did you take as a result of receiving that information?”

Response by Councillor Paul Skinner

“I thank Councillor Dorrian for notice of her question.

As I mentioned in my response to Councillor Dorrian on 15 July, public health falls under the responsibility of Lincolnshire County Council, the Borough Council has no direct powers in this respect.

However, I can report that at a meeting of the Boston Strategic Health Group held on 6^th February, of which the Borough is a partner organisation, the issue of oral health was discussed.  It was recognised that there are significant inequalities in Lincolnshire with 41% of children in Boston having experience of dental decay. There is evidence that socio-economic deprivation is a clear determinant of such inequalities and one of the main attributing factors is the water not being fluoridated in our area.

As a result of these issues being highlighted, Health Visitors have been universally distributing tooth brushing packs containing a toothbrush, high fluoride toothpaste and free flow cup.  Work is on-going with primary schools in relation to the Lincolnshire Smiles initiative, a county wide supervised tooth brushing  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

A Motion without Notice was moved by Councillor Anne Dorrian to suspend Procedure Rule 24.2 which allowed members of the public to film the meeting as she was being subjected to intimidation and harassment by an individual in the public gallery who constantly recorded her during meetings.

Councillor Brian Rush seconded the Motion.

The Monitoring Officer advised that, under the Openness of Local Government Bodies Regulations 2014, the Council did not have the powers to prevent the recording and filming of meetings unless guidance had been issued in circumstances where it may be permissible to do so, as such members of the public had the absolute right to film whilst Council was in open session.

On being put to the vote the Motion was lost.

To answer (if any) from members of the public pursuant to Rule 10 of the Council’s Rules of Procedure

Questions from Members of the Council and the public must be received by 5p.m. two clear working days prior to the day of the meeting – the deadline for this meeting is 5p.m. on Wednesday 26 February 2020.

The Deputy Chief Executive reported there were no questions from the public.

To receive declarations by Members of any interests in respect of items on the agenda.

No declarations of interest were made.

To receive the confirmed minutes of the meeting of the Audit and Governance Committee held on 27 January 2020)

Councillor Jonathan Noble introduced the confirmed minutes of the Audit and Governance Committee held on 11 November 2019 highlighting the key matters considered by the Committee.

It was moved by Councillor Jonathan Noble, seconded by Councillor Tom Ashton and 

                                                                        TO FOLLOW

(Report by the Chief Finance Officer)

Portfolio Holder: Councillor Martin Howard

FINAL COUNCIL TAX RESOLUTIONS TO FOLLOW

At the time of publication of this agenda the major preceptors had not met to agree their budgets and the Government had not formally approved the final settlement.  

A copy of the report considered by Cabinet on 19 February is attached.

Councillor Martin Howard introduced a report by the Chief Finance Officer which outlined the 2020/2021 revenue and capital position for the General Fund and proposals for the setting of discretionary fees and charges.

The Local Government Act 2003 introduced a requirement for the Chief Financial Officer to report on the robustness of the budget. The estimates had been prepared in a prudent manner, although it was highlighted that there were a number of elements outside of the Council’s control. These had been identified within the report and would be mitigated through the budget monitoring and risk management processes of the Council.

The financial regime from 2021/22, following the election of a new Government, the conclusion of the 2020 Spending Review, the proposed Fairer Funding review and introduction of further localisation of business rates, would determine the Council’s future financial landscape and constraints/opportunities in future years.

Difficulties facing the economy and the impact on the viability of town centres nationally presented potentially significant risks to future funding levels, which would require careful management and planning.  The challenge of delivering balanced budgets remained a key issue and the recent refresh of the Transformation Programme provided a clear framework within which resources would be aligned to continue to deliver valued services to the community.  The Council’s risk management processes were robust and alongside the annual budget the quarterly performance monitoring processes provided updates in the impacts being experienced as the situation became clearer.

In developing the Council’s budget proposals for 2020/21, it had managed inflationary pressures on operational costs and pressures on some areas of income collection.  Areas where net budget reductions had been delivered to produce a balanced budget included service modernisation initiatives in street cleansing, community safety and finance; increasing garden waste fees; amending council tax levels for long-term empty properties and a review of bad debt provisions. 

The Council continued to develop its response to the ‘commercial agenda’ and the role of innovation and development of services to deliver new/increased income an example being the Commercial Waste Service which had delivered income growth and provided learning across all service areas to drive further commercialisation opportunities.

In order to deliver its statutory budgetary duty from 2020/21 and develop proposals for a financially secure medium term, the Council would update its Corporate Plan during 2020/21 and continue to seek innovative opportunities to achieve the anticipated budget reductions necessary to deliver balanced budgets each year without adversely affecting service delivery and compromising its priorities.  Reports would be presented for deliberation and approval as projects were developed, using the Transformation Programme as the basis to progress from.

The following key proposals contained within the budget report were noted by Council as part of the introduction: -

·         A rise in Council Tax of 2.05% with Band D council tax being £192.96;

·         A balanced budget for 2020/21 after the one year settlement from Government, incorporating on-going savings from the Transformation Programme of £466,000 and increased fees received from planning applications which was being reinvested in the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11.