Agenda item

Prior to Members’ consideration of the report, the Monitoring Officer, Scott Fawcus, reminded Members that it was a requirement of the Constitution, that, a recorded vote was required and would be included in the minutes to show how each Elected Member had voted on the decisions the Council was to take relating to the budget and level of Council Tax. Therefore items 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 would all be subject to a recorded vote and this would be documented in the minutes.

 

The Monitoring Officer also reminded Members that the Due Regard Statement  and Equality Implications were fundamental in making a decision and it was of utmost importance that Members had fully considered the impact on certain groups and individuals and had given due regard to any implications of this decision under the Equality Act.

 

The Mayor of Doncaster, Ros Jones, presented the report to Council, which sought approval of the Budget proposals for 2016/17.

 

The Mayor outlined that in 2014, Full Council agreed a three year budget plan - to fix a £109m budget gap caused by the Conservative government cuts and rising costs.

This equated to a reduction of more than £305 for every man, woman and child in Doncaster and created a very difficult situation. Overall, the cuts would result in a smaller Council, with fewer staff and ultimately delivering less public services at a time when demand for many services was continually increasing.

 

The Mayor commented that she was determined that these Government cuts would not set Doncaster back and since becoming Mayor, she had made significant improvements. The Labour Party had led the Council out of government intervention and a long term plan has been put into place, including the following:

 

·         to balance the budget

·         modernise the Council

·         make better use of technology; and

·         retain as many front line services as possible.

 

The Mayor stated that the Council was on track to deliver the plan and must now complete the job. Continuing to balance the Council’s budget and prudently manage its finances were central to the Mayor’s Revenue Budget proposals presented to Council.

 

The specific proposals would look to deliver the remaining £31m of budget reductions required for 2016/17 and included reshaping services, pension and staff savings, and income generation. It also included the continued rollout of ‘invest to save’ projects, such as installing new energy saving LED street lights and introducing more effective street cleaning and grass cutting equipment. Council noted that the plan has also been updated to take account of recent announcements, most notably the National Living Wage. Also included, was the Government’s new social care ‘levy’ on Council Tax, which was announced by Chancellor George Osborne in his Autumn Statement. The Chancellors 2% ‘levy’ was an increase in Council Tax in addition to the 1.95% previously agreed by the Council and had to be spent exclusively on adult social care.

 

The Mayor stated that she did not want to see Council Tax go up by nearly 4%, but the Government had left the Council with little choice. Without it there was the risk of not being able to provide vital services in the future.

The Mayor concluded that she believed these proposals outlined within the report, were prudent and sensible, and will deliver that vision – thus ensuring that vital public services were available for Doncaster’s residents both now and in the future.

 

Finally, the Mayor recommended the proposals to Council.

 

Following the Mayor’s presentation of the report, the Chair of Council outlined to the Chamber that an amendment had been received from the Conservative Group which would be presented to Council by Councillor James Hart. The Chief Financial Officer confirmed it had been submitted in good time to allow for officers to confirm that the proposals, should they be agreed, would be deliverable.

 

Councillor Hart informed Council that the proposed amendments sought to do two things. Firstly, it was proposed that through modest increases to Building Control fees and Highways fees, income could be generated to provide revenue to account for repayments for a Capital Scheme - a Community Road Safety Scheme.  It was proposed that such a scheme would enable local communities to bid for money, and allow for road safety features to be introduced. Councillor Hart stated that this was something that local communities felt would have a huge impact on the welfare of residents, and although the Highways Team may deem this to be non-essential it would in fact be of huge benefit to residents across the Borough, hopefully alleviating the risk of future serious injury or death to victims across the area.

 

Secondly, Councillor Hart proposed that £250k be allocated from the budget for the commissioning of a 16-23 Careers Service, which would look to tackle the problems of NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training) across the Borough, particularly in relation to those aged 19-23, where the percentage in Doncaster currently stood at 20%. Councillor Hart added that this was a problem that was staring us in the face, and should be addressed in order to prevent further action in the future. The service should be designed to:-

 

·         Engage;

·         Motivate;

·         Inform; and

·         Empower.

 

Councillor Hart informed Council that there were currently a lot of innovative schemes in place across the country which were having a real impact on the lives of young people, adding that they couldn’t afford to sit back and watch the demise of a generation.

 

Following the Mayor’s presentation of the Revenue Budget proposals, and Councillor James Hart’s presentation of the Conservative Party’s amendment, Members were afforded the opportunity to comment on the report and the proposed amendment. Particular reference was made to consideration of the budget proposals by OSMC at their meetings and the thorough and robust discussions undertaken in order to fully scrutinise the proposals. Council learned that during the course of debate at Scrutiny, emphasis had been placed on highways improvements and identifying opportunities to support young people into employment. However, Mayor Jones reiterated the significant financial challenges facing the Council, and although there were some proposals that would be of benefit to communities, it would not be feasible to divert money away from the proposals contained within the budget for 2016/17. However, Mayor Jones offered all political groups the opportunity to engage with her to address future financial challenges and proposals.

 

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 21.4, a recorded vote was taken on the amended Motion, which was declared as follows:-

 

 

FOR- 5

Councillors Nick Allen, Jane Cox, Steve Cox, James Hart and Alan Smith.

 

Against – 42

The Chair of Council, Councillor Paul Wray, the Vice Chair of Council, Councillor David Nevett, the Mayor of Doncaster, Ros Jones, Deputy Mayor,, Councillor Glyn Jones and Councillors Nigel Ball, Rachel Blake, Iris Beech, Joe Blackham, Elsie Butler, Phil Cole, Tony Corden, Jessie Credland, Linda Curran, George Derx, Susan Durant, Neil Gethin, Pat Haith, John Healy, Rachel Hodson, Charlie Hogarth, Sandra Holland, Mark Houlbrook, Eva Hughes. Allan Jones, Ken Keegan, Majid Khan, Jane Kidd, Ted Kitchen, Sue Knowles, Chris McGuinness, John McHale, Bill Mordue, John Mounsey,  Jane Nightingale, Kevin Rodgers, Craig Sahman, Dave Shaw, Clive Stone, Austen White and Sue Wilkinson.

 

Abstain – 4

Councillors Bev Chapman, John Cooke, Sean Gibbons and Andy Pickering.

 

On being put to the meeting, the amendment to the Revenue Budget 2016/17, proposed by Councillor James Hart, was declared LOST.

 

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 21.4, a recorded vote was taken on the recommendations contained within the report, which was declared as follows:-

 

For – 48

The Chair of Council, Councillor Paul Wray, the Vice Chair of Council, Councillor David Nevett, the Mayor of Doncaster, Ros Jones, Deputy Mayor,, Councillor Glyn Jones and Councillors Nick Allen, Nigel Ball, Rachel Blake, Iris Beech, Joe Blackham, Elsie Butler, Phil Cole, Tony Corden, John Cooke, Jane Cox, Steve Cox, Jessie Credland, Linda Curran, George Derx, Susan Durant, Neil Gethin, Pat Haith, James Hart, John Healy, Rachel Hodson, Charlie Hogarth, Sandra Holland, Mark Houlbrook,  Eva Hughes. Allan Jones, Ken Keegan, Majid Khan, Jane Kidd, Ted Kitchen, Sue Knowles, Chris McGuinness, John McHale, Bill Mordue, John Mounsey,  Jane Nightingale,  Kevin Rodgers, Craig Sahman, Dave Shaw, Alan Smith, Clive Stone, Austen White and Sue Wilkinson.

 

Against – 0

 

Abstain – 3

Councillors Bev Chapman, Sean Gibbons and Andy Pickering.

 

On being put to the Meeting, the Mayors Revenue Budget 2016/17 was declared CARRIED.

 

RESOLVED that:-

 

(1)  The revenue budget proposals for 2016/17 and 2017/18 detailed at Appendix B to the report (savings £40.169m) and Appendix C to the report (pressures £9.264m) be approved;

 

(2)  Council Tax be increased by 3.95% to £1,190.32 for a Band D property (£793.55 for a Band A) for 2016/17. This includes:

 

                              i.        2% Chancellor’s Social Care “levy” equates to an increase of £22.90 for Band D per annum, £0.44 per week (£15.27 for Band A per annum, £0.29 per week);

                             ii.        1.95% council tax equates to an increase of £22.33 for Band D per annum, £0.43 per week (£14.89 for Band A per annum, £0.29 per week);

 

(3)  The 2016/17 Grants to 3rd Sector Organisations outlined in paragraph 23 and Appendix E of the report be approved;

 

(4)  The summary fees and charges analysis shown in Appendix F together with the detailed fees and charges proposed for 2016/17 at Appendix G be approved;

 

(5)  The Medium Term Financial Plan including all proposals in the report as set out in Appendix I be approved; and

 

(6)  A gross revenue expenditure budget of £489.2m and a net revenue expenditure budget of £217.1m as detailed in Appendix I to the report be approved.