Agenda and minutes

To receive apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Jyothi Arayambath, Emma Cresswell, Andy Izard, Chris Mountain and Ralph Pryke.

Councillors Stephen Woodliffe, Paul Gleeson, Richard Austin, Alison Austin and Peter Bedford all declared an interest in respect of the Motion on Changes to the Winter Fuel Allowance and Protecting Pensioners from Fuel Poverty, as they had previously been recipients of that allowance. They advised that they would be withdrawing from the meeting for the consideration of that item.

Councillor Paul Gleeson also declared an interest in respect of any matters potentially to be discussed during the meeting relating to PSPSL, as he was a Non Executive Director of PSPSL.

The Deputy Monitoring Officer advised that Members in receipt of the Winter Fuel Allowance were not considered to have a disclosable pecuniary interest as it was excluded under the regulations. Members were therefore not required to leave the meeting unless they wished to.

To agree the minutes of the Annual Meeting of Full Council held on 15^th July 2024.

The Minutes of the meeting of Full Council held on 15^th July 2024 were agreed and signed by the Mayor.

The Chief Executive confirmed that there were no communications.

The Chief Executive confirmed that no deputations or petitions had been received.

The Chief Executive advised that the following questions had been received:

Question to Councillor Anne Dorrian from Councillor Mike Gilbert

In the last ten weeks Boston has acquired a new MP, and Britain has been convulsed by riots, associated with a vague agglomeration of people described by Westminster politicians and the media as ‘the far right’. In respect of the former we have read about Boston quite a lot in the national press, and what has been said whilst broadly an accurate description of our town, lacked any insight into what has happened to Boston over the last 30 years and why, and moreover what is to be done about it. 

Likewise, whilst Boston thankfully didn’t suffer with local social disturbance, the issue of immigration was cited as its cause nationally, following the killing of three small girls at a dance party.

It seems to me that Boston is a Borough ideally placed to gain a mature grasp of the issue of immigration and the various challenges associated with it? In respect of the challenges, these are from my experience as a town centre resident markedly different from the challenges associated with inward migration in 2010.

We have a precedent for such an approach in that we have in the past prepared an award-winning report on the impact of immigration on our Borough and we are now once again fortunate to have the vice chairman of the committee that prepared that report, Cllr Paul Gleeson back on this council.

My question for the leader Cllr Dorian is this, would you and your cabinet fully endorse and resource the preparation of such a report? Evidence could be taken from public and private organisations, such as health providers and the management of Boston’s cultural offer, plus police, education providers the Civil Service, employers and of course the public. By contrasting it with our earlier report we would be able to see what Boston got right in the past, or what things changed which were beyond our control.

Boston needs this council to work together across group affiliations so we can better understand our town and the challenges that face us, so in respect of the specific issue of immigration, we have the evidence to take to government ourselves rather than do as we have done previously and rely on our MP to speak.

Response from Councillor Anne Dorrian

I thank Councillor Gilbert for notice of his question.

I don’t entirely agree with every single point which you’ve made here, however, the gist of what you’ve said does resonate with me.

Firstly, I would like to comment on the report which you’ve mentioned, which, at the time, was universally accepted as an exemplar scrutiny report and I commend the authors for their dedication to the task.

I am pleased to confirm that I have already begun work in this arena and to that end, I met with our Senior Immigration Officers on 22nd July 2024 to get a better understanding of the issues  ...  view the full minutes text for item 29.

The Chief Executive confirmed that no questions had been received from members of the public.

To receive the draft Minutes from the meeting held on 8^th July 2024.

Councillor Barrie Pierpoint, Chairman of the Audit and Governance Committee, presented the Audit and Governance minutes from the meeting held on 8^th July 2024 which was for councillors to note.

(A report by Christine Marshall, Deputy Chief Executive – Corporate Development & Section 151 Officer)

Councillor Sandeep Ghosh presented a report by the Deputy Chief Executive – Corporate Development & Section 151 Officer which set out recommendations from Cabinet to Full Council in order to amend the capital programme budget for 2024/2025, to approve the reserves transactions and balances as set out in Appendix A, and to approve the reserve transactions and balances for 2022/2023, as set out in Appendix B.

Members noted that Boston Borough Council was one of 31 Councils in the UK that had successfully released their draft statement of accounts for 2023/2024 by the statutory deadline 31^st May 2024. The audited statement of accounts for 2022/2023 had also been signed off by the External Auditors, Mazars; and the final revenue position for 2022/2023 was a surplus of £155,000.

Members discussed the report and the following comments were made:

·       It was requested that future financial reports be written in a clearer format.

·       It was noted that the PSPS contract had been in excess of the budget.

·       Officers and the Portfolio Holder were thanked for their work.

Councillor Peter Bedford requested details of the returns on the corporation farm. Councillor Ghosh agreed to provide that information following the meeting.

The recommendations were moved by Councillor Sandeep Ghosh and seconded by Councillor Anne Dorrian.

RESOLVED:

1.     That the reserve transactions and balances for 2023/24, as set out in Appendix A – Table 4 within the report, and the transfer of the revenue surplus to reserves be approved;

2.     That the Capital Programme be amended to take into account the changes set out in Appendix A – Table 5b within the report; and

3.     That the reserve transactions and balances for 2022/23, as set out in Appendix B – Table 3, be approved.

(A report by Christine Marshall, Deputy Chief Executive & S151)

Councillor Sandeep Ghosh presented a report by the Deputy Chief Executive – Corporate Development & Section 151 Officer which provided Members with a review of Treasury Management performance and activity during 2023/24 to ensure best practice was maintained.

Members noted that the Council was required to produce an Annual Treasury report after the end of each financial year in accordance with the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy’s Code of Practice on Treasury Management. The Annual Treasury Report 2023/24, in Appendix A within the report, was considered by the Audit and Governance Committee at its meeting on 8 July 2024. A full breakdown of capital expenditure was detailed in Appendix A1, at the end of the report.

The Portfolio Holder and Officers were congratulated for their work. 

The recommendations were moved by Councillor Sandeep Ghosh and seconded by Councillor Anne Dorrian.

RESOLVED:

That the Annual Treasury Management Review 2023/24, in Appendix A within the report, as required by the Local Government Act 2003 following scrutiny by the Audit and Governance Committee at their meeting on 8 July 2024 be approved.

(A report by James Gilbert, Assistant Director - Corporate)

The Leader of the Council presented an update on the progress of the South & East Lincolnshire Councils Partnership since 4^th March 2024.

The report set out the progress made by the Partnership business case under the headings of:

·       Alignment and Delivery Plan (ADP) –activity was being monitored by the Joint Strategy Board to support the Partnership in delivering on its priorities, as well as sovereign Council ambitions.

·       Peer Challenge Update – The Partnership LGA Peer Challenge had taken place in October 2022. The Peers’ findings and feedback had been reported to Council and fed into the Partnership’s development plans for 23/24 and beyond. A follow up visit had been carried out on 28th September 2023 to explore progress against each of the original recommendations where the Peers had noted a significant amount of progress which had been made to deliver on their 2022 recommendations.

·       Priority Partnerships Update – A number of key Partnerships had been established as mechanisms for delivering the strategic priorities for the Partnership, which were set out within the report.

·       Partnership Scrutiny Update – On forming the Partnership, the Councils had committed to undertake an annual scrutiny of the Partnership’s progress as identified in the approved business case. The third joint scrutiny of the Partnership was carried out in September 2024, with a report to come forward for consideration in due course.

Councillors Woodliffe referred to the S&ELCP £42m Savings Tracker – cashable and non cashable, on page 79 of the report, which he felt showed a risk where the target had risen above the total from 26/27 onwards. The Leader assured members that the target (blue line) had been set by the Councils and therefore could be changed if required.

The recommendations were moved by Councillor Anne Dorrian and seconded by Councillor Dale Broughton.

RESOLVED:

That the progress of the Partnership be noted.

The following Motions were received:

Rural Strategy

Council resolves to:

·       Bring forward a Council-led Rural Strategy, similar in format to the Boston Town Centre Strategy and Action Plan 2023-2027 within 1 year of the 16th of September 2024.

·       Boston Borough Council create this strategy in consultation with Borough Councillors, Parish Council’s, relevant Rural Voluntary/Residents’ Groups, and Rural Residents on issues/action points in these communities.

The recommendations within the Motion were moved by Councillor James Cantwell and seconded by Councillor Claire Rylott.

Councillor Anne Dorrian moved an amendment and proposed that the motion be referred to Cabinet for consideration. This was seconded by Councillor Dale Broughton.

Members discussed the recommendation and the following comments were made:

·       Some Members were of the opinion that the motion should instead be referred to Scrutiny for consideration followed by Cabinet and then Full Council, if required. Other Members agreed that the motion should be referred to Cabinet in the first instance.

·       The population figures on the Council’s website appeared to be incorrect as opposed to the most recent Census.

·       Cabinet was the responsible body for developing new policies.

The amended recommendation was moved by Councillor Anne Dorrian and seconded by Councillor Dale Broughton.

RESOLVED:

That the substantive motion be referred to Cabinet for further consideration.

Changes to the Winter Fuel Allowance and Protecting Pensioners from Fuel Poverty

Council resolves to:

·       Bring forward a Council-led local awareness campaign to alert those eligible of Pension Credit which in some respects will help access to the Winter Fuel Payment for those most in need.

·       Request that the Council Leader write to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, urging a review of the decision to means-test the Winter Fuel Payment and asking the government to ensure that vulnerable pensioners, particularly those who do not claim Pension Credit, are protected from fuel poverty.

·       Commit the Council to signing the ‘Save the Winter Fuel Payment for Struggling Pensioners’ petition being run by Age UK and write to all members offering them the opportunity to sign the petition themselves.

·       Encourage local efforts to promote Pension Credit uptake through partnerships with local charities and community organisations to that all eligible pensioners in Boston Borough are supported in claiming their entitlement.

The recommendations were moved by Councillor James Cantwell and seconded by Councillor Stuart Evans.

The Leader advised that she had a number of amendments, as follows:

·       The second bullet point (within Council notes), the estimated impact of the decision, had gone up from 2 million to 2.5 million.

·       The addition of the word ‘some’ in the third bullet point (within Council notes): ‘The significant role that Winter Fuel Payments play in helping some older residents of Boston Borough’.

·       The removal of the word and from the last line of the second bullet point (within Council believes): ‘that sit just above the cut-off for Pension Credit will now lose their allowance’.

·       The addition of the words ‘some of’ in the third bullet point (within Council believes): ‘affect the health and well-being of some of our  ...  view the full minutes text for item 35.