Agenda

To receive apologies for absence.

To agree the minutes of the of Full Council meeting held on 11^th November 2024.

(A report by the Independent Remuneration Panel)

To receive the draft Minutes from the meeting held on 18^th November 2024.

(A report by Christine Marshall, Deputy Chief Executive - Corporate Development (S151))

(A report by Christine Marshall, Deputy Chief Executive - Corporate Development (S151))

(A report by John Medler, Assistant Director for Governance and Monitoring Officer)

To consider the following motions in accordance with procedure rule 14:

We the undersigned hereby request that the following Motion be submitted to the meeting of the Council on the 20^th of January in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 14:-

Motion: Supporting our Farmers

Council notes that: 

·       Boston Borough has a proud history of standing up for our farmers, and the deep connection to the land they farm.

·       Many farmers are asset rich only so the impact will be family farms will need to sell land to pay the tax - making some farms unviable.

·       Inheritance Tax reliefs like APR (Agricultural Property Relief) reduce the amount of tax farmers and landowners have to pay when farmland is passed to the next generation after a death. This helps farms stay within the family to allow them to continue to look after the countryside and produce food for the country.

·       The Labour government has now announced it will change the rules for Inheritance Tax, including APR and BPR (Business Property Relief) on farmland and business assets. This means an effective tax rate of 20% on agricultural assets valued over £1 million, this can include buildings and machinery.

·       The NFU President has summarised the situation by saying “Farmers are rightly angry and concerned about their future and for the future of their family farms, having been reassured by ministers in the lead up to the budget that APR and BPR changes were not on the table.”

Council believes that: 

·       The recent 2024 Autumn Budget change to Inheritance Tax relief announced by the Labour Government will introduce a Family Farm Tax and will have a detrimental impact on farmers’ ability to pass on their farms to the next generation.

·       While the government claims that the new threshold means three-quarters of farms will not be impacted by the change, the NFU believes this is an underestimate and that up to half of all working farms, possibly more, could be impacted by the new tax rules.

·       The new tax rules could discourage people from buying farmland and renting it out to farmers. This could lead to less land being available for farming and more being used for other purposes

·       At a time when many farmers in Boston Borough are struggling with soaring costs and energy prices, this sudden tax rise will damage the future of their farms and destroy confidence in the agricultural community.

Council resolves  

·       That the Leader of the Council writes to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, to outline the Council’s dismay at the decision in the Budget to restrict Agricultural Property Relief and calls on the Government to stop the Family Farm Tax.

·       That the Portfolio Holder for Communities hold a meeting with local farmers and community representatives to consider ways the Council can provide support to them.

·       That the council advertise support available to farmers on our website, via social media and ask parish councils to do the same.

Proposer: Councillor James Cantwell

Seconder: Councillor Stuart Evans

We the undersigned hereby request that the following Motion be submitted to the meeting of the Council on the 20^th of January in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 14:-

Motion: Community Governance Review

Council notes that: 

·       The Government on 16th December has made clear its intentions to abolish two-tier local councils by the end of this Parliament, with bids for alternative arrangements expected in the Autumn of 2025 and new Councils taking office in 2027 or 2028. Whatever we feel about this, the Ministerial statement-of-intent is clear and firm. Whether we like it or not, the Boston Borough Council as a ‘District Council’ will cease to exist within the next two to four years.

·       There may well be much debate as to what the future shape of local government in Lincolnshire will look like- whether that is a single unitary covering the current LCC area, or whether it is two or three smaller units instead. Either way, the town of Boston will find itself a part of a much bigger Council than it has been privileged to enjoy since 1974.

Council believes that: 

·       Local Government Re-organisation is happening so all of the previous assumptions against a Town Council for Boston undermining or duplicating the work of the current Borough Council are erased. Indeed, a successor Town Council would have to be established to give proper local democratic representation once the Borough ‘District Council’ is abolished.

·       All of the Charters and the Borough Status must be preserved and arrangements put in place to ensure that they may transfer to a successor Town Council and avoid the tragedy of Rochester which lost its ancient City Status through errors during reorganisation.

·       It is far easier to make the right decisions and transfer all which belongs to Boston while the Borough Council exists and has full power to implement such transfers; it is far easier to do this if there is a Town Council set up and running and in a position to receive these at its very beginning. Should all these assets go to a Council based in Lincoln or Sleaford or Spalding, getting them back again for the ‘Town and People’ of Boston will be so much more complicated.

·       For these reasons, Town Council should be created with all speed, and vested with all that it should be while there is still the time and chance to do it. Boston Borough Council cannot stop Local Government Re-organisation, but it can- while it still has full power- make sure that whatever comes afterwards it has left a legacy of which all Members can be rightly proud, and done right by the Town and People of Boston which will echo down the generations to come.

Council resolves:  

·       The Council instructs the Chief Executive to expedite a Community Governance Review for the Unparished area of Boston (the BTAC area), with a view to creating a new Town Council for Boston to take office at the earliest possible juncture.

·       This Council instructs the Chief Executive-  ...  view the full agenda text for item 2.