Resolved:  That the Minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 3 November 2016 be approved and signed as a correct record.

No further declarations of interest were received. 

The Chairman was very proud to announce that the Leader had been named in the 2016 New Year's Honours List and would be appointed an Officer of the British Empire (OBE) for his services to local government.  First elected in May 1999 , Cllr Fleming had been Leader of the Council since May 2005, was Chairman of the Local Government Association (LGA) Improvement and Innovation Board for four years before becoming a Deputy Chairman of the Association; and in both roles a spokesperson for the LGA for a number of years fulfilling many national radio and TV media commitments.

The Chairman invited Members to two ceremonies taking place on Monday 14 March 2016. The Annual Fly a Flag for the Commonwealth ceremony, followed immediately afterwards by a WW1 Commemorative act in the Conference Room which would be the second of four annual commemorations, meeting at 9.45am.

He reported that local residents and businesses had had their say about the future of Swanley and Hextable at a week of drop in sessions. 

Residents and commuters had been able to find out about the Council’s plans for the new decked car park at Bradbourne car park. 

He also reported that  the ‘making it happen’ Voluntary and community awards ceremony would be held on Wednesday  8 June at 7.30pm at Sevenoaks School.  There were 9 categories  and invitations from the Chief Executive would be sent out in the first week of March.  The deadline for nominations was Thursday 28 April either by post or online and a judging panel would meet in the first week of May.

Finally he announced that it had been nearly a year since the Oriental Chestnut Gall Wasp had first been discovered in Farningham Woods, and that amazing work had been done by the team but further action was still required. A second sequence of gall wasp control coppicing over a more extended area had started just before Christmas.  It was understood that this was progressing well and it was hoped that costs would be covered by selling Chestnut products such as post and rail, weatherboard and wood chip.  The best fencing materials had already been used to replace some of the park fencing at Bradbourne Lakes along the A25 and Betenson Avenue.

No questions had been received.

No petitions were received.

a)                        Calculation of Council Tax Base and other tax setting issues

Councillor Fleming proposed and Councillor Searles seconded the recommendations from Cabinet.  The report set out details of the calculation of the District’s tax base for council tax setting purposes. 

Resolved:   That

a)   the report of the Chief Finance Officer for the calculation of the Council’s tax base for the year 2016/17 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 2016/17 shall be 48,895.68;

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 2016/17 for the calculation of local precepts shall be:

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.

b)                        Treasury Management Strategy 2016/17

Councillor Fleming proposed and Councillor Searles seconded the recommendations from Cabinet.  The report sought approval of the Treasury Management Strategy 2016/17.

Resolved:  That subject to the inclusion of Santander UK Plc as an investment counterparty, the Treasury Management Strategy for 2016/17 be approved.

c)                        Budget and Council Tax Setting 2016/17

Members’ attention was brought to the additional papers that had been circulated prior to the meeting.  The updated report advised that since the Budget and Council Tax Setting 2016/17 report was presented to Cabinet on 4 February 2016, the Government had published the Final Local Government Finance Settlement 2016/17.  In the final settlement there was a change to the Council Tax referendum limit for district councils.  Previously the limit had been 2%, now the limit was the higher of 2% or £5.

The original report and appendices within the main agenda papers had been based on a Council Tax increase of 1.96% (£3.78) in 2016/17.  The updated report and appendices, which had been circulated prior to the meeting, were based on a Council Tax increase of 2.57% (£4.95) in 2016/17.  The updated report requested Council to either approve the recommendations in the latest report for a 2.57% increase or the original report for a 1.96%  ...  view the full minutes text for item 86.

a)           Revised Draft Taxi and Private Hire Licensing Policy

Councillor Fleming proposed and Councillor Mrs. Morris seconded the recommendations from Licensing Committee.

Resolved:  That the Taxi and Private Hire Licensing Policy be adopted and reviewed by the Licensing Committee in September 2017, subject to the following amendments

a)     in order to increase the number of wheelchair accessible vehicles that form part of the fleet for Hackney Carriage vehicles licensed by Sevenoaks District Council, Section 4.5 to include

                       (i)          from 1st September 2016 all additional hackney carriage vehicles requiring a new plate, must be wheelchair accessible. That is those that require the issue of a new Hackney Carriage plate number. (This does not apply to replacement vehicles, change of ownership of vehicles or vehicles that are replacing damaged vehicles) and

                     (ii)          from 1st January 2018 all vehicles that reach the end of their life with respect to being eligible for licensing as a licensed vehicle (i.e. 10 years since the date of its first registration) must be replaced by a wheelchair accessible vehicle. (This does not apply to change of ownership of vehicles or vehicles that are replacing damaged vehicles or a total loss.); and

b)     ‘1500cc’ be corrected to read ‘1400cc’ at Appendix 5B, paragraph 5 under Environmental Considerations of the draft policy.

b)           Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982: Licence Fees 2015/2016

Councillor Fleming proposed and Councillor Mrs. Morris seconded the recommendations from Licensing Committee.

Resolved:  That the appropriate fee levels as £3,100 for a new or renewal application, and £1,625 for transfer of an application, be approved.

c)            Gambling Act 2005: Licence Fees 2015/2016

Councillor Fleming proposed and Councillor Mrs. Morris seconded the recommendations from Licensing Committee.

Resolved:  That the appropriate fees from 1 April 2016 to 31 March 2017, as set out below, be approved

d)           Monitoring Officer’s Annual Report

Councillor Fleming proposed and Councillor Gaywood seconded the recommendations from Standards Committee.

Resolved:  That the report be noted.

a)           Pay Policy Statement

It was moved by Councillor Fleming, seconded by Councillor Lowe and

Resolved:  That the Pay Policy Statement be adopted and published on the Council’s website.

b)           Calendar of Meetings 2016/17

It was moved by Councillor Fleming, seconded by Councillor Firth and

Resolved:  That the calendar of meetings for 2016/17 be approved subject to formal adoption at the Annual Meeting of Council on 10 May 2016.

No questions had been received.

No motions had been received.

The Leader of the Council reported on the work that he and the Cabinet had undertaken in the period 23 October 2015 to 22 January 2016. 

He took the opportunity to praise the Chief Finance Officer and his team for the work carried out on pulling together an excellent response to the tariff adjustment consultation with 14 other affected local authorities.

He also praised Sevenoaks Town Council for being accredited with a Quality Gold Award by the National Association of Local Councils.