Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence.

 

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Susan Cocking, Janet Dover, Les Fry, David Gray, Matt Hall, Ryan Hope, Bill Pipe and David Tooke.

 

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 20th October 2022.

The minutes of the meeting held on 20 October 2022 were confirmed and signed.

 

To disclose any pecuniary, other registrable or non-registrable interests as set out in the adopted Code of Conduct.  In making their decision councillors are asked to state the agenda item, the nature of the interest and any action they propose to take as part of their declaration.

 

If required, further advice should be sought from the Monitoring Officer in advance of the meeting.

 

No declarations of interest were made at the meeting.

 

To receive any announcements from the Chairman of Council.

There were no Chairman’s announcements to report.

A period of 30 minutes is allocated to receive and respond to questions and statements on the business of the Council in the following order:

(a) Questions and statements from Town and Parish Councils;

(b) Questions and statements from those living or working in the Dorset Council area;

A person or organisation can ask either 2 questions, or 2 statements or 1 question and 1 statement at each meeting.  No more than 3 minutes shall be allowed for any one question or statement to be asked/read.

 

The full text of the question or statement must be received by 8.30am on 9^th February 2023.

 

Details of the Council’s procedure rules can be found at:

Council Procedure Rules

 

Public questions, statements and the responses from the Leader of the Council and appropriate Portfolio Holder are set out in Appendix 1 attached to these minutes.

A period of 15 minutes is allocated to receive and respond to petitions in accordance with the council’s petitions scheme.

 

A period of 15 minutes is allocated to receive and respond to deputations in accordance with the council’s constitution.

 

The petitions scheme and procedures relating to deputations can be viewed at:

Council Procedure Rules

 

 

There were no petitions or deputations.

To receive any announcements and reports from the Leader of Council and members of the Cabinet.

The Leader of the Council advised councillors that his report would be published following the meeting and he report included the following points:

 

• Support for cost of living – The Council had an opportunity to reflect upon its responsibilities as to how it can assist those residents most in need and £2M was being allocated from unearmarked reserves.
• The Facebook Live session on the Budget had been viewed 1800 times and provided a unique opportunity for members of the public to engage with the council – The session had been well received and more sessions would take place, covering differing themes.
• Cllr Ray Bryan had participated in a Parliamentary Transport Select Committee to highlight difficulties faced by rural authorities, including Dorset, in relation to transport.
• Levelling Up Bid – The Council had been successful in obtaining £19.4M of funding for investment in Weymouth.
• The outcome of the LGA Peer Review would be reported to Cabinet in February – Feedback had been largely positive.

 

Cllr Walsh added that he was encouraged by the results of lobbying and that the Government was indeed listening and taking notice of Dorset Council, having recently referred to the work it was undertaking. He added that this was something to be proud of and that the Council must continue its lobbying to ensure that it received the recognition it deserved.

 

In response to a question relating to the announcement for £2M to be allocated to fund the cost-of-living support, Cllr Beddow explained that the Council would be working with charities and other organisations to ensure that the funding went to those most in need and it was hoped that it would leave behind a legacy that would benefit people in the years to come.

 

To receive questions submitted by councillors.  The deadline for receipt of questions is 8.30am on Thursday 9^th February 2023.

There were five questions received from councillors.  A copy of the questions and the responses are attached as Appendix 2 to these minutes.

To consider the Budget recommendations from Cabinet.

 

Appendix 2 to the report to be published as soon as it becomes available.  

The Finance, Commercial & Capital Strategy Portfolio Holder presented the Budget strategy and medium-term financial plan (MTFP).  A copy of his speech is attached as an appendix to these minutes.

 

The Chairman invited the Group Leaders to present their replies to the budget proposals.

 

Cllrs Ireland, Sutton and Hughes presented their budget speeches which are attached as appendices to these minutes. 

 

Cllr Ireland proposed an amendment to the budget, which was seconded by Cllr Jill Taylor.

 

Members debated the amendment as proposed, comments included:

 

• The proposal was not necessary as a separate piece of work was being undertaken to provide a fund of £2M, which would be considered by Cabinet at its meeting later in February.
• Surprise was expressed that no prior notification of the proposal to offer a £2M fund had been received. It would also be favourable to have allow for both options – i.e. the £2M fund and the sum requested in the amendment.
• There was no information in relation to the item on the Cabinet Forward Plan, with the exception of a report title.

 

In accordance with procedure rule 19.6 a recorded vote was taken.

 

Those who voted in favour of the amendment:- 30

Jon Andrews, Peter Barrow, Shane Bartlett, Belinda Bawden, Derek Beer,

Richard Biggs, David Bolwell, Alexandra Brenton, Andy Canning, Kelvin Clayton, Tim Cook, Beryl Ezzard, Brian Heatley, Ryan Holloway, Nick Ireland, Stella Jones, Paul Kimber, Robin Legg, Howard Legg, David Morgan, Jon Orrell, Molly Rennie, Maria Roe, Andrew Starr, Gary Suttle, Clare Sutton, Roland Tarr, David Taylor, Gill  Taylor, Sarah Williams

 

Those who voted against the amendment:- 43

 

Rod Adkins, Anthony Alford, Michael Barron, Pauline Batstone, Cherry Brooks, Piers Brown, Ray Bryan, Graham Carr-Jones, Simon Christopher, Robin Cook, Toni Coombs, Jean Dunseith, Mike Dyer, Tony Ferrari, Spencer Flower, Simon Gibson, Barry Goringe, Paul Harrison, Jill Haynes, Robert Hughes, Sherry Jespersen, Carole Jones, Andrew Kerby, Rebecca Knox, Nocturin Lacey-Clarke, Cathy Lugg, Laura Miller, Louis O'Leary, Emma Parker, Mike Parkes, Andrew Parry, Mary Penfold, Valerie Pothecary, Byron Quayle, Belinda Ridout, Mark Roberts, David Shortell, Jane Somper, William Trite, David Walsh, Peter Wharf, Kate Wheller, John Worth

 

 

Those who abstained:- 0

 

 

 

Following a recorded vote, 30 for, 43 against and 0 abstentions the amendment was LOST.

 

Following the amendment being lost, Members continued to debate the budget as originally proposed.

 

The Finance, Commercial & Capital Strategy Portfolio Holder was confident that the budget was balanced but still encouraged prudence when committing reserves.

 

Members were appreciative of the officer work that had gone into producing the budget and the opportunity of attending budget cafes, cross party working and input from the Scrutiny Committees.

 

Cllr Flower presented his speech as seconder of the budget proposal, attached as an appendix to the minutes.

 

Proposed by Cllr Suttle, seconded by Cllr Flower.

 

In accordance with procedure rule 19.6 a recorded vote was taken.

 

Those who voted in favour of the recommendations:- 59

 

Rod Adkins, Anthony Alford, Jon Andrews, Michael Barron, Shane Bartlett, Belinda Bawden, Pauline Batstone, Derek Beer,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 54.

To consider a report by J Andrews, Service Manager Democratic & Electoral Services.

The Leader of Council presented the report of the Community Governance Review, which set out the draft recommendations to be put forward for public consultation.

 

Cllr P Wharf seconded the recommendation.

 

Some Members expressed that they were not able to support sending the draft recommendations as set out in the report for consultation and that the right questions were not being asked of the public.

 

The Leader explained that there was an opportunity for the community to get involved in shaping the electoral boundaries and that all feedback would be taken on board.

 

The Deputy Leader confirmed the arrangements that had been in place for the process so far. He highlighted that there was no “perfect solution” and that a degree of compromise would be needed. He further encouraged Members to work with their communities to work up alternative arrangements that satisfied the requirements of the boundary commission, the community and numbers during the consultation stage.

 

Decision:

 

1. That the proposals set out in this Appendix be adopted by the Council as Draft Recommendations for the purposes of the Community Governance Review.

2. That the Draft Recommendations be published for consultation purposes for a period of 8 weeks from 20 February 2023 to 17April 2023.

3. That the results of the consultation, together with proposed Final Recommendations, be reported to Full Council on 11 May 2023.

 

Reason for Decision:

 

To ensure that community governance arrangements within the areas specified were reflective of the identities and interests of the community in that area and achieve electoral equality.

 

To adopt the 2023/24 Calendar of Meetings.

In presenting the calendar of meetings for 2023/2024, Cllr S Flower, Leader of the Council proposed its formal adoption.

 

Cllr L O’Leary seconded the recommendation.

 

Comments were made in relation to the timings of meetings and a request was made of the Leader to consider the that meetings be held in the evenings in the future, as currently it did not allow all members of the public to participate and also precluded some elected members and also put some who wished to stand as elected members off.

 

A counter-argument was put forward that reminded members that there were often other commitments in the evening, such as town and parish meetings which they were expected to attend. Additionally, it was highlighted that employers were required to allow employees reasonable time off to conduct public duties.

 

The Leader suggested that it might be appropriate to discuss establishing a Task and Finish group with the Chairman of the Audit and Governance Committee outside of the meeting.

 

Decision:

 

1.That the calendar of meetings for the period May 2023 to May 2024 be approved.

2.That authority be delegated to the Director – Legal and Democratic Services to make any necessary changes, in consultation with relevant Chairmen and Vice-Chairmen, to ensure effective political management.

 

Reason for Decision:

 

To ensure effective political management, comply with the Dorset Council Procedure Rules and to put into place appropriate arrangements for council committee meetings.

To consider a report by N Adam, Service Manager for HR Advisory Services.

The Corporate Development and Transformation Portfolio Holder presented the Pay Policy Statement 2023/24.

 

Proposed by Cllr Haynes, seconded by Cllr Heatley

 

In the absence of comments or questions, the Chairman went straight to the vote.

 

Decision:

 

(i)            That the provisions of the Localism Act and content of the Pay Policy Statement for the 2023/24 financial year were noted.

(ii)          That the Pay Policy Statement for 2023/24 was approved.

(iii)         That the changes to the pay policy for Chief Officers determined by the Cross-Party Working Group in 2022 were approved.

 

Reason for Decision:

 

The Full Council was responsible for approval of the annual pay policy statement.

 

To consider any items of business which the Chairman has had prior notification and considers to be urgent pursuant to section 100B (4) b) of the Local Government Act 1972. The reason for the urgency shall be recorded in the minutes.

 

There were no urgent items

 

To move the exclusion of the press and the public for the following item in view of the likely disclosure of exempt information within the meaning of paragraph x of schedule 12 A to the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended).

The public and the press will be asked to leave the meeting whilst the item of business is considered.

There is no scheduled exempt business.

 

There was no urgent business.