Issue - meetings

To take as read and approve as a true record the minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on the following dates:

·                21 January 2021 and

·                11 February 2021.

RESOLVED:

(1)       That the Minutes of the Meeting of the Committee held on 21 January 2021 and 11 February 2021 be approved as a true record of the proceedings and be signed by the Chair;

(2)       That, with the authorisation of the Chair, their electronic signature and initials be attached to the Minutes approved in (1) above.

Audio Recording – 6 Minutes 13 Seconds

Councillor Terry Tyler proposed and Councillor Val Bryant seconded and upon being put to the vote it was:

RESOLVED:

(1)       That the Minutes of the Meeting of the Committee held on 21 January 2021 and 11 February 2021 be approved as a true record of the proceedings and be signed by the Chair;

(2)       That, with the authorisation of the Chair, their electronic signature and initials be attached to the Minutes approved in (1) above.

Councillor Simon Harwood proposed, and Councillor David Levett seconded the following amendment:

“That, in consultation with Officers, fellow councillors and Herts & Middlesex Wildlife Trust, a 3 year pilot programme be created to look at the creation of a rewilding scheme, to introduce ‘nature highways’ and / or ‘bee and wildflower corridors’ through North Hertfordshire. This pilot will focus / look at particularly community engagement - getting schools, groups and other members of the community directly involved in the project. This approach from elsewhere has been shown as key to success for generating long-lasting momentum and building a strong sense of community ownership.

That £150k, over three years, be added to the budget for this purpose. This funding will allow us, subject to agreement, to assign a dedicated person (part-time) to coordinate action, engage local communities and to manage the project and to undertake the purchase of the necessary material.”

Councillor David Levett called for a recorded vote on the proposed amendment.

The result of the recorded vote on the proposed amendment was:

For: Councillors: David Barnard, John Bishop, George Davies, Steve Deakin-Davies, Morgan Derbyshire, Jean Green, Simon Harwood, Terry Hone, Tony Hunter, David Levett, Jim McNally, Gerald Morris, Michael Muir, Mike Rice, Claire Strong, Richard Thake, Terry Tyler and Michael Weeks.

Total: 18

Against: Councillors: Ian Albert, Kate Aspinwall, Clare Billing, Judi Billing, Ruth Brown, Val Bryant, Paul Clark, Sam Collins, Elizabeth Dennis-Harburg, Gary Grindal, Keith Hoskins, Mike Hughson, Steve Jarvis, Ian Mantle, Lisa Nash, Sue Ngwala, Helen Oliver, Sean Prendergast, Adem Ruggiero-Cakir, Carol Stanier, Martin Stears-Handscomb and Tom Tyson.

Total: 22

Abstain:

Councillors: Daniel Allen and Sam North.

Total: 2

Therefore the motion regarding the proposed amendment was lost.

NB: The Chair announced a comfort break at 9.14 pm.

NB: The meeting resumed at 9.26pm

The Committee, Member and Scrutiny Manager undertook a roll call to ensure that all present could hear and be heard.

Councillor David Levett proposed, and Councillor Richard Thake seconded the following amendment:

“That an allocation of £100k is made to SADA to assist with providing safe havens for those suffering from domestic abuse by providing longer term security against homelessness.”

Councillor David Levett, with the agreement of Councillor Richard Thake, agreed to withdraw the proposed amendment, providing it remained on the table.

The Chair advised that a recorded vote would be taken on recommendations 2.2, 2.3, 2.4 and 2.5 contained in the report and separate recorded vote would be taken on recommendation 2.6 contained in the report. The results of these recorded votes were as follows:

Recorded Vote regarding recommendations 2.2, 2.3, 2.4 and 2.5 contained in the report:

For:

Councillors: Ian Albert, Daniel Allen, Kate Aspinwall, Clare Billing, Judi Billing, Ruth Brown, Val Bryant, Paul Clark, Sam Collins, Elizabeth Dennis-Harburg, Gary Grindal, Keith Hoskins, Mike Hughson, Steve Jarvis, Ian Mantle, Lisa Nash, Sue Ngwala, Sam North, Helen Oliver, Sean Prendergast, Adem Ruggiero-Cakir, Carol Stanier, Martin Stears-Handscomb, Terry Tyler and Tom Tyson.

Total: 25

Against:

Councillors: David Barnard, John Bishop, George Davies, Steve Deakin-Davies,  ...  view the full decision text for item 87

Audio recording – 14 Minutes 40 seconds

The Chair advised that he would be inviting Councillor Stears-Handscomb (Leader of the Council) to speak, following which Councillor Ian Albert (Executive Member for Finance and IT) would present the report. He had agreed that Councillor Albert may speak for more than 5 minutes regarding the Budget.

The Chair stated that, Members were aware that this would be a recorded vote and that he proposed taking all of the recommendations as one, unless he heard to the contrary.

The Leader of the Council made an introductory speech regarding the Revenue Budget

2021/22 (Attached as Appendix A to the Minutes).

The Executive Member for Finance and IT gave a detailed speech regarding the report

entitled Revenue Budget 2021/22 and the following appendices (Attached as Appendix B to the Minutes), he also directed Members attention to the referral from Cabinet (6a).

·                Appendix A – Financial Risks 2021/22;

·                Appendix B – Revenue Budget Savings and Investments;

·                Appendix C – Budget Summary 2021–2026;

·                Appendix D – Budget Summary 2021–2026 (£10 Council Tax increase 2021/22).

The Executive Member for Finance and IT advised that the following recommendations contained in the report should be amended as follows:

Recommendation 2.5 to read:

Approves a net expenditure budget of £18.441m, as detailed in Appendix C.

Recommendation 2.6 to read:

Approves a Council Tax increase by the maximum allowed without the need for a local

referendum in 2021/22(as per the Medium Term Financial Strategy). This is likely to be an amount of £5 for a band D property, with other increases pro-rata to this.

He then called for a recorded vote.

Councillor Ian Albert proposed, and Councillor Sam North seconded the recommendations contained in the report, as amended.

The following Members asked questions and took part in the debate:

·                Councillor Michael Weeks;

·                Councillor Gerald Morris;

·                Councillor Terry Hone;

·                Councillor Tony Hunter;

·                Councillor Paul Clark’

·                Councillor Carol Stanier;

·                Councillor Sam North;

·                Councillor Elizabeth Dennis-Harburg;

·                Councillor Michael Muir.

The Executive Member for Finance and IT, Service Director – Resources and Managing Director responded to questions.

Councillor Simon Harwood proposed, and Councillor David Levett seconded the following amendment:

“That, in consultation with Officers, fellow councillors and Herts & Middlesex Wildlife Trust, a 3 year pilot programme be created to look at the creation of a rewilding scheme, to introduce ‘nature highways’ and / or ‘bee and wildflower corridors’ through North Hertfordshire. This pilot will focus / look at particularly community engagement - getting schools, groups and other members of the community directly involved in the project. This approach from elsewhere has been shown as key to success for generating long-lasting momentum and building a strong sense of community ownership.

That £150k, over three years, be added to the budget for this purpose. This funding will allow us, subject to agreement, to assign a dedicated person (part-time) to coordinate action, engage local communities and to manage the project and to undertake the purchase of the necessary material.”

The following Members asked questions and took part in the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 87