MINUTES OF A MEETING OF THE COUNCIL HELD
AT COUNTY HALL, NEWPORT, ISLE OF WIGHT ON WEDNESDAY, 21 FEBRUARY 2007
COMMENCING AT 6.00 PM
Present :
Cllr Charles Chapman (Chairman), Barry Abraham, Henry Adams,
Wendy Arnold, George Brown, Ivan Bulwer, William Burt,
George Cameron, Vanessa Churchman, Dawn Cousins, Mike Cunningham, John Effemey,
Jonathan Fitzgerald-Bond, Deborah Gardiner, Charles Hancock, John Hobart,
Heather Humby, Tim Hunter-Henderson, Patrick Joyce, Gill
Kennett, David Knowles, Geoff Lumley, Win McRobert,
Roger Mazillius, Muriel Miller, Brian Mosdell, Erica Oulton,
Lora Peacey-Wilcox, Lady Pigot, Garry Price, David Pugh,
Susan Scoccia, Ian Stephens, Andy Sutton, Melanie Swan,
Arthur Taylor, Diana Tuson, Ian Ward, Margaret Webster,
Alan Wells, Colin West, David Whittaker, Julian Whittaker,
David Williams, Jilly Wood
Apologies :
Cllrs Anne Bishop, John Bowker, Barbara Foster
and Mr Bruce Claxton (Chairman of the Standards Committee)
49.
MINUTES
RESOLVED :
THAT the Minutes of the meeting held on 17 January 2007 be confirmed.
50.
DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
There were no declarations received at this stage.
51.
PUBLIC QUESTION TIME
Questions
were put to the Chairman as follows:
Mr John Wortham
of Brighstone asked a question relating to the date in Paper B, paragraph
7(iii), which he felt was incorrect.
The Chief Executive advised that this point would be covered in his
statement later in the agenda.
Mrs Jill Wareham
put a question regarding the access to information rule and the late release of
the Appendices 1 to 4 for Paper C. The
Chief Executive would provide a written response. Mrs Wareham also asked when the legal consultation would take
place regarding the change of age range for middle schools and the Cabinet
Member for Education, Skills and Learning advised that a public meeting would
be held at which questions and concerns could be raised.
Mr Bob Blezzard
of Sandown queried whether the joint letter from the Chief Executive and the
Leader to the County Press on 3 November 2006 could have been viewed as
political. The Chief Executive advised
that this issue would be debated at the next Council meeting.
Mr Liam
Verstraeten of Newport queried the amount of council money spent on employing
mainland consultants and the Leader advised that the matter would be investigated
and a response provided.
52.
CHAIRMAN’S REPORT
The Chairman reminded
Council about the Chairman’s Challenge at LA Bowl on Sunday, 4 March 2007 and
encouraged Members to support this event.
On behalf of the
Council, the Chairman congratulated the Revenue and Benefits team for achieving
four star status for their service.
53.
REPORT OF THE HEAD OF PAID SERVICE AND
THE MONITORING OFFICER
Council considered the
report and the appendices and heard a statement from the Chief Executive. The Leader provided an introduction and it
was proposed and seconded that Council accept the recommendations as set out in
the report.
RESOLVED:
(i)
THAT
the report of Mark Heath into Undercliff Drive be accepted.
(ii)
THAT
an Investigatory and Disciplinary Committee be appointed with
the following terms of reference:
·
To
review and scrutinise the circumstances leading up to the letting of the
contracts for works at Undercliff Drive.
·
To
consider any personal responsibility of officers, members or contractors that
has led to the position identified in the Heath Report and to discharge the
functions of the “Investigating Committee/Investigating Panel” as set out in
the JNC Conditions of Service.
·
To
consider any allegations made against Officers (or their predecessors) and
decide if further investigation is required;
·
To
carryout a preliminary investigation and determine if a question of discipline
exists which requires investigation by a Designated Independent Person, where required,
in accordance with the Standing Orders Regulations.
·
Subject
to the Regulations and to the extent not already delegated to an officer of the
Council, to suspend any relevant Officers or to hear any grievance or
representation from an officer in that position.
·
To
hear evidence and representations from the Statutory Officers in order to
decide if a case exists.
·
To
appoint a designated independent person, further to statutory provisions and
relevant national agreements.
·
To
receive any reports from the DIP and, subject to the Regulations, implement any
recommendations arising from such a report.
·
To
appoint sub-committees to hear any specific issue, allegations or
representation set out in these terms of reference.
·
To
approve any terms for settlement of any claims or disputes arising as between
the Council and its senior officers.
·
To
authorise expenditure on external advice and assistance in completing the
committee’s work.
·
To
advise the Cabinet on any procurement issues which are within the Cabinet’s
terms of reference, to include any advice on any tendering, contract award or
specification and any future action to be taken with respect to either the
consultancy contract or any other contract relating to the works for Undercliff
drive where these are relevant to the Heath report.
·
To
have oversight of the ongoing actions, decisions and progress with regards to
the Undercliff Drive Project, making recommendations to other Council decision
makers where appropriate
(iii)
THAT
the Committee will have 7 members
and that the following be appointed to
the Committee:
Cllr George Brown
(Chairman)
Cllr Tim
Hunter-Henderson
Cllr Ivan Bulwer
Cllr Anne Bishop
Cllr Colin West
Cllr Muriel Miller
Cllr David Knowles.
54.
BUDGET AND COUNCIL TAX
SETTING
It was proposed and seconded that Members suspend
Procedure Rule 15 (4), enabling each of the political group leaders to address
the Council without a specific time limit.
Following a vote it was
RESOLVED:
THAT Procedure Rule 15 (4) be suspended to enable the
political group leaders to address the Council without time constraints.
The Leader addressed the Council and provided details of
the proposed budget for 2007-08. The
Council Tax Resolution for the financial year 2007-08 was circulated to all
attendees. A resolution to accept the
Cabinet’s recommendation was moved and seconded.
An adjournment was proposed and seconded and following
a vote it was
RESOLVED:
THAT Council recess for 15 minutes to enable Members
time to consider the proposed budget and Resolution.
When the meeting reconvened the Chairman invited each
of the political group leaders, or their nominees, to address Council.
The following amendment to the budget was moved
by Cllr Lumley:
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ISLE OF WIGHT
COUNCIL
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BUDGET MEETING - 21
FEBRUARY 2007
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LABOUR GROUP BUDGET
PROPOSAL - EXCLUDING DIRECT SCHOOLS GRANT*
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Ł000
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Base Budget
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110,235
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Add:
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Inflation
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3,069
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Capital Financing
Costs
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2,124
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Pensions
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915
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Social Care
pressures
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1,110
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Other budget
pressures (net)
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70
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Deduct:
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Efficiency savings
equivalent to Gershon
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minimum target (all
cashable)
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2,833
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Changes in service
priorities:
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Unused PCSO matched
funding provision
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50
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Limit support to
excellent parishes
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40
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Reduce amount for
completion of Island Plan
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40
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Investment in new
Service Priorities:
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Community Wardens
(10)
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250
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Increase support
for Civic Pride projects
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52
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Additional Empty
Properties resources
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45
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Increase support
for Youth Service
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50
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Increase capacity
for CCTV monitoring
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24
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Net Expenditure
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114,981
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Formula Grant
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50,701
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Withdrawal from
Reserves
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0
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Council Tax Yield
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64,280
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Proposed Band D
Council Tax
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1,188.55
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Proposed Tax
Increase (%)
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3.5
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* DIRECT SCHOOLS
GRANT - increase of Ł4950k - to
balance budgetary pressures
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and spending
changes from 2006/07 budget for schools
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The
amendment was seconded and following a debate the amendment was
lost.
Following further
debate on the original motion it was then put to the vote and
RESOLVED:
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I)
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The revenue
estimates for 2007/08 be Ł113,990,868, allocated to Service Units as set out
in Appendix 2.
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ii)
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Detailed
implementation of the cash limit changes set out in Appendix 2 will be agreed
with the relevant Cabinet member in each case.
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iii)
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That a Schools
Budget exclusive of the LSC allocation be set at the level of Direct Schools
Grant for 2007/08.
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iv)
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That the Schools Budget shares be determined by the Strategic Director
for Children’s Services, in consultation with the Schools Forum, within the
approved service budget.
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v)
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That the three year budget and Council Tax projection as set out in
Appendix 3 and Reserves and Provisions projections as set out in Appendix 4
be approved for planning purposes.
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vi)
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That the Capital Programme for 2007-08 be set at Ł50,654,600, financed
as set out in Appendix 6, and that detailed scheme allocation within this
total be determined by Directors Team, with subsequent approval by the
relevant Cabinet member.
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vii)
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That the Prudential Code Indicators, Treasury Management Strategy and
Investment Strategy set out in Appendix 6 be adopted.
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viii)
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That it be noted that the Council calculated the amounts for the year
2007/08 in accordance with regulations made under Section 33(5) of the Local
Government Finance Act 1992 (The Tax Base).
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ix)
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That the amounts now calculated by the Council for the year 2007/08 in
accordance with Sections 32 to 36 of the Local Government Act 1992 be as set
out in Appendix 1.
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x)
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That it be noted that for the year 2007/08 the Hampshire Police
Authority has stated the following amounts in Precepts issued to the Council,
in accordance with Section 40 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, for
each of the categories of dwellings below:
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Valuation Bands -
Precepting Authority
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Ł
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Band A
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83.58
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Band B
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97.51
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Band C
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111.44
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Band D
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125.37
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Band E
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153.23
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Band F
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181.09
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Band G
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208.95
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Band H
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250.74
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xi)
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The Council will
incur the following special expenses in 2007/08 under Section 35(2)(d) of the
Local Government Finance Act 1992:
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Parish & Town
Council concurrent functions:
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Carisbrooke
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18,284
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Newport
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140,279
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Northwood
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12,607
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Ryde
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212,492
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Whippingham
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5,080
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No other expenses
of the Council are special expenses in 2007/08.
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xii)
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THAT, having calculated the aggregate in each case of the amounts at
paragraph viii) above and paragraphs e), f) & i) of Appendix 1, the
Council, in accordance with Section 30(2) of the Local Government Finance Act
1992, hereby sets the following amounts as the amounts of Council Tax for the
year 2007/08 for each of the following categories of dwelling:
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