Agenda item

Matters considered by the Cabinet:

Minutes:

a)                   Christmas Parking 2014

 

Councillor Fleming proposed and Councillor Hogarth seconded the recommendations from Cabinet.  The report sought approval for funding the free parking made available for the Christmas lights evening events in Westerham on 27 November and Sevenoaks on 28 November 2014 from Supplementary Estimates.

 

A Member requested whether, as this was a decision taken regularly on an annual basis, it could not be factored into the budget.  The Leader agreed that this could be looked at.

 

Resolved:  That the cost in terms of lost income for free parking which was provided in all car parks and on-street parking areas throughout the district two Saturdays before Christmas 2014, be funded from Supplementary Estimates.

 

 

b)                   Calculation of Council Tax Base

 

Councillor Fleming proposed and Councillor Ramsay seconded that the Cabinet recommendations be approved. 

 

Resolved: That

a)    the report of the Chief Finance Officer for the calculation of the Council’s tax base for the year 2015/16 be approved;

b)    pursuant to the report of the Chief Finance Officer and in accordance with the Local Authorities (Calculation of Council Tax Base) Regulations 1992 (as amended) the amount calculated by the Sevenoaks District Council as its council tax base for the whole area for the year 2015/16 shall be 48,209.05;

c)    pursuant to the report of the Chief Finance Officer and in accordance with the Local Authorities (Calculation of Council Tax Base) Regulations 1992 (as amended) the amount calculated by the Sevenoaks District Council as the council tax base for 2015/16 for the calculation of local precepts shall be:


Parish

Tax Base

Ash-cum-Ridley

2,381.61

Badgers Mount

329.08

Brasted

765.50

Chevening

1,433.69

Chiddingstone

586.47

Cowden

406.93

Crockenhill

632.84

Dunton Green

901.64

Edenbridge

3,446.21

Eynsford

910.78

Farningham

610.40

Fawkham

280.52

Halstead

748.62

Hartley

2,477.44

Hever

593.81

Hextable

1,634.97

Horton Kirby & South Darenth

1,255.25

Kemsing

1,798.82

Knockholt

616.16

Leigh

809.10

Otford

1,664.07

Penshurst

823.30

Riverhead

1,218.41

Seal

1,165.48

Sevenoaks Town

9,055.46

Sevenoaks Weald

609.80

Shoreham

661.34

Sundridge

910.48

Swanley

5,255.55

Westerham

1,952.44

West Kingsdown

2,272.88

d)    any expenses incurred by the Council in performing in part of its area a function performed elsewhere in its area by a parish or community council or the chairman of a parish meeting shall not be treated as special expenses for the purposes of section 35 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992.

 

 

c)                   Treasury Management Strategy 2015/16

 

Councillor Fleming proposed and Councillor Ramsay seconded that the Cabinet recommendations be approved. 

 

Resolved:  That the Treasury Management Strategy for 2015/16 be approved.

 

 

 

d)                   Revenue Budget and Council Tax 2015/16

(debated and considered with Minute 42)

 

(Cllr. Firth was no longer present)

 

As agreed, the Chairman reminded Members that agenda items 6 (d) and 8 (a) would be debated together. 

 

Councillor Fleming proposed and Councillor Ramsay seconded that the Cabinet recommendations be approved and the recommendations contained in Appendix B (e) to (k) and Appendix C to the report ‘Budget and Council Tax Setting’ (see Minute 42), be approved. 

 

Councillor Fleming addressed the Council stating that as the country continued on the road to recovery and deficit reduction, the Conservative led government had had to make many tough choices. Local government had, and would continue to play an important role in putting the country’s finances on the right track.  During the year, as predicted, the Council had seen its share of government funding reduced. The top level figures were sobering,  in the past five years Sevenoaks District Council’s revenue support grant had fallen by almost £4m, nearly £1m of which would go in the coming year. In real terms that meant the funding for every man, women and child within the District had reduced from £55.95 in 2010 to £20.47 next year.

 

With that bleak outlook, many observers would expect the recommendation in the budget papers to be full of cuts and massive reductions in services, with the consequences felt across local communities and the hard won reputation for high quality services quickly lost, which was not the case.

 

He stated that Members had stewarded the money they held on trust for residents they served.  The 10 year budget had given a framework in which to plan for the long term sustainability of the Council.  New savings had been made, on top of those already planned for: £379,000 in the coming year, through the work of the Cabinet Advisory Committees, for whose hard and diligence he offered his thanks.

 

As a Council savings of £600,000 a year had been made, an increase from the previous year, by working in partnership with other councils.  Audit, Fraud, Council Tax, Business Rates and Benefits, Environmental Health, Licensing and recently Building Control. as the Council looked for opportunities to both expand the current partnerships and look for new ones.  This would be an area of focus for Sevenoaks District Council going into the future.  Whilst there was much talk in the media about combining authorities, city and county regions, these were purely structural and governance changes simply would not deliver savings in a timely manner or the services residents rightly deserved.   The partnership approach clearly delivered both in monetary terms but also for communities at a scale that was both efficient and effective. 

 

He reported that two years ago the Council had put in place the new senior management structure; reduced the workforce; changed staff terms and conditions; radically reduced the number and cost of senior managers; streamlined the bureaucracy and continued to crack down on any area where savings could be made.   In the past year the Council had pushed ahead with the paperless office agenda, managing to dispose (after scanning) of over seven tonnes of paper, with much further to go.  Another positive effect of these changes was that there had been an increase in the amount of available space within the Argyle Road building.  For some time office space had been shared with staff from Moat Housing, the Police and KCC and this has been expanded with every desk bringing money back to the council to be spent on front line services.

 

He further stated that when he had first trailed his belief, two years ago, that the Council would not only need, but also want, to become self-sufficient from government grant, he had initially spoken about it in terms of the then ten year outlook, 2023-24, it was now obvious that the window needed to be narrowed. 

Whoever won (or whatever combination!) the next election it was very clear that local government would continue to be seen as an area of central government spend that could be reduced.   In the papers before Members, they were being asked to increase the amount of reserves that could be used to support the self-sufficiency agenda.  The Council had previously approved an initial £5m to be allocated to the Property Investment Strategy, and were now asked to approve a further £3m for this purpose from reserves.   The reasoning behind this was that at a 6% return, as opposed to the pitiful 0.6% currently being achieved on our deposits, the impact was a return, on the £8m of £480,000 which equated to almost 30% of the current Revenue Support Grant.  Council tax remained an important part of the finances of the Council but it was Members’ duty to make sure that they did as much as possible to protect the council taxpayer as they could.  All of the things already mentioned above had a direct impact on keeping council tax levels down.   The budget before Members had an increase, inline with the 10 yr budget, of a little under 2%, which equated to 7p a week or £3.69 a year.  To give council tax payers surety going forward council tax assumptions in the ten year budget had been reduced to 2% for the next four years.

 

Finally with regards to the recommendation relating to council tax support grant to the Parishes.  He had recently met with a representative from a local parish council and although they had agreed to disagree, the Chairman of the Parish did concede that in his position he would be recommending the same to his members.

 

The Leader believed that it would be clear to Members that against the back drop of the huge reductions in the Council’s core grant, the inability of government ministers to identify any monies despite asking, that was just not there, that even a casual observer would see in terms of government grant the Council was up against it  Yet he believed that Members had set a strong course for a sure future for the District Council, the service it provided and the residents, business and visitors it served.  He commended the budget to Members.

 

A Member commented that Eric Pickles and Kris Hopkins views were clear that the money was intended to be passed on.  It was expected that each billing authority would agree an appropriate level of funding for each Town and Parish Council.  The argument that it could not be passed on because it was not ring-fenced went against these clear intentions.

 

Another Member said that at the time he had felt it scandalous that it had not been passed on the previous year as the Government’s intention was quite clear and Sevenoaks was isolated in taking this action.  He asked Members to consider passing an amount of funding to Town and Parish Councils for Council Tax Support and appealed especially to dual hatted Members.  He praised the Big Community Fund and requested that some money be set aside within the budget in order for it to continue.   Cllr. Walshe moved, and it was duly seconded by Cllr. Mrs Purves, that a sum of £50,000 be set aside within the budget to enable continuation of the Big Community Fund.  The Leader responded that it had been set up under funding received from the New Homes Bonus scheme and had always been the intention for it to end within the timescale of the current administration.  However this did not prevent it being looked at in the future.

 

The amendment to the motion was put to the vote and it was lost.

 

In his right of reply, the Leader advised that he had raised this issue with both Brandon Lewis and Kris Hopkins and it was clear in all correspondence that the money was not there.  If there it would be simple to ring-fence.  The Council had been honest and upfront with Town and Parish Councils from the beginning.  Many Councils that had passed on the funding last year were not this year.  He also advised Members that they were sitting in the Chamber in their capacity as District Councillors, not Town or Parish Councillors and urged them to vote as such.

 

The Chairman reminded Members that a recorded vote would be taken in pursuance of the Local Authorities (Standing Orders) Regulations 2001 (as amended 2014). 

 

First of all the vote was taken for Agenda item 6 (d) recommendations (a) (b) and (c):

 

For

Against

Abstention

Cllr. Abraham

Cllr. Fittock

 

Cllr. Ball

Cllr. Mrs. George

 

Cllr. Mrs. Bayley

Cllr. Mrs. Purves

 

Cllr. Brookbank

Cllr. Underwood

 

Cllr. Brown

Cllr. Walshe

 

Cllr. Clark

 

 

Cllr. Mrs. Clark

 

 

Cllr. Mrs. Cook

 

 

Cllr. Cooke

 

 

Cllr. Mrs Davison

 

 

Cllr. Davison

 

 

Cllr. Dickins

 

 

Cllr. Eyre

 

 

Cllr. Fleming

 

 

Cllr. Gaywood

 

 

Cllr. Grint

 

 

Cllr. Hogarth

 

 

Cllr. Horwood

 

 

Cllr. Mrs. Hunter

 

 

Cllr. Lindsay

 

 

Cllr. London

 

 

Cllr. Ms. Lowe

 

 

Cllr. Maskell

 

 

Cllr. McGarvey

 

 

Cllr. Mrs. Morris

 

 

Cllr. Orridge

 

 

Cllr. Mrs. Parkin

 

 

Cllr. Pett

 

 

Cllr. Piper

 

 

Cllr. Ramsay

 

 

Cllr. Mrs. Sargeant

 

 

Cllr. Searles

 

 

Cllr. Miss. Stack

 

 

Cllr. Miss. Thornton

 

 

Cllr. Towell

 

 

Cllr. Williamson

 

 

36

5

0

 

The motion was carried and it was therefore

 

Resolved: That

a)        the Summary of Council Expenditure and Council Tax set out in Appendix E to the report, be approved;

b)        the 10-year budget 2015/16 to 2024/25 which is the guiding framework for the detailed approval of future years’ budgets set out in Appendix B to the report, including the growth and savings proposals set out in Appendix C-D to the report, and that where possible any variations during and between years be met from the Budget Stabilisation Reserve, be approved: and

c)         the changes to reserves set out in Appendix H, be approved.

The vote was then taken for Agenda item 6 (d) recommendation (i) ‘An amount of funding is passed to Town and Parish Councils for Council Tax Support in 2015/16 equivalent to the amount passed on in 2013/14 less 48% (the Council’s reduction in Revenue Support Grant):

 

For

Against

Abstention

Cllr. Fittock

Cllr. Abraham

 

Cllr. Mrs. Purves

Cllr. Ball

 

Cllr. Underwood

Cllr. Mrs. Bayley

 

Cllr. Walshe

Cllr. Brookbank

 

 

Cllr. Brown

 

 

Cllr. Clark

 

 

Cllr. Mrs. Clark

 

 

Cllr. Mrs. Cook

 

 

Cllr. Cooke

 

 

Cllr. Mrs Davison

 

 

Cllr. Davison

 

 

Cllr. Dickins

 

 

Cllr. Eyre

 

 

Cllr. Fleming

 

 

Cllr. Gaywood

 

 

Cllr. Mrs. George

 

 

Cllr. Grint

 

 

Cllr. Hogarth

 

 

Cllr. Horwood

 

 

Cllr. Mrs. Hunter

 

 

Cllr. Lindsay

 

 

Cllr. London

 

 

Cllr. Ms. Lowe

 

 

Cllr. Maskell

 

 

Cllr. McGarvey

 

 

Cllr. Mrs. Morris

 

 

Cllr. Orridge

 

 

Cllr. Mrs. Parkin

 

 

Cllr. Pett

 

 

Cllr. Piper

 

 

Cllr. Ramsay

 

 

Cllr. Mrs. Sargeant

 

 

Cllr. Searles

 

 

Cllr. Miss. Stack

 

 

Cllr. Miss. Thornton

 

 

Cllr. Towell

 

 

Cllr. Williamson

 

4

37

0

The motion was therefore lost.

The vote was then taken for Agenda item 6 (d) recommendation (ii) ‘ A different amount is passed to Town and Parish Councils for Council Tax Support in 2015/16:

 

For

Against

Abstention

Cllr. Mrs. Purves

Cllr. Abraham

 

Cllr. Walshe

Cllr. Ball

 

 

Cllr. Mrs. Bayley

 

 

Cllr. Brookbank

 

 

Cllr. Brown

 

 

Cllr. Clark

 

 

Cllr. Mrs. Clark

 

 

Cllr. Mrs. Cook

 

 

Cllr. Cooke

 

 

Cllr. Mrs Davison

 

 

Cllr. Davison

 

 

Cllr. Dickins

 

 

Cllr. Eyre

 

 

Cllr. Fittock

 

 

Cllr. Fleming

 

 

Cllr. Gaywood

 

 

Cllr. Mrs. George

 

 

Cllr. Grint

 

 

Cllr. Hogarth

 

 

Cllr. Horwood

 

 

Cllr. Mrs. Hunter

 

 

Cllr. Lindsay

 

 

Cllr. London

 

 

Cllr. Ms. Lowe

 

 

Cllr. Maskell

 

 

Cllr. McGarvey

 

 

Cllr. Mrs. Morris

 

 

Cllr. Orridge

 

 

Cllr. Mrs. Parkin

 

 

Cllr. Pett

 

 

Cllr. Piper

 

 

Cllr. Ramsay

 

 

Cllr. Mrs. Sargeant

 

 

Cllr. Searles

 

 

Cllr. Miss. Stack

 

 

Cllr. Miss. Thornton

 

 

Cllr. Towell

 

 

Cllr. Underwood

 

 

Cllr. Williamson

 

2

39

0

The motion was therefore lost.

The vote was then taken for Agenda item 6 (d) recommendation (iii):

 

For

Against

Abstention

Cllr. Abraham

Cllr. Fittock

 

Cllr. Ball

Cllr. Mrs. George

 

Cllr. Mrs. Bayley

Cllr. Mrs. Purves

 

Cllr. Brookbank

Cllr. Walshe

 

Cllr. Brown

 

Cllr. Clark

 

 

Cllr. Mrs. Clark

 

 

Cllr. Mrs. Cook

 

 

Cllr. Cooke

 

 

Cllr. Mrs Davison

 

 

Cllr. Davison

 

 

Cllr. Dickins

 

 

Cllr. Eyre

 

 

Cllr. Fleming

 

 

Cllr. Gaywood

 

 

Cllr. Grint

 

 

Cllr. Hogarth

 

 

Cllr. Horwood

 

 

Cllr. Mrs. Hunter

 

 

Cllr. Lindsay

 

 

Cllr. London

 

 

Cllr. Ms. Lowe

 

 

Cllr. Maskell

 

 

Cllr. McGarvey

 

 

Cllr. Mrs. Morris

 

 

Cllr. Orridge

 

 

Cllr. Mrs. Parkin

 

 

Cllr. Pett

 

 

Cllr. Piper

 

 

Cllr. Ramsay

 

 

Cllr. Mrs. Sargeant

 

 

Cllr. Searles

 

 

Cllr. Miss. Stack

 

 

Cllr. Miss. Thornton

 

 

Cllr. Towell

 

 

Cllr. Underwood

 

 

Cllr. Williamson

 

 

37

4

0

The motion was carried and it was therefore

Resolved: That

d)        no funding be passed to Town and Parish Councils for Council Tax Support in 2015/16.            

 

The vote was then taken for Agenda Item 8(a) recommendations (e) to (k) (as (a) to (d) mirrored the recommendations above already taken), please see Minute 42 (a).

 

e)              Adoption of the Allocations & Development Management Plan

Councillor Fleming proposed and Councillor Piper seconded the recommendations from Cabinet and it was

Resolved:  That the Allocations and Development Management Plan, incorporating the Inspector’s main modifications, minor amendments and factual updates, be adopted, published and copies made available at a price to be agreed by the Portfolio Holder.

Supporting documents:

 

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