Decision details

The Chief Executive explained the procedure that would be followed. Firstly, Cllr Mark Hawthorne, Leader of the Council, and Cllr Ray Theodoulou, Cabinet Member for Finance and Change, would be asked to present the budget recommendations from the Cabinet.

 

Secondly, in order to reach a position where a substantive motion could be debated, the other groups would be invited to propose amendments to the budget but there would be no debate at that stage.  This would be a departure from the normal procedure where only one amendment could be moved and discussed at any one time.  The Chairman therefore proposed that under procedure rule 24.1 the following part of procedure rule 13.5 be suspended for the duration of the budget debate:

 

‘Only one amendment may be moved and discussed at any one time.  No further amendment may be moved until the amendment under discussion has been dealt with.’

 

The Vice-chairman seconded the motion and, on being put to the vote, the motion was supported.

 

Once the amendments had been presented, the Chief Executive advised that the Chairman would call for an adjournment to provide an opportunity for the Group Leaders to reach a common position. 

 

After the adjournment, the Leader of the Council would advise members of those areas where it had been possible to reach agreement.  Any amendments which had not been accepted or withdrawn would then be presented by the groups, debated and voted upon. 

 

Thereafter all members would have an opportunity to debate the budget in line with the normal rules of debate.  At the end of the debate, the Leader of the Council would have the right of reply. 

 

Finally, a recorded vote would be proposed from the Chairman on the substantive motion, seconded by the Vice-chairman. 

 

Cllr Mark Hawthorne, the Leader of the Council, presented the recommendation from the Cabinet meeting held on 3 February 2016.  He said that the Council faced challenges in finding savings whilst meeting increasing demand for services, particularly in adult social care and children’s services.  The proposed increase in council tax would be the first rise in five years with a 1.99% rise and a National Adult Social Care Levy of 2%.  He stated that the amount of money available was only part of the story and it was as much about how it was spent in meeting the Council’s priorities.   He noted that the Council continued to deliver efficiencies in a number of areas including the buildings and procurement programmes. 

 

He noted that 93% of the respondents to the public consultation believed that the Council had the right priorities: supporting the most vulnerable, working with communities and individuals to help them do more for themselves and reducing the Council’s running costs to get the best out of its assets.

 

He was pleased that the Government had listened to the concerns around reductions in funding through the Local Government Finance Settlement.  Following the Cabinet recommendation, the Government had notified the Council that a transitional grant of £2.475 million would be awarded for 2016-17.  He proposed that just over £2 million should be used to improve the condition of Gloucestershire’s roads. 

 

Cllr Ray Theodoulou, the Cabinet Member for Finance and Change, seconded the recommendation from the Cabinet. He advised that Mark Spilsbury, Head of Finance, was taking flexible retirement and would no longer be leading on the preparation of the budget.  He paid tribute to Mark for his outstanding contribution to the Council and he thanked him for all the support and advice he had provided for members through the budget setting process. 

 

Cllr Jeremy Hilton, Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group, and Cllr Paul Hodgkinson presented the amendments to the budget proposed by the Liberal Democrat Group.  They expressed concern at the reduction in Government funding and the impact that this was having on Council services.  The condition of the county’s roads had deteriorated rapidly over the winter.  They called for an increase in funding for the Highways Local Scheme and Traffic Regulation Orders to allow members to address particular concerns in their area.

 

Cllr Lesley Williams, Leader of the Labour Group, stated that her group would be voting against the budget.  She regretted that Government spending cuts were bending public services so far out of shape that they were being stretched to breaking point.  She said that national cuts had resulted in a budget which was ‘bad for Gloucestershire, bad for residents and bad for local businesses’. 

 

Cllr Alan Preest, Leader of the UKIP Group, believed that there was value in having a cross-party review of the budget as part of the budget scrutiny process.  This should involve a review of all service areas with a particular emphasis on areas of discretionary spending. He proposed an amendment to that effect.  He was pleased that the Government had provided additional funding following the lobbying undertaken by the Leader of the Council.  He recognised the growing pressure on adult social care and children’s services.  He was anxious that the MPs in Gloucestershire worked on behalf of the Council to ensure that the Government was aware of the impact of continuing cuts to funding.  He was pleased that the ‘lengthsman’ scheme that had been trialled so successfully in the Forest of Dean was being rolled out across the rest of the county. He welcomed funding for a circular off-peak bus service in the Forest of Dean. 

 

Budget amendments

 

Conservative Group:

 

To increase the budget allocation for road maintenance by £2,075,000, with the extra funding being used to improve the condition of Gloucestershire’s roads, including by instituting a county-wide ‘lengthsman’ scheme.

 

Liberal Democrat Group:

 

a)      To invest a further £1,192,500 during 2016-17 in the Highways Local Scheme increasing the fund per county division from the current £22,500 to £45,000.  The use of this fund for highway improvements to be promoted and agreed with the local county councillor beforehand.

 

b)      A £100,000 investment to improve the implementation process for traffic regulation orders (TROs), which impose traffic restrictions for safety reasons, by employing a designated TRO Officer and providing additional funds for preparation of new TROs.

 

c)      To provide free residents’ parking permits at a cost £5,000 per annum to all Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) Band A vehicles, which includes electric vehicles, for the first permit only.  To be applied for 2016-17 and 2017-18 with a review after two years.

 

d)      A £50,000 investment to provide improved mental health support to children and young people.

 

e)      A £45,000 investment to embed a member of Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service within adult social care to assist the fire service in helping to improve the heath and wellbeing of vulnerable people through ‘safe and well’ checks.

 

f)       To continue with the initiative to fund year 5 pupil visits to Gloucester’s SkillZone at a cost of £50,000 per annum.  To be available to all Gloucester schools irrespective of their status and to be funded on an ongoing basis.

 

g)      A £20,000 investment in the Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) Team to look at gaps in e-safety and to continue the ‘in the net’ internet safety awareness work.

 

h)      An investment of £500,000 over two years to realise at least four of the six cycling schemes proposed in the ‘Barriers to Cycling’ report within the next two years.

 

i)       A £30,000 investment to carry out an independent study to look at the 30+ air quality management areas and examine solutions to reducing levels of pollution at these particular sites.  The study to be overseen by the Gloucestershire Pollution Group (GPG) involving all six districts plus a representative from the County Council.  Recommendations to be reported back to the GPG, the Environment and Communities Overview and Scrutiny Committee and the Health and Care Overview and Scrutiny Committee within 12 months.

 

j)        A £20,000 investment to undertake a detailed analysis of the pollution levels outside Gloucestershire’s primary and secondary schools.  The findings to be reported back to the Environment and Communities Overview and Scrutiny Committee, Children and Families Overview and Scrutiny Committee and the Health and Care Overview and Scrutiny Committee to determine further action.

 

k)         A £30,000 investment to carry out an independent review of the procurement process and the contract that was awarded for the Javelin Park incinerator.

l)       A £40,000 investment for a new officer in the Joint Waste Team to promote recycling across Gloucestershire.

 

UKIP Group:

 

That  the Budget is subject to a cross-party review as part of the budget scrutiny process.  This will involve a review of all service areas with a particular emphasis on areas of discretionary spending.  The scrutiny review will report ahead of the Cabinet making its final recommendations to Council on the 2017-18 Budget.

This Council requests that the Leader of Council and/or relevant Cabinet Member(s) attend each overview and scrutiny committee in advance of the consultation on their proposals for the 2017/18 budget. This will allow councillors on those committees to consider such proposals and scrutinise them as necessary. This approach should become the established procedure for all future budgets.

 

The Chairman called for an adjournment to provide an opportunity for the political groups to discuss and agree amendments.

 

Following the adjournment, the Leader of the Council provided details of those budget amendments which had been agreed without change:

 

a)        A £100,000 investment to improve the implementation process for traffic regulation orders (TROs), which impose traffic restrictions for safety reasons, by employing a designated TRO Officer and providing additional funds for preparation of new TROs.

b)        To continue with the initiative to fund year 5 pupil visits to Gloucester’s SkillZone at a cost of £50,000 per annum.  To be available to all Gloucester schools irrespective of their status and to be funded on an ongoing basis.

c)         That  the Budget is subject to a cross-party review as part of the budget scrutiny process.  This will involve a review of all service areas with a particular emphasis on areas of discretionary spending.  The review will report ahead of the Cabinet making its final recommendations to Council on the 2017-18 Budget.

This Council requests that the Leader of Council and/or relevant Cabinet Member(s) attend each overview and scrutiny committee in advance of the consultation on their proposals for the 2017/18 budget. This will allow councillors on those committees to consider such proposals and scrutinise them as necessary. This approach should become the established procedure for all future budgets.

 

The following budget amendments were accepted subject to amendment:

 

a)      Increase the budget allocation for road maintenance by £2,075,000, with the extra funding to be used to improve the condition of Gloucestershire's roads.  This will include instituting a county-wide ‘lengthsman’ scheme and increasing the amount for each county division under the Highways Local Scheme from £22,500 to £30,000.

 

b)      To provide free residents’ parking permits for all Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) Band A electric vehicles (one vehicle per applicant and to be funded over two years at a cost £5,000 per annum).

 

c)      A £25,000 investment to provide improved mental health support to children and young people.

 

d)      A £20,000 investment is given to the Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) Team with advice taken from the Children’s Safeguarding Board on how best this can be spent.

 

g)      A £150,000 investment to realise at least four of the six cycling schemes proposed in the ‘Barriers to Cycling’ report within the next two years.

 

h)      A £50,000 investment to carry out an independent study to look at the 30+ air quality management areas and pollution levels outside primary and secondary schools and examine solutions to reducing levels of pollution at these particular sites. The study to be overseen by the Gloucestershire Pollution Group (GPG) involving all six districts plus a representative from the County Council.  The recommendations to be reported back to the GPG and to the relevant overview and scrutiny committees within 12 months to allow further action to be determined. Funding in each district area to be subject to match funding from the relevant district council.

 

The following budget amendments were withdrawn:

 

a)      A £45,000 investment to embed a member of Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service within adult social care to assist the fire service in helping to improve the heath and wellbeing of vulnerable people through ‘safe and well’ checks.

 

b)      A £40,000 investment for a new officer in the Joint Waste Team to promote recycling across Gloucestershire.

 

The following amendment, upon being put to the vote, was not supported:

 

A £30,000 investment to carry out an independent review of the procurement process and the contract that was awarded for the Javelin Park incinerator.

 

The net cost of the amendments agreed to the 2016/17 budget was approximately £2.475 million.  All of the costs were one-off except those relating to the provision of free residents’ parking permits for VED Band A electric vehicles (reviewed after two years) and year 5 pupil visits to Skillzone (permanent).

 

General debate on the Budget 

Members thanked officers for all their hard work in preparing the budget papers. They recognised the value of the work undertaken by a scrutiny task group that had looked at the recruitment and retention of children’s social workers.  They were pleased that the recommendations of the task group had been accepted and that £2 million of additional funding had been included in the budget to allow recruitment of more children’s social workers.

 

Cllr Ray Theodoulou, Cabinet Member for Finance and Change, stated that it was still a challenging time for the Council but he was proud that significant savings were being realised through the Meeting the Challenge 2 Programme.  Funding was being directed towards the most vulnerable people in the local community.  Demand for services, particularly for adult social care and children’s services, was increasing year-on-year.  He was pleased that the Council was maintaining a £438 million programme of investment in Gloucestershire’s infrastructure.    

 

He reminded members about the Public Sector Equality Duty and the need for them all, as decision makers on the Council Strategy and the Medium Term Financial Strategy, to show ‘due regard’.  The Due Regard Statement formed an integral part of the Council’s budget process.

 

Cabinet Members spoke in support of the budget, noting the investment proposed in highways and flood alleviation, schools, children’s social workers, family centres, broadband and adult social care. 

 

Some members spoke against the budget believing that cuts in Government funding would impact most severely on the most vulnerable.  They expressed concern that the Council was consistently overspending in some areas. One member believed the Government  was overseeing a period of managed decline in local government.  Another member questioned the wisdom of freezing council tax year-on-year and then increasing it by 4% in one go.

 

In summing up, Cllr Hawthorne strongly defended the budget proposals.  He said that it was a budget for Gloucestershire, one that would protect the most vulnerable and provide further investment in roads and infrastructure. 

 

RESOLVED

1	That the Council Strategy 2016-2019 be approved.
2	That, having considered the additional consultation responses and the Public Sector Equality Duty Assessment, approval is given to the MTFS and the revenue and capital budgets for 2016/17, amended to take account of the following changes for one year only (unless indicated otherwise):   a)      Increase the budget allocation for road maintenance by £2,075,000, with the extra funding to be used to improve the condition of Gloucestershire's roads.  This will include instituting a county-wide ‘lengthsman’ scheme and increasing the amount for each county division under the Highways Local Scheme from £22,500 to £30,000.   b)      A £100,000 investment to improve the implementation process for traffic regulation orders (TROs), which impose traffic restrictions for safety reasons, by employing a designated TRO Officer and providing additional funds for preparation of new TROs.   c)      To provide free residents’ parking permits for all Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) Band A electric vehicles (one vehicle per applicant and to be funded over two years at a cost £5,000 per annum). d)      A £25,000 investment to provide improved mental health support to children and young people.   e)      To continue with the initiative to fund year 5 pupil visits to Gloucester’s SkillZone at a cost of £50,000 per annum.  To be available to all Gloucester schools irrespective of their status and to be funded on an ongoing basis.   f)        A £20,000 investment is given to the Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) Team with advice taken from the Children’s Safeguarding Board on how best this can be spent.   g)      A £150,000 investment to realise at least four of the six cycling schemes proposed in the ‘Barriers to Cycling’ report, within the next two years.   h)      A £50,000 investment to carry out an independent study to look at the 30+ air quality management areas and pollution levels outside primary and secondary schools and examine solutions to reducing levels of pollution at these particular sites. The study to be overseen by the Gloucestershire Pollution Group (GPG) involving all six districts plus a representative from the County Council.  The recommendations to be reported back to the GPG and to the relevant overview and scrutiny committees within 12 months. Funding in each district area to be subject to match funding from the relevant district council.
3	That approval is given for the council tax for each valuation band, and to issue precepts on each district collection fund as set out below:
	Gloucestershire County Council 2016/17 Budget:
		£000
	Original 2015/16 Budget	420,032
	Inflation	8,470
	Cost and spending increases	24.235
	Cost Reductions	-32,278
	Total	420,459
	Less:
	Core Grant Public Health Grant NHS Funding New Homes Bonus Education Single Grant Education Statutory Responsibility Grant Transitional Grant Other non-ring fenced grants Collection Fund Surplus	118,244 25,943 11,596 4,480 3,592 1,275 2.475 2,138 5,006
	Total to be precepted (Council Tax Requirement) Split: Adult Social Care Levy (2%) All other Council Tax (1.99%)	245,710   4,726 240,984

 

	Taxbase	Total Precept
	Total	£
Cheltenham	40,395.30	45,808,712
Cotswold	38,418.10	43,566,546
Forest of Dean	27,655.50	31,361,640
Gloucester City	36,240.70	41,097,350
Stroud	42,148.48	47,796,838
Tewkesbury	31,814.95	36,078,502
Total		245,709,588

 

 

4	4	That approval is given to the Capital programme set out in Annex 8  of the MTFS, and delegated authority is given to the Strategic Finance Director to vary allocations between individual schemes in consultation with the Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance and Change.   That the Council approves:   a)    The adoption of the new MRP policy outline in Annex 9 of the MTFS for implementation from 2015-16. b)    The Treasury Management Strategy set out in Annex 9 of the MTFS.
5	5	That approval is given to the Operational Boundary and Authorised Limits of Borrowing, as set out in the Treasury Management Strategy, at Annex 9 in the MTFS as follows:

 

	a)	Noting that the authorised limit for 2016/17 will be the statutory limit determined under section 3 (1) of the Local Government Act 2003.
	b)	That the approval is given to the Prudential Indicators for Treasury Management set out in Annex 9 of the MTFS for
		(i)	Upper limit of fixed interest rate exposure of £320 million of net outstanding principal sums.
		(ii)	Upper limit of variable rate exposure of zero of net outstanding principal sums.
		(iii)	The maturity structure of borrowings as set out in Annex 9.
		(iv)	The upper limit for principal sums invested for more than 364 days of £120 million.
6     7       8         9   10		That Council approves the schools funding set out in Section G and Annex 4 in the MTFS.   That Council note and endorse the Cabinet response to the recommendations of the scrutiny task group on the recruitment and retention of social workers as set out in Annex 1.1 in the MTFS.   That Council delegate to the Strategic Finance Director the production of an efficiency statement within the DCLG deadline, in the event that this is beneficial to GCC financially, based on the approved MTFS, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Finance and Change.   That the Risk Management Strategy 2016-2017 is approved by Council.   That  the Budget is subject to a cross-party review as part of the budget scrutiny process.  This will involve a review of all service areas with a particular emphasis on areas of discretionary spending.  The review will report ahead of the Cabinet making its final recommendations to Council on the 2017-18 Budget.   This Council requests that the Leader of Council and/or relevant Cabinet Member(s) attend each overview and scrutiny committee in advance of the consultation on their proposals for 2017/18 budget. This will allow councillors on those committees to consider such proposals and scrutinise them as necessary. This approach should become the established procedure for all future budgets.     A motion for a recorded vote had been proposed and seconded by the Chairman and Vice-chairman.    The voting on the substantive motion on the budget was as follows:   For (25): Cllrs Phil Awford, Dorcas Binns, Rob Bird, Tony Blackburn, Jason Bullingham, Andrew Gravells, Tim Harman, Mark Hawthorne, Tony Hicks, Paul McLain, Patrick Molyneux, Nigel Moor, Shaun Parsons, Alan Preest, Brian Robinson, Vernon Smith, Lynden Stowe, Ray Theodoulou, Brian Tipper, Pam Tracey, Robert Vines, Stan Waddington, Kathy Williams, Roger Wilson and Will Windsor-Clive   Against (11): Cllrs Jasminder Gill, Barry Kirby, Richard Leppington, Sarah Lunnon, Steve Lydon, Steve McHale, Tracy Millard, Graham Morgan, Brian Oosthuysen, David Prince and Lesley Williams   Abstentions (14): Cllrs David Brown, Chris Coleman, Dr John Cordwell, Iain Dobie, Bernard Fisher, Colin Guyton, Joe Harris, Colin Hay, Jeremy Hilton, Paul Hodgkinson, Nigel Robbins, Klara Sudbury, Simon Wheeler and Suzanne Williams